San Diego Screening of From Fat to Finish Line Documentary and other stuff

Hi all!

I've become such a bad blogger but that's only because we are kicking booty and working so hard in many other areas.

Just thought I'd do a drive by and update you on some good stuff:

1. It's been slow and not-so-steady but the weight is slowly coming off. I'm back at WW and also using some of the tools at SparkPeople. Since December 27 I'm down 15 pounds and I'm about 7 pounds from my goal weight. I'm feeling good and my clothes are fitting better.

2. I've completed 30 days of no alcohol and super hydrating. I gave up the alcohol because I was drinking too much. Nearly every day I would look forward to a glass of wine (or if the day was particularly stressful) a martini. The fact that I was starting to 'count down' the minutes until wine-o'clock scared me and I just felt like it was undermining all the healthy things I've done. I have read that it takes 21 days to make a habit and 30 to really cement it. I'm at 31 days and feel really great. I don't miss the drinking and I think it's sped up my weight loss. I sleep better and wake up better. The super hydrating has been a win for me too. This has always been a place where I've struggled. My weight loss has been much better since incorporating both of these things. For the hydration, I've been using an app called Plant Nanny. Every time you drink water you 'water' your plant and it grows. Forget to water it and it gets sicks and dies. That's a lot of pressure. LOL.

 

3. We are having a special From Fat to Finish Line Documentary screening in San Diego!  On May 23, 2016 we will be having a pre-release sneak preview screening at the Green Flash Brew Co.! I will be there, alongside our director Angela Lee and a few of the runners from the film. It will be a night of beer and cheer you won't want to miss. :) Please find all the details here!

4. The film will be released world-wide this summer! I will update with an official announcement as soon as I can.  If you don't know what the movie is about it's basically about 12 runners (moi included) that have all lost a lot of weight and team up to run a 200 mile Ragnar Relay Race from Miami to Key West. It's funny, emotional, and inspirational (if I do say so myself). We are proud of it.

5. Don't forget to sign up here to get updates and news on the film, soon to be released running app, and more. :) 

Hope all is well with you!

Do you have any special apps you use to help you drink water or get to your health goals? 

XO

Jen 

Two years at my goal weight

This week marks my being at my WW goal for TWO YEARS!

I'm doing a happy dance!

I can't believe it. It's no fluke. I lost the weight and I'm keeping it off. This makes me proud and I'm so grateful that I've been managing this. It's something that I always dreamed of being able to do and even though this has all become a "way of life" for me, the significance in this achievement is profoundly important to me.

And I'm happy because my weight is back in control to around 145.2 (It was up to 150 a month or so ago. 150 is my goal but i like to stick around 144/145).

I've always been a yo-yo person… I was either piling on massive amounts of weight or peeling it off. It's how I've lived my entire adult life prior. Not on purpose, of course. I just never could get it right. I was missing pieces of the puzzle in prior attempts.

Of-course a huge piece of that puzzle was consistent exercise and more specifically in my case, running.

And another piece of the puzzle was eating primarily junky-foods. And when I say junky-foods I'm not even talking about the usual suspects of fast food, ice cream or chips. No. I'm talking about the junky foods that I thought "were good for me." All through my prior dieting life I lived on highly-processed foods that used words like "diet," "low-fat" "fat-free." I would count the calories in instant mashed potatoes, 100 calorie packs, frozen low-cal meals, fat-free pudding, fat free chips, 0-calorie butter spray, artificial sweeteners, "sandwich thins," etc… I lived on packaged, processed junk and I thought I was being a healthy person by doing so. I truly think that what has made the difference in maintaining my loss this time around is eliminating almost all of that. I really enjoy eating more clean and much less processed.

And I'm not judging. If you rely on a frozen meal here and there or eat sandwich thins, that's fine. I just almost exclusively used those products. Personally, for me, I'm more satisfied and less hungry by eating whole foods and healthy fats.

Huh. Healthy eating and exercise works. Who knew?  ;)

I am happier, I feel better, and I'm more satiated. I strive to eat clean now-a-days though I am not always perfect. I will still eat chips on occasion, I will still have a little ice-cream, I love my martini's and Greek food Saturday nights… but I have been able to balance things better overall.

On a side note, lately many people have asked me about the difference between Spark People and WW since I talk about both programs a lot. I have been counting calories at Spark. My WW meeting was an anchor for me when I was losing because I loved the people in my particular meeting. I had a connection to my leader. I am social so I liked looking forward to going to my meeting on Sat. morning. It's kind of why I love my Moms In Motion group so much. I continue to weigh-in at Weight Watchers because it's free for lifetime members and knowing I've got that monthly meeting with the "official" scale has been working for me, so why now?

