Operation don't overeat on Thanksgiving FAIL

Well I ate too much at Thanksgiving which is really annoying.

I started the day off strong with a bowl of oatmeal, a cup of coffee and a 4.3 mile run around the neighborhood. GO ME!

Then, it was a scramble to shower, pack up the kid and head over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house.

Nana and Poppa (as my son calls them) live about an hour and a half away. I ate the oatmeal around 8am and that was all I ate. By the time we got to my mother's house, I was STARVING and promptly fell face first into a platter of cheese, olives, crackers and (I'm not proud) potato chips and onion dip.  

Oh and what the hell… It's a holiday. Sure. I'll have a bottle glass of vino please.

I was pretty full by the time the bird flew out of the oven but Thanksgiving is my very fav holiday and there was a no retreat, no surrender thing going on internally and like a good soldier (or a very foolish, slightly sloshed and full of junky food girl), I piled on the mashed, the stuffing, the turkey and I don't even know what else… (well I do know what else but I won't bore you with the delicious ridiculous details.)

I rolled from the table (thankfully, I didn't clean my plate) but I was mad at myself for eating waaaay past the point of satisfaction which is something I've worked hard to grasp… 

Of-course I wasn't angry at myself enough not to roll back to the table 45 minutes later for a little dessert and coffee…

Well. Ya know. What can I say? I'm not proud of myself. But I learned something.  Nana and Papa are evil people who tempt me with their goods! Bastards… 

Seriously, I learned that I need to never arrive at a festive affair hungry or I'm a goner.  I should've had some fruit and yogurt post-run or a half a whole grain muffin with a little peanut butter - something to keep starvation at bay and a little control in pocket.

So the bad news: This was a food fail.

The good news: Truthfully, years past I ate all this and more without a second thought. I would of then followed this debacle with a leftover plate around 9PM at night (we eat around 2 PM in the afternoon) and would've had it for breakfast the next day.

Instead, I came home, drank a ton of water and went to bed.

I also would've never exercised (heaven forbid) on a holiday.

Got up this morning and went to a Weight Watcher meeting like it was confession, cleared my soul and started my healthy life over and followed that with a two mile run.  I stopped the bleeding and am carrying on.

For the record - I was up only .2 this week at WW and with long runs coming back and a little focus, I'll take that off by next weigh in.

So I guess it's not so bad after all.

How was your Thanksgiving?

XO

Jen

Five unexpected things that I'm enjoying now that I'm thinner

I lost 2.5 more pounds at WW this week - so I'm down a total of 91.5 pounds! In honor of that, I'm going to celebrate being thinner today. 

OK - so it might be a little obnoxious, but I worked hard to get here. I've been overweight for so long and for so much of my life that I had no idea how nice it would be in a "normal" sized body. 

I am here to say, so far it rocks. 

People would say, "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels" and I would chuckle to myself and think - you just haven't found the right food. (And I would still argue that there are some foods like creme brulee that comes pretty damn close to tasting that good.)

In any case, I'm writing this list out for those future moments where I'll want to blow off working out or binge eat, pig out or just plain over do-it. I want to keep the weight off forever and I'll be printing this list out and stapling it to my forehead (or the fridge) for constant reminder. 

The unexpected (or not so unexpected) good side effects of being 90 pounds thinner:

1.  Chairs have become so much bigger. It sounds silly but I am not kidding, certain chairs would be super uncomfortable because my ample hips, thighs and a$$ would require so much room. Flying was a nightmare, not only would I cozily and embarrassingly spill into my neighbors seat but the arm rests would dig into my flub uncomfortably. UGH. It just sucked. But now, those same seats are downright roomy and I'm so appreciative of that.

2.  Proud to go to the doctor. OK, this might sound crazy but I've always been an "A" student. I like gold stars and being patted on the head for good behavior. I am finally not only not embarrassed to record my weight on a doc's chart but downright proud of the number. And pleassse lets do my blood pressure because I'm sure that's pretty good now too. 

3.  It's easier to get dressed. When I was heavy, just going to meet a friend for coffee was a nightmare. I never liked how anything look and was always paranoid of fat sticking out. Is my a$$ covered? Do I have "muffin top?" Is this shirt "too clingy?" Now, I just get dressed minus the self loathing drama.

