Noobs

 

“Good Morning!” this very fit & very happy woman in her late forties greeted us.  She was wearing a big smile, a quarter zip Nike running jacket, fitted spandex pants, a Nike hat, and gloves, as she joyfully ran past us on her way back from her morning run.  I could barely get an audible response out, over my heavy, pathetic breathing (which was over the top for how slow we were going and the fact we had just started our run).  I clearly was not sharing the same sentiment as this cheery runner.  “We look like such noobs.”  B was obviously talking about how ill prepared we were to run in this weather.

It was a good 25 degrees Sunday morning, and we didn’t have the right clothes on at all.   (See yesterday's post!)   B had basketball shorts, pulled up socks, a long sleeve shirt, gloves, a hat, and sunglasses on.  I had cotton capri yoga pants, a long sleeve shirt, and a rain/wind breaker (in my mind, I thought it would be perfect because how thin it was).  I couldn’t find my hat or gloves, and the more I looked the more demotivated I became to get out the door, so I just said, “whatever” and decided to just get over it.  I was regretting this decision almost immediately.  I had to run with my hands in my pockets and the hood over my head, so all I really could do was look down. And that thin, little plastic barrier didn’t do much at all, except make a dramatic swooshing noise the entire run.  I completely agreed with B, we looked like noobs.  We were not having a good morning. 

Not only were we sporting all the wrong kind of clothes, but we were very much out of shape and paying the price.  All in all, it was just a bad start to the whole running thing.  As I finally dragged myself back into our driveway, B (who had been home for a couple mins by now) looked at me with a sarcastic grin, “How are those Belles doing?  Still ringing?”  ugh, not really…

The rest of the day I kept telling myself that the reason why our run was pretty miserable was the very cold weather.   I was going to have to break down and purchase some cold weather gear.  That had to be the reason, right?  Well God cleared the forecast, and gave me a beautiful 72 degree day on Tuesday to hit the trails.  So I put on a shirt and running shorts (I looked more the part this time around) and ran my 30 mins, and I still felt slow and out of shape.  Dang it!  So I guess the weather is not to blame. I will say, I felt a lot better than Sunday, but it was not the dramatic difference I was hoping for.  Maybe being out of shape and carrying around some extra weight is why the Sunday morning run beat me up so bad. (But just maybe.)

But, hey, we all have to start somewhere right? 

-Still Running with Belles on 

You Look Good, You Feel Good

I wholeheardedly promote looking good to make yourself feel good. By this I mean dressing the part of a worker-outer! I think it's important to buy workout apparel that makes you feel good before you even start working out. There's nothing like putting your feetsies in a brand new pair of kicks, putting on those favorite Under Armour running pants and a sports bra that holds the girls in place.
 
Looking the part is half the battle!

Buying workout apparel can get pricy, but you don’t have to break the bank to get quality items.  There are plenty of stores that sell afforadable workout clothes such as Target, Marshalls and Kohl's.  All you need is a supportive pair of running sneakers (in my opinion, the brighter color the better!), breathable socks, comfortable shorts that don’t ride, a sports bra that prevents black eyes :) and a breathable shirt of your choice.  Oh! And one more essential clothing item is the right pair of undies. Note to reader: if you are focused on your constant wedgie for the entire run, you’re wearing the wrong pair!  Try something different :) This distraction may cause you to want to stop running…don’t let the undies win!!!

So remember, when you look good you feel good so treat yourself to a brand new workout outfit to jumpstart the new, motivated you!

Lookin good, feelin good,
C me Rob-in that sexy bod

Set the Scene for getting Lean!!

Well, its no secret from my first entry that I am a yo-yo dieter. My weight goes up, and then it goes down. I like to make a lot of excuses about being busy, or the lifestyle I am living because of where we are living but really, its just a "bunch of halabaloo". (Little bit of a Disney's Tarzan quote there!) Today, after a meeting with the designer of my new house (Set to be done late next month! Hooray!) I was driving to the gym as I passed a little town park that will be walking distance to my new home. I decided on a whim to pull right in. The place was bustling! The entire parking lot was full so I decided to join in the locals and see what this little town park was all about! It is basically a perfect 2-Mile trail around a beautiful reservoir, along with a Disc Golf Course, or a "Frolf Course" as my sister-in-law likes to call it :-).  Well I decided instead of the gym I was going to run around this place and explore. Two laps later, four miles down, and I was feeling great. I decided to go for a third lap and got to thinking this is why I love running. I love being outside when the weather is lovely, like it was today, and I can run for miles so long as where I am running has nice things to look at.

