Guess who made her way back to “Onederland”?!

Yep, I weighed in this morning at 199.1 lbs which is a 1.7 lb loss for the week. This brings my total weight loss so far to 56.9 pounds.

I’m thrilled to be making progress again!!! I don’t want to say I’ve put the struggles behind me, because I don’t think that’s fully possible. There will always be struggles. Every day is a struggle. But what I can say is that I’m learning how to cope with them better and making progress in spite of them!

I’m 10 weeks away from being at this for a year. That boggles my mind! When I initially started this journey last September, I had no idea I would have been this successful at losing weight, I had no idea of the relationships that I would make a result of blogging, and if you would have told me a year ago that I’d be running 5 miles straight by now I would have laughed in your face. I still have about 10 weeks before my anniversary…but yes, I’m getting very excited about it! I thought about setting some goals to reach by then…something to work towards over the next ten weeks, but I’m not sure what. I don’t want to set a weight goal, because I can’t control what the scale says. And I don’t want to set anything unreasonable or anything that could cause injury. Anyone got any good ideas for something(s) I could challenge myself with over the next 10 weeks?? Anyone want to join me??? Since I don’t have internet at home, I don’t think I could fully run an “official” challenge because I wouldn’t be able to keep up with everyone….but still…let me know what you think….I want to end my “year” with a bang!

Have a great week everyone! xoxo

203 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
53.0 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(6) 5Ks finished since January 1st.

Weekly Goals Update:

• Run at least 10 miles this week.

Success! I ran 10.2 miles this week!

• Ride my bike at least once this week.

Couldn’t ride this week due to my tire. I need a new tube and wasn’t able to get one yet.

• Not drink ANY soda.

Success! I’m on day 291 of no soda.

• Eat breakfast everyday.

4 out of 7 days. Getting better.

• Go to bed by 11:00 on work nights, and by 8:00 PM on Friday nights.

I’ve been good at this. I think there was only one night where I was up past 11 during the week and I WILL be in bed by 8 tonight.

• Do one exercise class this week (Yoga, kickboxing, bootcamp, etc)

Had planned to join this bootcamp that some of my running buddies told be about, but wasn’t able to make it. Definitely will next week.

• Keep my training log updated.

It’s now completely up to date.

• Do 5 days of training per Caleb’s Crusade schedule.

Not quite. I only did 4. My schedule got thrown off because on Monday, my leg was still sore from Saturday’s run so I didn’t do my scheduled run that night. That threw my whole week off a day. I could exercise today to make up for it, but I really like to rest the day before my long run which is tomorrow morning.

I want to thank all of you who voted for Caleb’s Crusade in the Chase Community Giveaway on Facebook! You helped keep them in the top 200 and as a result they won $20,000 to help kids with cancer! THANK YOU! ♥

198.0 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
53.0 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(6) 5Ks finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

Wow. I can’t believe I’ve been at this for 41 weeks now! Gettin’ close to a year – SO exciting! I weighed in this morning at 200.8 lbs which is a 2.6 lb loss for the week. This brings my total weight loss so far to 55.2 pounds.

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

I have an interesting story to share that happened this weekend. The Fort Myers Track Club held their annual member’s picnic yesterday and my husband and I decided to go. It was really nice…out on Ft. Myers beach and they had a great lunch set up for everyone. Free for all members…WHICH I AM….cool, huh?

Well, this couple joined my husband and I at our table and we began to talk. They were super nice and it was really great to meet them. When I got up to get more to drink she made the comment to my husband that he must have really low race times. Hmm. They must have assumed that he was the runner because he has a VERY slim build. The truth is, my husband doesn’t run…so he told them that and went on to tell them that I was the runner. When I got back to the table she was asking me about it and I shared a little bit of my journey with her. Let’s just say she was shocked when I told her that I had just run almost 6 miles (without stopping) the day before! hehe…kinda funny really. It made me realize that’s probably what most people think when they see me and Darren together, especially at races and such, that HE is the runner. It’s a valid assumption I suppose since he has hardly any body fat at all, and I still have quite a bit to lose, but still. There’s a lesson in there somewhere about ASSuming and not judging a book by its cover.

Just remember the next time you see an overweight person….he or she may be in better shape than a lot of skinny people you might know! I may not look like a runner (yet), but I am one!

193.6 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
53.0 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(6) 5Ks finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

Weekly Goals Update:

• Run at least 10 miles this week.

