In My Pocket

There was $11 in my pocket this morning when I walked up to the scale. As long as I stay within two pounds of my goal weight, I do not have to pay. My pocket is empty. Enough said.

Bib #3683

26.2 With Donna Half Marathon
Jacksonville, FL
February 13, 2011

Here is how it ended:
2,497 Place
3:37:18 Gun Time
3:34:17 Chip Time
16:21 Pace

Here is how it began:
Last October, I signed up to walk in this half marathon (13.1 miles) with my sister, Heather, and our friend, Lisa. When I registered, they requested my estimated finish time. So, I called my sister to see what time she had entered. She said, "Two hours." Two hours? We won't finish 13.1 miles in two hours. I was walking 7 miles in two hours at this point. But, I did as she said so that we would be together. When we picked up our packets, my bib was blue and Heather's was gold. Huh? Taking a closer look at her bib revealed that she had entered four hours not two. HEATHER! If they make me walk with the two hour people, I will get trampled! Thankfully, that did not happen.

It was colder than I expected it to be for Florida, but it was perfect weather for this event. The national breast cancer marathon and half-marathon began near the Mayo Clinic Campus in Jacksonville, Florida and followed the course through the unique beach communities of Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach. The course detoured onto 2.5 miles of beautiful hard-packed sand on the Florida coastline. I took pictures at every mile marker. We even ran a little (down hill). It is really cool to see all of the people that come out to support the runners/walkers. They yell out your name and you think, "how do they know me?" I kept forgetting that my name was on my bib.

One lesson that I learned from this experience is that you must train for this type of event. I basically went from the couch to walking in this event. Do not do what I did. Running/walking a half marathon is both physically and mentally demanding. For those who have never run/walked this distance before, it is imperative to train correctly. It is advised to slowly build up endurance over a three month period; decreasing the intensity of the training in the last couple of weeks before the event. If the body is over-worked, injury is more likely to occur. It is also important to eat correctly and stay hydrated before, during, and after the race.

It was an awesome experience and I am amazed what I accomplished. My plan is to do it again next year. Thank you to my sister for encouraging me to sign up, to Lisa and her husband for opening their beautiful home to us and showing us a great time in Jacksonville. Thanks to my mom for dropping us off at the airport, my other sister for picking us up (we expect you to join us next year) and my husband and boys for loving me and letting me experience a half marathon. Finally, to my Weight Watcher friends that cheered for me this morning a big thank you for always supporting me!

Sounds like an Excuse

I didn’t walk on the treadmill the other night because I actually fell asleep on the couch after dinner. When I shared on FB about it one of my dear FB friends commented, “Sounds like an excuse.” What? What does she mean by an excuse? I was tired and my body shut down. How is that an excuse? Wow, the truth was that it was an excuse to not do what I said that I would do. Ouch. Reality hit me.

What is an excuse anyways? It is a justification, reason, explanation and a defense for your actions and the choices that you’ve made. How many excuses do you have for not exercising or eating right? Should we rename them “exercuses?” I’ve been blaming my couch. It calls me during the winter months. “Pssst, Shannon, over here. Grab your blanket and come sit down for awhile.” I can identify an excuse when I hear others speak about why they didn’t have a good week on the scale or why they haven’t exercised or why…you catch my drift. I can hear the excuses when others say them, but not when I do. Why is that? Am I in denial?

Late last fall, I decided to enter a half marathon with my sister. We are traveling to Jacksonville, Florida next weekend to walk in the 26.2 for Donna for Breast Cancer. There will be several people there, who will either do a marathon (26.2 miles) or a half marathon (13.1 miles). You can run or walk…it is a choice made by the participant. Originally, my sister wanted to run. I didn’t. I convinced her to walk. This brings me to my next rude awakening that I was faced with last night when asked the question, “Are you training or are you trying?” The fact of the matter is that I am “trying”…kind of a let’s just see what happens kind of thing. Something to do, but not committed to what it takes to train for this kind of event. To train is to prepare. To try is to attempt and maybe even struggle. Right now, I feel like I’m just trying for whatever the reason.

Where are you at right now? Do you have a plan? There will be weeks when you need a pass, but don’t let anything be an excuse or stand in your way of your final goal. Just stop for a minute and think to yourself, I have a plan. I am prepared. And nothing is going to get in my way.

Hudson's

My family loves to eat at this restaurant called Hudson's. My husband and I found it by accident last Valentine's Day and we took the family back to eat the following week. We've been going there at least once a week ever since. If you are in the Hudson, Ohio area, I encourage you to check it out. They also just opened a new restaurant over in the Montrose area.

