Claire: A Surprise Perk

Tonight was the last day of training- well not anymore I have a "formal training" session left that they tacked on today. Basically I have to do an online training session and take a couple of quizzes. Therefore on Sunday I have an extra two hours of work- yay for more pay!

Well tonight I went in like normal and met my "trainer" (makes me sound like a dog being trained- lame) and while I was waiting for her to finish some things I started talking to a guest while he waited in line, just some small talk- the movie he was buying, my new job, etc. After a little bit I went to go straighten up some displays as my trainer was still busy. About five or ten minutes later the guy I had been talking to earlier comes over and asks me, in a kind of shy way, if I was free this weekend for a date. I'm a busy girl- I've got work, friends, and running to all fit in, I told him that it depends on the day. He asked me when I was free and so come Saturday night I have a date with a really cute guy. (BTW- I promise to be careful!)

Food: two eggs, cereal w/soymilk, and a banana; nectarine and baby carrots; pbj for lunch; 1/2 pbj for snack; and pb for after work (nothing else in the house)
Calories: 1557 (a little high, but within my range)
Protein: 60.1
Water: 48 oz. (need more!)
Exercise: walked to work- 3.5 miles, 54 minutes
*Goal for tomorrow- lower body workout and 4 mi run!

Claire: It's Saturday?!

OK I've been acting and thinking like today has been Friday, and then it hits me today is Saturday. Where has the weekend gone???

Food: oatmeal w/pb, light peach yogurt, 2 cantaloupe slices, glass of soymilk, 1/3 of my grande skinny iced latte, a pbj sandwich, 3 eggs, baby carrots, and another serving of pb. (I eat a lot of pb don't I?)
Calories: 1417
Vitamin: yes- need to buy more
Water: Stopped counting this...
Exercise: play day also known as Fartleck- yes, it sounds funny. I went to the local HS did a lap around their field trail (1mi), did some sprints on the track while walking the whole track after each sprint (1.25 mi), and walked/ran home (3.8 mi+).

OK, I said I'd give a weight loss update today and here it is- the previous weeks my weight has been fluctuating which is fairly normal, albeit annoying. But as of this week, I've officially lost 10 lbs total now!!!! YAY!!!! I'm stronger, a little faster and feel better. I'm definitely a recreational runner but I want to become a Runner, an Athlete, a Marathoner, and one day a Triathlete.

This quote is pretty sweet:

"Workouts are like brushing my teeth; I don't think about it, I just do it. The decision has already been made."
-Patti Sue Plumer, U.S. Olympian

Claire: Day 24

Trying to incorporate more protein into the mix is difficult for me since I'm a vegetarian living with my family. Their main source of protein is from meat and so they don't really think about buying other types of high protein foods. Grrr. Going to trying searching for some high protein vegetarian foods.

Food: oatmeal w/2tbsp of pb, soymilk, apple, pbj sandwich, banana, Florentine lasagna, baby carrots, apple sauce, 1 tbsp of pb and 1 tbsp of almond butter.
Calories: 1582
Vitamin: yes!
Water:10 glasses and counting
Exercise: nope.. :(

Also I forgot to mention that for the month of May I lost a total of 6 pounds. YAY! To recap on previous posts, I've also lost a pants size and a bra size too as well as have run my first 5k race.

Claire's Goals Updated

If you can't tell, I can write bunches.

Armed with new information and a new plan I thought I might share some new goals too.

Eat 60-100 grams of protein a day, making sure to have lean protein with every meal/snack
Calories: yep, I'll still be counting. It's gonna bump up to 1300-1400.
After 5pm make sure my carbs are from fruit and veggies
Strength Train Monday, Wednesday and Friday- followed by cardio for 45 mins to an hour and a half. (Unless I split it: ex- morning run, strength train evening)
Tuesday and Thursday will be my cardio days- goal is to run 5 miles each of these days.
Saturday- cardio day: focus on distance- pushing myself to do further.
Sunday- rest day! :)

My goal for this week is to run 5 miles on Saturday and stretch after all of my workouts.
My goal for June is to be able to run 8 miles, and stick to this updated plan.

