Week 42 ~ Jingle Bell Run

Well this week was another gain.  Only 0.6 pound but still another gain.  My new number 171.8.  Did I follow the plan?  Not all week.  Did I exercise?  Not as much as I should have.  So am I happy with this number?  Yes, it's what I earned this week.  I would guess that I'm happy it wasn't a larger gain.  This is exactly what I told my consultant.  I haven't been the best of clients the past few months.  There has been a lot going on in my little world, but that is all just an excuse.  I've let myself slip back into old habits that are comfortable.  Which is such a big pain, if the old adage that it takes 30 days to make a habit is true.  Then I am standing at the bottom of a 30 day hill and I need to start walking/running up that hill again.  Why do we let ourselves slip?  I firmly believe that it only takes three days at most to break a habit, maybe even less.  When I look back at the past year, I worked so hard to gain the ground that I had.  If I had been making  a quilt, embroidering a shirt, or cleaning at home, I would never dream of destroying all the work I had done.  Would it not be just as easy to cut up the crafts I had done or just sit done and watch TV or play on computer and not finish cleaning.  So I guess I need to start thinking of my weight loss in that aspect.  I really don't know what the answer is.  I wish I knew all the answers and could give those of you out there the "secret".  Sitting here I guess that the secret is that you have to want it.  Want it more than anything else you've ever wanted.  It is something that you have to work at every day.  The past three weeks have taught me a lesson.  You can do a lot of damage by just giving up and giving in.  So my pledge for next week?  Yes, Christmas in on Tuesday, but I still need to pledge on what I will do.  I will spend part of the day with a new friend here in El Paso, because Ahtesham will work that night before and that evening.  I will pledge to run at least one mile every day and do my three days of core workouts.    For the weight I have decided that if I just hold steady at the current weight, that's good enough for this week.  And yes I will be weighing in next Friday.               

My Race!  My Hills!!!!

Now for the exercise portion of my blog.  As you all well know by now, I ran a Jingle Bell 5K this morning.  Was I ready?  No, not really.  I have been really bad about logging "good" runs.  Looking back now I REALLY should have trained more with the hills and in the colder air.  But let me start at the beginning.  It was so cold this morning.  It felt much colder than the 37 degrees the weather app was telling me it was.  And I swear that while I was walking around waiting for the start, it felt like the temperature was dropping.  I've never run in a race that was quite this small, but it was still a lot of fun.  Ahthesham "forgot" that the run was this weekend, so I was by myself.  They started the 5K and the one mile walkers at the same time, so I had a hard time trying to figure out where to place myself in the line up.  I think I ended up a little to far up front, but it's okay.  I didn't end up getting in any one's way.  I forgot to start my Gymboss and by the time I realized that I hadn't started it I had run almost a complete mile.  My Garmin said something like 0.92 I think.  That's also when I realized that I hadn't done enough hill training.  The first mile of the course had a little of incline, but when I looked at the hill we were about to run up I thought to myself "UH OH!"  I also started seeing runners headed back about the time we were half way up the hill and thought okay the turn around has got to be close.  You'll be okay,  we'll get to the top and turn around and come back down.  Wrong!  Silly girl!  There were a few more hills before we looped around and then came back down.  My lungs were feeling the lack of hill training about the time we hit the down part of the that first hill.  And bout the time we hit the third hill, I kept thinking to myself, "No one will know if you just quit!"  No one is here that you know.  You can just walk off the course and go home!  But I would know, I would know that I quit.  This is what I told the inner demons that kept telling me to quit.  "You did this to yourself.  You did not take the training seriously.  You did not do your scheduled runs.  You did not run your hills.  You did not go outside and run when it was cold.  I'm glad I didn't quit.  By the time I hit the end of the second hill, I wasn't cold anymore!  I love the feeling of accomplishment you get when you cross a finish line.  I won't lie, I enjoy it better when there is someone waiting for me.  But this run, those hills, they were for me.  That large hill was MY hill!  I didn't quit!  I'm ready for another race!  Where do I sign up?  My cousin Christina Romero is so right when she tells me "That's what races do - keep us motivated."  Till next week, keep moving everyone!~ Darcy

 

Week 41 Someone just push me!

When I hit the bottom maybe I'll turn it all around.  Wow, I thought I was ready to start climbing back up, but I guess I was wrong.  The numbers for this week's weigh in were just down right embarrassing.  171.2 and that my friends is a 7+ weight gain in one week!  I know that there is someone out there thinking that is just not possible.  It has to be mostly water weight.  I'm sitting here thinking, if I tell myself that I will never get back on track again.  Yes, it's possible to gain almost 10 pounds in a week, it has to be, I've done it this week!  I can no longer sit and think it's okay to have one M&M, one cookie, one dinner out.  I know I have discussed this before, but I have to finally face myself and say the one thing that I don't want to hear.  "Darcy, you will never be able to eat what ever you want and not have to worry about your weight!"  Every bite, every indiscretion will cost me something.  I am never going to be one of those people that can eat what ever they want and not worry.  The sad reality of this is finally sinking in.  I may run, I may even enjoy running and I might keep running for as long as my body will let me.  But just because I run, I still don't get to eat what ever I want.  I guess somewhere in the back of my mind I still had this dream that I could run 3 or 4 miles three times a week and then I could eat cake, ice cream, cookies, and pie.  My body doesn't work that way.  I have to let that dream go.  Face the fact that if I want to be a healthier weight, I will always have to watch and count the calories.  That the things that taste oh so good are gone forever.  That I can't do the "oh just one" thing anymore.  I'm sad.  I love food, I like to eat.  I am just like anyone else.  Family get together and food.  Celebrations and food.  The way we celebrate and show our friends and family that we care seems to always involve food.  I am feeling more and more like the addict that has to say no to the alcohol.  Like I must forever stand on the other side of the kitchen and just look through the glass at a bakery.  If I give myself permission to have "just one", it's never just one.  So, what's the answer?  What is the plan?  Well for me it will have to be, sticking to the plan.  Never having that one sweet.  Not going out to dinner with my husband, and saying no to just give it one taste.  I will endeavor to sit across from him at the dinner table and just watch him enjoy the foods that I would love to eat.  As harsh as that sounds, that is the way it has to be for right now.  I know that some are thinking if you deprive yourself, it will only make you want it worse.  Then when you do fall, you will eat and eat and eat.  That is a risk I have to take.  I don't want to be fat.  I want to wear cute clothes.  I want to look good wearing these clothes.  I want to feel better about myself and my looks.  So there it is in black and white.  I'm an addict and I can't be trusted with food. 

