Inspiration in Video Format

I found this running video on another blog I read.  It is a heart wrenching tale of one man's journey to lose weight through running.  It's a good dose of inspiration.You do have the power to change.  Merry Christmas Eeve!

Water

If you've ever read anything about weight loss or tried to lose weight yourself, you know that one of the first things the diet books, experts, websites, etc., tell you is to drink lots of water.  This simple change can make a big difference in your weight loss.  I've seen it myself, even if I can't explain the science behind it. 

According to the website allaboutwater.org, roughly 70 percent of the human body is made of water.   It also said that by the time a person feels thirsty, your body has already lost over 1 percent of your total amount of water.  That tells me that you need to drink water continuously throughout the day. I carry around a 1 liter water bottle with me everywhere and fill it up more than once throughout the day.

You've probably heard that you're supposed to drink eight, 8 oz glasses of water a day.  Of course, you can get water from other sources like tea and fruits and vegetables.  That still counts, but it is hard to measure, so I say (and I'm no expert) to still drink your eight, 8 oz glasses daily (and more if you can!).

Over the weekend, I did not drink much water.  I could tell how much it affected me. My lips were dry, I was tired and my thirst was never really quenched by the diet pepsi I was drinking instead of water.  Why I kept fixing diet pepsis instead of water, I don't know.  Logically I knew that water was what I needed, but I just wasn't feeling very logical, I guess.  Since then, I've been very careful to make sure I've gotten more than my daily share of water.  


Do you drink enough water every day? Do you like the taste of water? Do you have any tricks for making sure you drink your water?

Ironman

Saturday night and Sunday morning I watched this documentary on the Ironman Triathlon Championship in Hawaii.  It was the most inspiring thing I've seen in a long time.  These competitors swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run a marathon - 26.2 miles.

The documentary was really dramatic, with copious amounts of slow motion and dramatic music.  The beginning was all about the professionals who were competing to win this race.  That's right, they not only make their living by getting sponsorships for racing, they actually are expected to run a race like this and win it.  This blew my mind.  

But there are also roughly 1700 normal people in the race as well. People who are teachers or nurses or full-time moms in their regular life, but spend a significant amount of time training for this race that is held once a year on Hawaii's big island.  

You have to qualify at another Ironman triathlon to even get into this race.  Then you have to compete each leg of the journey within a certain time limit in order to keep going.  The total time limit for the whole race is 17 hours. Starting at 7 a.m., you have until midnight to cross the finish line. Many of the "normal" people used every minute of those 17 hours and still others were still running at midnight when they found out they wouldn't be allowed to finish.  The winner? He finished in eight hours and ten minutes!

Of course the documentary was really good at picking out the most compelling stories. There was a father/daughter team where the father was in his late 70s.  Another gentleman was 80 and finishing his 21st Ironman triathlon championship.  A mother of four was competing after being in a bad car accident a year or so ago.  A man in his 40s was back after battling cancer. Let me tell you, I cried a bunch.

I hope to compete in a triathlon next year.  Nothing like an Ironman, but what is called a sprint-distance triathlon.  The distances vary, but it usually consists of something like a half mile swim, 11 or 12 miles biking and a 5k (3.1 miles) running.  I just think it would be a fun new way to challenge myself. I've always been a pretty decent swimmer, so I figure why not? I'll keep you posted.  

This is My Confession

I'm not even sure where to start.  The reason I didn't post yesterday is because I'm on a bad streak again.  It's hard to write on weeks like this, because I don't feel like I have anything to share, and it's hard to confess my bad habits to you.

On weeks when I'm doing well, I like to pretend that I'm cured, like I've solved the mysteries of weight loss and overeating. The truth is I haven't; it's still a struggle a year and a half later. It seems like I'm on a merry-go-round, and I can't get off.  Sometimes my horse is up and sometimes it's down. It must be moving to a beat that I can not hear, because I can be good for two weeks and then horrible for one or another time I might be good for three weeks and then bad for two.  

I just want to be normal, where I don't have to count my calories, but I also don't go crazy around baked goods. I have been a cookie monster of late. Not the ones that I baked, but cookies that have appeared in the office.

Maybe it's the idea of the holidays. Maybe it's the treats at the office. Maybe it's the\parties.  Maybe it's that I was actually really close to making it to 100 pounds, and I got scared. Maybe it's a little bit of all of these things.

I haven't weighed this week, and I don't think I'm going to on Thursday. It will only be bad news.

On Sunday, I only drank one 8 oz cup of water.

The good news is that I have continued to work out daily.  Also, I watched (read: fast forwarded through) the Biggest Loser finale that was last week. I wanted to see how they did, even though I don't watch the show. I was surprised to see that most of the women lost around 70-80 pounds.  I don't know how long they had to lose it, and I'm sure it was not very long at all, but it surprised me that I had lost more.  It also inspired me to calculate the percentage of my body weight that I have lost. Get ready for this: I have lost 32% of my body weight.  That's practically 1/3 of my body that is gone! This blew me away.

So anyway, while I don't want to get too far behind this week, I am taking the week off from counting calories and weighing.  It's too hard when I'm this much out of a routine, and I don't want to make myself miserable about food the week of Christmas.

Cookies 'N Fruit

Two updates:
1) I did pretty well on the cookie baking this weekend. I made the PB blossoms on Friday and only ate two! I put the rest in the freezer, and feel pretty confident that I won't be touching them. I ate a few more of the Hershey Kisses as I was unwrapping them than I should've though. I did slightly less stellar with the cut-outs I made on Saturday. I ate a few...only the broken ones, but I'm not exactly sure how many.  Maybe about five or six?  That sounds like a lot, but I did exercise some restraint and I refuse to feel guilty about it. I mean, I did make them because I like to eat them. I just don't need to eat them all at once. I put the rest in the freezer.

