Week 38….Good bye 200’s….HELLO ONEDERLAND!!!!!!!!!

Okay, it has been 3 weeks since I last posted.  What has been going on?  I have been going up and down.  Week 36 found me gaining .8#.  Week 37 found me losing .2#.  I had been working out, but honestly my eating had been bad.  I was working some very long days and not eating properly but I was finding time run at lunch or right after work or wherever I could find it!  I did the stair climber for 20 minutes straight.  I ran for 20 minutes straight.  I beat my 5K pace by 2 minutes.  Progress not perfection!  I did the best I could and I am not grumbling!

During those weeks, I found myself swimsuit shopping for my trip to Hawaii. I bought bikinis!!!!!!  I haven’t taken pictures of me in those, but OMG, I bought bikinis!!!  My friend from Washington also said she was going to send me one; she said she had the perfect one for me.  I had no idea what it would look like, but I received it yesterday and it’s beautiful!!!!  It’s a bikini in the truest sense of the word and it looks amazing on me!!!

But before we talk more about that bikini, let’s talk about week 38.

So here we are at week 38.   Week 38 had Thanksgiving right in the middle.  Everyone who ever diets dreads this holiday.  Not only did I keep on running…but I ran in a 5K ON thanksgiving.  Tracy and I did the 1st Annual Turkey Day 5K.  I ran my fastest mile 12:09!  And then I came to a stop to wait for my husband who was just 3 weeks out of a surgery that took all he had.  This 5K was killing him.  So I stopped and waited for him.  We held hands and walked to the 3 mile mark then we ran together and crossed the finish line hand in hand! It was my pleasure to walk with him and support him through this.  It was the least I could do for all of the times and races he has supported me.  We also hit the gym twice this week and I found myself running on the treadmill for the longest running streak ever!  I ran for 30 minutes straight!!!!

After running on that treadmill for 30 minutes straight I realized that I have shed some stories.  38 weeks ago, I HATED the treadmill and the gym.  I felt like I didn’t belong there.  I was fat.  I was a heavy and loud runner.  People are watching me and laughing at me.    But this week, I put on my game face and ran like no one was watching me..cause guess what? They weren’t!  I let go of my stories and its just me and my goals on that treadmill with no extra baggage!

Now back to that bikini…..

Not only did I try on that swimsuit Jeannine sent me, but I also tried on my old “skinny” snowboarding pants.  I bought these things the first time I did weight watchers.  I remember how excited I was to buy my them and fit into them!  Then I gained weight and  haven’t been able to wear them in years!  Then last season I got to wear them to the last day of the boarding season; they were tight but I got to wear them.  Last night, I put them on and THEY SWALLOWED  ME!!!!    Then I tried on my new boarding pants which were tight when I bought them, and now they fit perfectly and my pink ones match my new bikini top…..GUESS WHAT I’LL BE WEARING ON THE LAST DAY OF BOARDING SEASON FOR BOGUS BASIN BEACH PARTY!!!!!

  These used to be my “skinny” snowboarding pants!

THIS IS WHAT ONDERLAND LOOKS LIKE!!!!!!!!  The picture in workout clothes was taken in March/April after I had already lost some weight and t his bikini is the one my friend Jeannine sent me!    Get used to seeing me in this thing because this bikini will be my outfit of choice for my before and after shots for a while!

 

Week 38 was a huge week for me and I knew this morning when I stepped on my home scale what today was.  I had breakfast.  I worked.  And I went to my weigh in.  That scale said I lost 2.2# for a total of 48.2# lost.  I weighed in at 198.4!!!!!!!!  Not only did I reach ONDERLAND, but I reached it by pounds!!!!!  I screamed!  I hooped and hollered!  I jumped up and down on the scale!  I hugged Paula, my Weight Watcher leader!  But the one thing I didn’t do was cry!  I totally thought I was going to cry cause every time I visualized this moment and FELT this moment, I cried from happiness.  But today was different!  OMG  I was so excited!

Don’t ever let someone tell you that Thanksgiving and the holidays mean you are going to gain weight!  What a stupid story to believe! You can eat healthy. You can indulge a little.  You can keep moving. YOU CAN LOSE WEIGHT AND STICK TO YOUR GOALS!!!!

HELLO, ONDERLAND!!!!!!!!  SO GLAD TO BE HERE!

I was asked today, “Now that you have reached this huge goal, what’s next for you, Martha?”  My reply was, “Let me finish the Honolulu Marathon and climb the 4000 steps up the Stairway to Heaven next week, then I’ll get back to you!”  I’m so excited for my trip to Hawaii and to run the marathon and do all the fun things I am going to get to do!!!

In the mean time, I am focusing on making sure that I get my exercise in, no matter how busy I get at work or how busy I get getting ready for my trip!  Today, after work and shopping (where I fit into a size 12 pair of pants), I came home turned on the Biggest Loser and used my step to do over 4000 steps while watching the show!  No excuses!  Gotta keep moving!!!

Weeks 34 & 35…some fun, some not so fun, feeling great and ****THIS***close…

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks that have kept me from blogging.  Okay, *I* Have kept me from blogging but the weeks *have* been crazy :).