  As for my running this week, I did get in three runs and I did do core workouts, but not near enough to off set the junk that I was eating and drinking.  I still plan to run the 5K this coming Saturday, although now I'm not so sure of myself.  I am beginning to feel like 3.2 miles is a long run again.  I will have the elements to work against as well as some hills.  How ever bad I do, it will be no one's fault but my own.  I didn't get serious about my training, I didn't put the effort into it.  ME.  So there is my week 41, it's sad.  Let me just say a small prayer here that this is the rock bottom.  And that next week will be a better week!  Til then, keep moving~ Darcy

Week 40 - Spinning

So week 40!  I went into my weigh in on Friday and haven't posted until today.  Mainly because I spent most of the weekend wallowing in self-pity.   I will explain, but first my weigh in.  I did post a drop, not sure how but I did of 0.6 pounds.  So my new number is 164.4.  I am actually happy with that considering all that transpired last week.  All I can say is the the world turns and will continue to turn even though we may wish it would stop, if only to let us catch our breath from time to time.  So let me explain the weekend of self-pity now.  On Thursday I turned in my two week notice at work.  I love being a nurse and enjoyed working at Del Sol Medical Center, but lately things had become difficult.  I was becoming very miserable at work and this was spilling over into all other aspects of my life.  So after talking with my husband and spending way too much thinking about the options, I decided that I am a good person and a good nurse.  I deserve to be happy and not have to spend every minute I'm a work worrying about what mistake I will make next or what new duty will be added to the floor nurse job.  After turning in my notice the director and I decided that I would be done on Friday would not go back to finish the two weeks.  What's better, they will pay me anyway for the two weeks.  That's a win, win in my book, my husband really wanted me to just quit.  I just didn't think that I could just walk in and I'm not coming back anymore, although secretly I really wanted to.  Even with that said I spent the weekend pondering the job and what it meant to me.   Wondering if I had failed again and if maybe I was being difficult and too demanding.  All of this boiled over into my consultation and I learned that day that my JC consultant really did care.  I am ready again to face the world and I'm very hopeful that I will not be out of a job that long.  I am also very hopeful that I can turn my weight loss and training back around now.  I truly believe that all the worry about work was affecting my whole life and was a  BIG part of why I could not lose any weight in the past few months.  My training has also taking a big hit as well.  I'm going to shake off those bad feelings and head towards my goals again.  I am registered for a race on the 22nd of December.  It's just a 5K, (I can't believe that I think just a 5K now), but I'm excited to get back out and run.                                                                                                             

        With that said my running was basically non-existent this past week.  I might have gotten in 7 miles total last week.  No I didn't get my one mile every day in, I didn't do my abs, arms and core.  Well, I did do one day, but for the most part I just sat!  I let the misery take over and have the front seat and then I just felt worse at the end of the week.  It's hard to understand why I let people or problems in my life have such control over me.  I've been told many times that I "wear my heart on my sleeve."  Is that a bag thing?  I don't believe so, I really want to do the best I can in this world.  I aim to do no harm to anyone that I meet in life and to try and make the world a better place than when I found it.  Some days it feels like the world is spinning faster than it should.  I feel like things get out of my control and I struggle to slow it and regain composure.  So I'm letting go of last week and a job that had become toxic to me and giving myself permission to say, "It's done.  You can't change everyone in the world, but you can change you."  With that said I turn my back and move forward.  Until next week.......GET MOVING EVERYONE!!!!!!  ~ Darcy

Week 39, One Month Left

It's hard to believe that November is over.  Today is the 30th of November and my cousin has officially won this month's challenge.  But we have agreed to continue on.  No strict amounts of pounds to lose again, just who will weigh the least at the end of the month.  I had my weigh in today and my new number is 165.0, which is a 2.9 pound loss for the week.  This coming week I do have my wedding anniversary as a challenge, but I will work on that day, so maybe it won't be as much of a challenge as I think.  With the holidays coming, my husband will spend a lot of time at work and on Wednesday (our anniversary date) I will work.  We will try to have a dinner together sometime time next week for sure.  I'm not ready to sum up the year yet, as we still have 31 days left in this year and I am still hopeful that I can make some changes in my numbers.   I can say I felt better this week, better than I've felt in quite a while.  We are still alternating my calorie counts daily between 1200 and 1500, other than that not much has changed.  So I plan to continue on for another week on JC and I really want to be under 160 for the new year.

As for my exercise, I did get in one mile every day this past week.  Some of them were not pretty miles, but they were done,  I also did my two days of core.  I've pledged to continue on with my one mile every day this week and have pledged to do three days of core, icky!  I am training for my 5K Jingle Bell Run, but it's only 5K and I don't feel like I'm training hard enough.  I have been in the dumps for some much of November that I really feel like I need to give this 5K a little more attention or the "hills" may come and bite me in the butt!  I am also seriously thinking of doing the Michelob Ultra 1/2 Marathon here in El Paso scheduled for February.  That would mean that on Sunday I would have to officially start my training again and really get serious with the miles.  That might just help me reach that 160 or below mark for the last day in December.  So there you have it, that's me week.  I feel a bit better this week and I'm looking forward to some running.  Til next week, keep moving everyone! ~ Darcy

Week 38, It's Ugly!

"Hello, my name is Darcy and I'm addicted to food!" I've finally decided that I am addicted to food.  A holiday that's total focus is cooking and eating too much food.  A food addicts worst nightmare and it comes around every year.  Well, all I can say is I lost the battle on Thursday and having a weigh in on Friday was down right awful.  New number is 167.9 and that my friends is a 7.7 pound gain.  The meeting was brief, not many clients choose to go in on Friday.  I can't say that I blame them.  I got another week of food and pledged to run at least a mile every day plus my two core workouts.  If you are a drinker, you stay away from alcohol, if you bet, you stay away from the casinos, but if you eat, you can't stay away from food.  How does the food addict find some measure of control?  How do you eat what is needed to keep you living and not over do it?  I guess that would be the answer I am seeking this week.  So that was my weigh in, I sure hope I can get myself under some sort of control.  I did get my runs and core exercises in for last week, but it was a struggle to get them.  Let's just say I did what I had to, so I could say I didn't quit.  I join a challenge on Runner's World to run at least one mile every day until the new year.  I added that to this weeks pledge with JC and so far I have made my runs.  Yes, even on Thanksgiving day.  I can tell you that running with food in your belly is totally icky!  So that's it for this week, I'm ever hopeful that next week will be better!  Until next week, keep moving everyone ~ Darcy

Week 37, Danger Ahead!

