I went out for a run with one of my friends today. This wasn't just a run; it was a HARD run. I don't know why... It wasn't all that fast (we were averaging just under 12 min/mi), it wasn't all that cold, it wasn't long, it just was hard.
Sometimes it simply can't be explained... Or can it?
I don't talk about weight very often on my blog because who wants to hear from a heavy set athlete? But the fact of the matter is I have run a number of half marathons, a full marathon, countless sprint triathlons and finally tackled the Olympic distance triathlon in 2012. I know many people who wouldn't even attempt anything like this so I need to be proud and embrace where I came from!
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| Pre 97 lbs weight loss |
I have joined and broken up with Weight Watchers on so many occasions I honestly can't even believe it. During my most recent relationship with weight watchers I actually lost 97 lbs and then I took a break. I honestly don't know why but it may have something to do with having a very rough patch in life: loss of friendship, almost losing my dog and the darn stress fracture! Simply put, I got off track. I have been slowly 'recovering' from all of those events and have had phenomenal experiences since then. In 2012 I rediscovered some interests, was blessed with one of the most amazing relationships so I now know it is possible, made great friends and conquered fears over the past eight months but I quit paying attention to what I put in my body.
I had to quit training for the Chicago marathon in 2012 because of injury and I do believe that impacted my concern about what I put in my body. Well that has to change!
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| Post 97 pound loss |
About six weeks ago, one of my friends texted me to ask if I was still a weight watcher and I told her no. She asked me if I would join again and go to meetings with her. I immediately jumped on the opportunity. We went to our first meeting and in the first week I lost 4 pounds, the second week lost .8 pounds and then the Holidays happened. We don't need to go into major detail but I will say I gained some of that weight back, not all of it though.
Last week I discovered that my approach to weight watchers was flawed. Rather than figure out what I was doing on a daily basis and then correcting the issues one by one, I was trying to change everything all at once. Well if my athleticism taught me anything, it is that that particular approach simply doesn't work for me. If you go back to the beginning of this blog you will see that I didn't become a runner over night. The initial purpose of me becoming an athlete had everything to do with me wanting to be able to do triathlons more successfully than what I did in the past. I broke it down and attacked one sport at a time. That is what I need to do with my food consumption.
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| Most recent picture |
So getting back to this running thing from today. My colleague and I were eating lunch and I was writing down everything I had eaten over the past couple of days because I chose to eat like 'normal' (at least for me) this week and then start tackling the bagels one by one and what I discovered is that basically one meal a day is what has potentially halted my weight loss goals for the past year. What meal might that be? Only the most important meal of the day: Breakfast. Yep, my favorite meal of the day is certainly not going to help me lose any weight, so tomorrow I will make one small change in my nutrition and see where that gets me over the next couple of weeks.
While we were looking at all the crap (I honestly can't even call some of it food/fuel) that I put in my body over the last week, it is no wonder my run SUCKED today! How could I be so blind! Just like your car, if you put the wrong fuel into your body at some point it isn't going to run (no pun intended) as intended.
So I'm going to announce it right here, as I did to one of my best running buddies Sue last week... This is the year that I am finally going to tackle the remainder of my weight. My guess is I will see fewer hard runs like today simply because the food that I choose to put in my body will actually be fuel.
Now that is real!
The weight loss showed on Saturday. I really like your tackle one thing at a time approach. I really need to address my own diet issues and it's very daunting. I think I am going to look for one thing in my diet to work on and go from there. Thanks for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteI think you are already on the right path by just reflecting and identifying. Now executing. You'll be able to do it and its awesome you have support! I've been being lazy myself citing training as a reason to eat what I want. Yeah, that kind of negates the hard work! You can do it - I know it. I've always thought weight loss had a lot to do with your mind set and I think you've got that covered.
ReplyDeleteYou are such a role model to me already. I'm excited for you to take on this next challenge- there is no doubt in my mind that you'll kick its ass :)
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