The New Me, Weight Loss, & Color Me Rad

So just on a whim back in January I started using the My Fitness Pal app on my phone (but there is also an online program) to track my diet. I never really intended to lose weight, just being dorky I thought it would be cool to scan the bar codes of everything I ate... Soon it became overly apparent how much I have overeaten my entire life.  

Me (& Peyton) January 2010
about 260lbs

After entering all your information if gives you a limit for calorie intake for the day and as long as you stay at or below that number you will lose weight.  Within the first two weeks I had dropped 7 lbs and I was so amazed! I continued with just counting calories and soon found myself down 20, 25, 30 lbs.  People would ask what I was doing and honestly I felt bad just saying "counting calories" so I felt the need to get back to the gym and start working out.

Me (& Belle) March 2012
about 230lbs

Me in May 2012
about 215lbs

A good friend of mine blogged about her running goal of 100 miles in a month and I thought, wow that's crazy! The blog continued with her "reward" for reaching this goal was the Color Me Rad race with her husband and I thought "well now that's cool!" So I checked it out and low and behold there was one in San Diego and I knew I needed to train for it. 

Another friend and I began hitting the Y regularly again, well as regularly as my crazy schedule allowed. Soon after that I started the Couch to 5K program. I am still attempting to get through it but I have definitely made a lot of progress using it!

When Sean's training schedule was released we found out he would be out of town for the Color Me Rad and I was so bummed, I knew if I was going to do it I would need my #1 fan at my side so I kinda put it on the back burner. Out of some whim of luck the Marine Corps changed the schedule and he was set to come home the day before the race!! (It is rare the changes ever happen for the good so I saw this as a sign!) And I knew we HAD to do it!  I registered us for the race, Team HELL IDK (like the answer to "what do you want for dinner?" "where do you want to go?" and "what should our team name be?")!!!

The family July 2012
about 205lbs

And race day has arrived! I was surprisingly calm, I knew I could easily do 2 miles and with Sean by my side the rest would be a piece of cake.  With the exception of the 4:45 wake up I was so excited!

My first bib number! 

So those who don't understand the premise, you go in the whitest shirt (or complete outfit) you can find and the goal is to be a colorful mess at the end of the race!

         

Well according to my running GPS app the race was short at only 2.5 miles not the full 3.2 that make up a 5K but I still feel pretty accomplished! My first mile was done in 13:10 and it was a personal best! Once we started hitting the color stations the times lagged because we actually had to wait in line to be colored. but I crossed the finish line just over 30 minutes after starting so not to bad for my first official race!

My new favorite picture!

   

   

It was a blast and I hope that I can do it next year as well, think I may even let the kids run with me! 

Thank you Ko for the inspiration.  Thank you Angela for being my running buddy.  Thank you all who have sent kind words and all the encouragement throughout the past months and today. And most of all thank you to my awesome husband who could have run that thing three times in the time it took me but stayed at my side the entire time! (and slapped my butt with pink cornstarch!)

Post-race!
August 11, 2012
195 lbs!!!

For the record I'm down 55lbs since January I have another 15+ I'd like to lose but honestly I'm so happy with my progress already! For those of you who are reading this and thinking I could never do it, YES YOU CAN! I was the same way! It was really easy and I am here for you if you need advise or encouragement. Together we can all live a happier, healthier life!!