5.8, 6, 21.8...week 12

Week 12 is all about numbers. This week Virginia had it's largest earthquake since 1867 and let me tell you, it was if all hell broke loose with everything shutting down for no reason. Of course, being from California, I chuckled and shook my head the entire time. That's where the 5.9 comes in as that was official reading of the earthquake on the Richter scale. For me, the best thing about an earthquake is seeing what parts of you jiggle while stationary! Let's just say I have a bit of work to do! Haha

The 6 represents the 6K I did yesterday with my neighbor. We ran around a small lake and it was great to be on different terrain and trails, all while sweating my bum off. It was beautiful out there and aside from a few fast walking paces about 5 times for the big hills, I didn't stop. This makes me feel great because afterwards, I wasn't panting heavily and I wan't nauseated in the slightest. I almost felt I could do another mile. For me, I like to run at interval speeds. Overall, I am still pretty slow by runner's standards and that's okay for now. If I do it enough, I'll get the speed that I want and will need less breaks. Speaking of breaks, I think that's why I felt so good after the run-I ran a few weeks back and had to slow down for longer distances and longer periods of time even though we were running fewer miles. Yesterday was longer and I lasted longer. All is good.

The 21.8 marks how much weight I have lost so far. I cannot wait for it to say 40 and then some. I guess I go by 20s mentally to reach the goal. It seems daunting that I still have 50 lbs to lose and I know there will come a point where I plateau for a bit and only lose .5 lbs or something like that in a week-but I imagine that at that point, I will be so close to my target weight that I won't feel devastated to do all this work for little payback on the scale. Anyways, here is the week 12 breakdown:

Weight: 186

Percent body fat: 41.1%

BMI: 30.6

Water Weight: 41.9%

Weeks til Goal: 51

Comparison to Initial Weigh-In

Weight Day One: -21.8 lbs

Percent of Body Fat: -3.2%

BMI: -3.6

Water Weight: +1.3%

Weeks to Meet Goal: -22 (10 weeks ahead of schedule)

Another thing to note was that this week I was speaking with someone about a co-worker who does the shake and bar diet and has lost 44 lbs. Both of us were scared for this person because we all know the second she stops this diet, she will sky rocket back up to her initial weight. I cannot help but feel like yo-yo'ing your weight is unhealthy for your body. And it's difficult to tell someone to stop what they are doing when they are seeing great results and are feeling good about themselves. I constantly urge her to workout as well so, when she does stop this Adkin-esque diet she will have some sort of muscle to break down fat and calories but so far I have not made a dent in her mind-frame. I only hope that once I do lose a bunch of weight I can show her how I am keeping it off, etc. 

Anyways, the point of my bringing this up is because while in this conversation with another co-worker, they said that I was dieting. I just wanted to clarify to my readers that no, I am indeed not dieting. I do not stick to a regimented plan. My only plan is to eat smaller/healthy portions and I try to eat right. I am not avoiding carbs and fatty meats, etc. but I am avoiding items that are unhealthy (coke, donuts, to name a few). For the most part, if it has no positive impact on my consumption of something, I generally try to avoid it and substitute for something healthier. And this comment from my co-worker made me want to reiterate something I posted in my very 1st post-You change your life when you change your mind. If we can wrap our heads around a new perception that eating only what you should (even if you slip here and there) is not dieting, we will ALL be better for it. I think the reason why I do not cheat so much on my philosophy of eating right and exercising is because I honestly do not feel like I am 'without.' Sure, there are some times when I see people digging into a cheesecake and I want to melt into it, but really for the most part, I don't feel like I am starving myself from delicious foods. Or I'll have 2 bites of the cheesecake and be satiated. It's difficult for some people to do that but I do say that after awhile, you really don't miss it or think about it as much as you did when you were starting out or not doing anything. 

I hope you all have a pleasant week ahead of you! Happy healthy endeavors all!

Love w/ all my bum,

CH