April's journey

[marsh0013]

april, just reading your excitement about getting your bib is getting me excited too! that just sounds like you're going to ahve a wonderful time, and it will be such a sense of accomplishment when you cross that finish line! i wouldn't be surprised if on race day you go a bit faster than in your practice run...it's amazing what the adrenaline of the race will do for you

good luck with your mother's day goal, and your goal of onederland by may 15. you can do this! you've set your mind to it, and you're doing a really great job with your eating and your exercise! keep it up, and you'll keep that scale going down

hope you have a great day

 

[ZerasPride]

Hi April,

I wanted to check on you and see how you are doing. I see you are doing marvelously!!!

Thanks so much again for starting and maintaing the stats for the April 1st challenge. I was so thrilled to make my goal and I'm glad to see that you have signed up for the Mother's Day Challenge too. I'll be right there with you trying to lose 10 pounds.

I think it's wonderful that you are taking your weight loss in 10% increments. So am I. It makes it much more doable. I have 8 pounds to reach my next 10% goal and hope to lose it and a bit more for the Mother's Day Challenge.

Keep up all your hard work. Your progress is so inspiring!!!

 

[DoeWDW]

April, I'm so excited about your race on Sunday!!! You go, girlfriend!! :happy1: That is such a great goal and I bet you'll be walking on air across that finish line!!

You've met your April Fools Challenge - YAY!!

Keep it up, April!!!

 

[AprilN]

The scale didn't move for me this week - if anything, I might have gone up a small bit. I'm feeling pretty upset over this, especially because I thought my eating and exercise went just fine over the past week. Maybe it's TOM, but until I start moving in the right direction again, I can't help feeling down. Hopefully things will turn around this week, but with a 3-day trip to Reno planned, I don't have high hopes for a big loss.

I hope everyone else is having a better day.

 

[marsh0013]

april, i'm so sorry to hear that you're feeling down!

didn't you have your race this weekend?! i'm anxious to find out how it went!

i hope that you're feeling better

 

[DoeWDW]

April, that silly scale doesn't tell the whole story. I hope your clothes are feeling a bit looser - maybe you're losing inches instead of pounds?

Hang in there - that scale WILL cooperate if you keep doing the right things!

How did the race go??

 

[AprilN]

I did it! I ran in my first race on Sunday, and it was fantastic! The event was the Great Race, which starts in Saratoga, CA and ends in Los Gatos, 4.0 miles away. I hardly slept the night before, an unfortunate combination of nervousness, the time change, and waking up at 6:00 AM.

DH and I made it to LG on time, where we met up with my sister Becca and her friend Catherine. Then it was off to the starting line in Saratoga. We arrived a little over an hour before the race, but by the time we picked up our timing chips (tied to our shoes), got some coffee, stretched and took a quick warm-up walk, and waited in the LOOOONG lines for the port-a-potties, it was 8:55 and time to line up! It was cloudy and a little cold when we arrived in Saratoga, but right before the race, the sun broke through, and shone for the entire race.

I was getting more and more nervous, but it was too late to back out now. After a "false start" (not sure what happened), the race finally started a few minutes after 9, with the playing of Amazing Grace (which my DH pointed out was probably a pun on "Amazing Race"). We ended up lurching as a crowd towards the starting line just like a typical stop-and-go traffic jam (we were pretty far back), basically walking until we got there, then the crowd spread out and we could finally start running. My sister ran with me the entire way (she could have run faster), but Catherine took off immediately - she has a much faster pace. I brought my MP3 player and kept the volume down, so I could hear the music but still talk with my sister.

Once we got past the first crowd of walkers (please, don't walk 4 abreast and take up 3/4 of the road!!) and could settle down, I realized that I had nothing to be nervous about - the race felt just like my morning jog. Except a little more exciting, with all the other people around. There were a few hills, which I had to push myself to climb, but running with my sister made the race just fly by! I was a little tired by the Mile 2 marker, but then there was a nice downhill, and I caught my second wind. For a moment I was worried that I hadn't been running hard enough, because it felt too easy. I was surprised how many people we passed during the race - I went into the race hoping not to be passed too often. There was a water station at the Mile 2 marker, but neither of us were thirsty, so we didn't stop.

