My First Official 10k!

Hey there!  It's been a little while since I've written a post here and I thought today would be a great day.  It isn't that I haven't been over here plugging along on my journey, quite the contrary, I'm still most definitely plugging along on this journey!

I wanted to share a few things from this weekend with ya'll!  On Saturday I completed my first official 10k race, at The Freedoms Run, and it was amazing.  I say "official" because I've run that distance many times but this was the first time I was doing it as a race.  Since I hurt my knee training for my half marathon, I haven't run too far and this was the longest I have run since May!  I was super happy and finished at 1:21 - nine minutes sooner than I planned!  And even though I have completed longer runs on my own, I was still scared as HELL to do this; but I did it anyway because you know my motto:  if it scares me, and I won't die trying, I'm gonna do it!

Here is a pic of me at the finish:

You'll notice I'm carrying a flag and I just want to take a minute to talk about the significance of this flag for me.  I am a member of this wonderful running group and it's called Bros Andbras...this is our official flag that is flown at races as a sort of beacon for our members to gather and as a rally point.  There are some pretty amazing runners in this group and I am honored to be a part of it because there are still some days that I just don't think of myself as an official runner.  We have so many levels of runners from beginner to expert.  So, to carry this flag over the finish line carries a lot of significance for me.  Especially since it came at the end of a tough last mile of hills and I was just exhausted.  The first 2/3 of the race was really great.  We started in beautiful downtown Shepherdstown, WV and ran down to the river and most of the run was on flat road along the river; a "nice" up-and-back.  I knew that I had to run back up a big hill which I had already pre-planned to walk.  I had felt great up to this point and was so happy to see the Hubs a few times along the route to keep me motivated.  He is and always has been my Number 1 fan and I'm so grateful!

About the time, I was to head up the biggest hill of the race, our leader Kevin (above, in red) came out of nowhere to find me, carrying our flag.  He had signed up to run the 10k, too but he made it his mission to help every single one of us in both the 5k and the 10k get up that big hill.  He was there to make sure I was doing okay.  We got to the big hill and he told me how to pump my arms, and throw my knees forward and that worked for a little bit.  I had to walk though because I was having trouble breathing.  He grabbed my hand and pulled me along telling me that all I had to do was concentrate on getting my breath back and he'd pull me.  We made it up the hill and since I was the last of our group he ran the rest of the way with me (with a few more hills, ugh) and met up with another member, David (in green) and the three of us finished, together.  Both of these guys are much faster runners than me - they had signed up for their own races, but they chose to finish their races with me.  As I write this, I am again in tears at how much this meant to me. 

The funny thing is that I am a lone runner...I don't typically like to run with other people because I'm slow and I never want to hold anyone back - plus, I am normally out of breath so I'm not much fun to chat with.  Even so, finishing WITH these two was one of my favorite parts of this whole experience.

I am so proud of myself and my knee for holding up and that I was able to experience such a great day with some pretty great people.

You know I always want to leave you with some positive advice and what I want to say to you today reiterates what I have been saying all along:  be brave...go do something that scares the crap out of you because every time you do, you start to realize how strong you really are.  And you are strong!

Questions, Part II

Hello there!

It's time to answer more of your questions.  One I often receive is how to stay motivated and that's what I'm going to tackle in today's post.

As I mentioned in my last post, I really thought I'd be at my goal weight by now...I knew it would take me a while but at the time I didn't realize how long it would actually take.  In truth, it's been 33 months.  That's 2 1/2 years...yah, it's not fast people.  And I'm only 2/3 of the way to my goal.  But lately I've realized that it's sort of becoming less of a worry to GET to that goal weight I set out for and more about LIVING a healthy life.  That's what I have gained  in this process...I didn't even know that was a goal, but I stumbled upon it and it was honestly, the best surprise of this whole journey.  What if I hadn't started?  It would still be 2 1/2 years later, and I'd still be unhealthy...or worse :(

Because here's the thing:  that number is really sort of unrealistic...for all of us.  Now, don't go getting all up in a bunch.  Yes, you need to set a goal.  Is that always a "number"?  No, for some people it's a range, or for others it's to eat better, still others just strive to drink more water, and others more veggies, etc.  However, we are taught by society to have a number in mind.  So, you try to get there, and then perhaps you actually do get there.  Then what?  Your healthy journey doesn't just suddenly end when you get there.  You still will want to maintain it, right?  Some days you're going to go up and some days you are going to go down.  Sometimes life might get in the way and you have a big gain.  It's called LIFE and it will get to you.

