Missed one swim, caught another

Last week we had a team building event that included crashing around a race track in go-karts for a couple hours (did you guess that the team is made up of 11 men and two women? good). Needless to say the next day I was sore, especially my back! I ended up skipping my swim and laying in bed for a bit of rest. I think it was a good choice but it meant I only swam twice last week. I did get in a couple smaller walks for some added exercise though to try to balance it out a bit.

My Friday swim was awesome. I seem to be pretty consistent in being able to swim 20 lengths (1 kilometer, 0.6 mile) with each swim if I'm able to use my snorkel. On those days when I can't because there aren't enough lanes, I concentrate on just kicking and using my arms hard and making myself sweat, rather than lengths I'm swimming. It's hard to believe I've been swimming for three months now. I'm still loving the pool like crazy.

I'm getting ready to go on vacation in the U.S. for a little over three weeks. I will whole heartedly admit that I am both excited and scared to death of it. Last year when back from vacation it took me months, seriously 6 or 7 months, after returning to get back into my weight loss groove. I had gained weight while away and just couldn't find my excitement around it. I lost and gained the same 4-5 pounds over and over those 6-7 months and it's just been since February that I've been back at it, full force. I have been working so hard at getting into some sort of "condition" for my swimming that I fear missing it for three+ solid weeks. Yeah, we'll be able to swim in the U.S. but I don't think it will be anywhere near what I am doing here. I'm planning on going to a local gym to get in some cardio. I think what happened last year was that I never moved during that first week there. Non-movement just led to further non-movement and then the tons of the vacation was set. This time around within the first week I want to have worked out at least twice. It'll be tough due to jet lag and strange schedules, but if I was to succeed I need to work out a way to make sure I do it. I'm not trying to be perfect or even LOSE while I'm there. I'm just trying to keep the gain to a minimum and keep my head on straight, in a forward motion to meeting my goal weight.

So this week I plan on swimming four days just to give myself that extra sense of self and to kind of reiterate my dedication to... well to myself and my health. I'm mentally revisiting all of the ideas and plans that DEWY helped me with at Novarum so I have a plan of attack in place for those food issues that I will run into.  Next Saturday we're off to the USA and vacation begins!

I hope you're all having healthy, successful weeks!

Proof is in the pudding?

I know I just said the proof is in the pudding in my post below but it also helps to see some positive numbers on the scale as well. This week I dropped another 0.8 kilos, 1.76 lb, bringing my current weight to 117 kilo even, or 257.4!

I had my usual swim this morning and was winded and warm (borderline hot) by the end. I don't know if you realize this but the pool is cold in the morning. Like, so cold I have to tip toe around for a bit before I just suck it up and submerge myself, so getting hot in the pool is actually pretty difficult. Felt awesome! The silver bullets were at a minimum and the one I shared my lane with was perfect. He was slower than me and we had a good pace set so that we were never too much in the other's way.

Short on time but wanted to give a quick update because I'm totally pumped for success this week! Hope you're all having healthy, successful weeks!

So I realize this blog just isn't about the words. The proof is in the pudding (as long as it's no-sugar and low fat, right?

Well here is a little proof that I'm pretty proud of.

This picture there was taken at this time last year when I was in the USA visiting with my friends and family. (hi Rachel!)

And this is me this year 20 pounds lighter (but 44 pounds lighter than when I started at Novarum in late 2010). Big difference in my face!

So yeah, pass the pudding!

250's 250's 250's... SOLD! To the lovely lady right there...

Monday weigh in this morning and guess what girl got herself into the 250's weighing-in at 259.16 (117.8 kilo). THIS GIRL DID!

Whew! I didn't think I'd EVER make it to the 250's but BAM, there is was. In all reality, I knew I'd make it there but holy moly did it ever take it's sweet time. Slow and steady may win the race but does it count if the participant is nutso by time they cross the finish line?!?

What this means is:

• when I lose 2 more kilos I will be 10 kilos (22lbs) away from my all time lowest adult weight.
• when I lose another 4.2 kilos I will be in the 240's, with 249.9!
• I have lost 42 pounds since starting at Novarum, meaning I only have 60 more pounds (26.9 kilos) to lose to be under 200!
• I'm looking forward to the point where I have actually LOST more weight then I need to lose further in order to meet my first big goal!
• swimming is working for me and I freaking LOVE being in the pool!
• My Fitness Pal is working for me and I LOVE logging my food (this, in itself, is a miracle)
• All of the lessons I learned at Novarum are working for me!
• keeping up with making small goals and celebrating small victories is working for me!
• I am working for me!

