It’s the little things…

I went shopping today for a few clothes for Chicago so I can look less like a Cedar Rapids college kid and more like a city slicker (maybe). And I was trying on skirts and jeans and blouses like crazy, and I discovered that I can now fit into a size smaller in skirts/jeans than I used to, and I can bounce between small and extra small tops.

It’s the small things like this that make you realize you’re making progress, that you’re losing weight (or at least getting smaller!). I’ve been feeling myself getting stronger on my runs and bike rides, but didn’t think it was showing anywhere but in my head. Well… apparently it is. I’m just slow to notice it!

I hope everyone had something surprising (and hopefully positive!) happen to them today!

Success!

I’ve been actively trying to lose weight since mid-April, and I’m finally down 5 pounds as of this morning! I got on the scale today expecting to be up 1-2 pounds because I haven’t ran/biked since Wednesday morning and I drank quite a bit Wednesday night and also last night. But instead I was down a pound, making it a solid five for the last three or so weeks. I would get my headband reward, but I just bought a $30 pair of cheetah-print spandex shorts as my half-marathon outfit, so that’s my reward instead.

Also, I’ve been packing up my dorm and found some shorts that I bought last summer. I tried them on and they fit really well. When I bought them last summer, they were really tight and small. They were hard to button and really tight on my thighs. They were my weight loss motivation (which failed). So I was thrilled yesterday when I tried them on and they buttoned easily and there is space between the shorts and my thighs now. I weigh basically the same, but I’m fitter. This is a really big sign of progress to me.

Today’s plan is to bike and pack. Then tomorrow is a long run followed by a nap and then… CINCO DE MAYO! Yay! More drinking! Gotta get all these irresponsible days in between the semester ending Wednesday and my full-time job starting Monday morning. Eeeek!

What a week.

This week I have biked 27 miles on the stationary bike in the gym and ran 9 miles with 10 more to run on Sunday. I’ve done ab workouts every day since Monday. I’ve lost about 2 pounds since Sunday. I’ve staying within my calorie goal every day (today will be the exception as I am partaking in a wallowing/food nomming session for my recently broken-up friend). I’ve been drinking tons of water and feeling pretty fantastic all week. Let’s hope that every week goes as well as this one. All my workouts have been strong and felt good, so I’m really optimistic for Sunday’s long run.

Reward System!

So I really need to motivate myself not only to keep up on my running and race training, but also to lose weight. I’ve gained about 20 pounds since I was in great half marathon shape in high school. Going into my senior year of college, I’d like to work 15-20 pounds off, which should be pretty manageable once I move out of my “all food within arm’s reach” dorm room and into an apartment for the summer/school year.

But to motivate myself to really get this done, I’m setting up a reward system for myself. I feel like by the end of the summer, I should be close to my big reward if I keep up on running, ab work, cross training, and, above everything else, stop eating a diet of 90% junk. Additionally, on April 30, my summer roomie and another friend and I are starting Insanity. So with all of these things combined, I should be in a good place to start losing weight. Right now, I’m losing some fat, gaining a lot of muscle, and the number of the scale hasn’t moved one bit.

Right now I’m 145 pounds. So my goals/rewards are as follows:

Lose 5 pounds: New Prana headband, something small but motivating
Lose 10 pounds: New summer shorts and/or a summer dress
Lose 15 pounds: Flashy/awesome new sports bra
Lose 20 pounds: New gym bag (ideally the Bliss Bag at Lululemon, if I can afford it)
It might be stretching it by saying this can all happen by the end of the summer, but I move to Chicago on September 3rd, and I hope to at least be close to my 20 pound goal by then. A change of diet/lifestyle should help me shed some pounds early so I can work hard at it the rest of the summer, like a pound a week.

Also Running Warehouse was having a huge sale today, so I bought a handheld waterbottle for running, a new pair of Kinvaras to wear for long runs/races, and a fun-colored Asics running top. Got all of these things for about the same cost of my running shoes list price, so that’s a win. That should be my last spending splurge until a) I get my first big summer paycheck and b) I lose 10 pounds. And since that paycheck won’t come until almost mid-June… maybe those can happen at the same time 😉