4.  Movement is easier. At 236, my knees hurt, my back ached, my feet would get sore. None of those symptoms affect me anymore and those pains could spring up from just a stroll around the mall. Plus, if I have to get through a crowd, shimmy past people in a crowded restaurant, walk extra far - it's all way, way easier.

5.  I run faster. Sure, this is a combination of training, hard work and practice but lets face it - running with all those extra pounds strapped to your body would slow anyone down. 

What have you found along the way of your weight loss or health journey that you didn't expect?

XO

Jen

Happy Thanksgiving - Thanking the running Gods

As we gear up to gather with family and friends for another Thanksgiving holiday (my fav. holiday for the record) I, like many others, have taken some time to reflect on all of the things I'm truly thankful for. Topping the list are my husband, son, my twin sis and parents, the many friends in my life, the roof over my head, the clothes on my back, the food on my table. I am a lucky girl and my thanks for things could go on from now to next year.

In the interest of time and keeping a running theme going, I thought I'd do a top ten greatest things I'm grateful for in running.

Thank you running Gods for:

10. Having the good sense to make the Apple folks invent iPods & iTunes

9.  Running fuel like Gu and Sport Beans for long run days.

my park - I owned the place today!

8.Beautiful places to run, like the beach when I'm in Cali or the gorgeous and many, many miles of Saddle Brook Park in NJ just a few miles from home for me.

7.  The Internet, where in a wink of an eye, you can calculate routes, calories burned, gather information, browse blogs and order a new pair of running pants.

6.  Sneakers! Running in heels or flip flops would really suck.

5.  Fellow running bloggers like Jason, Lesley & Julie ----> make sure to check out my blog roll for others who rock. I find humor, advice, feedback and inspiration from my fellow writing runners.

4.  Thank you running Gods for making me thinner and healthier...

3.  ...for challenging me to be stronger and inspiring me to dig deeper.

2.  Race day excitement and runner's high.

1.  Thank you for finish lines where goals are reached, dreams achieved and new beginnings emerge.

XO

Jen

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Running myth busters according to Jen

Today I had a rest day, which I actually kinda hate - I like getting my run on. But I did go to the Road Runner store to pick up some sports beans for my long runs... I found out last week that i really like them much better than Gu or gel. These are the ones I particularly like - I only needed to eat half the bag for my 8 miler and they seemed to really work:

Here was the cool thing, the guy who worked there was a real runner (like 10 marathons) when I went to pay he asked if they were for my long run and we talked run shop for a few minutes - we swapped stories of where we run, what races we're doing, he told me about some new energy gel that's coming out and I was on my way. I felt like such a real runner. Talking the talk, walking the walk, getting my beans. I don't know, can't explain how cool that was to me. There is no longer that dear and headlight daze I once got, walking into the running store. No confusion on what I'm doing. I really feel like I've crossed a bridge from wanna be into runner. It's a nice feeling.

Anyhoo...

This running journey has been an interesting ride. I've learned a ton about a million things but I've also learned that I was wrong about a whole buncha things too - myths if you will, that not only I used to believe but many people still believe and perpetuate. I was musing these things so thought I'd throw them out there...

Myth #1 - Running will allow you to eat whatever you want and lose weight.
Jen truth - maybe for you but not for me. I have to still carefully plan everything I eat and it's even a little more challenging now because I have to not only take in consideration that I'm trying to lose weight but I have to figure out the right amount of calories pre-run, during my long run and for recovery. I'm striving for healthy balance, I don't want to be stupid and not eat enough either...  This is a fine art and even with all the running, I have to WORK at the food.  Oy.

Myth #2 - Running is a cheap form of exercise.
Jen truth - Hardy, har, har, har. I write a shopping blog for a living and read a lot of articles about saving money. It seems that many "frugal" bloggers have this crazy notion that running is "a super cheap form of exercise." I thought that at first too. What's there to spend? Ya got feet? A pair of sneakers from the Payless and we're good to go. Um. Cough. Anyone who thinks running is cheap isn't a real runner. Sorry. Just the basics alone - a good pair of sneakers, the right clothing, race fees quickly add up. Never mind the rest of it - the compression socks, iPod, tracking gear, hydration belts, sports bras, gu, and that's just what's rolling off the top of my head - isn't cheap. Now don't get me wrong, it's all worth every penny but I'm busting this myth wide open.

