BYOC

Ok.  Two posts in one day, but I know if I postpone this I will never get it up.  I keeping planning on doing these posts, but always get caught up and forget. This time Drazil threw me a curve ball and included a question about Sex in the City. Since I have only caught a few minutes here and there I had to do a little research before I could post, but here it is:

1. If you could be a flower, which one would it be and why?

If I had to pick a flower I would say the Lotus Flower. I love its relative the water lily, but the meaning behind the lotus is powerful to me right now. The Lotus flower is regarded in many different cultures as a symbol of enlightenment and rebirth. It rises from the dirtiest waters and produces a beautiful flower. I want this for myself.

2. Which Sex and The City Character do you most relate to?

Ok. Like I said I had to research the characters a little before I could answer, but I would have to say Charlotte. I am a complete romantic and still hope to find my Prince Charming someday. (but I guess that means I have to start looking again). I am pretty conservative and traditional, but with occasional bursts of craziness. I find it kind of funny that nobody sees this craziness in me. In fact, when I mentioned to a former high school classmate (I worked with her during college) that I found it funny that nobody believed I got a tattoo she thought told people I did it just for that. Ummm… you are not so important that I would actually do something so permanent just to get your reaction, but I do think you should look under the surface some time. I digress…

3. If you had a crystal ball or could know one thing about the future - what would it be?

This is an easy one – what will the lottery numbers be next week. An extra 100 million would come in very handy.

4. What's your biggest fear in your weight loss journey?

That I will be one of the people that I see in our support group meetings that have gained all their weight back. This is a HUGE fear and there is nothing I can do about it now – which is even scarier. I am trying to make this a lifestyle change, but who knows what life will be like in a couple years. I don’t ever want to go back to where I was.

5. Repeat question: Whose blog or comment spoke to you the most this week and why?

I have to say there were many very good blogs out there this week, but this week two really spoke to me.

Susieq4givn  discovered restriction this week and also reached her 70 pound mark. It is so strange to read her blog b/c sometimes I could copy it into my own. We both started at about the same weight, both just hit the 70 pound mark and both recently discovered restriction and found that we love it. It is nice to know that you are not alone in this battle and that someone else is there with you (at the same stage that is). What was even better was that she hit these milestones a few days before me. I didn’t think I was going to make it and her blog reminded me that my time will come.

Another blog that helped this week was Cara’s. She reached her 1 year mark this week and has lost over 80 pounds. She looks so great!!! It is nice to see someone so close to their goal in a year.  It helps keep me going!

70 pounds!!!

Honestly, I just can’t believe it, 70 pounds down – no 70.5 pounds down and 29.5 to go. TWENTY something to go! Unbelievable! 6 months (and one week) ago I woke up from surgery thinking I had made a huge mistake. I mean what if it didn’t work? What if I failed… again… Two weeks ago I was really starting to get discouraged. My band didn’t “work” yet and I was hitting my limits. I had thought of taking a little “break” from it all – which is a huge warning sign for me.

I am sooo glad that my band is now working! I have restriction – not ideal, but enough for now. I am learning to eat like a “good bandster” again and although I routinely take too big of bites or forget to chew it feels great. I still get hungry a little too soon and sometimes I can eat more than I should, but most of the time the band is there helping. I am not hungry 24/7 and don’t think about food all day. It is WONDERFUL!!

Now that my band is working I feel like I have gotten a second wind. I have lost 5.5 pounds in the 1.5 weeks which is more than the prior 4 weeks combined. Hopefully, I can keep this progress up, but I have noticed that burning 2400 calories a day is starting to get very hard. For some reason the last 5 pounds made a huge difference in my burn. But I am starting the training for the half marathon in a couple weeks so I expect to get some help from that. I also get a few free passes to the university gym so I may try that out again. It will help me decide if I want to get an alumni membership or not in the fall (since that is when the exercise classes start up again).