Man, I am just PUMPED for this week! I plan to swim three times at least and maybe get in a bike ride over the weekend.

I did swim Friday but didn't blog about it because I don't know how to say 'pfffffffffffft' in more words than that. It wasn't a great swim and I just couldn't get into it. The silver bullets were out in full force and I felt I was doing more dodging than swimming. I did go to the pool yesterday as well for just a fun swim with my kiddo and hubs but while they were going down the slide I tried to sneak in some laps and kicking exercises. I managed to get my heart rate up a couple times in the hour and a half we spent there so I felt pretty good about sneaking in some extra work.

I hope you are all having healthy, successful weeks!

Is it ever okay to kick a silver bullet?

There is one silver bullet in the pool that's got radar on me, I swear. No matter which lane I'm in she seems to always manage to want to swim in the very same lane. Now I realize it isn't MY pool and it's not really MY lane but even with being new to the swim scene I know common courtesy.  You don't just focus on yourself, you have to watch out and give way to other, faster swimmers. You don't splash. You don't zigzag across lanes. You don't pee in the pool. These are things everybody knows yet some people don't feel they need to follow. This silver bullet doesn't move. Not for anyone. Not for anything. She starts out on her line and doesn't fudge one single inch.

Imagine my dismay this morning when I got to the pool and only two lanes were dedicated to open lap swimming. One for the quick swimmers, one for the "breast strokers". Oh and you know Miss Granny Pants (aka Radar) doesn't miss a day! Everybody fell in line according the the unspoken rules. We all went up on the right and back down the pool on the left. Even Radar managed to join in. How it came about that she thought she had to swim around me and ended up kicking me I'll never know but she did. There I was, swimming away, minding my own business and WHACK! I was already saying "mag niet uit" (roughly "make nothing of it" in Dutch) because it didn't hurt or anything but then I saw who it was. Her! Radar! My swimming nemesis. She did managed to sputter "sorry hoor" as she swam away but there wasn't any real feeling in it. She wasn't really sorry!

Later Radar tried making a joke with me about something else in the pool and I'd love to say I had some witty retort all ready for her but no... instead I didn't get the joke until about 15 seconds too late and by that time she had swum on. Doh! Foiled again! It's not that I'm not quick witted... in ENGLISH... but throw a joke at me in Dutch and it takes me a bit. I'll get there... but not nearly as snappy as I do in my native language.

I vow to you though... I'm going to get that silver bullet. You mark my word. That 90 year old is going DOWN!

Another day, another swim...

Finally managed to get back into the pool today. Granted it has only been three days but it felt like a lifetime!

Today's swim was... different. About halfway to the pool I realized that I had managed to forget pretty much everything in my bag, except for my towel, so I had no goggles, no cap, no snorkel. I went ahead on anyway and decided I'd just do my best.

Once in the pool made another executive decision that today I wouldn't count laps, since I would indeed be slower with my head above water the entire time, so I just concentrated on other things like making sure I could feel my muscles working with every stroke and really kicking my feet hard and strong. I alternated my laps, one breast stroke and then backstroke on the way back in order to keep my shoulders and neck from hurting.

It actually went really well I felt. I think I probably did as many laps as usual but I used totally different sets of muscles with the backstroke, which felt great. I think I may start alternating strokes more frequently just to make sure I'm working all of my muscles with each swim. I plan on going three more times this week so I'll have plenty of opportunities to try the method out!

Oh and of course, my Monday weigh in... wasn't stupendous but it was okay. I dropped another 1/2 pound, weighing in at 118.7 kilos or 261.1 lbs. My eating this weekend was fairly sodium laden, at least more than what I usually eat but it wasn't 100% awful either. For the first time in 20 days I had gone over my calorie suggestion (by My Fitness Pal) and I actually repeated that three days straight. Not my post proud MFP moment but I was honest and I didn't let it make me feel anything, no guilt, no shame, no punishing myself the next day. In fact, I hardly thought about it at all. No obsessing. Nuttin. It was kind of nice. I struggle on the weekends when I don't have my routine of "wake up, eat, go to work, eat snack at specific time, go to lunch at specific time etc." I am trying to work some structure to those days but right now it's still pretty hit and miss.

And that's all she wrote for today! I hope you're having healthy, successful weeks!