The first night that we had dinner there, they had Banana's Foster for dessert. YUM! They only have it on special occasions, but if you are there and you see it on the dessert menu, I encourage you to order it. My favorite menu item is the French Chicken Baguette and the chips. They make the chips there and they are to die for. The kids menu is very good and lots for the boys to choose from other than chicken nuggets. The service is great, too. We've come to love having Sam (short for Samantha) and Nick wait on us. They smile when they see us and they have become like family.

Why am I telling you all this on a blog that is supposed to be about weight loss? Because to be successful at weight loss, you must not deprive yourself or you will not stick to the plan. My secret to eating out is to cut my dinner into a half portion and take the rest home for another meal. I have treated myself at least once a week and if you do it right, you can indulge in a great meal without going overboard.

On the WW plan, you can use the Weekly Points Plus Allowance to help you not feel deprived and I encourage you to use them. I'm pretty sure that tonight I used all of my Weekly Points Plus on my dinner. I had the Pasta Bolognese. I only ate half, but it was definitely worth every bite.

I might add that I did walk on the treadmill for over an hour today while reading my Kindle. Remember to get up off the couch and be active then treat yourself to avoid feeling deprived. And if you are in the mood for some great food, I encourage you to check out Hudson's. I hope to see you there!

Dusting Off the Old Treadmill

Not only is it time to dust off the old treadmill, it appears that I should dust off my blog too. I didn't realize that it has been so long since my last post. (Ironically, my last post talks about someone telling me to stop talking about my weight loss.)

It has been exactly two years ago today that I started this journey with Weight Watchers. I can't believe it has been that long. Over the last few months, I've been trying to maintain my goal weight and through the holidays that was definitely a challenge. I noticed that I didn't track as much in December and the scale is showing it. I suppose that it is also time to dust off the old food journal.

Weight Watchers changed their program too and now life as I knew it changed. I used to be able to look at a food item and know what the point value was based on the amount of calories, fat and fiber. Now they don't look at calories the same and threw protein and carbs into the equation. Well, no matter how we look at calories now, I can't help at laugh at this email that my sister-in-law sent me on "What is a calorie?" (I've changed the wording slightly...) Calories are the little creatures that get into your wardrobe at night and sew your clothes tighter. My closet is infested with them!

So, as I look ahead to starting the new year, my plan is to dust off the old treadmill, food journal and scale. Who is with me?

Stop Talking About It!

Not everybody wants to hear about your weight loss. I learned that lesson this week. All I said was that "I get cold now that I've lost..." and the response was "You really have to stop talking about it! We ALL know that you've lost 100 pounds." [eyes rolling at me]

I think about all the people that have been inspired to lose weight because I did talk about it. You can share your story, just know your audience. Lesson learned.

I'm reminded of another lesson about how we respond to others. I do not know who the author is, but I am always touched with the lesson.

There once was a little girl who had a bad temper. Her mother gave her a bag of nails and told her that every time she lost her temper, she must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the girl had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as she learned to control her anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. She discovered it was easier to hold her temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the girl didn’t lose her temper at all. She told her mother about it and the mother suggested that the girl now pull out one nail for each day that she was able to hold her temper. The days passed and the young girl was finally able to tell her mother that all the nails were gone. The mother took her daughter by the hand and led her to the fence.

She said, “You have done well, my daughter, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.”

You can put a knife in a person and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Children are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us.

I want the heart of a child. I want to share words of praise not tear others down.

A Letter of a Lifetime

Dear Shannon,
You did it! You achieved Lifetime Membership with Weight Watchers. I want you to remember this day and how good you feel. Your journey is not over.

You must make a promise to yourself to do the following:

1. Always keep track of what you eat. Continue to plan your weekly meals and stick to it.
2. Always attend your weekly WW meetings.
3. Always weigh in...accountability equals success!
4. Never think that it just doesn't matter if you gain back the weight because it does!
5. Continue to share your story because you never know who might need to hear it.

Here are some of the accomplishments over the last year and ten months:

1. Lost 101.8 pounds
2. Went from a size 22/24 pants to a size 8...oh yeah! Remember that dance that you did in the dressing room?
3. Stopped shopping in the plus size section. The lady at the store even told you that you might be in the wrong store and that their other store would have your size. You floated down the mall...your feet never touched the ground that night.
4. You did two 5Ks in one day!
5. You've formed healthy habits that you can pass down to your children.

I'm writing you this letter today, because I don't want you to start listening to those people that keep asking you when you are going to stop "dieting" and when are you going to get back to "eating normal" again? During the Christmas season of 2008, you bought a winter coat for your best friend. It was beautiful. You said that you wanted to be able to wear a coat like that someday. Well, I've attached a picture to this letter of you wearing a coat very similar in style to that coat you wished that you could wear. Well, your wish came true and you worked hard to make it happen. So, wear it with pride and know that you achieved lifetime today.

Love,
Shannon