I'm amazed by the camaraderie I've encountered

Maybe it was my childhood "trauma" of being the last one picked in gym class, not being athletically gifted (and catching grief for it), or being a "late bloomer" to fitness that I thought that I would be isolated in this journey but I have found the reverse to be true.

When I started running, I did it exclusively on the treadmill because I was self-conscious over the extra weight I was carrying. I trained for a 5K and my first 10K on the treadmill and it seemed to work for me but when I started training for a half-marathon, I had to bite the bullet and start running outside.

Until recently, a considerable portion of my running was done in the park or on a trail because I was hesitant to run on the street (once again, self-consciousness was taking control). I was amazed at the friendliness of the folks I encountered. A number of people will wave, say "hi" or "how are you doing," but some may actually initiate dialog to ask how far you're running today or if you're training for a particular race.

When I started going on the race circuit, I was intimidated by being surrounded by numerous runners who were a hell of a lot faster than me. When I go to the NYRR events, my corral corresponds with my best registered pace and I am surrounded by folks who run a pace comparable to mine. I've met a runners who were committed to running and overcoming challenges but yet we've joked about "how slow" we are and would check on each other during the course of the race to see how we're progressing.

I just moved to a new neighborhood and it's a bit of a burden to go to the places where I've run so I have been exploring the area while logging the miles. It turns out I was my biggest critic in terms of how I looked when running; as far as "everybody else," they don't care.

Wait a minute...did you...

Over the next two weeks, I will be spending a lot of time working at one of my client's offices. I haven't been there in over two years but I have run into some folks between now and then.

Within my first hour at the office, the first person I ran into looked at me and said "I know there's something different about you. I want to ask if you've lost weight but sometimes you just can't go there." We had a chuckle and I confirmed that I did lose weight. About 30 minutes later, another person looked at me with similar commentary.

I understand that some folks are uncomfortable with commenting about somebody's weight loss because of the fear that it opens a can of worms. For example:

• "You look great. Have you lost weight." So are you trying to say I looked terrible? Are you trying to say that I was fat?

Not for nothing, I appreciate the validation and the compliments.

Completed my second half marathon

I have been using RunKeeper to train for a half-marathon and will be using the same app to train for the NYC Marathon. This app is on my phone and I also log on from my computer on the web. When I run, the app tracks my distance, pace, total time, and my route; it's pretty cool to see how I'm doing day-to-day and by location.

The More Magazine/Fitness Magazine Half Marathon was my first half. This race fell during a busy weekend; went to the Yankee game on Friday, my HS reunion was the day before, and I was going to a birthday party for one of my daughter's classmates immediately after the race. I wanted to complete the race in 3 hours and was thrilled to see that I finished in 2:59:10.

My second half was the Long Island Half this past Sunday and it was a great day for a race. I had a really strong start and finished in 2:59:49. I tracked my time on RunKeeper and noticed that I lost a considerable amount of time waiting to use the bathroom at various points throughout the race. Whatever the case may be, I completed the race without needing a wheelchair or an ambulance (LOL).

I'm registered for my third half taking place in a week and a half. The Superhero Half sounds like it will be a fun race. To get in the spirit, I wanted to get a superhero outfit (my daughter wanted me to get a Spidergirl costume) but I find the prices to be a tad prohibitive considering I'm not at goal weight and I don't want to buy something I can only wear once. I went to Party City and bought a Superman shirt for $9.99 (tax free because I bought it in NYC).

In the meantime, I'm still figuring out hydration and fueling strategies as I build my speed and endurance.

Updated Measurements

Just wanted to get a more global perspective on my progress

Weight - 166.4 lbs (down 67.6 since I started)
Waist - 36" (down 8 inches since I started)
Hips - 43.25" (down 12.75 inches since I started)
Bust - 40" (down 11 inches since I started)
Chest - 32" (down 6 inches since I started)
Right calf - 15" (down 1 inch since I started)
Right thigh - 24" (down 7 inches since I started)
Right bicep - 10.5" (down 2.5 inches since I started)
Right forearm - 8.5" (down 1.5 inches since I started)
Approx BMI - 28.6 (down 11.6 since I started)

I just went on a 5 mile training run this morning and will be running a 15K this Saturday. It's 24 degrees, 11 with the wind chill. There was a time when I wouldn't want any part of being outside in weather like this, much less run in it. Talk about going through changes.

I'm hard on myself but was given a different perspective

In last week's blog, I mentioned hitting a plateau and being down about it. Yes, there are things within my control that I could do better but every day is an opportunity to start anew.

I've spoken to my Weight Watchers leader on a number of occasions over the past few weeks and yesterday, she gave me a different perspective on my plateau. She told me that it's tough to stay within a given weight for a certain period of time and she commended me on my ability to do so considering all of the "crap" I've been dealing with in terms of a crazy schedule and other personal circumstances. Yes, there are things that I could've done better in terms of tracking and food choices but due to my level of physical activity, I've been able to not regain a considerable amount of weight.

I'm 25 pounds away from getting to Lifetime status at Weight Watchers.

Plateaued and it's nobody's fault but mine

Over the past few weeks, there hasn't been much progress on the scale. In fact, the scale has teetered around one number. It's frustrating but the fault lies within me. I haven't been making very smart food choices but fortunately, I have maintained a decent level of activity.

