sarahveale

It’s been awhile! School has just been super stressful and I feel like I’m running non stop! I lost my 20 lbs and the scale has been teetering between 18-20 ever since. Can’t seem to stick at that 20 lb mark.

My life has been so busy! We’ve had different company every week for the last month, and it’s crunch time will school right now. I’m ready for Spring Break (St. John!) next week. It will be a much needed break.

I’ve had to stop exercising for medical reasons. That was a bummer because I was up to 3 miles- but I know I’ll eventually run that 5k! Hope everyone else is hanging in there! I know I’m ready for summer!

Life has been insane! I’m beginning to think insanity is normal until I graduate from college. My days run from 6am-10pm Monday-Thursday and I call Friday my “vacation day” because it only goes from 6am-5:30pm. Crazy, right? I guess this semester will help me appreciate the intense summer semester, since it won’t be nearly as exhausting. Surprisingly- I’m not TOO tired. There are definitely days (especially cold, dark, ugly ones) where I think I could really go for a nap- but for the most part I have enough energy to get me through. I think this may be from all the exercise!

I weighed in @ WW on Monday and I’m down exactly 15 lbs! I’m so excited! My first goal is to lose 20 lbs by Spring Break (March 10- going to St. John in the Virgin Islands!). I gave myself 9 weeks to do it and I got to 15 lbs after the 4th week! I know the weight comes off slower every week, but I really think I can do it!

I’m still doing my 300 minutes/week of exercise and setting myself a numeric goal each week is EXTREMELY motivating! On Sunday I was only at 235/300 and that’s the last day of my week…so I forced myself to do a 65 minute work out and felt SO good about myself when it was over. I haven’t really progressed any further on the 5k (I’m up to 2.75 miles). I have this really irritating cold (I’m all stuffy) so I’m having trouble breathing and sleeping at night. I’m hoping it will pass and I’ll have my clear nostrils and energy back enough to get higher than 2.75 but I’m trying not to beat myself up over it.

In less than 5 weeks I will be laying on a gorgeous beach, 20 lbs lighter. Can’t wait!

So I started off the day feeling a little down. I went out last night and left my point counting and self-control at home. I ate way over my points!! The scale definitely reflected my splurge this morning when it was up 2lbs! Why does is always seem so hard to lose weight and so easy to gain it?!?!

Anyway- so I was feeling kinda depressed and regretting my huge dinner last night. I’m challenging myself to do 300 minutes of exercise per week so I knew I had to get my butt out of bed to work out. I got on the treadmill to run- and I got up to 2 MILES today! When just a month ago I couldn’t run for longer than 3 minutes, this was a big victory! I was so proud of myself! I have never been able to run 2 miles straight without slowing down or walking, and now I can.

Sometimes victories come OFF the scale- and this is one that I feel is worth celebrating! Hopefully I’ll be up to 3 miles in no time!

So I went to Weight Watchers for my weekly weigh-in tonight, and I lost 4.4 lbs! I’m down a total of 10 lbs. so far (this was my second week). I’m half way to my spring break goal of 20 lbs! I still have a REALLY long way to go, but I’m not giving up! Losing weight really does feel great!

I weighed in tonight @ Weight Watchers and lost 5.6 lbs!

I guess WW and 300 minutes of exercise a week is really working for me.

I was THRILLED! I don’t think I will continue to lose that much weekly, but I’m hoping to be able to lose 2.5 a week!

Well…I joined a Spring Break challenge and agreed to exercise 300 minutes/week. I have been doing 30-45 minutes on my elliptical machine and a 30 minute workout at Curves. My goal is to run a 5k (my first ever race!) by April. Today I decided to get on the treadmill and see if I could run 1 mile without stopping or slowing down. I know 1 mile isn’t a big deal to a lot of people- but it’s a big deal to me. I’m not a runner- and I haven’t been able to run a straight mile without stopping in 3.5 years. Today I DID IT!!!! I was SO excited! I’m feeling very optimistic about reaching my goal to run a 5k.

This idea was completely stolen from another blogger (not the reasons though, of course!)

1. To reduce my risk of Diabetes (95% of my family has it and it’s not fun)

2. To be physically fit and healthy when I’m old enough to retire (so I can enjoy it!)

3. So I only have to pay for one airplane ticket when I fly (Ive never had to pay for 2 but if I keep gaining weight I may get there some day)

4. So I can increase my chances of becoming a Mommy (I have PCOS- inferility issue)

5. So I can feel great about myself and have more energy!

6. So I can look good @ Lora and Ty’s wedding (and not be the “fat” bridesmaid)

7. So I can fit (and look good in) cuter, smaller clothes (is it just me or does anyone else feel like “plus size stores” don’t have as much younger looking stuff)

8. So I can stop paying for Weight Watchers.

9. So my hubby will be more attracted to me (he lies when he says he doesn’t mind all the lard- he has to mind it!)

10. So I can beat Chelsea at our Weight Loss Challenge! hehe

So tonight the hubby took me out to dinner. We went to my favorite place- the Outback Steakhouse. Since I’ve been on my new diet/fitness plan I’ve been avoiding eating out. I was pretty proud of myself tonight though. Instead of ordering a whole plate of cheese fries, I only ordered 1/4 of a plate of cheese fries. Instead of getting my own meal, I split a meal with my husband. I only had a 4.5oz steak (the leanest cut) and some green beans. Although it was a bit of a splurge- I was able to stay on plan for Weight Watchers and not go over my points. With all the exercise I’ve been doing and activity points- I didn’t even have to use any flex points.

A night like tonight makes me feel more optimistic about my new lifestyle. You can’t deprive yourself forever or you’ll end up binging- but by making smarter choices I can still enjoy the foods I love and continue to lose weight.

Go me!

This is my first post- I’m new to this website. I’ve always been a blogger (myspace and facebook) but I tend to use those more for social networking. I wanted to start a new blog to go with my new weight loss journey. I have gained a lot of weight over the past 2 years. I moved away from family and friends all the way from Tennessee to Pennsylvania- and I know that had a little to do with it. I was in a new area, I didn’t really have any friends, and I was bored. I was incredibly homesick and I think I put all the emotional pain and boredom into eating. I was also recently diagnosed with PCOS which is a metabolic issue that’s usually associated with weight gain. It’s an infertility issue in women- and if I can lose just 10% of my body weight some of the symptoms will disappear completely. I’m not just an emotional eater, but I’m a social eater. It’s not really that I eat all day or anything- it’s just what/how I eat. One of my favorite things to do is to go out to eat with other people. It doesn’t matter if it’s lunch or dinner, there’s just something about eating out that I love. As everyone knows- the portion sizes and calorie amounts in restaurants are crazy high so I know it’s a habit that I need to break.

My friend Chelsea and I decided that this is our year! We just joined Weight Watchers together (Monday, Jan. 7th) and I just became a member of Curves. My first goal is to lose 20 lbs. by spring break (March 10).  I’ve also joined a “spring break weight loss challenge” where I agreed to exercise 300 minutes per week. Another goal of mine is to run my first 5k in April. I’ve never been much of a runner but I want to train for this and complete the entire thing without walking. I already have an entire team of people that are going to do it with me. I’m excited to cross that finish line!

2008 is MY year. No more excuses, no more quitting- this year I’m going to lose weight and get in the best physical shape of my life.