The Nifty Foodie's Life

A few months ago, my friend and I decided to sign up for The Advocate Cypress 5K. It’s organized by the Louisiana Marathon, and the 5K race is held the day before the Louisiana Half/Marathon, so we knew the crowds wouldn’t be so bad, but it would probably be well-organized since this race was very popular last year.

Fast forward to January, and well, the past couple of weeks have been terrible. Non-stop rain and super cold weather just made everything seem miserable. Add being under the weather for a week, and well…preparing for this 5K just wasn’t getting any easier. Oh, and not to mention this gal didn’t run at all from Thanksgiving until after Christmas. I had no excuses…I just got lazy during the holidays. I told my friend who did the 5K with me….as long as I cross that finish line, I’ll be happy. Oh, and as long as it doesn’t rain, because if it rained during the race while I was getting over my illness, I was definitely going to stay home.

Well, I checked the 10 day forecast, and each day, it said the same thing: Sunny weather with lows in the lower 40s, highs in the lower 60s. Perfection. It was sort of a joke the Thursday before the race when the rain ended. So many pictures on Facebook of Mr. Sun, with people what this bright ball of light was. HA! Even my dog did a double take when she went outside…I’m telling y’all…we’re aren’t used to that type of weather!

On Friday, I went to the expo to pick up my bib and shirt. I was so excited about this shirt, because it was supposed to be a nice running shirt. However, when I got there, the lady at the table insisted that the “L” on my registration form = women’s large. Um…no. I ordered unisex large, but she said I’d have to go back after the race to switch it. Bummer…I never did switch it, because the expo opened about an hour after I was done with the race. My husband told me to just think of it as motivation to lose weight to fit into it….I guess in about 30 lbs. it’ll fit? Right now, it’s super tight…I’m surprised I got the shirt over my shoulders. LOL! This was the only bummer about my race experience…I know it had nothing to do with the organizers…it was just that particular volunteer at the expo.

Anyway, so Saturday morning came and the weather couldn’t have been more beautiful. Slightly chilly with barely any wind, and the Sun was just beaming. I had a feeling it would be a good race at that point, and then I checked my email one last time before leaving the house…

That’s the first time I’ve ever gotten that type of email. Way awesome, in my opinion.

So, I picked up my friend, and we easily parked downtown and took our time walking to the starting line. When we turned the corner, this is what we saw.

I’m used to a small balloon arch or something, but wow…once again I was pretty impressed.

My friend and I found a spot on the sidewalk to talk a bit and get ready, and we decided it would probably be best to take a picture before we looked a sweaty mess. Seriously…look at that sky, too! PERFECT day.

Before we knew it, we were lining up at the starting line.

The race organizers were right on time with the start. 8:00am and everyone was on their way. I had my RunKeeper app on, and checked my phone every block to watch my pace. I still tend to get a little adrenaline rush, and go 4-5 minutes faster a minute at the very beginning if I don’t watch myself. So to avoid burn out, I moved to the far right of the group and slowed down to a 14 minute mile, which is still fast for me, but I knew a big bridge was coming up TWICE in the race, and I wanted a PR, if possible.

To recap, my first 5K in August was 51:06, and my second 5K in October was 49:47. As you all know, I’m VERY slow, and I’ve yet to run a full 5K without walking breaks.

Right before the dreaded bridge, I saw this sign. WHAT? Mile 1 ALREADY?? Oh man…awesome.

Then I hit the bridge. I had a plan to walk a 16:00 minute/mile pace, and used my height to my advantage. Long strides…my time was looking great! When I got to the decline of the bridge, I took advantage of the slope and ran down. Sometime around there, I saw my friend on the way back (she’s super fast lol) and gave her a high five! It definitely gave me a little pep in my step to see her, and exchange some “YOU GO GIRL!”s.

I made it around the loop shortly after, and realized OMG…I’m already halfway done?! YES! My pace was looking great, too!

I hit the bridge the second time with the same goal…walk with long strides. I had a lady that was sort of back and forth with me most of the race, which was great motivation to stay on pace. (Does anyone else have silent competition in these 5Ks? This lady was my competition, sort of….is that wrong?) Then, once again, I ran down the bridge and right after the bridge, I saw this.

