It’s summertime! Which means that school is out, my schedule is my own, and I’m footloose and fancy free. Summer means the weather is warm, the sun is shining, and I can kick my workouts (and my weight loss!) into high gear. I have less than 30 pounds to go to reach my ultimate weight loss goal, and I plan to lose quite a bit of that this summer. But this summer is about so much more than losing weight; it’s about living my new life. I worked so hard for this new, healthy body, and I want to spend this summer doing a lot of the things I only dreamed of doing when I was at my heaviest. That means riding rollercoasters, running in 5Ks, trying new water sports, wearing styles (and sizes!) of clothes that I could never wear before. I want to LIVE every moment of this summer to the fullest. I’ve moved my weigh-ins to Wednesdays as a way to check in midweek. My Wednesday progress updates will be called Sensational Summer Weigh-Ins.
Week 55 has been wonderful! Even though it’s summer vacation, and I haven’t had to go into work, I have been really busy each day. I’m hoping that things will slow down a little bit, so that I have more time to spend relaxing. Still, staying busy and active is a great way to stay on track, so I’m not complaining.
When I weighed in this morning, I was 179.6, which is a loss of 0.4 pounds this week***,and a loss of 97.4 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 135.4 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 29.6 pounds to go to my ultimate goal weight of 150 pounds. I’m in the 170s!!! Just barely, but hey, I’ll take it! Especially after having a stall in my weight loss that lasted 6 weeks. ***I have the stars by this week’s weight loss because I actually lost 6.2 pounds from June 8 to June 15 because I’d gained 5 pounds of water weight during the last two weeks of school when things got crazy and I stopped working out for a week and wasn’t making the best food choices. I knew the weight would come off quickly, and it did. And it got me down to the 170s. But since my last reported weight on this blog was 180, I’m going to keep it simple and say that I’ve lost 0.4 this week. (I have it all documented on MFP for accuracy). Another reason I have the stars by my weight this morning is that I’ve been fairly constipated this week even though I’ve been drinking plenty of water. I know it’s because I got out of my habit of taking the fiber supplement, and I need to get back to it, ASAP, because I don’t like this feeling. So I’m guessing that I’ve actually lost more weight than the scale showed this morning, but I want to go with what the actual numbers were, so that’s what I’m reporting.
I’m really happy with the way I’ve been eating. It’s nice to have so many more choices of fruits and veggies during the summer, and of course, I love being able to grill my proteins every night. Eating in the summer is just so much easier – I just naturally make lighter, healthier choices, even when going out. For example, I joined Tinkerbell and her hubby for happy hour at The Fish Market on Monday evening, and enjoyed some delicious oysters on the half shell. I know raw oysters aren’t everyone’s thing, but to me they are the essence of summertime – fresh, light, and salty. Yum! I also enjoyed a couple of pieces of sushi along with most of a small fish taco along with some wine. Light bites that were highly enjoyable yet totally within my food budget. I love being able to go out socially, but not overindulge. The same thing happened with our Father’s Day BBQ – we planned a menu that worked well for the way I like to eat, and it was really delicious. What are your favorite, healthy summer meals?
Exercising has been fantastic. Most mornings I’ve been meeting Tinkerbell to workout at 7 or 7:30, which is a great way to start the day. It’s early enough to give me the rest of the day to do whatever I need to, but not crack-of-dawn early like I was doing during the school year. I also met up with a co-worker, and she and I have plans to do a stair workout on Friday. While I enjoy working out alone, it’s definitely fun to meet up with friends and catch up while getting the workout in. I’ve been keeping the variety in my workouts by doing spinning, elliptical, C25K, walks with Sofi, and of course, the ToneItUp toning workouts. This coming week I want to take a few more fitness classes, like Body Combat, and work in some yoga sessions, too.