Running the Lakes at Notre Dame, IN

Back in college, I would start out the year healthy by running around the most beautiful campus in the country, and finish healthy when it was nice again by doing the same thing. Running was a treat and something I looked forward to. Once Winter came around and snow became an issue, it was into the gym and on the treadmill. That basically lasted a week before I was just bored with it and I let my Winter layer grow on my belly.

View of Mount Rainier

When I was temporarily living at Fort Lewis, Washington over the summer after college I was forced to do 10K Ruck Marches twice a week. This is basically a punishment worse than death in my book and at any other location this would be the case, but when the route allows beautiful views of Mount Rainier the entire time, it became more of a treat! And as the summer days grew smaller, so did my waist line. Fast forward to a not so scenic area of Oklahoma that next fall, followed by the worst Winter Ive ever experience in Missouri, I was back in my fat jeans in no time.

Beautiful Savannah, GA

Finally, I move somewhere more permanent (three years), and more lovely that any place I had lived before: Savannah, GA. To this day, this is my favorite city in the US. I was able to run circles around that city year round in the beautiful weather! It was also pretty convenient that I lived close to a neighborhood of mansions. I would get lost on those streets while I dreamed about my future as a filthy rich woman......... dream being the key word there.

Its no wonder that my most unhealthy time in my life was where I was most unhappy with where I lived. The Army sent us to Arizona last year and for six months. I was couped inside because of the dreadful heat and the lack of desire to run in the morbidly brown area in which we lived.

My New Place to Run!

Now Im back on the east coast and Im loving it. Today I found something that motivates me, that has motivated me for years, and I only just realized it today. Thank goodness for recognizing one of my weaknesses today and for living in a beautiful place again. Cheers to getting lean in a beautiful scene!

That my skinny for the day!
~C-Pizz

My Fat Jeans

My Fat Jeans & My Small Dog

We all have them.  And if you don't, just humor me and pretend I am not the only one.  I bought my jeans one size too big online and I didn’t return them during the time window.  Well good thing I had them, I needed jeans to wear to work on casual Friday (my other, snugger jeans are in the wash). Although I am relieved to have a backup pair in the far reaches of my closet, it doesn't mean I am happy wearing them. Inside the fly, they have a little ribbon that says "lucky you."  This is just adding insult to injury.  When I put them on, I couldn't help but laugh.  I feel far from "lucky."  But as I threw this cranky, little pity party in my closet before work, I had no one to blame but myself.

I recently got married in August and for the 10 months I was engaged, I was SO motivated to lose the weight and lose it fast.  Between wedding photos and every single important person in our lives coming to see us get married, I was under some pretty high-pressure motivation.  I worked out, became a faithful follower of Weight Watchers, and declined dessert.  I lost the weight and felt great on our wedding day.  But right after the wedding, I let loose and ate all those delicious foods I neglected over the past year.  My husband and I went out to dinner regularly, ate greasy food during football games, and lazily ordered Chinese food whenever we wanted.  After all my hard work, heck I deserved to splurge, right?  Well, after a couple months of newlywed food bliss, the holidays came swooping in, and there was no bathing suit season in sight.  So I continued to eat all those delicious Halloween candies, coworker baked goods, thanksgiving leftovers, and Christmas cookies. And now I am wearing my fat jeans.

So my goal: Get out of my fat jeans and into my skinny ones by committing to a more healthy and active lifestyle!

How do I achieve my goal?  Like my wedding date, I need something on the horizon, something on my calendar I can't blow off.  After talking to my husband (from now on I'll refer to him has "B"), I finally convinced him to join me in preparing for a road race, the 1st of many goals to kick our health into high gear and get back into more loose fitting jeans.

