Started exercising again....

2 days ago I mentioned that I started to run again.  And I went again last night.  Mallory decided to come over with her dog and join us.  She has a 7 month old Blue Heeler that needs some running.  We didn't get far but did a little run/walk for about 1.5 miles I guess.  It wasn't as easy as it was the night before - I was a little disappointed.  And today Im a little sore in the calves and back areas.  Another reminder that I am not as young as I think I am.  I really hate when I am reminded of this.

I might go again tonight, haven't quite decided.  I have to do laundry, start packing for my trip this wknd, finish editing some photos and get the disc's mailed out.  So I will try and sneak a 30 minute run in if I can.

And I will be heading to Omaha this weekend to celebrate my birthday with some good friends!  And help celebrate my friend Theresa's 40th Birthday !!!!!  I turn 42 on Saturday, September 1st & T turns 40 on the 3rd.  This is the first time in a long we have been able to celebrate our birthdays together.  And the opening HUSKER game is also Saturday!  Woo Hoo !!!  GOOOOOOOO BIIIIIIIIIIG RED! GO BIG RED!  I may not have mentioned this in past posts but I am originally from Omaha Nebraska and a huge College Football fan ( ie. Huge Husker Fan ).  It is a cult following, it is all we have, it is born into you that you must love the Huskers.  And my good friend from High School, Alex is having his annual Labor Day party on Sunday the 2nd.  Big Wknd.

THE PLAN --

I still have to be aware of my food intake and watch the alcohol intake as well.  Friday I land around 8:30pm will get my rental car and head out to Kelly's house to stay with her and her beautiful 4 year old daughter Tierney.  She has already commited to feeding my something healthy once i arrive.  And wine.  ;)  I think I am going to try and hold off on any cocktails until Saturday night though.  In the morning we are getting up and I might suggest a little yoga since Kelly teaches it on occasion. Then we are heading out to take some photos of Tierney.  Lunch.  Then the Husker festivites begin around 1 or 2 with some friends at the bar.  This will be difficult to not eat the super yummy super bad bar food and drink a ton of beer.  The goal is to stick to vodka and tonics.  No bar food.  And wait until dinner that night to eat some good food.  We have reservations for 7pm at Espana . Should be about 5 or so of us and I am super excited to drink some Sangria and eat some Tapas. 
Sunday will be a bit more difficult - Alex's party starts around 4pm and they provide the main food and frozen margaritas!  We just have to bring a side dish and any beer or alcohol we want. Im planning on going to this with Traci.  I am thinking I should definately eat before I go and bring vodka/tonic or just do water. 
And I leave Monday at around 3pm.  Getting back to Denver around 4pm MST.  And back to no drinking and exercising and eating "normal". 

IM SOOOOOOO EXCITED TO SEE MY FRIENDS THIS WEEKEND !!!!!

Issues......

Ok - I really suck at remembering to write on this and update, hmmmm No One,  on my progress.  I really don't think anyone reads this but me.  Oh well, I find it therapeutic at least. 

Work has been crazy busy.  So I don't have any time to leave my desk during the day and am either taking files home to work on or so tired after a crazy day to really want to do anything once Im home.

I have been off of the HCG shots now for about 3 weeks I think.  Been bringing my calories slowly back up to a somewhat normal amount.  I figure ( because I don't actually know ) that Im around 1000-1300 calories a day now +/- .  And, drum roll please...... My current weight as of this morning is 171 pounds !!!  Down 29 pounds to date.  Im really trying to get my ass in the 160's by this wknd.

I feel great, I think Im starting to look pretty good, I had to go buy some new jeans !!!  My old ones are falling off practically.  I actually went for a quick run/walk last night with my dog Dazey who is a 10 year old Golden Retriever, and was amazed at how easy it seemed this time.  I realized that the last time I ran i was about 30 pounds heavier than I am now.  A light bulb went on when I ran a bit longer than I normally could and wasn't nearly as out of breath as I normally would be at that point of the route I take.  It was AMAZING!  I can't wait to go again tonight, without the dog - I think I may have worn her out more than I should have last night.  :)

My daughter was kind enough to send me a photo of the two of us at her high school graduation in May 2007.  I was mortified.  I do NOT remember being that big.  And the first thing I thought of was not how far I have come or how good I am doing now, but OMG that is the last time my ex-husband saw me.  SERIOUSLY !!!  We have been divorced for about 18 years now.  WTF do I care what he thinks I look like.  I said I would never show anyone this photo but I figured I would post it as a reminder of what I don't want anymore.

"FYI you are gorgeous now, more beautiful than you have ever been & I'm so proud as to how far you've come. "  That was the comment attached along with the photo above on a text from my beautiful daughter.

