Sick. Yay.

Hey All,
So last week was an insane sequence of events, I started back up the diet, made a killer deal with the parents for my birthday plans (VEEEEEEEEEEEEEGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!!!!!!!!), lost 4 pounds, and got sick.

This week was really fun and easy to stay on track with the strict diet parameters I set for myself.

• No grains
• No fruits (or fruit juices)
• No dairy

I start each day with a protein shake to keep things fast and simple, because who wants to spend 20 minutes making an omelet when you can hardly get out of your warm bed in the first place? 3-4 hours later I would eat second lunch, which usually consisted of half a bag of steamed veggies and a few slices of chicken and two HUGE glasses of water. Second lunch is another 3-4 hours down the road and looks very similar to first lunch (AKA the same...). Dinner I had some choices, same as my lunches or make a extremely huge salad. 

The second half of the week I got a little bored with my menu and happened across a recipe for an Indian bean dish. I made it and loved it! I loved it so much I will pass along the recipe to whomever may choose to expand their menus a little past their borders this week. One of the ingredients is mung beans, I have never cooked or eaten mung beans and decided that there was no better time than the present. While shopping I found out that mung beans are a total super food! Maybe it hasn't been advertised in Good Housekeeping as such yet, but it totally is. A serving of mung beans has over 20 grams of protein, compared to it's cousin the black bean with a respectable 9 to a serving. If you haven't come the the conclusion that this dish hits your full button like Mike Tyson's right hook on your own, I will help you. I eat about 1/2-1 cup of this for a meal and can hardly finish it is so nutrient rich. 

As I mentioned a few lines back, I lost 4 pounds this week! I am sure some of it was water weight and I probably won't be peeling off years and years of overeating and under-exercising in a few weeks, but it was a great way to start this off with a BANG! I am super motivated and ready to see the Beth that has been hiding for so many years. 

Talk to you next week. 

Oh yeah... I've got this blog thing...

Hey all,
Update on the back, still hurts and haven't really worked out since the start of break. I am going to focus on my diet completely until I get the go ahead from my doctor to start really slamming the workouts again. I am hoping that I will be back in the game for the Shamrock run, I really want to do this for myself. I have revised the goals to be a little bit more with the times, the goal is still 50# but it will be by my 21st birthday. Basically 25 pounds a term with some extra days thrown in after school is out. I am going to focus on eating right, studying hard, and sleeping like a champ until this term is over and I am driving non stop to Red Rocks at least 20 pounds lighter!

This term should be fairly easy to rock, so I will be putting my whole focus on school and be pushing for a 3.5 GPA for the term. I am taking 4 courses and I really think I can make it happen this term, because if I don't I will not be heading to Alaska in August as planned.

Sooooo, LET"S GO!!!

1 Mile Down...

Well today was a weigh in day, and it was a tough one. I am back up to 200 lbs, I did not take measurements because I was all too focused on the positive change that I saw on the scale. I am really frustrated with myself for gaining back some weight, but I also have to remember that my whole schedule has been turned upside down since classes ended. Workouts have been hard to keep constant and eating has turned to grazing because I have nothing to do!

 In honor of my  messed up schedule I ran on a rest day. But unlike the last few runs, I completed the full mile of running at the end rather than run/walking it. This made today feel like less of a failure and more of an accomplishment. I am starting to see that the Shamrock Run is not just a dream, I am making progress towards a successful run and I am able to watch the times drop towards my goal of a sub 30 minute race.

One thing that has really been making these last two weeks hard is pain in my lower back. My sister, took a quick look at me and had some great observations into why my back may be hurting and why my right foot hurts when I am running. It seems that my right leg is almost an inch longer than my left. CRAZY!!! I finally have some sort of idea as to why my body deals with the stress of running so adversely. I am super excited to make an appointment with a prospective new DO in Corvallis to talk about how to remedy my problem.

 I realize that the scale is saying one thing, but the track is saying another. I am getting fitter, I am making progress, and even though spring break might not be the date of completion I will make my goal of 150 lbs.

Q: What song gets you in the mood to shred on your workout?

