I Love Cycling and Other Confessions

I'm pretty proud of myself for this past week. I was able to track about 80% of the week's food. My goal this week will be 90%. I also listened to my body and decided to switch from running a half marathon to a 10K this past Saturday. It went really well, I ran it in 1:00:17 and was elated to see my mom, husband and kids cheering for me at the finish line! I was VERY proud of my husband, James, who ran the half marathon in 1:54:17. Being healthy role models for our kids is the best feeling!

James finishing his half marathon, boys in toe.

Me finishing my 10K

Family photo after the run (Natalie would rather eat Watermelon than pose)

This week I also went to Weight Watchers for the first time in over a month and faced the scale, all 8 pounds gained. It was very defeating but I know, as stated last week, that I have been struggling with being honest with myself. I have been doing well with working out and need to focus all my energy on nutrition. I am thinking about doing a 3 day detox program to rid myself of all the garbage I've been consuming and to recharge my batteries before the school year begins. I really would like to have the will power to eliminate a couple items from my diet that I know are holding me back and, in the perfect world, a detox would do just that. I am not, however, completely naive in thinking that there is a magic bullet in this weight loss journey. As many know, I have already tried most of the magic bullets: Jenny Craig, Nutrisytem and numerous programs that you see on late night T.V. This time I have had support from Weight Watchers which has helped me to look at food in a different way and not simply supplied me with pre-measured meals leaving me completely helpless when on my own. I have worked WAY too hard to give into a quick fix but would also like to see if a jump start may get me over this hump!?

On to more positive things, I LOVE bicycling and after 4 years I finally have a bike again and since I don't have any races coming up, I am able to devote some time to being on my bike! When James and I lived in Fargo/Moorhead I biked EVERYWHERE. 1) I didn't have my own car. 2) Other than in winter, the F-M area is very biker friendly. Pierre has many trails and I'm excited to ride on all of them and, being a smaller town, I can bike almost anywhere. I want to pass that passion down to my kids and hope we can go on many family bike rides in the future!

I don't usually say this but I'm excited that tomorrow is Monday and can't wait to conquer this week!

Milestones Met

"The best is yet to be." -Robert Browning

A little more than 6 months has passed since beginning this journey. I decided over Christmas break that I was done putting off beginning a healthy lifestyle. I joined Weight Watchers and have had wonderful success. In March, I rejoined the Y in order to become more physically fit. There have been many ups and downs (many of which have been written about here) but I am happy to say that I finally passed a big milestone! As of Saturday, I have officially lost 27 pounds, made it into my BMI range, and completed my first 10K.

It is truly an elating experience to witness what seemed to be near impossible goals materialize. I have been down similar roads before. The difference between my past experiences and my current situation is the amount of time and the process. Times past I would order meals or over regulate calories/ food groups and quickly watch as the scale drastically dropped. Most times I did not incorporate much fitness and never any type of weight lifting. I also would hit my goal and then slowly revert back to my old habits, with much naivety, thinking that my weight wouldn't return despite not making any permanent lifestyle changes.

This time is different for numerous reasons. Instead of buying special, expensive pre-made meals, I have been buying a lot of produce and incorporating healthier food into my family's cupboards, fridge and freezer. We have also made fitness a family endeavor, going on family walks, swims, bike rides, etc. The results have been great for not only me and the kids but also for my husband, James, who has lost 30 pounds since February. It makes a HUGE difference to have a support system in your own home and not feel like you're going it alone.

Speaking of going it alone, I also am fortunate to have many friends that encourage me to go running or working out with them. Knowing that someone is waiting for you doesn't allow you to opt out of a workout because you just don't feel like it! My awesome running friends have also peer pressured me into a half marathon and relay race not to mention the 10K I ran on Saturday. Networking and finding more friends that can help hold me accountable and vice versus has been a tremendous advantage in this journey.

The final piece to what I know will be long term success is the goals that I have made. I know that making it into my BMI range doesn't mean that I can revert to old ways of eating. I have another 5K in a week and a half marathon coming up. I also want to be comfortably in the middle of my BMI range to ensure that it would take a lot of "oopsie" days to climb back into the overweight zone. I also have bigger goals of doing a triathlon and the Mickelson bike race as well as the week long trek across SD. I would like to make my kitchen even healthier by eliminating processed foods, sugars, and artificial sweeteners. Am I going to do this all at once?!? No!! But I know that these kind of long term goals will help me to stay the course and keep me and my family living a healthier lifestyle.

The new me is VERY happy and excited! The old me would never have thought any of this was possible... which makes me think, what goals will be met in the next 6 months?

James and me last June (2013) and this past weekend before running the 10K