Rock On!

What better place to run my first half marathon than my "home" town of Chicago. Back in May at the Green Bay Marathon, I was overtaken by a moment of insanity and signed on the dotted line for the Rock 'n' Roll Chicago Half Marathon. After the initial "what was I thinking?" moment, I set out to train. To my surprise, the training didn't stink as much as I thought it would; in fact, I found it to be rather enjoyable.

With Grandma Pokey & Grandpa Tiger volunteering babysitting services, Rich and I set off on Saturday for Chi-town. Our first stop was the expo to pick up my race packet:

While at the expo, I met a great organization called Team 413. You can read more about them on their website, but it is awesome to be able to not only participate in an activity that you love, but also share your faith in the process!

Afterward, we headed to our hotel to unwind. I ended up taking a nap (*gasp*) and slept through our dinner reservation at Rosebud. We ended up just having carry-out from Bucca di Beppo - a wise choice and I was able to hit the hay fairly early (4:30 a.m. comes awfully early!)



As you can tell, it was still dark when we arrived at the starting gates. Thankfully, it was an untypical August day in Chicago. We were actually cold while we waited for the start of the race!



Rich took this picture while I was waiting to start the race. He calls it "my game face".




At mile 4, I was "joined" by my sweet hubby. Technically, he was a "race bandit" which was forbidden, but he ran alongside me for almost nine miles snapping photos, getting water for me and providing me my Gu and Shot Blocks! Now THAT is a dedicated husband!


Most importantly, I FINISHED! My goal was to (a) finish the race and (b) finish the race without walking. With God's awesome power, I accomplished my mission! My finishing time was 2 hours and 19 minutes. I am thrilled to have finished this race and I thank everyone for their prayers and support!

With God, all things are possible!

Celebrate the Journey

As Easter nears, it suddenly dawned on me that two years ago today, God began a mighty show of his power to transform! Not a day goes by that I do not give thanks to my Lord and Savior for what He has done for me! It is only by His grace that I have been able to accomplish so much!

Three Lousy Points!

Alright, this is going to sound really silly but it's also one of those "yay, God! Look how far I've come moments."

Every year, we have to take a health risk assessment for insurance purposes. We get slightly lower rates if we do and this year, they are actually "charging" more for people with risk factors such as smoking, obesity, etc. So now, in addition to just feeling good having lost all of this weight, we also have an incentive to keep it off! The assessments were last month but the follow up appointment to get results was today for me.

The one thing I really like about this test is that it shows your year-to-year progress. My first year, my score was 65 which isn't exactly great, but it's not where you want to be either. I actually scored negative points that year for being morbidly obese. Well, today I am a 97 out of 100! The only item that "held me back" was that my cholesterol ration was just a couple of tenths over the acceptable range of "excellent". UGH! So close! I always hated ratios in math class!

So, that's the good news of the day not to mention the fact that this year, I got a better score than Rich so I have bragging rights for the next year!

Another benefit of weight loss

Clothing takes up way less space in a suitcase (and you can bring more!)

Come on a journey with me . . .

A year ago, I handed over my weight struggles to God. I was horribly overweight and out of shape - even what most doctors would consider "morbidly obese". I don't know where I thought the journey would end or if it ever will, but it sure has been a ride. Take a journey back with me:

After my first six-week cycle:

May 22, 2007

Another six weeks later:

June 30, 2007

End of third cycle:

August 30, 2007

End of fourth cycle:

October 8, 2007

End of fifth cycle:

November 19, 2007

People thought I was "the other woman" at Rich's company Christmas party:

December 8, 2007

Would the girl who began this journey in April ever have thought she could run and compete in a triathalon?

February 24, 2008

And here I am today (sorry it is a little blurry, Ian was my photographer):



And, just in case you are really curious about the numbers:

1. I have lost a total of 95 pounds to date (a 38.9% weight loss). That is more than the combined weight of my two children.

2. I went from a size 24 to a size 6.

3. In various areas of my body, I have lost an incredible total of 91 inches.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me and continues to support me. Just remember with God, anything is possible!