Thanksgiving week, a very dangerous holiday indeed.  Why do we have a holiday that gives us permission to over eat?  I think this is the year that I will take away that permission and tell myself that it is not okay and you've worked too hard to get where you are.  Today was weigh in day, I did post a loss this week of 2.4 pounds.  I do have to confess that it was not an "earned" loss.  Yesterday was a work day.  I slept in and did not eat breakfast, I skipped lunch, had an awful day at work emotionally.  So I came home decided to skip dinner and went for a 30 minute run.  Basically I "punished" myself for being bad all week and did not eat or drink anything on Friday except one cup of coffee with a tablespoon of creamer.  That means on Friday my total calorie intake was 37.  Not good, I know, but I just could not face another day of weighing in and posting a push or gain.  So I cheated.  And yes that's what it was cheating.  I spent the session talking about my job and how I think the stresses of work have now effected my weight loss efforts.  I felt like I am wasting money by just going back and forth the past few months.  We discussed the challenges of next week.  Not to deprive myself of anything, but not to overindulge either.  I again resolve to try harder and be better this week.  I also need to make the decision to get off the wall, quit hoping that things will get better and look for something new.  It's not my fault that things did not work out and I can't change them or wait for it to get better.                                                                         

Exercise this week was basically a bust as well, I did get in three crappy runs and my two abs, core and arms, but just barely.  Only because I came home Friday and beat myself up.  So this week I want four days of running or walking for 30 minutes with my two days of core, abs and arms.  Plus I want to not beat myself up because I hate my job right now.   So that's a short post on how the week went.  I'm still struggling, but at least now I have admitted that I'm struggling to others.  Now to work on a plan to change and move on.   Here's to hoping that your plate is full, but not too full.  Remember that Thanksgiving dinner with out the family being around is just "empty" calories.  Throw in an extra few minutes of exercise if you already know you will over eat on Thursday.  Till next time, keep moving everyone. ~ Darcy

Week 36 Random Thoughts

Again I'm late posting.  I really have no excuse for not posting this weekend except that I'm struggling with my weight issues and life in general.  I have been thinking and doing some soul searching after my weigh in this.  I honestly wonder if I should continue on the Jenny program at all right now.  First let me give you then numbers. 163.4 was my weigh in number this week, for those not keep track, that's a 0.8 pound gain.  I seem to be hovering around the 162 mark right now.  I start every week with the best of all intentions and do my best to stay motivated.  But something happens about mid week and I crack.  I keep thinking about something my consultant and others have said to me...."Stress will add weight".  I'm terribly stressed out about my job and after reading an article today I think that my job may be a BIG part of what's wrong.  The article was "Three Questions to Ask Yourself Before Loosing Weight."   I like being a nurse, I like what I do, but place where I'm working right now is making me miserable.  I don't want to quit and I actually can't afford to quit.  So now the question becomes, how do I fix it?  Like I just stated, I need to work, but I've finally realized that this may be why I'm having such a horrible time getting off this plateau.  And I'm afraid if I don't do something quick I'll start gaining again.  How do I make the best of the situation until I can change it?  I guess that's really my question.  I don't want to be overweight anymore.  I don't!  I don't want to quit running, but right now I'm tired all the time.  I'm not getting up regularly at 4 in the morning to exercise anymore.  I still do every once in a while, but not every day like I used to.  I've registered for a 5K in December to try and jump start my running again.  I bought those new shoes I really wanted to get.  I set my alarm every day, I challenged myself and dragged my cousin in on this challenge and every day I tell myself to get back on track.  Heck I've even set reward goals and mini reward goals in hopes I can get myself going in the right direction.  What more can I do?  I sit here seriously thinking that if I can't get back on track, I might as well just stop going into JC and spending all this money.  I need to be honest with myself, if I can't get back on track then it's just money being wasted.  So that's this weeks post.  A really depressing post I'm totally aware of this.  I'm just lost.  I feel like I'm drowning, fighting for weight loss and air.....  Until next week, keep moving everyone.  ~ Darcy 

Week 35 - Late Post

I was sitting at the computer when I realized that I never posted my weigh in last week.  So, here is my post, very late and short.  I weighed in on Friday and did post a loss my new number is 162.8.  That is a loss of 3.8 pounds.  No, I'm not happy with the loss.  Well, I am happy I lost, but I'm still heavier than my lowest weight and I'm still yo-yoing up and down.  I have challenged my cousin to an "easy" challenge this month.  Since we are both around the same weight, actually she weighs less right now.  So I've told her, no numbers, no "I want to lose 15 pounds", just let's see who can weigh the least at the end of the month.  So if one of us has a really bad month, we may not even have to lose a pound and we could still be the lightest!  I secretly liked being just a little lighter than my cousin and I want to be able to say that again.  I was like it when I know I weigh less than my husband, which right now I don't.  And my cousin doesn't weigh less than him either!  Off the subject a bit,  how do men eat the way they do and not exercise and STILL lose weight?  I would never be mean about weighing less, I just feel so much better about myself when I can think, I'm less.  I've always admired Chris for her since of style and her ability to keep the extra weight off her body.  I realize now how much work it takes to keep those extra pounds at bay and it makes me admire her more.  Well my consultant and I talked about ways to reward myself when I reached mini-goals.  Since I don't seem to be doing that very well lately and made goals for weekly exercise also.  I have to say I'm really having a hard time right now staying motivated to exercise when I really don't have any clear running goal.  I feel like I'm lost with no direction.  I made of goal of running three times a week and core work twice.  Let's see if I can make that, so far I've only run once this week and I've done no core work.  I also promised to buy myself one new work uniform when I reached my new mini-goal of 154.  As I said I'm having a very hard time getting myself on the treadmill to run, when I don't have a race to train for.  I've been searching for something in this area, but still looking.  I was looking at a Jingle Bell run, but it was closed for registration and I'm not sure if it was full or just not opened yet.  Will have to check into that again.  So that the short update for this week.   And I'm glad the elections are finally over.......can we all get back to work now????   Next weigh in on Friday for Chris and I and Saturday for Jenny.  Til then, keep moving everyone, that includes me! ~ Darcy

Week 34 - Yuck week!

