Run, Eat, Date, Sleep

This morning was the Jungle Jim’s 5K race. Jungle Jim’s is a water park, and after the race, everyone could float around the lazy river. It was so cool!

I ran the WHOLE way this time… yay!!! I believe my time was around 36:10, which means I shaved a minute off of my last race time. I’m so proud of myself!

I didn’t eat breakfast before this 5K, but I hydrated with some Life Water and half a liter of water. I decided to leave the long pants and cotton t-shirt home this time and wore a TechWick shirt and cotton shorts.

I wanted to get back here and have some breakfast before heading to the Y for my last shift, so I didn’t stick around to swim. But it was a very cool event, and I’m looking forward to signing up for more races!

And another horrible picture of yours truly sprinting in to the finish line.

I’ve been working out pretty hardcore lately. Every other day I’m running Couch to 5K. I’m on Week 8 now!!! Then every day I’m not running, I’m doing about 10 miles on the stationary bike. Plus, I’m doing leg work on the days I’m biking, and arm work on the days I’m running. I’m noticing I look slimmer, but the scale is not budging. She’s a tramp!

Well here’s my story on why I started seeing a weight loss doctor…

I’ve been doing Weight Watchers on and off since I was in college. I would lose a little here and there, and I was totally busting my butt in the gym. I would eat my points to a “t”, but I could never figure out if I was eating too many of my activity points.

I joined the Y last March and had been going 3-4 times a week faithfully for about a year. I didn’t lose a single pound. I think I actually gained a few.

I even asked my reproductive specialist who has treated me for PCOS about my weight loss, and I asked him for Metformin. He said he wouldn’t give it to me, and all losing weight was about was “calories in, calories out”. I didn’t believe him.

One of my close friends recently lost a lot of weight by seeing a weight loss doctor, so I found one in my area (over an hour away), and I’ve been seeing him for a little over a month. He’s the only board certified weight loss doctor in my state, so I feel confident in his knowledge and abilities. For the first 2 weeks, he had me do everything on my own without the phentermine. I lost 3 pounds in those 2 weeks on my own. He then prescribed me with the lowest dose of phen (15 mg). It only affected me the first 3 days. I was dizzy and not hungry in the slightest. But after those 3 days, I had to wait the full month to see the doctor again for him to up my dosage. I lost 4 pounds at the last visit. So, I’ve lost a total of 7 pounds in about a month and a half. It’s not much, and I know that. I had a few slip-ups because I started to date someone new, and we went out to eat a lot. I have lost some points in BMI and body fat percentage, and I’ve lost inches here and there. And I’m 0.9 away from being classified as “overweight” instead of “obese”.

I’m okay with the slow progression because I’m seriously learning a lot about what my body needs to lose weight. I’m eating 1400 calories a day, and I’m burning about 400-500 by running or biking every day. And I burn about 2800 calories just by being alive, so I should be having a deficit every day of about 1800 calories. So, I must be adding muscle, because the weight should be coming off a little quicker, but it’s okay.

I’m on to Week 7 of Couch to 5K. Last night was a continuous 25-minute run, and it was probably the best run I’ve ever had. I was in the perfect stride and not out of breath at all. I think that since I’m losing weight, I no longer have the knee pain when I run, and my legs don’t feel like concrete blocks. Yay!

I went to the weight loss doctor on Monday, and I’m down to 193 in his office. I’m down 7 pounds total. I’ve also lost a few inches here and there, and my BMI is at 30.9, so I’m almost not obese anymore! Woot!!! Oh, and I’ve also lost some body fat, but I can’t remember how much.

A new picture of me at 193.

I can see a difference almost every morning when I wake up. I get a little excited to look in the mirror to see if I can see any changes. =) Also, one good thing about running is that I am somehow toning my arms as I run. I’m definitely wanting some Michelle Obama arms!

I got an hour-long Swedish massage on Thursday… amazing! It even made me start thinking about taking night classes for massage therapy just for something to fall back on or do in my spare time.

Tip, Tricks, & Recommendations- Even though Jeff swears I’m wrong about this, I rub myself down with dryer sheets before I run, and it keeps the mosquitos away. I’ve done this for about 7 of my last 8 runs, and the only time I got bites was when I forgot the dryer sheets. I think they work!

Can any of you larger chested women give me a recommendation for a sports bra? I found this one by North Face, and I’m just weary about buying something like that and it not fitting right. It even has a front pocket to keep lip balm or your car key.

I finished Week 6 of Couch to 5K last night, which was a continuous 25 minute run. I finished it and almost felt like I could have kept going for a few miles. Maybe I’ve gotten myself into a good breathing pattern, but I honestly didn’t feel worn out at all. I’ve found an amazing trail near me that is part of the state park. It’s mostly all wooded and there’s bridges over the marsh land. Plus, there’s tons of honeysuckle lining the trail. Mmm.

After my 5K on May 30, I realized I needed to get back to some hardcore training, so I picked back up with Couch to 5K. So, today was my first day back with Couch to 5K, so I did Week 5 Day 3, which is the continuous 20-minute run. I had stopped training for a bit, so I had to work myself back up to Week 5. If anyone else is following Couch to 5K, I found a better playlist on PodRunner.com. It’s just music with a little chime to let you know when to stop and start running instead of hearing Robert Ullrey talk all the time. And the music is way better!