After some prompting from Carina, and agreement from a few other commentators, I’ve decided it’s time to show some progress photos. I’m happy to celebrate my success, but the problem is, I have very few shots of myself showing my entire body from my life “before.” But I did find a few.
So here’s what 70 pounds lost looks like!
I chose this first photo because I just so happened to be wearing the same shirt today.
The before was taken June 5, 2010 right before my sister and I competed in the See Jane Run 5K. In the “during” photo that I snapped today, I tried to pose the same way I was in the first photo. I weighed about 285 in the before, so today I’m down about 40 pounds in the pic at right.
In this next set, the Before was taken on December 30, 2012 right after my sister and I had attended Sunday morning yoga at Lululemon. I weighed 305, so in the “during,” which I took today, I’m down 60 lbs.
I wish the lighting was better in the “during,” because I’m not sure if you can tell that the shirt doesn’t hug my stomach anymore. And the pants were skin tight before, and now they’re loose. (Yes I “cropped” them; I’m handy with some scissors).
So, these should give you some idea of how much different I look now. I can see it in my face and neck, but also in my stomach, arms, and thighs. I’m so glad Carina suggested these photos – writing this post brightened my day!
(I’m going to ask my sister to take some pictures of me this weekend so I can include them. We took a series of progress shots in her back yard in late January, and I want to put the same outfit on and have her take new ones in the same place).
Walking gets the feet moving, the blood moving, the mind moving. And movement is life.” ― Carrie Latet
I love this quote this week because now that spring is here, the weather is sunny and warmer (for now, unless the rain decides to come back) and it just feels so good to get out and move. Plus, there are so many 5Ks that are available to take part in, which makes the competitive among us (including me) have something to work toward. I’m really looking forward to my upcoming 5K – the See Jane Run.
When I read that quote I don’t necessarily think of power walking or event fitness walking for that matter. I think of taking a walk to clear the head, rejuvenate the soul, and get the “juices pumping.” It’s something that I don’t do enough of – just take a walk for walking’s sake. And it’s something that I’m going to try to do more of this week.
When I was young and we would have large family dinners, all of the men and children would take a long walk around the neighborhood to “digest” our food. (Unfortunately the women were stuck at home cleaning the dishes and getting things ready for dessert. We stuck to traditional gender roles when my Italian grandparents were still alive). It was nice to walk around and take life at a slower pace. Listen to stories the men would tell about the “good old days” and how much the neighborhood and city had changed since they were young.
I envy my friends who have dogs because they have a built-in reason to take a walk. I’m sure that when they’re walking the dog at 5am in the freezing weather they envy me, don’t get me wrong, but it does seem nice to have that sort of obligation that builds in some movement to each day. I’ve been playing around with the idea of getting a dog, and before I do, I think it might be a good idea to get myself in the habit of waking up a bit earlier than normal and taking a quick 10 minute stroll in the morning, as well as a longer afternoon walk. In fact, I think that’s just what I’m going to do, beginning this afternoon when I get home from work.
So that’s my plan to get in a bit more walking this week. Care to join me?
Saturday, April 17 – Today I was up and at ’em early, but then the day seemed to get away from me rather quickly. Still, I managed to get in quite a bit of activity, which was my goal, considering that when I got on the WiiFit+ it said I was up 2 pounds. Yesterday’s lunch at Chevy’s was most likely the culprit. I did the Fit+ for 30 minutes, earning3 APs. Then it was time to do some cleaning – I did my kitchen floor on my hands and knees, did some laundry (neverending!), and straightened up the bathroom – earning 4 APs. Saturday’s total – 7 APs!
Sunday, April 18 – Whew, what a day! It was truly one of the BEST Sundays I’ve spent in a long time. I walked and shopped for over 4 straight hours, and I swear that when I got home I felt as tired as if I’d walked a 5K. Who knows, maybe I did. 😉 I counted all the walking as one hour of “slow” walking and earned 4 APs. When I got home I redecorated and cleaned up for an hour and a half, earning 6 APs. Sunday’s total – 10 APs! No wonder I was so worn out by the end of the day.
Monday, April 19 – I know I said I was going to go to an aqua aerobics class tonight, because I had bought those suits, but I didn’t. It ended up being an off day. Mostly because I was tired after my first day back after spring break. Plus, I’m a wimp because it was rainy and cold, and I didn’t feel like getting in the pool and then having to run to the car with cold hair, etc.
Tuesday, April 20 – Tonight was almost another off day, but then I knew it was Biggest Loser night, and if I don’t do some sort of workout first, I always feel guilty sitting there watching the show on the couch. So, I figured it woudl be good to do 30 minutes of the BL Jumpstart DVD. I did cardio 1 & 2, abs, and I was a sweaty mess by the time I was done. I earned every one of those 7APs that I got for this workout.
Wedesday, April 21 – off day. I didn’t get home today until 6:45, which is about 3 hours later than normal. We’d had a final deadline in yearbook, and I was mentally and physically exhausted. Plus, I needed to go grocery shopping, so I decided that that was the priority.
