Hey, where's my running buddy, Olivia? I am doing it again today. I know it says 3 times a week, but I have some lost time to make up for. And today, I will go a little before dark, I realized I don't have to hide in the cover of night to run. silly me.

Jackie

Yay Jackie (& Olivia)!!! Jax, you know, most people aren't even going to notice you and even if they do, you know what I always think when I see someone overweight jogging/walking? Damn! At least they're doing something about it, which at this point, is more than I'm doing! Go girl!!!
FYI, it *doesn't* cool off at night. Our "low" tonight is about 75 (which isn't too bad, I guess). It's just so humid & muggy. Bleh!

Ha! I was going to say that-- that you don't cool off at night. Here we somewhat do but half the nights-- no.

I just spent 12 hours moving my friend from their 3 story apartment to their 2 story apartment. I am exhausted and they are still not completely moved.

That's the best workout ever!

Jenn! I survived 2 days in a row. I haven't yet finished a workout, but I am going to keep trying until I do. (totally hoping for a gold star when i do)

My new scale rocks! It is by Homedics and it shows not only your weight but your body fat and water percent. Every morning after I pee, I get on this new fangled thing that sends an electric pulse thru your feet. hmmmm So, what is a good number to have for body fat % ? Water %? I know my number and it is a lot of fat and water...lol.

Jackie

Good going, Jackie! Little by little you WILL get there!

Check this out for body fat %: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/library/blbodyfatcharts.htm

Not sure about the water %.

I think I should put in a request to get one of those scales here at our gym at work. So I don't have to buy one!

I had a 3 day break from working out. Monday is always hard!

So I went on the walk with my cousin this morning and she agreed to start the Couch to the 5K running program with me tomorrow. So I'm going to start all over again with her.

I did 4 miles today!

sweeeeeeet great job jenn! .. ! I have thought about walking since u all started the couch to 5k thing together. One of these days I'l actually do it..maybe... I'm waiting for my work-out buddy to get here to force me to get my bootie into the gym every day...I NEED someone to literally force me to do it.....WE even have a free gym for the apartment complex I live in...

I've lost 2 more lbs FINALLY!!! that is 27 total !!!!

When is Al arriving? Are you two going to be close to each other? Houston is a big place!

It's good to take a break inbetween the days because you don't want to overdue it and get an injury. Speaking of which when are we doing the next day?

Today my cousin had to take her baby to the doctor for an appt so we had to cancel todays workout. Which is just as well because I am still sore from moving my friend for 12 hours the other day. This morning I woke up with bruises all over that weren't here yesterday. I think they're from moving.

AL is hopefully moving into my area somewhere close. Her hubby knows where we live as he has been over a couple times for coffee...soooooooooooooooo hopefully they can find a place in our area. I am excited to have an actual friend to do stuff with.

I bet! It's easier with a buddy.

is a swift kick in the rump considered a buddy? coz that is what i need to get me goin'

I am addicted to my scale. I let it shoot a pulse thru the soles of my feet every morning. My body fat went down 2% and my water down 1%. I am just full of water and fat!

Amal, go for a 20 minute walk tonight. You have a totally nice area to do it in.

For lunch I had a McDonalds salad.

Jackie

I might go for a walk. I've been having a lot of trouble with my pelvis and knee today..I finally sucked down an Ibuprofen about an hour ago and it's helping some. I'm so ready to shed this last 37lbs!!! (then I'll start on my next goal!)

For lunch today I had a semi-homemade philly cheese steak sammich *drool* and baby carrots!

I had watermelon! Yummy!

mmmmmmmmmmmmm i need to get some watah-melon... haven't had that in a long time.

Last night I made a tomato sauce with some spicy turkey sausages because I had such a craving for some pasta.

Now I remember why I haven't made it in such a long time. I have a pasta problem.

You know, the kind where no matter how much you eat it never seems to be enough!

Be careful with the salads. I heard (and I could be wrong) that you are better off getting the grilled chicken sandwich and not eating the bun than getting the salad because some of the ingredients are fatty plus the dressing.

BUT A++++++ for effort!

I'm gonna run tonight. I'm gonna run til I fall over.

jJ

ooohhhhhh....yeah I do know

I share the pasta problem.