Before too long, we were making the final turn, and the finish line appeared! I took off my headphones, and my body told me that it was time to sprint. I even caught my sister off guard - I had warned her that I would try to sprint, but she didn't realize I would be so fast! As we approached the finish line, the announced called out our numbers, and we gave a little cheer. Then I noticed the time, 46:11 - I was almost two minutes faster than my goal of 48:00! I pushed myself a little harder, and then it was over, and we met up with DH and Catherine, who had finished a while before us. Hooray, I did it!

Apparently, we came in so early, DH almost didn't get any pictures. It was only because he asked Catherine to head down the road and give him a heads-up that he got any pictures at all - and he was so busy with the camera, he didn't even get to cheer! We turned in our timing chips, picked up our ribbons and T-shirts, and then decided to head to my parents' home, as we were having a birthday brunch for my sister later that morning.

I spent the rest of the day waiting for the official results to be posted online, but they didn't show up. Argh! Finally the next day, DH found them by searching through Google... my final time was 44:31.6!! I beat my goal by over 3 minutes, with a time of 11:08/mile! I still can't believe it. It turns out it took us over 2 minutes to get to the starting line after the start of the race - thank goodness the timing chips record the exact race time. My sister beat me by 0.1 seconds. I finshed 1092 out of 1412 (based on the published results), and in my age group (female 20-29), I came in 58 out of 76. Based on his recollection, DH thinks I was one of the first "heavier" runners to cross the finish line.

So that's the tale of my first race. It was totally worth it! I can't wait for my next one - I can't decide whether to try a 5K (and run faster), a 10K for the longer distance, or maybe even a short triathlon! Maybe I'll even work my way up to running a half marathon. I sure wish I could be there with all of you next January, but my vacation budget can't afford it. In any case, I know that another race is definitely in my future.

Thanks for reading! Here are a few pictures from the day:

<center>Race day morning - all ready to go!

They just announced our numbers, so we gave a little cheer. Becca (sister) on the left, me on the right.

Sprinting towards the finish.

Almost there!

The happy finishers (me, Becca, Catherine) in our race t-shirts - XL for me, woohoo!

</center>

 

[DoeWDW]

April, I posted to your thread on the main WISH board, but I also wanted to post a note here in your journal.

You are an inspiration!! I may try your training technique of walking my usual route and then running the last bit, and increasing the amount I run each time.

You should be so proud of you! I LOVE the pictures - your smiling face is GLOWING with happiness!

 

[AprilN]

Up a pound this week. Even though it's probably water weight (TOM plus vacation), I'm incredibly frustrated. I feel like I'm never going to reach my goals if I keep going in the wrong direction. And I did really well this past week, exercising my a** off every day (even on vacation!!!) and eating reasonably despite a huge Easter buffet and a bunch of other restaurant meals.

While I'm not giving up, I'm feeling quite terrified that my body has, and this is just the beginning of the end. And even if my body is just "taking a break" and readjusting without scale movement, I DON'T get to take a break! I have to keep working hard, dragging my butt out of bed every morning no matter how I feel, drinking water instead of free drinks while gambling on vacation, eating only a few tiny bites of dessert at the buffet because I shouldn't eat more. It feels so incredibly unfair. It's so hard to keep up any semblance of motivation when my body just doesn't want to work with me.

I sincerely hope I have something better to report next week - I honestly don't know how much more of this backwards progress I can take.

 

[DoeWDW]

April, I'm sending a out to you!! I can hear the sadness and frustration in your post. You've just got to hang in there! I'll review your journal and see if I can find anything that might help, but it may take me a day or two to get to it. Please, please, please don't throw in the towel yet!

You've been feeding your body healthier food. You've been exercising and toning up your muscles. Even if your weight doesn't change you are treating your body with the love and respect it deserves.

Sending you extra - keep working hard for the next day or two until I can get a review of your journal done, OK??

 

[DoeWDW]

April, I went back through your journal and compiled your weight loss for each week. Here's the graph I created:

<IMG height = 250 src=http://www.boomspeed.com/icerakurei/doe/AprilWklyLoss.gif>
At first glance, it looks like a steady curve, like you've lost about the same amount each week. If you look closer, though, you'll see that you would lose big for a week or two and then slow down for a couple weeks - you're following a pattern. I think you're just in one of those slower loss periods and you'll have a big loss again soon.

