Things Are Looking Up

I'm almost finished with budgets, which means I won't need to miss any more of my workouts.  I actually hate to miss a workout especially when I miss due to too much work, so I'm glad budgets are almost finished.  I haven't really lost a ton of weight, but that's ok because I had three people today tell me I sure have lost a lot of weight!  It was just what I needed to hear to get me through my slump.  I'm really hoping I'm just a solid mass of heavy muscle...which is why my scale isn't lowering as quickly as I'd like.  A girl can dream can't she.

 I have had a pretty good week dispite missing a couple workouts.  I reached a running milestone.  I was able to run all the way up the Summit Ridge hill by my house without stopping.  No joke, the hills like a mile long, and it is brutal.  I've never made it before without stopping about half way.  I had my ipod on and ironically the Doobie Brother's song "It Keeps You Running" came on.  This song mixed with mental images of Forest Gump running across the country kept me running!

Cheers to the weekend.

The Time Is Flying By Way Too Quickly

Well, I haven't lost as much weight as I would like at this point in my heart challenge.  However, I received so many compliments this past weekend from friends and family about how much better I'm looking.  I'll take that any day!  I've decided to skip the scale, so I focus on becoming strong/fit - not a number.

I feel extremely fortunate to have a great trainer - Alex is the best.  He motivates me and pushes me to my limits.  I will miss him once this challenge is over.  He's helped me to be able gain my running confidence.  I was able to successfully complete a 10K a few saturdays ago when Santaquin had its Orchard Days.

Currently, my job has been very demanding and stressful.  I'm learning how to deal with that without turning to food.  I haven't always been successful, but I've always been able to get myself back on track.  I'm learning how to be kind to myself - I've always been so hard on myself.  If I've ever made a food mistake or if I've skipped an exercise then I've told myself I've ruined myself permanently.  I'm now more realistic, and I know that one or two bad days isn't the end all.

It's Been a While ...

I've been without my trainer now for two weeks - he's on vacation.  I miss not having him around to push me harder than I can push myself.  I don't have anything too profound to say.  I'm not really losing a lot of weight, but I have had several people this week tell me how good I'm looking.  I guess I need to take that positive reinforcement and run with!

Thank Goodness for Alex My Trainer

I'm so glad Alex was able to snap me into shape this morning in the gym.  He's a great trainer and a great motivator.  He pushes me to worker harder than I think I possibly can.  I'm thankful he's my trainer.

Your Help Is Needed

I'm trying to be a good little blogger, but for some reason I'm hitting a mental/emotional wall.   I'm not sure what to write about.  I'm feeling very frustrated, and I don't really know why.  I'm doing well with my exercising and with my eating, but I'm feeling emotionally bankrupt.  I enjoy reading the blogs of the other heart challenge participants, so please share your feelings regularly on your blog.  I find it easier to dig myself out of my mental hole when I read about your successes (and your disappointments).

It's a Miracle

I finally lost two whole pounds!  It's taken me forever to lose weight.  Highlights from my weekend:

• I ran/jogged 7.1 miles on Saturday.  I feel really great/really strong. 
• I didn't chew gum Sat or Sun, which is really huge for me.
• I only had one Coke Zero this weekend.
• I tried really hard to not only log my food; but to really analyze what I ate over the weekend, which I believe contributed to my scale success.

It's been a great Monday morning so far.  I already went to the gym, so I feel great.  I love seeing several of the heart challenge participants in the gym at the same time as me.  Helps me to remember others are working at it and can symphathize with my plight.

Intuitive Eating Nutrition Class

This week in our nutrition class we talked about intuitive eating, which is a nondiet mentality.  You eat what you want, but you need to really listen to your body's natural hunger fullness scale.  This concept is very foreign to me because I'm so used to eating based on a diet mentality.  My whole life I've been used to being restricted to certain foods, which is probably why I've failed to maintain any kind of weight loss.

Our instructor clearly explained the Dieter's Cycle:

• Desire to be thin
• Go on diet
• Cravings pop up and you have reduced self-control
• Loss of self-control, over eat
• Weight gain or regain occurs

She hit the nail on the head with this explanation.  This is the story of my life.  I'd like to break this cycle.  I really like the concept of intuitive eating .  I want to implement it in my life and to change my psyche; but I'm really afraid I won't be able to change the "food policing", which is ever present inside my mind.