A downward trend

My "one bottle of water for each mile run" trick worked! I weighed in on Saturday at 214.6 - lower than I've weighed in probably over a year! It feels good!

This chart is hard to see - but the weight line is def. sloping down, if even at a very sloooooooow pace! You can see in the past 6-7 weeks this chart shows, I've lost 7.8 lbs! That feels pretty good!

It's so easy to think about what I have LEFT to lose - roughly 40 lbs - instead of what I've achieved. It sounds insignificant, but almost 8 lbs is a great start! I'm celebrating 1 lb loss per week. Better than gaining that much, right???

FIVE (!) Mile Run

I've started running on the track at the Y. I have spent the past 1.5 years "running" on the treadmill - which really meant running faster than I felt comfortable, then having to jump off and rest for a minute or two every mile. I dreaded it, and I knew I wasn't doing my best.

So, I started to run on the track. At first I was apprehensive because it was 11 laps for one mile. I thought it would be dreadfully boring. But it turns out it's easier!

Here's why I like running on the track right now:

11 laps goes fast. At less than a minute per lap, it is easy to talk myself into just a few more

I get to ZONE OUT to my favorite music. My tunes of choice (don't laugh - it is great running music!):

On days my kids play in the gym with KidKare I get to see them! However, today that backfired and Hannah got pretty mad when she saw me run by... She cried for at least 5 laps!

It's not very busy up there and I don't have to worry about getting the machine I like.

The miles add up fast! Like I said in the first reason, it's easy for me to talk myself into more laps. I mean it's only 5 laps for 1/2 mile. If I can get to 5, I can get to 7, and from 7, it's just a few more to 9 and after 9 I'm almost done with that mile. This was my mentality today as I made it to FIVE MILES.

The last mile was slow and I was tired, but I did it! I averaged out to 11:00 per mile, which is slower than I would like - but I only walked 2 laps the whole time!

 If I had been on the treadmill, I would have had to stop at least 10 times to catch a breath because I would have had the tread set too high. On the track, I can run at my own pace and go faster and slower as I need.

Why haven't I been on the track this whole time???

Longest road to "first" 5lbs EVER

This week at weigh in, I lost 0.8 lbs and *finally* lost a grand total of 5lbs!

I consider this my "first" 5lbs - though I have gone up and down from this weight for over 2 years. But - since recommitting - and starting this blog - I've now lost 5lbs!

I now from my previous stint at WW that these little stars - these little successes - are what propel me to do more and better and lose more and keep me going. I intend to think about this star every time I want to fall off the wagon. Like when I want a second piece of the most delicious birthday cake I ever made for my husband's birthday this week. Seriously. So yummy. So dangerous. I didn't figure out the points, but I'm certain it must be at least 12 points a slice.

So, yeah, I'm only eating one slice and I still feel guilty about it.

My weight is now 216.0. This weight I have been STUCK at or near for about 2 years. I broke lower than it just once - in spring 2011 - but I inched back up. So, I think my body likes to be 216. But you know what? I DO NOT.

So, I'm dreaming of stars and can't wait to earn my next one!

Zumba, part 1

This week I was stricken with the stomach flu. UGH.

But it passed quickly enough for me to attend my first Zumba class. I'm mostly sure this was true:

It was fun, though - and I definitely intend to go back next Wednesday. Maybe I'll even find some rhythm by then. Haha.

Weigh in is tomorrow. I felt like I had a good week - despite being sick. Until I went and ate a big greasy cheeseburger for lunch today and then had pancakes for supper. Lord knows I don't need a belly full of grease & bread to weigh in tomorrow!

OH - but I also ran 4.5 miles on the track at the Y the other day. It felt SO GOOD. Mind you I was far from fast - in fact many people probably wouldn't even call it running. But I was moving, which is great. I just hope the overexertion of exercise doesn't weigh me down (or up, so to speak) tomorrow on the scale.