The next six weeks are going to be challenging because of Thanksgiving, Christmas and all of the holiday-related activities. At a Weight Watchers meeting a few weeks ago, one of the attendees said it's a holi-day, not a holi-month. With that in mind, I will need to make a better effort to be more conscientious with my food. I am training for a half-marathon so activity is not a problem but it's not license to pig out.

Latest numbers. Another 3-1/2 months have passed.

I'm supposed to take my measurements on a monthly basis but that hasn't happened. I took some measurements yesterday & noticed the following changes:
Hips - 46 (down 3.5 inches since March)
Bust - 41 (down 6 inches since March)
Waist - 37 (down 5.5 inches since March)
Right thigh - 24 (down 4 inches since March)

A lot of folks have noticed that I've lost a significant amount of weight. In addition to the kudos I've received, some are bold enough to ask me about my boobs; yes, they've gotten smaller but I'm not flat-chested.

Validation

I notice a difference in my clothes and my measurements but when other people notice your changes, it's pretty exciting.

My Weight Watchers leader has been very encouraging in terms of my progress but when you hear "wow, you look great" from other folks, it feels great.

A few days ago, I ran into a couple of my neighbors and one of them told me to get out of my car because he "heard that [I] was thin." I asked him where he heard such a thing and he said on Facebook. So I stepped out of the car & told him that I was down 50 pounds. He's not the only one that's commented but it's just awesome to hear and it gives the inspiration to keep going.

I hate to shop but have to bite the bullet

I hate to shop. I don't know how the aversion to shopping developed...maybe it's bad memories of shopping with my mom growing up or general dissatisfaction with selection, prices, etc. The irony is that I have a considerable amount of clothes. My approach to shopping is that the less time I spend in a store, the happier I am which means that I tend to go to stores that group clothes by size or genre in a small area; with that said, I have minimal patience with department stores where I have to go rack to rack for an outfit. In recent years, most of my clothes have come from Walmart and Burlington Coat Factory because I can hit a few racks, find some clothes that I like in my size, try them on, pay for them and get out of dodge.

I am looking to lose a considerable amount of weight and recognize that I will need to buy a few "transition" wardrobes along to way. Doesn't change the fact that I hate to shop. I'm also not crazy about the fact that I need to buy clothes that I know I won't be able to wear for more than a few months. Whatever. Fortunately, I work from home (or wherever I happen to be at a given moment) so I don't have to keep an extensive "work" wardrobe so I can get by on shorts. I basically buy dress clothes on as as-needed basis since I gave away a lot of clothes because they are too big.

Tonight, I'm meeting up with a group of folks I haven't seen since last summer. A number of them keep in touch with me through Facebook but we don't see each other in person. I wanted to buy shorts that fit so I can show off my weight loss (they've heard about it on Facebook & Twitter) so I went to Old Navy last night. I was annoyed by the slim pickings of larger clothes (must be the given location or all the bigger folks shopped there before me) and since I'm in between sizes, I usually try an item in two sizes & pick from there. I couldn't find anything in a size 18 so I grabbed a size 16 and hoped for the best. I was thrilled to see that the shorts I tried on fit and what I mean by "fit" is that I was able to zip them up & have room in them. What an awesome feeling!

New numbers 3-1/2 months later

I'm supposed to take my measurements on a monthly basis but that hasn't happened. I took some measurements yesterday & noticed the following changes:
Hips - 48 (down 1.5 inches since March)
Bust - 43.5 (down 3.5 inches since March)
Waist - 39.5 (down 3 inches since March)
Right thigh - 25.5 (down 2.5 inches since March)

50 down, 50 to go (give or take)

This post is a tad overdue but I was thrilled when I weighed in at Weight Watchers to see that I am down 50 pounds from my highest weight. As I mentioned in my blog description that losing 100 pounds isn't the end all & be all goal but I was striving to a better level of fitness and health.

I like the flexibility of Weight Watchers. I knew that I couldn't deal with the "restrictiveness" of other programs for an extensive period of time. Ideally, I would & should pre-plan my meals but life has a tendency to get in the way and that doesn't happen. Yes, I have gone to McDonald's, Burger King, Dunkin' Donuts, etc. and as long as I log in the point value of what I ate, it's all good.

Physically, I'm making strides. I'm doing a 5K tomorrow and a week from Sunday, I will be doing my first 10K. I am also starting half-marathon training and hope to be able to do the Philadelphia Half Marathon in November. There are a number of other races that I will be doing this year.

It's great to have experienced this weight loss but I hate shopping and it's come to the point that I need clothes. The problem with women's clothing is that you can be one size under one label but a different size under another label; in the words of Sweet Brown "ain't nobody got time for that." With that said, I consider shopping to be a chore but I'm beginning to feel ridiculous in loose-fitting clothes.

Let's get something straight, a pound of muscle & a pound of fat weigh the same

It really annoys me when I hear people say that muscle weighs more than fat & that's why they can't lose weight. Yes, it does get discouraging to spend a lot of time at the gym & make better food decisions only to see slow (if any movement) on the scale. Some folks will say "why bother" and abandon all efforts.

A pound of muscle & a pound of fat weigh the same but they take up different amounts of space. Here are some images that can break it down for you.

If that's not enough, here's something that can serve as motivation to keep going.

One that that I learned a few months ago is that when muscles are being developed, there is a tendency for them to retain water and that may contribute to the scale not moving "too quickly." Just keep at it and the pounds will go away.