I ran 8 miles this week. Not quite at goal, but a lot more than I have been. Feels great to be back.

• Ride my bike at least once this week.

Rode my bike Tuesday night. It was actually the first time I’d ever rode my bike since I got it almost 2 years ago. Sad it took me that long, huh?

• Not drink ANY soda.

I’m on day 285 of no soda.

• Eat breakfast everyday.

Only had breakfast 3 days this week. I need to work on this.

• Go to bed by 11:00 on work nights, and by 8:00 PM on Friday nights.

I did great through the week, but wasn’t in bed by 8 last night. I just couldn’t rest for some reason. I think it’s because I was nervous about our long run this morning (5.5 miles!).

• Do one exercise class this week (Yoga, kickboxing, bootcamp, etc)

Wasn’t able to this week, but I did find a bootcamp that I’ll be doing this week.

• Keep my training log updated.

I have been logging everything on paper, but haven’t had a chance to update online yet.

• Do 5 days of training per Caleb’s Crusade schedule.

DONE! This was the first week in forever it seems that I worked out this much. I’m VERY pleased with my progress this week.

I also wanted to mention that I picked up my new running shoes this week! They are Skydex Pearl Isumi:

and I LOVE THEM!!! We were scheduled to run 5.5 miles this morning (which scared the crap out of me). Thank God I had these shoes because I definitely could tell the difference between these and my old Nikes. Definitely. Huge thanks to Mike at Run Florida for donating them and he even threw in a pair of running socks for me! So cool. But yeah, the run this morning went great! We actually ran 5.8 miles and I did the entire distance without stopping to walk. (Well, except when I stopped for water at the halfway point). I was very proud of myself and my progress.

Hope you all had a great week too!

193.6 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
53.0 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(6) 5Ks finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

Well, I’m a few days late in posting my weigh-in, but that’s how it goes. I weighed in Monday morning at 203.4 lbs which is a 2.9 lb gain for the week. This brings my total weight loss so far to 52.6 pounds.

When I weighed in last week at 200.5 I thought it was a fluke; that it should have been higher. The reason for this is that I weigh myself everyday so I knew what I had been weighing on the days leading up to it. I only post my weight as it is on Mondays though, and it said 200.5. (even though the day before and the day after it was between 202 and 203 ) Anyway, that’s why I wasn’t surprised to see the 203.4 this week. HOWEVER, I have been doing really good on my new goals this week (will update tomorrow), so hopefully this will be my last gain for a long while!!!!

187.8 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
51.0 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(6) 5Ks finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

This post is long overdue. And it’s going to be a long one.

It’s no secret that I struggled pretty bad last month. Thankfully, I’m making strides now to “come back” and re-lose what I gained. I’m getting my mojo back and I sure don’t want to lose it again…so that’s where this post comes in. I want to give a complete status update on where I am currently in my journey as well as share my plans going forward.

This is me wiping my hands clean of the last month and starting anew.

WHERE I’M AT:

Mondays are my ‘official’ weigh-in days and as of Monday of this week I weighed 200.5 lbs. I’ve lost a total of 55.5 pounds since the beginning of my journey 9 months ago, which is 21.6% of my starting weight.

When I started this journey, my BMI was 44.1, which meant that I fell into the “morbidly obese” category. At 5′-3″ and 200.5 lbs, my BMI is now at 35.5, which means I’m just “obese” now without the “morbidly”.

My measurements as of today are as follows:

Waist: 44 1/4″ (3″ smaller than it was on 1/25/10 and 5 1/4″ smaller than it was on 7/27/07.)
Chest: 45 1/2 (3″ smaller than it was on 1/25/10 and 8 1/2″ smaller than it was on 7/27/07.)
Hips: 49″ (3 3/4″ smaller than it was on 1/25/10 and 5″ smaller than it was on 7/27/07.)
Thigh: 23 1/2″ (1 3/4″ smaller than it was on 1/25/10 and 3″ smaller than it was on 7/27/07.)

So, OVERALL, I’ve lost 5 1/4″ in my waist, 8 1/2″ in my chest, 5″” in my hips, and 3″ in my thigh.

So that’s where I am in the numbers. Now let’s see where I am in pictures.

WHERE I’M GOING:

One of my good friends, Steve, recently wrote about his struggle and his PLAN to overcome it. His posts on that really inspired me to regain my footing and part of that process is to instill some new goals (and maybe resurrect some new ones).