I will leave you today with a few pictures and my measurements (click to see the bigger). Honestly, I really haven’t lost many inches in the last 20 pounds for some strange reason so it is hard to see the differences between today and the last picture, but between today and when I started… it is just AMAZING to me!!
 

 

 

Who am I??

I was reading a book that my NP gave me during last month’s support group meeting “The Real Skinny on Weight Loss Surgery”. It was ok, but focused mostly on bypass sugery. However, one thing really spoke to me. One of the authors was talking about how after losing the weight she did something she always wanted to do – play softball with her friends. After the game she was really glad she did it, but she decided that it wasn’t what she wanted to do anymore. She had much more fun watching the game and talking with the fans.

The point was that the “little victories” we experience along the way aren’t milestones back to who we were, but instead stepping stones to who we are becoming. We may or may not like the same things that we liked years ago. Most of us are much older than we were when we were “skinny” and we have gone through many experiences that have shaped us into different people.

For myself, the last time I was my goal weight I was in middle school. My biggest concern ironically was my weight. I can remember not going downhill skiing during one of our field trips b/c you had to put your weight on the signup sheet. I can remember being scared to death of joining the high school marching band b/c you had to get sized for your uniform (but I didn’t let it stop me this time). I can remember one of the boys standing up in class and singing “I like big butts…” when watching me walk across the screen on the tape of a band concert (and he didn’t mean it in a good way). My weight defined what I did and what I didn’t do.

I struggled with the idea that I my goal was that same weight (or even a little less). I struggled with the idea that the same concerns were going to be there, but on an adult scale. After reading this book I realized that I am not going back to the me I was before. I may end up the same weight, but I am a completely different person. Yes I knew that I am not an 8th grader anymore, but that wasn’t it. It was all the barriers that I remembered at that weight. All the things I didn’t do. All the things that held me back. It was partly the weight and partly the introversion and both got worse as I held myself back.

I have been that person for the last 19 years. As I have gotten older I have actually gone farther in my shell. I am not THAT person anymore. As I am going through this journey I am focusing on becoming a different me (thus the name of my blog). Not just a skinner me. I will still be me, but I will be a better and stronger me. I will eliminate the barriers in my life and slowly work on finding what things really make me ME.

Over the last few months I have been changing. There are things that I want to do now that I never wanted to do before (like run a 5k). There are also many things that I have wanted to do that I just wrote off thinking it just wouldn’t happen. I decided a couple days ago to start writing them down. I am going to focus on the physical things I want to do now, but someday I will add more. After I do these things I may find that I never want to do them again – just like the author now knows she doesn’t want to play softball. BUT they are things that I want to experience. Things that will help me figure out what I really want to become.

So here is my list so far. I have placed it on the side of my blog and will add to it as I go along.

• Parasailing
• Half Marathon
• Rock Climbing
• A High Ropes Course
• Whitewater rafting/kayaking
• An official 5k - Done!
• An official 10k
• A Zip Line Course
• Sea Kayaking
• Ride a Motorcycle
• Attend a Retreat or Getaway Weekend

Bathing Suit Challenge and Weight Update

As many of you know the Memorial Day Bathing Suit Challenge ended this week. Even though this challenge was a competition between fellow bloggers I didn’t really think I had a good chance to win so I set up a personal goal for myself of 18lbs or roughly 8% - by Memorial Day. Yep I goofed and thought the challenge went one more week. In the back of my mind I really wanted to get to 199 by then (which according to my trend of weight loss could have been double), but I knew that was a big stretch.

As of yesterday, I lost 17.2 pounds or 7.68% of my starting body weight. About week 3 I thought for sure I was going to hit my stretch goal of 199, but after a month of barely squeaking out a pound a week I am very happy with my progress. I am going to unofficially extend the challenge an extra week just to fill out my chart and confirm to myself that I really hit my goal.

