Weekly Weigh-In #3 and 5 for Five

Monday means time for me to weigh in!
This Week: -0.6 lbs
Total Loss: -2.6 lbs

A loss is a loss, but this number doesn't make me happy. There are several factors this week that contribute to a low number that I don't want to go into right now, so I'm hoping next week I'll see a greater loss on the scale.

Now, on to the 5 for Five link-up with Jessica and Jenn!

Last Week's Goals

 1. Take Eva (my dog) for a walk every day Yay!

I took her for a walk every day, and she loved every minute of it. Definitely something I want to keep doing!

2. Work out at least four days Nay!

I worked out four days total this week but not four days during the work week.
 3. Organize my teacher folder on my computer Yay!

So happy that this is done! Everything is so much easier to find.
 4. Begin to learn how to crochet Yay!

I learned how to do a chain, single crochet, and double crochet last week. I will be starting a scarf soon!
 5. Read every night before bed Nay!

Every night but Friday...so close!

This Week's Goals

1. Try out a new recipe

I'm going to my sister's to watch the Super Bowl, so I think that will be a perfect time to cook something new.

 2. Finish the book I've been reading

Feed by Mira Grant...I have been reading this book since Christmas, and I am having such a hard time getting through it. Not really what I was expecting, but I don't like to NOT finish books, so I'm pushing on through.

 3. Complete a 5K on Friday

I'm starting 5K Friday after participating in the Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K last Friday.

 4. Go to a movie

It has been WAY TOO LONG since I have seen a movie in an actual theater.

 5. Get three sub jobs

I was lucky last week and got signed up for six jobs. I'm hoping to get at least three more this week.  

Sunday Social: Getting Deep

Hope everyone is having a relaxing Sunday! It's a foggy, dewy day here in Texas. I went and worked out at the track this morning, and this afternoon I plan to write a couple of blogs that will post later this week. Today I am linking up with Neely and Ashley for Sunday Social.


What is your ideal way to relax? watching Netflix on my iPad...If you have any recommendations, send them my way!

Where is your favorite place to be? The beach, no doubt about it

 Who do you consider your biggest role model? My mom is my biggest role model. She is amazing and supports me in everything I do. I'm so thankful that she was a stay-at-home mom with me and my sister when we were young. She is one of my best friends, and I love her with all my heart. I hope that one day I am as great a mother as she is. 

What does your life look like in 3 years? All I hope for is that I have a teaching job I love, and I'm happy and healthy.

If you could go back and change one decision, what would it be? I wouldn't have quit teaching after my first year. I wanted everything to be perfect, and I was too hard on myself. I'm trying to get another teaching job, which is probably the most difficult thing I've ever done.

What is your biggest accomplishment in life thus far? Graduating from college...My sister and I were the first two in our family to graduate from college. I'm very proud of myself and her.

 

My First 5K!

I'm so excited! Today I participated in Katie's "Runs for Cookies Virtual 5K." Her blog is the first weight loss blog I started following some time early last year, and she is the person that inspired ME to start running. I don't know why I waited a year to start, but better late than never. Anyway, it was quite a process to get the race accomplished, and here is why...

My mom had the day off from work, so I asked her if she wanted to run with me. She did, so we headed out to a national refuge close to our hometown that has trails for people to hike on. First thing we had to deal with was a dense fog advisory in effect this morning for our area. Second thing was the temperature outside. It was FREEZING! And yes, I'm from Texas, so 39° is too cold for me. I had on capris, a t-shirt, and a jacket, and I thought that would be enough because I didn't want to get too warm if I had bundled up. WRONG! Third thing was once I got out there my app wouldn't work that would have calculated my mileage and time. I was so disappointed and mad.

I tried to run anyway, but I had a much more difficult time trying to run out there than I do on the treadmill. Three things that didn't help: gravel surface, cold wind, and no music or TV. I realize though that I should probably start practicing on the track at the football stadium in addition to the treadmill. I just have to overcome my fear of people seeing me run.

We drove back home, and I immediately got on the treadmill to start attempt #2. I knew if I didn't do it right when we got home, I wasn't going to do it.

When I run on the treadmill, I watch Being Human on Netflix. I LOVE the UK version!