That’s the one thing this journey has made me — very goal oriented. I LOVED being part of the various challenges that have been out there, especially the ones that required a weekly check-in on our goals. I attribute a lot of the success I’ve had to those challenges! It’s been months though, since I’ve last been a part of one…and although I said I was going to continue weekly goal tracking anyway, I didn’t. That changes now.

NEW WEEKLY GOALS:

• Run at least 10 miles this week.

Many of you know that my goal for the year is to run/walk/jog 500 miles. So far, I’m at 179.8 miles logged. I’ve fallen behind. I’m still confident that I’ll reach my goal, especially as my miles increase in my half-marathon training, but I need to at least get 10 in per week to stay on track.

• Ride my bike at least once this week.

You may recall that I was actually scared to ride one for a long time, but finally did several months back. I really don’t enjoy bike riding, but that may be just because I never do it and haven’t given it a chance to grow on me.

• Not drink ANY soda.

So far, it’s been 277 days since I last had a drink of soda and I’d like to make it a year.

• Eat breakfast everyday.

I’ve struggled with this since the beginning, but there is a clear difference in my energy levels on the days I have breakfast and the days I don’t. I perform better with it!

• Go to bed by 11:00 on work nights, and by 8:00 PM on Friday nights.

I meet with Caleb’s Crusade at 5:30 on Saturday mornings, so that’s why I need to be in bed so early on Fridays.

• Do one exercise class this week (Yoga, kickboxing, bootcamp, etc)

I was doing SO well when I was attending the kickboxing class every week, so I’d like to start going again. I’m really looking forward to incorporating this back into my routine.

• Keep my training log updated.

I need to keep up with this, even on the days I can’t get online…so I have a paper journal that I will use for those times.

• Do 5 days of training per Caleb’s Crusade schedule.

Well, I obviously couldn’t discuss my goals and the future of my journey without talking about Caleb’s Crusade! They are the group that I am running the Disney Half-Marathon in January with/for and what an amazing group of people! I feel so blessed to have met them. My training consists of 2 days of running through the week (usually Monday and Wednesday) and 2 days of cross training through the week (usually Tuesday and Thursday) and then our “long run” on Saturdays with the group. For my cross training, I want to ride my bike one of the days, and then whatever class I join (see above) will be my second day of cross.

For our long run this week (tomorrow) we are on schedule to run 5.5 miles. The longest I have ran thus far without stopping to walk is 4.5 miles, so we will see how I do. I’m not going to over-push myself, but I really would like to see if I can run the whole way. I am also planning on getting my new running shoes tomorrow that I won! I wish I could have gotten them already so that I could wear them for tomorrow’s run, but my schedule just didn’t allow for it.

So that’s it. Those are my new weekly goals, some of which may look familiar to you. I’ll check in every Friday** with an update. Speaking of goals, I’ve updated my goals pages here and here if you want to take a look.

**You may recall from my last post that I don’t have internet at home right now. This was a hard decision for us to make as a family, but it was necessary. So, for the next few months, my internet access will be limited to my lunch hour at work or whenever I can go to the library or use a friend’s computer. When I can get on, I’m going to try to keep my blog updated as much as I can…if nothing else, I’ll at least post my weekly weigh-ins (Mondays) and weekly goal updates (Fridays). I need to do that for me. For my journey. The worst part about this is that I won’t be as connected to you all as I once was. I have really thrived on the accountability and encouragement I get from you guys and am not sure how successful I can be without it. Obviously, I won’t be able to read your blogs and comment like I used to. However, I can encourage you on facebook or through email (both of which I can access on my phone). So I’d love for you to add me on facebook or email me (josiephelps @ inbox .com) if you want to stay connected that way. ♥

I warned you this was going to be a long post! Congrats if you read the whole thing…hehe.

179.8 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
49.5 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(6) 5Ks finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

I weighed this morning at 200.5 lbs which is a .5 lb loss for the week. This brings my total weight loss so far back to 55.5 pounds.

Blogging has become an almost impossible task with not having internet access at home combined with just being incredibly busy lately. Things are going well for me

I did want to mention some good news though! I won a pair of running shoes! I’m super stoked about this because I have been in dire need of some good running shoes for a while now…as in, actual running shoes. I won them at the Caleb’s Crusade Encore Event last week and I pick them up tomorrow.

