Lessons Learned - I want to remember this

It's already been almost one week but wanted to get this down while I can still recall it.
So last weekend we went to Austin, just to get away and planned on "celebrating" or rewarding ourselves for our weightloss progress.
Now how that equals allowing ourselves to eat whatever we want......I'm not sure.
So we really had a great time, got their early on Saturday and hit the pool at the hotel and stomped around at the farmer's market.
It was really nice, right on Town Lake and blocks from 6th St.
Immediatley all we could talk about was where we were going to eat for lunch.
This does go back to how all of my life celebrating or doing something special mean eating somewhere nice.  The better the restaurant made it even more exciting.
One thing is that we knew we wanted quality food not just as much as we could get, Quality vs Quantity.
One of the valets suggested Hula Hut's.  It's right on the water, kind of a Tex-Mex with a Polynesian twist.
I had a ...wait for it....Fried Stuffed Avacado with rice and beans and Kyle had the Hawaiin Burger with fries.  Of course, being in Texas and it being a Tex-Mex restaurant, the meal started with a basket of tortilla chips and salsa, oh and we shared a Mojito.
As you probably guessed we managed to eat all of the chips and salsa before our meals came out.  My food was awesome.  The avacado was stuffed with chicken and cheese, breaded with Panko, and fried just enough to toast the bread crumbs.  I ate all of it, minus most of the rice and beans.
We went the State Capital and somehow managed to find an Ice Cream Festival - so had a small cup of ice cream..ugh.  Kyle did better I think, he had a small Italian Ice.
All hot and sweaty from walking around and tummy's full, we went back to the hotel and back to the pool.
We both had a Rasberry Mojito.
For dinner we found another local restuarant - the Cedar Door.  Neat place.
We both had the Cilantro Lime Chicken soft tacos ...with rice and beans.  Oh and a Blue Moon beer - Kyle, again doing better than I, got the Michelob Ultra, but I didn't eat the tortillas!
Then we managed our way to a couple of bars and clubs, I think my beer total = about 9 beers.  How many calories is that alone?!?!
Ok so about midnight or later we were done bar hopping and the after drinking hunger kicked in. 
Let me go back a little.
Since we started this diet - and never really before - but I have been CRAVING a hot dog.  Not just a pop in the microwave and put some mustard on it dog, but a Food Network - Best Hot Dogs, hot dog.  Boiled and grilled split open with mustard and sauerkraut, with tomatoes and relish with some celery salt - kinda dog.
Well there just happens to be Frank's.  It's a restuarant - not a food truck or fast food deli kinda place.  Sit down with booth's, menus and beer Hot Dog restuarant.
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We walk in and are sat at our table and I'm so excited!!!  lol
I of course order the Chicago Dog and a micro brew beer and we both share a large order of waffle fries.  It was wonderful!!
Took a Pedi-Cab back to the hotel - life was good!
The next day we got up and had the breakfast buffet at the hotel.
Small omelette, slice of french toast with syrup, fruit and bacon.
Then hit the road for the trip home.
I was so worn out from all of the walking and drinking that I took about a 5hr nap when we got home.  Then went back to sleep trying to get ready to go back to work the next day.
Ok this is the part that I want to remember almost as much as how much fun we had....
We both got up Monday morning and felt sick to our stomachs.  Oh my goodness, the only thing I could think was it felt like we had a junk food hangover!
UGH we felt absolutley awful all day long.
It was horrible.
I think that all the crap we ate that day is everything we stopped eating almost 2 months ago and we shocked our systems.  Or there was so much sugar that we crashed all day Monday.
NEVER want to feel that way again.
We barely got through Monday - we both ended up coming home a little early from work.
By Tuesday morning we felt so much better.
On a side note we both gained about 8lbs over that weekend.
Took us 1 week to lose it.
How's that for unfair.

OH one more thing….

So Ok today is the start of the new me.

Again it took about a month of “retraining” my brain.  Really paying attention to what I was eating and NOT eating.

It was nothing for me to drink 3 cups of coffee for breakfast, 3 diet cokes, no lunch, and scarfing down whatever I could get my hands on when I got home.  Which usually included something fried, potatoes and ice cream for dessert.

I would just like to say that my last soda, Dr Pepper to be exact, was June 27th; last piece of bread, June 26th; fried anything same weekend.  I can’t even remember the last time I had ice cream.

That in itself is saying something.

Breakfast is usually 1 cup of coffee with silk creamer, 1/4 of egg beaters and sometimes a slice of turkey bacon.

