Weigh-in Wednesday

This week was a pretty good one. Not amazing, but good! Let's get to the numbers:

Sam:
Starting weight (1.4.2010): 179.6 pounds
Last week's weight (4.21.2010): 171.4 pounds
Current weight (4.28.2010): 172.3 pounds
That is a gain of 0.9 pounds for a total loss of 7.3 pounds!
What I did: I had a lot of long shifts at work this past weekend (which meant many hours on my feet) so my running was put aside in favor of my feet really hurting me after each shift. I also have to be better about bringing food with me to work instead of hitting up the food court on my breaks (bad Sam!) I'll get better, I just need to get a routine going (my job is fairly new to me.)

Jason:
Starting weight (1.4.2010): 216.6 pounds
Last week's weight (4.21.2010): 200.6 pounds
Current weight (4.28.2010): 199.8 pounds
That is a loss of 0.8 pounds for a total loss of 16.8 pounds!
What I did: Today I weighed in at 199.8. This the first time I have been below 200lbs for at least 6 months. I have spent the better part of the last 5 years above 200 only occasionally dipping below that level. I am excited this time as I believe I will continue to improve as I continue running, eating healthier, and making smarter choices.

Jason Got Run Over by a Reindeer

A post in which I celebrate some success, talk about some fears, and discuss a close encounter with nature:

-I completed my first 10 mile run this past Sunday (11:23 per mile = 5.3mph). I used the interval method that I discussed in my previous post. It felt awesome and I feel like I have reached a milestone in my training. I am now 5.5 weeks away from running my first half marathon and I am really starting to think that I may actually be able to do this. The best part is that I actually look forward to running, I'm excited to be able to go at the end of the day and find it to be incredibly stress relieving.

-Tomorrow Sam and I are going to spend some time at Let's Dish!. Let's Dish! is a store where you go and build meals that you then take home to freeze so that they can be easily prepared when it is time for them to be eaten. I'm really looking forward to it and plan to get a week's worth of relatively healthy foods that I can prepare on my own. This is especially important as...

-Sam is leaving on Friday for 10 days. I am really excited for her to get to go back to Boston to visit friends and then on to Vermont for a few days to see family. While she is in Vermont she is going to celebrate a really exciting milestone in our friends' lives as she joins them for a baby shower. Honestly, though, the idea of her being gone for so long scares me. :-( I'm nervous that I will be unmotivated to do anything and that I'll resume some bad habits (I get very snacky when I'm lonely and bored.) I'm also nervous that the serving size of the Let's Dish meals will feel really small and I'll end up eating too many calories because I'll go back for seconds. I'm also not looking forward to making them for myself (I hate "cooking" even if its just heating things up in the oven). I guess in the end I'm just going to miss her horribly and thinking about her being gone makes me realize how grounding she is to me and how much more at ease I feel with her around.

-And now a quick story about running in nature: I have been running on paved recreation paths that circle some local ponds/lakes. Usually I love seeing the wildlife along my route as I frequently see squirrels, ducks, turtles, etc. A few weeks ago I saw a bald eagle which was really cool. On Sunday, as I was about 2/3rds of the way done my run I came around a corner and saw two large dogs running straight at me. Only these turned out to not be dogs but a pair of deer approaching very quickly from across the field that adjoins the path. (I know deer and dogs look nothing alike, it was a hazy day, I was getting a bit tired, and I didn't have my glasses on.) I had a moment of panic as these deer were heading straight towards me. Thankfully they veered off to the left and crossed the path about 150 feet in front of me. And then, just as I caught my breath and decided it was safe to run again I noticed a third deer standing in the middle of the path just watching me. We had a bit of a staring contest (I totally won.) and when he decided to run off I continued my run constantly scanning the tree line for any other approaching beasts. Jason + Large Animals = Chicken!

My apologies for the long, rambling post. I have a lot on my mind as you might have guessed.

60 Minute Workout Challenge -- You go girls!

A few (ok, more like 200+) other ladies joined Jen on Tuesday for the 60 minute challenge. Jen challenged all of us to be active for 60 minutes while she spent 99 minutes on a stair master (yes, that implement of pain that we all love to hate). A bunch of the ladies who completed the challenge blogged about it. Here are some inspiring ladies kicking butt in the challenge and every day! You go girls!

Sarah @ Sarah gets Healthy -- One Hour Challenge

Tania @ The Road Back to Being Me -- 60 Minute Challenge

Violet @ One Hundred in Twenty-Eight -- 60 Minutes of Sweat

Amber @ Running Couple -- 5 mile - 60 Minute Challenge Run

Kelly @ Kelly is Losing Weight -- Jen & Tony's Challenge

Bree @ Bees Knees Life -- 60 Minutes

Brandi @ Mama Laughlin -- Prior Fat Girl's 60 Minute Challenge

Janna @ Happiness is a Journey -- Wildflower Edition of C25k

MB @ Finally Figuring it Out -- 99 Minutes

3 minutes... 1 minute... 3 minutes... 1 minute...

