Christy

I have week 1 of my Virtual Team in Training under my belt! WOOT!

Miles run: 8.01

We started out with our team conference call on the 30th, where we heard from Coach Joe, Julie (from the LLS), and Shannon (our fundraising mentor). It was an awesome call! I was actually shopping at Walmart with my daughter when I took the call, and there were several times I had to pull my cart over so I could laugh, and I even shed a few tears. I wanted to shout out about how excited I was to be part of something so amazing, but I think people already thought I was a little nuts.

On Sunday (1/31), I began my training with my first official run of 3 miles. Lisa was here visiting, so we took turns watching the kids so we could run alone. That 1st run, without a doubt, was my best run ever. Not just from a physical standpoint, but from a mental standpoint as well. All I could think about was how amazing this journey would be. I thought about Allie, I though about my Paw Paw, who was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia 2 years ago. I thought about everyone diagnosed with blood cancers, and cancer in general, who have to fight and endure chemotherapy, radiation, and the terrible side effects that come with treatment. I thought about Team Shrinking Jeans, all 18 of us, and what we’re doing. It’s HUGE. I thought about all the amazing support we’re receiving from the Sisterhood, and before I knew it, my 3 miles were done, and I wanted to keep running so I could think some more.

Although the weather was bad this past week, with lots of rain, and some flooding, amazingly enough, the sun was shining on the days of my runs. Perfect. The tempo run was the hardest, because you alternate between running at an easy pace, with running all out for 2 minutes at a time. You have to run at a pace you can maintain for the full 2 minutes, and that day I was running with the jogging stroller and Mia, so it was a little tricky, but I did it and felt a huge sense of accomplishment afterwards. I was also very sweaty and gross!

This week I will continue to follow my training schedule, and will even stop by the gym in Kerrville (which is 70 miles away!) to look into buying a pass so I can visit once a week for some weight training. I also plan to finish up my fundraising letter and get it in the mail, because in addition to training, I have to raise $2900 and as a team, we will be raising $51,800 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

New iTunes downloads this week:

• Save the Last Dance – Michael Buble
• Empire State of Mind – Jay Z with Alicia Keys
• Lean on Me – Bill Withers

Songs that gave me what I needed this week:

• Lose Yourself – Eminem <–have you ever listened to the words? It’s a really, really powerful song and the beat keeps my feet moving.

I’m up 1.4. I can’t really say why I’m up, but I am. It’s stupid. I’m over it and ready to move on.

On a very happy note, I started the Team in Training Program to train for the San Diego Rock ‘n Roll 1/2 marathon this week. I am SO excited and pumped up!!

Next week, I know my weight will be back down. I’m sure of it. And I know that I’m going to be that much further along with my training, and hopefully my fundraising!

Wanna be my first official donor? Click here. I’m giving away a $25 gift card to randomly selected donors, and you can read about it here! THANKS!

I rocked my first training run on Sunday!

January 29, 2001

Dear Christy,

Grab a cup of coffee before you read this letter, because right now, as you write this letter, it’s cold and rainy and you’re enjoying a cup of coffee. Mia’s napping and the house is quiet…..

Congratulations on an awesome year. Two thousand and ten was really your year, and I’m so proud of everything you accomplished!

The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans has become an amazing place. The support you’ve given and received, and the connections you’ve made over the past year are something you should really be proud of. You’ve touched so many people and changed the way people look at weight-loss and fitness, and the site continues to grow and touch more people than you can imagine!

I’m proud to say that you FINALLY reached your weight-loss goal, too. Yes, you finally did it! WOOHOOO! I know you struggled to get here, but just wait until you see your rock hard abs, girl. You’ll be really impressed with your HOT self, and realize that all the hard work was SO worth it. You are lean and mean now, hooker. Okay, not really mean, but you know what I’m saying.

