Weeks 80-83: Woohoo!

Okay, so I’ve been absent. What have I been doing? Out living life to the fullest!

Partying in some scandalous outfits. Training for a 10K in September. And yesterday, kayaking for the first time ever.

Beyond the general scary aspects of kayaking (tipping over, falling out, and you know, drowning, etc.), I was kept from jumping in and floating down the river because I was too nervous that Old Lisa wouldn’t fit in the kayak at all. Or I would be so heavy I’d make it sink. Or extra tippy. Or that if I tipped, my hefty hips would trap me in the kayak.

New Lisa donned a life-jacket and took the plunge, so to speak. I actually managed to stay in the boat for the entire 3 hour trip (go me!).

That isn’t to say that I’ve been sliding. Actually, I’ve had a pretty decent four weeks, weight-wise, since my last post:

Week 80 Results:
Starting stats:
Weight: 247 lbs.
BMI: 36.5

Today’s stats:
Weight: 169.8 lbs.
BMI: 25.1

Week 81 Results:
Starting stats:
Weight: 247 lbs.
BMI: 36.5

Today’s stats:
Weight: 168.2 lbs.
BMI: 24.8

Week 83 Results:
Starting stats:
Weight: 247 lbs.
BMI: 36.5

Today’s stats:
Weight: 168 lbs.
BMI: 24.8

Where is Week 82, you ask? I pretty much hopped aboard the S.S. Failboat. I went to my sister’s cabin for the weekend and, horror of horrors, forgot my scale. By the time I got back, the next time I would’ve weighed-in was Tuesday morning, and with that being half-way through the week, I just decided to wait until Saturday.

Recap: I love life. And I’m loving it at a “normal” BMI. I’m continuing to lose weight even though I’m running long distances (to me, anyways) four times per week.

Two words: HECK YES.

(There’s some Wisconsin-talk for you. See? It does pop out every now and then.)

Recap: Challenge Obesity 5K

This is me, reporting in on last weekend’s 5K, severely tardy to the party. At least I showed up?

First off: I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I was for my previous two 5Ks. In fact, I was pretty chill, which is kind of a shocker. Anxiety and I are good bedfellows – we snuggle, in fact, none of that “get off my side of the mattress” crap. I woke up, bounced out of bed, and after my scale mishap, put on my happy face and grabbed my race day breakfast.

Well, Naked Juice, you failed me. I had a free coupon, I’d heard good reviews, and when I selected the berryish protein-filled concoction from amongst the rest of the flavors, I expected taste of orgasmatastic proportions. Nope, sorry. I think it tasted chalky and gritty, not unlike leaving your juice bottle at a playground and coming back later to find that an inquisitive toddler has filled it with sand and colorful sidewalk chalk. I took two drinks and crossed it off my list of stuff to buy in the future (and yet frugal Midwestern me couldn’t throw it away because even though it was free to me, it was still fairly expensively priced on the shelf).

Disappointed, I moved on to my go-to pre-running foods, a banana and some cocoa roast almonds. Delicious as always.

When I arrived at the race site, I was trying to meet up with so many people. It was absolutely bonkers. BUT, it was also great – I met some ladies from the WW boards, some I met through Jen (priorfatgirl), my sister Dawn and my niece Julia, and some people I met that day. The atmosphere was totally charged with all the people there who had lost weight and made a commitment to living a healthier lifestyle. I felt so lucky to be able to be with all those amazing people!

Dawn is amazing, she managed to get this pic at the exact second I went across the finish line.

My shirt was kind of a big hit. And I feel like I for sure ran faster with “247” behind me, both literally and figuratively

I didn’t get my best time ever, but I finished. I finished the race, and I am finished with obesity. Done. Kaput. End. No going back. NO MORE, you hear me, fat? I’ve had it with you.

For more race day photos (and to read their amazing stories!) check out Mary at FitthisGirl and Jen at priorfatgirl at their sites, http://tinyurl.com/2c4mtwr and http://tinyurl.com/233cxcx respectively.

