My Weight Loss Journey

Well the running bug has bitten me big time!! I'm running my third 5k (my 2nd official timed 5k) at the beginning of March. This will be the 2nd time running this 5k and I'm hoping to shave 4-5 minutes off my time from last year, though they are using a new course this year. And I'm running my first 10k at the end of March, with a daunting incline within the first 5k of the race, with the rest of the race downhill or flat. I watched my husband run it last year and while being a spectator I was wishing I was out there running with him, so I made a promise to myself that I would be doing it this year.  So along with competing in these 2 races my mind went in a what I call a crazy decision to compete in a half marathon this coming fall. YIKES!! I will have 5 1/2 months from the time of my last race in March to train for the half marathon and that is the date that I will be committing to the race and registering. I could have picked a closer race to where I live but I chose...

This is about setting goals for myself. These aren't weight loss related in the sense of dealing with the "dieting" or exercising that comes with the weight loss battle, but more from the mental picture of what I have about myself from the weight loss battle. Some of you or most of you know that I was obese from 2001 until last year when I finally left that category behind. And in those 10 years I haven't really care what I looked like. I wore jeans and tee shirts, no make up or any type of jewelry, hair usually pulled into a pony tail. I did treat myself to pedicures since it was the only thing that made me feel girly. If by chance I did have to dress up it was always a pain since I never wanted to spend a lot of money on an outfit that I would most likely only wear once so most times I didn't go to the function.  BUT THAT IS GOING TO CHANGE NOW!! I have already started on some of the changes. I do wear make up more often. If I do go out I at least put in a p...

2011 was a successful year in the weight loss department for the most part. I started out the year weighing 197.8 and ended the year weighing 156.6 for a total lost of 41.2 pounds. Granted I would have liked it to be more but I had a "bad" couple of months during October and November where I gained back around 13-14 lbs. But I did go from looking like this:  To looking like this:     One of the biggest things that I learned with the recent weight gain is that I can never stop paying attention to what food I'm putting in my mouth and stop from working out. Though I have learned that I don't have to do as much as I have done through out the year. I have cut back on a lot and is enjoying it more because of so.  I also completed a full year of running and ran two 5ks, with the plan of running another 5k at the beginning of March and a 10k at the end of March. I have goals of completing the 5k in under 35 minutes and completing the 10k in under 70 minu...