My current weight of 206.8 marks a huge milestone for me. This is the lowest official weight I have ever been in my adult life. In fact, the last time I was officially this weight was a few weeks before my 17th Birthday. I think I might have been lower than this once since then, but I don’t have any documentation on it and I am not really sure so I know if I was it wasn’t for very long. It is a really strange feeling to know that I am the same weight I was in High School.

Another thing I have noticed is that I have lost more weight with the band than any other weight loss attempt in my past – faster than ever too. That is of course what I expected, but when this whole process began I couldn’t help but think that it wouldn’t work out that way. I remember looking at the graph below several months ago and thinking that I was losing about the same as before and focusing on how fast I gained. Now I look and just think “Holey Crap!” Such a great feeling!!

5K Done!

This morning’s 5K went great! It was such fun and I can’t wait until the next one. It was a little hotter and much more humid that I was expecting and that I had practiced in, but overall things went great. I ended with a time of 49:17 – which was 10 minutes off my best practice time and 2 minutes of my stretch goal. I was thrilled. I think I could have pushed myself a little more, but I was getting a little too hot since I didn’t wear shorts (stupid me). Next time I will know better :)

I walked most of the race, but did add in about 25% of running. After the first half mile I was by myself which I thought was a little strange. I didn’t realize that the walkers split off of the group a little before that point and I couldn’t figure out why there weren’t more people at my pace. Especially since there were a lot of people that looked like they were at my fitness level at the starting line. I couldn’t figure out when all of them passed me and thought for sure I was going to end up being last – which was my biggest fear. Luckily, I knew there were at least 4 runners behind me and honestly that kept me very motivated.

I also noticed something strange and was wondering if any of the runners out there have experienced the same thing. I noticed about 1 mile into the walk that my hands were swelling up – enough to make the skin feel stretched. It continued through the race and when I crossed the finish line I almost passed out. It was almost like the blood started rushing suddenly and my hands immediately felt better. I am guessing that I must have been holding myself funny or something and after crossing the finish line I relaxed enough to let the blood flow fast again. It was a little strange, but I felt wonderful within a couple of minutes.

Thanks again for all your support!!

Dad’s Home!

My dad was release from the hospital this afternoon. After we left last night he took a turn for the worst and started going into a slight respiratory distress (slight according to him at least). They ended up putting him back on oxygen and a heart monitor. He also ended up with a bunch of breathing treatments, cathed, put on extra fluids and a bunch of iv meds. I guess they even put him on complete and total bed rest with those fancy leg massagers. He had a DVT almost 20 years ago so we guess that during the respiratory distress they worried about another blood clot.

Thankfully by the time we go there he was up and about – just in a lot of pain. After getting a “nice” cup of warm water with chicken bullion he somehow talked the nurse into getting him discharged before Dr. K checked on him. He was seen by the Dr. on call though so we weren’t worried. My dad just wanted food. Not sure what he was thinking he was going to be able to eat, but he kept saying that he hadn’t eaten in 3 days and wanted something like a meal – he of course got a bowl of creamy soup and was happy.

He has slept most of the day and seems to be doing great now so things are back on track. As of now I am planning on doing my 5k in the morning. Hopefully my mom will be able to make it and take a picture so I can post it for you guys. And since I just remembered my running clothes need to be washed still (crazy crazy weekend) I will check back with guys tomorrow! Thanks for all the support. My family really appreciates the thoughts!!

Update on Dad and my Restriction

Thanks for all the good wishes everyone. After a very long day my dad was admitted into the hospital for at least the night. It turns out he had a BIG hernia according to the doc and it took at lot to untangle it all and fix it. The surgery took at twice as long as planned, but everything went very well according to the dr. My dad had a few problems waking up from anesthesia – breathing and took about two hours to be able to accept vistors – which isn’t that unusual just a little long for a normal 20 minute band surgery.