Thursday, April 22 – In honor of Earth Day, I decided to take my workout outside and go for a nice, long walk around my neighborhood. I spent time just enjoying the scenery around me, and noticing all the little things that I never see when I fly by in the car or on my bike. It was nice to take an hour out of my day and just walk around and enjoy myself. I’m going to try to do a bit more walking outdoors so that I can prepare for my upcoming See Jane Run 5K on June 5th. I earned 5APs.
Friday, April 23 – I knew I wasn’t going to be home until really late tonight, because I’m meeting up with some alums from my high school after work, so I made sure to get a bit of a workout in this morning before I left for work. Luckily it was my late day, so I didn’t have to rush. I did 45 minutes on the Wii Fit+ and earned 4APs.
All in all, I had a good week of getting activity in. I earned 33 APs, which is a new record for a week when I have work. I’m really proud of myself for that. I’d like to have weeks like this every week for the next 8 – until I get out for summer vacation. I think the key to not getting to burnt out is to give myself the off days during the week, rather than on the weekend. Since I have a lot more time on the weekends, it makes sense to workout then for sure. That way, if I have a long day at work during the week, I can give myself time off and not feel guilty about it.
Can I just say that I love repeat weeks? They really help me feel stronger in my progress with jogging. The first week of a new training time makes me feel like I’m out of shape, but the repeat week really makes me feel like I’m becoming more athletic. It just shows that practice helps so much!
Week 4, Day 1: I celebrated having Friday, January 22 off by doing my RLR training around 11am. I usually do the training either in the early morning or in the evening, so doing the RLR training in the middle of the day was nice. I upped my walking speed to 3.0 and kept my jogging speed at 3.7. While the jogging wasn’t easy, it wasn’t as difficult as it was the week before.
Week 4, Day 2: Completed on Sunday, January 24. I was able to have a leisurely Sunday of coffee and the newspaper and then I roused myself around 1pm for RLR training. It was nice to make my way slowly to the gym on Sunday because it made me feel like it was all just part of me enjoying a day off. Which is true. I’m really enjoying seeing my body adapt to this training. Today I decided to push myself and go a bit faster on the jog, so I increased the speed to 3.9 on the first 3 intervals and then increased it again to 4.0 for the remaining ones. While 4.0 was tough, I could do it, so I”m going to keep the jogging speed here as much as I can. I kept my walking speed at 3.0.
Week 4, Day 3: This last day of week 4 RLR was done in the early morning on Wednesday, January 27. As hard as it is to get out of bed at 5:45 to go to the gym, it is sure nice to walk out of there by 6:30 knowing that I’ve completed a great workout. I walked at 3.0 and was able to keep the jogging at 4.0 throughout all of the 90-second intervals. This was definitely the best day of RLR training I’ve ever had, and I know it’s because it was the 3rd day of a repeat week. Oh, how I wish I could get to work at 9:15 everyday so that I could wake up and go to the gym first thing every morning. It really does give me so much energy and makes me feel so proud of myself, right from the start of the day.
One thing I forgot to do all week was take photos of my distance. I had the iPhone with me, so I could’ve easily done it, but it just slipped my mind each time until I was already finished with the training. Ugh. So, I’ll be more mindful of that next week, because I really do like documenting how far I’ve gone.
Next week’s training schedule is daunting: 90 second jog, 90 second walk, 3 minute jog, 3 minute walk and then repeat. Wow! How the heck am I going to jog for 3 whole minutes? I’m going to have to dig deep, I guess, but I’m not sure I’m ready for it yet. I may do 2 minutes on Day 1, 2.5 minutes Day 2, and then build up to the 3 minutes on Day 3. That just seems more doable to me. But I guess I’ll try to do more and see what happens, knowing this can always be my backup.
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Since the goal of RLR is to run in a 5K, I finally did a search on Active.com and found a 5K that was happening in my area after my RLR training would be complete. I found the See Jane Run Women’s 1/2 Marathon and 5K, and I knew I wanted to sign up. The philosophy and mission statement of the company is so amazing, and I mean, with a slogan like this, how could I not?
It’s on June 5th, and I cannot wait!
I signed up with the “stroller section” just because I’m not sure if I’ll be ready to jog the entire 5K and the walk/jog combo sounded less terrifying to me. I told LC about the walk, and she said that she’s going to sign up to do it with me, which will be fun. I’m not sure if she’ll be jogging with me, or if we’ll just catch up to each other after the race. Either way, it will be fun to have her there with me. She’s always my 5K support, and I know I’ll need her on this day, too.
One cool thing about this 5K is that they allow iPods, so I’ll be able to use music to help me get through the hard times. I’ll definitely create a special “5K jogging mix” for myself and LC to groove to as we complete the event.
Here’s a little 7 minute video all about the event and the See Jane Run company. I hope you’ll take the time to watch it, because I find it inspiring. It made me get teary-eyed! The event and course described in the video is the same one I’ll be doing this year.
Be sure to check in with Scale Warfare to see how her RLR training went this week.
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A huge THANK YOU to Scale Warfare who surprised me and sent me a copy of The Courage to Start, by John Bingham. I started reading it last night, and I cannot put it down. The author has a great voice and the writing style is engaging and intelligent. Thanks to SeattleRunnerGirl, too, because SW said that you were the one who originally suggested the book. So, thanks to both of you. (SW also sent me another book (so generous!!), but I’ll write more about that one in a different post).
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Bella on the Beach 