Week 34 found me standing on the scale and releasing 2# for a total of 43.6# released weighing in at 203#.   This was also the week that my entire family “ran” the Farmstead 5K Obstacle Challenge.  Naomi (my 12 year old daughter) is a sprinter in school and distance running isn’t her thing, but she was totally excited about this race, at least until she pulled an “all nighter” at the roller rink the night before.  *laugh*  She was told she could go to the all-nighter only if she promised not to whine at the race.  Lo and behold she worked very hard at NOT whining, but you could totally see it on her face.  She wanted to whine!  *laugh*  (Note to self…all-nighters not a great idea the night before a race!)  Anyway, the race was a great time!  We did alot mroe walking than I would have liked, but we finished in 49 minutes!    We jumped trenches, ran beside and through corn mazes and hay bale mazes.  We crawled under semi trailers and army crawled through hay. We even climbed over a mountain of hay bales!  The finish line was the best…jumping to the finish line on a big air pillow!  We had such a great time!  The best part was doing it with my family.  I got to SEE the difference I have made in what my family calls fun!

Week 34 also found me doing a little bit of shopping.  It is getting colder here in Idaho, and running in the mornings or running in the evenings is pretty darn cold!  I thought I bought warm enough gear a couple of months ago, but I found out that I was wrong.  So the day after the Farmstead race, I took my friend’s suggestion and went to the Nike Outlet Store and found some amazing winter running gear!  Not only will it work for running, but it doubles as gear to wear for snowboarding and most importantly it MATCHES my new snowboarding gear!!  Now I will look great on my runs on the pavement and on the snow!!!

This is the first time I have owned women’s boarding gear in both the pants and the jacket!  I am so excited!  And I LOVE the colors!!!  They are so me!  BRING ON THE SNOW!!!!  And I feel GREAT wearing the new running gear; it will really help me get through the next couple of weeks of training for the Honolulu Marathon!

Week 35…what can I say about week 35?  My husband had to have surgery in the middle of week 35.  This meant working and caring for him as well as making sure I took care of myself and got the right foods and exercise in.  It has been quite the adventure!  In the past, I would have dropped everything to be the caregiver and ignored my own health.  But I have learned that if I am not taking care of myself then I am in no shape to take care of others!  I have also learned to ask from help and my 2 children at home have been a huge help!  I am proud of the lessons I have learned for myself and being able to continue on my weight loss journey while caring for my husband!

I have also found myself comfortable thinking of myself as a runner and an athlete!  This is a huge one!  Getting comfortable with the new healthy “labels” is kinda cool.  You know what else is cool?  Getting used to the way I look in the mirror now and NOT recognizing the way I looked 35 weeks ago!  I have been working on photo books with images from the last year and when I look back at those images, I do not see *ME* in them.  That is because that was never really ME; it is a shell protecting the real me!  What I am NOW….THIS is me!  AMAZING!  So this week when I was in Macy’s trying on dresses and finding the regular Large sizes in the Misses department fitting me and looking amazing, yes I was a bit shocked, but more importantly I just felt AMAZING and INSPIRED!

This has also been a week of some other pretty profound insights.  I am a big dreamer (like the dreams you have at night) and I totally believe dreams are the unconscious speaking to me.  Well, in the last 2 weeks I have had 2 dreams about my dad.  I won’t go into it here, but my dad was a miserable man who was abusive.  He passed away 4 years ago this month.  He died of lung cancer (complication of obesity).  Usually when I dream about my dad, it is BAD.  However, the last 2 dreams were good.  This very last dream in Week 35 found me dreaming about him HELPING me.  He was reassuring me that THIS IS ME now.  He told me that I have healed and I have broken this cycle of obesity and that THIS TIME IS FOR KEEPS!  He was happy in my dream.  I have never seen him truly happy, but in my dream he was.  There was a lightness to this close to 500# man.  It was amazing!

I also had a reminder of my life in 2005 when I could not move.  I was stuck in bed in severe pain from a ruptured disc.  It resulted in surgery.  It was quite painful and really messed with my life.  I couldn’t sit up without crying.  That Easter, eggs were hidden on my person so I could be included in the festivities.  I met my beautiful daughter in law for the first time while I laid in bed and couldn’t move; it was a horrible way to meet her.  I had to eat my meals in bed..something I hated!  I went to massage school and laid on the massage tables during class so I wouldn’t miss class.  It was a miserable existence.  Then I had surgery and I couldn’t hardly walk.  My husband held me up while I walked the length of one house and my legs would give out.  Then eventually I could walk 3 houses then to the corner.  And within 2 weeks, I was walking 2 miles!  And in a year’s time I completed my first Marathon November 6, 2006!  This week I was reminded of the pain and how much I hated not being able to move and how determined I was to finish that first marathon!  Here I am just a month away from the Honolulu Marathon, and I KNOW I can do this!  I am healthier and stronger than I have ever been!  And I am never going to take my health and fitness for granted again!

So today, I stepped on the scale.  I was expecting a 1# loss.  But what I found was a 3# loss for a total of 46.6…and I now I  weigh EXACTLY 200#!!!  I’m ***THIS*** close to ONEderland!!!  I was excited to see the number, but I was lamenting how close I was to being so close to the 100’s.  It’s all good.  I know I’ll get there, and this is fantastic (look, I didn’t use the word amazing!)  On my way into the meeting one of the ladies stopped me and said, “I heard you begging for another ounce to be under 200#, but I have to tell you that no one would look at you and think you weighed 200#!  You must be all muscle!”  THAT felt better than any number on the scale ever could!  And the truth of the matter is, I am wearing a size 14 at 200#! That’s not a 14W..that is a regular Misses size 14.  I am fitting into regular Large sizes!  I AM all muscle..well  not quite ALL.  I still have lots of fat to lose, but my body is certainly a different shape than it ever has been!

You know what else this means???? I GET TO POLE DANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Just in time…this weekend is my girlfriend’s bachelorette party and we are going POLE DANCING!!!  Another goal to check off of my list!!!  Can’t Wait!