Myth #3 - You must love running ("I could never run because it's not my fav. activity")
Jen truth - I can't tell you how many people say, well, I could never really run because I don't really like it much. Do you think I liked to run at the beginning? Hell no. This started out as a side show, a novelty act, something to get me writing and exercising. Every minute of running was pretty painful and annoying. Now I love it. I feel extremely grateful that I took that time to "acquire the taste" but it didn't happen overnight. It took me a looooooong time to appreciate it and then finally start to love it.  You don't get to 236 pounds loving running, you get to that weight by loving pizza, sitting on your ass and sleeping late. Luckily, I loved myself enough to make the changes necessary to get me right to this spot... gearing up for my 8 mile long run in the AM.

So my fellow run-loving friends, what myths are you ready to bust?

XO
Jen

Day 55 - 26 days to go... Words of wisdom?

Today was a rest day but I had some interesting things happen.

1.  I was interviewed for a blogging position for a fairly big web-site.  I feel pretty confident that it went well and hopefully they'll let me know soon.  (WOW - people get paid for blogging!?  And to think, I just do this for fun!)

2.  I had an interview with our town newspaper The Nutley Sun Newspaper for my "Souper You" fame (lol)  - I let them know when I received word on my finalist status, figuring maybe I could garner up some local votes.  Megan called and we chatted for about 20 minutes.  She was kind and asked me about running routes, why I liked running around our community and finally my words of wisdom for others.   Words of wisdom?  First of all, I didn't expect to be asked about running so much - like I was some kind of running expert or something.  Soup.  I was ready to talk about soup.

So, I kind of choked on this one.  I never really considered having my own words of wisdom here.  I've spent so much time begging you all for advice on sneakers, pre-post workout meals, stretching protocol, warm-up technique, song selection, gadgets to use -  I download my training schedule and everything is pretty much on autopilot.

My weight loss has been slow and up to now I've always considered my battle with weight and exercise a pretty good failure - to have someone ask for my 'words of wisdom' in this arena was not something I was prepared for.  I thought we were going to talk soup... And how you could vote for me here:  souper Jennifer

So what did I tell Megan?

Something about no matter where you are at or how big your goal is - you can take one small step at a time to get there.  How I started as a size 16 (on this journey but my highest size was a 20!) who could barely run for a minute and 55 days later can fairly comfortably run 4 miles on a normal day and will be pushing myself to go 8 miles this week, 9 next and eventually 13.

I guess, upon further thought, it's about perseverance.  Knowing there'll be people who run faster and further, knowing that there'll be uphill climbs, forks in the roads and set backs but going balls to the wall and doing it anyway.  Taking big dreams, making big goals and figuring it out as you go.

The day I signed up to run 13 miles back in February - I had no idea how i would go from no running to running 13 miles -- i just knew (and continue to know) that somehow, someway, I will cross that finish line.

XO
Jen

Day 6 of training: 77 days to go...

I went to my weight watcher meeting today and despite my new training program and sticking to plan pretty well this week - I managed to GAIN almost 2 pounds.  Really?  I mean, was that necessary?  Sooooo annoying but I'm not going to let that get me down.  By May 2nd, I'll be thinner no matter what the scale said today!  Sigh.  Still annoying.  


Anyway, today was a rest day - I have to tell you, I think I'm going to like running because I went to the gym to "cross train" - and while I promised myself I was going to honor the "no run" on rest days rule (I totally get the whole, "your body needs to repair" thing and that you can risk injury if you don't rest...) but, I found myself turning my fast walk on the treadmill to warm up, into a jog and then finally a pretty good run for a few minutes.  I'm a rebel, what can I say?  Probably at this level of training, It's not that big of a deal but I can see how further down the line - it could be tempting to overtrain.  


Part of the reason I wanted to run today was because of the new "running" play list I created on my I-Pod!  Song after song of fun to run to music:  


Here's a few of the songs I have on there, what songs do you work out to?  Would love to know because I like to mix it up.


Born To Run - Springsteen
Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga
Ray of Light - Madonna
Beautiful Day - U2
Man In Motion (St. Elmo's Fire) John Parr (this song always puts me in a good mood... reminds me of my youth and my sister and I drunkenly over singing this song dramatically at a family BBQ a few summers ago.)
Let's Get It Started - Black Eyed Peas
Paradise City - Guns n Roses


Oh, and I got the pink socks today!  i worked out before they arrived but I can't wait to check them out - lol.


Have a happy Saturday and thanks for reading this.  I appreciate you being on this thing with me and your support!  


XOXO

Jen