What’s next up re: running? Another 5K on June 12 in Bloomington, Minn., and training for [insert suspenseful music here] a 10K. You eyes aren’t pulling a funny on you, I swear. I decided to go big or go home, and I’m going to run my town’s 10K race in July. Running makes me feel like there’s nothing I can’t accomplish, and so I set my sights a little higher (longer?). I’m going to make it! 🙂

Fabulous Friday #1

Right then. Here’s the deal: every Friday from now until goal (and even after) I want to take a few minutes, sit down with my laptop, and recap the week – before weigh-in.

So here I sit, curled up on my bed with my computer and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. My bed is laden with the awesome purchases I made in my post-work week shopping trip… all of which highlight the incredible changes that’ve happened over the course of Weight Watchers. Tonight I bought the most adorable tankini. It’s hot peach with white polka dots, and I actually can’t wait to toss it on and lay out on a boat. Laying next to the swimsuit are two new pairs of shorts. Short shorts, not capris or bermuda shorts. And then, there’s another one of my most recent acquisitions: my race day shirt.

That’s right! It’s the Challenge Obesity 5K tomorrow. And I’ve got a special shirt to wear:

The front:

The back:

I’m a little nervous to advertise this in public, even in a group of people who are going to be at an event in support of fighting obesity. So I’m kind of trying to psyche myself up and gather some virtual cojones in order to put this shirt on tomorrow. I can write down online all I want that 145 lbs. is my goal weight. But seeing it on a t-shirt for some reason really cements it into reality. It feels like I’m making even more of a promise to myself and to everyone who is kind enough to support me that I WILL make it there.

Overall, this week was good. I earned 31 activity points (the equivalent of burning 3,100 calories) and really made a commitment to working out. On the flip side, I didn’t do so fab. regarding food. It’s like since I was working out so hard, I gave myself permission to pretend my plate is a patch of floor and do my best Dyson impression.

Only the scale will tell. Weigh-in is going to be early tomorrow, at 6:30 a.m. instead of 8 a.m., so I can hop in the car at 7:15 and make my way to St. Paul. ❤ and good night!

You + Me + 5K = AWESOME

So, friends in the Twin Cities metropolitan area… you could either catch an incredibly boring hour of extra sleep on Saturday morning

OR

you could be FABULOUS and come to the Challenge Obesity 5K at Como Lake in St. Paul with moi.

That’s right. You know you want to run and start your weekend off right! PLUS, you could hang out with some awesome people who are losing weight, have lost weight, or are supporting healthy weight loss and healthy living in general.

For more information on the event, visit http://tinyurl.com/y6rb8py. If you’ve never run a road race before, don’t be scared! The Charities Challenge series is very beginner friendly and supportive. When I ran the Halloween 5K, I had complete strangers cheering me on – it was awesome. If you’re going to be there and want to meet up before/after the race, email me at thebroadbroad@gmail.com.

Running in the Rain

I’ve been pretty lazy this week.  Like, extremely lazy.  So Wednesday night I was determined to drag my sloth-like behind off the futon and do Week 2 of C25K.

Mother Nature was not on my side.  She tried to thwart me, seriously.  At the time I was supposed to meet Allison to run, rain fell from the sky with fire-hose force.  Not to be defeated, we waited half an hour and went while it was still sprinkling.  I’d never run in the rain before, but here’s what I learned:

1) Never wear pants – at least not without the waistband duct-taped to you.  If you wear pants, they will absorb all the water on the ground and begin to drag said pants towards the ground like slow, deliberate torture.  I hitched my waistband up to the band of my bra.  I rolled the waistband.  I ran with one hand desperately clutching the waistband.  Then two hands.  Let’s just say I’m surprised I managed to make it home without anyone viewing my undies.

2) Do not bring your cell phone, even if it is not directly being rained on.  My armband gathered moisture around my cell phone and fogged up the little plastic pocket anyways.  Pointless, and I’m glad not to have ruined my cell.

3) It is also pointless to try and keep your feet dry.  By the end of my workout, my shoes had become sponges and soaked up any moisture they could find.  The squishing noises my shoes made on the last leg of my walk home might have been humorous, if I hadn’t been too tired to laugh.

4) Do not run in the rain.  It does not make you hardcore.  It just makes you look ridiculous when you arrive home, whether soaking wet or just slightly damp.

Needless to say, next time it rains, I’ll be staying indoors and waiting for sunnier skies.