Today, -Memorial Day-, May 28th,

we’ll all run our own race,

in our own place,

at our own pace!

It’s a Race to Remember!

My kids, running the 2011 race!

It’s time to lace up your shoes and head out to the open road for your Run the ‘Hood event! Run, walk, wog… it’s your choice! When you are finished, hang your awesome medal around your neck and log your results on this form! Official race results will be posted on Friday!

Wait, we want to hear all the nitty gritty about your race -we are a sucker for race reports and photos, you know. Link to your photos, race reports, etc. down below!

Good luck today, everyone! Run like the wind (which just happens to be blowing like 40 mph here today – I should be superfast)!

SPONSORED BY:

Do you remember this picture of Alison Sweeney and myself? It was taken last May at the Self Magazine Workout in the Park event in Chicago.

Workout in the Park was my first real press event as a writer for Shrinking Jeans. To say that it was an awesome day would be an understatement. I got to work out with women of every size, shape and fitness level. I did a Pilates Fusion class and a Reebok Tighten and Tone class. They totally kicked my butt. I did several of the classes that were always going on at the main stage.

There were vendors and sponsors with booths giving away all kinds of fantastic swag. You get a bag when you come in the gate and it is full to the top by the time you leave.

I was able to interiew Yung Moon, Associate Publisher in Marketing and Creative Services at Self Magazine. She was very sweet and easy to talk to. She made me feel at ease right from the first hello. I learned all about what it takes to put on an event of this size and everything that goes into the year long planning.

Walking around with a VIP wristband on had some definite perks. I got to meet Alison Sweeney and talk to her for a quick minute. She talked about the upcoming Biggest Loser finale and how much she enjoyed doing events like Workout in the Park. That was when we got our picture taken. I even got to work out with her. I was blown away by how down to earth and normal she was. There was nothing “diva” about her.

Have I made you think that this is a really fun event? Would you like to join in the fun? Saturday, June 2 is the next Self Magazine Workout in the Park at Butler Field in Grant Park in Chicago. I’ll be there with one of my best friends having a fantastic time. You can join the fun! Just go to the Self Magazine website and order a ticket. We are heading in on the train. We’d love to have you join us.

Still not convinced? Listen to this. Guess who is going to be there this year. The one and only Dolvett Quince from the Biggest Loser!

I have a request in with my PR contact to get an interview with Dolvett. It is a total longshot, but I am keeping my fingers crossed. It could happen. If not, maybe we can at least get our picture taken together. If not that, I know I’ll be able to workout with him and who wouldn’t want to work out with eye candy like that.

So…are you coming?

We are so excited to have CLICK as a sponsor for Run The Hood!  Here at the Sisterhood, we’ve been CLICK’n for more than 3 years now! What? You don’t know what CLICK is? You must be new around here!

CLICK is an espresso protein drink (yes, it’s a marriage made in heaven) that you mix up and drink hot or cold. Unlike other protein drink mixes, CLICK is not gritty or chalky or gross. It’s a pure pleasure to drink! You can drink it before a workout for a boost of energy, after a workout as a perfect recovery drink, as a meal replacement or snack, or just drink it in place of your regular coffee. With 2 shots of espresso, 120 calories, 15 grams of protein and 23 vitamins and minerals, CLICK won’t leave you feeling jittery all day, and isn’t filled with empty calories or tons of sugar. There’s even a decaf mocha flavor for you decaf-ers!

Shake it or blend it, with milk or water or a combination (I use 1/2 water & 1/2 milk personally) You really can’t go wrong.

Click here to compare CLICK to your usual coffee and/or protein drink!

If you want to learn more about the great benefits of CLICK, you can check out their press releases here!

Be sure to Like CLICK on Facebook and tell them we sent you!

CLICK here to buy some CLICK for yourself.

Disclosure: We were not compensated or given anything to write this post. CLICK is a paid sponsor of our virtual 5K – Run The Hood. All opinions are our own.

1st picture- Beginning of weight loss journey, Jan 2012, 347 lbs

2nd picture- April 1, 2012, 313.4lbs

3rd pictture- May 20, 2012 today’s post/update

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Well folks, I’m back and I bring great news!!

I have hit my first major goal of being under 300lbs.