Happy Holidays

This past Saturday, we went to Rich's company Christmas party. It's a fun evening but this year was even more meaningful to me because I have changed so much n my appearance. Last year at this time, I was praying that I had something in my closet that not only fit me, but would actually look half-way decent. This year, the only thing I had to worry about was whether my strapless bra would stay up the entire evening (which it did!)

Funny things happen though when you lose a lot of weight. People don't recognize you. Rich called me this morning to let me know that several people at the party didn't come up to us because they thought Rich was there with "another woman". While I am almost "half the woman" I used to be, I can assure them that it is still me.

Getting there!

Another six weeks has passed and I am now at then end of weight loss cycle number five. I am now within 3 pounds of the "high end" of my ideal body weight for my fram size though I want to get to the lower end of that scale. Thus, today I am starting on cycle number six. Not the easiest thing to do the week of Thanksgiving, but you can't stop progress.

Oh, and sorry about the x-ray vision on the flash. I swear in regular lighting this shirt is not see-through! (but then again, you can all see my "uplift" from Nordstroms!

Another update

Wow. I got to the end of my 4th cycle in my plan. Overall, I have lost 62 pounds to date which is approximately 10 pounds a month. This cycle was my "lowest" in terms of overall percentage weight loss though. I think as I get closer to my yet-to-be-determined goal weight, it will get trickier to lose it more rapidly. Anyhow, this is me today and I am happy with her. And, in case you were curious, this is
me six weeks ago.

Tim Gunn - I need your help!

A lot of you probably already know that I am a reality show junkie. What is it about these train wrecks that I am so compelled to watch them? Alas, I digress. My newest venture into reality TV is Tim Gunn's Guide to Style. I love Tim from his days on Project Runway. He's just so cool and you know he just tells it like it is. I keep telling Rich that I need Tim to come to my closet for a makeover - but somehow I don't see that happening.

Anyhow, now that I have lost a "bit" of weight, I really need some new clothes that don't make me look like a frumpy school marm. At the same time, I still have some more weight to lose, so I don't want to go overboard. However, I'm still in my "overweight, plus size" mindset and so I'm having trouble picturing what would even come close to looking decent on me. The other problem is that when I do actually find something I like, my practical nature takes over. I don't think I can bring myself to pay $40-$50 for a shirt that may be out of style by say, next week.

So, if anyone has any connection whatsoever to Tim, please send him my way. Otherwise, I'll continue my quest.

Less of Me (again)

with vacation and getting back into the routine. I completely forgot to post my end of phase 3 picture. And just for your frame of reference, here's my picture from the end of phase 2

Is this really appropriate?

Since I have been on my weight loss journey, I have become a "walker" in the early mornings. I really like it even though I have to get up at the crack of dawn to do it. I have a set "route" that I take but I alterante the direction I take each day (mostly due to the fact that there is a nasty hill and I can't imagine going up that sucker every day!)

Anyhow, I will get to my point. When I walk, I stay on the public streets/sidewalks. Tonight, as I was driving back from dinner with the kids, we passed the local cemetery and lo and behold, there are two women POWER WALKING through the cemetery! It just really bothered me. While I realize that there are paved pathways throughout, I hardly find it appropriate to speed walk through the final resting places of so many. Does this strike you as an odd place to exercise?

Back to the plan

Today I am starting Round #3 of Lean for Life. Hopefully, my results will continue as I am liking going down in sizes every six weeks. I was just sorting through some old clothes this morning and I have the next set of "goal" pants lined up and ready to go!

Even a little more less of me

Well, I am photoshop challenged. I had originally wanted to post a picture of me at the end of my last cycle next to this one so you could see the progress. Thanks to God and a lot of hard work, I am now down another 18 pounds for a grand total of 34 since beginning back in April. I am now in yet another smaller size and am determined to get into the next smaller pair of jeans in my pile. When we get back from our family trip, I am going to be packing up my "too big" jeans and saying goodbye to them. I'd really love to have a bonfire, but I think I'll just take the tax deduction and send them over to Goodwill.

Tasty Tuesday - Strawberry Banana Sorbet

Welcome to Tasty Tuesday hosted by Angie.