Well, this post is a little late....I went to my weigh in on Saturday morning.  It was not good my friends, not good at all.  I had a really bad fall off the wagon the day before and I'm going to blame it on the freezer.  But I do know that it was basically me.  So first the ugly, I posted a 6 pound gain.  New number 166.2, but I must add here, (for my own sanity) that the temp was 45 degrees and I had on a pair of jeans and an actual shirt because I was cold.  So let me back track a bit and explain the week.  On Monday when I got up I noticed water on the kitchen floor.  I thought "How odd, where it that coming from."  It was right in the middle of the floor, no where near the sink or freezer or anything that could leak.  I wiped it up and just went about the day.  On Tuesday morning, I started noticing a smell......that somethings rotting smell.  Went in search of the odor and found that the freezer was cold, but not everything was still frozen.  I removed everything and defrosted the freezer thinking that maybe it was just in need of some maintaining.  The freezer is less than a year old, so I thought there can't be anything wrong with it.  Cleaned it out and plugged it back in, replaced all the food and quickly forgot about it again.  Until Tuesday evening when I went to get my dinner.  It wasn't freezing!  Anyone that knows the Jenny program knows the freezer is a must.  About half of your foods weekly are frozen items and our freezer with the fridge is just not big enough.  So long story short, I lost a lot of food this past week.  I had to eat what Ali had cooked and prepared or go hungry.  So on Saturday after my appointment, I went running around all over town and I do mean ALL OVER town to get a new freezer.  This one is bigger and hopefully will last longer than nine months.  I've kept the receipt just in case this time.  I did actually shoot off an email to the company that made my last freezer to see if they will honor the darn thing and fix it without a receipt....I'm not hopeful.   So this week will be just trying to get back to my plateau.  I'm so tired of bouncing around the 160 mark.  I know what has to be done, I'm just struggling so much with trying to stay on track lately.  These last 20 pounds have been harder than I ever thought they would be.  The first 100 pounds were not easy, but came off with just me giving just a little bit now and then, that I never imaged that to reach my goal I would have to dig deeper than I had been or be really strict with my food and exercise.  Any ideas or encouragement would not be turned away at the moment.  I am hope for a better week, I weigh in early this week, on Thursday, because I work the weekend.                                           

Exercise has been lazy also, I did two days of running and two days of abs, but I know this is not going to get me to my goal.  Think I did a total of 14 miles for the week and it may even be less than that.  I guess I'm just having trouble trying to figure out how much and what kind of workouts I need to do when I'm not training for a race.  I've be preparing for a race for over 7 months now that I am totally lost now that I don't have a "goal race" to reach.  I have started a paper tracking book in hopes that this will help me stay on track.  I may not use it for the full 12 weeks, but I am hoping that it will get me back on track and help me through the holidays in the next few months.  So that my post this week three days late. 

 

Till next time, let's keep moving and stay away from all the candy! ~ Darcy

Week 33: Dang! I Forgot My Tutu!!!!!

I can't believe that it's been 33 weeks already.  I did go and weigh in today, my numbers are basically the same as last week.  I was 160.2 this week, which is only 0.2 less than last week.  I think I posted the wrong numbers last week.  But for me this is not a change.  I didn't expect much of a change this week.  If I'm totally honest with myself I haven't been concentrating on my weight loss efforts for about the past three weeks.  Between work and preparing for my first 1/2 marathon, I've been struggling just to "be".  That said, this week we talked about my race this past Sunday and then we turned towards focusing on getting the numbers to move down again.  I think I'm ready to leave this "comfort zone" and now push myself just a little bit harder.  I will concentrate on more strength exercises, weights and core, with at least three days of running.  This is the plan anyway, this and getting back on track and not straying in any way from my program at least until I hit the 150 mark.  So my check in with JC went well, I'm totally happy with a "push" week.  Next week though.....that's a different story!     

Now for my post race blog.  I still will catch myself smiling at times, when I hear a song from my play list or when I go to sit down and my thighs remind me that I'm not quite 100% yet.  I expected to be a little sore, but not for days and not yet this sore.  I don't believe that I actually ran 13.1 miles at times and I'm so proud of myself for not giving up.  I will sit here and confess there were times when I didn't think I was training hard enough and I wasn't serious enough about my nutrition.  The last two weeks when I was working the crazy hours, I really thought I had blown my chance to finish, because I really didn't get any good miles in those two weeks.  But I dressed and laced up my shoes on Sunday morning thinking, "If I'm going down, I'm going down at least trying the best I can."  The first three miles were without a doubt the worst.  I had a constant cramp in my diaphragm area that made running so difficult.  I kept wanting to quit and walk off the course.  (I never told my cheering squad this, so if one of them reads this, I hope they smile.)  The only reason I didn't step off the course was because I knew that there were three people that waiting to see me pass and I didn't want to let them down or explain why I was being such a baby.  About mile 5 everything evened out and it felt good.  I settled in to the run and enjoyed it for the few miles.  At about mile 8 things got difficult again, at that point I hadn't seen my cheering squad in a few miles, I hadn't seen any mile markers posted for the 1/2 marathon in a while, so I wasn't sure how far I'd gone and my feet started to hurt.  At one point the crowds had thinned out both with the racers and the spectators and I felt alone.  Yes, I could see a racer a head of me in the distance and I didn't look back, (you never look back) so I felt like I'd been left.  I now know how much the spectators cheering you on do for you.  I always felt a little selfish when I wanted Ahtesham to be there to watch my races, I now know that knowing someones there watching and waiting, gets you through those tough spots.  I also got a "Gu" around mile 8 or 9 from a volunteer that told me I looked like I needed something.  I'd never tried "Gu's", but I did on Sunday.  It was icky sweet and after I finished it I really wanted a drink of water, but I think in the long run it did help. Thank you to the volunteers for being there.  I just might carry one with me on my next race.  Seeing my cheering squad again around mile 10 and 12 was so great.  Then when Chris showed up and told me all I had to do was cross the bridge, I knew I was home.  It was without a doubt one of the greatest experiences I've had.  I'm glad I pushed myself and yes Chris......I'm looking for my next race.  I'm hooked!  Where's my next bling coming from????  We will have to wait and see, first I need to get past the sore thighs!  My husband is talking about maybe running a race with me sometime soon.  Sorry about the long post, but I like to spill my thoughts and feelings here.  So with that I want to send a great big THANK YOU out to my cheering squad!  I couldn't have done it without you.  Really I couldn't have!  Till next time, keep moving everyone ~ Darcy

 

My Heros!

Thank You for being there!

