someone else's neighborhood

Friday!!! Fave day of the week! We are heading to Virginia to hang with some friends for the weekend, what are you up to?

Mike and I decided to go running after work yesterday, but we are both really tired of running in our neighborhood. I am just tired of running the same route, with the same things to look at, so we changed it up a bit and headed to that trail that I ran on Tuesday.

And, look what I found!!

HONEYSUCKLE!!! Please excuse the sweaty face.

Along the trail, there are several paths that lead to different neighborhoods, so we decided to turn off into one of them. It was kinda fun, running through someone else's neighborhood. 

Mike kept getting further and further ahead of me. Partly because he is much faster than me now, but also because I have to stop and take pictures all the time.

Like this one, because, since I went to East Carolina University, anything related to a pirate must be documented. I actually lived in an apartment complex with this same name when I was in school. Memories...

After running through a random hood, we took a path back into the trail we originally started on, and finished out our 3.2 mile run.

This part of the trail sucks. Going straight up, but Mike and I both managed to run up it the entire time, I usually just walk that part.

When we got back to the car, we were both in the mood for Mexican food. Since I am trying to keep my sodium levels low, I didn't want to go to a Mexican restaurant and blow my entire days worth of sodium on just tortilla chips alone, so we decided to make our own.

So now, I have for you, a recipe! AGAIN???!!! Yeah, really, I know you are pumped.

Heart Healthy Enchiladas for Carolyn's Broke-Ass Heart 
(I think I have to have the AHA permission to use terms like 'Heart Healthy,' but I am keeping the name anyway)

Whole Wheat Tortillas - La Banderita Brand (only 80 calories and 150 mg of sodium in 2 tortillas!)
1 can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained (to remove a good amount of sodium)
2 tablespoons skim milk
1 chicken breast - grilled and shredded
1/2 cup - 1 cup Muir Glen Medium Salsa (only 10 calories and 125 mg of sodium per serving)
Cheese - your choice - I used goat in mine, pepper jack and cheddar in Mike's

These are the tortillas we used since they have such low sodium and so little calories. I put this into my fooducate app and it did not have such great things to say, but since we love tortillas in our house, these seem to be the best option.

I heated the beans in a pan and then mashed them with the back of a spoon. Then I added 2 tablespoons of skim milk and it made them into a perfect consistency for a refried bean substitute.

Into the tortilla went a bit of chicken, about a tablespoon of the beans, and then a bit of cheese. Then I rolled them up, placed them in a baking dish, covered with about 1/2 cup salsa and baked in the oven on 400 F until heated throughout (maybe 10 min?). 

They turned out super delicious, so I was pretty shocked when I added up the nutrition facts. For 2 enchiladas (which is what I had), there was about 400 calories and 450 mg of sodium. It satisfied our craving for Mexican, without all the salt. Winning!

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Check out the latest pictures of Mike's our garden!

Everything is looking so good! Can't wait until we can eat them!

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Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Yesterday's Stats:
Calories (-) 208
Sodium (-) 419
Protein (+) 12 :)

black bean, avocado, and egg sammy-licious

Holy crap, dinner last night was ah-mahzing.

Lindsay gets total credit for this one, but she didn't name it. I went with a real original name, since I am oober creative. Thank you, Lindsay, this will now become a regular meal in our house, right along with black bean and sweet potato tacos.

And.... so, so easy!

Black Bean, Avocado, and Egg Sammy
For 1 sandwich 
2 whole grain sandwich thins, or 1 piece of naan (I couldn't find any whole grain at the store, but it does exist)
1/2 cup black beans
1 tsp cumin
1/4 cup sweet onion, chopped
pinch of red pepper flakes
chopped garlic (to taste)
1 avocado
1-2 tsp garlic powder
1 egg
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

I started by sauteing my chopped onion in a pan with the olive oil. Next, I threw in the chopped garlic (I used about 1/4 tbsp, maybe). Once the onions were soft, I added the cumin and red pepper flakes until fragrant. Finally, add in your black beans and mash with the back of a spoon until they are hot throughout.