On my plan, I am fairly limited in what "sweet" stuff I can have. Usually, I have to resort to a serving of sugar free jello. Otherwise, fruit has to suffice for my "dessert". Anyhow, I was flipping through the latest issue of Woman's Day Magazine and I found this tasty treat which really is technically just fruit in a different form, but when you want a healthy alternative to ice cream, this does the trick.

STRAWBERRY BANANA SORBET

2 medium bananas
1 cup sliced strawberries
2 T water
1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

Slice bananas into 1" chuncks. Place in a pan lined with wax paper along with strawberries and freeze 1.5 - 2 hours. Combine frozen fruit, water and lemon juice in a food processor/blender and blend until smooth. Serve right away or freeze up to 2 weeks. Makes approximately 2 cups.

***Note: I used a blender but it would definitely work better with a food processor. If using a blender, maybe only freeze the fruit for a lesser amount of time. I also poured the sorbet into individual Ziploc take-a-long containers for the perfect individual serving.

Finishing up Round 2

For those of you who may have been following my weight loss progress, I am now in the "maintenance phase" of my second round of Lean for Life. I am actually glad to be on the maintenance portion because the last week I have hit a plateau which I know I will break (in fact, I had as of this morning). I'm going to do one extra week of maintenance this time around because we will be visiting family after the initial 2 weeks of maintenance and since the first week of this plan is usually the most crucial to get started on a good foot, I don't want to do it while I'm away. So far, since beginning the plan back in April, I have lost just over 30 pounds and am down about 3 sizes. Thanks for letting me share!

A good problem to have, I guess

So I am now in week #3 of this weight loss cycle. I got out the goal pants yesterday and I can say that while I can get them over my hips AND even buttoned and zippered, I still have about a week or two before I would consider being at "goal". That being said, I am now at a point where my current size is now a little too "big" but the next "goal" size isn't comfortable yet. Makes one kind of wish for "half" sizes.

A "little" accomplishment

When I was pregnant with Kyra, I got to that point in pregnancy where my rings were just getting a little too tight so I inevitably took them off and Rich put them away for safe keeping. Of course, after Kyra was born, they wouldn't go back on and I didn't want to have them re-sized to a larger size considering I had just had them made smaller about a year earlier. Well, tonight Rich was downstairs putzing around and I saw my rings so I decided "what the heck" and tried it. Guess what? I can wear my wedding ring again!!! It's another small victory for me!

A New Pair of "Goal" Pants

So, yesterday we finished up our first cycle of Lean for Life. I even managed to lose 3 more pounds during my two weeks of maintenance bringing my total weight loss for the phase to 18 pounds.

Today we begin the cycle again. The first part of this plan is always a little difficult to tackle because it's three straight days of nothing but protein. Strangely, I am not really hungry when doing this, but it does leave a little to be desired in terms of meal variety. I mean, there's not too many ways to pretty up a chunk of meat on a plate. But, this is what "kick starts" the plan into action and who I am I to judge when I get such good results.

Each time I begin a new cycle, I review how the last cycle went and if I met any goals. Well, of course I met the weight loss goal, but I also now fit into a pair of pants that I haven't worn in probably about six months. So, I now am going to dig through my closet and find a new pair of "goal" pants. This will be another size down from my former "goal" pants. I am also going to make a conscious effort to exercise more. I figure I lost weight the last cycle with some exercise, but not nearly what I should have been doing to really keep my "furnace" burning. So, this morning, I woke up at 6:15 and went for a 30 minute brisk walk. I was amazed at how much ground I covered when I'm not stopping every two feet to look at a dandelion or pinecone (though I do very much enjoy my walks with Kyra). We'll see how I do in the next 4-6 weeks. If I get the chance, I'll have Rich take a picture of me in my "old" jeans.

My head is shrinking

Last night I went into the office to catch up on a couple of tapes. I was getting mildly annoyed because my earphones kept falling out. I haven't really had much of a problem with this in the past. Upon further examination, I realized that my head size must also be decreasing because of the weight loss - not a bad problem to have, but it will be frustrating until I get a new pair of ear phones!