I reached that milestone this week! Now I’m at 299, and to be realistic with you it might be a losing battle this week to stay under 300. I’m heading up to the Dallas, Texas area on Friday for a weekend of fun and partying. My intentions are to still work out and attempt to eat right. Not sure how successful I’m going to be at the eating right part or working out . The good thing is I will have plenty of time in the next 4 weeks to work my tail off before my 3 week vacation to Cozumel and the Riveria Maya.

So I’ve pretty much been doing what I have since the start of this program. Still doing lots of swimming and walking. My swim routine is now consisting of 2000 yds on most occasion. I’ve done 3,000 yds and even did 4,000 yds one time. Walking is also increasing to about 50-60 minutes at a time. So the exercising is still going strong.

Eating is still going good, but IMHO not as good as when I started. Another bad thing is that I do not seem to recover from my bad eating days as easily as I have in the past. In other words the weight does not come off as easy after a bad day of eating. Still I keep plugging away and my next short term goal is to have lost a total of 50 pounds from the start of program. I’m only 3 pounds away from that. My goal is to lose another 40 lbs by the end of the year. Wish me succes in achieving the goal.

Now to the really great news. My A1C (3 month average of blood sugar levels) went from a 9.8 in January to a 5.5 this past week. That is excellent progress. A normal person would be around 5%. A goal for a dibetic would be under 7%. As a result of my hard work and the decreasing A1C, the doctor has started reducing my dosage on some medicines (lower dosage of blood pressure medication) and completely taking me off others (glyburide- diabetic medication). We’ll see how it works out for me on my next visit, and if need be we will adjust.

So until next time I bid you adios!!

A few nights ago, I was on Facebook and a post from a friend of mine popped up.

She had just signed up for a half marathon.

My breath caught in my throat.

Two years ago, I was on the cusp of running and completing my first (and only) half. I was in the best shape of my life.

Let me go back…just before seeing her post, I had been editing photos from my daughters first birthday. There were several of me and they were all ‘aha’ moment photos. You know, the kind where you don’t even recognize yourself. Really bad.

I mean, how sad is it that I wanted to edit myself out of all of my daughters first birthday pics?

Seeing my friends post for the half, and her invite for others to join felt like divine intervention. Like someone was throwing me a lifeline, a chance to get back to me.

Before I could over think it, I clicked through to the race page, whipped out my credit card and signed up.

And just like that, I’m going to be running a half marathon in October. The panic has set in and I’ve questioned my sanity, but I honestly need to have the fear of humiliation seared into my brain to motivate me to get my weight/health/LIFE under control. The fear of the sweeper van will push me to train.

I feel like I have a great support system…both here, with my newly formed training team, and online, with my Sisters. From time to time, I’ll probably show up here all whiny. Please feel free to verbally kick my ass.

I never knew peer pressure could be so necessary, so positive. But that’s what it took for me. And I will continue to bend to this positive influence all the way to my next finish line.

Hello Shrinkers!! We have a brand new weight loss challenge starting on June 1st and we want you and your BFF and spouse and cousin and sister and grandma and brother and mother to join us! Seriously. Come one, come all.

If you’re new to the Sisterhood, we have these fun little weight loss challenges periodically and they are not only a BLAST, but your butt will shrink a little too. One of our mottos around here is ‘losing weight isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to suck!’ Hanging out with us will make it fun!

For more information on the challenge and how it works, click on over to our Current Challenge page and bone up.

This challenge has been dubbed June Tune-Up. I’m not sure about you, but I’ve hit the part of the year where my New Year’s resolutions are so far in the past I don’t even remember if I really made them, and summer is knocking on my door, but I’m not quite ready to step out yet. I am in need of a serious Tune-Up both mentally and physically!

If you’re not about weight loss, or you want to include some awesome physical activity into your day, Melissa is putting together a fantastic fitness challenge for the month of June (see our past challenges here), so you’ll be able to Tune-Up and Tone-Up with the Sisterhood. And, if you head on over to the Kitchen, the Shrinking Kitchen that is, we’ll help you Menu Plan Your Butt Off with fresh, healthy menu plans with printable grocery lists each and every Sunday. It’s like a one-stop shop for all you’re health and fitness needs. Yeah, we’re pretty awesome like that….always looking out for you!