In a bowl, throw in the avocado and garlic powder and mash with a fork. Set aside.

Bake sandwich thin or bread of your choice in the oven until warm.

While the bread is baking, fry an egg in some olive oil, leaving the yolk runny.

Pile her up and enjoy! 

You will be thanking Lindsay too.

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Some other recent eats-

Toast and Tea... always reminds me of being little and having this with my grandma or mom. I eat this at least twice a week as an adult and it still reminds me of being a kid.

There's my canned beans and rice! It was so good! The pepper jack melted inside was a nice touch. I think if I had added some salsa, it would have been a home run, but it was still quite tasty!

Sauteed zucchini and green cabbage, we enjoyed this along side our sammies last night.

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I have been keeping my calories and sodium really low over the last few days. While this is great, it really is because we have been lacking in the grocery department. I hope I can keep the sodium low, but I am really in need of more protein. My body has been CRAVING anything beans, meat, etc., which makes sense since I have had so little over the last few days. I added some protein powder to my oats this morning, so hopefully that will help! 

Hope everyone is having a great day so far! It is pretty busy around here, so I better get back to it.

Happy Thursday!

Yesterday's Stats:
Calories (-) 403
Sodium (-) 412
Protein (-) 14

sweet honeysuckle

I am feeling a little bad about the craptastic blog post from yesterday. I was having a rough day and just not feeling it. I hope I can make up for it today!

Around this time last year, Mike was working at a restaurant part time, doing trivia for their run club on Monday nights. I, as well as several others, would meet at the restaurant and then head out for the run. Since there were varying levels of runners in the group, we would all meet back at the restaurant after our run for some beer, trivia, and $1 tacos. It was a really fun group.

There is a trail that we would all run along, and mostly everyone would do 4 miles or so. I would usually only run about 1-1.5 miles and then turn around and head back, since it would take me over 45 minutes to do just 2-3 miles. I had only made it to the end of the trail once or twice, because I never seemed to have enough in me to get me there and back.

Since that same trail is really close to the hospital that I work at part time, I decided to go for a run between jobs to clear my head of the craziness that was yesterday. It was really funny, because I finished the same section of the trail that we used to run with the group in less than 28 minutes. It is amazing how far I have really come in just one year.

It was really nice out yesterday evening, and the breeze was just right. The trees allow for a lot of shade along the trail, and it provides just the right amount of hills, twists, and scenery for a good work out. My legs always seem a lot more sore when I run this trail than when I run anywhere else.

As I was running, I kept smelling honeysuckle and couldn't help but be reminded of my childhood. My brother, sister, and I would go searching in the woods for that sweet plant, just to have a little taste. I never found any honeysuckle yesterday, but I know it is out there, just because of the strong smell. I am just too chicken to actually go into the woods anymore.

This trail also goes over the interstate, which always really freaks me out. I don't know why, but I always just imagine the bridge collapsing and me falling into the high speed cars below. I am so weird.

When I finished running, I almost couldn't remember the day that I had, with the most annoying co-worker ever that had grated my nerves all day. I can't say that running always helps to clear my head, but it definitely worked yesterday. It was exactly what I needed to get another 4 hours of work out of me.

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When I got home last night, I took a look inside our fridge and thought - "Gonna have to go out for lunch tomorrow." We are severely in need of a grocery shopping trip, but we aren't going until tonight. I told Mike he was treating me to lunch today, but I changed my mind this morning. Somehow, I was able to get quite a bit of food together for my breakfast and lunch, even though we need to go grocery shopping. 

All packed up, I have a banana, orange slices, an apple, a small salad with cukes and tomatoes over romaine and spinach, some ranch dressing (makes a boring salad sooo much better), a (colored) hard boiled egg, a slice of bread, and some canned rice and beans. 

Seriously, I brought some canned rice and beans with me for lunch today? I have to say, I am really excited about it. haha. My body has been CRAVING something besides salad lately, so I am excited for a bit of protein and carbs for lunch. I found this can in my pantry, and after reading the ingredients and nutrition facts, I figured it was the way to go for today. Nothing like cleaning out the pantry in preparation for a grocery shopping trip!

