"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired." - George S. Patton

Monday, May 28, 2012

The Challenge


Oh don't read the title of this blog with that look on your face. Don't judge me. I told you all from the beginning that I tend to get ideas, then I get lazy and change my mind, or get too busy, or lose self worth, or drive by a Taco Bell, and give up on said ideas. You have done it too, right? Besides, my first objective with this blog was to train for and finish a half marathon and live to tell about it. I've done that! Twice. And I've even directed a few races since. I'm accomplished now. The only problem is, I'm an accomplished, out of shape, fatty. Again. Oh yeah, with little self worth.

I have a few questions that I don't think anyone but God himself can give me answers to. Questions like, why does my body like being fat so much? Why are my body and my mind constantly in a battle over burritos and Real Housewives of New Jersey verses a chicken breast and a 5 mile run? Why can't I just be one of those "naturally skinny" girls (who I'm sure all have terrible personalities anyway)? Why am I always tired? Why do I avoid blogging like I do standing on a scale? Where did I set my glass of pinot grigio?

 Oh man. I could go on for days.

What it all comes down to is, since I had my son two and a half years ago I have lost over 50 pounds. Actually I was close to a 60 pound loss at one time! I was feeling amazing, wearing between a size 6 and an 8, had calves to die for. I took a few months off from my perfect diet and exercise routine (okay, by a few months, I mean eleven of them) and here I am. My stomach jiggles when I run. As do my thighs and my double chin. I bet my freakin' ear lobes jiggle when I run. Blegh. It's gross and I'm unhappy. Clearly, this makes me grouchy and the opposite of perky and inspiring.

 On July 1st I'm turning 28. Guess what happens a month after that? My ten year high school reunion, and ya know what folks? I'm not a supermodel, or a doctor, nor did I invent Post-it notes. I had better walk in there looking damn good if my claim to fame is my hot dog/cornbread casserole. Time for a change. Time for something drastic. Again.

I've created a new goal for myself. Since I refused to pay the outrageous entry fees for the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon this year (my tradition has been to run it the last two years), I needed to give myself something else to strive for. I wanted to make a plan for myself that will better me on the outside, and on the inside. I need to get in touch with who I am and learn to actually be proud of myself, the way I used to be.
I am calling this.... wait for it......The Challenge.

Catchy, no?

For the next 33 days, I am going to:

  •  Exercise for at least thirty minutes a day, 6 days a week. Three of those days should be a run (just to stay relevant and such), and I've gotta do those arm weights. My arms jiggle a lot too.
  • I am going to log my food into my handy,dandy calorie counter online. That thing is amazing and somehow makes me feel guilty for eating an entire bag of miniature Butterfingers!
  •  I am going to attend church each Sunday without fail. No excuses. The man above seems to help me stay focused..so I figured I would throw this in to be doubly sure I don't sleep in on Sunday mornings.
  • I am going to blog. Every night. Whether you like it or not.

 Boom.

Well, that's all I have for now. Feel free to join me in this little adventure. I mean, even if your birthday isn't July 1st, it is a few days before the fourth of July, and who wants to look bloated under fireworks?! Not me and certainly not you!

 Please leave me any suggestions you have for me on fun workouts, healthy food that doesn't taste like crap, or your thoughts on The Challenge.

*que Eye of the Tiger

7 comments:

  1. So glad you're back! Can't wait to hear how the Challenge is going - you've inspired me to get out there and do the Couch to 5K again. Long way way from last year's half, but at least it's a start.

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  2. Can't wait to hear how it's going.

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  3. It is perfectly ok to fall off track as long as you are able to get back on. Can't wait to see how "the challenge" goes for you. I am up 10 lbs from where I was and have been feeling pretty down about. Just today I decided to change it all and get back to how I was before my knee injury. I am totally with you! Good luck!

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  4. So reassuring the read your posts and remember that other people struggle with food, even after having lost weight - my current battle is with biscuits and understanding how it's possible that I eat an entire pack at one sitting :(

    Anyway, there are a load of us taking part in www.juneathon.com which is about running (or doing some exercise) every day in June & blogging every day in June. It's not quite as hardcore as the The Challenge as there's no food element but you'll be my inspiration to complete Juneathon!

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  5. post-its! hahaha! "And all Michelle did was say, 'What about making them yellow?".

    I think your challenge is really good. I've been seeing a nutritionist, so feel free to ask me for any tips she's given me. Also, you probably have your online calorie counting thing all set up, but if you haven't checked out "LoseIt", you should! That's what I use for food diary, exercise diary, and weight entry. It breaks down your statistics in a ton of different ways, so it makes it easy to see what you're doing. I love statistics.

    Also...do you have something you're training for? Like say.....Seattle Half-Marathon (which is like half the price of RnR). Because, I personally think you should do that. It's a lot more laid back.

    Oh yeah--and again, this is Alissa.

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    1. Dude. I am already registered for the Seattle Half, remember? Furthermore, I am doing the Dirty Dash in August. Furthermore... if a 10 year reunion isn't motivation enough to get my butt skinny, I'm not sure what is. Holla?

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