I suppose that it should come as no surprise, but my belief that "months that start with the letter A are the hardest" has been even more solidified. I'm sure some of you noticed that I didn't post last week...make no mistake, I weighed in, I just didn't have time to write a post!
On one hand, I used to think that the beginning of the school year was a great time for me to lose weight. There's so much to do I didn't really have time to think much about food in between meals...and some days you get so busy that you even miss lunch and/or dinner! Plus there's all the running around to various meetings, being out in the buildings getting things ready for arrival, running around the buildings during move-in...you'd think that would have a great influence! Not so much the case, after all.
I decided that my naivete came from only seeing the exercise I was getting. This year, concentrating more on what I'm actually eating has really opened my eyes. I finally saw all the bad food habits that were counteracting the exercise I was getting. I saw how many times we had dessert foods at meetings or social events, I saw how missing lunch and/or dinner just made me even more hungry at the next meal or even worse made me snack in between, I saw how easy it was to get wrapped up in what needed to be done and forget about what was important, and I saw the junk that we buy for our students.
The last two weeks have been especially challenging for me! After reflecting on my last few posts, I had pretty much decided on starting to run and eventually training to do a marathon. I think it is one of the coolest things a person can do, especially if you're raising money for a good cause in the meantime. I did a little online research, I talked to a couple of people I know who have run them, and realized that I needed new shoes. The tennis shoes I'd been wearing weren't old - I probably bought them around February for support while I was dancing and they rarely even left the house! (I wore them often...just not outside much) However, I found that when I was walking in them, my toes would get a little tingly and, frankly, they were Nikes I bought on sale at a small shoe store. Several people said that when running you needed to really start with good shoes or else you could end up hurting yourself even before you get too far into your life running. I went to a local shoe/sports place that had gotten good recommendations...wow do they know their shoes! For maybe the first time ever, I truly got fitted for shoes! They used the little foot measurement thing that all the kids play with in shoe stores, but they also just make you stand there while they look at how you hold your feet. Where do you put pressure? How does your arch look? Then they pull out several different brands and types of shoes and make you try them all on and walk around the store while they actually WATCH how you walk in them. It was amazing to me how this man could watch my feet while I was walking and he could pretty much already guess the feedback I was about to give him on the shoes! Needless to say, I was impressed...and I left the store with new shoes.
I went for my first real run the next day (a Friday)...and I haven't really run since I was in middle school. I knew that I needed to start fairly slowly, so I decided I would try running a mile then walking a mile. Frankly, I didn't really even think that I could run a whole mile...but I did!!! I did have one minor break in the run while waiting for a traffic light at a busy intersection, but I could've kept going if it weren't for those pesky cars. I was THRILLED that I finished a mile...and it was about a 13-minute mile - not too shabby at all for my first time out! I forced myself to slow down and walk the next mile, but when I hit that second mile mark, I decided I would run number three, then I walked number four. I finished the last half mile on a jog...I tried running and it was just not really happening. I really felt GREAT - I stretched, I ate some dinner, I took a hot shower and I went to bed. The next day, my left foot HURT!! Now, I sprained my right ankle in high school so I was a little prepared for some soreness there, but I was not expecting issues with the left one. I thought maybe I just overused it the day before and some rest and ice would help it. The problem was, though, that Sunday early afternoon we were taking our student staff on a retreat...in the woods. I also noticed that in the mornings I would wake up and it would feel pretty good, but by the afternoon it was screaming at me. When we got back from the retreat, I went to the doctor to get it checked out - thankfully, I didn't break anything, but he thought I strained a ligament in the side of my foot...and he said not to run on it until it's been about 3-4 days with NO pain. Well, that's been over a week ago and it's still a little sore at times. But, I at least have been able to walk on it better and did some dancing last night without it hurting! YAY PROGRESS! I do, however, still feel bad seeing my brand-new-only-worn-once shoes sitting on the floor and wishing I could go out running in them. But, I shall be following the doctors orders.
Anyway, foot pain aside, the retreat really put a hurting on my food week. During the week before, we had a staff picnic...where I did pretty well aside from the brownie that I ate. Then we had campfire night...where I had two s'mores. Then at the retreat we had another campfire...and I ate another s'more. And the camp served us nachos for dinner, eggs and bacon for breakfast, and spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. We had taken some of our own "snack foods" for the students, but aside from some bananas and oranges, it was mostly chips and candy. So, when I weighed in the next day, I was not at all surprised that I had gained a pound - and, truth be told, I was pretty okay with it! If I only gained one pound after everything that I had eaten that week...I counted myself pretty lucky!
I had told myself that this week would be different - I was going to be better and get myself on track again. Easier said than done. I made some pretty healthy choices during most meals, but due to my foot and just simply working from 8am until at least 8pm...there was no chance of me getting in much exercise other than walking to our programming sessions. I was totally excited, though, when one afternoon our "energizer" was two Zumba songs that I already knew! It was great to be dancing again! (Though it is super difficult to do Zumba in sandals...just in case you were wondering) I had a minor victory one day - I was walking back to my office and had decided to stop by the cafe to get a drink. I went in there determined to get an iced coffee and a muffin...I got to the counter and felt guilty...I walked out with a Diet Pepsi and a container of apple slices. During move-in I wasn't as good. The boss-lady brought in breakfast for us the students...she got bagels, yogurt, apples, oranges, juice, and doughnuts. I had fully intended on making good choices, but do you know how hard it is to pick the yogurt and the fruit when there are doughnuts staring you in the face?? I did allow myself to have a couple doughnut holes, but at least I didn't eat as many as I normally would have...though I did succumb to the allure of the bagel. In my defense, though, I really did do a whole lot of walking/stair climbing this weekend to make up for it.
Four buildings x Three flights of stairs per building x Three move-in days x Multiple rounds each day = a whole heck of a lot of stair climbing! Not to mention the extra walking I got in travelling each of the floors and in between all of the buildings!
Now, my darlings are all moved in and life can, hopefully, get back to a nice normal pace. I haven't actually gotten to stay for a meeting in about a month and that makes me sad. But, the one thing that I can be super proud of, is that in all my craziness I actually managed to put myself first occasionally. In the past, I would have said "I can't go weigh in this week because I have too much to do" - this time I said "I can't stay for the meeting because I have too much to do, but I am going to make time to go at least weigh in." It was a bit of a revelation for me. Plus, it really helps to have my returning students commenting on how great I look - a real ego booster!
Initial weight: 257.2
Week 32: +1.2
Week 33: -1.4
Total weight loss: -51.2
Current weight: 206.0
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