I don't even know what it feels like to get there and maintain, but I'm a planner so I know when I get there I will have some work to do.  But I'm ready for it, because I've worked so hard and there's no way I'll ever go back to 283lb Jenn again.  Ever.

And that's part of my answer to the question of how I stay motivated:  I want it badly enough.  And by "IT" I mean, my healthy life, not the random number I picked to strive for.  Oh, I'll get there; I can't stay here, I'm still not at a healthy weight for my body...so I'll continue to make adjustments and do what I have to do...but in the end, for me, it will always come back to putting the right kinds of food into my body and working my body with fitness because I love it so much...the weight will take care of itself.  I cannot consume myself with a number.

I remember hearing the advice that losing weight was about changing your lifestyle - that's all you have to do!  Just change your life!  Well CRAP, who the heck has time for that???  That's a lot of work!!??  It IS!  But small changes make big results and I talked about that here.

I've been stalled at the same weight for 9 months.  How frustrating is that, right?  Every day I try and some days I am successful and some days I'm not...and stalling for 9 months can do some crazy things to your brain.  In that time, it wasn't that I wasn't doing what I was supposed to do.  On the contrary, all I do is try.  But it's about finding what works for you.  And sometimes what worked last week, doesn't work this week and you go back to what you did the week before and it just doesn't work anymore and you're back to square one.  But square one shouldn't be that number, it has to be your healthy living.  In that time I've tried eating more, eating less, different workouts, cutting some workouts out, working out more.  And it can be is exhausting...then I went on vacation, gained 3lbs, came home and got right back into my "normal" life and boom, the 3 vacation pounds came right off without trying anything fancy, no big changes, just getting back into my life.  That's when I realized that I was less stressed about this whole process than I used to be and it felt GREAT.  It wasn't something I decided to do; I am just living my life.  I will need to continue to make adjustments to be in a deficit to lose, but I will do it as a secondary goal.   I came to the realization that eating healthy and exercising has become my main goal.  I know that doing that IS GOOD for me.  So, I will continue to just keep going.

Here's a picture of my before (283lbs) and during (195lbs).  I'm healthier now then I was then...bottom line.

You want to stay motivated?  Stop thinking of it as a temporary thing and just make the change in your mind that it's about how to live healthy.

Also, a motivation for me is that so many of my friends and family are getting healthier, too.  When I am feeling blah or need some inspiration, I read my healthy blogging friends' posts, or see their posts on Facebook and Instagram (look me up @jenns_healthymakeover) and that motivates me to keep going.  So, if you are the same way and that sort of thing helps you, just think of me, you are NOT alone - I am here, every single day, doing my thing and we are in this together.

I do have to share this beautiful message from my 12-year old nephew.  Could there be any better advice for any of us????

Questions, Part I

Source

A lot of people ask me about my fitness schedule and about my eating plan.  I am absolutely open to sharing all of this with you so thanks for asking!!

When I started writing this post, I realized I have a lot of information I’m going to share, so I am going to make this a two-part post.

Part I:

First, let’s back up.  The absolute first thing you have to know if you are just starting out is this…

Start off slowly.

Whoa – what?  Yes...you read that correctly.  Now, listen to me…I know what you’re thinking, my friend, because I’ve thought, done, said it all…like about a gazillion times. Hear me out.