When I order out for lunch it’s usually a hamburger with extra veggies and mustard and I throw the bun away or chicken fajita taco salad no sour cream or cheese.

Dinner is either shrimp, chicken, lean beef or turkey and 2 servings of green veggies.

The hardest part is finding different foods so we won’t get bored!

I still have a lot of weight to lose but with this jumpstart, I can see that it can happen.  I’m the lowest I’ve been in over 5 years and only 10lbs away from my lowest in over 10years…if not longer.

For the first time in a long time I feel like I can get there.  No more shortcuts, no more easy fixes, I want to work hard for it and do it right and feel proud of the new me!

Is it August already?!?!?

I can’t believe how fast this year is going!

So to catch up real quick…

Did the marathon relay in May.

Did the 5k (all by myself!) in June.

There was another 5k in July that I was thinking about doing and didn’t.  Then there was another 5k last week that I decided not to do.  BUT I do have an excuse.

I went back and forth whether or not I was going to share this next part.  I really wasn’t sure how I felt about it.  Just mixed feelings.

So.  The last week of June my husband and I decided to do the HCG diet.  I know, I know… I did a lot of research before hand.  It probably wasn’t the healthiest thing to do – not enough research on long term effects to your organs etc.  But we were only going to do one cycle of it.  The drops not the shots.  Plus we were doing it together so we could watch each other.   AND at this point I still had almost 100lbs that I wanted to lose and I needed a jump start.

It’s been just over a month, we are done with the drops and I’m down 21lbs.  (of course he’s down like twice that – so unfair).  It really wasn’t that hard to do.  We stuck “closely” to the diet but we probably over did it on the calories – your restricted to 500 calories, certain proteins, vegetables and fruits. 

I guess I wasn’t sure if I wanted everyone to know, because it felt like we were cheating, for a lack of a better word.  I want to be proud of our accomplishments and hard work and not be “ashamed” of how we got here.

I will say that other than the quick drop of weight, we have totally retrained our brains and what we think hungry is.

We’ve been off the drops for over a week and slowly adding more calories to our diet.  Still, except a couple of occasions, no bread or flour, no sodas, no added sugars, etc.

Not only that but from day one of starting the “diet” we’ve been 10x more active than we were before.  His job keeps him active but we’re walking or playing tennis 4x a week, plus a punching bag in the garage and I go to the gym a couple mornings before work.

The transformation really is amazing and I’m very proud of both of us. 

We are both motivated and I can’t wait to see what else is in store.

I’ll post some before and after pictures soon!

First solo 5K

Never thought I would ever say that! 
So I signed up to do a 5K, a local one, at night.  Mom was going to do it with me, but I kept changing my mind and plans got all screwy...
The day of the race I still wasn't sure if I was going to do it.  I had already registered, but honestly was scared to do it alone.  I didn't have anyone pushing me, like the last one, what if I get hurt, what if I can't finish. 
There I go again being all supportive and confident in myself.
Even driving over to the course I wasn't sure if I was going to make it past packet pickup.  It was a smaller race - only about 100 people doing the 5k but there was also a 1/2 marathon, so maybe 300 people.
I walked up to the table, got my shirt and my bib and turned up the music.  I thought if I just act like I'm supposed to be there, no one will notice that I'm terrified.
Half Marathon starts.
5K starts about 20mins after.  I'm at the back of the pack....for the entire run.  Of course everyone starts off jogging.  So I do too.  Bad decision.
So now that stupid voice in my head starts in about how the course goes right by my car....
But I don't, I didn't. 
I basically started arguing with myself.  I know that sounds crazy...but at that point, I think I'm the last one, I can't see the ones in front of me and people are starting to pass me coming back....I was trying to tell myself that what I was doing was great!  No matter depressing and embarrassing it felt.  I couldn't compare myself to others -
"No!, you will feel worse if you quit, no matter how you do, you are doing it!"
That was pretty much the conversation I had with myself the entire 3 miles.  I kinda became my own motivation -  I had to prove myself wrong!
I would jogg some and walk alot.  I was really nervous about running in the dark and the roads weren't smooth - no inclines but the road was "bumpy" for a lack of a better word. I'm gonna say that slowed me down too.
Anyway - so I get to the end - jogg to and through the finish line....a camera flash goes off.  I'm done!!
I did it!  The clock showed 55mins.  The picture shows my eyes closed, exhaustion and that I have a long way to go!
My next race is July 17th.

Does this race make my butt look fast???

