How I Did It

Let me preface this post in saying I am not bragging about anything. However, people ask me ALL THE TIME how I lost and kept off forty pounds since starting last June. So here are a few of the things I do and ways I do them now and then.

First Things First

I started with the classic Weight Watchers program, except Micah and I didn't want to pay their fees. So we googled the program, found a ton of info on messageboards online and recipes, and then the point calculator system. He put it in excel so we could measure all of our foods we eat and calculate the points. We figured out what we needed to do and we stuck with it.

Major Swaps

Instead of skim milk, we switched to almond milk and light soy milk. We tried to find subtle ways to cut calories out of our diet without losing the core of what we were eating.

Micah switched to Egg Beaters and made a breakfast sandwich every morning of spinach, egg beaters, bacon bits, and laughing cow cheese (low low fat cheese and calories) on whole wheat bread or English muffin.

We switched to 40-calorie whole wheat bread. It saves calories, and you still get some great complex carbs.

Good snacks like light yogurt, cereal, a turkey wrap (tortilla, turkey, laughing cow cheese and lettuce).

Packed lunches - no chips, but yogurt, applesauce, or a banana as sides with a healthy turkey/ham sandwich. No mayo - use mustard instead!

We count calories! Yes, we do. They DO matter. However, think about what you are using calories for that day when you eat. Don't not eat carbs. If you are a runner like me, this is most of my diet, but most of my carbs come from whole grains, apples and complex carb veggies, lean meats and some potatos, rice etc. also.

Popsicles are my secret weapon! Sometimes, you aren't really hungry. Have a 15 calorie popsicle. If you are still hungry, have a glass of Splenda iced tea. If you are still hungry 20 minutes later, then choose a piece of fruit, a bowl of cereal (measure that cereal) or a glass of almond milk. You'll find you'll eat less bad foods in a snack splurge, because sometimes you are just bored after all.

Diet Hot Chocolate (25 calories) is another secret weapon. Top with 5 calorie fat free whipped cream and you have an awesome treat.

Websites

www.hungrygirl.com
www.calorielab.com

Exercise

I run about 35 miles a week. I also do a combo of Pilates and Yoga. I have pretty well-defined muscles, and I don't weight train. It's unnecessary because of yoga, so if you like yoga, and you feel like you don't have time to hit the gym - try yoga at home.

www.yogatoday.com. Go to the upper right hand corner and you can watch full classes and do them along at home. It's what I do.

I take Pilates from a studio once a week. I love it. It's a great strength-building class and toning.

Also, you can download pilates and yoga podcasts (some video) from Itunes all for free. I also get great nutrition info from the Nutrition Diva podcasts on Itunes (again all podcasts are free).

Splurging

Choose wisely. I splurge with Weight Watchers brownies (2 pts), and I also have splurge nights or days. Occasionally I'll have a glass of red wine a few times a week. No biggie there either. However, splurge nights are nights for Mexican or Italian, because those are my favorites. Make sure you splurge on your favorites and not where they aren't necessary! Don't eat bad for no reason is my mantra. I'll eat healthy all week just so I can enjoy a meal of Mexican on the weekends. I generally never splurge during the week, and I don't eat fried foods or burgers (I eat veggie Boca burgers instead), because they aren't my favorites, and I have good swaps for that (see the Fiber One coating on foods I use to "faux fry" in hungry girl newsletter).

Monitoring my weight

I do monitor it, because it helped me figure out the effects of food. However, don't become manic over it. You can always take extra weight off if you put it back on, and you don't want to get OCD over it either. Just learn what food does, and use it as a teaching tool.

FAQ

How much weight did you lose?
40 pounds
I started at 160 and I am 120 right now. I wore a size ten, and now I wear a size 2. I also feel comfortable running in just a sports bra /top now, which is a huge accomplishment for me (as weird as it sounds). I am comfortable in my own skin.

How do you maintain it?
I eat healthy, and I am aware of the effects of food on my body. I also exercise regularly, because it is impossible to stay the weight you want without being active. Plus, you won't have any muscle tone if you don't maintain an active lifestyle.

What kinds of runs do you do a week?
I usually run 6-8 miles about 2-3 times during the week at a time. On the weekends, I do a long run usually 10+ with my running partner, Alicia. I highly suggest you find a friend to run with if you want to adopt this kind of lifestyle. We do races together, and we have a great time.

