Diet: Many will tell you that "diet" is a four letter word. It's true. See? I wrote it right over there <-----. But it's not a BAD word. Diet is simply what you eat. Everyone is on a "diet". Some have poor diets. I used to be one of these people. I literally ate fast food every single day during the summer of 2003. Sometimes twice a day. It was gross. I wasn't fat, but I certainly wasn't healthy. Then, during my semester off in 2006, I got very, very skinny. Again, I wasn't fat, but I certainly was not healthy. I ate very little, and drank a whole lot. After I met Hubby J, my diet improved. He is a wonderful cook, and we had no money so we couldn't afford to eat out. We worked at a farm stand, so veggies were super cheap. When I got pregnant, J was on me constantly about eating right. I wasn't allowed to give in to my cravings...well, ok, maybe once or twice!
I haven't had fast food in almost a year, and to tell you the truth, I don't miss it at all. I only drink soda occasionally, and I don't snack. I try not to carbo-load, and I eat a ton of veggies. I love chocolate, so I will eat dessert a few times a week. Mmmmm, cookies! So my diet isn't perfect, but compared to most Americans I'm doing really well.
Exercise: Currently, I'm on the Couch to 10K program, and it is AMAZEBALLS. This summer, I started running and I pushed myself too hard. I got shin splints, and it was so painful that I thought I broke my leg. I figured that if I went balls to the walls, I could just melt away the fat. Um, no. It doesn't work like that. When you're out of shape, you have to start slowly. I noticed that a lot of my friends on Facebook were posting about Couch to 5K, and I thought 'Well, hey now, I can do that!' I decided 5K was not a great goal, so I started the Couch to 10K program. I bought an app for my iPhone, and it's the best purchase I've ever made! The app actually tells you when to walk, when to run, when you're halfway through, and when it's time to cool down. The program lasts 13 weeks. Here is a sample of the schedule:
Week 4: Day 1: 5 min warm up, Run for 2 minutes walk for 3 minutes 11 times, 5 minute cool down. 62 mins total
Day 2: 5 minute warm-up, run for 2 mins, walk for 3 mins 9 times, 5 min. cool down. 52 mins total
Day 3: 5 min warm-up, run for 2 mins, walk for 3 mins 10 times, 5 min. cool down. 57 mins total.
Week 8: Day 1: 5 min warm-up, run 5 mins, walk 1 min 10 times. 69 mins total.
Day 2: 5 min warm-up, run 5 mins, walk 1 min 8 times, 5 min cool down. 57 min total.
Day 3: 5 min warm-up, run 5 mins, walk 1 min 9 times, 5 min cool down. 63 min total.
Week 10: Day 1: 5 min warm-up, run 10 mins, walk 1 min 4 times, 5 min cool down. 53 min total.
Day 2: 5 min warm-up, run 20 mins, walk 1 min, run 20 mins, 5 min cool down. 51 min total.
Day 3: 5 min warm-up, run 22 mins, walk 1 min, run 22 mins, 5 min cool down. 55 min total.
Week 13: Day 1: 5 minute warm-up, then run for 50 minutes, 5 minute cool down
Day: 2 Run 10K!
Tomorrow I'm on Day 3 of Week 4, and I'm excited! I really like running like this. I don't feel achy afterwards, and while I sweat like a hooker in church, it still feels good! These 4 weeks of running has made me drop almost two pant sizes! It really is incredible.
My long-term goal is to run at half marathon. The Lake Placid half marathon, to be precise. Registration begins in October, and I'm definitely signing up. I figure that if I can run at 10K by November, I should be able to keep training in time to do a half marathon by June (it's about 21K).
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| Me, at my thinnest |
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| Me, at my heaviest |
Hopefully, in another month, I will have another "skinny" picture, but this time, I'll be skinny AND healthy!