I threw one serving of this mixture into a container and then threw in half of a slice of pepper jack cheese. I figure adding a little cheese will make anything taste better. I am about to go dig in, because my stomach is growling!

My friend, Lindsay, told me about a delicious and easy dinner idea that she made a few days ago, so I think I will be making it tonight. I can't get it out of my head!!! 3 ingredients that I heart... avocado, black beans, fried egg. BOOM! 

Have a good day!

Yesterday's Stats:
Calories (-) 433
Sodium (-) 476
Protein (-) 13

grapefruit lurve

Really, it is only Tuesday? I feel like this week has been dragging already and for some reason I am in a total funk today. I am sleepy, and moody, and really not looking forward to going to the hospital tonight. I think I am just ready for a vacation... too bad I won't be getting one for a long while...

I really can't stand when people complain though, so I am turning this frown upside down!!!! I will try to find the positive in today and be grateful that the sun is shining, I have a job (or 2), and life is good!

My produce box sent some of my favorites this week, avocados and grapefruit!

I love, love, love grapefruit, and I so look forward to mornings that I get to have one for breakfast. I really should just buy them more often, but I think the fact that I don't makes them that much more exciting to me.

I haven't used the avocados just yet, but they are already ready for eating, so I will be making something with them very soon.

Last night, Mike and I decided to put together some salads for our lunches today. We have so many vegetables from our veggie box, and we hate to throw out any food, so we figured we needed to get through them. Salads are the best way to do that, but neither of us are in any mood for salads. I wish I had some chicken or beans or something to throw in with the veggies, but we didn't have any thing on hand, and I haven't had a chance to go grocery shopping. Although my salad looked awesome for today, I was pretty disappointed with it since I just wasn't in the mood.

Spinach, romaine, red peppers, tomatoes, goat cheese, and balsamic vinegar dressing. It was OK, I just really wanted something more...

I also brought some orange wedges, since we seriously have an entire drawer FULL of them. This is the way to go. I hate bringing oranges since they make such a mess, but having them already cut was perfect.

Sorry for the short post, but things are kinda busy around here lately. Hope you all have a good day!

Yesterday's Stats:
Calories (-) 482
Sodium (+) 209
Protein (-) 27

the salty life

Hey, hey! Hope you are all having a great Monday so far.

I am still trying to get in the swing of things after a really crazy weekend. We were super busy all weekend long, and then spent all of Sunday relaxing on the couch after having a little too much fun on Saturday night.

Friday night's date night went really well and we totally indulged in way too many bad-for-us foods, which leads me to believe it is time to make a real change in my behavior on the weekends, but we will get to that in a minute.

We headed to dinner at BW3's for Mike's celebratory outing. We ordered beers, a fried appetizer, wings, and cheese covered potato wedges.

We sat outside so we could enjoy the beautiful weather, and I am glad we did since yesterday and today are FREEZING cold!

I ordered my favorite thing - traditional chicken wings with the salt and vinegar dry rub. We rarely go out to eat there, so I figured I might as well get my favorite thing.

When we headed to the movies, neither of us were hungry, but again, since we rarely go out to the movies, we thought it would be a good idea to get some movie theater popcorn with butter. We each had a good amount, but didn't even finish half of the small bag we ordered.

Side note - American Reunion was awesome... if you liked the other American Pie movies, you will like this one just as much. Totally cheesy, totally predictable, totally too much male genitalia shown on the big screen, but totally worth it. 2 butter covered thumbs up from me!

On Saturday morning, we got up, Mike headed to a work function, and I got ready for a bridal shower. We headed to Greenville as soon as he got home and I made it to the shower just a few minutes late. We decided to spend the night in Greenville, since it was also a friend's birthday, so we wanted to celebrate.

These pictures are from later in the night, but here I am with the bride to be and then another picture with one of my best friends, who also lives in Greenville. 

