Week 8: Better Run Better Run

As of about ten minutes ago, I finished the third installment of week eight's running intervals- six minutes on, one minute off (x3). Week two, I ran a whopping five minutes per 20 minute running session. Now, I'm running 18! I'd definitely call that progress. Hooray! I've also noticed my clothes fitting a bit more loosely, and my face seems to be thinning out. Double hooray!

Me, in all of my post-run, sweat-drenched glory.

 We're coming up on weigh day #2, and I mean fast. I'm not sure how that's going to go. I've been eating pretty well, but I've also been slacking in my other workout areas because I spend every spare moment working on my photography as of late. However, I'm still pretty proud of myself for keeping up with the running. Not to mention, my favorite five-year-old asked me where my belly went. (Triple hooray?)

Anyway. I'll leave you with a few more of my favorite shots from the past week:

Mountain Man is growing rye, and had me photograph it.

And last but not least, this one is my favorite.

Practice, Practice, Practice.

I have committed to shooting my first wedding this summer. This means, time for lots of practice, and remembering. It's time to get serious.

In the past few weeks, I took my first stab at engagement photos for my best friend (and incidentally, her daughter because she's just too adorable), and took some photos for another friend of her beautiful, little sassy-pants of a toddler. Of course, most of my practice has been with baby Frank. 

I love natural light. I crank the blinds and curtains open, and snap away. Frank makes it easy, because he thinks a camera lens in his face is hilarious. But I need to expand my horizons. In some cases, flash is very necessary. Especially outdoors when it's bright and sunny, fill flash can be very helpful. Or in a dark room, or, obviously, at night. I'm terrified of using flash. I hate the look of those harsh, dark shadows. However, in order to really call myself any kind of photographer, I have to get over that one. I dug out my external flash and I am in the process of experimenting and researching. I'll keep you updated on this endeavor. I'm excited to try some flash filters to play with the light. I also discovered adobe creative cloud, and have been using the heck out of photoshop. I smuggly downloaded it, thinking I would easy-breezy remember everything from oh, six or seven years ago. Instead, there was a ton of frustration, and I had a window open devoted to CS6 tutorials on youtube. But we're getting there.

I still have some work to do, but in the meantime, here are a few of my favorites from the last several weeks.

Eisley Marie, 5 going on 17.

Meagan and Nathan

First time swinging at the park.

Pensive Frankie.

Sammy Jo, diva in training.

That hair.

Sweet boy.

Falling Off the Wagon

This past weekend I made some pretty questionable choices. I overslept tons, ate several things I shouldn't have (like onion rings from Whataburger, an enormous plate of Mexican food, and a big mac with fries), did not complete, nor start, any workouts- and subsequently felt like a big, sloth-like, sloppy slob.  

After a great week full of healthy, delicious food, tough workouts, and weight loss, I thought, "I have been exceptionally good, I deserve a treat," which incidentally served as a gateway thought to, "my diet is blown today anyway. Might as well go ahead and eat whatever I want." Each time I ate something detrimental to my success, I felt horrible- and not just mentally. I was bloated, and literally sick to my stomach. By Sunday night, I couldn't believe what I had done to myself, I knew better.
 
Instead of throwing myself a pity party and wallowing in my shame and guilt, which is precisely what I would have done a year ago, I decided to jump back on track. I put my shoes on and dove into week six's three-minute intervals. That's when I realized that I'm half way through my running program. How exciting is that?! Just one weekend off my game hardly means that the progress I've made so far is nil. This was a hard lesson to sink in, since it has taken upwards of 20 years to do so. 

I feel this is a beneficial time to go over a few of the reasons I started in the first place, and add a new one or two:

1. To wear jeans again.
2. Participate in a color run, and run the entire thing.
3. To be a happy and healthy Momma for my baby Frank.
4. TO LOOK FAB IN MY MAID OF HONOR DRESS AT MY BESTIES WEDDING. (I love you Meagan!)

I'm still working on figuring out how to enjoy a "treat" every now and again without overindulging, or feeling the guilt. But I'm glad to have learned that falling off the wagon isn't the worst possible thing that can happen in a weight loss journey. It might even be an important step in the process. What really matters, though, is choosing to get back on.

Nobody can feel blue for long with this face around.

Week 5: Weigh Day!

Just before getting Frank's first bottle ready this morning, I dug out my scale from under the bathroom sink. Tapping the bottom right corner to wake it from its slumber, I pondered how I would feel about the number. Hoping for my efforts to feel validated, I held my breath and stepped on. A few seconds later, there it was: 267! Five pounds in five weeks is definitely something I can be proud of, and will be put to work as an extra boost of motivation for the next month. 

Last week, I completed week four's one-minute-on/one-minute-off running intervals and sailed right into this weeks two-minutes-on/one-minute-off intervals. I am beginning to genuinely enjoy my runs. When I get my shoes on, there's no turning back- even if I happen to be lacking in the motivation department that day. I've continued the arm and ab workouts, adding more reps as we go along. The new addition this month is a workout calendar I pinned some time ago called "Tuff Butt April" (obviously, this calendar was created for a different year, but I can deal).  My legs are already reeling from the squats and lunges. But hey, that means it's working, right?

I'm keeping this one short and sweet. Besides, I have some weight-loss celebrating to do! And, what's a blog post without a hint of baby Frank? Mountain Man stumbled across my missing USB.