I restarted couch to 5k because I gave up a few months ago. Anyway, i did my first one today-- did it completely. I think this time I am going to start at the beginning. last time I did the first one and realized i wasn't being challenged too badly... and I moved it up to week 2 or 3? i don't remember. Anyway, I think this time, even though it's the same, I am just oging to start at one to get into the habit of doing it at all. I'm trying a different approach. I am tired of looking 3?4? months pregnant and not having a baby to show for it after a year! Goodbye bumpy-butt and as Olivia said: fatsuit!

I hear ya! I am so happy you're rejoining us. My cousin and I haven't started together yet so I'm going to keep doing it on my own! But not entirely on my own. I have you and Jackie now! Tra-la-la! Running makes me happy!

Well, I have nothig to wear also! And that really sucks. I got rid of all my fat clothes except one pair of jeans. No fat tops, etc. I do not fit into my bras. I do not like having boobs! I just want to be small again. I know I have cute clothes and it's frustrating to be stuck in the same like 3 things all the time. Also this is hurting my feet! I used to be able to wear ballet flats and since i gained weight, I cannot stand in them for very long. I cannot believe I gained 40lbs! I also cannot believe the effect it is having physically/mentally/emotionally. It's hard to feel attractive when I feel like a bloated rolly polly.

So true! Although I love having breasts, but I want to be healthy again. While I wear this weight well my Mom likes to remind me often that I used to look like a stick with T and A till five years ago. Then she proceeds to blame all these different reasons for why I gained nearly twice what you did, just in the last five years.

A friend of mine was talking about how some of their friends had let themselves go and I got upset at them for mentioning it in my prescenes. I told them I didn't want to hear it. They tried to make nice and told me I was normal sized. I scoffed at them and said, "Uh no I'm not." I may have let myself go in the last five years but I didn't get less intelligent. I know I let myself go and I know my weight had gotten ridiculous. Then they tried to argue with me more and I started getting really upset, and told them so, and that I didn't want to talk about it. To which my two friends scurried away in quiet retreat. That finally made me happy.

I've been dealing with so much rising anger lately. The only thing that has changed is that I am exercising and eating right. I feel that as I get stronger I am stiring up that emotional stuff which is probably the reason surrounding my weight gain. But I am impressed with my increased stamina and I am feeling healthier. I do feel over all happier and observed that is a result of daily walks increasing my endorphines. I believe health is physicl/mental/emotional and spiritual.

Yeah, my mom... lol. She is always on me about my weight, always asking questions, etc. The only time she seemed happy was when I was 99lbs. I'm 5'4"

I eat when i get happy which is bad! I'm glad you're dealing with the emotional aspect. it's important to recognize so you can try to control it.

I wish I only ate when I'm happy. I "happy eat" "sad eat" "pms eat" "stress eat" "watch movies eat" "mellow eat" "grieve eat"....ugggggggggg and problem is that I can't control it. If someone leaves an open bag/box/sack of any kind of food that is a free-for-all..I have to have some (and continue having some until I've made sure that it is all gone) I'm doing better after starting my diet but man its hard...

I PMS eat too actually. I have to switch over my intense snacking urges to something less fattening... like lettuce and tomatoes. I've found that easier than trying to stop altogether... or else I try to keep really busy.

I like to snack on cucumbers with vinegar and salt.

My worst eating problem is literally..."if it is open, i'm gonna eat it till its gone, especially if it is more than 500 calories and full of sugar"
If it is a big time "no no" I can't control myself .. its almost as if I rebel against what I should be doing. ... It is an actual eating disorder so its not as easy as saying "i eat too much".

It is very similar to this


Compulsive Overeating/Binge Eating Disorder

1. Fear of not being able to control eating, and while eating, not being able to stop.
2. Isolation. Fear of eating around and with others.
3. Chronic dieting on a variety of popular diet plans.
4. Holding the belief that life will be better if they can lose weight.
5. Hiding food in strange places (closets, cabinets, suitcases, under the bed) to eat at a later time.
6. Vague or secretive eating patterns.
7. Self-defeating statements after food consumption.
8. Blames failure in social and professional community on weight.
9. Holding the belief that food is their only friend.
10. Frequently out of breath after relatively light activities.
11. Excessive sweating and shortness of breath.
12. High blood pressure and/or cholesterol.
13. Leg and joint pain.
14. Weight gain.
15. Decreased mobility due to weight gain.
16. Loss of sexual desire or promiscuous relations.
17. Mood swings. Depression. Fatigue.
18. Insomnia. Poor Sleeping Habits.

