Do I ever get to where its second nature to eat healthy?

That is what my neighbor Steve asked me today after my run. He was out washing his car, I was limping back from the run. ( I will get back to that limp) . Anyway, He asks me questions all the time about weight loss. He is in his sixties, single, and wants to lose weight. He asks me what I eat , how much I exercise, he is interested, you can see the wheels turning, but he hasnt gotten it into motion yet. Anyway. He today he stopped me as I was passing his house and said " Silly question to ask you Tami, But do you get to the point where you dont have to think about eating healthy, and you just do it" ? yes, I told him, I am at the point where my first choice , is a healthy one. but how I eat today is certainly different than how I did even 1 year ago, 6 months INTO the weight loss. So as we talked, I was saying I wonder if I will get to the point that I wont be frustrated with how slow these last 17 pounds are coming off. ( only lost 3 pounds last month) . I told Steve that, and he said he would be so happy to lose 3 pounds a month, cause that would be 36 pounds in a year! I was so happy that he thought of it like that, GOOD FOR YOU STEVE!!!! But what bugs the HECK out of me is that I am working HARDER than I did a year ago, when I was losing 2 pounds PER WEEK, and eating better than I did then, and I am busting my butt to lose 3 pounds in one month?? I WANT TO BE DONE!!! not so I can stop working out, ( cause I can tell you right now, I am addicted to working out, so I wont be stopping ) and not so I can eat more ( but it will be nice to increase the calories a tad) but so I can stop having it hang over my head. I want to say " I achieved my weight loss goal" and I am now maintaining my weight. I want to say " I have no more weight to lose" for the first time in MY LIFE, I want to be able to say that!! I want to be a size 7/8 and lose these last 17 pounds.

Back to the limp. the moment I started running today I felt a pain in my right hamstring. I kept running, cause often times when I start running, I have some aches and pains. But this one kept going. But so did I. the hills really hurt, and I did stop and walk one of them, I even kind of limped and ran for a while. all the while I kept thinking " when is it not right to push thru the pain" and I kept wondering that, while I kept running. the pain gets worse with each passing hour.

Happy 21st Birthday Alec

My oldest son is 21. Shocking I know, how can someone as young looking as I , possibly have a son who is 21?? LMAO.. I am kidding. Yes he is 21, but I know how old I am .

anyway, Picture of us from last year and this year. The real shocker is the picture from 2006, but I will have to scan it or something , cause its not on my computer.

Also went out this weekend to see Sex and The city 2. the movie was only so so, but the time before the movie spent with friends was good. 3 cosmos and I didnt overeat , in fact I only went over in my calories because of the 3 cosmos. This picture was taken at the bar , I love this picture, a true smile on my face.

and last but not least, I bought the photo from my run, so here it is without all the copyright written across my body.. lol

OHHH, down another pound. IT took me 1 month to lose 3 pounds, not happy about it, these last 18 pounds are going to be tough. 18 pounds!!! down to the nitty gritty as Scott says....

there is a 12k run on June 12th, still toying with the idea of doing it... I need to get long run in next weekend, that will be when I make up my mind .

I found a couple of pics from the Run!

on the website. it has the image of the photographer all over it, but I found two, one on the run and one at the finish line. I think I will buy them both so I can scrap them!! had to post here!

First official 10K in the books!

With an official time of 72:15, I had my time at 71:10, but I had a potty stop at mile 2, and I stopped my watch for that, and the chip timer didnt , ( haha, I wish they did!) either way it was a good time for me, chip timer had me at an 11:39 min mile, a little slower than I wanted But, that just gives me a goal to beat for the next one!
It was POURING Rain Friday night when we went to pick up our race packets ( See photo) , and we just hoped and prayed that it wouldnt do that Saturday morning.
Saturday morning my alarm was set for 4:45, but when I woke up at 4 am , I stayed up, I knew I wouldnt be able to go back to sleep, so why bother? I took a picture of my stuff and ate my oatmeal