 I've been using the Runs for Cookies 5K Plan for People Who Hate to Run, which you can find here. I haven't worked up to running the full 5K yet, so I kept going with the plan, which meant I would be running 20 minutes today. I've been running 5mph, so that is what I set the treadmill to. When I reached 20 minutes, I was at 2.32 miles, so I walked a 4mph pace until I reached the 3.1 mile goal. I completed the race in 00:41:15. I was so happy and proud that I did it!

I definitely want to improve my time the longer I run. I had an idea today after my run to have 5K Friday. Until I reach my goal of running the ENTIRE 5K, I'm gonna keep on pushing through the plan, but every Friday, I'm going to run/walk a 5K to try to improve my time with every run.

That about wraps up my first 5K, so I'll leave you with these words of wisdom from Elle Woods. ;-)

Weekly Weigh-In #2 and 5 for Five

Monday means time for me to weigh in!
This Week: -.2 lbs
Total Loss: -2 lbs

Definitely not a big number, but it's actually better than I was expecting it to be. Since I went off my diet from the week before, I was afraid I might gain or stay the same, so I'm actually glad I went down a little bit.

Now, on to the 5 for Five link-up with Jessica and Jenn. 5 for Five is basically listing 5 goals you hope to achieve during the work week (Monday-Friday).

This is my first time linking up, so I don't have any goals from last week to write about.

My Goals for This Week

1. Take Eva (my dog) for a walk every day

I've been taking her for a walk a few days this past week, but it needs to become a daily habit. She's only four, but she is one chunky little monkey! I want to do everything on my end to keep her from getting diabetes like our other dog, Jack.

2. Work out at least four days

I've been following the pattern of working out a day then resting a day. I need to increase my exercise to see the pounds come off!

3. Organize my teacher folder on my computer

I have a folder that I keep all my Teachers Pay Teachers downloads in. I need to create multiple folders and split up the one HUGE folder: language arts, math, classroom management, holidays, etc. That way when I need to use something, it will be much easier to find! 

4. Begin to learn how to crochet

I told my grandma about my snacking at night and how I need something else to do with my hands while I watch TV. She said she would teach me how to crochet. I've tried to learn before with poor results. :-D Hopefully, she'll be able to help!

5. Read every night before bed  

I used to read all the time before I went to bed. That was before I had a laptop and even more recently an iPad. I received so many books as Christmas gifts, so I'm going to try to put away the technology and read a book.

Sunday Social: All About 3's

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday! It is an absolutely beautiful day here in Texas. I sat outside on our deck to write the rough draft of this post, and I took my dog, Eva, for a walk downtown. Such amazing weather! Anyway, today I am linking up with Neely and Ashley for Sunday Social. So fun!

Top 3 Favorite Kinds of Food

1. potatoes: baked, fried, mashed, in a salad, hash browns, french fries (I feel about potatoes the way Bubba from Forrest Gump felt about shrimp.)
2. cheesecake
3. chips and salsa

First 3 Things You Do in the Morning

1. Let the dogs out
2. Take a shower
3. Eat breakfast

Last 3 Things You Do at Night

1. Wash my face
2. Check Facebook, Twitter, email, new posts on blogs, etc. just one more time
3. Read

**A lot of people that linked up had brush teeth in the morning and night. I promise I do that too! AFTER breakfast and BEFORE washing my face! :-D

3 TV Shows You Never Miss

1. Modern Family
2. The Middle
3. Supernatural

3 Places You Want to Visit

1. Hawaii
2. Australia
3. Bora Bora

3 People You Can Always Count On

1. my mom
2. my sister
3. my extended family

Pit and Peak Link-Up

Wow! That 1.8 pound weight loss really got me down this week (even though I said it wouldn’t). Anyway, I decided to link up with Tales of a Twenty Something and Bold Butter Baby to share my pits and peaks of the week.

Pits

• Giving up on the SHRED diet

I was doing the SHRED diet plan, and after that first weigh in, I became very discouraged with it. I guess I shouldn’t have read the sentence in the book that said most people lose between 8-10 pounds in the first week if they have a considerable amount of weigh to lose. Guess I’m not ‘most people.’