The bolded ones are the ones that pertain to me. I am not happy about it but I'm learning that the more I talk about my disorder, the better I do in accepting it and learning to defeat it. I'm extremely ashamed so please don't laugh. food actually is a major cause of stress in my life because usually it is the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I go to bed. It drives me crazy coz I don't want to be this way. I want to be able to see a cake sitting there and say ..naaah I don't think I want any of that today. Instead all I can think about is how I'm gonna sneak over and eat it without anybody seeing me... Maybe with all of your help i can overcome this...

Binge-eating disorder
When you have binge-eating disorder, you regularly eat excessive amounts of food (binge), sometimes for hours on end. You may eat when you're not hungry and continue eating even long after you're uncomfortably full. After a binge, you may try to diet or eat normal meals, triggering a new round of bingeing. You may be a normal weight, overweight or obese.

Emotional and behavioral symptoms of binge-eating disorder may include:

• Eating to the point of discomfort or pain
• Eating much more food during a binge episode than during a normal meal or snack
• Eating faster during binge episodes
• Feeling that your eating behavior is out of control
• Frequent dieting without weight loss
• Frequently eating alone
• Hoarding food
• Hiding empty food containers
• Feeling depressed, disgusted or upset over the amount eaten
• Depression or anxiety

This article is almost me exactly.

Thx for the information Amal!

Very helpful info Amal - thanks!

I did a 8:15 mile today, so close to 8' flat!

Amal, I wonder if your insurance would cover meeting with a counselor/nutritionist seeing that you feel you have a medically documented disorder. That might be helpful in overcoming it.

yummy. Ever add a little fresh dill? Let them sit in the fridge for a bit and its like eating fresh crispy pickles.




Brava!

I'd be happy to kick you in the rump j/k but we ARE going to walk once I'm there. I won't be staying too far from you at the hotel and then hopefully we'll be able to get an apt close to you as well inshallah. There are some owned by a muslim man that's like across the street from you that are pretty cheap. Hubby's been getting all kinds of calls since he left on the bus to come in for interviews and we just found out about another job today that he might get inshallah so we'll be able to get out of the hotel before too long!

ensha'allah VP. I think I'm gonna finish the last 1/4 of the cake they got for me for my birthday. its red velvet..*drool* and oh so fattening! Once it's gone I can stop thinking about it and get back to my diet. ::::snarl::::
the icing is enough to make u do the mile in 1 minute..soooooooooooo much sugar! "does the homer simpson drool noise"

Im so jealous of your running.
I know I can do it, it is just that I cant wrap my head around it.
To get running in, i have been doing circuits or inteval training.
So I will run a few mins, get off and do kettlebells or something for a few mins, get back on and run with slightly more intensitity for a few mins, etc. i try to do this for like 30 mins then do more resistance training.
i dont know, i am seeing improvement so I am happy, I am getting very toned. I didnt really need to lose weight although I would like to drop 10lbs before israel this summer but that would be perfection and isnt really necessary. but i DO want to keep up my quest for an eight pack and the lines down the sides of my abs, and to be able to serve arak shots off of my a$$. hehehe not really, just would like to be able to... a woman who teaches this class i go to always says dont you want to serve margaritas off of your a$$e$? i figure arak more appropriate in the ME.

After Tuesday, I took a few day break from Couch to 5K but I will start back tommorrow. I have to get thru today first.

I have not finished a session yet. I can do 3 of the 60 second runs, then I just walk my azz home. It might take me 2 weeks just to build up to a whole session.

I have something up my sleeve and keeping it close to the vest. It involves.....my future. Increasing my stamina and health are a good start.

Jackie

It's so easy to gain weight & so difficult to lose it.

No kidding. I keep thinking I need to lose this weight now before I get PG. know Amal and Chaishai have had kids... anyone else in this thread? Is it harder to lose weight after being pregnant? I've heard it is but I was always wondering if those women jsut weren't exercising before is all.

it was actually easier for me to lose weight after getting pregnant. even more so after the second. not sure why. i think the mental part of it was after the second i knew i wasnt going to have anymore so there isnt that thing in my head saying "its ok if you arent at your goal weight because you are only going to gain with pregnancy anyway". i really kicked it in after my son who is now one and worked out and tried to eat healthy. my biggest vices are wine, margaritas, and then bad food choices after those. otherwise i pretty much eat 99% healthy.

I have some of the same vices. I know I need to lose weight before we even discuss having children. Gestational Diabeties runs in the family and its the last thing I need to complicate a potential pregnancy further then it already is.

Well I can run a bit now, but I am far from an 6 pack, that's for sure. Unless it's the one in my fridge.