About that first 1/2 marathon, you ROCKED it girl. I know you had your doubts and you were nervous about being able to keep up with training because of the whole ‘training with a jogging stroller’ issue, but you did it! Not only did you kick ass with the training, but you kicked ass with the fundraising. Your personal fundraising exceeded your goals, and the corporate sponsorships were more than you could hope for! Team Shrinking Jeans really made a huge difference in the lives of so many people touched by blood cancers.

When you arrived in San Diego in early June, you were met by all of your Sisters and it was such an emotional time. The whole weekend was, really. You had all done this together and were about to complete your goal. Running 13.1 miles. As you ran, you looked back on how far you had come, and you looked ahead to where you wanted to go next. As you crossed the finish line, you were a hot mess, but YOU DID IT, and you did way better than you thought you would. I’m so proud of you for not giving up and for following through with your goal.

Also, you had an amazing time with your hookers that weekend. Just wait and see! You cemented the friendships with all these wonderful ladies, and the friendships will last a lifetime.

After the 1/2, you didn’t stop there! Remember that other goal that’s in the back of you mind right now? The goal of running a 5K with BJ? Well, you’re going to do that to. You’ll train with BJ over the summer, and the 2 of you will run a 5K together, and when you cross the finish line, it’s the best day of your life. Well, close the best day. You will be so proud of how BJ does. He’s amazing, that boy of ours. And that 5k? It will be a turning point in his life as well. It will only be the start for him. He’s working on developing a lifetime love of running, and it’s all because of you!

What about Mia, you might be asking? Well, she’s 3 now. HOLY COW. I know you’re asking, ‘when did that happen!?’ Well, she’s growing into a fine little girl. A little girl who loves to workout and oh how badly she wants to run. She’s ready to bust out of that jogging stroller and hit the ground running! She’s learning so much from you. You are totally achieving your goals of instilling a love for healthy living in your kids. ROCK ON!

I know you’re sitting there right now, pondering whether or not to register for that Disney 1/2 marathon….Well, you just finished FINISHED it, girl. WOOOOHOOOOO! You rocked it, too. You totally blew you first 1/2 marathon time out of the water, and having your friends AND family there when you crossed the finish line was just the icing on the cake. You’re going big places, girl. BIG!

There are so many other wonderful things that are going to happen this year. So many victories. You will have the most amazing year. I do want to tell you one thing though. Slow down. Enjoy each of those victories. Soak them in, and OWN them, because you worked hard for them. You need to acknowledge each setback, too, because there will be a couple. You’ll get past them though, trust me, and as you get past them you’ll grow so much.

So right now, finish up that coffee, fill up your water bottle and get moving. Two thousand and eleven is looking to be an even busier year! Lots of races to run and people to inspire. There’s no stopping you.

Love,
Christy

p.s. Go fill up your water bottle now!

Hello brand new week! I’m so happy to see you. Seriously. After last week’s Flex Points debacle, I’m ready for a clean slate and a fresh set of Points. I will never, ever act like that again! Promise!

So on to the good stuff!

Last week’s weight: 140
This week’s weight: 138
Change: -2 POUNDS <—--Did you see that? OMFG! I haven’t lost 2 pounds in a month, muchless ONE week, in I don’t even know how long!

THIS is why we sing the praises of Weight Watchers. This very reason. If you do it, and  you are honest with yourself in tracking your points, it works. Simple. Yes, it’s a little cumbersome when you first start out, but isn’t anything new? If you are on the fence about Weight Watchers, please get off and give it a try.

What did I learn this week? I learned that I need to plan a little better for my splurges. There is nothing wrong with splurging. As a matter of fact, I think you HAVE to splurge every now and then, or else you’ll go completely insane and the paddy wagon will pull up in your driveway.

I also learned that my indulgences are not what they used to be. One night this past week, I was starving to death (because I blew all my Flex Points) and wanted something, anything to eat. I grabbed the nearest thing and plunged it into Cool Whip. The nearest thing was a Z-bar, okay TWO Z-bars, and the Cool Whip was light. While I totally used Points I didn’t have, it could have been so much worse. The old me would have grabbed a 1/2 gallon of ice cream out of the freezer and polished most of it off. In one sitting. With chocolate sauce and probably nuts, too. Yeah, that was me.

