a little backpedaling

i didn't focus as much on the cardio last week and i had a few little snacks that i probably shouldn't have had.
on the brighter side though, last week i ran a bit on the treadmill. i figured that if i took 32 lbs of pressure off my knees, maybe running would not be as painful or as likely to cause an injury. i was listening to my dance mix on my ipod and i had myself run at 4.3 mph for at least a minute of each song for about a half hour. my heart rate sped up to 170 bpm, which tells you how out of shape i am, but the physical act of running was not painful. this was a breakthrough for me. i can tell that going to the gym regularly is helping me break out of my post-college lethargy.
when i was at the gym yesterday, i amped up the intensity by increasing the speed to 5 mph, just to see if i could sustain that speed for a given time. i did just fine, although the shoes i was wearing were not ideal for running, so i stopped due to a wardrobe malfunction... i could have done more. :)

CW: i'll check it tomorrow, since i weigh myself in the morning. :)

being the tortoise

the weight loss i've undergone recently has not been as pronounced as it was before. i'm slipping back (just a little!) to mini-treats, but it's enough to make a difference in a not-losing-the-weight-as-fast way. another thing that makes a difference is not having a set schedule anymore. i feel that it's quite taxing on my body to be able to sleep in till 10 a.m. one day and have to wake up at 5 a.m. the next day... and that's not even getting into when my body and mind feel tired enough to go to sleep. i've purchased healthy snacks but i feel like i reach for super-sugary things when i become ravenous.
i've currently been awake for 21 hours, which isn't awful, but i can't believe how so many people have the energy to go out on a friday night. i feel ready for a nap at about 10 p.m.... young whipper-snappers! :)
even though i may not be under 180 by may, i haven't been regaining any weight and i'm still making progress. that's good enough for me right now. :)

CW: 181.8

a pound per week

i've recently discovered that since the end of february, i've lost about a pound a week -- my total weight loss being about 8 lbs. so exciting! i've been going to the gym or walking at least three times a week and i've been eating better and smarter. it's definitely helping and i realize that i can't do one without the other.
on friday night, jenny's mom said that it looked like my face was getting slimmer... so maybe it's not all just in my head. :)
also, i like watching the numbers get smaller on my traineo widget at the top of the page. :)

CW: 182.2

small changes

i'm still consistently decreasing my weight. it totally rocks but kind of astounds me. it's good that my body is responding to "the right way" of losing weight - diet and exercise. i see how both are integral to being able to weight less. at this rate, by may i could be under 180 lbs, a weight i haven't seen since 2005.
i walked and biked yesterday at the gym and i'll probably walk some more tonight with mom and oreo. it's a beauteous day outside and i'd love to do something active under the sun. :)
i like how i can see a direct correlation between the activity i do and my weight the next day. i can't NOT weigh myself, so i try and space it out a few days apart. i CAN tell when i've been exercising a lot though and my body responds accordingly.

CW: 183.2

under 185!

so i weighed myself this morning and the scale settled on 184.0 lbs. so awesome! i've been watching what i've been eating and more importantly, have only been eating when i'm truly hungry. for example, i had spaghetti-o's with meatballs last night because i felt like i wanted some comfort food for dinner. i only dished out half the container, since the whole thing would have been 500 calories and 16 grams of fat. in college, i would have emptied the entire container without much thought, but i experimented with dishing out a reasonable portion, waiting, then seeing if i was still hungry. after a serving of the spaghetti-o's and a small glass of milk, i was satisfied. i don't think i had anything after that to eat either.
last night the weather was absolutely gorgeous too, so i went on a walk with oreo and didn't decide to cut-through at my neighbor's yard. i think that the treadmill walking at the gym has increased my endurance and i'm not dying by the time i'm 3/4 the way through the neighborhood. :)

oh! and i got my hair cut:


CW: 184.0

a mini-milestone

today i put on my khaki's as usual and i tightened my belt to an appropriate place on my hips... except that i tightened my belt a notch tighter and it was completely comfortable. yay for losing weight! i was so excited this morning!
i bought a suit for the teacher recruitment consortium. it's a 14 and it felt a little tight through the hips but it was the last one in that style and it was a good price. my mom said it looked fine, so i'm thinking that it might be the not-as-stretchy inner layer that felt a tad bit constricting. i'll be comfortable in it next week. i'm continuing my eating right and going to the gym so maybe a week from now, i'll be down another pound.
i'm getting a haircut on saturday as well. i want something like this to polish my look... but maybe not this short:
i just love the look. it's funny too, because within the past couple weeks, my mom and sister wanted derivations of this cut. i kind of didn't want to get it, since we'd look a little funny in group photos. :) i've been plotting this carefully for a few months though and i've just been mustering the courage to get it cut. this is weight-related because: i didn't think i had a strong enough chin-line to pull off the look. with a little bit of weight loss though, i think that my features are starting to show a little more (ie: you don't just see chipmunk cheeks when you look at me). i can tell a difference, even just with nearly ten pounds gone. :)