Also, look at how far you've come!! You're doing a great job, April - no reason to give up just yet! I'll keep adding to the graph, if you'd like, so that you'll be able to see if you really do stall for 4 or 5 weeks.

Hope this helps!!

 

[AprilN]

Doreen,

Thanks for making that graph for me! I've actually been keeping my own graph as well, and I've noticed the "slower" periods - each one was frustrating to me! I just keep looking at my progress from last fall, when I lost steadily for several months - I want that progress back again.

I'm really hoping that I'm in a "slowdown" right now, but I won't know for sure until things get moving again (or I get my *%&^$*& period!), and I'm afraid to get my hopes up, because it could just as easily lead to a big disappointment next week.

In the meantime, I'm definitely not giving up. I just need to develop some patience, and maybe distance myself from time-related goals for a while. It's so fun to reach them - but devastating when I fail. Patience is not really one of my strong suits, unfortunately... and I've become very emotionally attached to the scale reading each Tuesday. The "high" when I've had a loss is fantastic, but the "low" is pretty ugly - and that's usually when I post to WISH, so you're definitely seeing my more raw emotions, both high and low, each week.

Anyway, thanks so much for your support. Hopefully I'll have better news to report next week.

 

[DoeWDW]

I also forgot to mention that your loss will start to slow down naturally as you have less and less to lose.

Expecting a loss every week just isn't realistic. I think just staying in the game each week is great news!!

 

[AprilN]

Well, I learned two things this week: I retain a LOT (multiple pounds) of water during TOM, and that retention happens over at least a couple of weeks. Because now that TOM is finally leaving town... I lost 7 pounds this week.

<center> </center>

I am so ridiculously relieved, it's just crazy. Unfortunately, TOM is still irregular for me, so I can't really plan for the future, but at least I can file this away for future reference. Anyway, I've entered the 200's - with a new clippie to boot! Only one pound away from my next clippie, 8 pounds to ONEDERLAND, and 11 pounds to that 100-pound clippie - I can't believe it. I've also reached halfway on my Mother's Day challenge goal, with 6 pounds to go. Exercise is great, too - I reached 250 days in a row on Saturday!

I want to sincerely thank everyone for their support over the past couple of weeks, especially those who posted to my journal and the check-in thread with words of encouragement. Those meant so much to me. While I know that my commitment to a healthy life is permanent, I desparately want my outward appearance to reflect my daily healthy choices - and any delay in reaching that goal is hard to deal with. I never claimed that patience was my strong suit. In any case, your support was invaluable. Thank you.

My biggest success during this past week (besides just surviving it ) was last Tuesday, when DH and I received a last-minute invitation to the SF Giants game from my sister. Not only did we get to see Barry Bonds hit number 661 (woo-hoo), but of all the yummy things at the ball park for dinner, I chose... a chicken caesar salad wrap! With only one light beer and a few handfuls of kettle corn, I think I did quite well considering all the temptations. As my sister remarked, "who the heck has a salad at a ball game?" Well, she and I did, and they were great!

I hope everyone has a great week! You can do it!

 

[DoeWDW]

7 FLOWERS HERE for 7 POUNDS GONE!!!!

I can't imagine how excited you must have been to see that number on the scale, April!! You're doing a great job and finally the rewards are coming your way!! You have a beautiful new clippie and Onederland is right around the corner - WOW!!

I hope this week is going well!!

 

[AprilN]

<center> Doin' the clippie dance! </center>

Yippee! Two pounds gone this week, which adds up to 91 pounds total - and time for a new clippie! Onederland is sooooo close, I can almost taste it. Even if I don't make it by 5/15 (goal date, right before vacation with my in-laws), I'll still be in Onederland very soon - never to leave again. Just six little pounds to go (4 to my next clippie), and the 100-pound clippie is less than 10 pounds away! I really can't believe I've come this far... I never thought it would happen.

This past week went pretty well. DH and I went camping over the weekend, which was a little challenging eating-wise, but I managed to eat reasonably for most of the weekend. Bringing a lot of veggies and fruit, while a pain to carry into the campsite, is worth it in the end. We went on a great hike, up and down hundreds of feet, and I never really got tired! That is such a HUGE change from just a year ago, when I would get tired walking up the slight hill to the bathroom. I love being a healthy, active person!

