5 Pounds!!!

After gaining weight the previous 2 weeks, this last week I lost 5 lbs!!! Yay!!! I'm so happy! I'm back on track and feeling great! I just worked out every day this week. I woke up at 4:30 a.m. every morning and went up to the pool and swam 1,250 yards (50 laps), and then in the evenings after I got home from work, I'd go right up to the gym and either ride a bike 10 miles or jog 3.2 miles.

It feels great to be back on track again.

Band Wagon

So, last week, I wasn't feeling well at all and I read on the internet that it's not so good of an idea to work out while you're sick, because it can make your sickness worse and it can take longer to get better.

So, I took last week off from working out. For some reason, when I don't work out, I lose ALL self control when it comes to food. I don't know why, but this is definitely something I need to work on.

Needless to say, I gained 8 lbs last week. But, as of this last Saturday, I've jumped back on the bandwagon, and I've worked out twice every day this week. :) I'll keep you posted how much weight I lose this week.

Cottage Cheese & Salsa, who would've thought?

So, I have found a delicious healthy snack that I thought I would share with you guys! It's healthy & super easy to make.

All it is is 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese & 1/2 cup salsa mixed together. Then, I bought these new crackers out on the market made by Special K. You can have 17 crackers for only 90 calories. So then you eat the cottage cheese & salsa with those crackers & it is DIVINE!!!

I never would've thought to mix these 2 ingredients together, but a lady at work got the idea from a magazine the other day. You should definitely give it a try.

Food!

So, someone brought to my attention that this blog is alot about my increased activity, but I haven't mentioned much about how I've cut back on my eating, etc., so I thought I'd post some information about my new eating habits.

When I first started my weight loss journey, to control my food portions etc., I was counting calories, measuring and weighing my food and eating smaller portions. I looked up on the internet to see what my average daily calorie intake should be (when I first started out I think it was 1200) and I really started counting calories and looking on labels of food and stuff like that. I don't really count calories any more just because I'm so used to the smaller portions and I know what size portion looks right, etc., does that make sense? But when I first started out, and even now, the Smart Ones frozen meals and Lean Cuisines are what I eat for lunch every day. If my family is not having something very healthy for dinner, I'll have a Smart Ones for dinner as well. I do allow myself one "cheat" day a week, Saturday's, where I can splurge and eat not as healthy. I don't go to the complete other end of the spectrum and eat a cheeseburger, fries, or something like that, but I'll treat myself to a candy bar or something like that.

I've just found that almost any food out there, you can make it healthy. :) I mean, I LOVE a good cheeseburger, but if you just substitute ground beef with ground turkey burger and then just leave the mayo off the bun and use fat free cheese...it's DELICIOUS!!!

20 Mile Charity Ride

I think my favorite sport is probably riding my bike. Last year before I did my first triathlon, I was able to save enough $$$ and buy a decent bike.





After my first triathlon in August, I was driving down the freeway and saw a billboard for a 20 mile charity ride for the Hess Cancer Organization. I immediately went on the internet & looked at it and it was a 20 mile charity ride down the Legacy Parkway in Davis County. I immediately signed up! It wasn't a timed race or anything, but I timed myself and if I remember correctly, it took me a little less than 1 hour to do the 20 miles. It was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again.

The picture is of me getting ready to cross the finish line.

Weigh In Today

So, I weigh myself only once a week. I don't like to weigh myself more than that because I'm afraid I'll get discouraged by not seeing weight loss every time I weigh myself, even if I am losing, does that make sense?

But, during the holidays, I was working CRAZY hours (57 hours one week and 47 hours another week), plus with all the treats and stuff like that, I didn't have alot of time to dedicate to working out, so I gained 7 lbs.

Last week when I weighed myself, I lost 3.0 lbs, so I was on my way back to losing the weight I'd gained. :) But then, I weighed myself today and I gained 0.6 lbs! I just don't understand why. This last week, every morning but one, I went swimming (60 laps) and then I'd come home and do 5.0 miles on the eliptical trainer.

Oh well, I'm convincing myself that it's only 1/2 lb and that's not bad and it could very well be muscle gain, cause muscle weighs more than fat. :)

My First Tri

So my first triathlon was in August of 2009. It was ALOT of fun! It was a run/bike/swim. I really like having the run first because that is my least favorite event, so I can get it out of the way. Plus, if the swim is last, the pool is less crowded. :)

But, my only goal with this triathlon was to finish it on and to NOT come in last. I thought it would take me at least 2 hours to do the triathlon, but in one of the pictures below you'll see my finish time.

While I was training for this tri, I thought maybe I'd just do this one and then I'd be done. As soon as I got home from the triathlon, I was looking for more triathlon's to do.

It was AWESOME. I had my co-workers come out and cheer me on and my mom & dad, my brother & his family & my aunt all came out and cheered me on. It was AWESOME!!! I tell ya, the cheering section makes it alot easier to do the race.

Me jogging (3.2 miles) (I'm in the blue tank top)

Me coming back from the bike portion (10 miles).

Me swimming. I'm in the lane closest. My brother was an awesome coach. I had to swim 14 laps.

This picture is kinda blurry, but it shows my finish time!!! I did 15 minutes better than I expected!!!

More Current Picture

Here is a picture exactly 1 year after the heavy picture was taken. This picture was taken in October 2009, and I weighed in at 175 lbs, exactly 100 lbs less than the year before.

Heavy Picture

So, here is a picture of me when I was at my heaviest. I weighed in at 275 lbs. This picture was taken in October 2008.

How It Started

I don't know why I didn't start this blog at the first of my weight loss, but oh well, I guess the most important thing is that I now have the blog. I hope I can be an inspiration to others. If I can lose weight...ANYBODY can lose weight. If you have ANY questions, please feel free to ask.

I thought my first post should be about how it all started. In March 2009, I weighed in at 275 lbs., and right now, I've lost 100 lbs. My goal is to lose 25 more lbs. :) I've done it all by exercise and eating right.

I've always been a larger woman. I don't remember when I was a small woman. I LOVED unhealthy food. I could easily down a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, right after downing a double cheeseburger and a large order of onion rings. Now, I still LOVE food, but I've learned how to LOVE healthy food.

I remember a long time ago, I saw Team Hoyt (www.teamhoyt.com) on the Oprah Winfrey Show. It is a father/son team that competes in triathlons and marathons across the U.S. The son was born as a spastic quadriplegic and has cerebral palsy. The father & son compete in marathons & triathlon's together. I believe they've competed in the IronMan Triathlon. Any way, I saw them on Oprah and I thought, man, if the dad can do this, I can do it and ever since then, I've wanted to compete in the IronMan triathlon.

I've never forgotten the story, I've just been too lazy to get off my butt and do anything about reaching my goal of competing in the IronMan triathlon.

Well, in January of 2009, a girl that I went to high school with told me that her & her husband were organizing a triathlon for August of 2009. The triathlon would require me to swim 350 yards, jog/walk 3.2 miles and ride my bike 10 miles. Well, this peeked my interest. I thought about it for about 1 1/2 months and thought that I could maybe do this triathlon instead of the IronMan triathlon.

In March 2009, I paid and registered for the triathlon. I made sure I paid for it that far in advance so that I couldn't back out. As soon as I registered for the triathlon, I started training. I bought a gym membership and started going to the gym every day. I'd go swimming before work, and then I'd come home and go ride a bike and jog/walk on the treadmill.