Welcome Back to Blogging!!

It's been a long time since I posted to this blog!  So much has changed, and I'm doing so many new things now.  LIKE....

I'm running the 2014 Boston Marathon!!!!

Right?  I know what you're thinking.  Cat has done gone and lost her mind.  Well, probably...but I'm really excited (and terrified) for this new adventure!!

So, I am repurposing this blog to chronicle my training for the marathon, as well as the marathon itself.  Please stay tuned, and feel free to send this blog link to anyone that you think may want to read it.  And comment...for God's sake, comment on my posts.  There's nothing weirder than feeling like you're writing to nobody.  :)

Also, please help me meet my fundraising goals for the marathon.  For those of you that don't know, I work for Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital.  I am running for Spaulding's Race for Rehab Team.  Please consider donating...every little bit helps!!!  Thank you!!!!

My Race for Rehab Fundraiser Page

Before/(almost) After

It pains me to post this before picture...but we're all about honesty here, right?  So...this is me at the beginning of Season 5 (September 2011):

I barely recognize myself in this before picture.  I keep thinking, "Wow...I really looked like that."  It's horrifying.

Here is my after (almost) picture:

This is a post-workout picture...so you'll have to forgive the clothes and hair.  :) 

I still have some more pounds to lose, but I'm in shock when I look at this picture.  I normally hate pictures of myself, but I have to say that I'm super proud of this one. 

We're more than 1/2 way through the competition.  Use your time wisely!  Work out, eat healthy....you can DO this!!!

The Competition is FLYING by!!

I don't know about you, fellow Smallest Winners, but I feel like the competition is going by super-fast!!  It's almost 1/2 over!!  I hope you're all doing well, and that you're meeting all of your goals!!

Shout out to the Pink Team!!  We are still in the lead!!  I'm so proud of all of you!!

I am just a little bit away from 50 lbs lost.  It's really amazing.  I have trouble visualizing 50 lbs. , so I found this cool list on My Fitness Pal.  It's very cool, and it will help you visualize what you've lost!!  I'm down a small bale of hay!!  What have you lost??

1 pound = a Guinea Pig
1.5 pounds = a dozen Krispy Kreme glazed donuts
2 pounds = a rack of baby back ribs
3 pounds = an average human brain
4 pounds = an ostrich egg
5 pounds = a Chihuahua
6 pounds = a human's skin
7.5 pounds = an average newborn
8 pounds = a human head
10 pounds= chemical additives an American consumes each year
11 pounds = an average housecat
12 pounds = a Bald Eagle
15 pounds = 10 dozen large eggs
16 pounds = a sperm whale's brain
20 pounds = an automobile tire
23 pounds = amount of pizza an average American eats in a year
24 pounds = a 3-gallon tub of super premium ice cream
25 pounds = an average 2 year old
30 pounds = amount of cheese an average American eats in a year
33 pounds = a cinder block
36 pounds = a mid-size microwave
40 pounds = a 5-gallon bottle of water or an average human leg
44 pounds = an elephant's heart
50 pounds = a small bale of hay
55 pounds = a 5000 BTU air conditioner
60 pounds = an elephant's penis (yep, weighs more than his heart!)
66 pounds = fats and oils an average American eats in a year
70 pounds = an Irish Setter
77 pounds = a gold brick
80 pounds = the World's Largest Ball of Tape
90 pounds = a newborn calf
100 pounds = a 2 month old horse
111 pounds = red meat an average American eats in a year
117 pounds = an average fashion model (and she's 5'11")
118 pounds = the complete Encyclopedia Britannica
120 pounds = amount of trash you throw away in a month
130 pounds = a newborn giraffe
138 pounds = potatoes an average American eats in a year
140 pounds = refined sugar an average American eats in a year
144 pounds = an average adult woman (and she's 5'4")
150 pounds = the complete Oxford English Dictionary
187 pounds = an average adult man
200 pounds = 2 Bloodhounds
235 pounds = Arnold Schwarzenegger
300 pounds = an average football lineman
400 pounds = a Welsh pony

Confession time.  I ate Easter candy this weekend.