I have two NSVs to share, both of which are really exciting! A while ago I was talking with Scale Warfare, who had VSG surgery about two years before I did. I was telling her about how the jiggliness of my thighs was making it really difficult to buy comfy yoga pants. Sure, I could fit into smaller sizes, but a lot of the thinner, summer-friendly yoga pants weren’t working with all the extra wiggle I had going on now that I’d lost so much weight and had the excess skin in my thighs. She suggested that I try Victoria’s Secret yoga pants, because while they were thin and light, they were also fairly good at ‘sucking it all in.’ So a couple of weeks ago I when they were having a sale, I went on the site and ordered VS Most-Loved Yoga Crops in a size Large! I wasn’t sure A.) if they would fit and B.) how they would look if I could get them on. They came in the mail yesterday, and I couldn’t have been more pleased! They fit great, really hold things in, and are still really light and comfy. If loose skin/jiggly thighs are at all an issue for you, I’d highly recommend them.
The 2nd NSV is something I’m super proud of. This morning I tackled C25K, Week 5, Day 2, which includes a 5 min. walking warmup, 8 minutes of running, 5 minutes of brisk walking, 8 minutes of running, and a 5 minute cool down. And I did it!! I’ve started C25K two other times – once when I was way too heavy to run and then more recently after my surgery. The first time, I was repeating the weeks two times, and I couldn’t make it to running more than 90 seconds at a time, because my poor body just couldn’t do it. The second time, I stopped at Week 5; I just couldn’t run for 5 minutes in a row. I could do 3 or even 4, but not 5. So today when I was running for 8 whole minutes without stopping, and feeling really strong in my run, I amazed myself! The key, besides being at my lightest weight in the past 20-something years, is that I’m taking the runs very slowly. I’m at a 4.3mph run, which is just fine by me if it means that I can run for that duration and feel good. I did move it up to 4.5mph with two minutes to go and felt good, and then “sprinted” up to 5.omph the last 30 seconds, just to see if I could. And I did! 5.0mph isn’t a pace I can sustain right now, but it is kind cool that I can keep up with it for a very short duration. This is all so exciting! I will say I’m a bit nervous about Friday’s run: 20 minutes of straight jogging!! But I know I can do it if I just keep my mind positive and my breathing steady. Plus, it’s right on track with my goal of running the entire MOOnlight 5K on July 12th.
Today’s quote is perfect. It speaks to this person I’ve become – the woman who is unafraid of challenges in every aspect of her life, which finally also includes weight loss and fitness. I have created a wonderful, vibrant life for myself, and it’s so exciting to be living it to the fullest.
Until Wednesday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!
Congrats! That’s amazing!
So awesome on NSV 2! I think I commented on that old “Rubenesque Ladies Running” post (before I had a blog) and suggested you slow down your run speed. You were struggling with running speeds between 3.7 and 4.0 then, and I thought going back to 3.6 would let you go a bit longer. And look at you now! Doing it all at 4.3 minimum and bumping it up from there! You can totally do the 20 minutes on Friday. Never worry about speed on the first workout of a longer distance/time, just focus on keeping your pace easy and sustainable. I love that you’re pushing hard the last couple minutes. It’s so good for you physically, of course, but more so mentally. When you’re already tired, wanting to stop, but you go even stronger. I think that strategy pays dividends in races and in life.
BTW, that old post makes me miss SW and SRG’s blogs…
Thank you for your support over all these years. I’ll definitely just focus on my breathing for the 20 minutes.
I know, I miss their blogs, too. 😢
Way to go on the 2nd NSV! Well, way to go on everything really but the 2nd NSV especially. As someone who has stopped/starting C25k multiple times, I know what a victory that is! Congrats!
Thanks, Molly!!
Favorite summer meal: I could eat grilled (fill-in-the-blank) meat and summer veggies all day, every day. Roasted corn, tomatoes, cucumbers & a little bit of onion with s&p, oil and vinegar is my favorite. We often add quinoa or couscous to the mix, too.
It all sounds yummy!!!
Well done Bella!s I’ve just discovered your blog and love it. I’m currently up to running around 15 mins and finding it tough so well done you. I’m currently eating so much better but then I’ve got 5 weeks to go until my holiday so ats helping me too!
15 minutes! Well done!!
You are doing everything the right way Bella, both with your diet and fitness goals. I think you are going to run that entire 5K without any difficulty. You are progressing naturally by what feels right to you and pushing yourself at the right times. Love the yoga pants! You are really walking the walk girl. No BS here. I’m so inspired every time I read these posts.