Here’s what you need to know:

1. This challenge will last 3o days – A great way to kick off the summer with a fast paced challenge!
2. It’s team challenge, meaning you’ll partner up with someone to form a team (two people to a team please). You will compete against other teams for the title of Biggest Shrinkers.
3. You are in charge of getting a team mate. Your partner can be anyone, and no, neither one of you has to blog to participate. Ask you neighbor, your significant other, your mother, or your son, or even your online BFF. Anything goes.
4. You’ll need a kick-ass name for your team, so start thinking now!
5. The challenge starts on June 1st, which is a Friday, but we’ll check-in every Wednesday after that, as usual. So the first Weigh-in will be recorded on June 1st, and the next will be Wednesday, June 6th, with the challenge ending on Sunday, June 30th.
6. You will check in as a team – with your combined weight (a+b=check-in weight) – each Wednesday (did I mention Wednesdays? Yeah, we have a check-in post each Wednesday!). That means there will be only one person filling out the check-in form for your team.

If it’s Tuesday, it’s time to start tooting some horns. I know of several people who did some amazingly tootworthy things this past week. Were you one of them?

My most tootworthy fete this week was participating in a two and a half hour zumbathon. It was so much fun. I got hot and sweaty, but had a blast. My ankles were a little sore by the time we got done, but felt fine in the morning. I even won a club t shirt and a gift certificate for a one hour massage. The thought of a total body massage by a total stranger kind of creeps me out, so I’ll be choosing a chair massage. With all the knots and kinks in my neck, shoulders and back, they’ll have no problem spending an hour there.

I’ve also been doing a weekly link-up with Jamee at a New Kind of Normal called Sharing our Spoons. I am really enjoying this. Each week, you have goals to set in different areas of your life with a bonus challenge for stepping out of your box. Here’s my post from last week. You’ll get the idea from that. You should really come try it with me. It will give you something to definitely toot about.

What about you? What do you want to brag and toot about this week? I can’t wait to hear. Please come toot your horn and leave your accomplishments or blog link in the comment section.

p.s. I can’t wait till next Tuesday when we are all tooting about Run the ‘Hood 2012 Virtual 5K/10K Race to Remember!

The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself. ~Anna Quindlen

Here we are! It’s time to start off the year long series Becoming Me. I got the idea for the name from the Anna Quindlen quote I put at that top. I’m excited to start this process of digging a little deeper and getting to the heart of some of my esteem, body, and food issues.

If you haven’t had a chance, please go back and read this post from Christie Inge and this post giving a little (long) history of me.

This month’s question…

Do you trust yourself and your body? No? What do you think would happen if you did?

The honest answer is no. I don’t trust myself OR my body.

I’m not sure at what point I got this skewed sense that my WANT was more important than my NEED.

When I sit down to a meal, I very often eat way past the point of comfort. My stomach is beyond capacity, my mind is telling me to stop eating, and I look at the plate and think “It’s a waste to leave food there.” If I’m eating at a restaurant (which is much more often than I care to admit), I get the additional “I paid for the food, I should eat the food.”

Then, when dessert rolls around, my stomach is beyond capacity, my mind is telling me to stop eating, but all I want is sugar. How could it be wrong to want something sweet to end my day? I’ve had a great/exciting/awesome/bad/busy/crazy/emotional/stressful day, why shouldn’t I reward/soothe with something sweet.

I end up sitting on the couch at the end of the night, telling my husband “Don’t ever let me do that again.”

Because at some point it became HIS responsibility to get me to stop eating.

Now, that’s just the food side. When it comes to exercise, I’m just as bad. My mind is telling me to get off the couch. My body is telling me to move and stretch and lift. But I think I know better. There’s too much on my to-do list, I don’t need to work out right now. I could get hurt, I definitely shouldn’t push myself beyond my comfort zone. It won’t matter anyway if I did push myself because I am a slow runner and I will always be slow and why try to change it?

I don’t trust my body because it scares me that if I did, I might have to change the status quo.

I am comfortably entrenched in status quo, friends.

I think if I did learn to trust my body, I would very simply eat less and move more.

It seems oversimplified, but that’s what it really comes down to.