So I am victorious this week, because I finally realized that I’ve been successful! I have changed my LIFESTYLE, and that is a huge win for me.

Also, if you haven’t joined us on Twitter for our Last Chance Tworkouts during the Biggest Loser, you totally should! You’re missing out Just check it out for  yourself.

This week I have been back on my game. Totally tracking every.single.point I consume via Weight Watchers online, exercising 5 out of 7 days, drinking lots of water, etc.

But let’s talk about counting those Points.

My daily allowance of Weight Watchers Points is 22. That averages out to about 1200 calories a day, give or take a hundred here or there for consuming things higher in fiber. After spinning my wheels for the past couple of months and not following the plan, getting back on it has been hard. Like Christie, I feel like I’m starving half the time, and I know it’s all in my head! I’m not really starving, I’m just not used to accounting for everything that goes into my mouth. So I get those blessed extra 35 Flex Points each week, and while I used to save them up for a splurge meal, this past week I was dipping in to them and using 3-5 on a daily basis. Then comes Friday, which was our night to dine out. We went to Fuddruckers. I hadn’t had a real hamburger in ages. Or fries or onion rings. Now I will give myself some credit, because I did order a buffalo burger, which is much lower in fat and calories, and it did come on a wheat bun, BUT I also ordered fries AND onion rings, AND I smothered everything in fake cheese sauce. Have you ever had Fuddruckers fake cheese? It’s DIVINE. Don’t ever eat it, m’kay?!

I pretty much blew through the rest of my daily points AND all of my Flex Points, and even some of the Activity Points I’d earned. All on one stupid meal. Totally, totally not worth it.

Since Saturday, I’ve been desperately trying to stick to my 22 daily Points, and it’s be SUCK CITY.

Last night I gave into temptation. Now let me just tell you, before you roll your eyes so hard they fall right out of your head, that my crazy splurges are not what they used to be. I didn’t eat a whole package of cookies (ye,s I’ve done this), or a king size Snickers (used to be weekly), or a half-dozen cupcakes (don’t judge). I ate TWO Chocolate Brownie Z-bars dipped in Light Cool Whip. Generously dipped, over and over and over. That’s about 6 points, or over 1/4 of my daily Points, when I didn’t have any left.

So, what have I learned from this? I will be very stingy with my Flex Points from now on. I certainly will not blow all of them, plus some, on one meal again. I know there is no reason for me to be hungry as long as I’m using my Points wisely. WISELY. Oh, and next time I decide to give into temptation, I’ll only eat ONE Z-bar. Promise. And there won’t be any Cool Whip involved.

Christie’s Monday Project homework this week seemed so easy this week. Only when I sat down to do it, I couldn’t really come up with anything. I am really not one to toot my own horn. I’m the person who tells everyone else how AWESOME they are. Sheesh. Bear with me, here…..

Five reasons I Totally Rock:

1. I can run like the wind. This is a HUGE feat for me, and I do believe that it makes me totally and completely awesome.
2. My legs totally rock. No, they aren’t super-model thin, and there’s still some dimple action going on, but that’s OKAY. My legs are muscular and strong. Stronger than they’ve ever been, and I’ve worked hard for them. They ROCK.
3. I can do 25 pushups on my toes. FOR REAL. When we first started shredding, I couldn’t even do 5 modified pushes.
4. I am a mom. The end.
5. I know how to shoot a gun (Lisa told me I had to use this one!)!

Okay, so that wasn’t so bad afterall! I think I’m getting a big head now, because all of a sudden, I can think of a lot more reasons why I rock!

I don’t have lots of time this morning, but I was SO excited about my loss, I had to jump on here.