What is a typical lunch for you?
A turkey sandwhich (3 pieces of organic turkey deli cuts) with laughing cow cheese, lettuce, mustard on 40-calorie light wheat bread with a banana and a yogurt (light). Plus, a glass of Splenda iced tea. I usually have a snack of applesauce or yogurt in the morning also after a breakfast of cereal with almond milk or a turkey wrap (high-fiber tortilla (50 calories) with turkey, laughing cow cheese and lettuce).

What do you eat for dinner?

Tonight I had a baked potato with a ton of veggies topping it (cooked them in olive oil with a touch of nonstick pan spray) with fat-free sour cream and spray butter. Other nights I have chicken with veggies or salmon with veggies. We usually sautee the meats or we'll top the salmon with a homemade marinade and bake it. We also enjoy making whole-wheat pasta with chicken and broccoli. That is an awesome favorite of ours. We'll vary it up, but we think pretty carefully about what we make so that we can enjoy it and feel guiltless.

Do you drink alcohol?

Yes - within reason. Everything is a careful decision for me now. One every so often is just enough for me. Of course I go to parties and imbibe in that cucumber mojito wonder Suzy in the corner made for the girls to try. Within reason! Honestly, moderation is key, and once you get your metabolism in high gear and you are nearer your goal weight or you are merely trying to maintain - you can "cheat" and have that mojito more often.

What about when the weather sucks, you are tired, or you are on your period. Eek. ?

So what. Get your yoga mat out and pick out a workout and do it from home. Force yourself out on a run. Tell yourself you'll go slower than a constipated sloth, but that you'll still go. Once you are out there - you'll make it, and you'll thank yourself for it later. Just keep moving!

But what about when you are exhausted or tired?

You'll still have more energy if you go out for a walk or a very slow run and just move. Yes, it is counterintuitive, but just trust me.

Do you feel like you are on a diet?

No, I am now on a lifestyle. I feel better when I eat like this, and it is worth it to not have the heartburn, the extra weight or the guilt from eating something terrible for me. I choose my splurges carefully, so that I feel in control and satisfied after having a splurge dinner, but I still maintain my weight, becuase I don't eat like that every night. I don't miss the fried chicken, extra loads of mac-n-cheese, and full-fat Ranch dressing. Neither will you. I promise. Keep trying.

Post any questions if you have them. I've enjoyed helping people discover how it feels to become who they feel like they are on the inside - on the outside.

Another Half-Marathon (13.1 miles) done!

This was a challenge. Not for the endurance or the stamina, but the sheer fact that my IT band in my knee has some serious issues. It's super tight, it's in serious pain, and I am just going to have to go to the doctor. I have really done a number on this overuse injury by only taking a week off in trying to heal it. At the same time, I was really upset to not be running the original marathon I had planned today. What was amazing was in all of this, I learned a valuable lesson.

Alicia, my wonderful running partner, never left me. My knee started killing me after we stopped for literally 15 seconds to stretch. She encouraged me, told me to keep going, and she promised to not leave me. We dropped our pace, which was frustrating, because we were pacing pretty fast before, and I was handling it well. My stamina was good, but my knee was bad, so it was super frustrating to have that one limitation preventing me from reaching my peak racing pace. However, when she was injured during the Atlanta Half, and she ran like I did, I left her at the very end, because she was having to stop and stretch her hurt muscle out so much. I made sure she was ok with that when I did it, but looking back - what a bitch I was. I should never have done that. I learned a lesson on the road today that being a valuable friend to your partner involves more than just doing weekly long runs together. It's sacrificing minutes in order to help your friend get to finish. At one point, I was nearly crying, because I was so frustrated I was in pain and not doing the marathon today, and I was also frustrated that I was not able to run the pace I am able to, but was stuck running the pace my injured knee forced me into - it was all frustrating. Alicia encouraged me to never quit, and she never left me. In the end, we still beat my original time. Even injured. We didn't even do a serious push at the end like we normally do in races (this is my third with her). It was a lesson. The journey sometimes is worth more than the time at the end. Running is philosophical, and I'm not about to give it up. This is why I have consented to go to the doctor on Tuesday. I don't want to, and it took about five conversations with me protesting that I'd do more yoga, take another week off, do more Pilates, and it finally took a stern lecture from Alicia that I wouldn't be able to handle jumping to the full for the ING if I didn't go to the doctor to find out what was hurting my IT band and how to fix it. I listened. Sigh.