I've got a couple of challenges this week, two big celebratory dinners out at yummy restaurants. With the right mind set and game plan, I'm sure I can handle them. I may kick up my exercise a notch this week as well, just to make sure things keep moving onwards and downwards.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

 

[CheapMom]

Hi April- I saw a post that you made on another board and I saw that 90 pound clippie I had to find your journal and say congratulations! That is amazing. When you look at the chart Doreen put together just think about it- you have almost lost 1/3 of yourself!!!
I just felt compelled to check in tell you that I am in awe of you. Keep it up!
Mary

 

[AprilN]

Hi everyone! I'm happy to report that I have another 2 pounds gone this week. Hooray! Only 2 pounds to my next clippie, 4 pounds to ONEderland (sooooo close!), and 7 pounds to that fabulous 100 clippie. I was really hoping to make it to Onederland by 5/15 (leaving for vacation), but even if I don't make it, I'm still happy with how things are going (I think). 2 pounds/week is 1% per week, which is perfectly super progress. I'm only two pounds away from my Mother's Day Challenge goal as well - I might just make it.

Even though I'm feeling OK with the scale movement right now, I still increased my exercise this week, adding 5 minutes (~0.4 miles) to my morning run. I'm hoping this will kick things into a higher gear for the next couple of weeks. 267 days in a row!

Considering all the tempting food I faced this week, I'm very proud that I lost anything this week! From two birthday dinners for DH (fabulous French food on Friday, scrumptious Chinese last night) and an unplanned dinner out with my parents (BBQ), to all the "fair food" at a wine festival in my town (the BEST kettle korn, fried zucchini, ice cream), I had quite the line-up of challenges. I just tried to eat reasonably at each meal, making sure to have some veggies whenever possible, and I think it worked out all right.

Best of all, even when I was making the healthier choices (and passing up real French bread, chow mein, potato salad, funnel cakes, etc. in the meantime), I didn't feel deprived! I felt in control of my choices, and was able to enjoy some great food with no guilt afterwards. After almost 9 months on this journey, it seems that I may have made real adjustments to my eating behaviors.

I joined all those WISHers buying fun new clothes and went on quite the shopping spree this weekend, as I had NO summer clothes other than my workout shorts and shirts. I needed a new suit as well, for a job interview to be scheduled sometime this month. After hitting Walmart, Lane Bryant, and Macy's, I think I'm just about set with some *really* cute stuff... mostly in size 18!! Oh yeah!

Have a wonderful week, and a great Mother's Day for all you moms out there.

 

[PAdisMOM]

April,
You are doing a fantastic job! There is nothing that beats getting new clothes in a smaller size. People really seem to notice my loss more after I buy new clothes.

Keep up the good work. The 100 clippie will be yours soon!

 

[AprilN]

I'm down 3 pounds this week, which means it's time for another round of the CLIPPIE DANCE! I'm only 4 pounds away from that super-cool 100 clippie... and SOOOOOO close to Onederland, just one measly pound to go. I'm going to weigh in on Saturday, since I'll be on vacation next week, and hopefully I'll make it before I leave! I can't believe I've actually made it this far, because reaching Onederland and losing 100 pounds seemed almost impossible 9 months ago - and now I'm almost there.

This week went well. The extra distance I added to my morning jog definitely helped things along, and I made quite a few good choices at various restaurant meals, as well as a family picnic on Sunday. I tried one of the new Enlightened Smoothies at Jamba Juice (Mango Mantra), and it was pretty tasty! Definitely not the worst snack I could have while at the mall, that's for sure.

I'm a little nervous about my vacation to Iowa next week - we've left a lot of our plans to be decided on the fly (even where we're staying some nights!), so I can't really plan my meals too far in advance. I'm just planning to take it day by day, meal by meal, and make the best choices I can. My goals for the week are: (1) exercise every day, either jogging or Curves, (2) drink water, shoot for 100 oz/day, (3) eat smaller breakfasts, instead of "vacation" breakfasts (i.e. HUGE) every day, and (4) try to have some healthy snacks around (veggies, fruit, yogurt). I'm confident that it will go well, but I have to make sure I've got the right mind set going in.

Have a wonderful week, everyone! YOU CAN DO IT!