Personal Best

Two, okay let's be honest, almost three weeks of not working out really makes it hard to get back into the swing of things. I forced myself to go to the gym on Tuesday to run.

Thinking that I would be at the same level of fitness I cranked the speed on the treadmill to 6.5 thinking that running 3.2 miles would be no problem. I made it to 2 miles without stopping... barely. I had to walk/job the last mile. I was pretty dissappointed in myself for 1) thinking I would be in the same shape as I was at three weeks ago and 2) allowing my endurance level to fall. I went home a little defeated.

The happy ending of this story is even though I wasn't able to run the entire 3 miles I still lost 1.6 pounds! Last night I did the Incline with Erica who is Ashley's family member and lives in California. Erica is a trooper and hard core! Most people would have let the altitute beat them down, but Erica gave it everything she had and finished strong and before me!! She had a great time!

I made it up the Incline (from the very bottom) in 37:19. This is my personal best!!! Oh ya, I pushed myself so hard at the very end I actually puked at the top. My next goal is to get to the top in under 36 minutes!

P.S. I am only 1.2lbs away from losing 10lbs!!!

The Bigger Loser Prediction

I absoluty LOVE The Biggest Loser! It is really motivating to see the overweight contestants change their eating habits, workout like maniacs and become fit and healthier. It makes me want to workout harder and eat better. I can tell you that I defiantly eat healthier on Tuesday's otherwise I feel guilty when I am watching the show!

It is hard to not get involved in the show and root for specific contestants. Last year I rooted for the Pink Team and this year I am rooting for Sam and Koli from the Grey Team. Sam already looks great! I wonder if he motivated Stephanie to step it up at home? She could be the dark horse. I am predicting that Daris will win the at-home vote, over Koli, and compete in the grand prize with Ashley and Michael. I think Michael will win the show by having the highest percentage of weight loss. Ashley could have had the show in the bag, but she chose to vote Sam off instead of Michael a couple of weeks ago. I wonder if she realizes this? As for the at-home prize I think it will be a close race between Sunshine, Andrea and Lance. My final prediction is Andrea.

What do you all think? I can't wait!!!

Cravings

Today was really hard for me... I had some mean cravings. I wanted chocolate and everything else under the sun. The good news is I didn't eat any of that. I stuck to my diet. On my way home I had to convince myself not to stop at Chick-fil-A. The good news is I didn't stop. I stuck to my diet. Right now Preston is eating ice cream. I don't even like ice cream, but I want some.

Instead I decided to make my own desert.


Strawberries, pineapple, grapes, sunflower seeds and almonds. Pretty good. To keep me going and motivated, I have decided to allow myself a cheat meal once I lose 10 pounds. I am really, really hoping this day comes quick. So far I have lost 6.4 pounds. I already have my cheat meal picked out. It is going
to be from...

This is what I am doing to have.

Spicy Chicken Cool Wrap with Spicy Dressing.
 
  Waffle Fries with Ketchup.

Brownie.

Here's to losing the first 10 pounds!!

Eating to LIVE- The Gorilla Way

While in Vegas I didn't really focus on eating healthy.

I came home and weighed in at 138.8!  

YIKES!

I knew I would put on some pounds in Vegas with all of the beer and fast food, but I didn't expect 138.8. 138.8 is dangerously close to 140, a number that I don't ever care to see again on the scale.

I heard about the Eat To Live diet by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. from a family member. Everyone in my family calls it the Gorilla Diet. At first we poked fun at the family member who first went on the diet, but after he lost a ton of weight and has kept it off most of us have jumped on the band wagon. Everyone that I know who is on this diet has had great success on changing their eating habits and losing weight. The transformation really begins when you learn what it means to eat to live instead of living to eat.

 .

I started this new way of eating on Tuesday.  
Today is Sunday and so far I have lost 5 pounds!!!  
That's right, I weight 133.8!!!!!
In a nut shell you eat the following:  
Greens  
Vegetables 
Beans  
Fruit  
Nuts  
Whole Grains

Your main meals should consist of salad greens with as many vegetables as possible. You can also have beans (green beans, black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans and refried beans) and any type of fruit. Nuts and/or avocados in moderation are also permitted as well. Whole grains are okay, but should be eaten once or twice a week.

Here is what I usually eat.  

Breakfast
OPTION 1: Shakeology.
OPTION 2: Slow cooked oatmeal with flaxseed. Fruit.
OPTION 3: Banana and other fruit. Mixture of nuts (walnuts, pecons, almonds, raw sunflower seeds).  

Lunch/Dinner
OPTION 1: Large salad made up of baby spring mix, spinach leaves and romaine lettuce. Tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and carrots. Flaxseed or mixture of nuts or avocado. Raspberry vinaigrette. Fruit mixture (strawberries, grapes, apples pineapple and bananas).
OPTION 2: Large salad with vegetables. Black Beans mixed in with the salad. Fresh salsa as the salad dressing. Mixture of fruit. Mixture of nuts or avocado.

OPTION 3: Large salad with vegetables and raspberry vinaigrette. Refried beans. Fruit mixture. I have found that this diet is pretty easy to follow. You don't have to count calories or points. You eat when you are hungry and that's it.