Doctors-to-be (and doctors in general) are probably the worst patients. Anyway - Birmingham was so much fun. We went to dinner last night, and I got a great black and bleu burger, we had fantastic bbq and Mich Ultra beer after the race, and Micah and I treated ourselves to Mexican tonight. I eat like a fat kid on days I run like this, and it is FANTASTIC! (Reason #46 I will never have an eating disorder even though I am a size 2). LOL.

We had an awesome room at the Sheraton Hotel. The bed was so comfortable, and we had a handicapped room, so our bathroom was huge. And the hotel even gave us a late checkout, so I was able to take a nice, hot shower after eating after the race. It was awesome. Alicia, Josh and Alayna and David and Micah and I had an awesome time. It was so much fun to have my non-running friends David and Alayna there too, because it was the first time friends have ever come to see me run. EVER. It was really honestly heartwarming, and it made me feel really good. I've never been an athelete in my life, and to have friends there to cheer me on - made me feel really great, and I know Alicia loved seeing Josh (her hubby) and Micah and my friends there too. It made us feel like we had a cheering section. They popped up several times along the course. It was awesome. Running is addicting, and I'm never quitting. They will have to pick my old lady body off the course one day. I guess I really better go to the doctor, then so I can fix whatever I'm doing to hurt my knee.

There's my update for the weekend. Oh, and I'm so tired - to hell with studying. I'm going to bed. My race started at 7:03 this morning, and I'm incredibly exhausting. I think with race adrenaline, even though 13.1 miles is not the farthest distance I've run by far (16 miles at once is) - your body tires itself out with serious endorphins and adrenaline to the point you still feel a bit hit by a truck. Although, I have to say - this was definitely not as exhausting as the first half I ran - the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving.

A Selfish Vent

So ok, let me just be honest. Maybe you are pregnant. Congratulations you! And I get that you want to tell everyone on Facebook. I would do the same thing! However, when you announce you are pregnant, and someone else does, and someone else is giving birth, and someone else is trying to conceive, it's a little much for me. Yes, I'm extremely happy for all these people I see making these big life changes, but I'm so incredibly jealous I'm freaking green. J-E-A-L-O-U-S.

I can't have a baby right now. Period. The soonest we can feasibly start trying is September 2011, and even that is the craziest idea I've ever had (trumping becoming a doctor even). Apparently people do have babies in medical school. And they must be crazy people like me who have had to watch everybody and their mother's aunt give birth prior to them. I have a husband I love, hopefully the capability to conceive, and yet I am still waiting. At 28. It SUCKS!

I'm happy for all you out there who are pregnant, but hearing about it every time I pull my Facebook page up - is a little painful. Yes, I am a selfish b&#@$. I don't really care. I wish I could have a baby right now.

End of rant.

Vacation Time!

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted. Life is pretty uninteresting for me right now, which is a welcome change. I'm running the Birmingham Half Marathon this weekend, which is a downer since it was supposed to be the full marathon, but runner's knee prevented me from making those key long 20-ish mile runs I needed to feel comfortable running the full. So I'm going to do the ING Marathon instead on March 29, and I'm excited about that one. They have more pace groups anyway!

Micah and I are BOOKING our vacation as we speak. We are flying out on Saturday morning May 9 to Ft. Lauderdale to visit with one of his best friends and his wife, and then we fly out Monday morning for Eleuthera in the Out Islands of the Bahamas. I am so excited. We will be there until Friday, May 22 when we will fly back to Atlanta and hopefully drive to Macon the next day to pre-sign for an apartment. I am expecting to be in the May 26 - June 26 commissioned officer's training class (hopefully if I get a seat), so I will then go to Montgomery for that that next week. Very busy, but we need a vacation so badly - I think it will be good timing!

