I'm a size 8!

I nervously walked into the Goodwill dressing room today, carrying 5 pairs of size 8s in my hand. May 11th, I felt the same way as I carried the size 10s.

They fit! I'm an 8 again!

8 is "where I started". It's about the smallest I've ever been. Briefly, I was a size 6 after I had mono. I haven't been this size in at least 5 years. I am pretty excited right now. I bought a pair of jeans and 2 pairs of capris. It gives me incentive to work out hard in the month of July, hoping I can be a size 6 by August! That is my goal size. I'd love to be a 4, and I'll work toward that, but when I become a size 6 I'm rewarding myself. :)

My first 5k!

I didn't sleep the night before, and that was only partially attributed to nerves. It was also really hot in my apartment and I have a hard time sleeping when I'm hot. On top of that, because of the temperature, my cat wasn't laying with me. As lame as this may be, she lays with me every night so when she isn't there, I wake up because I need to feel her there. I got up at 6:15, showered, and had a bagel thin with butter.

8am was the beginning of registration so I got there right at 8. It was cloudy, foggy, and in the 40s. I went to register and got my free tshirt, which I put on for warmth (I wore my new racing tank top) for awhile. I walked around, did brief jogging spurts, ate my banana, drank water, etc. until my parents and brother got there.

Right before race time, this lady from some local gym warmed us up but she was way too intense and annoying. A lot of us were aggravated lol. Then we went to line up... I started near the front because I'd rather be passed than feel like I had to pass up a lot of people haha. In the end I suppose that was a good strategy.

I maintained basically the same pace, give or take 20 seconds/mile, the entire time, which I found impressive. When I'd train outside, I could hardly run 2.14 miles without walking let alone 3.14. But I just had to go for it. I had nothing to lose. My goal from the beginning was to be able to run this entire thing but my runs outside lately had been less than impressive.

Well, I ran the entire thing. :) Despite there being like 2 or 3 hills per way, I ran the entire thing. According to my awesome Nike+ Sportsband, it told me I ran my first mile in 11:15 (which is off by a few seconds because I started the timer before the horn was blown), the second mile in 11:27, and the third mile in 11:07. The hills were between like 1.5 and 2.5 miles. When I rounded the corner and knew the finish line was really close, I gave it all I had and sprinted as fast as I could to the finish line ... my calves felt like lead, lol! My final time was 35:53 (according to my band) and 35:44 (according to the guy at the finish line).

I absolutely loved it. I'm not a very competitive person, but it was just the adrenaline and the energy of all of the racers around me that really kept me going. It was so different running in a big group of people than running outside by myself. I look forward to my second race, which is June 26th to raise money for Epilepsy and Seizure Awareness!

Me at 149 lbs.

The big difference between this and the 10 pound loss picture is the fact that these are size tens. And my mid section might seem a little smaller, too. Still baby steps, despite the fact that I lost the equivalent of an average bowling ball in weight! Still don't feel thinner. I do love putting on those size 10s, though.

I'm a size 10!

Dropped a pants size. This lifts my spirits a little bit (considering the scale is not moving). I want to be 2 or 3 sizes smaller than this, so I'm going to buy secondhand until I reach my first goal size (6)! Bye size 12s. Hello size 10s. Got 2 pairs of jeans (one pair that are kind of tight in the tummy; looking forward to those fitting better) and a pair of capris.

Me at 154 lbs.

You really can't notice a difference yet, but I can feel it. My muscles are getting quite defined in my legs, and my upper thighs are definitely tighter/thinner. There is barely any rubbing between my upper thighs in this picture compared to the first one. My upper thighs/hip region seems slightly slimmer too.

Where the progress has been a little too slow for my taste is my running. I was making amazing progress, and then I got my period which took me out of commission for about a week. Now I feel like I'm starting over again. I really want to build my endurance faster than the speed I'm going. So that's slightly frustrating.

It's only a month's progress, but I lost 10.4 pounds in this first month. If I exercise every day and continue to eat within my calorie range, I hope I lose 9-10 pounds every month. That way by the fall, I'll be at my goal weight, or close to it.

Reward: Zumba Fitness!

Bought this at Target this afternoon because at my weigh-in yesterday, I was down 5.4 pounds from when I started! Wish I could play it tonight, but I have research I need to do. Might try it very briefly. I'm definitely anxious to play it!

Me at 161 lbs.

Since you can't tell when someone loses 3.4 pounds, consider this my before picture. I am going to stand in front of the same mirror with the same outfit for the next picture. I will take one when I'm about halfway to my goal. Hope I can see a difference!

I don't like looking at this pic, for obvious reasons. But this is what I'm working hard to correct: my body, particularly my thighs, hips, and stomach (which is pretty concealed in this picture).