Bigger goal- no more flabby arms, thighs or midsection! I want to develop my body into an athletic one. I want to use my potential and whip my body into shape. I especially want to significantly reduce my body fat!!!

L: Day 22

I realized since I've missed a couple days on here that I've lost count. Today is really my 22nd day. I got this.

I went over today....not sure how much exactly. Having a family get-together that only happens a couple times a year and we've been going out to eat lately.

Calories: 14oo + a rueben sandwich at Applebee's (that I didn't like all that much)
Food: 2 scrambled eggs w/ 2 pieces toast, 1 bag 100-calorie chex mix, 2 100-calorie ice cream bars, 1 granola bar, 1 apple, 1 s'more, 1 rueben sandwich.

Vitamin: No
Water: 7 glasses
Exercise: None. Still recovering from Saturday's hike.

L: Day 15

Woot woot. I'm noticing more changes. YES!

I got some pants that I've had in storage for a few months, thinking they'd be too tight. Not. I can take them off while wearing a belt. Crazy. But a good kind of crazy. Plus I tried on a swimsuit I wore last year....almost fits! I never thought I'd get to this point without being on a really involved swim team. But I am. And it feels great.

Food:
1 protein bar, 2 cups yogurt, 1 banana, bowl fresh strawberries, "Healthy Choice" Mac & Cheese with sausage, 1 cup chocolate pudding, 1 salad (tomatoes, cheese, mushrooms, ham, ranch dressing), 1 bag 100-calorie chex mix.

Total calories: 1591
Water: 10 glasses
Vitamin: yes!
Exercise: 30 min stationary bike, 20 min lifting (mainly working on arms and quads / hamstrings).
*It's getting to the point that even biking is starting to hurt, so if there's any ideas on how to get cardio in without the use of my knee (excluding running, biking, walking, etc) it would be much apprectiated. I don't want to get to the point where I'm having to give up on all cardio because I've come MUCH too far to just let the weight come back on. We'll work on that....

C:15

Being a girl, it's that time. Felt pretty lame all day long. Plus, I being brilliant, forgot to stretch after my run on Saturday and &%$ my legs hurt today! Super sore. :(

I gotta say, yay for friends! I received like three pairs of shorts today and a pair of practically brand new jeans from Laila! She was going through her stuff and thought they might fit me. The jeans, no joke, fit me perfectly, which is hard to do since I'm just over 5 ft tall. Crazy stuff! It was the highlight of my day!

Update-wise: felt like crap today and didn't count.
Food: two Eggo waffles, 1tbsp strawberry jelly, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 1/2 a glass of my chocolate soymilk, a 1/2 quesadilla, a light peach yogurt, two bean and cheese burritos, two glasses of tea w/sugar, and 1/4 cup of soymilk to cool them.
Calories: approximately1460-1490
Exercise: none... hey I could barely move! Girly time + sore legs= gimme a break! :)
Vitamin: yes.
Water: 8 maybe.

My goals for this week:
Run 4+miles 5 days
Strength train 3 days
Stretch after each workout!!!

Will be posting workouts on here soon and hopefully some pictures too!

L: Day 6

Nothing too exciting to report today. Just keeping at it!
Calories: 1590
Water: 8 glasses
Vitamin: YES.
Exercise: about a two mile walk or so (possibly more) with my puppy.

**My ultimate goal for myself (mainly for this summer) is to get back to the size I was last summer. I was by no means "stick thin" then, but I felt confident in my own body. For motivation (starting with the 90 day challenge..about 3 months prior to this challenge), I took pictures of myself in some clothes and swim suits that I fit into last summer. I looked back on those pictures when I was having a low motivation day, was craving too much food, or just needed a good reminder as to why I was doing this challenge. I'm toying around with the idea of posting those pictures, as well as the weeks progress, so it's not only motivation to myself, but to others of you who are possibly reading this. Trouble is, I don't know if I'm that brave yet. I don't know....we'll see.