HAHAHA!  I saw this shirt the other night and thought it was hilarious!
I have so much to catch up on!  Since my last post back in March (tsk tsk), I made it to the Beach 2 Bay relay race! 
It was so much fun to get everyone together and to come together for something other than dinner and/or drinks.  Not that I am not all for that too, but it was a good to see us all get together for a more healthy cause. 
I was so nervous, I tried to keep up a strong face that I was ready - but I was not.  I don't think it really hit me that I was really going to do this until I got out of the truck at my drop off point.  Up to that point it was all about getting the right shorts, the shirt, the running bra, new shoes, ear buds, the right songs to listen to, and so on and so on.   Oh ya and it was POURING down rain! 
So I'm trying to pysch myself up and standing there watching all of the "professional racers" shiver in the rain and trying to shield themselves from the wind and rain behind porter pottys...I was praying for the announcement that the race is cancelled.
2 hours later, no announcement, all the made up stretches and copying the moves and preparedness of all the others standing around me.....Mom came through the check point with the baton.
CRAP....it's my turn.
At this point, I'm soaked, clothes are heavy, socks are squishy, I'm pissed off and still no announcement to save my ass from what I know will be pure humiliation and defeat.
How do I turn off that voice in my head that tells me nothing but "you can't do it".
For the first mile and a half, by this point the rain had stopped, Mom is walking with me....hang on - how does she do it?  She's already completed her 4miles, she's offered to walk with me for my 4miles, we're walking, I'm making it more miserable for both of us....and I can't keep up with her.  ugh
So now I'm focusing my anger on her to get me through it.  Sorry Mom - Love you!
By mile 2.5 I've started to get over myself and have decided not to quit - I ran every possible way to get myself out of finishing this, from exaggerate an injury to weighing how mad everyone else will be if I quit and would it be worth that sacrifice.
The time it took me to run all of that BS through my head I had made it to mile 3.    Everyone, but Wayne and Hailey, were there on the sidewalk to cheer me on!  Although they were all drinking beer, I decided not to hold that against them and use it for inspiration....there's beer at the end of the race!!
I honestly don't think I would have finished if they hadn't been there to push me further.  It really motivated me to see them there and know they were supporting me.
I couldn't believe it, shortly after that point, I started jogging.  Not for very long, but I had not done anything but walk before.  Even my "training" only consisited of walking and one slight incline that I jogged up just to get it over with.
Maybe the adrenaline or endorphines kicked in, but I would jogg a little bit and walk, then jog some more!
I jogged into my finish point and handed off to Hailey!
I didn't clock my time exactly, but it was around 1hr 10mins.  Everyone had a goal of about 45mins. 
 I was off, but I finished and that is good enough for me!

WooHoo!!!

Wow - So much has happened since I last posted.
Finally!! I am on a "normal" schedule!  I love my new position at work, even though it is still a work in progress, but the hours are 8-5 Mon-Fri.  It's crazy how much being on a normal schedule can really effect everything you do.
So - I made a promise to myself that since I had pretty much blamed not working out, eating right, etc on my work schedule that once it changed I would never let work get in the way of me being healthy.
Last week was my official start date, but I was in Austin for training for 3 of those days. 
I decided that I would be too tired after work to go to the gym, Kyle would be home and ready to eat dinner.....so I would have to go BEFORE work.  In order to do that I knew I needed to include that as part of my new work schedule.
I am actually very proud of myself - starting last Monday, I've been getting up at  0515 and going to the gym before work!
Now so far I've only managed to get 20mins in on the treadmill, but I'm  focusing more on the act of getting to the gym and working out at this point.  I progress to getting more quality time in once the schedule is a "routine".
So Mon, Tues, Weds I was at the gym every morning.  THEN on top of that, I met up with a girlfriend to walk the 2.5 mile trail after work on Weds!!  That's right, not only excercised once, but twice in one day. 
What I wasn't going to mention, was OMG how bad my leg muscles were burning trying to keep up with her (she's been walking like that for quite awhile and has a couple of races under her belt!) I really didn't think I was going to make it, legs burning, then my feet were tingly, ugh.  I have a LOT of catching up to do.
So I did sleep in this morning and decided not to go this morning....but I'll be up bright and early tomorrow!!!
Feels Great!! 

Getting closer and closer....

Oh my goodness - goal date for the race is getting closer and closer!!!  I have got to get on the ball or the road actually.
Joined the Country Club on Thursday!!  It is wonderful.  Literally a block from the house, gym, spa, pool, tennis courts and raquetball!! 
Today was our first trip to Whole Foods!  I love it!  It was sooo crowded though.  Didn't really have time to go down each and every aisle like I wanted to.  Definetly going back soon!