I honestly have NO CLUE what I weighed back then, nor do I want to know.  Im going to assume it was well over 200 though.  We will just go with that.  And who told me that shirt was flattering on  me.  That person needs to be shot. 

I had some stalls in my weight loss efforts in the past week or so.  Funny thing is if you search "constipation" in google -- DISCLAIMER...  STOP READING HERE IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO HERE ABOUT MY CONSTIPATION ISSUES... --  it comes up with the top causes being:
Medicines - especially antidepressants.... I have been on antidepressants since approx. 1997
Stress - did i mention I am a mortgage underwriter?
Inadequate activity or exercise -  500 calorie a day diet....
Low calorie diet - see above
Low starch or fiber diet - see above

I have tried everything.....  Laxatives, stool softners, fiber pills, enema's....  you name it I have tried it.  Until someone mentioned my Grandma Florence's favorite thing to offer us if we had a tummy ache - PRUNES or prune juice.  Low and behold ( or not to hold... ) it worked.  Thank the lord above & Grandma Peirce.  Relief at last.  I seriously dropped 2 1/2 pounds that day.  In like 45 minutes.   Now i have never been what you would even consider as "regular" so I dont see anything wrong with going 4-6 days without "going".  But I guess this is somewhat of an issue.  So now that I am back eating a fairly regular amount of calories per day, exercising again and eating more fiber Im fairly confident I might conquer this issue.  I am now really paying attention to my diet and how much fiber, carbs, fat and protein I am eating each meal. 

I will post another updated photo of me later this week once I get my hair cut and colored.  It's a bit ragged right now.  Talk later.  :) 

WOO F***ING HOO !!! IM IN THE 170'S !!

So I skipped weighing in yesterday ( Monday ) morning like a chicken skips the free ride the farmer offers.  And Im glad I did because this morning my weight was 178.6 !!!  Good way to start the day.  So apparently the small amount of damage I did over the weekend wasn't horrible.  Today is day 30 of the plan and so far I am down 21.40 pounds !!!  12 more days on Phase 2 and I will begin to increase my daily calories and introduce new foods back into my life. 

This is how Phase 3 works:  Phase 3

1st 3 weeks: NO sugars and NO starches

• That means N-O bad for you sugars and N-O starches on the 1st 3 weeks of HCG (sometime mistaken as HGC) Maintenance
• If you cheat during HCG Maintenance you may mess up all of the hard work you endured over the last month in the HCG VLCD and take the chance of making HCG Maintenance in the future much more difficult. Believe me, you don’t want to do that.
• Good foods to eat on HCG Maintenance are protein-rich sources such as...

  

• Meats
• Eggs
• Hot wings
• Jerky
• Low Carb fruits
• Low starch Veggies
• Few almonds
• A little bit of cheese
• Some healthy fats
• Salads with low-carb HCG maintenance dressing such as Ranch dressing and Blue Cheese

2nd 3 weeks of HCG Maintenance / HCG P3: S-L-O-W-L-Y adding back sugars and starches in (starchier fruits and vegetables, good whole wheat bread, etc.)

• Slowly, very slowly, add back sugars & starches (starchier fruits and vegetables, good whole wheat bread, etc.)

• Your body needs time to adjust as the new food is being introduced in HCG (commonly mistaken as HGC) Diet Maintenance.

• Good foods during the 2nd 3 weeks of HCG Maintenance are all the foods listed in the 1st 3 weeks of HCG Maintenance with a little more leniency, any fruits and veggies, a little more dairy (yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, etc.), still lots of salads, maybe a little more peanut butter, more milk, low carb/high fiber cereals like Kashi, oatmeal, etc. and your other favorite sugars and starches in very small portions and only one or so a day as the scale allow.

The goal during HCG Maintenance is to help your body learn a new weight set point. You must still weigh every day on HCG Maintenance (and for life) in order to train your body to maintain this new weight set point.

WARNING: Any day that your morning weight is 2.1 lbs over your last HCG date weight (the last day you took HCG), you do an HCG Steak Day. An HCG Steak Day is where you eat nothing all day (but drink plenty of water, coffee, and/or tea). Then, for your evening meal, you eat a huge steak (8-14 oz) followed by an apple or a raw tomato. This should put you back down 2-5 lbs and get you back in your HCG “range”.
As you move forward in life you will continue to weigh yourself each day and complete a HCG Steak Day any other time that your morning weight is 2.1 lbs over your last HCG (commonly mistaken as HGC) date weight. It’s that simple.
The foods you should NOT eat during this 3-week time period are starches and sugars: I want to re-emphasize. No starches or Sugars!

