Thursday, June 20, 2013

Project Lovely Laura

Welcome to the Project Lovely Laura blog; a journey to a healthier me! While I've tried (and failed) many times to lose weight and be healthy, this time it feels different. I feel more motivated and committed to a healthier life for me.  I want to enjoy a long life with my husband and my two boys!

I started my journey in January after the holidays and my motivation was that I committed to run/walk a marathon relay in April with some fantastic co-workers for a great cause.  So I began to train using the Couch to 5K program and I can't say enough wonderful things about this program.  I have never ever (I say again, never) been a runner.  I hated it when I was a kid and as I got older (and heavier), the disdain was not diminished.  The Couch to 5K program took me, a non-running, rather sedentary gal and had me running 10 minute stretches at a time by week 6.  Amazing, if you ask me.  Now, I still do not enjoy running per se, but I can do it!  I faced many of those long intervals with trepidation and intimidation, but I felt like Super Woman when I tackled them.  I'm not kidding; I asked my husband for a cape one evening when I completed a gnarly 6 minute interval. I also started religiously tracking my diet and exercise with MyFitnessPal (MFP).  I also can't say enough about MFP.  It's a great program and resource for those people looking to lead a healthier lifestyle. Flash forward to April, I lost a significant amount of weight and was able to complete my 6.03 mile portion of the relay in 1:30:50.  Not too bad for a newbie!

I gave myself some time to recover from the relay (ahem, way too much time!) and got off the running bandwagon, but I was still mostly watching what I ate and walking regularly.  Then we went on a lovely family vacation and I truly vacated in the sense that I didn't exercise nor did I really watch what I ate and that's ok.  Family bonding time was totally worth it.

Once I started noticing my friend, the scale, creeping up, I realized it was time to get back in the saddle.  Enter the birthday challenge!  I've been stuck in this particular 5 lb weight range and I'm tired of the plateau, so I decided to challenge myself before my (31st, yikes) birthday.  The challenge:  to lose 15 lbs by August 18th.  Difficult, yes. Impossible, NO!

I'm hoping this challenge will get me over this hump and back on track to lose, what I hope, is a lot more weight!  I will also be challenging myself to train for a 10k this fall (doable since I essentially ran/walked 10k for my marathon relay) followed by training for a 1/2 marathon next April (a challenge a dear friend and I accepted together).

I saw this quote on Facebook this week (I think it is originally from a Saucony commercial?) and I think this will be my mantra throughout this journey...Maybe strong is what you have left, when you've used up all your weak. 



8 comments:

  1. That's awesome, Laura! I don't know how you have the energy with those two little cuties running around. Great job!

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    1. Thank you! Hopefully losing more weight will give me a lot more energy to keep up with them! :)

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  2. Love this! So inspiring. Can't wait to read more!

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    1. Thanks, friend! :) Going to give this a whirl and try to keep up with it!

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  3. I am so proud of you! Please let me know how I can help you on your journey friend. :)

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    1. Thanks, Amy! :) Miss you! Sorry we didn't get to catch up more at Concert on the Quad, but hopefully we can catch up soon. I see a lunch date in our future!

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  4. Laura, I have always admired you and your tenacity, even when you were a first grader! Any time you put your mind to something, you always accomplished it! I, too, have become more conscious about my health--especially since my bout with a wickedly out-of-control pancreas last summer. I find one of the best ways to keep my weight under control is to weigh myself every morning wearing the same suit (my birthday suit). That way, I can't blame any unwanted pounds on my clothes, the time of day, or what I just ate, since I weigh before I eat. I've pretty much kept the same weight for ten years that way, and when you are my age, that is pretty impressive, I think! So, keep blogging and keep us up on your progress! We are all rooting for you! By the way, you know you are already lovely--inside and out!

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    1. Thank you so much, Mrs. Fitts! :) I agree with weighing yourself every day. Some say you aren't supposed to, but I find it holds me accountable. If I'm not happy with what I see on the scale in the morning, I am so much more conscious of what I eat the rest of the day and find it easier to resist temptations. So proud of you for maintaining your weight for 10 years; that's quite an accomplishment!

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