Mile 2…oh HECK yes! Y’all this race was FLYING. I was still doing well with my pace, and I turned around quickly and the lady I was back and forth with during the race was way back there. Um, mini victory? That has NEVER happened y’all. They usually pass ME up! I sound so silly, I know, but I’m the person counting where I was in reference to last place. My first 5k….6th to last. Second 5K….about 20th to last. There were quite a few people behind me at this point, so I decided to keep on keeping on.

About a block from the last turn, I walked one last time so I could run the entire last stretch. Once I hit that turn, I started jogging again, but noticed my pace wasn’t as good as the beginning. Oh well…I was still doing OK, and figured if I sprinted the last block, I would be good to go!

My friend texted me about that time “Come on girl…you got this!” (My friend is really the best!) It made me realize that I was really almost done, and I could make this a PR! At the last block, my friend was there, and she helped me sprint to the finish! Right at the finish, I was like OMG I GET A MEDAL! Then, I looked down at my RunKeeper and I saw it…a PR!!! I was SO stoked. I took a couple of steps to get my medal, looked up and saw that Zach Mettenberger (LSU’s quarterback) was giving out medals. Stupid me should have gotten a picture in case he’s super famous in the NFL someday, but all I wanted was a dang banana and water. LOL!

Check out this medal! I love it.

Now, a bit of bummer news. I guess I started my RunKeeper after my chip crossed the starting line, because my official time with the 5K was just a few seconds shy of a PR. That’s OK though…I was very close and felt GREAT after the race.

This has been my favorite 5K so far. Thanks to the Louisiana Marathon organizers for putting on such an amazing event. I think my next goal is to one day do their half marathon, but we’ll see where my running journey takes me.

Last January, I told myself it was time to change. I told myself this every year (you know, the typical resolution), and for some reason, I just never had the motivation to do it. However, last year hit me hard. The scale was an ice cream sundae away from 300 pounds, and I just knew I couldn’t keep doing this to myself.

So, I downloaded MyFitnessPal on my phone, and started logging every bite of food. It was hard at first. I mean, how natural is it to remember to journal EVERY bite of food? It’s really not, but I knew this was the only way.

I slowly added in workouts, including Jillian’s 30 Day Shred, and then I told myself it was time to run. Running was something I was always terrible at, but I thought why not? I committed myself to the Couch to 5K workout program in the summer, which was fairly insane. I had to run at 7:30pm to make running slightly bearable.

2012 was hard. The weight I lost was not easy, but I’m proud of what I accomplished in 2012.

There are some times where I still question if I could have worked harder, and had better results, but the wonderful thing is I’m healthier than I was last year. All of my fat clothes (except for one “before” pair of jeans that I will probably keep forever) are in garbage bags, ready to be dropped off at a donation box, and I feel awesome. I still have a long way to go on my weight loss journey, but I’m hoping I can lose the same amount of weight in 2013. That would put me in the 100s, which I haven’t seen since MIDDLE SCHOOL.

That’s just exciting to me.

I really wanted to write this blog post to let you know that you can do this too. I sat on my sofa 120 lbs. overweight last January, and I was so overwhelmed. 120 lbs. is a lot, but I took it 10 lbs. at a time, and rewarded myself along the way. I LOVE those little rewards….they really gave/give me something to look forward to (besides weighing less).

I’m a big fan of calorie counting, because I didn’t have to give up any food. I still ate ice cream, went out to eat (and didn’t eat grilled chicken/veggies) and enjoyed my baking from time to time. I think my biggest wake up call were my portion sizes. I don’t eat nearly as much as I used to, which just happened over time. I’ve become a lot more conscious about when I’m feeling full, instead of just eating everything in front of me, then regretting it. I also LOVE having my BodyMedia Link armband…it’s good (at least for me) to have a better idea of how many calories I’m burning during a workout, and even throughout the day in general.

I know this is very cliche, but I’ve been overweight for a long time. A LONG time. I was the fat kid in school, and if I can do this, you really can too. Just realize the weight will take time to come off, and try not to obsess as crazily as I did over the scale. You’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish in a year. You don’t have to lose 100 lbs. You don’t have to lose 50. If you even lose 5 lbs. this year, you are 5 lbs. lighter than you were last year, and that’s just an awesome feeling.