As I mentioned yesterday, a big component of my effort to get healthy has been a regular running routine. Well, running may be a bit of an exaggeration. I have found that I have had good success with what our good friend Corinne has dubbed "wogging". Wogging, as you may have guessed, is a combination or running/walking/jogging.

I have been able to consistently improving my speed and increasing my distance over time by pushing myself to do longer and longer intervals of running/jogging and try to minimize the amount of time I spend walking.

Until tonight... While helping Sam look for an iPhone app made for the Couch to 5k program she has started, I came across the Run/Walk method by Jeff Galloway (more info can be found here and here.)

I decided to give it a try by forcing myself to take a one minute walk break for every three minutes of running. I felt myself pushing harder (and running faster) during my runs knowing that I was only a couple of minutes away from getting to rest. The result... my fastest mile yet and the quickest I have completed 5 miles to date (10:23 per mile = 5.8mph)!

I am going to try this method again on Sunday when I shoot for 10 miles (my first double digit run, EEK!) I'll let you know how it goes.

Weigh-in Wednesday

Today is the first installment of Weight-in Wednesday! Where, every Wednesday, we will tell you, yes you, how much we weigh! No really, we're going to tell you. We know it won't be easy to reveal such information to the world, but it is an important part of our journey. We are not happy with where we are but, this is the first step, and it's an important one. So, here goes!

Sam:
Starting weight (1.4.2010): 179.6 pounds
Current weight (4.21.2010): 171.4 pounds
That is a loss of 8.2 pounds!
What I did: I am more conscience of what I eat (but still have to get a lot better) and I also started a job a few weeks ago where I am on my feet the entire time. This is a huge factor in this number, which, honestly, just started to go down in the last couple weeks.

Jason:
Starting weight (1.4.2010): 216.6 pounds
Current weight (4.21.2010): 200.6 pounds
That is a loss of 16 pounds!
What I did: I have been running more and more, building up my endurance for a half marathon. Currently I run 4 times a week -- 3-5 miles during the week and 9 miles on Sunday.

** Please keep in mind, these numbers have been going up and down over the past 4 months. We started wanting to be more healthy at the beginning of the year (like many many other people) and have been tracking our weight since then. Please don't think that we are being crazy and posting huge losses right off just because we can... we just want to let everyone know where we started. :-) We will be measuring our total weight loss, as well as the weight lost/gained in the previous week from now on. **

Well, that's it! Stayed tuned every Wednesday where we weigh in and reflect on what we are doing right (or wrong) and how we can improve.

Couch to 5k - First Impressions

Have you all heard of the Couch to 5k program? It's basically a plan to get anyone ready to run a 5K by slowly building the endurance required to actually do it, without overdoing it. You see, if you start training too hard, you could get burnt out or even hurt yourself. Couch25k helps you to know exactly how much to push yourself.

Today, as part of Jen's most recent challenge to work out for 60 minutes, I decided to start the program. The first week of the program only takes about 30 minutes, so I hopped on the treadmill, did the program for 30 minutes, and then walked briskly for the next 30 minutes. I tell you, it wasn't easy.

Typically, the hardest part about exercising for me is actually going to the gym to exercise. Once I am there, I'm usually good to go. This time I pushed myself a little harder but, in return, I got more out of the hour I spent there. Funny how that works, huh?

Despite the fact that I have never run in my life and that my ankles were killing me at some points, I will continue with the program. Jason runs now and I want to be able to run with him, for fun. I figure, we always have fun when we do things together, so this will be no exception. Bonus points if working out is actually fun, right? :-D

Welcome! -- The official 1st post!

Hello there!!!

Thank you for finding your way over to our new blog. Let me introduce myself. My name is Sam. And this *gestures to her left* is my husband, Jason. :-)

We are embarking on a new journey together and we will be documenting that journey through this blog. You see, like most Americans, we do not have the healthiest habits. BUT, with a bunch of determination and effort, that is going to improve!

You can expect some inspiration, lots of links, reviews, free downloads, and most importantly... honesty. We believe that being honest and authentic is the best way to learn about ourselves and our healthiness journey. So, stay tuned!

I would also like to thank some great ladies who have inspired me to better myself and start this blog. Mary, Cindy, Jen, Lindsay, and Amanda... you girls are amazing! Be sure to check them out! :-D