The whole time I was making both of these, I was thinking: "Why am I putting myself through this?"  My family would live without Christmas cookies, and really be better off for it. No one asked me to make them; I took it upon myself.  But as I was rolling out the cookie dough Saturday afternoon, I remembered. It's because I love doing it. It's so much fun, trying to get the cookie cutters to fit together so you get the most use out of your dough. I know how to do every step of it so well, because my mom did such a good job teaching us to bake. I am so lucky for that.  Making these cookies makes me feel close to her even when we're six hours a part.

Here's a pic of the finished product:

My roommate, Jen, is a cookie decorating
artist.  All of the best ones are her designs.

2) I've decided that pomegranates are a super-powered fruit.  Ever since I first tried them a couple of weeks ago, I've been adding a spoonful or two to my traditional breakfast: Kashi cereal, blueberries (or strawberries) and almond milk.  This little difference has been keeping me full until lunch time daily.  I no longer need a mid-morning snack. Before I started adding the pomegranate seeds, I would be starving by 10 a.m. Also, the second time I went to kill and skin the pomegranate was MUCH easier and I only had minimal clean up involved.  

I've also been enjoying kiwi somewhat regularly since I first tried it on the blog. I have not had any more grapefruit, okra, or cranberries since I first tasted them for the blog (although I'm not ruling out okra).  Wait a second, that's not exactly true. At Thanksgiving, my brother and sister and I dared each other to eat the fresh cranberries a few times, because they are really that disgusting.

Running Revelations

Today I took to the Riverwalk to run three miles in the freezing rain (it was not literally freezing, as the temperature was hovering around 34, but just really cold. Also, it was just sprinkling.)  I had one main goal: to run the whole three miles and not give up on myself.

I ran today when I could've easily stayed home because I've started a new training program for my next 10k, which is in Asheville at the end of January.  You may think that since I've already done one 10k, I would not need to be training hard for the next one.  But I took a couple of weeks off from running in November, and it is amazing how quickly you lose stamina.  Plus I'd really like to be able to run more (or maybe the whole way!) this time. 

Running  is so challenging, not just physically, but mentally. I constantly want to give up, taking the easy way instead. The whole way out to the 1.5 marker, I kept thinking "Just make it to the 1.5 marker and then it will be easy to get back."  When I made the turn at the 1.5 marker and realized how foolish it had been to think that making it back would be easy, a David Crowder Band song came on my ipod, "There is No One Like You." Here are the lyrics:  

You are more beautiful
Than anyone ever
Everyday You're the same
You never change, no never

And how could I ever deny
The love of my Savior
You are to me everything
All I need forever

How could You be so good to me?

There is no one like You
There has never ever been anyone like You

Everywhere You are there
Earth or air surrounding
I'm not alone, the heavens sing along
My God You're so astounding
How could You be so good to me
Eternally I believe that'

There is no one like You
There has never ever been anyone like You
There is no one like You
There has never ever been anyone like You

I sang a few lines at the top of my lungs.  Then I started praying, not for the strength to keep going, but a prayer of thanks for lungs that were pumping air in and out, for my feet that kept propelling me forward even when my brain was wanting to stop, for knees that don't hurt, for a beautiful creation to run in, for the cold air that made me feel alive. We are so loved by the God of the universe, and what is so astounding about it is that we deserve none of it.  

This kept me going for awhile, but then thoughts drifted to other things and eventually to what I would write about on my blog today. I thought this revelation about running and David Crowder and thankfulness would make a good topic and only had about .3/4 of a mile left to go when I came very close to walking again.  This time it was the thought that a blog about trying to run three miles would just not have the ending it needed if I started walking then.  So I kept going and finished the three miles at a run.  

This last week has been hard diet-wise, between not losing any pounds this week and constantly having to fight off cravings and bad attitudes.  It hasn't been easy, but I think it's teaching me a lot that will help me whenever I get to my final goal.  Things about patience and endurance and simple distraction. Big lessons about how I should be eating for fuel and not for fun or boredom or therapy. When I think of this week in these terms, it makes the journey a little easier. 

Forward momentum

The Cookie Challenge

When December rolled around, I had this incredible urge to bake.  I never bake. Cookies, brownies, muffins, breads, I make none of it.  Primarily because if I bake it, I will eat it. 

But it's Christmas time and Christmas time means baked goods to take to parties, to share at work and to enjoy with family. Of course the longer I fought off the urge to bake, the more I wanted to do it.  I adopted this attitude, of "Why shouldn't I be able to make and enjoy my favorite cookies this holiday season? What's wrong with me that I have to outlaw all of my favorite foods from my house?"  I was really being pretty rational about it thinking that I could bake the cookies and enjoy a few, but then take some home to family, take some to a few parties, etc.  I really don't have to eat all that I bake. Isn't the best part of baking about sharing anyway?

There are two cookies that are my absolute favorite in the month of December (and really any other month), peanut butter blossoms and Christmas cut-out cookies. 


Peanut Butter Blossoms






My mom has always baked these at Christmas time, and I have great memories of helping her roll out the cookie dough, cut out the shapes and later, ice the cookies.  Mom won't be doing as much baking this year because of her need to live gluten-free, which gives me even more of a reason to bake n' share with family. 

I made the dough for both last night and will bake the cookies this weekend. I'm a little nervous and unsure about whether I can bake these delicious cookies in my house and not gobble them all up.  I succeeded in not taste-testing any of the dough, but that's not nearly as difficult as resisting the smell.  I suppose we shall wait and see.

*To be clear, these pictures are not pictures of my cookies. I stole these images from the internet.