When he finally was up and running he was sent down to xray for his swallow – which he failed. Dr. K was a little concerned because he decided to go with a Realize C band instead of the large LapBand since after fixing the hernia the band fit around his stomach easily. You could tell that Dr. K was beating himself up a little about that decision and the plan at that time was to admit Dad and watch over him during the weekend and then go back in a change bands if the swelling didn’t go down enough.

Turns out after Dr. K checked out the xray the band was actually fine!! The problem was actually with the fixed hernia. Tightening the muscle around the esophagus so the stomach would stay put caused a slight bend in the esophagus. The liquid was going through – just really really slowly. He still decided to admit my Dad just to make sure that things didn’t get worse, but hopefully he will be out early tomorrow.

The biggest problem of the day was all the waiting! We got there at 6:45 and my Dad was out of surgery by 11:00, but mom and I didn’t leave until almost 8pm – and he still didn’t have a room. We wanted to stay, but he kept telling us go and when it started to storm the nurses said that we should leave to get home before dark.

By then mom and I were ready to get out of there. Exhausted and Stressed to say the least. The nurses were funny in the beginning – especially when most of the patients were gone, but by the end it was just down right annoying. One of them even told my dad I had a “nice rack”. OMG! And when I asked a question about the pain meds (he hadn’t had any in over 8 hours) I was told to “shut up” and let my dad talk (he wasn’t trying to say anything btw – he also wasn’t with it so of course I would as a question). She said it in a joking way, but that isn’t the way to treat stressed family members.

As for my restriction – I woke up too tight this morning. I PB’ed my shake early this morning, but was able to get the rest down a little later. However, when I tried some mashed potatoes at lunch they came right back up. The dr kept asking me about it and after I told him how tight it was he said some had to come out. I was so upset. Not because some had to come out but because I pushed him to push it a little and it back fired. I didn’t want to inconvenience him because of my mistake (I could get liquids down at that point).

He was a little upset that I wasn’t going to ask for an unfill because of that. So a little later when my dad was in the bathroom he told me to get up on my dad’s bed and actually unfilled me right then and there – in post op between surgeries. I think he took about .25 ccs out, but said tomorrow when he checks on dad he can take more out if needed.

I feel sooo much better. I can actually eat food again – or at least mushies. I tried some French fries at Mickey D’s (a long story for another time) and they went down fine – until I stuffed my mouth and swallowed them practically whole (ok I wasn’t that bad, but close).

I am off to bed now and will post an update sometime tomorrow. Maybe I will even be able to read a couple more blogs, but how knows what tomorrow will bring. All I know for now is that I am really thankfully my dad made it out in pretty good shape. And thankfully for a great surgeon who worked a really long day (still doing surgeries at 6pm) and still took time to fix my band.

Off to the Hospital!

Just a quick note - Today is my dad's surgery and we are off to the hospital in just a few minutes.  He is a little bit of a wreck, but how many of us weren't?!?  His surgery will be a little more involved than most of ours since they have to do something to his espohagus, but hopefully everything will go smoothly.  We are kind of hoping that they keep him overnight, so they can manage the pain and eating.  He can't take most prescription pain meds so depending on how this esophagus thing goes it could be interesting.. 

Mom and I can't wait to get home and get a nap.  Heck mom would probably settle for something to eat since I think she is afraid to eat in front of both of us.  I am TIGHT!!  It wouldn't be such an issue but of course my allergies are playing up and my TOM is starting so I am now having a little problem with liquids.  grrrr... Maybe I will get a quick unfill between surgeries today LOL.  I am guessing that won't happen so I am not sure what I will do, but as long as the liquids stay down I am not worried. 

Please keep my dad in your thoughts today!

Restriction - Or More Aptly What the HELL have I Got Myself Into!

So after bitching up a storm I did get an alternative sooner than next month for my fill. The catch was I had to go to the main office – which is only another ½ hour away so not a big deal. The problem I had was that that called me so late that I couldn’t get an appointment for the main office’s band fill day. They didn’t seem to care that they keep doing this over and over again without any other options. It is the without options part that I was getting sick of.


