6 years ago, I would not have bet $1 that I could run for more than 30 seconds. I was pushing 300 lbs and the most physical activity in my life was lifting a fork or glass of beer to my lips. Today, I am proud to say that I have run over 200 miles in the last 3 1/2 months. When I look back at the old me, I’m not ashamed, because all of that made me the person that I am today. I have learned many valuable things along the way. Of those things, the most important lesson is: when you push yourself, you’ll be AMAZED at what you can accomplish!

It was a good week around here and I am happy with a loss of 3 lbs! I thought maybe I would have a smaller loss because I went over my calories by about 600 on Saturday and Sunday last weekend, BUT, I did keep up with my workout routine and because of that, it wasn’t a problem. My next mini-goal is to be 173 by July 2, which is 2 weeks from now. That means I need a 2 lb week and another 3 lbs week. Sometimes the pressure I put on myself for my mini-goals is annoying, but in the end, it really does help push me to reach that next goal. If I didn’t have such high expectations for myself, I wouldn’t be as motivated…and look what my motivation has done for me so far! Hello 170′s! And my final goal of 165 is so close I can taste it!

I weighed in today at 181 – 1 lb up from when I went on vacation 2 weeks ago. I would love to be lower, but after gaining about 6 lbs on my week off, I am glad to have already gotten rid of 5 of those lbs. I’ve revamped my short term goals and now it’s on to my next goal of 175 by July 2nd. My overall goal weight is to stay within the range of 165 – 168. I’ve been 163 in the past and looking back, I think that was a little too small for my frame. Then again, I’ve had 2 kids since then and my body has changed, so we’ll see. But 175 is the next stop and I have 3 weeks to do it. Here I go!!

I felt the urge to post today, even though it’s the day before weigh in day. Tomorrow will be my first weigh in since my vacation week. I had a great time, but it’s been tough getting back into the swing of things. I did workout a couple of times last week, but then didn’t do the greatest at working out or eating last weekend. All week I was off…not sick or anything like that, but I was really tired and just didn’t feel right. I think it was partially due to the lack of workouts and partially due to catching up on sleep after Vegas, but I also think a lot of it had to do with what I was putting in my body. Since I’ve been eating clean for about 4 months, my body did not like the non-clean food that I put it in. I’m not against the occassional burger and fries or pint of Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream…but “occassional” is the key word. It felt like it took me another week after vacation to get back to “normal”. Just today I finally feel really good about myself and my body has gotten rid of the ick. I’ve been working out every day this week – back on track! As for my weight, I stepped on the scale when we got back from Vegas and I was up 7 lbs. Part of that was the bad food and lack of workouts, but part of it was hormones (that time of month) and water weight from flying, etc. Tomorrow I am expecting to be about 1 lb over my pre-vacation weight. That’s ok with me because I’m back in the right mind set and ready for my next goal, which I’ll determine when I post tomorrow. Until then!

So I weighed in today since we’re going on vacation and I’m not surprised to see only a 1/2 lb loss. I stuck with my usual routine and calories, but a) I’m bloated thanks for mother nature and the time of month and b) I’m weighing in a day early. Not that another day would make a huge difference, but it would have been a little. Anyway, I’m 5 lbs off from my goal of 175 that I set for myself for today – I’m a little bummed that I didn’t hit it, but at the same time I am very proud of myself for what I have accomplished to this point. In the last 3 months, I have lost 40 lbs! I’ve put in a lot of hard work and practiced some major self control and it has paid off! But this isn’t the end…no, no. I still have about 10 – 15 more lbs to lose to get to my ideal weight. Of course I plan on having a minor setback this week while on vacation, but as soon as I return, it’s right back on the horse for me in hopes of losing that 10 – 15 lbs before I get pregnant with baby #3! But for now, it’s time to relax and enjoy a nice frothy beer or five! Happy Memorial Day everyone! Be Safe!

I REALLY needed to see a big loss this week after only losing 1 lb last week and the week before. And I did! I lost 5.5 lbs! Woo-hoo! I’ve been working hard, running an average of 4 miles a day 6 days a week – so I deserve this loss. I am now down to 180.5 and my goal was to get to 175 by next week’s weigh-in. Hey, if I have a repeat of this week I can do it! But I don’t know if that’s realistic to expect. I will surely try, but I’m ok with being a pound or two short of my goal. I feel absolutely AMAZING! Almsot all of my “skinny clothes” fit me again and I’m loving it. My body is a little different now after 2 babies. I have a lot more around the middle now, but I also have 2 wonderful kids as a result, so it’s all good! This next week will be an extremely determined one for me. It’ll be like my finale week on Biggest Loser. Of course, this week’s weigh-in is far from the “end” for me. There really is no “end” in my journey because this is something I have to do my entire life to stay healthy. For now, 175 is only my first goal. My ideal weight will be somewhere around 165. My lowest weight before was 163 and I felt like I was starting to look a little bit too small. Remember, I am taller with a larger, more muscular frame than most chicks, so while 163 seems big for a girl, it’s actually small for me. But now that I’ve birthed 2 kids and my body has changed, I might be able to get a little lower because of the extra around the middle. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. And I hope that you keep coming back to cross that bridge with me!

I had a 1 lb loss this week. I’m not terribly happy about it, but hey, it’s a loss. I did exceed my calories on Mother’s Day on Sunday, so that could have something to do with it. Ya know, after all this time (5+ years now) that I’ve been on this journey of losing weight, having babies, gaining weight and losing it again…I’ve really learned a lot about my body and how it works. And I know that if I exceed my calories even just 1 day, it will really hamper my loss for that week. It’s crazy to think that an extra 600 – 800 calories in 1 day can do that, but it does. I know that for me, I have to be strict if I want to hit my goals. This next 2 weeks will be very strict ones. I don’t think I will hit my goal of 175, but I will get close!!

Blah! I worked hard all week, determined to hit my mini-goal of 184. I am ok with the fact that I didn’t hit it. I only showed a 1 lb loss this week, but I’m pretty confident that would have been more like 3 lbs if it hadn’t been for those wonderful girly happenings that we women enjoy each month. (Can you sense the sarcasm?) I drink a lot of water – about 96 oz per day. So at times like these, when I’m retaining water, I get pretty bloated. My hope is that in a couple of days when all is back to normal, I’ll have an extra big loss. Maybe 5 lbs? Wish me luck. Naa….don’t, I don’t need luck. I need hard work, which is what I’m going to do! 3 weeks…12 lbs….I’M DOING IT!

Yesterday I ran a 5k race in Portage, WI to raise money for my niece and nephew’s school. The weather was beautiful with a slight breeze and nice warm sun! (Although the nice warm sun really got me panting as I ran!) My goal was to finish with at most a 10:30 mile – I DID IT! My time was 31:45, which is under a 10:15 mile! I am really excited because that’s my fastest time yet! I came in 7th place in my age group (30 – 39 females) of which there were around 30 people or so. I can’t complain about that. Yay me!

I had another good week in the road to my goal weight.  I lost 3.5 lbs, which means I have 13.5 lbs to lose in 4 weeks to hit my target. It won’t be easy, I know this. Weight loss is never easy, otherwise everyone would be skinny, right? Some say that if something doesn’t take hard work, then it’s not worth it. My skinny clothes are starting to fit me and I feel like I am so close I can taste it! Life is good right now, but once I hit my goal and my skinny wardrobe fits me, it’ll be even better! I ordered a swimming suit for my vacation – a size 10 Tall, which is the size I wear at my normal healthy weight of about 170. It has to fit in 4 weeks! No ifs, ands or buts!