When I left to pick up Jenn, it was still raining, well it was misting, That I could handle, the birds were singing and that was a good sign. We got to Seattle in good time and found a place to park, then walked over to where the race began. Stood in the LOOOOONNNGG line for the bathroom, hoping that would do it, but it didnt, had to go again at mile 2. Ohh Took this picture before we left the car,

ok. Race started, it was a little cold, but it wasnt raining, so life was good! lots of people, so we didnt run side by side the whole time, Jenn usually talks to me to keep me from thinking about the ache in my legs, or something, And not having my music either, I had to resort to singing to myself. there were a few hills , but nothing like what Jenn had me training on, so it was fine, TONS of people stopped when they got to the hills and walked, this was about the only time that I passed anyone, lol. when we had about 1 mile left, we ran side by side and I told her she had to start talking, so she did, about stupid random shit that kept my mind off of it, we picked up our pace a little bit and she kept telling me how close we were to being done. once I saw the park I knew the end was in sight, I was so happy! then, right before we crossed the finish line There was my friend/group fitness instructor from the gym, Jenny with flowers , cheering for me!! what a NICE surprise!!! made me a little teary. (Jenny and I ran the 10k last Sunday together , cause Jenn was in Vegas.) After the race we walked to a bakery and had coffee and a piece of banana bread, yummy!
it was just so awesome, the whole thing, training for something and then actually doing it, was amazing.
Next one that I know I am doing isnt till September.

Life is Wonderful! have I said that lately??

2 more days till 10K!

I searched the web tonight for the route of the run, I am dying to know how hilly it is , I found it, but it doesnt show elevation , anyway, here it is . I am so excited!! wondering what to wear, ( such a girl) and how to wear my hair, right now forecast is rain and sun, lol. Normal Seattle weather. race time is at 7 AM!! if I wear a jacket it will end up around my waist, so I dont know . I ran last night, nothing tonight, and working out tomorrow night. The Friday night Jenn and I are going to pick up our race packet in Seattle, then Early to bed for me on Friday night!

So excited, I cant wait for it!!

also had to share, the other day when we went to the zoo, I saw a reflection in one of the windows, two woman walking , for a brief moment, I thought the overweight woman was myself, then I realized I was the smaller one. it was like a "WOW " moment, she looked like I use to look. it was just odd. when will my mind catch up? Will it ever?

Any social impacts you'd care to share? Spouse/friends reaction or challenges with your amazing transformation?

I have had someone ask me this question over the weekend on MYFITNESSPAL there is so much packed into this simple question.

First , my interests and things that I like to do have changed, so naturally , my friends have changed to. I have a couple of really good friends, that havent gone anywhere since my weight loss, but I have more that have gone away since my weight loss. Maybe they got sick of hearing about the gym and my weight loss, maybe they are jealous of me ( As I know some are) maybe they dont like the new more confidant me? whatever it is, they were not my true friends if they cant be happy for me .
( This section was EDITED. Hopefully you read it already!)
As for my spouse??
WOW, that is a loaded question. I honestly and truely do not know how he feels. He says I look great, and I know he means that, when I have new clothes on I can hear it in his voice, he thinks I look amazing, in fact this am, he told me I looked like Jennifer Aniston. LOL I had on a tshirt and a pair of jeans, and he was very happy with what he saw.
But you would think he would be all over me ( ya know what I mean) with this new body, but he is not. That I dont get at all. I am half the woman he married 9 in size I mean), I gave him a new wife , what man wouldnt want that? and not just in the looks/body department, but my overall happiness has gone up 100% . I LOVE LIFE, I love how I feel, I am a different person, but maybe to him I am not a better person? I dont know. He says he is fine with it all, ( I know he is jealous of the thought of other men, I think the gym bothers him the most) but other than that, I really dont know how he feels.

I carry myself differently, I am more confidant, I look people in the eye, I know I look good ( not said in a bitchy way), I know I have changed, so I understand that my relationships will change too. It doesnt mean I like that I have lost relationships, but I understand.

A picture is worth A thousand words, or in this case, two pictures.

top pic is 2008, bottom pic was taken last week.
I am not even sure what to say, except, I am so proud of Jake and myself for what we have done.Jake has learned at a early age how to be healthy, he lost 50 pounds last year, and he knows what good food and exercise is all about. So proud of him!

10k is coming up!! 3 weeks!! ran 5 miles today in 58 minutes. 58 mins and only stopped for about 1 min to have GU and a sip of water.ran the nasty hills . I hate hills, the whole time I kept thinking " good for the butt, good for the butt" whatever keeps me going, right?

21 pounds to go!!!