You CAN do it!

We’ve been living in the new house for a little over a  year now. Our house is anything but a fixer upper, like our last one was, but there were some things I really wanted to spruce up around our little abode. Our front yard was one of these things.

While the old homeowners took fantastic care of their house, I found that the front yard was kind of boring, though…lots of iris and amaryllis bulbs. I tried to add a little color in, but a bunch of annuals can only do so much to a space. (pardon the finger in this one)

We needed to do something a little more drastic, so I asked my mom (horticulturist extraordinaire) to draw up a little design for our yard.

I honestly thought it would take a day of work, tops. However, little did I know how much work reshaping a landscape involved! In fact, H did most of the reshaping, because as hard as I tried, I just couldn’t dig grass out as efficiently as H. It took us almost a week to finish it all (hey, we have to work too, you know…), but we got it done.

After multiple trips to Home Depot and Lowes, as well as hours of digging/spreading/planting, here’s our new front yard!

Isn’t it just awesome? The picture really doesn’t do it justice, though. I love that the only things I’ll have to replant are the annuals along the border (vs. when I had them throughout), as well as the annuals around the trees. MUCH easier, in my opinion. I can’t wait to see how these shrubs/bushes look when they grow a little more, too! It was a bit of a splurge for all of these plants, but it’s sort of an investment, since most of these shrubs/bushes are gonna stick around for years to come.

Let’s just hope I remember to keep everything watered….I tend to forget than plants need it. I didn’t get my mom’s green thumb…at all.

• If you wear make-up, you need to try this foundation. I got a sample the last time I went to Sephora, and oh man, this stuff is good. You don’t feel it on your skin at all throughout the day, and it blends so easily. Yup. I’m pretty sure that’s gonna be part of the 20% reward, which is about 3 lbs. away!

• On a weight loss note, I’m so surprised by how much leaner I look. I’m not skinny, but I look at pictures of me, and I’m in disbelief at how much smaller I am. Left picture was from February; right from two days ago.

• I’m challenging myself the entire month of November to wear make-up to work. I prefer my sleep in the morning, but I find when I wear make-up on the weekends, I have a little more pep in my step. So far, I’ve only missed one day (just completely slipped my mind), but I do like how polished I look with a little bit of foundation/powder/mascara/lipgloss.

• I’m working on making Christmas stockings for H, the dog and I. I’ve been posting progress pictures on my Instagram profile, if you’re interested. Stocking #2 is almost done…hoping to finish that one today, actually!

• Blue Bell has a holiday flavor out called Gingerbread House. I can’t buy a container of it…I just can’t, but oh man….I REALLY wanna!

• I love me some Williams Sonoma, but y’all….this.is.FUNNY!

• I realized this is one of the few weekends I have left that won’t be too busy before the holidays, so I’m hoping/planning to make all of the cookie dough needed for coworker/neighbor gifts this year. After doing the math, I’m going to need to make 11 batches of cookies. Guess I should stock up on butter at Sam’s, eh?

Side note: Thanksgiving is exactly a week away. Wasn’t it just July or something?

This is a hard post to write, because it’s something that a lot of people can easily judge a person on.

I am/was a binge eater.

It really started around middle school. My afternoon has always been a snack fest, which I’m still currently trying to work on. I would eat mostly junk food and lots of it. I would do something like completely fill up a bowl with ice cream, mindlessly eat that, and sometimes go for seconds. I would eat 2-3 snack cakes or half of a bag of chips. Thinking back, I was ashamed of my snacking habits and I’d even hide the trash under trash from that morning so no one noticed. It was almost every day that I would do this. It was a problem.

When I got to high school, I’d stay after school for activities. I’d buy 2 candy bars from the vending machine and a soda, thinking nothing of it. And when I started working at a grocery store, things just got worse. I would always buy myself snacks after work, and just eat it all in the car before I got home. I wanted the snack, but I didn’t want anyone to see me eating it. I slowly gained weight in high school, but it wasn’t anything drastic that would alarm anyone. I went from a size 16 to a size 20 in high school.

