Trying Something New

    Thank you for all your comments yesterday.  I have put the scale away until next Tuesday and I am going to calorie count and stay around 1700-1800 for the next two weeks. I did a little research and they say that you should take the weight that you want to be (around 172) and multiply it by ten to give you your calorie intake. I am also going to try and eat more fish and go back to my wicked stuffed pepper recipe (which I will post later next week) for next week.

    
 Last night was Day 9 of the 30 Day Hot Yoga Challenge and I have to admit that the classes are getting easier. There are a few poses that I could not do when I started and not only I am getting them and able to hold them for a short period of time I am starting to feel more confident in my practice.  I am taking the rest of the month to really improve on the poses that I can do (hold them for the whole time required) and to get a  handle on the poses that I still cannot do (bow is REALLY a struggle for me, I can usually reach one leg but not the other). I have also noticed that the room does not feel as hot as it used to.  I also find that the time goes much faster and the class is done before I know it.


     Did I mention that I am doing another race on Saturday?  This one is also a trail race, but the group of runners in more elite.  So even if I finish in the same time as last week, I will probably be one of the last ones to finish.  We are also competing as a team, THE RUNAHOLICS  (thanks Ro!) I will let you know how that goes.


Have a great day!

That's me, racing last Saturday!

    

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Putting The Scale Away

   HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

     I have retired the scale until next week.  This is really hard for me, since I am obsessed with getting on it everyday (and sometimes night) to see where my weight is at.  
  I am trying to cut added sugar out of my life. Last night I went to Bulk Barn and bought; dried cranberries, unsweetened shredded coconut, walnuts and almonds to add to my oatmeal in the morning.  I usually add brown sugar , but I want to get away from that.  When I had it this morning for breakfast it was delicious and very filling.
   Tonight I have running (3K steady) and then I am going to head over for DAY 9 of the 30 Day Hot Yoga challenge.   
    I have a random question; does anyone cook bok choy (aka chinese cabbage)?  DO you use the whole thing or just the leaves?  Thanks in advance.

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30 Day Hot Yoga Challenge: Week 1 Done!

     As of yesterday, I have done 7 straight days of hot yoga (accompanied by other activities) and when I stepped on the scale today I saw...a gain of 0.4 (219.4).   This is really frustrating that I have been working really hard, but I am not losing the weight that I want to loss.  I know that I have to be more careful with my eating.  I eat well 90% of the time, but then I will have ONE meal (out or at a party) that is fried of fatty and I will gain 3 or 4 pounds over night!  No joke.  I do not know what to do.  Why is it that I cannot have one meal a week that is not "one plan" without ruining everything that I have done for the week?  I was down to 215 last Thursday and then Friday I went out and everything was done.  I cannot even say that when I went out to eat it was all that bad.  I watched my portions, but the food was obviously not as healthy as if I would have eaten something at home.  I am really trying to analyze and understand my body and I am starting to see that I have to "be on" all the time.  I don't know/think that this is realistic for me, but I really have to get rid of these 20 pounds so that I can get until 200.  I am starting to think that this may never happen.  Now marks 3 years and 8 months that I have been working on this and I am sitting at 52 pounds lost.  Last year at this time I weighed 208 (granted i just had surgery and could not eat), all I am trying to say is maybe I can't get any smaller.  I already work out almost everyday and i have been doing this even before I started to watch my weight.  maybe my body knows this and can't do anymore...  I don't know.  I really just want to be rid of this fat and back to living life.
     The plus side of this week of hot yoga is that my stomach feels flatter and I know that my balance has greatly improved.  I was in an aerobics class yesterday and we had do do some balancing possess and I was much better than I was a few months ago.
     I also need to stop being such a slave to the scale this week I am not going to step on the scale until next Tuesday. This is going to be really hard for me since I do weight myself daily.  I also think that tomorrow I am going to take my measurements and keep track of those on a weekly basis also. I am curious to see if my waist is getting smaller or if it is all in my mind.


LA left a comment in my last post asking about race training advice (I still can"t believe that people are asking me for advice!).  

