I needed some motivation so I gave myself a challenge. A 30 day challenge. It works out well since I'll be traveling to Dallas in one months time. :)
I have a big goal. I want to lose 20 pounds in 30 days. Here's how I'm going to accomplish this:
1. No soda
2. No booze
3. No red meat
4. Exercise every day
5. LOW carb intake
6. Track my food
7. No eating out
I think by following these key things, I should be able to hit my goal. Especially the low carb part. Carbs are my enemy.
I'm on day 3 and I'm feeling good. I've worked out each day, I've eat incredibly healthy, I've tracked my food, I've not had soda, and most importantly, I've had almost no carbs. So of course that means I'm exhausted. But I got in a fantastic workout this morning at 5:30 and am looking forward to another one tomorrow.
I bought a scale. I'm not sure how often I will weigh myself. I really hate the scale. And I know I said I wasn't going to weigh myself until I lost 2 inches in my hips, but the best way to know weight loss is by seeing the number decrease. So I'm back to weighing myself.
I started this on Monday so I'll at least post an update next Monday with how well I'm doing. Hopefully I'm down at least 5 pounds!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Alone in Public...
I've been getting out on the trails, riding my bicycle. I've ridden with my friends, but since my friends are runners, it doesn't work out so well. I ride faster than they run. The downside is that I end up stopping and waiting for them. But the upside is that I'm never alone on the trail. And that's a pretty big upside.
Most of you know that it's hard for me to be in public alone. I still get nervous that something bad is going to happen. Last Saturday I rode 10 miles alone. I was paranoid the entire time, but I made it. And was pretty proud of myself. But then a friend and I went for a walk on a trail at dusk and I hyperventilated. Being exposed at night is something I'm not ready for yet.
I went out again this Saturday morning and it was the hardest ride I've had to date. It was hot. It was windy. I wasn't hydrated enough. That alone made it a bad ride. But around mile 5, a group of 4 boys was running towards me. On the trail I ride, there are a lot of high school track boys running in groups. They are always polite; they smile, say hi. It's never an issue. And they don't scare me (too much). But this group decided that they wouldn't follow normal trail protocol and didn't shift to the right side of the trail so I could pass on my side. As I got closer, they didn't budge. So I yelled out, "coming through" and instead of shifting, they separated so I had to ride in the middle of the four of them - two on either side.
These teenage boys thought they were probably being funny. What they didn't realize was how absolutely terrifying that was for me. They probably didn't see it like I did...that they trapped me without an exit, even if it was for only 3 seconds. I kept riding, but breathing was difficult through the tears. I ended up stopping about a mile down the trail for a few minutes to get myself together. And then I called my dad to have him meet me with some cold water. I calmed down. I talked to a woman who's a marathoner who was also taking a short break in her rest training. And then I powered through the rest of my ride.
I'm working on being proud of the 12 miles I rode. That's the farthest I've ridden on my bike. And it was the hottest day ever! But the fear those stupid teenagers caused angers me. I thought I was farther along in my "getting over it" then I really am.
I know it's all mental. But two Saturday's ago when I rode alone, I was prepared to be alone. I had talked myself up and built my confidence in my abilities to ride alone. This Saturday I wasn't supposed to ride alone so I hadn't given myself enough of a pep talk to tackle such a big task (big...for me). I guess I'll need to make sure I'm prepared in every instance. I am going to ride again on Wednesday morning. I've asked a friend to ride with me. But if I end up alone again, I know that I can do it...apparently I'm working on my pep talk right now. :)
But if I see those same boys again, you can bet I'm going to stop and tell them what they did to me so they don't accidently do it to anyone else.
Most of you know that it's hard for me to be in public alone. I still get nervous that something bad is going to happen. Last Saturday I rode 10 miles alone. I was paranoid the entire time, but I made it. And was pretty proud of myself. But then a friend and I went for a walk on a trail at dusk and I hyperventilated. Being exposed at night is something I'm not ready for yet.
I went out again this Saturday morning and it was the hardest ride I've had to date. It was hot. It was windy. I wasn't hydrated enough. That alone made it a bad ride. But around mile 5, a group of 4 boys was running towards me. On the trail I ride, there are a lot of high school track boys running in groups. They are always polite; they smile, say hi. It's never an issue. And they don't scare me (too much). But this group decided that they wouldn't follow normal trail protocol and didn't shift to the right side of the trail so I could pass on my side. As I got closer, they didn't budge. So I yelled out, "coming through" and instead of shifting, they separated so I had to ride in the middle of the four of them - two on either side.
These teenage boys thought they were probably being funny. What they didn't realize was how absolutely terrifying that was for me. They probably didn't see it like I did...that they trapped me without an exit, even if it was for only 3 seconds. I kept riding, but breathing was difficult through the tears. I ended up stopping about a mile down the trail for a few minutes to get myself together. And then I called my dad to have him meet me with some cold water. I calmed down. I talked to a woman who's a marathoner who was also taking a short break in her rest training. And then I powered through the rest of my ride.
I'm working on being proud of the 12 miles I rode. That's the farthest I've ridden on my bike. And it was the hottest day ever! But the fear those stupid teenagers caused angers me. I thought I was farther along in my "getting over it" then I really am.
I know it's all mental. But two Saturday's ago when I rode alone, I was prepared to be alone. I had talked myself up and built my confidence in my abilities to ride alone. This Saturday I wasn't supposed to ride alone so I hadn't given myself enough of a pep talk to tackle such a big task (big...for me). I guess I'll need to make sure I'm prepared in every instance. I am going to ride again on Wednesday morning. I've asked a friend to ride with me. But if I end up alone again, I know that I can do it...apparently I'm working on my pep talk right now. :)
But if I see those same boys again, you can bet I'm going to stop and tell them what they did to me so they don't accidently do it to anyone else.
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