L: Day 5

Well today, I started off counting my calories, and then I kind of went downhill in terms of keeping track. HOWEVER, doing a quick mental look back of how I did today, I feel like I ate mainly when I needed to, not just for boredom. In fact, this evening I avoided a big bowl of ice cream with a big bowl of fresh strawberries, and a would-be doughnut stop ( I was craving) for a 100-calorie ice cream bar at home. For me it's been extremely important to acknowledge my cravings, not to pretend they don't exist. Over the years I've tried so many diets and fads in which I had to deny what I wanted. Looking back, that is the reason that many of those failed. I need to treat myself every once in a while. The trick is substituting lower-calorie foods in doing so.

I was thinking today about the goals that I have. My entire life (since about age 9), I've been struggling with my weight. I have seen the number that appears on the scale and have been intimidated. I no longer have a NUMBER as my goal, because I realize now that if I go at it with that perspective, I will never be happy. My main goal: to be happy and confident in my own skin. To love my body for what it is, not for how much I weigh alone.

My update (other than calories)
water: 8 glasses.
vitamin: i forgot. oops. tomorrow.....
exercise: 20 min on the stationary bike, some lifting of weights.
*I get my knee checked out next week and will know then what I am / am not able to do in terms of exercise.

**For the last couple days I've been wearing a pair of sweatpants that I got as a senior in high school (2 years ago). I have not been able to fit into them since then. But I tried them on and guess what.... THEY FIT! Woot woot! Go-o-o progress.

I almost forgot

While jogging today, I made the decision that I would jog the whole stretch that I've been doing the last few days- I would jog there and back and I decided to about half-way there. Then I realized my body is getting tired. You know the feeling when your body is clearly able to go farther and the tiredness will go in just a bit? Knowing that this tiredness was just a feeling that originates from my lazy, "if you go this far now, you'll have to go this far every time.. you don't want to start doing that now!" I changed my focus. Literally. Normally I'm looking pretty much straight ahead. I would put my focus on getting to the end, to be finished and done. I changed my focus, instead of looking at my goal and getting discouraged because "it looks so far away!" I looked to the 10 feet ahead of me. I can jog those 10 feet. It was a mental game with myself.

Focusing on just jogging the 10 ft in front of me, then the next 10, and on and on till I knew I was closing in on my goal made it not only easier, it made it more enjoyable too. I checked my form frequently, applying some tips I found and made sure to keep my gaze about 10 feet in front of me. It was tempting near the end to look up more and set my eyes on the final goal. Looking at the goal was something that would be counter-productive for me, I just didn't do it until it was in my 10ft gaze. Reaching the stop light where my goal was I felt good, I mean really good. Mentally I was stronger, and of course physically too.

As I was jogging I realized that looking at the "final goal" for me and no doubt others, isn't the best thing. It seems too hard, difficult and there is so much WORK to do to reach that goal, especially when it comes to weight-loss. It's easy to look at where I want to be and be discouraged and mentally give-up. My body "felt" tired and I could have walked the rest of the way, yet my body and I am were still capable of so much more. Weight-loss takes time which is has always been the killer for me. I get lost in the process because I've always been focused on the goal, the end, the destination. Hello! Good health isn't a destination. Good health is like keeping my gaze 10 ft ahead to keep jogging- it's small progress.

Since Day One on this blog I have shifted my focus to developing healthy habits: working out regularly, watching what I eat, taking a multi-vitamin, drinking lots of water; and ditching bad ones: being lazy, eating junk food, binging and emotional eating. Overtime I may reach my goal weight, which would be great- it's just the main point is becoming healthy and developing healthy habits. Makes me think how many other ways this analogy applies?

C: Day 3

Today is a low-motivation day! Grr! But thankfully, strapping on my running shoes and just getting out the door makes things easier. I decided to push myself to jog the whole mile this time- and guess what? I DID!! That's right I'm tooting my own horn! I walked for a little to slow my heart rate down before I did some more jogging and *gasp! I even finished the whole thing by actually running! I need to work up to running/jogging for the 5k and I know, I KNOW I can do it.