Week 32: Quick Notes

I went in this morning for a weigh in,  numbers still 160.2, I didn't think much would change because of it being a taper week.  This Sunday I will run my first 1/2 Marathon.  I'm excited and nervous.  This morning I was busted by my cousin 10 minutes after I started running on the treadmill.  I just felt so lazy and really wanted to get some kind of exercise in.  So I got on and then she sent a text......so I did do 2.5 miles this morning.  I was off the grid because my Garmin and Nano were packed.  But it felt so good to move.  I'm ready as I can be for my race.  That's it till after Sunday.  I will post pics and a blog next week when I've joined the ranks of the Marathoners......  till then, keep moving! ~ Darcy

Week 31: Count Down

In one week from now I should be done with my first 1/2 marathon and enjoying some delicious food!  Well, I can dream about the food right?  So the count down to my first 1/2 begins, six days!  I really don't want to fail in this area too.  This morning's run felt good, in fact I probably did more miles than I should have, but I was really enjoying the music and the pace today.  I did increase the time I spent running just a little this morning and I hope to keep it there for next week as well.  I did get in a few runs this week, but not as much as I wanted.  Work was complete craziness again this past week and I really struggled just to get out of bed on time to make it to work this week.  I think I'm ready for my race, I still don't care how long it takes to finish, just as long as I finish!  This week is a taper/rest week.  I still plan on trying to walk in the mornings before work.  I just seem to feel better when I do.  I have been craving peanut butter and french fries lately....can't tell you why, but I have.  The week has been slow because of tapering for the race, and this week will be slow also, resting up for the race.  No excitement in the exercise front at all.  I don't really plan on trying anything new. 

On the food front I did well on staying on the program, but the scale was not my favorite place this week.  I went in on Friday morning before a class for work to weigh in.  My number this week is 159.2, which is actually a three pound gain from last week.  I am really tired of going up and down on the scale, I am happy that at least I'm still under 160, but so tired of being stuck here in the 50's.  So we have decided to not worry so much about the numbers right now and just focus on the race, then after the race I can push just a little harder to get under the 150 mark.  So this is my brief check in this week.  Till next time keep moving everyone! ~ Darcy

  

Week 30 ~ Nerves.

I did go in this week and weigh in, it has just taken me a few days to get back to the blog and write it down.  This week has been one crazy, stressful week at work and next week doesn't look much better.  So, my new number is 156.2, I wasn't super excited when I saw the number on the scale.  Which is a 4.2 pound loss from last week, but I think a lot of it was water weight.  Looking back at the past few weeks I have a sneaky feeling that I've been hovering around this number for a while and the water has be fluctuating my weight up and down....just my thoughts.   I did see the same consultant and I'm getting to know her, she did put less pressure on me this week and didn't fight when I ordered only the items I wanted.  It was a brief meeting because I had a busy day and the next meeting will be shorter because of my busy week.  Nothing has really changed on the program lately, but I was told that new foods are coming.  My consultant ordered them this week, but would not tell me what they were.  I really need some new food items because I know I'm bored with the ones I'm eating now.  I really hope that this is the beginning of another downward trend.  We'll see how it goes, still have a few weeks before I will decide if I will just leave the program all together or not. 
On the exercise front I did better, but not as well as I wanted.  I did get in a long run of 7.5 miles, I did exercise all but one day this past week.  I didn't get any core, abs or arms in, but will work on that again this week.  I have to start tapering down for the race and I know this will drive me nuts.  I bought new shoes, why does buying a new pair of running shoes make a runner so happy?  I can't believe that my race is 2 weeks away.  Part of me feels like I'm trained and ready.  But there is part of me that keeps saying "What if all your runs were crap runs?" Did you train hard enough?  Really did you train well?  I guess I'm a tad scared because I will be alone in this run, even though running by it's nature is a lone sport, but my mind can talk loudly sometimes.  I'm worried that my mind will win that morning and I will quit before I finish.  So this is the past week.  I'll keep doing my short runs and work on the mind.  Till next week, keep moving everyone ~ Darcy

Week 29; EPIC FAIL

Well, last week was an epic failure!  I went in yesterday for my weigh in and as you can tell by the title and picture, it was not good.  I really didn't even want to post this week.  I hate admitting that I've failed, but I had a thought last night as I was cleaning up the apartment.  If I can admit I've failed, put it down in black and white, maybe just maybe I can move on and get motivated again.  What is it about getting close to your goals that makes it so hard to keep going?  Why do we find it easy to revert back to old habits, when you have been doing so well?  I've been waking up at 4 a.m., exercising daily, and watching what I eat for months.  If it only takes about 30 days to create a new habit, why am I struggling so much this past month to get back on track and reach my goal?  Okay, enough of the whining.  My new number is

160.4, that means I had a gain of 1.2 pounds this week.  I'm defiantly going in the wrong direction!  I've been hovering around the 160 mark for about a month now.  Anyone out there have any ideas?  I'm not sure I know what to do any more.  I did go in for my weekly consultation and I am quite frankly worried.  I'm not sure this new consultant will be a good fit either.  I've decided that I will give it one more month and if I can't get going in the right direction again or if this new consultant doesn't work, I'll try something else.  Let me tell you what happened and then if I'm totally off base, you can comment if you would like.  I'm not sure what my new consultant's official job title is, (I'll have to ask next time), but I'd have to guess she's involved with money somehow.  Like the account manager or something like that.  She said all the same things, like "What worked this week?, What didn't?, How did this week go?, What do you think happened?", but the real "uh oh" came when it came time to place my food order.  I will give her some credit for reading at least part of my file.  She did know that I was training for some sort of a race, but I don't think she knows how much weight I've lost or how well I was doing doing before the month of August.  When it came time to place my order, she started asking a lot of "Why" questions.  "Why are you not eating the Anytime bars?" "Why do you not order all seven days?" "Who was your consultant when you reached your half way mark?"  Let me explain.  When I reached my half way mark, I was told that I would start eating two days on my own.  Well according to Lisa, my new consultant, it's not technically two days off the program.  According to Lisa, I'm still supposed to eat one "Jenny Meal" and one "Jenny Snack" every day.  So that means that I would only be taking off four menu items total.  In short about a $20 dollar saving from what I was spending weekly.  Now anyone that knows me well, knows that money is a real concern lately, because my husband was laid off in May of this year, started back to college again, and just three weeks ago started a new job that pays less than half of what he used to bring in.  So the fact that I'm still doing the "JC program" is proof that I'm in it for me and it's important to me to reach my goal.  Her comment was "If you are eating any less than the recommended amounts of Jenny Craig menu items, then you aren't doing the Jenny Craig program."  She also said, "You should never have any "left over" food items." and pointed to a sign on the wall.  The sign pretty much said the same thing.  She told me to "share" the left over items with friends and family.   I don't know if I was being a tad bit too sensitive, but to me it just screamed "We want your money."  So, when I left I thought about it a while and thought give her a chance before you decide that she's just worried about her commission.  We will see how it goes on Friday.  So enough about the program.  On to my exercise portion of the week, the second half of the failure for the week.
  My exercise program has been awful for the past two weeks as well.  Yes, I did get in a good long run last week, but I've been sleeping in and skipping the short runs, my core workouts and just all together being a total lazy butt.  I haven't been consistent, I haven't been motivated, and I'm really starting to worry about the up coming race in three weeks.  I really need to pull myself together and try to focus on my goals.  I'm so close to accomplishing my 1/2 marathon goal, that I feel I'm trying to sabotage myself.  And I have no ideas on how to fix it.  I just keep getting up and trying to push myself into doing something.  So there it is, this weeks post.  Here's to being hopeful that next week is better.  Until next week, keep moving everyone (that includes me too!) ~ Darcy

 

Week 28 All Aboard Again!