They squeezed me into the doctor’s schedule – the last appointment of the day so I could get there. The PA offered to do my fill (so the dr could leave I think) – which I had no problems with I just wanted a fill :) We talked about my concerns – no restriction month after month. He agreed that making me wait a month between fills just wasn’t working and that I could come back in two weeks – what I have been asking for for months!!

Just then the doctor walked in and changed things up! They were talking about giving me .5 ccs and said that I should be sooo close, but after noticing a small discrepancy in my fill numbers (small issue and I knew why) they decided to double check my fill. I started to get really scared when he could only get 7.5 of the 9.5 that I had three weeks ago. LEAK was all I could think about. Damn was the second thing. We started talking about tests for leaks (he still thought it unlikely) and how that it is done under xray. I mentioned that I would love to get a fill under xray.

He agreed thankfully, but he suggested we try something else first - a fill while drinking. He would fill me up all the way and slowly remove fill until I could swallow. He wanted me to feel what restriction was like as well as get me close to restriction. I doesn’t normally like to do it since it gets people really tight really fast – faster than what most people can handle right off the bat.

But of course, after 6 months, I wanted to try. It was a funny sensation that is for sure. He inserted the needle while I was laying down and then had the table put me in a sitting position. Great thing was he “FOUND” my missing 2ccs so NO LEAK! Yippee! He then tightened it right down and had me try to swallow. OMG!!!! It was so strange. I actually broke out in a sweat and he said he was a little worried about me passing out - LOL! He thought it was so funny when we were done – and so did I. He then backed out the fill until I felt ok – and then I had him take a little more out. I thought that would make things better in the long run.

But OMG am I tight. I had no problems last night, but today it is a different story. I am about an hour into my half cup of mashed potatoes. I gulped my shake and pb’ed. I am not sure if I am really too tight or just having a tight day. It could just be the day. I mean he did do a lot inside yesterday and my band is probably sore (well the area around the band). I also cried myself to sleep last night after reading Drazil’s blog. And of course I can’t swallow my allergy pills. I am off to get some liquid allergy meds so I am hoping that will help out a little. Otherwise this could be an interesting weekend.

I love my band, but this is truly the first time it will really be working more part time. In the back of my mind I am starting to wonder what the hell I have got myself into. But one thing is great. I have eaten so little today and honestly I am NOT hungry. I keep trying to eat to get nutrition in, but food is not in my thoughts all the time. My shake even sat next to me for an hour because I forgot all about it. I love not being consumed by hunger, but I just don’t want to collapse from hunger ;)  And I lost 1 pound since yesterday already.

Post It Note Tuesday

I could go on and on tonight, but I am tired of it all so I am stealing this idea from others.  Be thankful that I did because if I rambled on like normal I would probably lose more than the 2 follows I did over the last few days...

Reality Sucks

UPDATE: This was written last week when I was traveling. I forgot to post it once I had good internet access, but when I saw the Biggest Loser was on tonight I remembered about it. I think the post is still very relevant and still reflects my feelings as I am closing into my 6 month. At the time I wrote this I was struggling to get to 210. I am now there and for me that marks a huge milestone – a BMI of 34.9. I am no longer considered severely obese and today I wouldn’t even qualify to have WLS. However, I am still obese and sometimes it is a hard reality.


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After watching biggest loser last night a few things really stuck in my mind.

Mike struggled greatly with the fact that even after losing all the weight he has he is still heavier than many of the contestants – when they started. He hated the fact that after all his hard work he was still fat. I felt so bad for him during the makeover show. While others were shopping with each other, he was shopping alone in the specialty store. I am sure, in his mind, this helped minimize all his hard work.

I feel the same way sometimes. I have lost 64lbs [now 65] which is a great victory, but I am heavier than some of you – when you started. Not long ago when I looked in the mirror I saw the “changes”. I noticed my “smaller” belly, my “smaller” legs, my “smaller”… you get the idea. It was more about the differences between where I started and where I was now.

