Yellowstone, Setback, and Moving Forward

Finally, at the end of my summer (I head back to school later this week), I went on vacation.  For the first time in my life I visited Yellowstone National Park.  It was amazing!  As somewhat of a science fan-boy, I loved the incredible natural wonders that the park holds.  I spent the better part of 3 days in the park and I know I only saw a small fraction of the wonder that it contains.  The vistas and views were awe inspiring.  The thermal features were breathtaking (but seriously, some of those you don't want to breathe around...).  The wildlife made the biologist in me giddy with excitement.  And the petrified tree gave me perspective on time.  It was such an amazing trip and I'm so happy that my sisters made me go...ahem, I mean invited me to go with them.  I can't wait to do it again soon!

I went on vacation with plans to continue the success that I've been having.  The first night there, my brother-in-law told me that he wanted to exercise with me in the morning.  The next morning we went walking around the island we were staying on.  It was a refreshing 3+ mile morning walk.  My sisters and I took turn preparing meals for the days that we were together.  They are aware of the changes I've made in my food choices and were very accommodating to ensure that I had something that I would want to eat.

One of the most exciting things that I did outside of Yellowstone was four wheeling.  I had never gone before, and I had a healthy respect for the power and risks of riding a four wheeler.  The more I rode the more comfortable and confidant I became.  Perhaps I became a bit too comfortable and confidant...

It was afternoon (the picture above was taken in the morning) on a westward 4 wheeler path that ran parallel to a paved road.  It was here that I didn't see the corrugated steel drainage pipe just to the left of the trail.  I caught the pipe with my left front wheel.  As I was flying through the air, probably going around 20 mph, I tried to piece together what was happening.  Before I hit the ground I knew what had happened.  Then I hit the ground, landing on the left side of my body, and rolled.  I stopped rolling just a few feet from the sign in the picture above.  I later went back and measured that the sign is 15 paces (25-30 feet?) from the pipe.  After I stopped rolling I jumped up and was happy to note that I could still move on my own power, though painfully so.  I noticed that my right arm got scraped up and that my hip was throbbing.  I was following my brother-in-law and he must have noticed that I wasn't behind him anymore.  By the time he turned around and came back to me I was back on the four wheeler ready to continue on.  We had just gotten gas from the gas station and the plan was to go ride on some of the trails.  So we went.  I tried to have fun despite my fresh experience, but much of the previous confidence and comfort had left me.  More hindering was the pain that I experienced with any bump or turn.

After we got back to the cabin, I started to clean my open wounds and assess the damage I had just inflicted on my body.  I noted that most movement involving the right side of my body caused quite a bit of pain. I quickly realized that I was in no condition to run the next morning as part of my C25K training.  This realization almost moved me to tears.  It was to be the end of 6th week of training.  I wanted to run, but I could barely walk...

Somehow I still managed to be able to walk around Yellowstone the next few days.  Sometimes the pain wasn't bad, but sometimes it was barely bearable.  There were times that I had to sit down and rest while my family moved on.  Despite my injuries, I had an amazing time.

So now I sit here wondering what the next few weeks will hold for me.  I don't know that I broke anything, I'm thinking about going to see a doctor just to be sure.  I want to keep moving forward with my exercise, but since I made changes in my life so that I could live a healthier life it would be counter-productive to push through the pain if it's actually making an injury worse.

I guess it comes down to the fact that although I can't quite exercise how I've been exercising for the past 6 weeks, there are still things that I can control that will help to move me forward in this journey.  It's not the end of the road, but merely a detour that I have to make to get me where I want to go.

Since June 30th I've lost 29.5 pounds (I really wanted that last .5 pound... hopefully tomorrow).
I've also logged over 115 exercise miles in that time.

Reflection, Report, New Month, & New Goals

It was 5 weeks ago that I started this lifestyle change.  And it really has been quite the lifestyle change.  It's amazing how much of a difference attitude and perspective can make in such a change.  When people ask me if I can or I can't have something (in terms of food) I always say that I can eat whatever I want.  For me it was important that I made this lifestyle change something that is sustainable; if it is really something that is going to have lasting change in my life it has to be something that I keep on doing.  For this reason I've never referred to what I'm doing as a diet.  Because of my relationship with food, I realized it was very important for me not to make food the enemy.  And I think I've done a great job of that.

Now with all that said, I choose to eat differently than I did before.  I haven't banned anything from my diet, instead I look for better choices to make when it comes to food.  I've been focusing a lot on whole grains, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, and lean proteins.  This has been working so well for me.  It actually feels like I've gone through a detox program and I've learned again how great tasting healthy food can be!  I wasn't convinced of this truth before, but now I am;  you can have food that is both delicious and healthy!  There are still days that I end up eating more than I should, but instead of the extra food being a half of a large pizza it's grapes or baked lays potato chips.  And that is most definitely a better choice.  I do still have room to do better, but I'm extremely happy with the progress I've made and the choices that I most often make.

