woo hoo!

this week, i walked with the dogs twice and went to the gym once. the walks were 45 min each, and i only spent 20 min on the treadmill at the gym. this is not too impressive, save for two facts:
- i ran for three minutes straight, something i thought i couldn't do
- i now weigh less, with the combination of eating better
i've thought about this past year, as well, and i realize that i've lost about 15 lbs so far, which is awesome, considering that i was gaining weight each year.
i'm okay with taking baby steps, as long as i accomplish what i set out to accomplish. it's the story of my life. :)

CW: 175.2

back from camp...

.... and back to the land of blog. :)
camp was great -- wonderful people, beautiful setting, etc. the food left a little to be desired but it's camp and you can't expect too much. :) i lost a couple pounds and became a bit more muscular. i walked up a decent-sized hill about three times a day, most days of the week, just due to where i worked. i walked quite a bit as well, and decided that it would be great to have bananas and apples in my purse for morning and afternoon snacks.
i'm glad to be back home though. it's weird that i'm not having any intense cravings for things... except planet smoothies... and celery with bleu cheese.... at least that's probably healthier than graeter's and pizza.

CW: 177.5

on holiday

i may not be blogging for awhile, due to the fact that i recently (read: yesterday) agreed to a teaching position at a summer camp in the pocono mountains until august 14th. it's going to be a really good opportunity for me to use some of my teaching skills while enjoying the summer in a place that's a little off the beaten path. i've wanted to work at a summer camp for the past couple years too, and this just kind of fell into my lap.
they are funding my plane ticket out there, my room and board, my food, and they're paying me a decent amount on top of that for the seven weeks that i'll be there. i guess that's what happens when you're certified to teach. :) i'm finally beginning to reap the benefits of people realizing that i'd be a good candidate for teaching. it also helps that they need someone starting wednesday of next week and i just happen to be available for the rest of the summer.
have a great summer!

as a side note --
CW: 179.4 :)

break on through to the other side

the scale is the bane of my existence. while this sounds quite melodramatic, i'm being quite honest. whenever i click to blogger, i want to start each entry with: "i weighed myself today and...." look back, and i'm sure you'll see a ton of my entries that contain that phrase. i try to blog when i make progress too, so usually it's more of a quasi-bragging moment and not an i-must-smash-the-scale moment.
today the scale wavered on 179.6 and 179.8 before settling on 180.0 lbs. i'm so close to being under 180 again and i'm really pumped about it. seems that the walking and sweating i did while in pittsburgh helped to let me lose a little weight.
i walked last night with the puppies and i swam at the gym today. i've noticed from looking at some photos from my pittsburgh weekend that i need to step up my game again when it comes to ab work. well... toning in general would be great. i think the hills gave my calves a workout whilst walking, and i've actually seen a difference recently in my right calf that has never made a full recovery since atrophying during my foot surgery in 2002.
i'm not using my surgeries as an excuse anymore. i'm done with that. i'm young and i deserved to be happy and feel good in my own skin... in a bikini. is that too much to ask? :)

CW: 180.0

progress... in a way

i haven't blogged for about a month. my parents got a new puppy, and between that and subbing while training for my summer job, i haven't had too much time to work out... or blog. :)
i still weigh 181.6 lbs. and i'm convinced that 181.6 is my next little plateau to break through. it's interesting that i haven't gained much weight back, and that i keep settling back to 181.6 lbs.
my mom actually said that it looks like i'm losing weight, even though i'm not right now. maybe i'm toning up or maybe i don't have as much water weight, i don't know.
i'm going to get back into going to the gym this week. the weather has been nice enough for jenny and me to go to sharon woods to walk with the puppy. the intensity on that workout wasn't particularly great as we were delayed by requests of "can i pet your puppy?" :)
even though it's late in the month of may, i hope to drop another pound within the week. recent experience tells me that if i work out along with eating right, it's bound to happen! then i'll be close to the 170s. yay!

CW: 181.6

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