This week I counted my points. All of them. Even the 20+ I went OVER with all the eating out I did while out of town. I also exercised 5 out of 7 days. I know in my heart, that if I am consistent with exercise AND counting my WW Points, that I will lose, and this week I did!

Last week: 141.2
This week: 140
Change: – 1.2 pounds

I am so happy. I have a new sense of motivation. A renewed drive. I CAN do this! I can get to my goal weight. And maybe before I head to Fitbloggin’ 10 at the end of march….

Have a MARVELOUS SHRINKING week, y’all!

With my travel last week, I didn’t have an opportunity to write my post out for the 1st Monday Project. Well, maybe I did and I was just avoiding it…

What about 2009 (and beyond) did not work? What were my goals? Did I fall short of achieving them? If so, why? What were my biggest obstacles? What were my patterns? What was my “rock bottom” moment? What are my bad habits? Sit down and think about each question and answer them as fully and completely as you can in your mind. Target your patterns and obstacles that have impeded your efforts in the past, the potential hazards for this time around. Is it sweets at work? No support from your family? No motivation to work out because it’s too early or too late? Eating at night? Emotional eating? Negative self-talk? Are you stuck? No time?

Last year was the first full year of the Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. I started out the year with a gigantic gain of over 6 pounds due to terrible eating over the holidays. It was a huge slap in the face for me. Throughout the course of 2009, my weight went down, but I had so many weeks with gains. I know that tracking my points using Weight Watchers online worked for me, because the weeks I tracked diligently, I had loses.

In April of 2009, the Sisterhood starting Shredding using Jillian Michaels’ 30-Day Shred DVD. It was the first time I had added consistent exercise into my routine, and it was also the point when my Points tracking went by the wayside. I think I got a little arrogant, and figured that working out was more than enough, and while I still tried to eat healthfully, I wasn’t keeping track. Huge FAIL.

Looking back, it’s so obvious to me now that I needed BOTH. I needed consistent exercise and I needed to track everything that went into my pie hole. Without BOTH, I was basically struggling for very small losses, maintaining, and even gaining small amounts each week. That struggle gave me a poor attitude and kept me from finally reaching my goal.

On a positive note, I did dip into the 130 briefly in 2009, and my overall loss for the year was 18 pounds. Really not shabby, but as I said before, there were lots of weeks when I gained, and if I’d been in the right frame of mind, I probably wouldn’t have had as many of those weeks.

Then, take a look at 2009 and beyond and think about what did work. Because you don’t want to fix what ain’t broke. If something worked for you, if you felt progress somewhere, found successes, (because along the journey there are a million tiny victories, many of them non-scale related!), what were those? All of your victories are a very big deal! Give yourself a high five, out loud, to everyone!

In 2009, I incorporate physical activity into my routine, and that WORKED. I had more energy, felt great, and started to feel muscles in places that were just soft before. I loved the way working out made me feel, and the compliments I received from people only fueled the fire. I had a HUGE ah-ha moment when I realized that losing all the weight was great, but not being toned and fit when I reached that point would leave me short of my goal. So I exercised. I shredded, jumped on the EA SPORTS Active train with Personal Trainer, More Workouts, and the 5K challenge.

Looking back, I also realize I really woke up and started thinking about what I was putting in my body. I realized that processed foods were just bad, and I really cracked down on my intake of fruits and vegetables. I also started focusing on my water intake, and noticed a huge improvement in the way I felt as a fully hydrated person.

The part three of this project is to work out those bugs from 2009. For anything that didn’t work, think about your proposed solutions to the issues.

As far as solutions go, since I know working out worked for me in 2009, I am fully committed to continuing down that path. With the Sisterhood 1/2 marathon training about to kick off, I’m totally psyched about where my body will take me in 2010. I also plan to keep up with my strength training so my body will be in top condition for training and running.

I know where I need the most work, and that’s in the food intake accountability area. I NEED to track my points. I need to know what’s going into my body. I need to make sure I’m staying within my Points allowance if I want to see the scale move down. I also realize I need to tweak what I’m eating in order to fuel my body for the physical activities I’m taking part in.