This time last year my husband and I were packing up everything we owned again to move.  I've been thinking a lot about the trip we made to the Grand Canyon and the beauty and peace there.  I can't help but want to return to this park and visit it again.  Pictures just don't let you see how big and beautiful it really is.  Anyway, that explains this picture.  Today I went in to the Jenny Craig Center to pick up some food and talked to yet another consultant.  I'm going to give it one last try and if I get passed around again, I will then decide what I want to do.  I did get on the scale and that was actually good news.  My number for this week is 159.4.  That is actually a loss of 1.8 pounds from my last visit.  I picked up on the planned menu week one and dropped two days.  I really hope that new food items are added soon, because I need a food change in the menu.  I know which foods I like and which ones I just want to skip.  Really I am going to do my best to get back on plan.  I know why I wanted to do this in the first place and it wasn't for the consultant or anyone else.  I started this journey for me, because I wanted to be healthy.  I wanted to be able to wear cute clothes and not look like a slob when I was out running around with my husband doing chores.  I wanted to run and run better with less weight on my body.  My goals have not changed, I just think I kind of ran out of steam.  Now I want to make to the Prairie Fire 1/2 Marathon at a weight of 155 or less.  That is my next goal.  So I stepped back on the train and got my ticket punched, let's see how I do.  I also found a new running mantra and I think I'm just going to make it my life mantra for the next few months.  "All I need to do is manage this moment."  I ordered a new ID bracelet with this engraved on it.  It just seems to fit my whole life right now.  I need to stop looking forward at how much farther I have to go and just think about now with everything.     

This week in exercise I was really lazy for the first three days.  I did nothing, but I did manage to pull myself together yesterday and got in my long run of 11.5 miles and I did 5.5 today.  I think I've found that my "wall" is at 10 miles.  I did really well until I hit the 110 minute mark and then it started being a struggle to finish each running segment.  And by segment I mean 3:34 minutes, followed by one minute of walking.  I will have to run on Saturday and Sunday to get all my miles in for this week, but I think that I can manage that.  I've started to prepare for my race now.  It's in about 32 days, so I went a bought a new pair of pants today, size large and new shirt, size medium.  That made me smile.  I still think I need a new pair of running shoes, we will have to see if I can manage it next week or not.  So there is this week's post. 

Til next week, stay on track and keep moving everyone! ~ Darcy

Week 27 LOST!

So I didn't go in again this week, so I have no numbers to post.  I can say that my scale at home pretty much says what the scale said at JC when I went in last.  I sit here feeling lost and wondering which direction do I go to get back on track. The past month has been one of stagnation.  I've gone no where.  I've gained pounds, I've had uncontrolled craving for junk foods, and tons of aches and pains in the legs.  I've given in to my body and my mind and I guess now it's time to stand up and say "No More!!!"  I hate plateaus and I think that is what this is, it just means it's time to shake things up a little bit again.  I've been toying with the thought of the "Reboot", but don't really think I could just drink my calories for more than one day.  I like eating too much.  I already spend at least 6 hours a week exercising and I wonder if I can work in any more.  If I could would I be disciplined enough to do?  The say that I have learned that what I eat must be worked off every day or I will gain weight.  And if I want to lose, I have to eat less than I burn.  I have been tracking my foods and I can say that I eat about 1500 to 1600 calories a day.  So I guess my body had gotten pretty good at sustaining on that amount.  Can I eat less?  Can I burn more?  I feel like I'm sitting on the derailed train thinking if I sit here long enough the train will start moving again.  After all it worked for 6 months, right?  I've been exercising!  Why does this have to be so hard?  Why can't I cheat just a little??  Okay, okay, I know!  Because when I cheat, it's not a little.  So I guess the real question is "Why do I have to an all or nothing" kind of person?  Why can't I be more like my husband? He can eat one cookie and put them away.  He's had the same jar of candy on his computer desk for six months!!!!  How do I learn to just take one and be happy with ONE piece?  I would have to say this is question that has been asked by many and if I had the answer, I would be one very wealthy woman.  So again I will try to get back on track this week and move forward.  No beating myself up for the past month, no thinking "I would be at my goal now, if I hadn't screwed up!"  No!  I will not try, I will DO!  I WILL get back on track!  The goal is a worthy goal and I deserve to reach it!  I am not as bad and as horrible a person as I think I am.  Okay, move forward!   And I plan on going in to Jenny on Friday morning!
     Now for the exercise part of last week, I took three days of rest this week to let my body recharge and repair.  I fainted at work on Sunday so that helped my take an extra day of rest.   Falling on your face and busting open your lip, helps you sit still for a bit.  This past Saturday I ran 9.5 miles and walked a mile!  When I finished I felt the same as I had the day I ran my 10K.  I was tired sure, but I still could have done a few more.  Then on Sunday I did another 5K, I did them a lot slower than I usually do, but that's okay.  I had signed up for a virtual race to honor those that lost their lives on 9-11.  I dedicated my run to all US Military members that protects us every day for a living, so I couldn't back out.  So this week I have a 10 mile long run that I will probably have to do on Friday, because I work the whole weekend.   I want to try to work in some more core and strength training as well as trying to get that darn yoga in!  And one last note, I'm tired of lower lip hurting, it's healing well, but still has a bit of a sting in it.  Okay that's it for this week, sorry about the rambling.  Till next week, keep moving! ~ Darcy