Does this scenario sound familiar?  It’s Sunday…you're tired of feeling this way.  You're unhappy with the way you feel and with the way you look.  You're done.  You're gonna make huge changes around here!  You've decided to stop this cycle so you’re starting your new DIET - tomorrow…because it’s Monday, and that’s the day that everyone starts, right?  So, it’s Sunday and you’re doing this; this is it!  You are so enthusiastic and you just KNOW you’ll be in a size 6 by Summertime!  You head to the grocery store and buy every single vegetable, fruit and healthy item you can find there and you spend a bunch of money and then get home and cram it all into the fridge and pantry (which you have previously emptied of all of the cookies, chips, soda, & Little Debbie snacks) and you’re so stinking proud of yourself.  Whew, you need a nap!  But you're hungry because you haven't eaten since lunch and you just spent 2 hours at the grocery store and that shit's exhausting and hunger-producing.  You decide to send this day out with a BANG since it’s your last day to eat what you want and starting tomorrow, no more crap!  For real.  Let’s order Chinese and finish up this ice cream, shall we?

Monday arrives and you are amazing.  You get up early to workout, make yourself a great breakfast, pack your healthy lunch, head off to work, stay away from the community candy jar, head home and tonight you’re trying a new dinner recipe and everyone in your household is getting healthy – we’re all doing this!

Tuesday arrives and you have another really great day, you’re a little sore from yesterday’s workout but you feel pretty proud of yourself.  Maybe you have just ONE candy from the jar since you did so well yesterday and really, just one is no big deal (it really isn’t), and you think to yourself, “This isn’t so hard! I've got this!”  Then you get home and nobody in your house wants to eat the mashed cauliflower you were going to make and so you decide to just have grilled cheese sandwiches.

Then Wednesday arrives and your morning gets away from you, you overslept or your kids overslept, you don’t get your workout in, you don’t have time to make a delicious egg white omelet, so you decide you’ll just hit the drive thru and try that egg white thingy they’ve been advertising on TV.  Then you get to the drive-thru and you don’t want the egg white thingy they’ve been advertising on TV, you want the sausage burrito.  You think to yourself, "I’ve been really great for the last two days, I’m just going to reward myself and get them."  And you do…and they are delicious…you get to work, then remember you forgot to pack your healthy lunch because of your crazy morning and you realize you have to go out for lunch now, too.  You think to yourself, “I’ll get a salad.”  But you don’t…then it’s 2:00pm and you’re mad at yourself for the double burger and fries you decided on instead and womp womp…you’re done.  You think, “Well, I’ve screwed this day up enough, might as well just get pizza for dinner.”  You fall off the wagon for the rest of the week and you watch your fresh veggies and fruit go bad.

Goodbye enthusiasm, hello self-defeat and anger.

Want to avoid this horrible cycle?  You absolutely can if you Start Off SLOWLY.  This is a marathon people, not a sprint.  It's cliché but it's true.

Do you need enthusiasm to do this?  Hell yes!  Do you need to buy healthy food at the grocery store?  Yessss.  Do you need to EAT that healthy food?  Do I really need to answer that?  And, do you need to PLAN??  YES, YES, YES!

But if you want to be successful, this healthy life HAS to fit into the life you are already living.  So, try some new recipes.  Plan your grocery store trips.  Plan your menus.  Pack your lunch.  You just don’t have to do it all at once.  Listen to this advice.

I’m challenging you to try to make just ONE change this coming week.  Yes, you can start on Monday, if you insist ;-).  Pick one thing and make that your goal for next week.  If that thing is to try a new recipe or two.  Do it.  Go to the store, get your regular old groceries and buy the few things you will need for those new recipes.  If that thing is to try a new class at the gym or to walk after dinner, do it.  Plan to get those workouts in.  If that means getting up early, do that.  If it means heading out after dinner, do that.

Then the following week, try doing something else.  Maybe plan to drink a certain amount of water each day.

My point:  You cannot just jump in and expect that everything is going to fall into place.  If it was that easy, you wouldn’t be trying this for the thousandth time.  Trust me.

Once you get used to trying new things and incorporating those things into your life, it will get easier.  These things will become habit.  And guess what?  You’ll still get to eat sausage burritos, pizza, Chinese, ice cream, double burgers and fries.  I promise.