Spark People, though, is GREAT too. It's FREE for everyone which is the biggest plus over Weight Watchers - it has a tremendous social aspect to it and amazing resources. I kind of consider it the "Facebook" of nutrition because you get all this great nutrition/activity information but you can blog, post pictures, join groups, take challenges, send each other motivational stuff and make friends like FB. I was a Spark member as I did Weight Watchers - there are even Weight Watcher community groups on Spark. To me, it's all about support and surrounding yourself with the right people. So wherever you find those folks, is what matters the most.

I am happy, lucky and blessed. I'll never stop marveling on my good fortune of finding running and along the way, finding my way to this finish line.

XO
Jen

State of the union: An update on recent goals

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OK, so last week I was freaking out about my weight, messy house and life in general.

I made a few goals to try to reign the crazy in and I thought I should update you (as not to let you think that I'm just making up stuff, never to follow thru.)

Here were the goals and the update is in red.

Goals for my week:

• Super duper clean the house. I'm a happier person when things in my house gets in order. The home chaos just spills into everything else. Well, I didn't "super duper" clean, my poor son came down with a fever/strep throat so my house cleaning time was cut. I did, however, super duper clean my kitchen and bedroom which were the two rooms that needed it the most, making me feel much better.
• Track all of my food at Spark People. Yep. Did this. Even on Thanksgiving.
• Hydrate. My friend Angela told me about this free App "Idrated" it's kind of dumb but for some reason it is making me drink my water. It beeps at you and reminds you to drink water and gives you little rewards for getting it in. I was skeptical I'd use it but I have. So there you go.  Yep that dumb App is working for me - 7 days fully hydrated and counting!
• 15 miles running. Close, 12 miles. I was going to run 3 yesterday but my legs felt sore after weight training and decided to take a rest day. Happy that I got a 5 miler in this week. 
• 30 minutes of strength training (starting slow -- new goal to strength train.) Did it! 
• Bonus: I have a groupon for a gym that does boot camp, pilates, yoga, spin and Zumba classes. The groupon is for five classes. I will try to use one this week. Maybe yoga - I thought I hated Yoga (because I'm so gawky and non-flexible) but I tried it once (remember?) and want to really give it a fair shot. I am looking to truly start to cross-train, I think it'll ultimately make me a better runner. Nope, but i blame it on limited time due to sick kid - I did buy a fantastic groupon that gave me 30 yoga/bootcamp or toning classes for only $20! And I plan on using them!  

You may or may have not seen my subsequent post about freaking out over my weight. At my WW weigh-in I came in at 151 pounds. My happy weight is 144 and I don't like to get much above 147 so that freaked me out a bit. I'm feeling a bit better with perspective on it. I think I've dipped back below 150 and will continue to mind my food and activity closer until I'm back in my comfort zone.

Hope you had a lovely holiday and your week is going well!

Have you ever bought a fitness related groupon?

XO

Jen

And the freak out continues

Ugh.

So I'm slightly freaking out.

I did state a bunch of goals the other day that I'm working on and so far so good -- even with a kid who came down with strep and had me sequestered to the house for 2 solid days. Set back but not out of the goal game completely. Managed to clean my kitchen and bedroom (those were the two that were bumming me out the most). Got in a little run and 10 minutes of strength training.

I have been tracking at Spark People, plus have hit my personal hydration goals for four days in a row.

a little good news

So humming along and then this. awful *WW weigh-in.

Well. My 'official' WW goal weight is 150 (but my personal happy weight is 144) I've been able to pretty much maintain right around that for the better part of two years. I thought I was flirting with 147.5 or so  (thus up 3.5 / 4 pounds that I had reported) but when I went for my monthly weigh in this morning the scale snarled, 151... WHAT? The highest I've been in 2 years and 1 dangerous pound away from having to pay for attending (Lifetime members don't ever have to pay unless they are 2 pounds above goal.)

How did this happen!? Now I will say that I weighed in wearing jeans, a sweater and post an oatmeal and coffee breakfast, so perhaps (if I'm lucky) I can knock off a pound for that... but still. It's still at least 2.5 pounds more than I expected. BOO.

I've been so careful this week with everything. This seriously bummed me out - and tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I'm not saying I'm going to be the worst eater ever, but it's my favorite holiday and I'm not planning on being the best either. I will run in the morning but, I'm not gonna lie to you, I'm still planning on indulging a bit (or a lot...) Oh for F$&* sake. It's so annoying.

