a post about not running

Well, this doesn't ALWAYS have to be about running or of the pursuit of running goals. Nay, this post is being written during my self-imposed 2 week break from running. I've had a nagging ankle injury off and on since April and it tends to flare up when I push my speed. Last week I attempted what was going to be a quick two mile run and had plans on incorporating some sprints. What really ended up happening was some major ankle/ shin pain after one sprint. I ended up hobbling about 1.5 miles and called it quits. I need to really give that ankle some time to heal, so I'm on a break.

Wait, I said this wasn't about running!

Since I'm on my break, I have focused my attention on the elliptical and the bike, which has been a nice change of pace!

But, this post isn't really about my cross-training efforts either.

Nah, we are going with the cliched "weight-loss" post. Amidst all of my athletic goals is the other goal. The "finally shed the pounds and pounds of weight added to my body during my pregnancy marathon of 3 pregnancies in 3 years" goal.

I half hoped that simply training for and running a half marathon would magically strip the excess pounds from my body. It always seems I'm hearing stories about people becoming these sleek, toned gods and goddesses after running for a few months. Or maybe that's just what I thought I heard.

I also hoped that running would be enough to take care of it. I really didn't want to have to change my eating habits at all. I love food. Sure I love many foods that are healthy, but I also have a special place in my heart for bread...cheese...ice cream...pizza... you know, standard fatty fare. Anywho, after an initial 10 lb weight loss after I began my training, the weight loss came to a screeching halt.

So here I am, ready to commit to better choices. Last week I downloaded the "my fitness pal" app to my phone and started tracking my calories. For me, it's always easier to skip the random snacks or the second third helping of a meal if I know I have to log the calories. Mostly it's because I'm lazy and can't be bothered with the extra work it takes to log the calories of miscellaneous foods.

The neat thing about "my fitness pal" is that there is a barcode scanner that you can use when logging your calories. For example, if you drink a can of soda and don't want to enter in the info manually, you just select the scanner button and point it at the barcode on the can. and DONE. It's all entered in the system.

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Confession: I started this blog entry a few days ago and haven't gotten around to finishing. I have to confess my sins. I am *MOSTLY* making better choices...but I may have had pizza for lunch today.... and it's possible I ate several hot dogs over the weekend. Surprisingly I've managed to keep close to my daily allotted calories in spite of this.

I am writing this post because I'm sure that many can relate to wanting to commit to lifestyle changes and at times find it difficult to follow through. Or maybe not.... either way, I plan on sporadically peppering in some weight loss topics in the blog from time to time. I need accountability to help me follow through with my goals, and what better form of accountability is there than to tell the world handful of people who read this.

I'm not throwing out any hard figures here (i.e. I'm not spilling my weight...today anyway), but I have a goal of 1.5 lbs of weight loss per week and to keep up with logging my calories and working out at least 5 days a week. There. Now hold me to it!