I had a ball at the ball...23 weeks

What a week it has been! I ran 7.22 miles last week, attended a ball, and am starting to solidify a concrete group of gal pals. Kind of amazing!

My girl, Sarah, is amazing and has been on a healthy lifestyle journey as well. She looks INCREDIBLE!

So let's get to the nitty gritty of the ball. Mr. Sexy Back was definitely there, but let's just say that I can only thank him for making my theme song and not being a wonderful human being outside of it. Although he was disinterested to be there (and later said they night changed his life forever because of it's 'meaningful impact'), I've taken away that others may be inspired by his words, regardless of how fake they are in actuality. There's something to be said about a man that lives by the words he says (ex: Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela to name a few), but there is also something to be said about the quotes that inspire us on a personal level when we have no idea who the person was behind the quote (ex: The woman came from a man’s rib. Not from his feet to be walked on. Not from his head to be superior, but from his side to be equal, under his arm to be protected, and next to his heart to be loved.)

All in all, I'd say to each their own. But overall, I took away a wonderful evening. I started the event by fitting in a dress size smaller than anticipated a few days prior to the Ball...always a plus. Then we took pictures and started the night with a great ceremony and touching film about the contrast and comparison of the Pearl Harbor attack and September 11th. It was pretty moving and there were definitely some dampened eyes as the film closed. And then, my friends, in 4 inch heels that I ADORE, I danced the night away. 

A group of friends is solidified over dance moves :)

Last week I discussed not wanting to have alcohol get in the way of my progress. It was nice to rise up to the occasion. While many drank, I sipped water, nursed a glass of wine, and punch danced my rage out on the dance floor. LOL! And let's not forget the whole reason of being here-my hubby. He gives me strength in a unique way and I am ever so proud of him and his selfless service for our country. Plus, he's so tall I can wear whatever shoes I want! How can you not love that?!

And so I land this week, a bit nervous for my weigh-in because I was not as easily able to monitor my meals while I was on this mini trip down to Richmond and a few days off from working out. However, I am EXTREMELY happy with this weeks report card. Check it out:

Week 23 weight in

Weight: 169.4

Percent of Body Fat: 37.4%

BMI: 27.8

Water Weight: 45.6%

Weeks to Meet Goal: 34

Comparison to Day 1

Weight Day One: -38.4 lbs

Percent of Body Fat: -6.9%

BMI: -6.4 pts

Water Weight: +5%

Weeks to Meet Goal: -39 weeks (16 weeks ahead of schedule)

Allow me to point out that I am less than 2 lbs away from 40 lost. WOW. That is amazing. Even more amazing is that I have surpassed my half way point to my realistic goal of 135 lbs! WOOT! Heck yea! I am incredibly motivated today and I can only hope I continue to be this motivated over the next few months to really push it out over the holidays and tempting 'stay in' weather. I've GOT to work on getting my beach body! Getting half way makes me think of all those motivation, inspiration, perseverance quotes! I thought they were so corny, but hey, today I am loving it!

 

What I hope this blog does is not only give me accountability to my readers to keep working out, living healthy and growing mentally, but to also motivate everyone to do the same. It's easy to read about this and see the transformation over time, but it's difficult to make it personal until it is personally YOU doing it. Just like the Biggest Loser, it's so easy to say "I want that" "Look what they are accomplishing" and then 'should'in' and making excuses for why YOU aren't in the same position (i.e. "Oh well they are on a show and have trainers I can't afford and strict diets, etc."). I am here to prove that all you need is to your will power to stop excusing yourself and making it easy on yourself for being lazy. That will power will help you to just start doing something, ANYTHING to get you out there and changing your life. No more yo-yo diets, no more guilt, no more. You've got to wake up and just tell yourself "Enough is enough." But I can only tell you about how I went form being insecure and shy, which is 100% not me, to finally feeling I have that old pep in my step, energy, and self confidence growing daily. Telling you can only go so far-it's up to you to start this process.  Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be interviewing some of my friends that have risen to the challenge to change their life. I hope that seeing that others have made drastic changes will help in allowing you to join the community of healthy lifestyles-I am here to support you and so are they. We are all struggling to be fit, but this community is making progress and following through on their goals. So that's my spiel for this week. Stay tuned for more :)

Looking to next week, it will be my 26th birthday-what a good time to get fit :) and Thanksgiving will be upon us as well. Obviously the holiday is centered around eating and I'll do my best to keep the focus on family over food. I've got some big training runs to do in preparation of my 15K and I am hoping to get through them with ease and strength to finish strong. 

I hope this week has motivated you as much as it has me. If I can do it, so can you!

Love w/ all my shrinking bum,

CH

5 Months

High five everybody! 5 months have gone by and it's incredible how fast time flies. I want to 1st jump into the weigh in this week and then tell you all about what's coming up and on my mind. Let's do it!

Week 22 Weigh in

Weight Day One: 174.2

Percent of Body Fat: 37.5%

BMI: 28.6

Water Weight: 45.6%

Weeks to Meet Goal: 39

Initial Comparison

Weight Day One: -33.6 lbs

Percent of Body Fat: -6.8%

BMI: -5.6 pts

Water Weight: +5%

Weeks to Meet Goal: -34 weeks (12 weeks ahead of schedule)

I'm on my way to 40 lbs and quite frankly, I cannot wait for my BMI to go down and for my figure to tighten up. After 5 months, you'd think that I'd have a rockin' body already, right?! It is definitely a long process to tone up. I joke with my husband that all my muscle is hiding from me because it doesn't want me to stop working out when I reach my goal or at least look as if I've reached my goal! Push through it!