My exercise routine has been going well.  Today I started week 6 of C25K.  I'm blown away with the progress I've made on this front each day.  On Friday the training called for me running for 20 minutes straight without stopping, and I did it!  It was only 5 weeks ago that when I ran for one minute straight I thought I was going to die.  I'm still not very fast, and I definitely need to keep pushing myself, but I've gained both the physical and mental strength to push through and overcome this program.  I look forward to waking up early and going for my run or my walk.  My goal has been, and still is, to go at least 3 miles everyday.  And 3 miles just keeps getting easier and easier!

As I said in my last update, one of the biggest areas that I've seen improvement is in how I feel.  That has continued to be true.  A simple demonstration of this is something I realized just this past week.  As I was unpacking things in my new apartment I came across my bottle of Tums.  I realized that in the past month I hadn't needed to use any for stomach pain relief.  Back before I changed how and what I eat, I would take Tums several times a week to deal with the consequences of eating too much food.  That moment that I looked at the bottle of Tums was a victory for me.  Things are getting better.

But of course there are always those measurables that help to track and motivate.  The two things that I track each day are my weight and my workout distance.  On day 1, June 30, I weighed 322.6 pounds.  This morning when I weighed in the scale read 298.6 pounds.  That's a difference of 24 pounds!  Even more exciting to me was that for the first time in probably over a year (probably closer to 18 months even) I weighed less than 300 pounds!  I'm feeling good and it just motivates me to keep going and to improve even more!

I do my C25K training on Mon, Wed, Fri.  On Tues, Thurs, Sat I just walk.  Like I mentioned earlier, my goal is to go at least 3 miles each day.  Since June 30th I have logged 105.65 workout miles.  Those don't include additional walking or movement throughout the day, only what I do for exercise in the morning.  Just as with the weight, the progress that I've made just propels me forward and motivates me to keep going!

It's weird, or maybe it's not, but the longer I work on changing my lifestyle the easier it has gotten.  I don't have to make the daily struggles anymore of craving such-and-such food and then having to talk myself out of making a choice I will regret later.  The more I live this the easier it becomes.  I don't ask myself if I really want to wake up early and exercise; I just do it.  I have so much momentum I can't stop.  I don't want to stop.  It is, in my eyes, a true lifestyle change.

And the most rewarding part for me is that I have discovered that I am capable of so much more than I ever thought I was.  When I started, I honestly didn't know if I would be able to pull through and make progress.  I feel so much stronger than I ever have before, and much of that strength has come from within, but a significant portion of that strength has come from the throngs of people that have supported me on this journey, as well as from divine help.  How blessed I am to be associated with you amazing people that lift and encourage me.  From the bottom of my heart I give you my most sincere thanks.

Goals for the month of August:  lose 15 additional pounds (down to 283) and continue to exercise at least 3 miles/day.  School starts up for me in the middle of the month so I built to some space to account for adjustments that will have to be made in the routines that I've set over the past month.  I don't see this as presenting too much of a problem though.  Onward and Upward.

Drum Roll, Please

Ok, ok... so I'm a day early, but I just couldn't wait another day to post... I figure it will only be better tomorrow, so there's no harm in posting Month 1 results one day early...

From June 30th to July 30th I have lost 21 pounds!  My goal was to lose 20 pounds by July 31, so I think I totally rocked it!

My C25K training is going amazingly well!  Today I ran 8 minutes, walked 5 minutes, then ran 8 minutes.  I can't believe that only 4 weeks ago I struggled to run for a whole minute straight!

With each passing day this is getting easier and easier for me.  Don't get me wrong, there are still times that are hard, but I feel like I'm Hitting My Stride with the whole "healthier living" thing.

And I know I've said this before, but I really couldn't do this without all the support I've been given.  It really is incredible!  Thank you so much!  In my mind, you are as much a part of my success as I am.  Please keep it coming!

The Journey Continues... I'm just getting started...

I've related my journey to a road trip a couple of times before on my blog.  On a road trip, there are a number of ways to track progress, whether it's miles traveled, time spent on the trip, the distance yet to travel, gas stops left, etc. etc.  Similarly, there are a number of ways that I can track my progress on my journey.  I want to reiterate that although my blog is called a weight loss journey, the weight loss is not the final destination, just like a road trip is less about the time spent on the road and more about arriving at the destination.  My weight is one way for me to track my progress.  There are many others which are just as important, if not as easily measured.

Yesterday I completed my 4th week of my C25K training.  Each day was a mental and physical battle, but my mind and my body won out.  I'm almost shocked in what I'm able to do now as compared to my first week of training.  This is evidence of the progress I've made.

