The Party is Over…
…The pity party that is. Two big things happened last weekend. First, I went to the library and stumbled across this book called Go Green Get Lean by Kate Geagan, and secondly I signed up to run in the Shamrock Shuffle on March 21st.
Let’s talk about the race first. I have run this race for the past two years. It is five miles in downtown Chicago and by far the hardest race I have ever run. I wasn’t going to do it this year. I hadn’t run at all since November and hadn’t run in a race since last Spring. Well, last weekend three different people mentioned the race to me, so I took it as a sign. I signed up knowing that I am nowhere near able to run a 5 mile race right now, but knowing that it is two months away and this would force me to get back to the gym, so I didn’t put my registration fee to waste. It has worked. Every day this week I have worked out. Tuesday-Thursday I worked out at school with the school nurse. We walk the halls (including two flights of stairs), run twice around the gym, and repeat for half an hour. On the days that we didn’t do that, I did the treadmill and bike at the gym. Right now I am running 2 miles at a 1/1 interval. I will do that for one more week and then bump it up.
Now, the book…I got super excited about seeing the title Go Green Get Lean on the library shelf, because that tackles two of my four New Years Resolutions, which were to get healthier, go a little more green, read more, and stay in better contact with people. The book, as you can guess by the title, is to make better choices for both you and the environment. The first two weeks of following this plan are all about getting your body in balance, getting rid of all the sugars and such in your body that cause cravings, therefore, for the first two weeks you are not allowed to have any beef, cheese, added sugar (natural sugar found in fruits is ok), or any foods containing high fructose corn syrup. I am at the end of week one and have stuck to it. I do get a little sugar in my cereal, but that is about it. I have avoided high fructose corn syrup all together, which was quit a victory. Last Sunday I got rid of everything in my house that contains HFCS and I found out to my amazement that was almost everything. I had become, without even realizing it, addicted to HFCS. I know how bad it is for you, and knew I got a lot of it in the coke I drank almost every day, but if I realized it was in almost everything else I ate too, I might have done something about it sooner. The reason why I love this book is because not only does it tackle two of my new year’s resolutions in one shot, but it gives you options. The first two weeks are pretty strict, but after that the plan is very flexible, and no my meat eating friends, it is not a vegetarian diet although the book does give that option. By the way the book claims that you will lose up to 9 pounds in the first two weeks. I started this last Monday and have lost 7 pounds, so 9 by next Sunday should be no problem.
Now, as far as the title of this blog about the pity party being over, I don’t know what happened, but this weekend was like an awakening for me. I have been feeling down about living alone and being single, as most single girls of 30 feel, but I realized something yesterday. This is 100% easier for me because I am single. Now is the time for me to do this. If I had a family I would have to worry about cooking for them and making time to work out. If I was dating somebody odds are we would be going out to dinner and hitting the concession stand at the movie theater. This would make this phase of this diet next to impossible. When I meet “the one” I don’t want to be this out of shape. I want to be full of energy and feel comfortable going on crazy trips and such when I meet the person who was meant to be in my life, so I am no longer going to think poor me. I am going to surround myself with positive people who like me for exactly who I am, tackle my health, and know that I am preparing myself for the next big adventure.
Happy Running!
Sally
