Workout 2 and Bed News

Happy Friday to one and all!  Did my second Couch to 5K workout yesterday.  Alternating 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking.  Not too sure why but it seemed harder this time???  I did it though.  I also ordered a pedometer/stopwatch watch type thingie (LOL) from amazon that should get here next week.  This way I'll actually know how far I'm going.  For right now, I go for 10 minutes and then turn around and take the same route back.  This way I know if the second half of my workout is on pace with the first half and that I'm not slowing down too much.  Last night I was 18 seconds off.  Took me 18 extra seconds to get home...that's actually not too bad I don't think.  It means I'm not slowing down a whole lot in my later "jogs."  I'll do the final workout of Week 1 on Saturday.  Hopefully I'll be ready to up the jogging by Monday.  We shall see. 

No big plans for the weekend here.  We're buying a "new to us" sleep number bed tomorrow.  Our current bed is AWFUL!  It slants down on one side and my poor hubby keeps sliding off of it so we're in desperate need of a new bed.  Finances are a little tight for a new bed, but luckily, a friend of mine is moving and has a barely used sleep number bed she's selling so I jumped all over it.  I love those things.  Not sure if they're global so for my Aussie friends, you can see a sleep number bed here.  You can adjust the firmness of each side of the bed so that married couples who don't have the same tastes can still get what they want.  It's freakin' awesome!  Anyhoo...very excited about that.  I'm hoping this helps with the joint and neck pains I've been having and I'll wake up a little more refreshed.  We shall see.  That's about it for me.  Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

Holy....Crap

I started my Couch to 5k program last night.  The first workout is only alternating between jogging for 60 seconds and walking for 90 seconds for a total of 20 minutes.  Holy Crap!  At 13 minutes, I was jogging ALMOST as slowly as I was walking and by 17 minutes, I'm pretty sure you couldn't tell the difference.  I felt like a longtime smoker, I was huffing and puffing so bad.  Pitiful.  It really drove home how bad of shape I'm really in.  Quite embarrassing.  At least I went after the girls were down so it was dark (actually VERY dark...I live in the boonies) so no one could see me turning bright red and heaving for dear life.  But I did it.  That's the important part.  The program is set to work out 3 times a week so I'll go again tomorrow.  Hopefully I'll get some kind of walk in today.

Oh!  I did buy a new pair of shoes!  I got a pair of New Balance running shoes that are SUPER comfy.  As bad as I felt after my "jog" (yeah right), my feet and ankles didn't hurt and that's a HUGE benefit for me.  My ankles hurt just walking around normally so that's a big endorsement for the money I paid. 

Alrighty...just wanted to give an update and let everyone know I survived.  Happy Tuesday!

Cat's Out of the Bag

Well...sort of.  So I had been feeling guilty lately about not telling my mom about the lapband.  First she thought I was pregnant...as if that would be the worst thing that could possibly happen.  But alas, no 100 lb baby inside waiting to jump out.  Then I started thinking with all the doctor appointments and the Breast Cancer Walk I'm preparing for, she'd think I have some kind of cancer.  There were a number of reasons I wasn't telling her; Fear of not getting the support I have hoping for was one of them. Another was there's a good chance insurance won't cover it anyway so why get anybody worked up?  Boy was I wrong about the support. I told her on Friday and sure enough, she had already suspected something was up. She thought it was just my husband looking into it though so I think she was kind of surprised when I told her I was too.  She doesn't know a whole lot about the band so I did my best to give a very brief desription of what it is and what my insurance requires and all about this ridiculous 6 month diet I have to do.  Overall, she was great.  She simply said that if this is what I think will help, then go for it.  She also agreed not to tell anyone else and seemed to really understand why I didn't want others to know.  I gotta tell ya.  I feel a lot better now that she knows.  I hate keeping things from her as she really is the one person I can tell anything to.  Not to mention she is my emergency contact that doesn't live with me that you have to put on every form you ever fill out.  You would think your medical contact should know if you're going to undergo surgery, not to mention have something implanted IN you.  However, the cat is not entirely out of the bag as it's still a secret to most people.

So far, it's a pretty good Monday.  I had my compensation talk with my boss and not only did I get a promotion with a fairly decent raise in today's economic climate but also a cash bonus which never happens around here.  Very excited about that!

