Seeing progress, being inspired.

Tonight was our annual Heart and Sole race, a 2 and 5 mile walk/run to start off the 4th of July celebration. The last time I walked it was 2 years ago, and it about killed me. Last year I was ill with whooping cough, so I did not walk. I was excited to jump in, even though I've fallen short of my goal of training into a 5k.

Started the walk with a solid power walk - for ME. I am overweight, and went at a good pace for my health and size. At the 1 mile, I was at a pace of 16:13, bottom half of the pack, but not last! Kept up my pace through the second half, breaking into zumba moves several times as I passed people cheering me on. (There are over 800 participants, but as many people cheering locals on!)

I felt the urge to run. Ok, JOG. But with all the people watching, did I really want to jog? Probably not. So I continued to powerwalk. My second mile pace was actually BETTER - ending up with a time of 31:37.

I wish I hadn't been too self conscious to jog/run. I didn't push myself. I had something left at the end of that race. But I'm not going to pout about it. I realize that my zumba workouts have been conditioning me. I can do this. And now I have my beginning point - a place to move up from here. And hopefully in the next year, I will continue to train and lose weight, so that next year I'm not ashamed to jog. ;)

Feeling strong

So I am finally starting to settle into a summer routing... Doing zumba 2 days a week. Walking all over town. Gardening up a storm. And I'm really starting to feel strong. I can feel it in my shoulders, my back, my arms, and legs... the feeling of being toned, stronger, and healthier.

It really is all about balance. Not sitting in front of the tv or on the computer all day. But keeping busy. And getting back to basics. Yard work, gardening, walking... GOOD exercise for the heart.

It's a good thing  to feel your body changing in a positive way. A very good thing.

Loving life!

Even though I haven't had more than a few hours of me time since school let out last week, I am loving life.... Making sure to get good physical activity in each day - changing it up! Zumba two times a week, lots of gardening, walking all over town... Feels SO good to be active.

Today I worked a few hours at the store, and had to carry 30 pound roasters up and down the stairs, and I was SHOCKED at how much that weight put strain on my body... and that is LESS than I've lost so far!

I'm really hoping that this summer will see another 30 pounds or so gone... I'm working on it. I'm feeling amazing. Loving life.

A beautiful start to the weekend...

While I've been looking forward to a day when I can sleep in, today wasn't one of them. I needed to be up to make sure my son was off for a day working a charity run/mudder. So I set the alarm, and got up a little early to make him a good breakfast.

The beauty of that is I found my self with a couple of free hours before we're needed at the food pantry. So I dug out my iPod and put on some walking shoes.

I headed out - to enjoy the brisk morning before the humidity sets in. Walked for over an hour, checking out the river, using our city's walking trail, stopping to chat with some friends on the way... just a small town walk.

On the final stretch, I passed the high school, and checked myself out in the windows.... because I'm losing weight slowly (the right way - not complaining, just explaining!), I don't really notice the changes. Oh, my jeans are loose, but in general I don't feel any thinner. So it was nice to see my reflection in the window while walking and actually see that my profile has changed! A wonderful surprise.

It was wonderful to get some great exercise, fresh air and vitamin d, not to mention a little boost for my self esteem. :-)

Last year I lost about 35 pounds. It would be amazing to see that progress again this year. We'll see!

Summer is coming!

Wow, it's been forever since I took time to blog this, and for that I am so sorry. I've been working full time, so I have been neglecting it! Here's a bit of an update!

Zumba - still my love. Had the GREATEST zumba workout tonight....sweaty and fun. Man I love that dance..... so thankful for it.

I've also been walking to work when not raining - which I also love. I take my coffee, throw on my backpack, and walk. How refreshing!

And then there is the garden work, weeding, planting, etc., that keeps me busy.

It's so good to be outside and active. I love summer.

End of April check in

So the vegan challenge is almost over. While I've not lost a ton of weight - I did learn many things. Vegan is not for me. BUT I found many recipes that I loved. And I found that limiting dairy is very good for me. My body feels much better with less dairy. I will  definitely be changing my diet for good.

On the exercise front, spring has finally arrived. I am able to walk places in town - and these last two days were SO wonderful, walking to school, walking down to the baseball game... Very happy to get fresh air and exercise!

My weight loss was completely plateaued over the winter - but I'm still down the 35+ pounds from a year ago. So my personal goal is to lose another 35 pounds this year. Slow and steady wins the race. Right?

So getting some physical exercise EVERY day - either zumba (two days a week) or walking to and from work/activities, and gardenging, is TOP on my list. As is weight lifting. I've been lacking in my muscle building, and that is so important as I get older.

I turned 43 this week. And I'm so proud that my lifestyle has come to what it is. Very little stress, lots of physical activity, and whole eating. Life is good, and getting better every day. Kind of like that Tim McGraw song about the "next thirty years". All good guys. All good.

vegan challenges

On the whole, I am enjoying the 30 day vegan challenge. As a foodie I have loved trying new recipes. And personally, I love veggies and grains, so it's been a treat. But I have found a few challenges:

• Not being prepared. On days when I've not cooked/prepped, it can be very tricky to eat. Hard to have things "to grab and go".
• Cooking "regular" food for my family. They are not doing the vegan challenge, so at night and on weekends, I am cooking for them, often leaving me with a partial dinner, eating only the parts of the meal that are vegan.
• I miss having cheese to cook with. It is a missing level of depth that my cooking is lacking.

I have noticed that the reduction in dairy is definitely good for my body. I will maintain that I think later on. All in all, I feel amazing. I'm putting tons of different fruits, veggies, and grains, into my body - which we all know is good!

Keeping up the challenge!