I love my fanny pack!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Fanny Pack Love
I am currently loving my fanny pack! Crazy, huh? I grew up in the 80s when fanny packs were all the rage and everyone had to have one. I must admit (at the time) I was happy to see their popularity fade out. Fast forward to when I started doing recess duty as a teacher. I inherited a faded pink fanny pack filled with the essentials to survive any recess duty I would be monitoring. When I first started doing recess duty, I couldn't wear my fanny pack. It would not fit! Embarrassing, I know, but true (and I promise honesty for the sake of accountability). The last two years I have been losing weight, but I have not been as focused as what I am now. I was excited at the start of the school year when I could actually wear the fanny pack out at recess. Yesterday was my recess duty and Wacky Wednesday (wearing mix matched clothes) so of course I had to rock the fanny pack as the perfect accessory to my wacky outfit. I almost literally jumped up and down when I put the fanny pack on because it is so much looser now! I don't think I noticed how much looser it was because I had been wearing it over my winter coat previously. I know that you are dying to see a picture of me in my wacky outfit with my fanny pack so I would hate to disappoint you.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
February Picture and Lost Pounds!
I want to thank everyone for their kind words and support either in person or through Facebook. It really does mean so much to me, and it helps me more than you can even imagine. Sometimes this journey of trying to lose weight and become healthier can feel very lonely so these words of encouragement are very much appreciated.
I lost 4.2 pounds this week!!! Yippee! I was so excited. I needed the scale to go in the downward direction after the back and forth it had been doing pretty much all of January and first part of February. So, what was different this week? I did my training, but I have been doing that for three weeks now. I think the other factor was preplanning my meals for the week and making sure to track my points daily. I think that helped me a lot. I plan on continuing to do this.
I also had a picture taken of me today. I hate having pictures taken of me...especially full body shots. The fact that I am now posting one on this blog shows what a leap I am taking. I am going to post a picture of myself once a month in hopes that I will be able to see the changes in my body and to document my journey and how far I have come.
Without further ado, here is my picture for February 2013:
Yes, that is a teacher sweater I am wearing. Some friends of mine found it at the Goodwill so of course I had to wear it in honor of them today at church. That is how I roll.
I lost 4.2 pounds this week!!! Yippee! I was so excited. I needed the scale to go in the downward direction after the back and forth it had been doing pretty much all of January and first part of February. So, what was different this week? I did my training, but I have been doing that for three weeks now. I think the other factor was preplanning my meals for the week and making sure to track my points daily. I think that helped me a lot. I plan on continuing to do this.
I also had a picture taken of me today. I hate having pictures taken of me...especially full body shots. The fact that I am now posting one on this blog shows what a leap I am taking. I am going to post a picture of myself once a month in hopes that I will be able to see the changes in my body and to document my journey and how far I have come.
Without further ado, here is my picture for February 2013:
Yes, that is a teacher sweater I am wearing. Some friends of mine found it at the Goodwill so of course I had to wear it in honor of them today at church. That is how I roll.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
This Is Not a Deadline...This Is My Life
“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
I am taking the plunge and beginning this blog to document the changes I am making in my life. I enjoy writing my thoughts and feelings in journals. Those are personal prayers between Jesus and myself. This blog is for a more public viewing audience. The purpose is to hold me accountable and inspire me to keep making changes in my life. If I am able to inspire others through my own struggles and journey, then that would be a truly humbling and wonderful benefit of blogging.
I have struggled with being overweight all of my life. I am now 33 years old, and I have to do the thing I think I cannot do. I have to lose this weight. I have tried over and over multiple times. I have tried countless diets. I will get on a losing streak, and then something will set me back, and I end up gaining the weight back and sometimes an additional 15-20 pounds with it! I hate it, and I hate myself because of it. Too many others can understand what I am going through because they have similar struggles.
I had an epiphany while talking to my best friend Kristal today. So many times in the past I wanted to lose weight for an event or in a certain amount of months. I was setting unrealistic goals for myself. When I wouldn't meet those goals, I would become discouraged and quit. If I was trying to eat better and I ended up binging, it would set me back, and I would throw in the towel for longer than necessary. I had a defeatist mentality. I now understand that this is a journey. I am going to stumble. I am going to have times when I am discouraged. I am going to have bad days. I am going to lose weight and end up gaining some back. I am going to plateau at certain times. I just can't ever, ever quit. This is a process. There is no deadline...this is my life!
I have joined Weight Watchers. I have tried Weight Watchers twice before, and I have not stuck with it. I decided to commit to the online program, and I have been doing better than when I was going to meetings. Since joining Weight Watchers, I have lost seven pounds. I had lost more, but I gained during the month of January because I was not handling grieving the first anniversary of my father's passing well.
I am mad at myself for gaining weight during that month, but I also learned a very important lesson about myself and grief and making changes in my life. It was through those very dark weeks that I realized I needed to change my outlook. I needed something positive to focus on. My friend Lori posted on Facebook about joining her team in the Color Me Rad 5K race in September. I remember looking at her pictures of this race from last year and thinking how much fun it looked. I then started thinking that I would do it. I talked to her about it, and then next thing I knew, I had joined her team.
This may not seem like a big deal. I mean, come on, I have walked many 5Ks as an overweight person. However, this time was different. I committed to run this 5K. Immediately I began looking forward to something...which is exactly what I needed during those bleak January days. I found a beginner's 5K training program that I have been following. Here is the link for the training program I am using:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/5k-run/SM00061
I have been doing it for three weeks, and I am already noticing changes - not necessarily in my body but in my mind. I am getting excited about working out. I look forward to my training. When my alarm goes off at five in the morning, I am able to bounce out of bed. When I didn't do one of my long runs on a Saturday, I was mad at myself, but I didn't quit! I have looked into running other 5Ks before September including one as early as April.