In other news, I'm starting my Couch to 5k program tonight.  Hopefully I don't pass out trying to jog.  I'm bringing my cell phone just in case. LOL.  I need some advice.  I need a good pair of shoes for this training but I seem to have a dilemma.  I'm training for a 5k run but ultimately will be doing a 60 mile walk in November.  I can only afford one really good pair of shoes.  So should I get running shoes or walking shoes?  Some of my internet research has led me to believe that running shoes would probably be best as more technology and money go into those for your foot type but I'm looking for any input that might point me in the right direction.

I think that's about it. Overall, great week so far.  I hope all of you are getting off to a good start as well.  Have a great week!

2 down - 4 to go!

Just a quick update.  We had our second monthly weigh in with Dr. Simpson last night.  Ron lost 17 lbs this month!!!  I'm so proud of him.  And I have lost 3!  The doc was very happy with those results and Ron and I were ecstatic.  We were both so paranoid that we hadn't lost anything because we went so crazy over the holidays.  I don't think I've ever gone through a holiday season without putting on weight so that in itself is a victory.  Although, it's a little sad to think of how much I COULD'VE lost had I not eaten absolutely everything that was offered to me over Christmas, but I digress.  We have very little going on in this next month so the results should be even better next month.  To be honest, I'll be happy if I lose another 3.  Slow and steady wins the race after all. 

I also just want to give a quick shout out to all my new worshippers...er, I mean FOLLOWERS.  LOL.  It's amazing what posting your link on Amy's blog can do!  So a special thanks to Amy for the opportunity and a SUPER SPECIAL THANKS to everyone who has added me to their daily/weekly/monthly reading.  I can't imagine I have anything all that interesting to say but I'm glad you're along for the ride.  It definitely makes one feel not-so-alone in this process.

Couch to 5K

I'm starting my Couch to 5K program on Monday so I thought I would post what I would be doing here.  The goal is to do it Monday, Wednesday and Saturday...giving a couple days in between for recovery (AKA just walking).  I'm trying to talk a friend into doing it with me but it's a no-go so far.  So i'm on my own!  For those of you who haven't heard of Couch to 5K, you can go to the link here.  For my Aussie friends, they even break it down in kilometers.  It's a 9 week program that's supposed to take you from a couch potato to someone who can run a 5k in 30 minutes.  To be honest, I'm beyond a couch potato so I don't honestly expect to be able to run a 5k in 9 weeks...much less in 30 minutes...however I do think I should be able to do it in 3 months and still maybe not in 30 minutes but it's a goal, nonetheless.  The idea is to get your body moving and you have to start somewhere.  So here's what the first week looks like...

Workout 1 - Monday

1 Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Workout 2 - Wednesday

Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Workout 3 - Saturday

Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

The goal of this whole thing is to get to the point where I can walk 60 miles in 3 days in the middle of November.  I have just 10 months until the Susan G Komen 3-Day.  Not only do I hav to raise $2300 by then (!!!!) but I also have to able to walk more than half a mile without wheezing. 

 

In band news...Hubby and I have our second monthly weigh in with Dr. Simpson tomorrow afternoon.  I know Ron didn't lose as much as last month (darn Christmas goodies!) but he's still in the negative which is definitely a good thing.  Me?  I'm just hoping to hold steady.  Wish me luck!

Does this make me look fat?

Soooo...I was never one of those people that would ever ask someone if something made me look fat. It always bothered me when people did. If you have to ask, chances are it does. And, let's face it, you don't want anyone to be honest about it anyway. But I have found more and more that I'm wondering about that as I put things on. Today was when it hit me that I had become one of those people. I was staring in the mirror at work and I thought to myself, "Good lord! These glasses make me look fat!" That right...GLASSES!!! The second the thought crossed my mind, I wanted to smack myself upside the head! Glasses cannot make you look fat...for God's sake! They go on your face...over your EYES! It's not like I'm wrapping the glasses around my ass!!!! So I asked myself, "Self...why would you think glasses make you look fat?" And that's when it hit me. EVERYTHING makes me look fat. Do you know why? Well...from the Duh section of the newspaper...I AM FAT. There I said it. No one should feel bad or sorry for me because I said it. If I never said it, would it make it any less true? No. The truth is...I'm fat. So naturally... my clothes make me look fat, my hair makes me look fat, my make up makes me look fat... it's all going to make me look fat. There. I've come to terms with it...which has led me to another epiphany...