By the way, and in other annoying news... (I counted the calories before you judge this decision) I have to tell you that I got stuck at work and needed to eat. I was starving and didn't have the food I usually have with me and got coerced into going to Taco Bell today. Now I've given up fast food 99% of the time -- not only am I striving for clean eating but with my gluten/dairy issues, there's usually nothing that will work for me.

So back to Taco Bell. I gave in to going with a co-worker based on this review I read by **a gluten-free blogger about the newish "Cantina Bowl." Her picture of the Cantina bowl was beautiful (I didn't expect it to be as fancy as hers, just kinda nice). If I was going to eat fast food, I thought it kinda looked OK and relatively healthy-ish. But here's my review: It was yucky, messy looking and skimpy.  It provided about a tsp. of guacamole, less than a 1/4th of a cup of beans and hardly any rice or pico de gallo.  I didn't put any dressing on it. I added steak to it and couldn't eat more than one piece of the meat because I found it so blech. But maybe that's just me. Serves me right for going to Taco Bell I guess. I used to LOVE that burrito supreme and nachos supreme in the day (you know, the day when I was 200+ pounds, cared less about 'clean' eating and had no clue of my gluten or dairy issues...) Sigh.

Anyway, a mess I still am but I'm hanging in the fight. I am freaked out about the scale but all I can do is work / try harder - I know T-day is gonna be a bit of a monkey wrench but it's just one long meal. I will have to deal. And no more Taco Bell.

XO
Jen

*I am tracking on Spark People because I like the calorie counting program. But like to keep my membership active at WW since it's free to do so, as long as I continue to weigh-in once a month.
** I'm not bagging on that blogger. She has a great site and Taco Bell did set her up with a fancy tasting of the new item at an undisclosed locale… I wasn't expecting that but found the whole thing underwhelming and disappointing...

I'm getting fat

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I'm getting fat.

OK that's a little bit dramatic but that's how my brain works. And that statement keeps rolling around in my head like a bowling ball bouncing off bumpers... and with those words a slow panic keeps threatening to rise, and other even scarier thoughts of plus-sizes, pigging out, depression and being out of control start their way drifting in too.

Even though I'm getting better at silencing those thoughts and shutting up those voices. It's still hard.

I've been a bit in denial, but, it's true, I'm up in weight. Not terribly so, but still.

I could feel it in the waist of my pants.

See it on my hips and belly.

Felt it as I huffed and puffed a previous run (which felt like it should've been a 9'45 pace or so but was only a 10'20).

And finally had it confirmed on the scale.

I've been drifting upwards for the last 3 months. A pound here. A pound there. Now I'm just shy of being up five pounds.

I hear scoffing and eye rolling happening all over the place but before you give me the, "it's only five pounds" speech, let me tell you this -- as a former yo-yo dieter, all of my previous "regaining of the weight" (and when I talk about regaining weight I have regained 30, 40, 60+ pounds in my life) started with just five pounds.

I'm on right - at my heaviest... 

Ironically, I've never eaten more lean and clean in my life. I'm eating a mostly plant and grain based diet, I eat mostly organic and pretty healthily. I don't snack on junk anymore, however, I'm (apparently) eating too much. Easy to do. I can over-do an avocado, eat one too many handfuls of nuts, enjoy a mid-week glass of wine or just take in too many calories with the best of them.

But here is what is different this time. I am going to silence those voices of failure because now I know that I won't fail this time. And I don't hesitate for one hot second to say that.

I just have to go back to the tool box.

Yes. I have tools. Tools like exercising, this blog, fellow friends and fellow bloggers for support. I have Etools from Weight Watchers and I'm going to use that as well as my journal and the community at Spark People.  I might make time for a WW meeting again. I always loved the support I found there and relied heavily on them for most of my weight loss journey. I've only stopped going regularly because I started running with the Moms In Motion on Saturday mornings (during my meeting time) so maybe I just have to find another meeting.

I'm still within goal at Weight Watchers and that is good. My WW goal weight is 150. My personal goal is 144 and I'm now sitting at 148.6. Again, I know the number might not be that scary to you but it scares the shit out of me.

But this time I'm not going to let five pounds become more. I will keep my head out of the sand and my eyes on the prize.

Besides, I have to keep my weight down if I want to do a triathlon. Those wetsuits are pretty tight!

Does weight gain freak you out? What's the biggest tool you use to keep things in check?

XO
Jen