Food: Special K with soymilk, 1/2 slice of toast with almond butter, 2 scrambled eggs with mushrooms, spinach and a bit of minced garlic (yum! yum!), a peach light yogurt, a glass of chocolate soymilk, with a serving of veggie casserole, and because it was my dear little brother's birthday I had a little slice of apple pie (another proud moment- I didn't eat the whole slice!).
Calories: 1515-1535 (I'm approximating the casserole)
Water: Still working on it- right now I'm at 8 glasses
Vitamin: YES! Tip- make sure to take with enough food, otherwise they can make you feel not so good.
Exercise: jogged a mile, walked 2 miles + workout DVD 30 mins.

Hey There! I'm...

Awesome Loser Girl Laila. Just a little about me and why I'm doing this blog.

I can remember the first time I've been told I was overweight (that I can remember at least). I was in the fourth grade, and a fellow classmate was making a cruel joke, at my expense. Ever since that day, I've found myself uncomfortable in my own skin, embarrassed of how I looked, and longing to have a body that I would be proud of.

Throughout the years I have tried everything humanly possible to get the weight off. And at a time, I succeeded. For three years in high school I was a member of the swim team, and working out regularly, as well as being a member of the Weight Watchers program, took the pounds off easily. But I look back on that time and, sadly, I thought of myself as "fat" back then too. Since then the weight has come on and off, on and off. But for me, it's not only a physical issue. It's an emotional one too.

Because of my always considering myself "fat", my self-esteem and confidence have plummeted to the floor. I feel as though I CAN'T feel good about myself because I'm not at my target weight / size. Now, I'm not only working on the calorie-counting, but also teaching myself to love ME for who I am. It is much easier said than done, but I know I can do it. And in some ways I NEED to do this. For my own good.

I have participated in a 90-day challenge before this and lost nearly 20 pounds simply by eating healthier (1600 calorie limit per day), exercising more, and drinking more water. I extremely happy with my results, but I want to keep going as well. My overall goal at the moment is to lose 20 more pounds. But of course, along with the weight goal is the training myself to love me for who I am. I am doing this blog not only to post the results for my own sake, but to get some support and to maybe, just maybe inspire someone out there to do the same.

:)

Hello My Name is...

Awesome Loser Girl Claire! I'm one of those people who suck at individual plans- you know, trying to workout by myself doesn't work kind of thing. Likewise, trying to lose weight is frankly a pain the ass, sometimes literally too.

For as long as I can remember I've been "overweight." I'm sick of this. I've see people make the changes, I've seen morbidly obese people work and become healthy people. One of my best friends from college who looked like my twin during the school year watched what she act and walked daily and has lost over 30 lbs. Needless to say, we don't look like twins anymore. Thing is, deep down I know I can do the same thing. I KNOW I can lose the weight. It comes down to do I want to lose the weight? For most people this question is well a little retarded, come on who wants to be overweight? But for me, it's been a part of my identity, I've used food to deal with my emotions and even to entertain myself while being bored.

Screw that.

I don't want to be overweight another day. And since I'm in control of this body of mine, I'm going to change things. And you, well whoever reads this blog, will be witness to the changes. You'll be privy to my good days, my days where I slip up, my successes and failures. I plan on posting every day what I eat, the day's calorie totals (if I can get the info), how much water I drink, if I have my vitamin (because this is an accountability tool for ME), if I exercise: what I do and for how long. I'll also post some other stuff, but the majority of it will be these kind of mundane details. Whew, this is long!

My main goal is to lose weight steadily over time, I am working at losing 5 lbs at a time. My second goal is to train for various running events that I've signed up for over the summer. My third goal is to use food ONLY for FUEL- I need to break my reliance on food for comfort, stress relief, and entertainment. If my best friend from college can lose 30 lbs so can I!!