If I learned to trust my body, I would listen to its signals telling me to stop eating when I’m full. If I learned to trust my body, I would know the difference between real hunger and emotional hunger. If I learned to trust my body, I would know that answer to my problem du jour  is not at the bottom of a peanut butter jar.

If I learned to trust my body, I would not take walk breaks during runs, knowing that the need for one is all in my mind. If I learned to trust my body I would know that exercising is more important than making the kids macaroni & cheese for lunch 2 days ahead. If I learned to trust my body I would push myself a little bit further out of my comfort zone.

If I learned to trust my body, fear of failure (or honestly, success) would not be an issue.

Beyond that, the sky’s the limit.

All questions for the Becoming Me series come from Christie Inge.

Christie Inge, HHC is an intuitive eating and body image coach and is the creator of The Body Love Alchemy Community. After years on the diet and binge roller coaster, she realized that the answers she was looking for had nothing to do with the size of her blue jeans or the food on her plate. She set out onto a quest to make peace with food, her body and her weight once and for all. She began sharing her experiences on her popular, heartfelt blog. Overtime, she found that her greatest gift was helping women, just like her, overcome their struggles, too.

She has taken what she learned in the school of hard knocks and coupled that with what she has learned in her professional trainings to create a system that has helped thousands of women to make peace with food and to stop hating their bodies. She offers support, insight, and real world tools for creating a body and life you love. You can stay in touch with by subscribing to her inspirational weekly eLetter or join the conversation facebook and twitter.

Coffee. I love coffee. I drink mine black, but when I stop at a coffee shop, it’s easy to get lured into ordering something a bit more adventurous, which often means more calories, sugar, and fat. Did you know that if you drink a Grande Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino, you will be consuming 500 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 98 grams of carbs? And that’s WITHOUT the whipped cream. Oh my.

I’ve done some investigating and have come up with ten drinks that you can enjoy without feeling the guilt. Enjoy!

A ten pound gaindoesn’t sound like a lot, but it is! When you lose 10 pounds, it can mean a whole new clothing size, or a lot less jiggle, or finally having the confidence to wear sleeveless shirts! It’s a confidence booster and an excellent motivator. It means that shopping is fun! It means that you automatically make better choices because you are taking care of a smaller body. Ten pounds is HUGE…..when it’s gone.

But, it’s also HUGE when it comes back. It means squeezing into clothes that aren’t comfortable anymore. It means digging for or even purchasing larger clothes. It means feeling uncomfortable and self-conscious. It means things jiggle a lot more than they used to. It means you really don’t like what you see in the mirror anymore. It means wondering how the hell it happened and what you’re going to do to stop the land slide. It means kicking yourself when you’re down and just feeling like do whatever because it really doesn’t matter right now because I’ve gained 10 pounds and next week I’m going on vacation (to Disney World where every meal includes dessert, even lunch).

That’s where I am. Actually I’m up 12 pounds, but I’m 10 pounds over my comfortable, I’m-happy-with-the-way-I-look-and-feel-weight.

When you gain weight, it’s really hard to reel yourself back in. I know, because I’m there right now. It’s easy to see why so many people who lose large amounts of weight end up gaining it all back. Once you start that ascent on the scale, you lose your motivation, you feel bad about yourself, and you really don’t feel like doing much of anything. It easy to say screw it and have dessert or that extra large whatever.

It’s easy to just give up and give in.

I’ve said it before, but I’m serious right now…I’m putting it out there for everyone to really see. I’m done with the ascent on the scale, and I’m ready to get back to the business of being healthy and fit. I want to eat only what my body needs. I want to move enough to make my heart beat fast. I want to work my muscles until they’re sore.

I will.

Seven years ago I lost 60 pounds, and I’ve managed to keep it off (almost!). Two years ago I trained for a half marathon with Team in Training and I ran 13.1 miles for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Three and a half years ago I started this site to motivate and support and encourage you.

One hour ago I went on a soul searching walk. I realized that I need to stop the madness and start focusing on being the best me I can be, because there will always be an excuse to be made, an obstacle in the way, a reason to say ‘screw it’. I need to dig deep and get back to the basics. No more excuses.

What about you? Are you struggling right now? Have you gained weight? Are you injured and unable to exercise? What’s your story?