Weight Loss Update: May

May is here! Can't believe this year is almost halfway over. I made myself a promise 5 months ago now, and I'm still going strong...maybe even stronger. April held a lot of changes for me. The biggest is that toward teh end of April I finally broke through my almost 6 week long plateau. I was becoming really discouraged, as we all do when we hop on that scale once a week and find the numbers haven't budged an inch. All my sweat, strong willpower against the office doughnuts and pounding pavement was all for nothing.

False.

I didn't lose any weight but I didn't gain any either. I became physically stronger and lost more inches. Now I can do a push up plank for a full minute because I'm getting stronger with every workout. Also, I never added strength training in like I said I was last month. I'm not a huge fan of free weights and if you don't like something then you're less app to do it. I buckled down and found a more pleasing way to work in strength sessions. TRX. I recently had to go through a day long class to get certified to be my unit's personal training leader. During this class they introduced us to TRX. I love it. You use only your body weight and your core stays engaged the entire time. Click below to find out more!

http://www.trxtraining.com/

The last big change was that I agreed to train for and run in my first 50K race. It's 31 miles and considered an ultra marathon. Crazy? Yes. My next goal was to run a full marathon, so what is 5 more miles! It all started with my troop at work. He had just ran his first 50k in Oct and said he loved it. It was on a trail through the Smokey mts. When he said the word "trail" it perked my ears. My husband and I ran trails all the time when we lived in Sulphur OK and we fell in love with it.

I think trail running is easier and harder than road running. Easier in that it's less impact on your joints, so people have less achy knees and shin splints. Also you're running in nature so people become more distracted and less focused on how long they're running for. It's also harder because you utilize your ankles/calves a lot more to balance yourself when running on uneven trails and on cliff ledges so essentially using stability muscles you never had to before. There are also more hills when running trails so this becomes harder to when you're using your hamstrings, quads and glutes a lot more, but this tones your legs so don't let this be a distractor. Personally I prefer trails over the road any day of the week.

Back to the 50k, so he mentioned we should do one this fall. I felt very hesitant at first. The farthest I've ever ran at once is 13.1 miles, now you want me to run 31 miles? Like any other race, you have to work up to it. I was still skeptical but the more trails we'd run on the weekends slowly convinced me. Finally, I drank the koolaid and said yes. My troop takes running pretty seriously and knows his stuff, so he worked out a personal 4 month training plan for us based off of the amount of running we were averaging a week. I love seeing how far physically I can push myself. The human body is amazing and I'm going to push her to the limit.

Diet wise, I'm still sticking to keeping track of all my calories. Usually this is what I have...

Breakfast: pb cheerios, skim milk, serving of almonds and a banana

Lunch: whole wheat pita pocket sandwhich with turkey, mustard and veggies, Ritz cracker chips, carrots/broc/cauliflower with a greek yogurt dip

Dinner: lean meat, steamed vegtables and brown rice

Snack: popcorn, serving of fruit and a protein (string cheese or bf jerky)

I have also started up with protein supplements for the first time in my life. Protein after a hard workout can help muscles repair more quickly. Mid March I strained my right hamstring, but then I got sick for two weeks and didn't workout so I thought that would be suffient time to heal it. Well with my training plan gradually getting more difficult, it's starting to bother me again. I ice it after every run and stretch throughout the day, everyday but it still wasn't cutting it. I decided to start drinking a protein drink after every run over 4 miles and it seems to help quite a bit. I'm also foam rolling every night and as painful as it is, it works wonders for repairing muscles. I personally like this one below, but my husband is getting me to switch to one he likes after this stuff runs out. I will see how I like it and let you all know!

Pure Protein: 170 calories,1.5g fat, 1g sugar and 35g protein

As previously stated I'm through my first plateau and into the 140's finally! I have about 18 more pounds to go and I'm pretty stoked about this next month. I'm toning up and slimming down slowly but surely. The less weight I have to run with the better! I keep having to repeat to myself, "It took almost a year to put it on...so it's not coming off in a week." Plus, my husband's homecoming date (every changing that it may be) is still looming closer with each day, and I want to wow him if I can!