Recently, that has changed. I said in an earlier post that I feel like the Tracy I was for years. At 220/225 I was at a weight that I recognized myself. I felt good. Now at 211, I am smaller than I have been most of my life. In fact, since my High School graduation 13 years ago I have spent a total of 6 months under this weight.

Even though I have reached this amazing milestone I have gotten to the point lately that when I look in the mirror I see the obese person I still am. When I try on clothes I notice the back fat that seems to be getting worse. A month ago I was amazed at how much had disappeared. But the fact is I am Obese… still… There is no sugar coating it. After 64 pounds I am still severely obese. Crap…

Now I am not minimizing all my hard work. I have lost 64 pounds and I am absolutely thrilled. I know I will be smaller soon. However, it does feel a little crappy that even at my goal weight I will still be overweight according to the medical profession. I wonder if that will be enough to get rid of the back fat, to shrink my thighs a couple more inches, to get into a size 12… I also think about where I would be if I hadn’t gained that last 25 pounds. I would have gone into surgery with a BMI over 40, but I would have been 25 pounds closer to my goal. I just wish I would have known about the band 4 years ago, but who knows - I might not have truly been ready (or had such a great doc!).

Another thing I noticed in the Biggest Loser show that sticks in my mind is Sunshine. She and I started at the same point (275). In 17 weeks she dropped 99 pounds – which is one pound less than my goal. She looked great. It was nice to see. When they showed her at the end they said she had lost 113 pounds (162 – which is right around where I am now thinking my “final” goal will be). I felt really good at this point. I mean she looked great! I thought “See 160 may be still overweight but it might be the right weight!” Then I noticed the words that said see wanted to lose another 25 pounds by the finale. Of course… crap.. as soon as I had started feeling good about my goal again. If she does lose that she will be 137 – which is firmly in the “normal” range, but way less than what my doctors think is healthy for me.

On a positive note I LOVE the fact that I am THIRTY six pounds from my goal. Just saying the word THIRTY is amazing!! It won’t be long before I can say twenty and it will feel so great! I also love the fact that in 3 pounds I will the lowest weight I have been as an adult! The thing I love the most – the fact that no matter what my “final” goal will end up being I am at least half way there!

5K update

I wanted to say thanks to those who donated to my 5K.  I am within 20 dollars of my goal and still have a few days left to raise the difference.  Your help is very very appreciated!!! 

65 Pounds!

Finally!!! It feels like these last 5 pounds have taken forever to get off. In fact, this is the first time I have actually missed a goal. But honestly, it isn’t bothering me as much as I expected. I am still losing a pound a week and that is still great – or so I keep telling myself. I also figure I am due a big loss soon so maybe that is why missing this goal has been a non-event :)

On the exercise side I am still doing very good. I had an off week last week with all the travel I have been doing and the constant rain, but I am pretty much back to my routine. Although since I am still not home it isn’t the same. I have found that I just don’t push myself as much on the roads as I do when I am on the trails.

I have also noticed another major decline in my calorie burn. That is if I do the same exercise as I did a month ago my calorie burn is much less. That is probably one reason why my weight loss has slowed down. I have do have a couple Jillian workout DVDs that are great – but not conducive to doing in a hotel room or in my parent’s living room. I figure when I get home I will start adding them in again, but I am not too worried since my half marathon training starts in a few weeks and I am sure that will help.

As for the food side, I am just starting to feel some restriction again. No matter when I first eat I get stuck. Even if I drink my breakfast and lots of water during the morning as soon as I take a bite of real food I get stuck. As soon as I get unstuck I am fine to start eating again immediately and don’t have any problems for the rest of the day. I am almost 100% positive it is related to my allergies since I get a lot of post nasal drip during the night (TMI – I know..ughhh). Such a pain.