I started this journey attempting to create healthy makeovers (hence the name of the blog ;-)) on recipes.  Not every day, not every meal, just a few times a week, and I started walking.  I knew from past experiences that I had to do something that I could sustain over the long haul.  My hope was that by incorporating small changes into my routine, someday I too would have a healthy makeover.  Gradually, I started to learn different ways to make a lot of meals healthier and I started trying things that I hadn’t had tried before.  I didn’t try to change my life, but my life began to change.  I am over 80lbs lighter than I was at my heaviest.  The change is working.  Am I perfect?  NOPE.  But do I try every single day?  YUP.

Check back soon for Part II!

Non Scale Victory Thursday!

Hey Heyyyyyyyyy!  It's Non-Scale Victory Thursday and it's been awhile since I posted; I've missed you guys!  I have news to share and of course I would want my NSV peeps to be a part of it!!

Let's get right to it:  This morning, I finished my last assignment for my first Grad class, Research Methods - MY. GAWD. YA'LL...so stinking excited to be done!!  My life has been muddled by it for the last 8 weeks, which is why you haven't heard much from me...but I'm officially done and I have 5 weeks off before my next class begins - wooohooo!  My next class is Statistics and while a lot of people don't like Stats, I really did well in my undergrad Stats class so I hope that will carry through.

My next victory is that last week I went to the doctor for my bloodwork followup and I received great news.  If you have been following me for a while, you'll know that I have been trying to get off my cholesterol medicine for a long time.  The lovely side effects of spending 20 years of your life being obese are many and one of my burdens was high cholesterol.  Not only was I too fat, but it runs in my family so I had a double-whammy against me.  I've been healthy now for more than 2 years, but my dang cholesterol is still being a little tricky so my doctor has wanted me to stay on it.  BUT...last week he agreed to lower my dose AND if I can keep it where it is now, he's going to take me off it at my next appointment in August!  You guys...this made me cry!!  It's so frustrating on so many levels to be a basically healthy person but still have to take a drug that is so controversial...I am beyond elated.  One of the things I love about my doctor is that he's very much into natural and holistic healing.  He gave me a list of things that I could eat or take to help in continuing to lower my cholesterol and I decided to start taking Krill oil.  Anyone else taking it?  I'm going to to really concentrate on more natural ways to keep my cholesterol in check and I hope that in August, which also happens to be my birthday month, I'll have something to celebrate - stay tuned!

Lastly, I wanted to talk about my weight - I know this is a NON SCALE post, but I think it relates well.  So when I was at the doctors office, they of course weighed me.  I was up...like substantially.  In fact, more weight than I've gained at one time during this whole process - 8lbs.  The old me would have freaked...the EFF...out.  But oddly, I didn't.  I'm still kind of in wonderment about this.  And I came to the conclusion that for the first time in my life, I have to believe that my body is changing and maybe I'm starting to build muscle?  This is by NO means any type of excuse and here's the reason...I cannot look back and recall ANYthing that I've done over the past 8 weeks to berate myself over.  I have followed a healthy plan with very little deviation, I have worked out and stayed within my calories.  Do I wonder what the Hell?  Um, yah.  But what can I do?  MORE than I've done??  No...because what more can I do?  I HAVE thought about the difference in my routine, and what has changed is that I lowered my cardio and I upped my strength training.  I also incorporated more healthy fats into my diet and am consuming less refined carbs.  The reason that I know that this is working is because I am down in inches and my clothes are fitting looser.  We've all seen the before and after pictures of the difference in how skinny and fit look.  I guess I am now at that point in my journey.  I know this won't last...the weight will eventually fall off.  Am I looking forward to that day?  YUP.  Am I a tiny bit disappointed?  YES, more than a tiny bit.  But again, how much can I beat myself up over it?

I won't.  Not anymore.  I am going to believe this little quote below.  I have printed it out and it hangs right above my laptop so that I can be reminded of it on days when I'm feeling frustrated.  This whole journey is not about a number anymore to me.  It's about living a healthy life.  And I am...and I will continue to.

I also wanted to say "Thank You" to everyone who continues to inspire me and support me.  I could not do this without you and I am amazed everyday at the love and support people show me.  I hope I can do the same for you.

Be well!