A: "When I'm Alone"- remixed by Klaypex, The most amazing song to put on your running playlist. It will change your life, and if it doesn't... well..  you are probably dead anyway.

Oh, shout out to my #1 cuz! ya'll know who you are ;)

Getting Back on the Horse

I learned how to ride horses very young in life and got to hear the saying "get back on the horse" a few too many times. I have had a couple rough days to start this week, and it caused me to not want to write blog posts because I felt so bad about it. I "fell" off the diet and workout plan on Sunday and stayed dismounted for two days. I finally got myself together on wednesday and went to crossfit and ate correctly. I am really bummed with myself because of my three day hiatus. I feel that to be successful in this I have to stick with it and stay on the freaking horse! Falling off can't happen too often, and getting back on better happen really quick to avoid steps backward in progress.

Getting back on the horse is hard, you feel defeated and frustrated with yourself. I felt awful the whole time about the fact that I couldn't pull myself out of the slump I was in. I think that the difficulty in staying with my routine stemmed from being done with classes and not having a set schedule to work my exercising and eating around.  I am learning to pull encouragement from within myself, because even though I have a great family that supports me I still need to be able to push and motivate myself. I am always thinking about what I will look like and how I will feel when I have hit my goal weight. As I examine my own flaws I notice that I am looking at a goal that is so far away, and that I need to give myself rewards for benchmarks towards the end goals. I am so excited to buy new clothes and such, but I need to figure out what I will do for myself when I hit 175 or 160. Allowing myself to have little victories to build up to the final goal will keep me excited to see this to the end.

I am super tired and will be up tomorrow for a run, so I will leave you with a question.

Q: What is your goal, and what keeps you motivated to see it through?

Yeah... so it is 1:24 am the next day..

Hey all! Today (yesterday now..) was cheat day, a glorious day when I trick my body into believing that it is no longer being "starved" of calories. This day allows the metabolism to stay steady rather than crash and leave me on the plateau of dispare. Though this day sounds like a wonderful vacation from the extremely regimented diet that I have for myself, it is hard work to eat so many calories! As I have trained myself to eat only certain things 6 days a week it is really difficult to jump into a feeding frenzy, which of course costs way more than my normal food budget. This got me thinking about all of these extremely cheap people who are fat... How on earth are they able to save money if they are eating all of this processed food that costs way more than the raw basics that you actually need to survive. I spent $11.00 on a bag of Resse's Peanut Butter Cups and a pint of Ben and Jerry's. That is a quarter of my weekly food budget on two items!

Oh, the important stuff.. I almost forgot! I lost 2 pounds this week and 2.25 inches! I am at 197.5 and keeping a steady trend of weight loss that is sustainable and going to change my life! I was super excited about the inches lost because last week my right thigh was a whole inch larger than my left, this week they were the same. Totally weird I know, but my mommy does my measurements and I am pretty sure she is the person I should trust with such a duty as to get the best results! As the inches drop off I have began to think about things that I will get to go shop for. I know this sounds a little superficial, but my justification hopefully changes your mind. I have not enjoyed shopping for a very long time, unless it is online. I feel self conscious and horrible about myself when I have to go in and try on clothing because I am worried that I got a size (or two) too small. I am really excited to go shopping  IN a store and have fun trying on clothing for the first time in a very long time. I can't wait to be able to look in the mirror and not want to shrink and hide from a body that doesn't reflect the soul within it. I am ready to bring what I have burning within to the outside and finally be able to accomplish things that I can't do now and have a healthier and happier body.  Obviously this screams body image issues, and if this is what your mind was screaming while you were reading it was totally right. I do love myself, I just know what I am capable of if I allow myself to come out from under 47.5 pounds of garbage that is hiding me from the world. At 200 pounds I have climbed mountains, hiked, snowboarded, and tons of amazing things. My mom always says I am capable, I know I am capable, I will keep moving towards fitness and towards the goals I have set for myself.

Question for the day!!!

Q: What is one part of you (physical or character trait) that you are so glad to have?

Again, you can post your answer or just think about your answer for yourself. Either way, love that part of you.