During the rest of the day I feel a little restriction since my last fill. About half of the time I get a full feeling when I get a little over a cup. When that happens I have a 50/50 chance of staying full for 3-4 hours - Which is great!! However, that means that 75% of the time I get hungry way too soon and half of the time I never get that “full” feeling - Which isn’t so great. One would think after 6 months I would have had more than 3 days of great restriction, but I am hoping my fill on Thursday will get me there since I have to be close.

One other strange thing is during the last 10-15 pounds of weight loss I have lost NO inches except maybe a half of inch in my thighs, but nothing in my waist, hips, arms, or chest. I am guessing that I am losing most of it around my organs. The doctor said that is unusual, but probably is why I lost restriction after only 3 days. I also noticed a little bit of difference in more unusual places like my shoulders and ankles. Which is great, but since I am in between sizes the way that I am I just wish things would progress a little more like normal – but then normal and I don’t meet too often LOL

Race for Your Memories 5K

As you may remember I am running my first 5K this month. I am very excited and have been working hard over the last 6 weeks to be ready. I have been debating if I should do this post or not, but after a little encouragement I decided to give it a try.


Basically I am asking for donations – if you can. The race I am running is to raise money for the Alzheimer’s association. My goal is to raise 100 dollars and as I have only raised 20 dollars so far I am really short. So if you can spare 5 bucks and this group is important to you please consider sponsoring me for this race. Believe me, I understand if you can’t as I am sure you all get hit up many times through out the year for donations, but if you can I would really appreciate it! You can get to my homepage and donate here.

As someone who has seen the effects of Alzheimer’s on not only the patient but the whole family, this association is very important to me. My grandmother suffered for many years – for how long we really don’t know. When I was in grade school we had to put her in a nursing home for her own safety. It was very hard. I know my dad hated doing it, but we had no choice at the time. He went from being the youngest son to being the parent almost over night – well honestly he had been the parent for awhile, but not to the same degree.

For close to 18 years he watched over his mother – even when she no longer knew his name (which unfortunately was very quickly). He made sure someone came in to do her hair and nails professionally - even during the last few years when she had no idea what was going on around her. He went to monthly caretaker meetings with the doctors/staff and researched what decisions would have to be made in the end. He did this with no help from his siblings (or to my regret myself). He was so strong, but I know he and I worry about going through this ourselves. Because no matter how hard it was to see your grandmother cry and beg you to take her home (she thought I was her mother) I am sure it was much harder to think that you were being abandoned in a strange place by your mother. Losing yourself would be one of the hardest things I can imagine going through and that is why I am doing the “Race for Your Memories”.

2010 Goal Update for April

I am here and alive, but I am soooo behind on blogging.  I honestly am not sure if I will ever catch up!  I will post a banding specific blog later, but for now here is my update on my 10 goals for 2010.

1. Lose 15lbs every 10 weeks

Progress: April was once again a strange month. If it wasn’t for the 4 pound weight loss I got out of the blue one week I would missed my goal. As it was the month of April rounded out at 1.87 lbs per week. Combined with the prior weeks’ losses I reached my goal of 211.5 by May 9th – with only a half of pound to spare. This was definitely the closest I have been to missing my goal so far.

Plan for May: My next mini goal is to reach 206 by June 6th (Which is 10 weeks starting from April). That equals to be 5 pounds in the next 4 weeks (1.25lb/week), but since the spirit of this goal is to get a 1.5 lb/week average I would like to hit 6 pounds by then.

2. Pay off 10k of debt (house, credit card, student loan,car) not including interest by end of year.

Progress: I did great this month hitting my goal – with over 300 extra principle paid off! I even managed to hit my short term goal set last month (Don’t charge ANYTHING – even if you pay it off by the bill time. This may be hard due bill timing and taxes, but it can be done) – Yippee!

Plan for May: Due to an discontinued Debit Card and the fact that I didn’t get the replacement on time it really won’t be possible to not charge anything this month. However, the goal would be to pay off everything charged by the due date – as well as the principal on other things.