I indulged HEAVILY in some celebratory drinks and even drank liquor, which is a BIG no-no for me normally. I am just not a fan of liquor... this theory was further proven later that evening, when I had to sleep on the bathroom floor. Yikes.

We woke up Sunday feeling awful. Mike had ran 7 miles on Saturday while I went to the bridal shower, and he said he felt like it was for nothing after eating and boozing it up that night. I was not feeling good at all, so we spent the ENTIRE day on Sunday on the couch. Even though I was OK with this, since we really wanted to catch up on some TV, I did not like the hungover feeling of a queasy stomach, constantly hungry, and sadness. I haven't felt that way since Mexico, and it did not feel good.

Getting Personal

Normally, I would just chalk our weekend up to a wash and start fresh on Monday. We always eat really well during the week, and even mostly on the weekends, but this was just one of those times where we let it get out of hand. Normally, I would just let it slide, but, I was smacked in the face this morning with reality, so it is time to make some real changes about these every once in a while weekends.

I had a doctor's appointment this morning just to get my yearly physical. This is with my primary care doctor, so I had gone in a few weeks earlier to get my blood work drawn. The last time I went to the doctor, my cholesterol was all out of whack and I knew I had to make some changes to my diet.

When my doctor came into the room, we reviewed all of my blood work. My triglycerides (bad) were back in the normal range, when before they were elevated. My HDL (good) was too low before, but now was high, which is great. My LDL (bad) which was elevated before, was now really low, which is pretty awesome. He told me I was at the perfect weight for my height, and my BMI which used to be in the overweight category, is now in the normal category, which I already knew, but it was nice to hear from him. My pulse had dropped from the high 80s to the low 60s, which is a pretty direct correlation to the running.

The only thing that was not any better, and had actually gotten worse, was my blood pressure. I know I have touched on it before, but I have had issues with this in the past. I thought that I had a pretty good handle on it, since for the last few years, my blood pressure has been completely normal, but I guess not.

The first question my doctor asked me was, how much salt do you take in daily?

I immediately jumped into my purse, showed him mynetdiary and explained that I only allow myself 1500 mg of sodium per day... usually. As soon as those words came out of my mouth, my mind started racing through the salt and vinegar wings, cheese fries, popcorn, and beer on Friday, the deli sandwiches, cheese dip, and alcohol on Saturday, and the tortilla chips and salsa on Sunday. There was my answer.

Now, I am not saying that there isn't more to it than just sodium intake, because there absolutely is. I have a STRONG family history of high blood pressure, stroke, etc., which is why I have always been a little more concerned with it than most, but it is something that I really need to take more seriously. I guarantee, that if I hadn't had the weekend that I had, my blood pressure would have been in more of the normal range. Blood pressure is one of the few things that is directly related to sodium, meaning, you spike the sodium, you spike the blood pressure. You remove the sodium, the blood pressure returns to normal, if there isn't some other underlying disease or issue. I also have a bit of what some would call, anxiety and 'white coat syndrome.' Even as a nurse, I get super nervous and anxious about going to see the doctor. Reverse the roles, and I am cool as a cucumber.

I now have to check my blood pressure each morning and night for several months, to make sure that it is not consistently high, and so that I don't have to be put on any type of medication. I 100% believe that this is something that can be managed by my lifestyle, and I will do everything I need to in order to avoid medications.

My doctor kind of laughed at me when I said that I monitor my sodium levels as close as my calories, he said, "wow, the things you will do to avoid a pill." He really does know me so well...

Overall, I think this last year has made drastic improvements on my health, I just need to do a lot better with my weekend indulgences. I know we all need to have them every once in a while, but I would say that 3 full days of it is a little more than what I needed. For some people, their bodies can tolerate that without any issues, clearly mine can not.

I think I am going to do a little experiment with my blood pressure... I'll keep you posted.

Disclaimer: I am in no way, shape, or form trying to provide any advice on dietary or medical changes, I am only providing my opinion on these topics and how I plan to make changes in my own life.  Please refer to your own health care provider for any medical advice or treatment options.

