Running Date

My Mister and I had a date last night. A date to go running together. He has asked me several times in the past to go running with him, but I have always declined out of sheer terror. I  never wanted him to see how out of shape I was, how little I could run, and how out of breath and red-faced I would get. I was worried that somehow, that would make him love me less.

He has recently started to try to get into shape himself. With exercising and eating a bit better. When he asked me to go running I almost declined, but instead thought I would take a shot at it with him. I told him that I hadn't been running in 3 weeks and he knew that I wasn't as fast a runner as him with my stumpy little legs. I told him again.  We agreed to a half walk-half run of 4K. He isn't quite at a point where he can run the full thing either.

Off we went, running at the same pace- no idea what it was though. We agreed that if either of us needed to stop we would signal the other. We ran together to the agreed upon point- no problem, then walked, then started running again. After running and trying to stay at his pace, I thought I had to stop- I signaled, he signaled back- 3 more blocks. I slowed my pace, but pushed myself the last 3 blocks. We began to walk and I told him that he was faster than I and that I found it hard to keep up and compete with his regular pace of 6.0 (my pace is 5.0). I told him I would take a different route and meet up with him. I did. We finished off the run together and walked to cool down.

We talked during the cool down- I told him that even though I wasn't a top notch runner yet, I said I was proud of myself for actually getting out there. I said to him, "A year ago I would never have been able to run half of what I did today. I'm happy with that and the fact that I am getting healthier." A year ago, I would never have agreed to a run with him. I would have been too embarrassed. Now, the sweat, red face, and heavy breathing is all part of working hard to achieve my goal! They are almost like badges of honor- hard work!

Baby Steps. Baby. Steps.

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No Weigh-In today!

:(

Tomorrow guaranteed. I was running late for a breakfast meeting this morning due to sleeping in.

Healthy Package Arrived!

My package from Amazon arrived this morning! What did it hold?

Jillian Michaels: Yoga Meltdown

Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred

The Yoga Bible

I'm so excited to try all these things out! I know a lot of bloggers use the JM dvds and seem to enjoy them, so I wanted to give them a shot and I had a gift card to Amazon. That was a bonus!

Would anyone be interested in reviews of these products? Let me know!

Twitter

Does anyone use Twitter? I just signed up and thought it would be a fun way to encourage each other and get to know one another better!

If you use it, add me--> @thinlizzy_150

Looking forward to tweeting with you! 

Yoga- A Second Chance

My first experience with Yoga was in the Summer of 2007. I made a list of things I wanted to try and do that summer. Yoga was on the list and was very attainable since I have a good friend who has been practicing Yoga for several years and purchases a membership to a studio in a trendy part of town.

I asked her one day if I could come with her to a beginner class. She agreed, even though she was no beginner.

At this point, I had been sedentary for a few years. I did very little physical activity, I worked a lot, and ate terribly. I thought Yoga would be fun, easy, and relaxing. After all, it is just stretching!

Boy, was I wrong!

We went to a studio which was located in a very old, converted warehouse. In the middle of Summer. With NO air conditioning. This is the first step to getting a very bad first impression of yoga. The studio was sweltering and we would be stretching and holding for an hour and a half.

Being out of shape did not help. I tried to do the regular poses, but ended up doing a lot of the modified poses for beginners and for people whose bellies got in the way of a stretch- that's me!

I had no idea how strong you needed to be to do Yoga. I always thought I was strong, but when it comes to supporting your weight and holding it for an extended period- I started to second guess my strength. My body shook under my weight and told me, "we can't hold on much longer!" Internally, I was embarrassed about how out of shape and inflexible I was.

I told my friend I did not enjoy Yoga and never did it again. I limped home, more sore than I had ever been in my whole life. A deep muscle soreness that lasted for days and it hurt when I moved.

I never did Yoga again, until I bought a Wii Fit that is. I did the poses on there and turned out I wasn't half bad. However, I am in the comfort of my own home, no Yogis upstaging me, or an instructor pushing me into a pose I am not ready for.