• Grains: rice crackers, flour, bread, pastry, tortilla, pasta, rice, cereal etc.
• Sugar: includes sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, powdered or confectioner's sugar, agave syrup, high fructose corn syrup, honey or maple sugar.
• Root crops (carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips, potatoes, yams, winter squashes, sweet potatoes, jicama, etc.)
• Beans, legumes
• Fruit not previously allowed
• Any food that contains any of these as an ingredient.

Do not restrict calories during this phase. In fact, Dr. Simeons reported that he often saw problems, primarily weight gain, if people tried to restrict calories during this three week period.
The reason is believed to be that resetting the hypothalamic set point becomes impossible if you are restricting calories and the body still thinks it is starving.

Weekend in Omaha

When I left town Friday afternoon around 11:45am, I had my cooler packed with all my necessary snacks and protein portions all split out for the wknd.  I was really good during the drive and only had my allowed snacks.  Even being tempted with roadstop goodies when I stopped and gassed up in North Platte I did not waiver.  Ok I trembled a little bit & bought some sunflower seeds to munch on so my stomach would stop growling. 

I arrived in Omaha around 8:30pm.  Met my good friend Theresa at the bar she was working at and hung out with her.  I did have one shot of vodka.  For some reason I find it extremely difficult to goto Omaha and not drink.  There really isn't anything else to do there.  Or at least the people I know and hang out with don't do much else.  I would love just once to be able to go back home to visit friends and go out to a nice dinner, or hang out for a cookout at someone's house without the intention of how wasted I can get.  A. I feel like a rockstar that evening but far from that the next morning/day/2 days.  2. I waste the entire next day feeling like crap, and if it is a travel day I suffer the 8 hour drive back to Denver.  And C. I blow whatever progress I had been making with my weight loss plan.

Saturday we went shopping a bit, had a nice salad at Applebee's with Theresa and her kids, then went over to her friends parents house to swim.  Did I mention it was like 100 degrees outside and about 70%+ humidity.  My ass was going to be in some form of water that day if it killed me.

After a change of plans for that evening, I made a quick decision to bail and start my drive back home that afternoon instead of waiting until the next morning.  I think I just needed to be back in a controlled environment where I was not tempted with going out drinking and having a bad drive back the next day.  At least here at home I have my routine, my groceries, and the ability to just chill.   Don't get me wrong - I love going back home, I love seeing my friends, love hanging out with one of my besties Theresa... It's just easier here in Denver.

I got back home that night around 10:30 & had a late, not so healthy dinner with D at Old Chicago.  It was sooooo good though.  The italian nachos there are quite tasty.  The one advantage to my current eating plan is that I get full a lot faster than I used to so I don't eat as much bad foods if I do cheat. 

Sunday we decided to go up to Bandimere for the NHRA Mile High Nationals & see a friend who made it into the top 6 of his Super Street Division.  Let's just say the track does not cater to anyone who is trying to eat healthy.  My choices were:  Burritos, Pizza, Brats, Chili cheese hotdogs, Turkey legs, Burgers....  and the most healthy option which I chose.....  Chicken on a stick.  It was not fried or breaded so I was happy.

Dinner that night was with friends at Applebees - I opted for the grilled jalapeno lime shrimp.  Tasty and approved by Weight watchers so my best choice by far. 

Im was just a bit nervous to see what my Monday weigh in would say...........

Maybe Im just manic??

Im up then Im down, then Im back  up again.  This morning was definately an up day.  Scale read 182.2 !!!  17.8 lbs down so far.  This plan works when you follow it - CRAZY.  I have however forgot, now 2 days in a row, to take my injection this morning.  I cannot seem to remember the simplest things.  I do the exact same things every morning before I leave for work, every day.  Yet, I always seem to forget either my shot or my medications or leave my coffee on the kitchen table...... 

Work at the new job is going very well.  Finishing the case files we are required to underwrite before being let loose on our own.  I will be back in my assigned office beginning next week.  The 25 mile drive each way to the main office has been brutal this week. 

Setback

I fell off the wagon.  So as of 7/13/12 my weight was at 184.2 -  Then Friday night happened..... Dinner - quesadilla w chicken & a Strongbow ( well over 250 calories Im sure! )  Then we decided to go meet a friend at the bar - Several more Strongbows later & we closed the bar.  Let's try to remember - I am 41 and supposed to be on a strict 500 calorie a day diet.  Needless to say I was very far off of my plan & very intoxicated.  Saturday am didnt show a weight loss or increase.  I was hopeful & very hungover.  So what does one do when one is hungover?  Goto Red Robin for lunch and have a bbq chicken wrap with their incredible french fries with ranch dressing. 