• Snacking at night

Although I stopped my diet plan, I didn’t fully let myself go. I’m not hitting the drive-thru breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I make healthy choices during the day, but at night, when I watch TV, I snack. I REALLY need to work on breaking that habit of watching TV and eating. I need to find something I can do with my hands instead of stuffing my face with pretzels and ginger snaps.

Peaks

• Didn’t give up on my running plan

One of my goals is to be able to run a 5K. Katie (from Runs for Cookies) wrote a post back in November that included a 5K running plan for people that hate to run, which you can find here. I've been using that as a guide, and it works so much better for me than Couch to 5K.

Tomorrow I’ll be running 13 minutes and walking 17. I want to go up to the track to see if I can run a mile. I couldn’t even do that in middle school, and I was probably about 60-70 pounds lighter then. Yesterday when I ran on the treadmill for 10 minutes, I was able to go 0.80 miles, so it’s not an unreachable goal.

• Found this pet bed on clearance at Homegoods

My mom bought this for our dog, Jack. He is a 12 year old rat terrier, and we’ve had him since he was one. Late last year, we found out he has diabetes, so he gets insulin shots twice a day. He is also going blind, so we wanted to buy the bed for him to help keep him comfy while he’s still with us. He’s a sweet boy.

Ugly Cry Face

Well…I weighed in today after my first week of eating healthier and working out. It went something like this:

  

1.       Step on scale

2.       See weight loss of 1.8 pounds
3.       Cue ugly cry face

     

     

      I am SO upset with that number. I was expecting a much bigger loss than 1.8 pounds. I know it’s only been one week, but I worked harder this past week than I think I ever have in my life. The least I thought I would lose was a few pounds of water weight!

I’m posting my first ‘before’ picture today. I had planned on taking a picture each week to show my progress, but I think instead I will take a picture for every 10 pounds lost.

I’m not going to let this get me down for long, and I’m not going to give up like I have done every time in the past.

Charging forward into week 2, and I love that my devotional for today was just what I needed after my bummer weigh-in.

Weekend Wrap-Up: Packers, Polish, and Planning

Pretty laid-back at my house this weekend, but most weekends usually are.
 
I was disappointed to see my favorite NFL team, the Green Bay Packers, get defeated by the 49ers. Oh well, there's always next season! AND, I'm so excited the Packers are playing the Cowboys in Dallas next year. I really wanna get tickets to that game!

My mom and I went to Walgreen's yesterday to check out what nail polish they had. She bought Essie's Penny Talk, so I had to test it out. I love the copper metallic color and how shiny it is.

Today has been spent watching the NFL playoff games and planning my meals for this week. I'll write more about what I'm doing food and exercise wise in another post.

Tomorrow is my first weigh in after a week of doing my new regimen! Anxious to see the results!!

No more...

My time has come. My time is now. It’s time to love my life, make healthy choices for my body, and break free from the chains of obesity.

• No more avoiding a haircut because I don't like looking at myself in the mirror 
• No more heat rash because my thighs rub together when I work out
• No more hiding in my house because I'm afraid of what people will think of me
• No more worrying about diabetes, high blood pressure, and all the other possible health conditions that can be caused by obesity
• No more shopping in the plus-size section of the store
• No more being out of breath from doing simple activities
• No more being a poor role model for students, in terms of a healthy lifestyle
• No more running out of energy before my mom does
• No more sitting on the sidelines watching life pass me by
• No more acceptance of being the fat girl

3rd Times the Charm?

Well, this is my third attempt at trying to get a blog up and running. To be fair, I probably deleted the other two before they ever really had a chance, but there was no specific direction with either one of them.

Attempt #1 (Katy’s Corner) and Attempt #2 (Bliss, Books, and Barks) were both created to document my life in general. I think I wrote two posts total for each of them. Things got blah and boring…DELETE!

So, after my workout today, my new blog name (From KATYpillar to Butterfly) just popped into my head, and I made the decision to start a blog about my weight loss journey. Is it slightly corny? Maybe, but I don’t care. I like it.

I feel that this blog will help keep me accountable and motivated to lose weight. This may be my third time to start a blog, but it seems like my 1,000,000^th time to try to lose weight. It’s one thing I’ll be happy to lose, and NEVER find again!

In the next week, I’ll be back with ‘before’ pictures, what I’m doing to help me lose the weight, and a possible mish mash of other things.