And then there was a derailment.......Week 26

And this week has not improved.  This week I am saddened to say I don't even have numbers to post for the blog.  I cancelled my weigh in appointment for Saturday because I was frustrated.  Frustrated with myself and with Jenny Craig.  Well, not the as a whole, but the the branch that I currently visit each week.  Let me go back a few days and explain.  On Friday I got my usual phone call reminder for my appointment.  I was working so it went to my voice mail, when I got off work I listened and was disappointed to learn that my usual consultant would be out again!  So Ahtesham said to me then tell them, if you never say anything they will never know.  I said it before and I'll continue to say it.  My weight loss journey is a personal and private one.  Yes I know that I blog every week here and that I post my numbers for all to see, but YOU that read only see a small bit of the story.  And really I don't think more that five or six people at most read this blog.  The readers can see my numbers, which were getting better and are still a lot better than when I started and that's really all.  Yes, you get a glimpse of my struggles but only a small portion of it.  So I cancelled my appointment on Saturday rescheduled it for Tuesday and then on Sunday at work towards the end of the shift I fainted and fell on my face.  After paying my part of the deductible I couldn't afford to go to my appointment and I can't afford to go next week either.  So I'm on my own for two weeks.  I do have some meals left in the freezer and I know that I can make it for two weeks, but even with all that I'm still upset by the fact that my consultant keeps "taking days off."  Part of me thinks, everyone deserves time off, even you like to have a day off.  But part of me thinks, why doesn't Julia (my current consultant) say something when we are scheduling the next week?  If I know in advance, I can just order my food and then weigh in and just pick up the order.  I don't like being passed around.  I realize that sometimes there are emergencies, but really Julia has been gone more than she's been there lately.  The biggest part of it may be that she is the center's director, but then if she has too much on her plate, she should clean some off of it.  If she won't do it on her own, I can always help, by taking myself off her plate.  Right?  So there is my gripe,  I know for a fact I've probably gained about two more pounds and I'm unhappy with myself.  So here it is in black and white for the world to keep my in check.  This weekend I think I will "juice fast" the whole weekend to get back on track.  Then I will call the center on Monday or Tuesday and schedule an appointment for the end of the week and get back on track.  I will talk with them about my concerns and see if maybe I should switch to an on-line consultant or another consultant that's a little more reliable at the center. 

As for the exercise portion of my life, on Thursday when I started my run, I felt a sharp stabbing pain in the back of my thigh.  So intense that I actually jumped off the treadmill and stopped.  I ended up walking for 45 minutes, but it really never got any better.  So I took three days in a row off of exercise to give my legs a chance to "recover".  I did run on Monday and yesterday, both days felt better.  I still have my long run to get through this weekend.  I have 9 miles I have to log, but I think that I will be okay if I just take it a little easier on my old legs and don't push quite so hard for the rest of the week.  Today is only a three mile day and I am planning on keeping it at just three miles. 

 I guess I will look at these past two weeks as a speed bump and do my best to put them behind me.  I think I've taken at least one small step forward by posting here of my failures and venting my frustrations.  Time to drive past this bump and get back on the train!  We still have a few miles to go to reach the goal.  And I KNOW I want to be at least 150 when I go to run my 1/2 marathon.  That's the one positive thing I did last week.  I registered for the Prairie Fire 1/2 on Friday.  I'm going and I'm gonna finish!  So till next time, keep moving! ~ Darcy

Week 25 Falling Off the Wagon

This week the numbers are really, really bad!  I think I knew on Sunday that it was not going to be a good week.  In fact if I looked back at the past couple of weeks, I think I saw this fall coming.   I just choose to ignore the signs and hope that I could just hang on and not fall or at least not make a huge mistake.  I am stalling here because I am ashamed to admit that I posted such a large gain, so I'm taking a deep breath here and......new number 161.2.  There, it's now in black and white and I can move on.  I posted a 6.2 pound gain this week.  Yes it was a short week and I'm sure some of this is water weight, but no excuses will make it right.  Sunday and Wednesday I just fell off the diet wagon and binged!  That is the ugly truth, yesterday I was craving something.  I don't know what I was craving but I just knew that I wanted something else when I sat down to eat.  I ended up eating chips and cheese, kind of a nacho thing and oh all things popcorn!  I had lots of salt, I didn't log all my days on Bodymedia, the day I did I had over 3000mg of sodium!  So now that I have confessed, (I'm hoping that confession is really good for the soul) I plan to pick myself up, move forward and get back on track.  My consultant doesn't believe the numbers.  She kept telling me that it had to water weight from all the salty things I ate, then just told me to drink plenty of water to flush out my system.  And when I started with the cravings, to remember to drink fluids first and then if I'm still "hungry" or craving something go ahead and eat it.  I kept wanting cheeses, hard boiled eggs and a hamburger yesterday.  I think my body needed some protein.  That's now the past and we look forward.  I choose to do a planned week this coming week to help me get back on track, five days still with two free days.  I may not even take the free days this week, we will see how I do.  

                                              If I feel like I am going to binge eat again I will do two days of Weight Watchers or Lean Cuisine meals just to make sure I stay on my 1200 calorie limit.  Exercise this week I've been a little lazy as well.  I've just been tired and my knees both feel like I've twisted them so they hurt just a little when I run.  I've not been good at ignoring the tenderness and pushing past it this week.  I'm used to body parts being tight and an occasional twinge every now and then.  Usually I can get my mind to ignore it and soon the pain goes away.  But the past two weeks it seem any excuse a body part can come up with, my mind is listening to and caving in.  I keep telling myself that this is my body in a panic mode because I haven't been this light in over 22 years.  I've lost weight before, but never over 100 pounds and I really feel like this is my body saying wait a minute.  I'm still on my mileage for my training, so I will continue with the training schedule and try my darnest to get back on track with the fitness part of it!  So that's the ugly truth this week.  I'm now tying my knot and holding for the rest of this day and tomorrow morning at 4am I will start my climb again!  Till next week, keep moving everyone.~ Darcy

I just had to add the last photo for motivation.