3. Toss or box for garage sale 10 items from each room each month until sale - trash doesn’t count :)

Progress: I didn’t hit my mini-goal of de-cluttering the basement and garage, but I was able to box up more clothing for donations.

Plan for May: Work on de-cluttering the basement and garage. Be tough when determining if you really need something. Donate, toss, or box for sale at least 25 items and aim for 50.

4. Complete 10 blog postings every month

Progress: Completed – just barely.

Plan for May: With all extra travel and “stuff” going on this month this goal may be hard. Aim for 8 blog posts and try to catch up on all the reading.

5. Exercise 10 days every two weeks, with an average of 10 minutes of vigorous activities every day and 10 hours of total activity each week

Progress: Things went pretty well last month. I definitely was able to get 10 days in a two week period – sometimes closer to 13-14. I also averaged 17 minutes of vigorous activity (7 minutes above goal) and 106 minutes of moderate activity (almost 2.5 hours more than goal). I also had some great non-goal accomplishments like finishing a complete 30 day shred and getting my 5k under 60 minutes.

Plan for May: Continue workout plan and adjust when needed (ex. Calorie burn falls). Continue with work’s walking challenge (started May 1st) and work towards 10K steps per day by end of month. Complete 5k on May 23rd.

6. Attend 10 events this year

Progress: No change (2 events so far this year)

Plan for May: I have my 5k planned for May and no matter how much I want to not go (not because of the run but because of the fact it is something unknown). This will bring me up to 3 for the year and now have 5 more planned for the year. This still has me short by 2 so during May I want to come up with at least one option (maybe another race or kayak event).

7. Save 10% of income by year end

Progress: No change this month.

Plan for May: No plan for next month – more changes will occur later in the year.

8. Complete a 5k by 10/10/10 and run a 25 min mile by April 15th, a 20 min mile July 15st, a 15 min by Oct 15th and a 10 min mile by year end

Progress: I am doing great on this goal! I was able to get a 14 minute mile this month – which is 6 months earlier than my goal!!! What is even better is that I am consistently able to get under a 20 minute mile. Now there are times when I am slower, but most of the time if I am trying at all I can get under 20 minutes.

I am still committed to my running plan, but I am doing things a little different than the C25K. I am working not only on running, but also distance. I know that I am not going to run for a whole event. In fact, the half marathon training that I have been exposed to so far stresses interval running for beginners (really everything but advanced runners). This means that I will never run more than a few minutes at a time – and I have noticed a huge difference in my recovery (my knees no longer hurt afterwards!). I also read that weekly mileage is just as important as speed work – and I really believe this. Since I have been focused on increase my mileage my endurance has skyrocketed – and with it my speed (without really trying).

Plan for May: My 5k is this month and my goal is to complete the thing under 60 minutes (little over a 19 min/mile pace)– with a stretch goal of 52 minutes (little under a 17 min/mile pace). For my non race pace I would like to work towards getting under 18 minutes consistently.

9. Decrease utility bills by 10% (in total) by year end (tv, cell, phone, internet, gas, electric)

Progress: I made some major changes in my cell phone bill, but it was a HUGE pain in the rear end. I still am not 100% sure how much I am going to save since my discount still has not been applied, but it is progress.

Plan for May: Continue cutting gas/electrical use during the mild weather. Look into ATT U-verse again and see if the benefits are truly there. If they are schedule an appointment by the end of May.

10. Spend 10 hours a month dedicated to house work

Progress: I don’t even remember what I have done so far this month let alone last, but I am assuming by the way the garage and basement look I didn’t get to any “extras” this month. I didn’t make this a priority in any way, shape or form. So this was a big fat FAIL for the month – I think… What month is it again?!?!?

Plan for May: Boy oh Boy… this could be interesting… With all the travel this month I will be lucky to keep up with regular house work let alone 10 hours of extras! The goal for this month is not to get too overwhelmed. Pick one thing and make it a priority, and take on the rest later!