When I got to college, I kept having random meals when I wasn’t hungry. I’d eat my 3 regular meals, but during late nights, it just felt right to go to Jack in the Box or Canes. I didn’t need the food, but hey, who was gonna stop me? My habits in the cafeteria alone were terrible. I’d have seconds or sometimes, even thirds. And don’t get me started on the free ice cream…I’d have at least two servings of that. One during the meal and one to go. I actually didn’t gain any weight in college, though. I’m pretty sure walking a few miles/day to classes and student organizations had a little something to do with that.

However, when I graduated and entered the real world, aka 8 hours/day behind a computer, it really caught up to me. I moved back in with my parents, and continued my same terrible habits. I gained about 20 lbs. after college fairly quickly, and realized that my work clothes were no longer fitting. I also became engaged to my husband around that time, so I knew I had to do something. I started on Weight Watchers, and lost the weight that I gained post-college. I was on cloud 9 at our wedding…240 lbs.

After the pressure of the wedding let off, I found myself back to my old ways. I’d tell myself weekly that I’d start going back to the gym and eating better, but I didn’t. I would eat a treat every day after work, and I ate fast food for lunch. Dinners weren’t much healthier, and I ate until I was completely stuffed. And in between, I just snacked all the time. I remember after work one day ordering a full meal from a fast food place just as a snack. I wasn’t hungry, but I had a terrible day at work…I just didn’t care. I also ate a full dinner that night. With habits like that it’s no surprise that I gained 58 lbs. Seriously. No surprise.

I had a series of wake-up calls that led me to taking control of my life.

• I fit in a pair of size 26 pants and 3x tops.
• It felt like a chore to walk sometimes.
• ALL of my clothes in the closet were completely tight. It was bad.
• I couldn’t fit in a booth anymore without squeezing my stomach in.
• The scale was dangerously close to 300 lbs.

So, after the holidays last year, I saw the 298 and thought that this was it. 2012 is my year to change. I have to change, especially if I want to expand our family….even at 250 lbs., my doctor said I would probably have fertility problems, as well as a higher risk pregnancy. Now I know that weight doesn’t fix fertility problems, and I have no idea if I truly have fertility problems (we’ve never tried). However, I wanted to rule out weight as a problem for when we are ready for kids, so on January 1st (after drinking an entire bottle of wine out of a Solo cup on NYE…so classy), I made the decision to change.

It was VERY hard to not give into my urges. I can’t tell you how many times I went to the grocery store, and just wanted to buy a pint of ice cream or a bag of cookies. I started calorie counting, and truly treated my calories like a budget (for the most part….I do have a splurge meal from time to time). Every time I have an urge at home, I grab something to work on, whether it’s knitting, sewing or heck…just cleaning or writing a to-do list. It helps. I avoided baking for a while (which stunk, because baking is SUCH a fun hobby of mine), because I knew I could easily eat 4-5 servings of a dessert without even thinking. The first time I got back into baking, after everything cooled, I set one serving aside to enjoy, and put the rest on a plate with saran wrap and then even taped the bottom of the plate to make it more difficult to give in to my urges. I know…extreme, but my binge eating was extreme and I didn’t want to go back there. Months later, I stick to my one serving and sometimes even a half serving of the food I bake.

I’m still battling those urges today. It really only happens in extremes…either when life is stressful or if I find myself extremely bored, it takes a lot to tell myself “no” to those urges to just eat everything. I’m not perfect…sometimes I’ll give in and eat what I want (I always stop myself after that one meal), but I’m doing much better than I used to. My weight loss is at 50 lbs., and I know since I’ve been doing this for 10 months, those results could be much better. I’m human though, and I know that fighting the urges to binge are going to probably be a lifetime struggle.

The past two weeks have been a little difficult. The scale just stayed put, and it has been SO hard not to binge. It really truly was. Last night, I decided to go through my SD card and found a photo of myself from August of last year. I ended up turning on the camera phone and took a picture of myself right then and there. I was shocked.

You see, when I take my progress shots every ten lbs., I just see that same shape. I know things are getting smaller, because smaller clothes fit, but I didn’t see 50 lbs. of progress in my latest pictures.

However, the face? Oh man…I can’t tell you how stoked I am to finally see results like that. The face shows those 50 lbs. My body (to me)….ehh not quite, but my face? I definitely see it now. Talk about re-motivated! Only 9.3 more lbs. to go until 20%. C’mon Amy, let’s do this!