This is why some fat people "let themselves go." There was a whole big thread about hating fat people on LBT that has gotten a lot of attention from bandsters and I don't want to start a debate but let's face it... There are overweight people out there that just don't seem to care about their appearance. Now I think I know why. They know no matter what they do, they will still look fat. It doesn't matter how nice of clothes they wear, how stylish their hair is or how perfect their make up is applied...they will still look fat. I remember shortly after I had my first daughter, I was overweight and soooooo exhausted from being a first time parent that I completely stopped wearing makeup or putting any real effort into how I looked. After several months of this, I suddenly realized that I just didn't feel good...period. So I made a point to buy some new clothes and spruce myself up and I felt better. I felt better, not because other people would think I looked better, but I felt better because I thought I looked better and that's all that mattered.

And Yes...all of these random thoughts were spiraling through my mind as I was washing my hands in the ladies' restroom at work. I'm sure I got some funny glances for the faces I was probably making as I was thinking these things, but hey! At least I had make up on.

I wish I had the guts to do it!

So a very inspirational bandster, Tully (hope she doesn't mind my posting her link and sharing her business) just up and quit her job. She's going to spend the next 3 months travelling and not worrying about what's waiting for her when she gets back. Some people may think it's nuts but I gotta tell you, I'm soooooooooo jealous!

Don't get me wrong. I love my life. I don't mean I love my job...I LIKE my job and I am somewhat motivated by it but I'm not all THAT passionate about it. I don't feel that it's something I'm MEANT to do with my life. But it pays the bills, I have a great boss and I'm not required to work all THAT hard. What I do love is my husband, kids, parents and friends. I know I'm very blessed in life, BUT...

Sometimes I just want to take off somewhere. As I'm driving into work some mornings, I have fantasies that I drive right past my exit on the freeway and just keep going. I head west to California and camp out on the beach. Not tell anybody where I'm going and not call every night to say night-night to the babies. Be on my own, meet new people and and just go wild and free! Then of course, after a few days when I'm missing my girls and hubby terribly, I'd be ready to go home. LOL. Seriously though, don't we all feel this way sometimes? Like we want to escape? I love being a wife and mother and don't even mind the fact that I need to be employed but sometimes I would just like to break free from the monotony that is my life. Same thing day in, day out. While the routine may provide comfort in a crazy and uncertain world, sometimes it can also create bars around our imaginations. Just a thought...

I can dream though. Good luck to Tully in all her adventures! I am hoping she keeps in touch as I can live vicariously through her. LOL.

Have a great weekend everybody!

10 in 2010!

Hello all and Happy New Year! So a very inspirational blogger listed all the things she's learned since being banded this year. She called in her 9 in '09. I thought that was a great idea. However, I haven't learned much that I care to share this year so instead,I'm going list all the things I hope to accomplish in 2010. (Does anyone else find themselves saying oh-10 like '09? I just can't stop! Anyhoo..) I want to be clear. These are not resolutions. Resolutions are almost meant to be broken. They have a bad connotation and I'm known for even worse follow-through. So they're merely goals. Things I want to do this year. So...with no additional ado...drumroll please...

MY TOP 10 FOR 2010!

1. Potty Train my youngest daughter

2. Get a book contract for my nonfiction piece

3. Lose 60 pounds (how many times have I made that resolution?)

4. Obtain and contribute to an actual savings account

5. Create a weekly budget

6. Stick to said budget

7. Walk 4 times a week

8. Leave a note for my hubby somewhere once a week where I can tell him why I appreciate him or just to say thank you for something he did.

9. Complete Couch to 5K (very cool program you can learn more about here... http://www.c25k.com/)

10. Participate in the Susan G Komen 3-Day for the Cure (more info here... http://www.the3day.org/site/PageServer)

The last one's a biggie! I'll go into more details about all of these at some point but just wanted to let y'all know where my mind's at these days! Happy Wednesday Everybody!