You never know who might come across this little bloggy blog. 

what a year...

I hope you all enjoyed the special guest post from yesterday. Mike is already begging to do more. :)

Last night, we ran in the Foxhunt 5k race, a race that is one of my favorites. It is held downtown, which I love to run through, and after the race they have live music and beers. The concept of the race is also a lot of fun. The girls start running first. Then, after 3 minutes go by, they let the guys go. The point is for the guys to "catch" the girls. I guess it used to be called the "skirt chase race," but later changed to the fox hunt race. My goal last night was to make sure Mike couldn't catch up to me. :) Mission accomplished.

As always, Layne ran with us and she and I actually stuck together for most of the race. She got ahead of me by a few seconds at the end, though. Also, the REAL Elizabeth and Mark were there along with a few other friends.  Kind of a fuzzy picture, but here is the crew.

 
After the race, we all stayed to have our 2 free beers and get some dinner at Natty Greene's. I went with the Top Hat, which was a chicken salad sandwich and french fries. Since I am a major pig, I ate everything except my leftovers before taking a picture. Sorry!

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I have now been running in races for a full year, so I thought it might be fun to take a trip down memory lane, to see how far I have come. I ran my first 5k on April 19, 2011, and completed a 5k last night, exactly 1 year later.

My first 5k ever, the NCVAN, 2011:

Time: 33:30

Pace: 10:49

Being my first 5k, I didn't really know what to expect. I remember telling everyone my time, and they were all so impressed. I really liked this race since it went through a fun neighborhood downtown and it was a great feeling finishing for the first time.

Foxhunt 5k, 2011:

Carolyn Time: 34:33

Pace:  11:09

Mike Time: 30:48

Pace: 9:57

This was my worst time to date. I was pretty disappointed with my performance that day, since I actually did worse than my first race. It was a fun run, but you can tell by the picture how out of shape we both were. 

Gobblers Run 5k, 2011:

Time: 31:19

Pace: 9:45

I had really trained hard for this run, and my goal was to beat my personal best of 33 minutes. I was really happy I had achieved that goal, and enjoyed every last bite of my Thanksgiving dinner that day. Unfortunately, I didn't run again for a month or too, which put me a little back out of shape. 

Miles for Matt 5k, 2012:

Carolyn Time: 28:19

Pace: 9:08

Mike Time: 28:46

Pace: 9:16

Starting out 2012, I set a goal for myself to run a sub 29 minutes 5k. I really didn't think I would be able to do it in my first 5k of the year, but I did. I was certainly ready for this run, and was really, really happy with my time and pace. And that I beat Mike. :) 

Cary Road Race 10k, 2012:

Carolyn Time: 54:22

Pace: 8:45

Mike Time: 53:30

Pace: 8:37

Another goal I had for 2012, was to complete an 8k. I went a little above that and completed my first 10k just last weekend. I was extremely nervous for this race, but completely shocked myself finishing with such a great time. 

Foxhunt 5k, 2012:

Carolyn Time: 26:35

Pace: 8:34

Mike Time: 25:14

Pace: 8:08

Scroll up to this race from last year... then scroll back down to this time and photo. I am blown away by the difference. Not only do we look SO MUCH DIFFERENT, but our times are amazing. Last night I ran my fastest 5k to date, shedding almost 8 full minutes off of my time. Mike also ran his fastest 5k, dropping over 5 minutes off of his time since last year. If this isn't some inspiration, I don't know what is. 

Since we are talking about my New Year's Resolutions, maybe I should look at what else we can check off of that list. Here it is, copied directly from my post in January.

