Uncharted Territory

This morning I saw a weight on my scales that I haven't seen in 22 years.  I was pregnant with Alex when this number last showed itself.  It's one pound more than my driver's license says I weigh.  I can't wait to be below that number and to make a change when I renew my license.  I think that will be a very awesome and happy day!  Normally they would ask if the weight was still the same and I would say yes, hoping they wouldn't call me out on it.  If I disappeared and my stats were shown on television, I would have died.  The police/public would have been looking for a much thinner person and would never have found me.  Thank God I can cross that worry off my list now.  I can substitute that worry with the one where I go missing and weigh much LESS than what my license says, so the police/public will be looking for a chubbier woman.  *sigh*  I guess I'll just have to avoid going missing until this is resolved. 

In other, less worrisome news, I have finished a huge project at work that required 3 weeks solid of 12-hour days.  It was very tiresome and difficult, but it is now complete and I can go back to a leisurely 7.5-hour day.  This means my after-work time can be spend at the gym getting things done.  I am so excited!  I'll be doing some light lifting and cardio on Monday/Wednesday/Fridays, and a little cardio on Tuesday/Thursdays.  That's the plan until I can get my calories up to 800/day on a consistent basis. 

If you're curious (and so I'll have a record for posterity), here's what I generally eat every day:
Breakfast - a container of Yoplait 100 Calorie Greek Yogurt
AM snack - Premier Protein chocolate shake
Lunch - another container of Greek yogurt
PM snack - Premier Protein chocolate shake
2nd PM snack - 1/2 banana (or no banana) and 2T of peanut butter
Dinner - some kind of meat, grilled, baked, etc. 
Bedtime snack - 2T of peanut butter

I choose to have the 100 calorie yogurt because it has less grams of sugar than the regular stuff.  It's not that I'm trying to save the calories, but sugar grams are always on my radar on pre-packaged foods.  Sometimes I have the 2nd PM snack and sometimes I don't.  It really depends on how busy I am and whether I remember.  If I do, I'll skip the bedtime snack.  If I don't, then the bedtime snack makes up for the missed calories. 

The clock dictates when I eat at this point rather than hunger because I don't feel hunger.  Sometimes I feel "empty" and will realize I need to eat, but there's no gnawing hunger like there used to be.  It WILL come back!  This is why it is vital to continue healthy eating habits and make changes as soon as possible on this journey.  Failure to do so will result in the weight coming back.  Period.  End of story.  I am constantly seeking healthy recipes (send 'em to me!) and reading food labels.  Eventually I would like to get rid of all processed, pre-packaged foods.  Or at least as many as I possibly can.

My goals in having this surgery have always been and continue to be fitness-driven.  I want to run!  I want to lift heavy things!  I want to be able to do the things I've dreamed of doing!  My first goal is to run as much as I can of the Fallen Soldiers 5K that will be held in October at WIU.  I don't know how much I'll be able to train for it since it all hinges on that pesky "calories in/calories out" thing, but I'm going to do what I can to try to run it all.  I don't care about finish times right now, but eventually, I want to run a 5K in 30 minutes or less.  I'll work on that later.

Once I've completed that race, I want to find a 10K around here to do.  And finally, I want to do the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon in Springfield on April 2, 2016 (day after my birthday - Happy Birthday to ME!!!).  I don't care if I have to walk a great deal as long as I finish.  After I've tackled that, I'll work on being able to run a half marathon. 

There are obstacle course races that I want to do as well, and those will depend on strength as well as endurance.  Those might take a bit more preparation than just running, so I will continue to hold those in my mind and start preparing for those when I feel ready. 

If you are interested in doing any of these activities with me, I'd love to have a training partner (local or long distance).  I'd love to have a friend/multiple friends to participate in the events with me, too.  My 16 yr old son, Nick, is only willing to do so many with his old Mom.  If you're interested, though, shoot me an email - angiev70 at gmail dot com.