Running

On Friday night I ran 8 miles without stopping, except to drink some water. I kind of had a "break through" as far as what I think about while I'm running and it was a huge help to me. Normally when I go run it's either getting dark, (because I run in the evening when it's a little bit cooler), or I have to get back because Nick needs to leave, or it's getting ready to storm ect... you ge the idea. There just seems to always be a reason that I can only go 4-5 miles before I need to stop. But Friday afternoon it was cooler, and Nick was home from work that day because his dad and brother were here. So I wasn't in a hurry to get back for anything, I could just run.

About 3 miles into my run I was trying to decide if I wanted to do 4 miles or 5 miles. 5 miles had been my longest up to that point, so that was still a big thing for me. So I took a personal check of myself. I was breathing okay, my legs were tired, but not too bad, I wasn't hot, I had water ...... So I decided to go for 5 miles, but while I was running that 5th mile I did that body check again, and thought I'd go ahead and go for 6 and beat my record. And I did that every mile after that. At mile 8 I briefly thought about doing 10, but I really was tired, and by that time the hamburgers that Nick and been grilling for us were done. So ended up stopping at 8 miles. But still I am AMAZED I was able to do it.

I am training for a half marathon in late Feburary. And I really never dreamed I would run the whole thing, but now I am thinking that I can. If I run 9 miles in October, 10 in November, 11 in December, and 12 in January, then I'll be ready for 13 in Feburary. So I will keep doing 5-6 miles 3-4 times a week, and once a month I will go for a "long run" with that mileage.

Who knew I would actually enjoy running? :)

Weight loss

I haven't posted on here in a very long time. Life gets crazy. :) But I did want to come on here and announce that after 5.5 months of hard work I have reached my goal weight, with a total loss of 47lbs. I now have a BMI of 23.8 I started at 33.4. I have also lost 5 pants sizes. From my highest point I have lost 60lbs. I feel amazing!

Many people have asked "how" I lost my weight. Here is my short answer. I cut out processed carbs. I am now eating mostly lean proteins (with the occasional high fat protein), and fruits and veggies, with the occasional "healthy" carb. I dont eat potatoes, white rice, white bread, pasta...anymore I do on occasion treat myself to a small dessert, but it's rare. I have also started running and I am up to 4 miles without stopping 3 times a week. Now that it's starting to get cooler I will increase my mileage. My ultimate goal is to run a half marathon in the Spring.

Now that I am at my goal I really still want to lose another 5lbs or so, but I am not working super hard at it right now. I need a break, so I am just trying to maintain for awhile and be happy with where I am up. I still struggle with my body image. I still look in the mirror and see fat on my body and get discouraged and so I am working on my self image. I've had 3 kids, including a c-section, and I'm not on my 20's anymore. My body is not going to be perfect. I need to be happy with what God has given me.

So that's about it. It's been a long journey. I know I'm not done. I hear all the time "I lost weight and gained it back and then some", which gets discouraging sometimes. I am determined to not let that happen to me. I have changed my way of eating and I am not going back to the Carbs like I use to. This is my new lifestyle.