I ate a LOT of Easter candy.

I'm hoping that the scale doesn't reflect said Easter candy...but we'll see how it goes.  I made it through Halloween unscathed, but Easter has Cadbury Creme Eggs.  I mean, really...who can resist those things?  Easter also has Peeps.  Mmmmmmm...

Back on the wagon for me. 

Did you all survive the holiday weekend with your healthy eating intact?  :)

Do You See What I See?

We're in week 4 of the competition.  How's everyone doing?  Staying focused?  Eating right and exercising?  I hope so!  I want some solid numbers this week in the weight loss department!

A lot of people have been commenting this week about me wanting to lose my last 25 lbs.  I've been getting a lot of comments like, "Where are you going to lose it from?" and "You don't have to lose any more weight!"  I assure them that I can lose 25+ and still look fit and healthy, but it makes me ask the question...do they see what I see?  I know that we can have wildly different perceptions of our own selves compared to what others think of us, but can it really be that different?  Granted, they don't get to see me naked...so they have no idea what my ridiculous midsection looks like (thank the Lord)...but it still perplexes me.  Do people say things like that to be nice, or do they really believe that I am as thin as I should be?  Anyone else have a seemingly different view of their selves than what others see? 

I understand, as I'm typing all of this, that it must sound so silly to wonder about these kinds of things.  I would have killed to have these "problems" a year ago.  But this is my current headspace, and this blog is all about honesty.  So there it is.

In other news, we had our team workout last night.  It was a great workout and everyone worked really hard.  One of my favorite motivational songs came on towards the end of the hour, and I wanted to share the lyrics with you.  They are so true, and so pertinent to our mission for a lifestyle change.

Ali in the Jungle - by The Hours

It's, not, how you start, it's how you finish,
And it's, not, where you're from, it's where you're at,

Everybody gets knocked down,
Everybody gets knocked down,
How quick are you gonna' get up?
How quick are you gonna' get up?
Everybody gets knocked down,
Everybody gets knocked down,
How quick are you gonna' get up?
Just how are you gonna' get up?

Like Ali in the jungle,
Like Nelson in jail,
Like Simpson on the mountain,
With odds like that, they were bound to fail
Like Hannah in the darkness,
Like Adam's in the dark,
Like Ludwig Van, how I loved that man, well the guy went deaf and didn't give a f***, no...

No, no, no

It's, not, where you are, It's where you're going,
Where are you going?
And it's, not, about the things you've done, it's what you're doing, now,
What are you doing, now?

Everybody gets knocked down,
Everybody gets knocked down,
How quick are you gonna' get up?
How quick are you gonna' get up, now?
Everybody gets knocked down,
Everybody gets knocked down,
How quick are you gonna' get up?
Just how are you gonna' get up?

Like Ali in the jungle,
Like Nelson in jail,
Like Simpson on the mountain,
Well with odds like that, they were bound to fail
Like Hannah in the darkness,
Like Adam's in the dark,
Like Ludwig Van, how I loved that man, well the guy went deaf and didn't give a f***, no...

Oooh, ooh, ooh
No, no, no
Oooh, ooh, ooh
No, no, no
Oooh, ooh, ooh

It's the greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback since Lazarus,
It's the greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback since Lazarus,
It's the greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback since Lazarus,
The greatest comeback...
It's the greatest comeback...

(Radio Commentator) This, is the most joyous scene, ever seen in the history of boxing, this is an incredible scene, the place is going wild, Muhammed Ali has won, Muhammed Ali has won, by a knockdown! By a knockdown! The thing they said was impossible, he's done!

Personal Bests and Eating Cake

Pink team in the house!!!  This week the pink team is in first place.  It can change at any moment, so let's keep up the great work!!

