The Ten Pound Challenge

And of course, despite my best efforts, I have fallen victim to the flu/cold currently going around.

Stuffy,congested, and restless. This sucks.

I’m not lost, I promise.

I’ve just been working on getting from this…

…to under 200lbs. I mean it’s not like I don’t really know how to do it. I’ve just allowed myself to make it much harder than it really is. I’ve been trying to not beat myself up about it, because, well…sh*t happens, right?

It was a mixture of things honestly. I became complacent. Fell into the “oh I’ll exercise tomorrow” trap. Didn’t make enough time to plan my meals. Etc, etc, etc. Even my running took a toll. A few days before taking this photo, I went for a run (after a 9 week hiatus), and was barely able to run 2 miles comfortably. My body definitely changed also. Some of the definition I was developing quickly started to diminish because I didn’t keep up. I miss those teeny tiny muscles that were starting to show :’(

The picture above was taken on Dec. 31st, 2012, so as of yesterday morning, I am actually 204.6lbs.

I’ve been building back up slowly, but I won’t lie, I am struggling with finding true concentration again. After much sulking around, I sat down and outlined some specific goals that I hope to reach within the next 3 months.

1) Lose another 20lbs to reach my mid-way point of 50lbs lost, since my highest weight of 234.8lbs.

2) Get myself back to a true 80/20 eating routine.

3) Be less sporadic with my running schedule, and log in at least 15 miles per week.

Already working on #3…currently (sort of) training for the NYC Half Marathon taking place in March. On a whim I entered the lottery in October/November, and got word that I had been selected. 

So if you live in NYC or are running it as well, PLEASE message me.

I’m a bit nervous. OK, maybe A LOT nervous. OK, maybe INSANELY nervous. And would really love any advice, tips or tricks (maybe even a running buddy?!)

Anyone who has run a half, please feel free to share some advice!

Going to work on editing a few things on the blog (i.e current stats, etc). And I’ll be better about updates!

I admit…

..I have neglected this space. Just been a really busy last few months (with way too much eating).

Still hovering over the 200-204lbs but no significant gains. Hoping to get it together and provide better updates soon!

Hope everyone has been able to stick to their routines, despite all the holiday goodies floating around.

—J

The life and times of The Ten Pound Challenge…

Hello Tumblr Friends!

I apologize for not updating sooner…truth is I’ve gotten lazy and have just been so exhausted because of the lack of structure I’ve had going on lately.

A few updates on my end:

1) I’ve been hovering over the 200-204.5lb mark due to water weight/consumption of bad crap/lack of exercise. I’ve allowed myself to become extremely complacent, which is NOT OK, seeing as I still need to lose at least another 30-40lbs to reach my happy medium.

2) I have a race on Sunday, which I’ve barely prepared for. It’s a 5 Miler in Central Park, and I am seriously scared because I’ve barely worked my way to 5 miles..the last long run I had was 4 miles, and I had to stop quite a few times along the way. To be fair, it was my own fault for eating way too much before hand.

3) I haven’t gone running since, because I have been dealing with some annoying sprain/pain on the side of my foot. After reading a few running forums, I may have pin pointed what the problem is…but will still need to get it checked. I am determined to still run my race this Sunday…so far it hasn’t been bothering me..so we shall see.

4) Like the mad woman I am, I have registered to run my first 10K (equivalent of 6.2 miles) in December. It’s technically just a “fun run” (after all, it has a fun name, the Hot Chocolate 5K/10K). The course for this race is on Roosevelt Island, the same place where I ran my 5K, which is pretty cool since I know what to expect.

5) I am considering doing a half marathon in March—the All State 13.1 Marathon to be exact. It’s a few days before my 28th birthday, and what better and more symbolic way to mark my 28th year, than by doing something challenging, and radically different than the year before?! I have plenty of time to train for one, so I’ll definitely keep you guys posted on what I decide.

In the last few days I’ve had a reality check of sorts, and really am trying to go back to where I was a couple of months ago.

The bare basics: Sticking to clean eating, exercising regularly, and discovering my new strengths.

Weight loss, especially when its in the double digits, is absolutely great. Losing 35lbs definitely gave me a boost of confidence and the amount of positive feedback I get is beyond wonderful, BUT, it’s been a hindrance because it makes you kind of stop and become comfortable where you currently are. You get careless and it becomes a heck of a lot easier to start seeing the numbers increase bit by bit.