Today, for the first time in months, I played Ultimate Frisbee.  If you don't know me that well, you may not know that I'm love playing Ultimate Frisbee more than most anything else.  I'm not particularly good, but I have played a lot and I can hold my own.  However, for the past couple of years I haven't enjoyed it as much as I had in the past.  Too often I tried to play when I was very out of shape and it made it really hard for me.  Today was different.  I'm still out of shape and it's still a bit hard for me, but I noticed that it wasn't quite as bad as it's been for me the past couple of years.  This is evidence of the progress I've made.

The month of July has been one of the best months for me in a while.  I haven't felt this good emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally in a while.  I attribute this to the changes in behavior I have made over the past month.  This is one of the biggest evidences of the progress I've made.

And finally, the scale.  Despite not seeing the progress every day that I'd like to see, I have certainly made great progress on the scale.  I've lost 17 pounds since June 30th!  I set a goal on July 1st to lose 20 pounds by the end of the month, and I've just about made it.  It's in sight and I think I can do it.  The next celebration that comes after hitting the 20 pound mark will be the day that I first weigh in under 300 pounds.  I anticipate that day happening in the first week of August.  Again, evidence of the progress I've made.

And you, yes you, have played a huge role in my progress.  Let me demonstrate what I mean...  Yesterday, as I was almost finished with my run, I doubted if I would be able to complete my workout.  I was sorely tempted to say to myself, "You've done a good job.  You can stop running now and feel fine about yourself."  Immediately I thought how cool it would be if there were people lined up on the trail cheering me on.  But then I realized that although there weren't people literally there on the trail cheering me on, I did in fact have a huge support group behind me.  Every page view, every like, every private message, every comment, every kind word of encouragement in person, every text message, every phone call I have received this month really helped me to keep moving.  I honestly felt at that point that there were people pushing me forward.  It got easier, and not just because I started running down a hill...

Thank you so much! Please, please don't give up on me...

The Little Engine That Could and Other Musings

Several days ago I was at my sister's house after going for a walk.  I was playing with my nephew (21 months old) when he grabbed my hand, made me sit down, and gave me a book to read to him.  It happened to be a rendition of the story of The Little Engine That Could.  The story, long since forgotten from my childhood, came back to me with new meanings - especially pertaining to this journey.  I've written before about winning mental battles and the benefits of positive attitude.  So many times while I've been out doing my C25K training, I have basically chanted to myself, "I think I can, I think I can."  And it really does work.

Yet at other times while I run I feel like this:



When I was in High School I decided I was going to start playing the piano.  At that point, I had been in band for several years and I already knew how to read music and I knew the corresponding keys on the piano.  For me, learning to play was just a matter of taking the time to sit down and play (practice).  Though I'm no concert pianist today, I can play most of the things that I want to play.  When I first started playing it took every ounce of my cognitive processing ability to focus on playing something close to that which was on the printed music sheet.  But as I spent more time playing the piano in general, and playing particular pieces over and over, I found that I had to do very little thinking and focusing on what I was actually doing.  I was able to let my mind wander as I played.

Today while I ran a similar thing happened.  Week 4's C25K training has me jog for 3 min, walk 90 sec, jog 5 min, walk 2.5 min, jog 3 min, walk 90 sec, and then jog 5 min.  Similar to last week, I was nervous about making the jump from jogging for 3 minutes straight to jogging for 5 minutes straight.  I had to tell myself, "I think I can, I think I can!"  And now I can tell myself, "I know I can," because I did it!  But what stood out to me even more was that on my last 5 minute run I was able to focus on more than just my jogging and my body.  I was able to let my mind wander as I ran.  This is a huge thing for me!  For years I have said I don't like running because the whole time I run I seem to think about how sore I am, how much such-and-such body part hurts, or how out of breath I am.  But today, during one of my long (for me...) jogs I was able to not think about those things and just relax and enjoy the beautiful day and my run and appreciate my new-found abilities.  It felt very good!

I know that it's been a few days since I've posted.  I've actually been using some new tools to aid me in my journey for the past week or so.  I prefaced telling my sister about these tools by saying to her, "I like technology."  She laughed at me.  I guess it is quite an understatement to say that I like technology.  I love it.  I think it's awesome and I'm blown away by the things that we can do with technology.  I recently learned about fitness trackers and I decided that I would get one.  I ended up getting the Fitbit Flex, which I absolutely love so far.  The flex helps me to track my steps/distance each day as well as helping to track sleeping patterns.  I also invested in the Fitbit Aria which is a smart scale that uses WiFi to automatically sync with my Fitbit profile.  With the Fitbit software tracking my activity and weight, I have one place to track the things that I've been focusing on in this journey.  I am also able to enter in to Fitbit the food that I eat, so it provides a very good picture of my activities, my eating, my sleeping, and my weight.  The best part though is that these tools help to get me up and moving each day.  Each day I have a goal to take about 10,000 steps (or about 5 miles) and I've been doing things like parking as far away as I can in a parking lot, or taking random extra walking trips for whatever reasons.  I'm feeling very good about these investments right now.

