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