One may ask: why am I dragging him into this?  He most certainly didn't go to Saint Mary's and commit to co-author a health blog.  Well, I am not nearly disciplined enough to do it alone.  I need a work out partner. (And I am not the only one with snug jeans lately.)  One big problem though, he hates running, I mean hates it.  I don't look forward to it, but he hates it.  So why on earth would we do this?  My sister & I ran the Chicago marathon back in 2010 to support my Mom and her bucket list, and it was just so incredibly rewarding.  B saw how much I enjoyed it, and he said he wanted to do one with me.  So now, I am holding him to it, and we are going to hit the road!  There is a local marathon/half marathon/8K on April 6th.  We aren't even going to pretend we are ready to make the marathon happen (yet), but the half marathon or the 8K (most likely the latter) have our names all over it.  Whether we like it or not, we are doing that race.

So it begins.  The quest for better health, and I wouldn't have done with without the wonderful girls behind this blog.  Thanks girls for the motivation!  My contribution to this sweet blog will be my struggles of getting off the couch, working out, eating healthier, sleeping better, and still balancing a social life.  So first stop on the path into my skinny jeans and a healthier life, April 6th! I will be Running with Belles on!

Don't be HANGRY!

Hangry:

When you are so hungry that your lack of food causes you to become angry, frustrated or both.

An amalgum of hungry and angry invented to describe that feeling when you get when you are out at a restaurant and have been waiting over an hour to get the meal that you have ordered.

 

"Damn! Where is that steak I ordered? We've been waiting for an hour and a half here. The service here is terrible! I'm starving! I don't know about you, but I'm starting to feel really hangry!"

(definition via Urban Dictionary)

 

  Don't be Hangry! Its one of my many pet-peeves of diets, and people "dieting". But it does happen to the best of us, even when we're not trying to diet...(it happens to me quite a lot actually- and I'm sorry to all of my close friends and family who have experienced my Hangry-ness! Its not pretty!)

 

  To give you some background on the situation (and myself) I was the youngest of five kids. I have two older sisters and two older brothers. Anytime my sisters and I would start mouthing off or get cranky, my mom would immediately ask us when the last time we had eaten was and then tell us to go eat some cheese. For the longest time we couldn't figure it out, especially the cheese thing. We just thought it was some Southern thing (there is a lot that goes on in the South that you don't quite understand as a child...or adult for that matter). Eventually, however, we figured it out! Mom was slightly anemic and knew that we probably had a little anemia too. Turns out she was right all along! Moms always do! So because of that, our Hangry escalates quite quickly once it starts. I've even seen my mom get to the point once of almost fainting because she was so hungry.

 

   Anywho- the whole point to this is --- please don't starve yourself!!!! I've seen so many people who work out regularly and practically starve themselves, and then don't lose the pounds they want to, or at least not as quickly. That's because their body is literally hating them. haha. Well that's how I put it. Its fighting against what it thinks is starvation, and is literally holding on to every little piece of fat it can to survive. Starvation doesn't work for weight loss. end of story.

   Look at all those movie stars- gorgeous, glamorous, yadda yadda yadda...then...they have an off "day" where the camera catches them 20lbs heavier. Or the fan who gets to meet their favorite star and comes back saying how much of a B*tch they were! Its cause they're HANGRY people! I've even read it in an article/interview (that's actually where I heard of Hangry first! haha!) Its not healthy and they know it.

   I'm not saying to go binge eat, or even eat like you were previously (obviously that got you to where you are now!) If your not happy with yourself, or just want to improve, something has to change. But you need to eat the right amount of calories for your body to sustain itself, and if you are looking to tone up, enough for those muscles to be sustained.

  That's why I'm a huge advocate of My Fitness Pal- I'm so excited that we (our little smc group) has decided to use it!!! It makes me so happy to see those calories wisely used, and at the end of the day be slightly under my calorie goal without having been starving all day and night! There are days when I've literally had to add more food to what I was going to eat to make sure I was eating enough. Its definitely a thin line that you have to stick to in order to see the results you want, but I promise your body (and your friends!) will thank you!