   

Time to turn up the heat! Week 24

So this week's weigh in was pretty much what I expected it to be.  I didn't really stay on plan much this week at all.  Not that I've been on my plan for the last 30 days.  So now that Eid is close, I guess I should come clean and explain what my training and eating has been like for the past 30 days.  But first let's go over the numbers.  Today at my weigh in I did not lose, but I did not gain anything either. So it's what I call a "push" week.  My number remains the same at 154.6.  Julia was back this week, I was happy to see her face.  I didn't log all my foods on my bodymedia this week, so I wasn't as accountable as I should have been either with my eating.  So back to explaining what I've been doing for the past thirty days.....  During Ramadan Muslim fast from sunrise to sunset.  There are many reasons we do so, but it means no food or drink during the day.  So I have to get up by four and finish my runs by 5:30 to be able to eat before the sun came up.  There were days that I did not get up on time and days when I just couldn't break fast at 8:00pm.  Because Ramadan landed in the middle of summer this year it meant the fast was from about 6am to 8pm every day.  Trying to train for a marathon was difficult at best.  Even now on my last day of fast I did a long run this morning at 9am and I sit here so thirsty.  I am not hungry, just so thirsty, but this is part of what Ramadan teaches us.  There are those out there in the world that live like this everyday.  Not because they want to, but because they don't have clean drinking water or food to eat.  I am blessed and this is one of the lessons I remember each year at this time.  So I guess next year I will be up a little earlier and maybe that will help.  I don't really know.  Or maybe not schedule a run so close to the season.  So I will be glad to return to my complete program on Monday and hopefully start going down on the scale and up on the mileage.  Trying to 1200 to 1500 calories at 8pm was NOT doable.  On a happier note, I was measured again today and those numbers went down.  I've lost 7.5 inches since my last measurements and that makes the total inches lost now 29.5!  Next week the weigh in will be on a Thursday because I work next Saturday.  That means I will have to be good after celebrating Eid tomorrow.                                                                                                        

So how about exercise this week?  I ran six days this week, I took a day off and did nothing but study for my ACLS. (Which I passed, if you care to know.)  And I struggled to get through the rest of my runs this week.  I did do my long run this morning as I stated earlier a seven miler that was down right ugly.  I just wanted to stop and shower around mile 4.  My mind kept asking my body if maybe it was only made to run a 5K.  But I will not let my mind win.  I will continue to train and hopefully this coming week will be better.  I also need to put my core back into the mix.  I stopped doing it two weeks ago and my back has been achy a lot this week.  I guess I need to sit down and work out some type of schedule that I can live with.  Okay, that's this weeks post.  Until Thursday, keep moving everyone! ~ Darcy

Week 23 weigh in!

Week 23 is an early weigh in because I work on Saturday.  Again this week Julia is out and I saw another new person.  I sit here shaking my head, wondering if the center will ever learn that I for one like consistency.  I can't be the only client that they have that hates change.  Weight loss is such a personal and private thing.  To let someone in and basically take over the wheel to help you reach your goal is a hard thing.  At least for me it is.  So anyway, we didn't discuss much this week either, just what worked and if I have any challenges coming up in the next week.  I ordered my food, packed it up and was out the door in less than thirty minutes.  I'm told that Julia will be back next Saturday.......I'll have to wait and see.  So, my new number?  154.6, that is a  2.4 pound loss for the week.  So I guess taking a couple of days off of running didn't hurt me as much as I thought it would.  I'm happy with the weight loss, I look at parts of my body when I'm showering or when I walk by the mirror and think, "Who does that body belong to?"  There are still days when I feel like I still weigh over 200 pounds.  And to be honest, when I look in the mirror I still see the woman that weighs 265 pounds.  I sigh because I know that the summer is almost over and I don't think I will find a chance to go to the lake or go swimming with this new shape I have, but that's okay.  By next summer I will be at my goal weight and I can go camping with Chris in a new suit and know I'm comfortable in this body.  A new goal to reach for.  I'm buying less food now, slowly taking out meals and starting to eat on my own.  My plan is to be at least half way by the end of September.  And by way way I mean half Jenny food, half regular foods.                                                                 

So for exercise this week I took Sunday off.  I actually went and bought a new fish tank for my husband.  We spent the better part of Saturday and  Sunday setting up the new tank and then cleaning out the old one.  Then setting the old one back up.  So I actually ran out of time and didn't get my run in, it wasn't planned that way.  I finally posted my schedule on the hall for the 1/2 marathon training and I'm doing my best to follow it.  Feels like I'm not doing anything, but I'm try my best to stay on schedule.  In another week I will register for the race and that will be the no turning back point.  Part of me has to say, I'm sorry and saddened by the fact that my cousin will have to sit this race out.  I know it would be so much easier if she were to run with me.  But this is a journey for me.  I can and will make it alone, because I am Strong.  The only thing that I hope for is that Chris will be there waiting for me when I cross the finish line.  Or at least someone.......

Well, that's it for this week.  One more week of Ramadan and then I can really turn up the heat!  Til next week, keep moving! ~ Darcy

Week 22 weigh in!

Wow, 22 weeks already.  I can't believe I've been on the Jenny train for 22 weeks now.  This week my consult was very brief, Julia, (my new consultant) is out on vacation so I got someone else I don't know.  And we all know how I feel about change, so we won't even go there this week.  I wasn't really sure how much I would be down this week.  On Tuesday before we went out to celebrate my husband's birthday I was at 156 on my scales at home.  Having eaten out I knew that the scale would not stay there.  So much sodium in restaurant food, I knew I couldn't hold on to a three pound weight loss.  I did weigh in and choose my foods for next week.  That said my new number this week is 157.0, that is a 2.8 pound weight loss for the week.  I dropped on more lunch meal for the week, so now I am eating five breakfasts, five dinners and four lunches on Jenny the rest are on my own.  I wanted to drop it to fours only but this program I'm doing until September is fixed so I spend at least $100.00 a week with $10.00 off my weekly foods.  So I guess I'll be staying there until September anyway.  So I'm now 17 pounds from my Jenny goal.  I can tell you, I'm ready to go more on my own.  But of course they don't recommend that we go more than two days on our own until we reach goal weight.  I don't like that idea.  We really didn't talk about anything special this week, but I will be weighing in early next week, because I work on Friday and Saturday.  I hope Julia is back. 

My third week training for my 1/2 marathon is complete, is was an okay week.  I finally took a day off from exercise this week.  I sat on my bum yesterday and this morning I got up and ran 6 miles.  For the first time in weeks the run felt really good.  I didn't have to talk myself into doing "ten more minutes" or one more mile.  I just enjoyed the run.  I still ended up going over the mileage for this week on the plan, I'm working on trying to cut back.  But I like the weight loss I'm getting from the exercise and low calorie count, I just keep saying to myself, "Only a few more weeks, then I can ease up a little."  We'll have to see how I do this coming week.  We are at the half way point in Ramadan, about 15 days left.  Then I can go back to my regular days and plan.  So that's my check in for the week.  I did actually go and buy myself a couple of new shirts that are mediums and one sundress that is a large.  Still feels weird not shopping in the "women's" section of the store and I think I'm just about ready to go outside in a swimsuit!  In public!  Now that summer is almost over.  LOL  So until next week, keep moving ~ Darcy