I know I always talk about how I am accomplishing all these things related to running (i.e. in October I was at a 5K, November I started running 10K and in December I'll do a 15K), but I have yet to touch base with my strength training. To give you a glimpse of my progress, I started out on a seated row and a pull down barely able to lift 30 lbs. I could barely do any push-ups let alone hold a plank for more than 10 seconds. Pull ups were a dream never to be had. My body felt as if it was always giving in. But my determination and drive (that boiling pot I talked about last week) has led me into some fantastic breakthroughs. For example, on Tuesday, I rowed 130 lbs and did 100 lbs on my pull downs. That is incredible! Weight training is CRUCIAL for weight loss and toning. Muscle strength enables me to burn calories faster and have more endurance for those long runs AND I rarely get sore from runs, etc. because my muscles have been properly prepared. I've witnessed more people having injuries and trouble running and losing weight because they do not strength train. It's a simple addition to a workout and only doing so 2-3 times a week will have a SIGNIFICANT impact on the rest of your lifestyle change.

This week, I am one busy panda. I finally get to go to the Marine Corps Ball and say thank you to Mr. Sexy Back for making a song that has become my anthem for this lifestyle transition. I am hoping to get a few decent shots from the event with Justin Timberlake, but who knows!? Either way, you'll get to see some shots of me in my 'little black dress' from the ball (I didn't reach my goal of being in the size I wanted, but I feel great in my dress and that's all that matters-right?!). In December, I promise to blog some more update photos in my bathing suit so you can view my progress and we can analyze what 6 months has done for me :) I'm thoroughly excited to be part of this great traditional event, and the hopes of meeting JT adds a little pizzazz to the whole night. But we all know who the real heroes are that night: those men in their dress blues who have and will sacrifice everything for us. Happy birthday USMC!

I'll also be up to 7 miles this week and a mere three weeks away from the Hot Chocolate 15K (9.32 miles people!). I am nervous, as I always am, leading up to the run, but what a milestone that will be for me...and that makes me excited! 

I'll report back next week-cannot wait for this ball and to share the experience with you all.

Love w/ all my bum,

CH

21 and legal

21 weeks. My favorite number is before me! I was super excited to see this number as it's always held a special place within me. Not legal drinking age, but my athletic number for sports. I think this number is befitting to the way I feel right now. Sports have ALWAYS been a part of my life (even when counting watching sports while on the couch doing nothing for a few years). Being active in sports is truly where my passion and zest for life flourishes. I lost that part of me for awhile but I feel my competitive drive heating up. Knowing that I still am a simmering pot on the stove brings such a proud sense to me. It's as if for 5 years I've been an unused pot, sitting on the shelf feeling both sorry for myself and helpless to move. One day in June, I decided to pick myself up and work towards permanent change. And only after 21 weeks of ups and downs do I finally feel like I've breathed some life back into me. The evolution of me is taking place and so far, I am proud of my overall accomplishments. 

October was a tough month for me. I've made some major changes and I've also have accomplished many things during this month that I am proud of (warrior dash, running more, etc), but I have also focused a lot of energy this month on discouragement and self doubt. It's time for me to come out of that shell and really hit the ground running full.

This past week I failed in that the temptation of Halloween lured me like the snake lured to the forbidden fruit. 

I had a Halloween party and although the menu choices were relatively healthy options (I only ate the low-cal food), I partook of the witch's brew and a few handfuls of candy.

At first, I felt like the first glass above. A shiny, happy, cold beverage. But afterwards, I feel bad after having even one glass of wine, beer, etc. It's not just the feeling guilty for having a drink and a handful of candy when I've worked so hard to lose weight, it's as if my mentality has changed and the inside of me cringes afterwards and makes me feel like this pumpkin below:

It's interesting how much a lifestyle change really is a mental change as well. I can no longer 'reward' myself with a drink here and there. That logic simply does not make sense. It's the same illogical process when one treats themselves to a bag a chips for a job well done (to coin the phrase "cutting off the nose to spite the face"). As I've stated before, when I consume food that generally isn't good for me, is over processed, deep fried, etc. I feel like bricks sit in my stomach and I'm somewhat in a funk for a few days-it literally feels like I took energy out of myself with each chocolaty twix mini.  My how times are a changin'.

Onto this week's breakdown:

Weight week 21: 175.2

Percent of Body Fat: 38%

BMI: 28.8

Water Weight: 45.2%

Weeks to Meet Goal: 40

Comparison to 1st weigh in

Weight loss: -32.6 lbs

Percent of Body Fat: -6.3%

BMI: -5.4 pts

Water Weight: +4.6%

Weeks to Meet Goal: -33 weeks (ahead 12 weeks)

As I look toward the month of November, I'm going to be training extensively for the 15K I signed up for in December. I'll go to the Marine Corps Ball and I will also be celebrating my 26th birthday-oh and Thanksgiving! Lots of stuff going on. I also think it's time to really crunch down on myself and make up for the weight not lost in previous months. I'm going to set a personal goal to drop 10 lbs this month (I've been averaging 8). We are already one week in, but I can do it!

Many thanks for the support and here's to the fire growing inside of me-rawr!

Love w/ all my bum,

CH