• Try and run at least three times a week.  In your comment you said that on average you run 3.5 miles (about 5.6K).  One of these runs should be a long slow run.  Try this week to have a 6k run (3.7 miles) , a week from then try a 7K (4.3 miles) and then finally a 5 mile (8K) run.  you should try and run the race distance at least once before the race.  Remember that you should take these runs S-L-O-W.  Don't be nervous about your first race, you can only improve from there.  Also if you feel the need to walk, there is no shame in that.  Last Saturday during the 10K race there was a monster hill.  I tried to run as much as i could but i had to walk the rest of the way to the top. Once I felt like I was really (about 2 minutes)  i started running again.

I hope this helps!

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Boo-Ya!:A New Personal Best

   This past Saturday I ran a 10k race in Oka national park.  The trail was beautiful and luckily the weather was perfect, not too cold and nice and sunny (although I could not keep my sunglasses on because my face was so sweaty).  All I wanted was to beat my last 10k race time of an hour and eight minutes and guess what!?  I did it in 1:05:07 THREE WHOLE MINUTES FASTER!  WOOHOO!  I was so excited.  This Saturday and I am doing another 10K race and I am aiming to get the same time or better. 
     In hot yoga news, today I am on day 7 and I have been going everyday (yes, even after the 10K race on Saturday).  I am noticing improvements in my possess and I am able to hold posses that I was not able to do a few months ago.  I am also noticing that I am not finding the room as hot as I used to.


I hope that everyone is having a great week and take care!

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Fit To Fat To Fit

   On my way home from work yesterday, I was listening to the radio and they were doing an interview with a guy who was a personal trainer and was aiming to gain 100 pounds and then lose it again.  This guy (I am sure that you can Google to find his name) was about 190 pounds and a personal trainer.  He decided that he wanted to gain weight so that he could see what it was like for his clients who were struggling to get healthy and lose weight.  In the last 6 months he has gained almost 80 pounds.  He stopped exercising and ate like the "average American"; macaroni and cheese, white bread and pasta, fast food once a week and soft drinks two or three times day.  Now he is going to start to lose the weight, first by watching his diet and then incorporate exercise.

What do you think about the notion of gaining weight just to lose it again?

In 30 Day hot yoga challenge news, last night was day 3 and it went well.  I went for a 3k run before hand.  I am excited about my Half Marathon clinic and there are some familiar faces in my group.  Tomorrow is my 10K race, I better get a good night sleep tonight!

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30 Day Hot Yoga Challenge: Day 1 and 2

I have been participating in the 30 Day hot yoga challenge for 2 days now and things are going well, but I am tired.  I am still running and yesterday we were suppose to do 4k but we ended up doing 5K and then I went to hot yoga so I was exhausted.  The same thing is going to happen tonight, since I am starting my Half Marathon Clinic tonight, thankfully we are only running 3K. 

So far, I am seeing weight loss, but I am not going to report until next Tuesday.

My big race is on Saturday, wish me luck!

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Ready...Set...Go!

   
     Today I am going to begin my 30 day hot yoga challenge.  I am so excited, I am heading to a  moksha flow class tonight.  Moksha flow focuses more on breathing during the class.  Here is the excerpt from the website on the class:

Emphasis will be on the synergy between breath and movement to help you deepen your practice. This class is always moving.  It is great for upper body strengthening and improving cardiovascular health.

  I am really excited.  I am starting the challenge at 219, in 30 days I would like to be at 209 or lower.


I am also starting to train for another half marathon in February.  I am not sure if I am going to actually do the race in Feb., but I am definitely going to run the Ottawa half next May.  I really like the teacher than is leading the training clinic at the Running Room and I know that we are going to have a great time.  In other running news I am going to be running a 10K on Saturday.  I am hoping to beat my time from last winter of 1 hour and 8 minutes.  I have been training and I feel really confident about what I can do.  Nevertheless, it all depends on the day and since they are calling for snow here on Friday, the trail may be a bit slippery, which can be really dangerous.  Also since it is a trail run I know that here are a lot of roots sticking out of the ground and people have tripped on the roots in the past and gotten hurt, so I am really going to have to be careful.


I now challenge all of YOU to be active for the next 30 days!  It doesn't have to be yoga it can be anything, zumba, walking, whatever.  Also if you really can't for 30 consecutive days try to beat what you usually do.  If you exercise 3 times a week try to exercise 5 times for this month!  LET'S GO!


I love this quote from Arthur Ashe:

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

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