Fitness
Since both my dog and I both need to lose weight, a few weeks ago, we started the Couch to 5k program. Problem? My dog hates to run! Unfortunately for him, I won’t let up, so we’ve been doing Week 1 for three weeks. We’ve actually mastered it, but instead of moving on to Week 2, I’ve modified it so that three days a week, we run 1:30 with 1:00 rests at eight intervals, and on Tuesdays/Thursdays, we do the actual C25k Week 1.
Here’s today’s session (click to biggefy)
If you look closely at Lap 8 and 10, my dog decided at those very moments to race uphill. This is coming from a dog that used to hide from me on the days I used to take him running! And of course, I look so fabulous and graceful basically running chasing after my dog. Ha! I followed up the workout routine with an 8-minute stretching session plus a one-minute plank and one-minute superman, but something happened along the way:
Um, that is my dog on my yoga mat fast asleep while I did the butterfly stretch. Silly dog!
Breakfast
Breakfast this morning was easy and delicious: toasted hazelnut flavored coffee with soy creamer and apple cinnamon overnight oats. Perfect breakfast for busy mornings and after a very hot and sweaty workout. 🙂
Lunch
I know how this looks: lunch from 7-eleven?! This used to be my attitude until one day while perusing for Gardettos, I discovered the incredibly yummy and fresh goodness in their refrigerated section. My favorite is actually this chicken salad with cranberries on wheat bread, but since I’m trimming calories here, I chose this today instead. The bread was soft and melt-in-your-mouth goodness, the lettuce was crisp and the tomato juicy. I squeezed some mustard into the sammich and down the hatchet it went. Delicious and filling.
Day One Stuff
A lot of people hate taking pictures while they are at their high weight. Me? I LOVE IT! In my experience, there is nothing more empowering and motivating in a weight-loss journey than seeing your before and after pictures. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve known to wistfully regret not taking more pictures before they started their health journey.
First, the scale:
A whopping 119.4. Okay, so you may be thinking: “That is a goal weight, not a start weight!”
But here’s the thing: I stack up at only five feet and zero inches tall. According to NIH’s BMI calculator, my BMI currently comes in as a “normal” 23.3, but it’s closer to the Overweight category than I prefer. Many years ago, my start weight was once 130 pounds, which calculates to 25.4 BMI, so whenever my weight creeps past 115 lbs or 22.5 BMI, I start to get nervous and start making moves to gain control over my situation again, and so … here I am with this blog.
And finally, the cringe-worthy before pictures:
I would like to note that there is no tummy-sucking in these pictures, and in the second picture, there is no clothing to keep my stomach in. It is alllll hanging out.
Goals
Weight: I feel my absolute best when I weigh anywhere from 105-109 lbs. My knees, shins and bottoms of my feet are less sore and I feel much more energetic. And speaking of running, I can shave at last two minutes off my 5k time – which means burning saving time in my workout. All wins here!
Strength: It’s important to me that I build my strength back, not only for health reasons (i.e. stronger bones and body pain), but it’s just so much easier to be independent around the house and at Costco when I can lift an impressive weight. I am also looking to build ab strength because I am constantly tripping! And lastly, strong muscles just enable you to live your life more, like walk miles upon miles – particularly useful when one of your annual travels include traipsing around Manhattan.
Mental Acuity: Being at a healthy weight means I can move more efficiently while exercising. Exercising means my mind will be too tired to wander in the evening and I will crave sleep. Sleep means I wake up refreshed, clear-minded and ready to take on the day. Once I get into a cycle of healthy living, I feel like I can tackle every challenge thrown at me. It helps me gain control in one part of my life and creates momentum towards success. When I’m off the cycle, parts of my life suffers and I start to feel like my life is spinning out of control. Getting on the healthy track again to me is always the first step towards taking ahold of my destiny again.
As for when I hope to accomplish this, my ultimate goal is to be healthy again, not to fit into a dress, so I won’t be putting a time limit on this. There will be weeks I will gain and there will be weeks I will lose. I know I WILL fall off the wagon and guess what – it’s all okay! The most important part of the journey is that I get back on track. Actually that’s one thing I find I’m good at: I fall off the track quite often, but I can always count on myself to get back on, and to me, that is more important than attaining any goal. 🙂
See ya tomorrow!
Day 2: Let me begin by saying it was a beautiful fall day. Cool crisp air and smells of burnt firewood tickled my nose. The cold air, however, was a harsh reminder about how I forgot to use my inhaler before the run, so towards the middle, I tasted something like blood in my throat. I don’t think it’s really blood, but it takes me back to last year when I learned that that was the indication about my asthma acting up. I managed to not only finish my run but tack on an extra two minutes; however, by the time I reached home, I was almost gasping. Good timing. So lesson here is… 
Ok, all this talk about fall weather arriving on the cusp of October is dog doodoo because it was 90°F. 90 
One-Way Ticket to RAWR-ness 