Here's a picture of on of my meals from last week.  It was the first time I've cooked shrimp before and it turned out amazing.  It almost makes me not want to buy shrimp any other way ever again.  It's a spicy garlic and lime shrimp.  I started by putting about 3/4 tablespoon of olive oil in the wok and then adding a couple of cloves of fresh minced garlic.  I added the shrimp and the seasoning (about 1/4 teaspoon of each of the following: salt, pepper, chili powder, basil, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, and probably some other stuff that I can't think of right now).  I added some fresh chopped green bell peppers, some fresh cherry tomatoes, and juice from 1/2 of a small lime. I then added the Hokkien noodles and let the shrimp finish cooking.  It turned out excellent!

This past weekend was especially full of eating victories for me.  My family (all 8 of my siblings included, as well as others) and I celebrated with my sister, her husband, and their son who were sealed together in the Bountiful Temple.  There were so many opportunities, whether at restaurants or just at gatherings, to eat and eat and eat.  And not just eat, but eat a lot of things that would not have helped me to achieve my goals.  I was able to stay strong and feel good about myself, even if it meant moving away from the dessert table so that I wouldn't be so tempted.  In all, it was an amazing weekend and I felt victorious!  (here's a picture of the nine kids at the temple)

Since June 30th I've walked/run over 62 miles! And I've lost about 14 pounds!  Am I rocking this or what?

One Day Two Milestones

I hit 10 pounds lost today!

I passed the 50 miles of workout distance today!

All since June 30th!

Holla!

Hitting My Stride

Today's workout was Epic.  And please, trust me, I NEVER (save in this case) use EPIC to describe things.  So that being said, I'll say it again; Today's workout was EPIC.

I was super nervous about today's requirements for my C25K.  Today was the start of week 3 of training.  Week 1 had me doing 8 reps of running 60 seconds and then walking for 90 seconds.  Week 2 was 6 reps of 90 seconds of running and then 2 minutes of walking.  Week 3 called for 2 reps of 90 seconds running, 90 seconds walking, 3 minutes running, and 3 minutes walking.

I was totally nervous about staying in running (let's be real here: jogging) motion for 3 straight minutes.  During my 5 minute warm up period I was fighting the mental battle.  I kept telling myself that I could do it.  I admitted it was hard, but I told my self that I was capable of completing the workout.  I reminded myself that yesterday I walked 5 miles.  I told myself that if I can walk 5 miles I can run for 3 minutes straight.  And I was right.  It was incredible!  But it wasn't quite EPIC... yet...

Starting this past week I've had a goal go at least 3 miles every day, even on the days when I do C25K.  C25K training comes out to be about 30 minutes each day.  And I'm definitely not running (er, jogging) 3 miles in 30 minutes.  It comes out to be closer to 1.5 miles, so I'm left to walk the rest of the distance.  Today was no different, but I decided I wanted to push myself...

At the end of my last run on my last rep I decided to give it everything I had.  Usually when I jog I hold back significantly in order to maintain my pace and finish the required running time.  But I let go.  I ran fast.  Then I sprinted for as long as I could.  When I stopped I was so tired winded, but since I still had about 1.5 miles to go I eventually recovered.  Even though my workout was "complete" I decided that I would continue.  I ran several more times.  I would tell myself "I'll start [at such and such place] and I'll run until [such and such place]"  It worked.  Every time I met my goal.

Here is the Epic Part! I continued this extra running for the rest of my 3 miles.  Now, I wasn't running at any record breaking pace, but it was most definitely a running motion.  My heart rate was elevated and my breathing was increased.  I got to a point that I knew was about 1/2 mile from my car.  I started running again.  This time though, I decided I would run until I could run no more.  As before, I started spotting distant points and told myself that I would run until then.  But as I reached each point I just continued to run.  I found that I was going at a pace that I could maintain!  I had hit my stride!  I ran (jogged) for 1/2 mile without stopping!  And please, before you think that this isn't an accomplishment, remember these things:  I'm over 300 pounds [do you know how much energy it takes to move 300 pounds around?]!  I have around 40% body fat! I'm not a runner!  I've only been running for 2 weeks!  2 weeks ago it was all I could do to run for 60 seconds straight!

It was amazing!  I could have kept going, but I had gotten to my car and it was 9:35 PM and almost completely dark!  I seriously can't wait to get back out there and push myself to really see what I am capable of doing!  Another mental battle won.  And definitely a physical battle too.