This year will be the year it all comes together for me. I will reach my goal weight through tracking Points on Weight Watchers online, decide whether my goal weight is the right place for me, will train and run the San Diego Rock ‘n Roll 1/2 marathon as part of Team Shrinking Jeans, and will do it all consistently. No more arrogance. No more slacking. No more excuses.

The end.

p.s. Thank you Christie. Thank you so much for putting together this awesome new feature for the Sisterhood. Thank you for posing the tough questions and making me really, really think about my journey. You rock, and I love you.

You probably saw the title of my post and thought I’d lost like 5 pounds, right? WRONG. I am victorious because I maintained this week. I maintained after a glorious trip to LA with the other fabulous EA SPORTS Active for Life Challengers.

This past week has been an exciting one, to say the least. As an EA SPORTS Active for Life Challenger, I took part in the More Workouts 6-week challenge. I vlogged and blogged about my progress here and at the EA site. Our celebration was held this past weekend in sunny (and WARM) LA, and it was amazing. The hotel was so hip, the restaurants were trendy, the food was amazing, the drinks were delish, and the company, well, the company was so inspiring. Each and every one of the challengers has their own mountain to climb, and each and every one of us climbed out hearts out during the 6-week challenge and while we were in LA.

We hiked Runyon Canyon, on a clear and breezy day in LA. So perfect. After 4.5 miles of up and down, I burned 677 calories. WOW!

Wendy, Lisa, Gerard (@Active_Trainer), KP (@Active_Girl), and Monique – Fabulous EA SPORTS Active staff.

I am so happy EA SPORTS Active chose me to be an Active for Life Challenger. While it was a little scary stepping outside the comfort and support of the Sisterhood, I’m so glad I did. The challenge gave me new strength, physically (you should see my quads and biceps!) and mentally. I feel like a better person because of it, and I plan to continue using More Workouts as I train for my 1/2 marathon!

Last week: 141.2
This week: 141.2
WOOT!

This week is my first official weigh-in for the challenge! Last week I was out of town, and checked in with the previous week’s weight of 140.4.

This weeks weigh-in is pretty much what I expected! After being out of town for a week, and pretty much eating what I wanted (with all the guilty feelings. ugh), my weight is up this week.

Today: 141.2

I am happy with that weight. I feel like it could have been, and should have been much higher! Since returning home on Sunday, I’ve buckled down. I’m happy to say I’ve been meeting all of my goals!!

A little refresher:

1. GET ON WW ONLINE AND DO IT! No excuses. NONE.
2. EXERCISE! Strength training, running, cardio.
3. WATER! OMG, I have fallen off on my water intake, and that’s one thing I know helps me lose weight! WATER has got to be a priority!
4. FRESH! I need to start consuming fresh, fresh, fresh food.

I downloaded the new iPhone app from Weight Watchers and I LOVE it. SO MUCH. It’s totally free, too! I ran on Monday, did the EA SPORTS Active More Workouts on Tuesday, and will do it again tonight. I’ve been drowning myself with water, and I feel SO much better for it. And I’ve been eating lots and lots of fruits and veggies!

Tomorrow I’m escaping central Texas, and our frigid weather, and heading to sunny LA! Why, you ask? As a EA SPORTS Active 6-Week Challenger, one of the perks is a challenge end retreat! FUN! So I, along with the other 11 challengers will converge in sunny LA for a little fun this weekend. Part of the fun includes a LIVE web chat, that I encourage you pop in on! We’ll be taking questions, talking about our experiences with More Workouts, and EA SPORTS Active’s own fitness expert will be there as well. And don’t forget super-rad Kathryn (@Active_Girl)!

The Live Chat starts at 4 p.m. PST on Saturday and here’s the link! Stop by and check it out! You don’t have to do anything other than watch, although I’d love to get some questions and support from y’all!

Have a great, shrinking week!