Carie's Weight Loss Journey - Week 13

This past month has had it's ups and downs for me. Emotionally, mentally, physically, etc. Coming out of the BMI challenge, I slacked off like crazy the first week. Not with working out, but with my food intake. Although my meals stayed the same, I gave into a craving (or two). Cravings for some DQ, or a candy bar (I kept them to the "fun size" only), and even though it was Coke Zero, I still gave into the craving for pop.

I have a friend who has been struggling with binge eating. And I have always struggled with it. She mentioned that she was going to do a 30 day No-Binge-Eating challenge and I jumped on board with her! I figured it would be hard to do that alone, so I might as well help her through! So as of August 24th, I started my 30 day challenge. It. Has. Been. Difficult.

I never realized just how attached I am to food. It hit me when I was sitting on the floor in the kitchen. I had sat down to cry. I cried because I really, really wanted to go through the cabinets and binge. Even though I do not buy junk food, the healthy food is still there. And when you add on serving after serving after serving of different healthy foods, those calories are still going to get me. I have found that I like to binge at night, so I have been going to bed earlier, and that has helped!

I have continued to do Zumba on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week. Jamie and I finished up the C25K running plan on August 18th! She is now back to work, so I'm on my own for my workouts. I have continued running on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday each week. I have bumped up my distance some days, and ran for pace other days. I have started running on treadmills. Mostly just so that I know what pace feels good and what pace pushes me a little more. As of right now, a 10 minute mile is doable, but still difficult. My goal for the DAM to DAM is to run a 9.5 minute mile, or even a 9 minute mile.

There are moments when I'm running where all I can think about is stopping. All I want to do is quit. I can't think of anything else pushing me along. That's when I remember...

I went on a 3 mile run with my Zumba instructor, Jen, this morning and she has an app on her smartphone, called Endomondo, that has her running to the beat of certain songs. She told me about it, but it wasn't until we actually started running that I realized just how genius the app is! It tells you when you've run a mile and what your pace is. And you can adjust your pace and songs as needed. It helped me to forget the hurt in my legs and sides, and just keep my feet running with the beat of each song. We wanted to run farther, but I had zero energy. I blame the fact that I had no pre-workout fuel. My bad... I am never doing that again! So hopefully, next time we run, I'm fueled and we can run for 5 or 6 miles!

Through everything this past month, I have been worried that I would see a gain on the scale. Mainly because of my slacking off. But I did not see such a thing! I weighed myself each week and watched my weight go down farther and farther! Talk about a confidence boost! Seeing the number going down made me want to go on a run or do an extra workout to celebrate!

And that's when it hit me. The best way to curb my cravings and beat binge eating is to work out! It gets my mind off of the want and on to the need to see results!

Start to Week 9, and Week 13 photos:

Start to Week 13 photos:

Week 9 and Week 13 photo:

Starting Weight: 202 lbs

Week 1 Weight: 193 lbs

Week 2 Weight: 190 lbs

Week 3 Weight: 190 lbs

Week 4 Weight: 189 lbs

Week 5 Weight: 188 lbs

Week 6 Weight: 184 lbs

Week 7 Weight: 182 lbs

Week 8 Weight: 179 lbs

Week 9 Weight: 177 lbs

Week 10 Weight: 175 lbs

Week 11 Weight: 174 lbs

Week 12 Weight: 173 lbs

Week 13 Weight: 171 lbs

Weight Lost Since Week 9: 6 lbs

Total Weight Lost: 31 lbs

Weight To Go: 36 lbs

My weight lost and weight to go numbers are so close to matching! Which means I'm almost half-way to my goal! I cannot believe it! I got on and off the scale three times today! I am so close to the 160's! I haven't seen those numbers on the scale since college! It feels amazing! Absolutely amazing! I feel amazing! There are moments when I am working out or going to pick up my children and I can actually feel how much stronger I have gotten!

I hit my 30 lb goal and I am getting a full mani/pedi as a reward! I am a few pounds away from my new workout clothes reward for hitting my half-way goal! I love having some incentive to push myself! I really, really want the iPod!

My plan for the next month remains about the same! Attend Zumba like I have been, but I plan on running Monday through Saturday. The days with Zumba will be more "fun run" type days, whereas the other days will be my "hard run" days. I do not want to overdo it, but I also want to take things up a small notch! I am going to start working more on toning (weight lifting) and core strength. I think it will be better for my running if my core strength was better! I still have my baby pooch, even though it doesn't look as prominent as it did back in June.

My new motto for the month is:

Although I'm pretty sure I'm always going to jiggle! It's nice to dream!