2012 Resolutions - I have a bunch:

• Get to church more - we fell in love with a church, but just haven't had/made the time to go very often. I would like to make more time for that this year.  - we have been really involved with our church this year, we joined and I was baptized. I would say we are doing really well with this one.
• Date night every week for Mike and I. - Sadly, we have not done a very good job with this one. We are going on a date night tonight though! More on that below!
• Shop more - that sounds like a bad resolution, but I have a problem where I won't shop for months on end, then I will be so far behind in the things I need and can't ever get caught back up. I would like to set aside a little money each paycheck to put in a shopping fund. That way, my wardrobe will be up to date. - While I have not really done a good job of creating a shopping fund, I think we have been shopping more this year, and with the weight loss, we have had to go buy new and updated clothes, so this one is iffy.
• Update my iPhone more - now that I have a new phone, I want to keep it up to date and current. - I have been updating my phone every month, getting pictures removed and onto our laptop to keep it clean! Whoo Hoo!
• Stay home more - I have a bad habit of planning tons of mini-trips to see family and friends. As much as I love doing this, we need to spend more time at home, enjoying what Raleigh and our area has to offer. - We spent the entire month of January and February, at home! March was a little crazy, and we have a few weekends of out of town coming up, but we have definitely been better about this one.
• Pay off debt - we have a really great plan for our debt pay-off and I really want us to stick to it.- This has been tough with the massive amount of plane tickets and weddings we have going this summer, but we are still trying!
• Savings - we also have a good plan for our savings, but we haven't been very good about sticking to it, so this year, I hope we can do that.- See directly above.
• Finish re-decorating our downstairs.  - We did get some of our wedding pictures framed, collage put up in our foyer, and made some fun art for the bathroom. The rest is still waiting...
• Continue with my goal of losing 25 (now maybe 30) lbs by the end of next summer. Get to the gym more, continue eating healthy.  Officially 15 lbs down since the start of this blog, completely out of size 10 pants, and only 10 lbs to reach my goal by the end of the summer. Definitely on track with this one. Plus, Mike is now on board!
• Run a sub-29 minute 5k race  - CHECK!
• Run in an 8k race - I see your 8k and raise to a 10k and CHECK!

Overall, I would say I am doing really well for it only being April!!!! 4 months in and the majority of my goals are practically met!

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Tonight, Mike and I are going on a date. We do a lot of date nights at home, where we make dinner, get a redbox and just hang out, but it is pretty rare that we actually go out to eat and go to a movie or do anything else without meeting up with friends first.  Usually, that is fine with us, but it will be nice to go at our own pace tonight.

We really wanted to celebrate the fact that Mike won the challenge, so we thought tonight would be a perfect night. In true Mike fashion, we are heading to Buffalo Wild Wings (fancy establishment) to eat dinner and then we are going to see American Reunion! I am sooo pumped about seeing this movie! 

I feel like the American Pie movies are my generation's Animal House. They are like OUR movies. The characters in those movies were at the exact same stage of life as I was when they came out, and American Reunion is no different. Most of us (hush, Layne and Elizabeth), have either already had our high school reunion or are getting ready to.

I remember laughing so hard at American Pie and American Wedding, so I am so excited to see American Reunion. CAN NOT WAIT!!

Well, I think this blog post is long enough, don't you? Time to get to work, and count down the hours until I get to head home and go on a fun, relaxed date night with the hubster. I think I am most excited that I don't have any reason to get dressed up, since we are going to a casual dinner and a movie. Since this is Mike's celebration, he wouldn't have it any other way, and neither would I.

Hope you all have a fantabulous weekend! 

Yesterday's Stats:

Calories (-) 115

Sodium (+) 15

Protein (-) 16

cheeseburger, with a side of cheeseburger

 

 And now, a special guest post from my husband....

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Hello Blog Readers!!

I’m sure everyone is ready to hear about the competition and my strategy for losing 19.4 lbs. and 10.3% of my body weight in 6 weeks. Never fear, as I will absolutely talk about the past 6 weeks and how I truly believe they changed my life forever. A lot of people have said to me over the last couple of days how I should be so happy we did this competition. Of course, they are right. This competition and the chance to win $600 doing something I needed to do anyway, was the kick in the ass I needed to get going in the right direction. Though, I probably would not have had to do the competition had I just listened to my wife all along. Had I listened to her, I certainly wouldn’t have had as much weight to lose. We have a joke in our house that if I just listened to her, I wouldn’t have nearly the problems I find myself having. Sadly, most of the time this is less of a joke and more of a true statement. I will get back to the competition in a minute, but first, a few things…