My answer: I love my eyes, it is one part of my physical appearance that will not change through this whole transition. The phrase that says that the eyes are the gateway to the soul are totally right. I am so glad that I will be able to keep my eyes, they have seen all of my experiences, cried for my losses, and will see me through to the completion of my goals.

Good Night ya'll

Run Like Your Life Depends on it

Today was a battle to rule them all when it came time to get out of bed and go for a run. Delilah gave me tons of grief by not completing her morning potty appointment within a reasonable amount of time. Even though I woke up at 7:30 and immediately took the princess out, by the time I came back into the house it was already 8:04... this is when the struggle of whether I had time to run (or if I had the motivation or the desire to). I finally convinced myself that yes I could finish my workout with time to shower and get to my 9:30 final.

Once I got started I was so happy I went. I had woken up so grumpy, and got even more grumpy when Delilah wasn't bending to my needs of a quick potty time. I started running and those angry morning thoughts and the stubbornness regarding the physical exertion I was putting myself through slowly melted away as I listend to my AMAZING new playlist.

My dad always talks about how whenever he has a problem or an obstacle that he can't figure out, he goes for a run and the solutions just pile into his head. I never really jumped on board with that theory until I started running myself. There is something about running on a cold (27 degrees of cold) morning before you truly start the grind of your day to put all of your plans and responsibilities in order. The other advantage that I have found is that I get to have time away from facebook and texting, which I know sounds like a grown up time out... well that is actually exactly what it is. I put myself in time out, allowing myself time to reflect on yesterday and maybe solve a problem or talk myself out of getting a white mocha before my final.

So not that I am an advice guru or that anybody really reads my personal therapy session, but if you take time to put yourself in "time out" each day you are allowing yourself to be pulled away from what might seem important and give yourself time to really think about things that are happening in your life (and not your facebook life, you know, the stuff that actually matters). Take it from me, self inflicted time outs are the bee's knees and I recommend them on the highest authority as the author of this blog.

OH, I almost forgot about my fancy title for today. "Run like your life depends on it" I have decided that my life most certainly does depend on running, or any physical activity. In fact, everyone's life depends on it, because without physical activity I have learned that I am grumpy, fat, and a total couch potato.

I am adding a new piece to my little ditty here, a question. So here it goes and you are welcome to post your answer or simply just contemplate your response on your own.

Q: What does your life depend on?

The Eye of the Tiger

Well today started out in a frenzy.. How can an apartment of two college students have ZERO pencils?! I woke up at 7, threw on my most attractive sweats and puffy jacket and busted over to Freddy's to get some pencils. The A&P final whooped my under prepared butt like a nun at a 'yo mama..' contest. Coming out of the exam room I felt awful. This class wasn't just for a grade, it was an opportunity to go see somewhere new and exciting to complete my paramedic. I called my mom who of course simply said get up and brush yourself off (we're proud of you) move on to the next final and find a new path to Alaska.

I got home and still felt awful, I went and got my run/walking duds on and went out for a 3 mile think session with me, myself, and I. My legs were moving so fast it felt like they were going to pop off after the torture they went through last night. Sore and in a pity party I kept moving listening to the most corny work out song of them all, you guessed it... THE eye of the Tiger. Laughing at my poor music selection I felt a little less depressed about the test and was starting to move past it as the miles went on.  Today I graduated from a 1/2 mile of running to 1 mile of running. The fact that I had to come to grips with was that I was not going to be able to run this mile right off the bat, and that I will have to work up to it just like I did with the 1/2 mile and anything else I have done right in my life. It was hard to convince myself to start running again when I hit the first wall, but somehow a voice inside my head out-yelled my sore legs and bursting lungs. Even though it was a run/walk mile I ended this run at 41:44, slicing just over 3 minutes off from yesterdays run of 45:18.

Yesterday was my first blog posting, and tons of people were very encouraging and supportive of what I am doing. If you are working towards a goal and having a hard time keeping yourself motivated start a blog or some sort of measurable data keeping to be able to look back on and see the progress you have made. I really appreciate all of you who are reading, even if you don't leave comments I appreciate that you are taking time to support me by reading what I have to say.
Thanks!