The Official Open of Summer!

To me Memorial Day Weekend has always been the official start of summer.  I know it starts in June, but I think of Memorial Day and I think of lazy summer days.  So it's like the beginning of summer to me.  I went to my weigh in today the number for today is 172.0.  An even number for the week.  I'm happy I had a loss, I did do one day on my own last week.  I felt like a kid in a candy store.  I had my nose pressed up against the glass thinking "I want this and I want that, and maybe some of that....." I did alright.  I didn't over eat, but oh how I wanted to. The pounds feel like they are coming off slower now, which is probably how it will be for the rest of my program.  Feels harder to lose, so maybe a plateau is coming, I sure hope not.   So this week we talked about my half way point and again took measurements.  I've lost a total of 10 inches since starting.  That makes me smile.  We talked about days on my own and this week I will do two days on my own.  Ericka also told me that next week will be her last week at Jenny Craig, she has taken another job and will be moving on.  I will be sad to see her go, but life is full of changes and we can not stop change.  I just hope to get another consultant that I like, one that I click with.  But I will see her one last time next Thursday before I leave town for my 10K run.  I will weigh in early and get four or five days of food for the following week when I come home.  It's either frozen or shelf items so they will be okay.  I would really love to be under 170 next week, but I will not be upset if I'm not.  So again I was reminded to drink water, eat more fruits and try not to skip meals.  I was way under my calories for Friday because work was just horrible.  I didn't get a lunch break and I know I didn't drink enough water.  It was just a bad day, they happen.  I am learning to deal with them, as long as they don't happen to often!                                                                                    

On the exercise front, in one week from today I will have finished my first 10K!  I can't believe it's almost time.  Some days I feel totally ready and some days I think I am nuts for trying again.  But I have charged Chris with getting me over that finish line!   I plan on taking two of my free days this week on Friday and Saturday and two of my free days next week on Sunday and Monday.  I will do my best to keep under my target goal for calories.  I plan on logging everything I eat while I'm on my off days.  That is my goal for next weekend.  That and finishing the 10K!  So next week the post may be a little late, but I will have my results to post too.  And if there is time I will try to post a short blog early next week.  I want to sit down and plan out stuff to take for the road trip and snacks to eat in the car that will not make a big mess or add inches to my waist!  I did get in a 4.5 mile run today, my legs were so tired, but I figure it was the long day at work yesterday with no breaks.  I ended up walking in the door last night at 9:15pm!  That is one long day!  So that is my week,  hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable weekend.  Til next time keep moving~ Darcy

Pulling into the HALFWAY Station!

To all those that have been following along, I have reached my half way point today!  This morning my new number was 173.6, which makes a total of 33.6 pounds lost since the 3rd of March.  I'm half way there!  I'm excited and a little scared.  This week I will do one whole day on my own.  JC recommends doing two days on your own, but I want to take it slow.  If I'm okay and don't gain next week, then I'll drop it to five days and so on.  This week Ericka was sick, so I didn't get to see her.  I saw another consultant, the same one I saw two weeks ago.  It's just not the same when you have to see someone else.  I was a little bummed that it was someone else for my milestone.  But Ericka and I did talk last week about making the transition and I got the book, (that I now need to read) on tips for the transition.  Plus I'm now counting down the days to my 10K race.  In 14 days I WILL complete my first 10K!  So in my meeting this week we did not discuss much, but we never really do when I meet with someone else.  It's just the basic questions they ask you, "What worked this week for you?", "What didn't work?" "How confident do you feel about how you are doing?", that kind of thing and then planning the next week's food.  Don't get me wrong, she's nice, she tries to step in and not make it feel like a change in routine, but she's not Ericka.  So the changes have been made and we are now boarding the train again for next half of the journey.                                                                         

Today's workout was a little rough, but the day after a long run always is.  I did get in 4 miles, but I had to push myself to get it there.  My legs feel like rubber today and my gluts are a little sore.  And that's all I'm saying about that.  I feel like I can finish the 10K in two weeks, I'm not sure if the run will be totally smooth and I still feel like I will probably struggle with that last mile and a half, but I'm confident I can do it.  I'm wondering though after the race, how will I stay motivated to keep my exercise up for the diet plan?  I know that I can not afford to travel again this year for another race, given the recent changes in our lives.  So I guess I will have to start looking around El Paso for another race to train for.                                                                                         

Well that's this weeks weigh in post.  Next week is looking just a little scary.  Let's see how much I've learned.  Til next week, keep moving! ~ Darcy

Anatomy of a Long Run

As I was starting my long run today, I got to thinking about the thought process that I tend to go through when I run.  I had to chuckle at my self but also wondered if any one else does this same thing.  I have to think that I am not alone in this way of thinking.  I start with about a four minute warm up walk or about a quarter of a mile.  At about the 15 minute mark or end of mile one, I'm thinking "This is good, this is doable.  I can do at least 6 miles today.  At the thirty minute mark I'm starting to think "Well, you at least have to get to the 45 minute mark.  It's your day off and if you don't do at least 45 minutes you'll never reach 10,000 steps today."   And I do 40 minutes on days when I work so I kinda feel like I'm wimping out if I don't do at least 45 minutes on days off.  I try to speed up at the 35-40 minute mark to as fast as I can tolerate for two minutes and stay there for a few ratios...