It’s funny really. My wife has been blogging about healthy living now for almost a year. In addition to that, she has truly lived a healthy lifestyle. She works out, she eats well, and she is conscious of the decisions she makes in regards to her health. I’ve watched her put all of her food into her phone for the day (as we watched TV at night) to determine how many cookies she could have. Meanwhile, I would eat cookies until they ran out. Have you ever eaten so many cookies you had to get more milk? You literally had to stop eating cookies to get a refill on milk because you had ALREADY EATEN SO MANY DAMN COOKIES?

Typing this out makes me wonder two things. How did my wife stay strong when despite being vocally supportive of the changes she wanted to make in her life I provided no REAL support for her? And, How did it get to this point? The first one is a tough one. How does one stay on a healthy path when their partner is pulling them off of it whenever possible? Carolyn only needed to mention 5 Guys burgers or B-Dubs wings and we would be there. It is amazing to see that despite all of this, she has been able to start hitting her goals. I can only imagine how much quicker it would have been had she had more support from me. 

My second question is how had I gotten to this point?  I was once pretty athletic, I loved the gym, and I didn’t eat like an absolute moron. Sure, I wouldn’t say I ate healthy because that would be a lie, but I understood portions. I was running businesses at the young age of 21 and working a lot, so going through a drive thru wasn’t uncommon. Then one day, portions stopped mattering. Furthermore, what little free time I had wasn’t going to be spent at the gym. Drinking with my buddies was much more fun than running on a treadmill. So it went on like that. Instead of a burger and fries it became a burger and a side burger. Then it became a burger and a side burger AND fries. Then it became 3 tacos and 2 burritos when we went to Taco Bell. Why not? They are little! I’ll get the ones with chicken! And we all know anything that has chicken in it is healthy. I work hard and I should enjoy myself! 

Not sure who's photo this is, but it sums up the above statement quite well.

I ignored all warning signs because who wants to pay attention to those? I couldn’t run a mile anymore. Even when we went to the gym and lost weight for our wedding I didn’t do any cardio. I didn’t need it I would say to myself, "I want to get built! Cardio makes you lose muscle mass!" So the fact that I couldn’t run wasn’t a sign of anything bad, so I thought. I had been getting regular chest pains (absolutely heartburn) and  I would wake up in the morning gagging. My stomach was always upset, my clothes fit like shit, I literally lost my chin. No worries, I would think. This happens with age. Even when my doctor told me that at the age of 28 I had elevated  sugar levels, I dismissed it. 

Carolyn tried to help with some tough love. As I would open my 2^nd cheeseburger she would mention how sad it was going to be raising our children alone. That may seem drastic, but it was true. I thought, "I wasn’t that big right?"  Even at my largest, I was right at 200lbs. That’s not enormous for a guy who pretends to be 6ft tall? Right? She certainly had a point. If I take after my Dad's side of the family, it isn’t a question of whether I will die of a heart attack, but when. Should I really be tempting fate like this? Then, for no other reason than the prospect of having $600 extra dollars, I decided to give change a shot…   

I weighed in for our competition the day after returning from our trip to Snowshoe. This annual trip is my favorite of the year. What a great group we have going each year, it is so much fun. But, it also probably the most unhealthy 5 day binge one could possible be a part of. I think I literally drink every minute I am awake while there. I f you see me in Snowshoe, come up and say hello.  I am sure to give you one of the extra beers I have in my pocket. I won’t even begin to describe the food we eat since Carolyn has already done that in previous posts. I weighed in at 187.6lbs in our initial weigh in. I was actually pretty happy about that since I was certain I would be back in the 190’s. Since the wedding, I have kind of hovered in the high 180’s to mid to low 190’s. 

It’s worth pointing out that at my wedding, I was in the high 160’s. This was due to a combination of not eating and stress and was in no way related to some type of positive change I had made in my life. This was proven when I returned home from the honeymoon and I was over 10lbs heavier. 