Eleuthera is GORGEOUS, and we are staying the first two nights in this little hotel directly on the beach while we wait for the beachhouse we are renting to be ready. The house we will stay the rest of the time in is right on one of the best beaches, has a pool and a large patio, and is very secluded. We are extremely excited. We plan to rent a car and explore the "elusive beaches of Eleuthera" as the locals say, kayak, play in the water, go surfing at the famous Surfer's Beach, and here's hoping we catch Lenny Kravitz somewhere in a dive bar, because he has a house on the island. It's a very quiet island with a lot of local Bahamian flavor - the island throws a fish fry complete with the local drink, Rum Bubba, every Friday night! We're so excited, and we haven't had time like that together in so long. I figure we might should get it in before med school takes up all of my time.

I've been thinking a lot about the close and beginnings of chapters in life, too. My chapter in undergrad that I began in January 2007 is about to close. It's hard to believe, because so many emotions and angst have taken place in the last two-plus years, but this chapter really is about to close. I feel like my life has progressed in segments. I wonder what will characterize the next segment. I'm nervous about it, but I'm also excited. I'm meeting some of my future classmates at Mercer out in a couple of weeks. Micah and I are going down to see some places to live (we already have one we really like, though), and we are going out with them that night. It's really cool that they are so welcoming, and I'm so excited about meeting them, but a part of me is a bit nostalgic that everything I have gotten comfortable with at UGA (again) and with how my life is now is about to change. Again. It feels like that is all I've done since - well, whenever. I know some people that seem to go to the same job, come home every night, take the same yearly vacation etc. etc. That isn't us at all - I hope I don't tire of this. There are a lot more "segments" coming up. After four years in Macon, I will begin residency somewhere in either OB/GYN or surgery (God-willing). Then after that, life will change again and I will start active duty with the Air Force for four years. And after that, hopefully I will move back to Georgia to fulfill the committment I have made in accepting my acceptance to Mercer by practicing in our state. Still - that's a lot of changes and segments. And we'll hopefully have kids during all of this. I'm glad we'll do most of the moving while they are young! Unless the Air Force keeps me longer!

I'm excited to see what God is going to do in Micah and my life. It's going to be an interesting and wild ride. One I never imagined would be filled with blood, guts, cadavers, the military and lots of moving, but it's our ride. I hope it's a gentle one!

More hilarious for your afternoon

Hilarious

The Running Community

Isn't it amazing how much of a community running as a sport can form between people? On my 12 mile run today at a nearby park with a trail around a lake, I encountered many different people. Some were walkers with their dogs, and they politely nodded to me. Others were clearly walkers for fitness, but they weren't running. They usually stared at me or some nodded too, but none seemed to resonate with what I was doing. Then there are the runners. Probably all levels, too, but it really doesn't matter. They knew. They understood why occasionally I might have to stop and stretch out my left knee. Why when I came to my car, I would guzzle a few ounzes of my G2, possibly hurridly rip a gel pack open while looking at my watch and suck it down while trying to take off again, and they knew why I had a pained expression on my face as I closed the last few meters of my last lap. The looks from the runners as you pass them are nods of "Yes, we get it, and we are running mileage today too." It's more than a nod or a polite stare of amazement - it's a nod, smile and a handwave, because you are in their club. Their community. It's really amazing, and I love it. You feel connected through terrifying amounts of mileage you do, as well as the sheer fact that what you are doing IS hard, and there are people out there who get it and do it too.

Not only is there community in running while you are running, but even when talking with friends about running - I feel like you are able to find ties to people you haven't talked to in a really long time. That is the coolest thing in my opinion about running! To have the opportunity to share what you love with someone else, and possibly even develop an old friendship or find a new common ground with someone you don't know well - that's the best thing about running. It's a shared sport, and you don't have to be good at it to participate. There is no try-out, no time limit to meet or fitness level to be at to do it. You simply just go out and run.

A running partner is the best thing also about this "community." It's extremely common to find someone to do your long runs with, because let's face it - on runs >12 miles - you are just bored. I know I can't seem to focus anymore, and it is very tempting to just go back to your car after whatever loop you just did and call it a day. A partner helps pass the time even if you aren't talking - it's that bond between you guys knowing she's suffering alongside you too, but you are going to beat this out together. There have been many times my partner and I don't talk for miles - because we are hurting, tired and ready to be done, but together we battle it out in silence knowing we aren't alone.

Marathon training is the best thing I've ever done in my life. I plan on doing this indefinitely until my knees, legs and muscles give out on me. Who knows who I'll meet in my little community next?