Sunday, October 17, 2010

I Did It!

I did something today that I thought I never would do.  6 months ago I would have laughed at you had you told me I would be doing this.  3 months ago...I would have said "Never!"  But I did.  And I am both terrified and thrilled.

Baby Number 3 was a killer on my body.  I knew this would be my last "free-pass" to eat what ever I wanted, so I did.  Caramel Blue-Bell Milkshakes every night before bed (hey, I needed the dairy!), 2-3 Big Macs a week (I craved the special sauce), and ohhh did I indulge in the cookies!!!  Needless to say, I gain a large amount of weight.  When Bubba was around 8 months old, I was ready to do something about it.

When working full-time, I tried many different diets.  The Adkins diet left me wanting to attack anyone eating carbs within 50 feet of me.  The "You" diet was sensible, but BORING.  I never took the time to figure out Weight Watchers, so I chalked it up as "confusing".  And the cabbage soup diet left me bloated and hating bananas.

I researched for weeks the best way to diet and the most sensible one was simply to count my calories.  AND IT WORKED!!  There is a fantastic app that I used on my iPhone (Lose It!) that tabulates everything I eat for the day that kept me completely accountable.  The best part of it was discovering that I can eat whatever I wanted, as long as I kept it under a certain amount of calories to reach my goal.  I started off really strict and discovered so many great foods that I enjoyed that were low calorie.  As the months went by and I started to shed weight, I allowed myself to indulge a little on the weekends.  My family LOVES pizza, so I would enjoy a slice or two, as long as I had a good week.  And I finally found a recipe for my beloved margarita that I could enjoy without the guilt!

But eating healthy was only half of it.

I hate exercising.  Did you hear me loud enough?  HATED IT!!  Until I forced myself.

I started doing the Jillian Michael's The Shred dvd along with several of you out in bloggyland.  We held ourselves accountable for a good month or so, shredding away every day...expecting to look just like Miss Jillian in 60 days.  um..no.   But it was a hard workout and while I cursed everyday while doing it, I am glad I stuck with it.

I also started the Couch to 5K running plan in January.  Once again, my iPhone came in handy with a great app that told me when to run versus walk.  I would strap the baby into my jogging stroller, bundle him up, and off we would go!  Now remember how I hated exercising...running was at the top of that list.  So why on earth would I start something I hated to do to lose weight?  Because I always admired runners- they were healthy, had some crazy "love" to run, and looked so great.  Could that possibly be me someday??

I invested in a good pair of running shoes (my hubby forced me to pay the money), a Polar HR monitor (to accurately count my calories...the more you burn in your workout, the more you go to eat that day!!), and a few more of JM's dvds since The Shed can get a little boring after 3 months.

Slowly the weight came off.  
Slowly my clothes started to get baggier.
Slowly I started to lose my late night snack cravings.
Slowly I started to crave exercising.
Slowly I needed to buy smaller sizes.
Slowly I crept to my goal weight.....and past it.

I started increasing my distances in my runs.  I started running with actual runners....and could call myself a runner.   I started aiming to burn twice as many calories then I did when I first started. I went on vacation...and still exercised.  I went down 10 pounds past my goal and am in a size I haven't been in since before college.

I run with a dear friend.  We just naturally started running together months ago.  In June she told me she was going to run her first half-marathon.  I was proud of her and told her good luck.

We kept running together and I kept increasing my distances with her.  Last week we ran 10 miles.  TEN MILES!  I shake my head in amazement.  Only because 6 months ago I would think you were crazy if you told me you ran 10 miles.  Now it's do-able.  Now it's another distance.  Now it's fun.  And tomorrow we run 11.

So what did I do that has me terrified? thrilled?  I signed up to run the Half too.  On November 14, 2010 at 7:00 a.m.  I will be running the San Antonio Half-Marathon.  wow.  that still shocks me.  I never wanted to run a distance race like that until I forced myself out of my comfort zone and tried something new.

I am excited.

I am nervous.

I always believed that you could do anything you put your mind to....now I just proved it.


17 comments:

Anonymous said...

woohooo you go girl!! I can't wait to hear how you guys did :-)

Connie said...

WOW! That is amazing! Congratulations on becoming a runner! You give me hope that I can do it too!

Surrounded-By-Boys said...

I'm SO PROUD of you!!! YOU GO GIRL!!! I'm squealing from excitement here in Florida! I too, HATE exercising (and running).....and need to lose some weight!! I lost about 30 pounds, but my goal was 50. I'm not there yet, but decided that tomorrow I'm back on my diet FULL FORCE!! Keep me accountable, will ya? My hubby and I walk almost every night together while the kids ride their bikes. Again, I'm SO PROUD of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Surrounded-By-Boys said...

p.s. just finished my EIGHT post you tagged me in!!!

Kelly said...

I love this post! I simply cannot wait to lace my running shoes up this time next year and run my first 1/2 - the doctor says I'll do it and I'm determined! I, too, detested running when I first started. At some point, though, you just become a runner and it is an awesome thing to do for yourself! I hope you've encouraged others to get out there and RUN :) They will thank you for it!

Kelli said...

That is AWESOME!!!! You go girl. I wish you all the best and I know you will be amazed by how well you'll do in a few weeks. I have a good friend who just ran her first 1/2 and she did GREAT!!!

Sugarplum Creations Blog said...

AWESOME! I definitely need to do *something*. I've never worried too much about my weight, but I'm getting . . . soft. And not in a pretty way.

shortmama said...

That is amazing!! Great job!

shortmama said...

That is amazing!! Great job!

Miller Racing Family said...

Girl I am so proud of you. I can't wait to hear about the marathon I know you will do great!

Rhonda said...

Yay! Can you hear me cheering you on? That is so awesome! I'm proud of you. Shucks, I should be running at least 3 miles by now. You make me want to do it again.

Thanks my friend!

Darling's said...

Happy you signed up! You will be so proud you did it, can not wait to hear all about it.

AndreaLeigh said...

so proud of you becca! you can do it! what a great example for me.

you know I lost weight when I was pregnant with C. I gained about 5 pounds total, (including gaining back what I lost). A few days after having him, I was down 30 lbs past my pre-prego weight. And now I've gained back about 15 pounds of that. I'm absolutely disgusted with myself, I HATE how I look and feel, but I just don't know how to get started. I'm one of those who needs someone/something to tell me what to eat, what to do, etc. I've been debating signing up for WW but I've never had success with that program in the past.

What are you go-to meals and snacks, if you don't mind me asking?

Lyndsay said...

Congratulations Becca! You have made me want to jump on the wagon again too!

Vivienne @ the V Spot said...

You are a ROCK STAR!!!!!!!!!!!!! Amazing accomplishments! (Especially the parting with hard earned dough to buy shoes that aren't even cute....) Great work!

Lizzi said...

Lol I don't even know you and I'm proud of you :-) Congrats on the weight loss and the new confidence in your ability to do whatever you put your mind to!

Keri said...

I am totally inspired!!! I really want to lose a few pounds before going home for Christmas (which I'm sure multiple trips to Chuys and Chick-fil-A will put right back on). Thanks for sharing because I was going to ask you what you did. My biggest issue with running is losing interest around mile 3. I just can't get myself past that. I don't know if I need to run WITH someone or get better music or what!! VERY proud of you!!

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