 

Anyway, I immediately assumed that to win this competition I would need to lose 10% of my body weight. This was a winner take all competition, so anything short of that would simply not do. I decided that I needed to do two things:  run a lot and listen to all of the crap Carolyn has been saying about food and portions. To defend myself, I love fresh food. I love to make things from scratch. Though she may not admit it, a lot of the pictures on this blog came from food I made while Carolyn was on her way home from work. What the pictures don’t say is the AMOUNT of the food I would then eat. I recognize that meals made from scratch are better than those handed to you through a window. What I didn’t realize was HOW MUCH better they were.

Carolyn downloaded the MyNetDiary app to my phone right away. She wanted to make me conscious of what I was eating. Boy did it work. I had no idea. I recommend this app to anyone looking to make a positive change. Knowing just how bad something is for you is key to training yourself to not want it. I now know that my daily Snickers bar was adding 260 calories to my intake. 260! It also helps you set goals and track how you are doing in achieving them through your food. Nutrition has got to be like 70% of any weight loss program. It is THAT important. At first, lowering my calories was tough. I had cravings that before I would just eat to satisfy, but now, I had to work through them. I started to find that going to bed at night and knowing I was under my calories for the day was a much better feeling than eating a candy bar at 230pm. 

I also started running. A few days a week, at first, just to get some cardio in. It was brutal. I couldn’t go a mile. I couldn’t break 10 minutes. I couldn’t keep up with my wife. It hit me how far I had fallen when we went for a run one night and she was ½ mile ahead of me pretty much the entire time. She would have to go into cul-de-sacs just to waste time so that I could catch up. All the while, Franklin would be running beside her, looking back every few minutes and probably thinking, “Looks like Daddy is about to die”. He was right. I was dying. Sadly the only thing that would provide me with motivation was the thought of winning $600. I powered through it. Then, a funny thing started happening. I started to lose weight. Eating well and running daily seems to be a magic formula for weight loss! 

March, 2012 - just after starting the competition

I started to get faster and stronger. My breathing was easier. I was almost able to keep up with my wife and my dog. I ran a 5k with my wife and our friend Layne and they barely beat me (I consider this to be a win). Then I kept running more and more. 10 miles per week, 15 miles per week, 20 miles per week and I was loving it. I felt worse when I didn’t run than when I did.  The pounds just started coming off, 183, 181, 178, 176, 174, 172, and I kept getting smaller and smaller. No more heart burn. No more gagging. When we went out with friends, I ate human sized portions. I only had a few beers. I have always been worried about the social aspect of change. My entire life I’ve been Mike the funny guy who drinks beers and says funny stuff and does funny things. What if I wasn’t that guy anymore? Turns out, it wasn’t the beers I drank that made me funny, it was the beers that others drink! 

 172 lbs soon became 170, then 168. I ran a 10k the week before the final weigh-in and I finished (by my count) in 51 minutes. 51 minutes for over 6 miles? I couldn't believe it. I remember driving home that day and realizing something. I had already won. Sure, the money would be great, but I didn’t have to win cash to know I had achieved victory. For the first time in a long time I made the right decisions for my health. I remember thinking that day that I hadn’t joined a competition. I had changed my life. 

Last week, 3 days before the last weigh in

 Shortly before the last week of the competition, a couple of my best friends and I, decided to train for a marathon. Me? A marathon runner? I guess we will see. But why not? If I have learned anything these past 6 weeks it’s that doing the right thing is hard sometimes, but if I really want something there is no reason to think I can’t do it. Six weeks ago I couldn’t finish a mile. If and when I finish this marathon training, I will have logged almost 900.

I’ve learned that I am capable of more than I once gave myself credit for. I have learned that I love running. Oh ya, and I’ve learned I should have just listen to my wife all along.

Ahhh... true love. Thanks to Tereasa for this gem.

Thanks for reading this long story. Sorry about that, but I just had a lot of thoughts to get down. Maybe if I promise to shorten it I will get to blog again sometime and I can let you know my progress on the training…