Monday morning weigh in was a bit upsetting but not a surprise. Back up to 186.  :(  No bueno.  I brought lunch with me to work and have been back on since Monday.

This brings us to today, Wednesday July 18th.  Weight 184.4 -  I lost 4 days and a possible 4 lb loss by not having any willpower.  Im just so mad at myself for screwing up.  I know, I know.... I have lost 15.8 lbs since beginning this 24 days ago.  This is good!  This is great! 

But Im so down and depressed it's ridiculous.  I know Im not supposed to "exercise" while on this plan but I need to do something so I don't fell so crappy and maybe boost my mood a little bit.  Im planning on driving back home to Omaha this wknd - see some friends, family, maybe get a break from home for a bit.  This for sure will be another test to see if I can stay on plan.  Really only Saturday I see being a challenge for me.  Im planning ahead of time though so I can take some food with me and make good choices.  No drinking for sure.  This will be a first - not much to do back home but drink.  Wish me luck.

Running my first 5K

My first attempt at running came last year.  I decided along with a few co-workers to run the Cinco de Mayo 5K in Highlands Ranch, CO May 5, 2011.  I figured if anything I would get some free beer when the race was done.  So with no training whatsoever, I showed up that morning along with 3 co-workers and one of my best friends from high school who had just moved out from Omaha recently. I was really excited and nervous. I felt very official walking around before the race with my bib on and my ankle time chip in place.  The one down side to this day was that my husband decided not to be there and watch my first race - In his words " I've been to and competed in enough races in my past, I dont want to goto another one."  But, at least my friends from work and Tammy were there with me.

Barely doing any stretching I began the race. The course according to my friend Stacey, who has run a few races before :), was a pretty tough one with a lot of rollers and some pretty steep inclines.  So, Seth ( who had been training for this forever & has the body to prove it ) & Stacey pretty much left Tammy, Lorraine and I in the dust.  We started out jogging / walking and trying to stay ahead of the ( as we felt... ) much older & much more out of shape people than we were.  I mean literally, small children, moms with strollers & dogs and people older than my parents were passing us. It was somewhat embarrassing to say the least.

I was feeling pretty good so I told Tammy and Lorraine I was going to push ahead a bit and try to run as much of this as I could.  It felt really good to be out there doing something physical at a time of day when I am almost always still sleeping.  I got past mile one and thought "This might actually be something I can finish".  I kept my steady pace of walking and jogging for awhile and kept passing and then being passed by this couple of girls who, as I found out because I tend to talk to anyone and make them my new best friends, were also running their first 5K too.  We chatted about how old I was, how young they were, etc...  And started keeping the same pace.  They were fun to chat with and helped me not focus so much on "Are we there yet?" going on in my head.  They did get some good laughs at me though as we approached mile two and I developed the worse cramp in my lower ass that I have ever felt in my life.  It was horrible.  Did I stop to stretch it out?  Slow down a bit?  Do anything relatively smart about it?  NO.  I kept going because come hell or high water I was finishing this f**king race.

I did end up pulling ahead of them a bit and finished the last 1.1 mile on my own.  The final leg as you can start to see the rec center we started at come into view is through this openspace area with a literal switch back trail to get you back up to the road next to the center.  I thought I might die.  This switch back was only like maybe 25 yards but brutal when you have just ran almost 3 miles.  As I saw the .1 remaining sign approach ( again on an uphill section ) I decided I was going to run into the finish area if it killed me.  And, as bad as my ass cramp was feeling, that might be difficult.  I did however finish with a big huge smile on my face and had my friends Stacey & Seth there to cheer me on as I crossed my very first finish line. 

Stacey, Tammy, ME, Seth & Lorraine

Cinco de Mayo 5K  May 7, 2011
                           Age group            Chip time          Pace           F/M finish                Overall
Sue Mandel        F 40-49                 40:29.1             13:02          128 / 166                  251 / 296
Tammy               F 40-49                 45:45.9             14:44          143 / 166                  269 / 296
Lorraine             F 40-49                 49:38.4             15:59           156 / 166                  285 / 296
Stacey                F 30-39                 30:17.6              9:45            44 / 166                    123 / 296
Seth                   M 30-39                23:54.4              7:42            34 / 130                    42 / 296

The week following the race, I could barely move.  I walked with a severe limp for several days & had difficulty getting in and out of bed, out of chairs & on and off the toilet.  The one thing I learned is to not do this again!  Just kidding, I learned to train, stretch and train some more.  I was really looking forward to doing one of these again someday.