At the 45 minute mark I'm thinking "I'm okay, let's push it to the 60 minute mark." or "I'm going to die during my race, I need to try to make it another 15 minutes.  Just 15 more minutes."  At that 60 minute mark if I'm really just spent, I allow myself to stop, walk and end for the day.  But today at the 60 minute mark I dug down and told myself one more time before the race.  It was today or not at all before the race.   When I reached 70 minutes it was then telling myself just 10 more minutes, just 10 more until I reached the 85 minute mark and well past the six mile mark.  Of course when I finish and I'm doing my five minute walk to "cool down", I always think "I could go a little further".  And when I'm done, it's always "I'll be back tomorrow." That said, I hope that I'm ready for the race in 14 days.  I'm excited and nervous.  Til tomorrow, keep moving!  ~ Darcy

Another Week Done.

    Weigh in done for this week.  It's weird, but I can always tell even with out getting on a scale if the loss is big or little.  I didn't feel lighter this week again.  So this week I only had a 0.6 pound weight loss.  Now I know there are those of you out there that are saying "A loss is a loss, it's a good thing."  But I'm never happy with less than a pound and I always want over a 2 pound drop.  But yes, I am happy it is down and not up.  I'm also two pounds away from my half way point. The number this week is 175.8. 
    This is the scary and the exciting part of the adventure.  My consultant and I feel I will more than likely reach my half way point next week and begin the transition off the Jenny Craig food program.  I have already decided that I will begin with just one day at week and slowly add more days of food on my own.  So next week I will have to make food decisions for one whole day on my own.  This is what was discussed during my weekly visit this time and my lack of water still.   I'm trying to find ways to carry water and drink more water.  I thought I was drinking enough.  So I am happy with the results of being on the plan for the past two and half months.  Just a little scared that I'm not prepared to begin eating on my own.  Last week I was increased to 1500 calories a day and I have to admit that on Sunday and Monday I don't think I got any where near that amount.   Some days I still hover around the 1200 calorie mark, so I will try to work on that this week.  The increase in food actually made me feel too full sometimes after the meals.  Never thought I would think that.  I still get the heavy in my stomach feeling after some of the meals or snacks. 
    So this week on the food front I will look at what I'm eating and think about what I will eat next week when I have one day to plan for all by myself.  I need to look at a whole day and think about what I get from the foods I'm eating and how to translate that to my life and food choices. 
    My running this week was okay.  I have run every day so far this week and I did get a run of 5.5 miles in this week.  I really wanted to do a 6.5 mile run, but my legs just would not give me that last mile.  So this week I really want to  work to get in one last 6.5 mile run.  If I can't get it in this week, I will have to let it go.  I really don't think I could do 6.5 and try and do it again in two weeks.  The race is in three Saturdays from now, I've been averaging 20 miles a week and I still just don't know. 
    Well that's this week's post, how have you been doing?  Have you posted this week?  To that special someone out there (you know who you are) how is your program going?  Come on, let me hear from YOU!  Till next week, keep moving!  ~ Darcy

Endings and Changing Directions

Well another week has passed and a lot has changed in my little world this week.  The economy finally has impacted my life and I didn't take the news real well.  On Monday my husband was "let go" due to the company which he worked for downsizing.  This came only six months after they had moved us to El Paso.  We found ourselves in a bit of a pickle.  We have moved twice already in the last year and three months and do not really have enough saving to move and start over in another city.  So we are left looking at all the options out there and wondering where do we go from here.  We still are looking at what we can do, want to do and what would be the costs for all of these options.  I have decided that I will stay on the Jenny Craig program as long as I can, because I deserve to be thin.  I want to reach my goal and we can manage the cost if we are careful in other areas.  It won't be easy, but I will continue as long as I am working.  That is a definite blessing in all this, I have a good job.  We will move forward and be okay, of this we are both sure.                            

That said today was my weigh in day, I'm am happy to say I was down today.  The number for this week is 176.4, for those playing along at home, this means that I have lost 30.8 pounds since starting JC two months ago.  I lost 4.8 pounds this week.  Today was my two month mark, I did not get to meet with Erika because she was busy doing something else for the company today.  I met with another consultant she was okay, nice, but not Erika.  You get used to someone and changes are always difficult.  She will be back next week, so it's okay.  I was increased to 1500 calories daily in prep for my 10K run the Saturday in June.  Yes, I still am planning to go for this race.  It may be the last organized run in another city that I get to do for a while.  So we plan on just going and enjoying the trip and family.  So my consultation wasn't long today and we didn't really discuss anything in particular.  I did make some changes to the menu and had to smile a little when I added a new breakfast item and removed a breakfast bar.  The consultant said to me "That may increase your daily calories."  I simply replied, I'll just run a few extra miles that day.   Getting too many calories has not been a problem for me since starting the program.  But this week I will focus on getting to the 1500 mark daily and getting all the runs in I need for my training.                                                                

My training this week did suffer a little.  I know most would say that a lot of runners take two rest days a week, but I am not most.  I did not run on Tuesday or Wednesday of the past week and only walked on Thursday and Friday.  My mileage is at 16 miles for the week I think and I did run twice on Monday just to get some "quiet" time, which means that I did 7 miles on Monday.  So next week I plan to get some serious mileage in so that I can start to taper back down for the race.  I just want to get one more 6.5 mile run done before the race.  I also want to get in two arm days and two ab days.  This is the plan let's see if we can get it in.                                                                                          

So this week I was reminded that life is ever changing.  You can sit on the side of the road and let life pass you by or you can move forward.  So I do not like the changes that life has given us this week, but we will move forward.  We will take the next exit and get on another highway that leads to bigger and better things!  I discovered that I can make it through a stressful time without eating anything and everything for comfort.  I went for a run instead.  I think means that I have made progress and I am proud of myself for this!  So that's it for this week.  Til next time keep moving! ~ Darcy