I ran another 5K this past weekend.  I was hoping to finish in under 30 minutes.  I've been working on my speed lately, since I am a very slow runner.  I usually run a 10+ minute mile.  Well, I totally did it!  I finished in 29 minutes.  My first mile was 10:01, second was 9:10, and my third was 9:07.  I felt an amazing sense of achievement when I finished.  Of course, I thought I was going to puke...but I felt so proud.  :)  I'm signing up for a 5K at D.W. Fields Park on April 7th.  Who's with me????  Walk or run, we'll feel great that we did it!!

My Grandmother's 85th birthday was last week, and we celebrated on Sunday night.  I ate cake.  I ate cake that I don't even like!!  (I'm a strictly White's Bakery chocolate cake/vanilla frosting girl.)  I ate said cake because it was a birthday party, and it was there.  It just goes to show you that this lifestyle change is a constant battle.  Just when you think you've got it figured out, and you get complacent, you have a weak moment.  To keep it all in perspective, though...I think that we all deserve weak moments sometimes.  It's when it becomes the norm that it's a problem.  I played 2 games of basketball last night (that's ~120 minutes of running around), so I'm pretty sure that I worked off that cake.  :)

I'm working on a post about my daily diet.  I'm busy taking pictures of all of my food (since I eat pretty much the same thing every day) to share with you.  If you have any favorite foods that are packed with nutrients and aren't filled with processed junk, share them in the comments!  I'd love to add some new things to my daily routine!!

Week 1

I know...technically "Week 1" was last week, but it always feels like this week is the first week.  We've gotten over the pain and panic of our first weigh-in (maaaaaybe), and we're settling in for the long haul.  We're figuring out how to deal with our diets and work exercise into our schedules.  We're meeting our trainers and our teams, and having our first team and individual workouts.  I'm sure everyone is feeling super-dedicated and into this whole Smallest Winner experience.


Don't let that change.

Some days will be harder than others.  Make the best choices for you.  Drag yourself to the gym on the days that you don't want to.  Eat the right foods, and avoid the ones that you know are bad.  I promise you...you will be amazed at your results if you stick with it.

You can DO this!!  I can do this!!  Together, we can do this!!!!

I'm always at the gym (I've decided to de-throne the King of the Y and become the Queen of the Y), and you can always reach me through this blog.  I will give you a pep talk if needed, I will yell at you if needed, or I will console you if needed.  I'll show you Fatty McFatterson pictures of me before Smallest Winner, if that's what's needed.  Well...that is, if you promise not to share them.  ;)

We may be on separate teams, but we are all in this together!

We're Almost There!!!

I can't wait for the new season of Smallest Winner!  The kick-off is this Saturday, February 25th.  I'm so excited to meet my new team (which hopefully includes some of my old teammates)!  We're going to have a blast together!

I haven't posted since the end of last season, but I'm still making huge strides with my lifestyle change.  I'm down another 10 lbs, which puts me at a total of 45 lbs lost.  I still go to the Y almost every day of the week.  I continued working with Mcyveton, and I'm seeing amazing results.  I get comments all of the time about how "skinny" I look.  I assure you that I'm not skinny by any means...but it's so exciting to hear someone say that about me.  It's such a strange feeling, walking by a mirror or a window, and realizing that the person standing there is me.  The me that I've worked so hard to rediscover.  I flex my "guns" at every opportunity I get.  I'm no longer embarrassed to lift weights when the gym is busy.  Mcyveton even caught me checking myself out in the mirror while I was working out.  Haha.

If you are sitting at home, reading this blog, and thinking that you will never feel this way...you're wrong.  You can.  It's possible.  If a person like me can do it, you can do it!  Put down the Ho Hos, Twinkies, Ben and Jerry's, or whatever your favorite poison is, and sign up for the Smallest Winner RIGHT NOW!!  It will change your life.  Stop making excuses, and start making changes!!!

You will not regret it.  I promise you.


I can't wait to meet you at the kick-off!!!