Whole30- LAST DAY!!!

Finally! Today is my last official day! I am excited and saddened at the same time. I really am not interested in reintroducing some things to my diet, but I know I need to do the reintroduction just so I know what the effects are of certain foods I may eat (or may not be able to avoid). So...I will do the introduction but then I am going to go back to how I'm eating. I am planning on staying paleo and mostly whole30 from now on. I'm going to work for a 90/10 balance.

I am starting to feel like myself after being sooo sick for the first few days this week. Yesterday I went walking for the first time after three days of barely moving. I managed to get 6 miles done without feeling too bad, although I am a little dehydrated still.

Stay tuned for before and after pics, measurements, and weights.

Yesterday's recap:

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs
Bacon
Steamed broccoli

Lunch:
Chicken soup

Dinner:
Tuna salad w/ olive oil mayo and
fresh spinach leaves

Wishing you love and sunshine,
Sarah

One step at a time

 One of the biggest things for me to remember on a daily basis is to break down my actions in to small obtainable goals. It is easy to get overwhelmed when I think about the 75lbs I still have to lose to hit my goal weight, so I have decided to take it 10lbs at a time. I am hoping to lose 10 lbs by September 6th. It is daunting to think about running a 5k in October, but I know I can walk that far, so my goal for the next month is to try to run 2 min out of every 5 min.

My goal for running is still contingent on what my doctor says about my knees. I walked a little over a mile last night. I didn't attempt to even jog because of the knee pain I just had walking. I walked at a leisurely pace because I know that as long as I am moving forward I am working toward my goals. I'm feeling pretty good today, so I am planning on running a bit tonight.

To be real with myself and anyone who might read this, I have a graphic I'm going to start putting at the bottom of my blog posts so you can see how I'm doing!

Wishing you love and sunshine,
Sarah

Learning to listen to my body

After years of athletic training and almost a dozen surgeries, I have finally learned to listen to my body. Saturday's first attempt at running was painful. I know the difference between soreness, caused by micro-tears in the muscle fibers that as they repair helps make the muscle stronger, and pain. My knees have been hurting a lot following my run so I decided to back off. I rested for two days taking time to ice my knees and taking Advil. Last night I walked 2 miles and lightly jogged a few staggered minutes. My knees are not as painful and stiff today, so I think I am on the right track. I made an appointment with my surgeon to have her take a look at my "good" knee. I call it my good knee because while it is bad, I haven't had surgery on it yet. I want to make sure I am not doing irreparable damage and what she says will be the difference between trying to run my first 5k in October versus walking the 5k.

My quest to get healthy has been full of ups and downs. I have lost 50 lbs in the last year and a half which is awesome, but I still find myself getting discouraged by set backs like knee pain. Maybe I need to listen harder to what my body is saying. Maybe it isn't really saying, "I am in pain. Slow down." Maybe my body is really saying, "I just can't keep taking the same abuse anymore!" I think during the course of this blog that I have decided walking the 5k isn't such a bad thing. I'm going to have to change the way I look at exercise and realize the philosophies of "No pain, No gain" and "Go hard or go home" just aren't working for me. I saw a sign up the road from where I live advertising a yoga class. Maybe it is time I take a different path to get to where I want to be.

Wishing you love and sunshine,
Sarah

Another beginning...Desk to 5k

Yesterday I ran and yes, I did it on purpose. You see, I signed up for the Desk to 5k program at work. In 10 weeks I will be participating in my first 5k. I am not a runner and have never been a runner but with the help of my co-workers and a lot of work, I am determined to run the entire 5k. I'm sure most people are thinking that a 5k is no big deal, including my family members that are all runners, but for me it is a daunting task.

I am 70 lbs over weight and have horrible knees due to my younger athletic days. Yesterday morning we did 2.7 miles in 42 minutes by walking 4 minutes and running 1 minute. Each minute we spent running was the longest 60 seconds of my life. I spent time last night icing my knees and have taken the maximum amount of Advil for a 24 hour time period. I was so excited to sign up for this program, excited to start running... and now... I'm worried that my body might not be able to actually do this. I can handle sore muscles...I welcome sore muscles because I know that when my muscles are sore that I worked hard for them to be so. What I am unsure of is whether or not I am doing permanent damage to my knees.

I know this post doesn't make a lot of sense. I promise I will start at the beginning.

Love and sunshine,
Sarah