Despite the few bumps in the road, one thing is for sure: running has become a HUGE part of my life, and anytime I skip out for one reason or another, I end up regretting it. In order to ensure that I continue challenging myself, I sign up for races. For now my goal isn’t to be fast, but rather, to just finish and to prove to myself that I can do it. That I can go beyond what I thought I’d ever do.

Hope everyone has been sticking to their Fall goals!

Finding Balance

Sorry for the lack of updates guys. Juggling school and work is no fun at all…and having to do it while planning/coordinating a bunch of pre-wedding events (as part of my Maid of Honor duties), is even harder.

I promise to update in the next few days…it’s been a crazy 8 weeks to say the least—slowly I’m finding the balance again.

Hope everyone is enjoying the lovely autumn weather!

—J

An emotional week in review…

For some weeks, I’ve been feeling a bit “off”. Not quite myself I guess. Part of it had to do with my little sister’s departure to Italy. She normally spends her summers working on campus but this summer she came home, so we spent the entire summer hanging out, exercising and catching up. She left two weeks ago, so I’ve been a little bummed out since then. As much as I wanted her to go off to study abroad and explore, I knew I would miss her company a whole lot.

I’ve also been a bit preoccupied with planning my best friend’s bridal shower, have been juggling evening/weekend science classes (post-bac courses I need in order to apply to US Medical Schools), have dealt with unpleasant crap at work, and to add to my list, am a little hurt by a few friends’ lack of support (an ongoing resentment I’ve felt for years). My emotions have been all over the place to say the least.

I have a history of allowing my emotions to veer me off course, and with all that’s going on, I definitely have started to see the same pattern developing. I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit that I’ve been feeling sorry for myself, and that I’ve been ALLOWING these emotions to dictate what I eat and how little I exercise.

Aside from a short run on Sunday and my race on Monday, I haven’t been exercising or eating well at all. I think that had a lot to do with why I ran a little slower than expected (still proud of myself nonetheless). I haven’t gone up or down in weight—partly because I have been trying to keep my calories between 1,500-2,000…just enough to maintain…but I won’t lie, every day I weigh myself and if the number goes up, especially after a few days of eating shit, I start to panic.

At this point I will stop with the denial BS and admit to myself that I am holding on to the wagon with the very tips of my fingers. I’m being dragged along…one more big bump and I risk falling into a deep pit. 

I owe, or at least I thought I did, much of my weightloss success to my bootcamp trainer who was always motivating me to push harder. After spending so much time training with him I had hoped to extend it through the winter, but it seems as though he’s left all his clients in the dark by not updating us with details about indoor training, ending sessions early (end of August vs mid September) and doing away with his website and FB page. While I understand we all need space and time to recover from burnout, it’s unprofessional to keep clients in the dark this long—especially after we raved, and referred, his services to plenty of friends and family.

Since then I’ve tried to build up a routine, and quite honestly am just overthinking everything. Despite knowing EXACTLY what to do, having a ton of exercise videos, weights and even kettle bells, I feel a little lost. I feel like a little bird trying to leave the nest.

I should be able to, know I can do this successfully but I’ve been so focused on all the emotional garbage, that I’ve lost my flow. This week I spent a lot of time thinking about it all and admitted to myself what the real problem is: I spend way too much time investing in others, before truly investing in myself. I put so much energy out on helping, pleasing, applauding, comforting, others, that next thing I know, I’m running on empty.

I’ve been recharging my batteries. Trying to find a more positive attitude. This summer I accomplished so much, so it’s only fair that as the Fall season begins, I can turn a new leaf and write about new and exciting ventures.

I’ll be running a 5 mile race on October 28th, exactly 7 weeks from Sunday.

The goal? To run the 5 miles in an hour or less. That means running a 12 min/mile or less.

Tomorrow I’ll be attending an engagement/housewarming party, and most likely won’t be eating my best. But Sunday…Sunday starts Week 1 of training. Week 1 of refocus. Week 1 of recommitting.

I’m so ready.

So…

1) I am officially addicted to wanting to run more races.

2) In order to feed my addiction, I just signed up for another race on October 28th!!!!!!

This time a 5 Miler!! Ah!

Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff race, here I come!!!