Last night Preston and I went to Cripple Creek. I knew I would get hungry so I packed strawberries, an orange and banana and a baggie of 1/2 cup of oatmeal with flaxseed. I ended up eating the banana and oatmeal (I just asked for a cup of hot water). Of course on the way home Preston was hungry so I asked him to stop at Taco Bell. I ordered Pintos and Cheese without the cheese.

Today I went out to lunch with my parents and Poppie. Poppie's restaurant of choice is the Golden Corral. Believe it or not, but this is the best place for someone on the Gorilla Diet as long as you have the will power to stay away from the deserts. I loaded up on a large salad with vegetables, green beans, bean salad, strawberries, pineapple and sunflower seeds.

I am so excited to be on this diet and finally get to my goal weight of 125!

Meet Harley

Preston and I just returned from Vegas. We had a great time, won some money and Preston played well in his pool tournament.

Since our return we got a new puppy!


Meet Harley.

He is a full bread Pitbull and about 13 weeks.


Best Friends!

Augusta's First Incline!

This morning, on the incline, was full of new experiences...
 

New Experience #1

Augusta went up the incline and down Bar Trial for the first time! She did really good and had a great time (in my opinion)! I kept her on the leash for most of the incline due to her bundle of energy, curiosity of the new surroundings and my fear of her running under the other goers. She wasn't too fond of the metal tubes and even refused to move. Jackie and I had to pick her up and plop her onto the next step a couple of times. Once we got past the false summit and most of the people I took her leash off. She did an amazing job. She would go up a couple of steps and then turn around and wait for me. With a little more practice she won't even need a leash. Augusta finished her first incline in about 28 minutes!! I was a little worried that she wouldn't have enough energy or legs left for the run down Bar Trial. Boy was I wrong! She ran her little legs off! She would run to Jackie, then back to me, then back to Jackie.

This is nap #1. She is now on nap #2.  

New Experience #2  
Jackie and I decided to start at the very bottom of the incline. We usually hike up to the incline from the parking lot and start there. The extra steps added a new element of difficulty. My goal this morning was to reach the top in 39 minutes. Goal achieved! I reached the top in 38:11. Yes, Augusta beat me!  

New Experience #3 
If you run down Bar Trial, tripping over a rock or your feet is just a matter of time. Well today was my day to fall. All of a sudden I go flying through the air and do a perfect volleyball dive. I skinned up my hand and my entire right side of my body is pretty sore. I am going to have some killer bruises. I am not gonna lie, it shook me up a little bit. Oh ya, I also landed in dog poop. I even had some on my face! I hope this fall makes me more fearless and not fearful!

This is soo cool!

RACEDAY AWARDS - 5K RUN

TOP OVERALL WINNERS

FEMALE AGE GROUP:  25 - 29

Place   Name                    City/state     Guntime   Pace
===== ==================== ================   ========== =====
 1   Sydney Mondragon       F27 Colo Spgs CO   23:34.35  7:36 
2   Lara Herboldsheimer    F28 Sidney NE      27:20.05  8:48 
3   Lori Hollis            F27 Colo Spgs CO   27:39.50  8:55 

Take 5 in the Garden

This past Saturday I ran the Take 5 in the Garden 5K. As many of you know, I debated on whether to run this race due to many reason. Well okay, maybe excuse is a better word. I was feeling under the weather a couple days before the race, the weather was supposed to be crappy, I thought I didn't register in time...

At 6:20am on Saturday morning, the day of the race, I got up and looked outside. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. At that moment I knew I would be mad at myself if I didn't run.

Preston came to the race to support me even though he only got 4 hours of sleep the night before and slept on the couch (he played in a pool tourney and got home late).

I told Preston my goal time for the 5K, which led to a discussion on why 33 minutes was a cop-out. Preston suggested that I set my goal time to 28:21- the same time I ran the St. Patrick's Day 5K. I said okay I'll try, but in my head I told myself I would be happy with anything under 30 minutes.

The race started and I thought okay here goes nothing. The first part of the race, which is uphill, was trying. It took my legs awhile to wake up and realize we were running a race. I guess other people were having the same problem because some were actually walking up the first hill. Literally we weren't even .5 miles into the race! Okay I am not going to lie, the thought of walking up the first hill did pop into my head. But before I knew it was at the top and running downhill. 

The terrain was challenging, but fun. I took Erin's advice and made sure to looked up and take in the scenery. There was actually a guy who stopped to take a picture- and yes he still finished before me! Oh and this one girl who walked the first hill finished before me also! It seems that the "walkers" have a technique.

My iPhone app told me I was on track to run 9:36 miles. Not realizing it but probably due to the downhills I kicked it into gear and got my pace down to 8:56 miles! When I crossed the finish line, this time, I made it a point to look at the time clock.

I ran my second 5K in...

27:39!
 

Place Name                    Age City/state            Guntime    Pace  Cat Bib#

20 Lori Hollis              99 Colo Spgs CO            27:39.50  8:55 AG   877

Preston didn't get a picture of me crossing the finish line, because he wasn't expecting me yet!

Notice how my age is 99, well at first they couldn't find my race results due to their incompetency. My name is still not up on the website, but they assure me they are working on it. I might even win a trophy for finishing 3rd in my age group!  

Next up Larimer Humane Society Fire Hydrant 5 in Ft. Collins with Augusta and the George's.  
http://www.larimerhumane.org/content/blogcategory/59/81/

and


Sailin' Shoes 5K

 
http://www.csgrandprix.com/sailin.html