    Sorry...I could go on all day about this topic,so I'll stop for now, but I'm sure it will come up again.

  So...to recap----

1-Eat enough Good food--everyone is different- so don't feel bad if you need to have more cals then the next gal, that doesn't mean your bad or eating too much

2- Make sure its GOOD food--- you'll notice if you use my fitness pal, the more junk, the less you get to eat (obviously) and the less full/satisfied you will feel.

3- Check the labels on food --- sometimes you will be pleasantly surprised with the amount you can have. You want the most bang for your buck, so to speak, and it will help you find the right portion sizes for you.

4- Know your own body--- Try to get to the point where you can feel when you're getting Hangry...then try to never let it happen again- once your to that point you will eat practically anything, and probably too much of it! Plan ahead (I always have snacks with me. always. seriously. to the point where my husband and coworkers make fun of me. They're stashed away like nuts for a squirrel, in my purses, in my car, in my desk drawer...you get the point.) Its always that one time when you don't have something that you end up Hangry. oh and always apologize for being Hangry, it will happen at some point, but most people are more understanding when you explain that is Hangryness.

5- ITS NOT EASY, but stick with it.

Usually in Life the Best things aren't Easy.....

 

Setting Goals

My Precious Pup, Lambeau

So when you are trying to lose weight or get in shape, you are supposed to set goals. Most magazines will say, set small goals, monthly goals or weekly goals so they are more reachable. Since I am currently too afraid to step on the scale, setting a weight loss goal isn't in my cards for the time being. Instead I will set a fitness goal.  A few years ago, I was able to run circles around my husband. He is naturally fit and is good at every sport he tries. He hates to run, and since I love to run, I was able to beat him in our two mile run time for our Army PT test and the 10K race we did together for New Years in Savannah. Since then I have fallen off the band wagon. In Arizona he out-ran me and it didn't bother me because he was running more often then I was and at the time our puppy couldn't keep up with him, so he preferred to run with me. Now that we are in North Carolina, Erik is leaving me in the dust and so is my dog Lambeau. I have heard some couples say they don't want a dog because they don't want their spouse to be jealous of the attention they give to their pet. This is hilarious to me, because for Erik and I, we get jealous of who Lambeau sits next to or snuggles more. Going on runs was always my time with Lambeau because he preferred my pace. Yesterday, Erik and I went on a trail run. Lambeau stayed with Erik the entire time, and Oh man was I jealous. Running faster than Erik was never my goal, but it was something that always happened earlier in our relationship. As I slid behind, I was fine with it, but now that it is taking away my precious pup, my current goal is to speed up and once again, be Lambeau's preferred running partner. Crazy dog lady? Most definitely, but it is still getting me out on the road, and motivation is motivation. What are your motivations?

Lets Get it Started

Well, it been just over five years since we graduated from lovely Saint Mary's College. The day I graduated I was the heaviest I have ever been, but I'm sure there are quite a few that would admitt the same thing. Senior year was a nasty year of easy classes, lots of processed food and even more beer. No wonder some of us were busting out of our graduation robes. Since then I have managed to lose and gain weight almost yearly. This year, a few of us managed to have a girls get-away to Austin over Martin Luther King weekend. When planning it, it seemed like a fantastic idea, but as the vacation came closer, I realized this was a terrible idea. We spent the last month wining and dining our waist lines away over holiday hoopla. The fact that our jeans were still able to zip was based strictly on the elasticity of the denim. There is a reason I wont even consider buying a pair of jeans that doesnt have the word "Stretch" somewhere on the tag or label. This girls weekend came so soon, and we didnt have time to "de-bloat" from the holidays. At first it was all fun and games, but after the first night of a few beers, and the next morning of groaning while trying to zip our pants, we all admitted we arent where we wish we were in the fitness department. By the end of the weekend we all decided to become active members of My Fitness Pal on our iPhones and start contibuting to blog to stay motivated. No more buying bigger sizes (unless we are pregnant) No more downed pant zippers (unless we pull them down ourselves) and No more excuses! Go Belles!