There is so much more I’d love to talk about like some new goals I’m setting (and some old ones that I’m resurrecting), but I’m short on time. Hope you all are doing well. ♥ xoxo

179.8 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
49.5 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(6) 5Ks finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

I weighed in yesterday at 201.0 lbs which is a 1.2 lb loss for the week. This brings my total weight loss so far back to 55 pounds.

I am so happy to be back on track! I’m so pleased with myself this week and not just because I posted a loss, but the whole picture — I’ve been RUNNING again and eating healthier again. This is what I’m most pleased about!

So, let me recap the week. I ran a total of 4.5 miles. This is well below my initial goal set this year of 10/week, but the good news here is that my leg is no longer hurting after I run! Even when I ran the full 3.5 mile run on Saturday with Caleb’s Crusade…my leg was fine and did not hurt the next day like I was expecting! So it really looks as if I’m on the other side of this injury. I’m still cautious though…I’m not going to overdo it. But yeah, I’m really, really happy about this progress. I also enjoyed being out there with Caleb’s Crusade again. For a few weeks there I started having major doubts about me really being a runner. I was even starting to doubt whether or not I could actually do the half marathon, but now? I’m starting to believe again

My eating has been at about 80% on target. I’m not ’stress eating’ anymore. I’m sure that has more to do with my stress levels not being as high than it does my willpower, but nonetheless. I’ve taken control and have almost gotten back into the same eating routine that I had before my setback.

So, that’s where I am. If you haven’t voted for Caleb’s Crusade yet, won’t you do it now? It only takes a moment of your time and could mean the world for this wonderful organization. Just click the image below to vote…Thank you!

174.3 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
49.5 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(6) 5Ks finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

I weighed in Monday at 202.2 lbs which is a 2.1 lb loss for the week. This brings my total weight loss so far back down to 53.8 pounds.

Happy to be on my way back down again. I can’t say that I made the best decisions this week, but they were definitely better than the week before. I’m still finding myself stress-eating and still trying to learn other ways of coping other than turning to food. I’ll write more about this process later…I’m still learning, but I AM making progress. Right now, I wanted to ask a little favor from you…it will only take a second of your time!

Caleb’s Crusade has an amazing opportunity to receive some much needed funding from Chase and you can help them by voting. It only takes a second! It will only allow 1 vote per person, so please, please spread the word by posting it to your facebook wall or twitter or blog even. Just click the image below to vote!

Thank you. Rob and Monique Whan lost their angel, Caleb, to cancer at the precious age of 4. Since then they have been on a mission…a “Crusade” if you will…to help other families who have been affected by cancer. This is a great organization, made up of great people, for a great cause. Thank you for taking the time to vote for them today (and helping me spread the word!)

169.8 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
49.5 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(5) 5Ks finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)

I’ve only got a minute, so please excuse the brevity of this post, but I wanted to give a quick recap of the race this morning and also share a few pictures from it.

Say hello to the newest member of the Fort Myers Track Club!!!

This was a tough race. And I mean TOUGH. Maybe it was the Florida sun bearing down on me. Maybe it was the fact that I haven’t been running for the past few weeks. Maybe it was a combination of those and other things. At one point I really questioned whether or not I’d be able to finish and I’ve never really had those doubts before during a race. I pushed through the doubts and the heat and all things considered am very pleased with my results! This race was not officially timed, but there was a clock there that read 46 minutes as I crossed the finish line. Considering I didn’t cross the start line right when the race began, my time was probably around 45 minutes, which is only 2 minutes slower than my last 5k in April. So I was pleased that I didn’t lose too much time considering I haven’t ran in so long. The real victory for me today was the fact that I didn’t walk any of it. I RAN THE WHOLE THING!!

Here are a few pictures and then I’ve got to scoot. Hope you’re all having a great day!!!

My daughter wanted to do this race with me – she did awesome! She finished at around 41 minutes.

Here I am crossing the finish line. By the way, today was the first time I wore a tank top like that in public.

Lynne ran this race too! I’ll let her share her finish line photo, but here’s one of the 3 of us afterwards. (Pst, She did awesome too!!!)

I needed this race today. NEEDED it. It did wonders for me and I’m soooo glad that I decided to push through my doubts and just do it.

Click here to see the complete gallery of photos from today’s race. I’ve also updated my Racing page here.

169.8 miles walked/jogged/ran since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 500)
49.5 miles biked since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 300)
(5) 5Ks finished since January 1st. (2010 Goal: 12)