Seriously?!?! Who would have thought that someone who has been overweight all of her life would start running and getting excited about it? My first long run/walk was three weeks ago. Because it is winter in Indiana, I have not been running outside. I have been running indoors, and six laps around the building is one mile. Here is a picture of my first run:
Yes, it took me 17 minutes and 33 seconds, but it doesn't matter. It is going to get better. It is a process.
I didn't make my 3.5 mile run the second week, but I am not going to beat myself up over it anymore. I am learning.
Here is a picture of my second run which is the third week on the training schedule so it was a two mile run:
Yippee! I was running/walking a 16 1/2 mile. I wonder if I would have kept the same pace if I had the third mile but it does not matter. My time has improved. Even if it hadn't improved, I am still proud of myself for completing it! My friend Tisha was in the building when I was doing this run, and she would keep giving me thumbs up. It was so encouraging.
I have had many friends say encouraging things to me through the start of my journey. I would like to give a shout out to Kristal, John Seth, Kimmy, Lori, Kristi, Carrie, Brienn, Jael, Julie, Angela, Tisha, Amanda, and Tracy for encouraging me and supporting me...some of you have even offered to train with me! Wow! I have amazing friends. I have an amazing family as well. My mom and sister are both proud of me for making changes, and I may even run one of the 5Ks I have been looking at with my brother-in-law, and my Uncle John has committed to running a 5K with me. I would like to thank all of my friends and family who have loved me no matter what and who are now giving me the strength to become a better, healthier me.
I am taking the plunge and beginning this blog to document the changes I am making in my life. I enjoy writing my thoughts and feelings in journals. Those are personal prayers between Jesus and myself. This blog is for a more public viewing audience. The purpose is to hold me accountable and inspire me to keep making changes in my life. If I am able to inspire others through my own struggles and journey, then that would be a truly humbling and wonderful benefit of blogging.
I have struggled with being overweight all of my life. I am now 33 years old, and I have to do the thing I think I cannot do. I have to lose this weight. I have tried over and over multiple times. I have tried countless diets. I will get on a losing streak, and then something will set me back, and I end up gaining the weight back and sometimes an additional 15-20 pounds with it! I hate it, and I hate myself because of it. Too many others can understand what I am going through because they have similar struggles.
I had an epiphany while talking to my best friend Kristal today. So many times in the past I wanted to lose weight for an event or in a certain amount of months. I was setting unrealistic goals for myself. When I wouldn't meet those goals, I would become discouraged and quit. If I was trying to eat better and I ended up binging, it would set me back, and I would throw in the towel for longer than necessary. I had a defeatist mentality. I now understand that this is a journey. I am going to stumble. I am going to have times when I am discouraged. I am going to have bad days. I am going to lose weight and end up gaining some back. I am going to plateau at certain times. I just can't ever, ever quit. This is a process. There is no deadline...this is my life!
I have joined Weight Watchers. I have tried Weight Watchers twice before, and I have not stuck with it. I decided to commit to the online program, and I have been doing better than when I was going to meetings. Since joining Weight Watchers, I have lost seven pounds. I had lost more, but I gained during the month of January because I was not handling grieving the first anniversary of my father's passing well.
I am mad at myself for gaining weight during that month, but I also learned a very important lesson about myself and grief and making changes in my life. It was through those very dark weeks that I realized I needed to change my outlook. I needed something positive to focus on. My friend Lori posted on Facebook about joining her team in the Color Me Rad 5K race in September. I remember looking at her pictures of this race from last year and thinking how much fun it looked. I then started thinking that I would do it. I talked to her about it, and then next thing I knew, I had joined her team.
This may not seem like a big deal. I mean, come on, I have walked many 5Ks as an overweight person. However, this time was different. I committed to run this 5K. Immediately I began looking forward to something...which is exactly what I needed during those bleak January days. I found a beginner's 5K training program that I have been following. Here is the link for the training program I am using:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/5k-run/SM00061
I have been doing it for three weeks, and I am already noticing changes - not necessarily in my body but in my mind. I am getting excited about working out. I look forward to my training. When my alarm goes off at five in the morning, I am able to bounce out of bed. When I didn't do one of my long runs on a Saturday, I was mad at myself, but I didn't quit! I have looked into running other 5Ks before September including one as early as April.
Seriously?!?! Who would have thought that someone who has been overweight all of her life would start running and getting excited about it? My first long run/walk was three weeks ago. Because it is winter in Indiana, I have not been running outside. I have been running indoors, and six laps around the building is one mile. Here is a picture of my first run:
Yes, it took me 17 minutes and 33 seconds, but it doesn't matter. It is going to get better. It is a process.
I didn't make my 3.5 mile run the second week, but I am not going to beat myself up over it anymore. I am learning.
Here is a picture of my second run which is the third week on the training schedule so it was a two mile run:
Yippee! I was running/walking a 16 1/2 mile. I wonder if I would have kept the same pace if I had the third mile but it does not matter. My time has improved. Even if it hadn't improved, I am still proud of myself for completing it! My friend Tisha was in the building when I was doing this run, and she would keep giving me thumbs up. It was so encouraging.
I have had many friends say encouraging things to me through the start of my journey. I would like to give a shout out to Kristal, John Seth, Kimmy, Lori, Kristi, Carrie, Brienn, Jael, Julie, Angela, Tisha, Amanda, and Tracy for encouraging me and supporting me...some of you have even offered to train with me! Wow! I have amazing friends. I have an amazing family as well. My mom and sister are both proud of me for making changes, and I may even run one of the 5Ks I have been looking at with my brother-in-law, and my Uncle John has committed to running a 5K with me. I would like to thank all of my friends and family who have loved me no matter what and who are now giving me the strength to become a better, healthier me.
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