Today, I took another step forward in my healthy living strategy and did a 25 minute Yoga video at home. I even worked up a little sweat while posing. I'm still doing some modified poses and I still start to shake under my weight toward the end, but I actually enjoyed it today much more that when at the studio- I am in much better shape than I was 4 years ago and I can really see the difference. My belly is not as in the way as before- that's my favorite thing!

I think I will stick with Yoga 2-3 times a week at home and maybe one day work up the courage to return to the studio or classes. I find that when I am posing I am only concentrating on the pose and breathing and stretching. I am not thinking about that mean lady at work, my next bill payment, or relationship anxiety. I'm just posing and that's good for me right now.

What new exercise have you tried lately? Or... what exercise have you given a second chance?

Weekly Review

Well, Sunday has come and gone and I am late with my review again!

Here I am, nonetheless...

I had a busy, yet unproductive week. I worked a lot- mostly overnights and evenings. So I did not get much accomplished. No visits to the gym, no elliptical at home. Just my usual walking to and from work and about town. Bad Lizzy!

I took some strides toward my transition into non-processed eating. I went grocery shopping and only bought 1 processed item- a box of stuffing for Easter dinner. I love Stovetop Stuffing! However, I have made my own and it is also quite good. So, I can live without Stovetop. At the grocery store, I hemmed and hawwed over cheese. In Canada, cheese is expensive- $1 or more per 100 grams. I thought, "I will just get processed slices" then I looked at my basket and thought- NO! I picked up regular cheese. I realize cheese still counts as processed, but at least I chose a lesser man-made version of an evil. I was happy with my decision and my basket looked uber healthy at checkout.

You may have read about my trip to the doctor and the praise I recieved from her! I am anxiously awaiting my blood work results. Hoping nothing is wrong, confident that nothing is wrong.

One of last week's goals was to do something for myself- I took a bubblebath and went shopping with a friend. I bought 2 tops- in size MEDIUM! Granted, they were flowy tops, but nonetheless Mediums!

This morning, I weighed in at 196.6 lbs. The 190s are going quickly! I am excited to be in the 180s soon (knock on wood).

This Week's Goals:
1) Track Calories and Exercise
2) Running Date with My Mister
3) Do at least 2 sessions on the Elliptical at home and 1 exercise video

My Doctor Visit

I mentioned in my last Weekly Review that I was headed to see the doctor this week for a few different issues- thyroid concerns, anxiety issues, and a yearly test below the belt.

Well, I went on Wednesday morning. I was nervous- as usual. The nurse led me to the little room and as I took off my coat she says to me "ok, take off your shoes and we will take your height and weight." I was confused, "why do you need my height and weight for a pap?" Then she explains that I am booked in for a physical. So, I just went ahead with the physical as I can't even remember when I last had one.

The nurse took me out to the scale in the hallway. I began to get a little anxiety about another person knowing my weight. I didn't want to step on the scale, but I had to. She was waiting for me. Off came the shoes and I stepped on. I took a little bit of solace knowing that I was not as heavy as I was 4 months ago. I could be a little less embarrassed. Then the height. Then I was back sitting in the little room waiting for the doctor.

Besides having all the poking and prodding done,  I got a chance to voice my concerns about my slow weight loss to her. I told her I felt like with the amount of exercise and the change in my eating habits, the weight should be coming off a little quicker. She assured me that I was doing really well and congratulated me on taking the first steps and sticking with it. As for the slow losses, she said, "but it took you years to put it on." Which is true. She told me it would come, but sent me for some blood work to make sure there was no problems inhibiting the work I was doing.

Somehow, having a doctor cheer you on is very validating. My doctor is proud of me. Even I am proud of me! I'm the lowest weight I have been in a very long time since I started weighing myself again. That is so cool to think about.

Weigh-In #14

Weight: 198.4
Body Fat %: 39.8
Hydration: 43.9

Difference: -2.2 lbs from last week
                  -0.1% BF from last week

Total LBS Lost = 20 exactly!

Happy Easter to those who celebrate! Happy Friday and Free Long Weekend to those of you who don't celebrate!