You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December, 2007.
The Saturday before Christmas, I was very glad to leave this cold, snowy, grey, miserable New England weather for warm, sunny Florida. We got there Saturday and did the usual shopping. On Sunday, Daniel’s half-brother and his granddaughter came from Baton Rouge with a surprise…basically David’s present to Helga - a little puppy.
Other than that, we got a lot of training in including swimming and running outside - something we can’t do here in Boston too much. The first day we swam, we ended up sharing a lane with Lisa Bentley, a pro triathlete. As much as it blows to be on a diet over the holidays, it was motivating to see her and think of the positive results of exercising and eating healthy. I also got a great 12-mile run on the path.
We also went to Sea World (I hadn’t been there before) and then to Mount Dora, a cute little town north of Clermont which was the only place in the area that had MBT shoes (even though there’s no known cure, I’ll do anything to minimize my cellulite and tome my tush).
Anyways, we came back to the miserable weather last Thursday. I weighed-in and was very happy to see that I had lost weight (under 120 YAY!). In the airport on the way to Florida, I got a book called “skinny bitch” which is an awesome nutrition book which I think contributed to my weight loss during the holidays…and also I really want to move somewhere warm since it seems to be conducive to exercising.
Since Thursday, I have been doing nothing. It’s been awhile and it feels good (I’ve been exercising, but that is fun…by “nothing” I just mean I haven’t been doing work because that’s **not** too fun haha).
Another thing, I have found that not eating too late really helps me. Late at night I am very hungry, but the following morning I almost always weigh less if I eat around 6pm so I really try to suck it up. I am now at 118.6 and have lost 8 pounds in the past month…and have 3 pounds to go. It’s really hard even though it’s only 2 pounds a week. If I don’t eat enough, I don’t have any energy to exercise. I honestly admire those people on shows like “the biggest loser” who lose 7 or 9 pounds in a week. Hopefully in 2 weeks (by mid January) I will succeed in getting to my goal weight.
Saturday was long run day. It was originally supposed to be Sunday (today) - however, today there is a blizzard and the thought of running 2 hours on a treadmill was a bit much - so the other choice was sunny and a balmy 17F (-8.5C). Anyways, it wasn’t so bad with all the gear I had. I took some of those hand warmer things for construction workers and put them in my gloves. 2 pairs of tights and other miscellaneous gear later, (like ski socks…see photo), I was off. Did it very slowly - my energy level is a little low because I have been losing weight (7 pounds so far), but hopefully once I reach my desired weight, I can eat normally again and my energy level will return. Florida will be great for vacation, but I will need to get used to winter training in New England!
So, this past week I have been trying to eat better and exercise more (ie lose weight the good old-fashioned way). I joined Weight Watchers online so that I can track my food and exercise. It’s basically an online tool that takes into account factors like your height, weight, age, and gender to determine how many “points” you get per day in order to reach your weight goal. It gives you points depending on how much exercise you do, which is great because at the end of the day, if I haven’t exercised, I have the option of going home and eating a miniature-sized nuke-a-meal **or** if I get on the trainer, road, treadmill, pool, etc etc etc, I can have a normal dinner.
I tell you it feels much nicer putting weight **on** than taking it off, although I am starting to get used to it. I don’t mind the exercise part at all - as a matter of fact, that’s a positive aspect. It has been motivating me to get back on track with my training routine even though it is cold, dark, and gray outside. At the beginning, I was always hungry though. I think I am eating one third as much as I ate before! Duh, so that’s how I put on weight!
Since starting my diet December 1st, I’ve lost almost 5 pounds. Since I started weight watchers first weigh in (a week ago), I’ve lost 3 pounds. Hopefully by Florida I will have lost 4-5 more!
I have 10 extra pounds on me since August and my clothing is starting to get tight. Happens every fall since I fall off the training wagon and the weather gets colder so I want to eat more. I am going to commit to sticking to my training schedule better - a lot of the weight should come off that way. Also going to join Weight Watchers online. There is an off season challenge in the USAT - this month it is swimming. That will hopefully offer more motivation. Ok off to run now!
For Thanksgiving, as we have done for the past several years, we went to visit my family (or at least part of it). Wednesday afternoon, we left early and it still took us 10 hours to get there - the traffic on the Mass Pike was ridiculous. Louie came along and was great during the trip.
Thursday morning we arrived and went to do a 10K in Bethesda. I had just done a marathon, so I jogged, but Mariana, Andrea, and Daniel raced and all did well. We were exhausted so we went home to take a nap. Dinner went well and we had about 10 people over. I didn’t eat a ridiculous amount of food.
Friday we went swimming with the DC Tri club people. We found out about a challenge they were having for the off season, so we signed on. We then had coffee and went to Mariana and Andrea’s to have brunch. In the afternoon, we went over to meet Andrea Murad for food/drinks at the Lebanese Taverna and then came back home and fell asleep in front of the TV.
Saturday we went for a nice run along the canal in Georgetown and then went to brunch with Mariana, Andrea, and Paul. At night we all went out.
All of this made me realize living in DC would be pretty cool. When I was younger, all I really wanted to do was leave. That was prob. from having lived in the suburbs. Inside DC at the time, with the exception of the really expensive part, was a bit rough to live in, but now it seems like a lot of it has been cleaned up and is still affordable.
