First Check In

Height: 5'1", but I lie and say 5'2"... like anyone is running around with a tape-measure to check
Weight: 109 lbs
Measurements: Arm 9.5"; Waist: 24.5"; Hips and Bum: 35"; Thigh: 21"

About 8 months ago I began working out and eating right, as a result I've managed to shed about 40 pounds. It was a great eye-opening experience. The first 10 were, honestly, the hardest to lose. I was running about 5 miles a day and eating (what I then thought) was a healthy diet. After breaking through that first door, the rest of it came off rather easily. I stepped up the running and took it off the track and onto the streets. There were two reasons. The first was obvious to any runner, running on the street is a better workout because the environment changes and this stimulates you as a runner to keep going and keeps you from doing the inevitable count down (only two more laps to go, etc). The second is that the football team was finally claiming its rightful spot on the field. At first we co-habitated nicely but then it did become a little weird that a 37 year old woman was running laps around a bunch of high school boys. Granted I teach, so I passed a CORI report, but it weirded me out. The coach said he loved it, but I felt weird. End of summer I was 120 and very happy!

Then school started. I've had plenty of experience of very successful summers of weight "loss" only to come back to school and experience the regain syndrome. This year I wasn't about to let that happen. I examined what I was eating and WHEN I was eating it. Too much meat and crap. So I switched to a veggie and fruit diet. The weight came off, and a month ago I celebrated my 110 goal. Now for those of you reading this saying "really, 110, gimme a break on that" please remember I'm 37 and it's hard to be thin when you are not in high school or university.... well, okay, actually I'm getting my second MA degree so yes, I'm technically in school, but come on! Go into ANY graduate class in your school and look around, pretty much the opposite problem there. I'm the skinniest girl by far, the next looks like she ate me. Actually, it's me and the professor (a guy) running for railiest!

Anyway, back to this. Obviously something happened between 120 and 110. I started at 145, which on a 5'1" frame actually didn't look that bad. As many people joked, most of it was in my boobs... and actually yeah most of it WAS in my boobs. Thank god that stopped! I teach high school! At 145 my goal was 130. Then it became 120. Then it became 110. Now it's 100. I'm only worried that 100 will only turn into 95. The reality is that while my original body idol was Natalie Portman from Friends with Benefits (movie sucked, but she's incredible... so let's say it was actually Natatlie Portman in Thor, yeah that's better) but now it's Natalie Portman in Black Swan. I should never have written my MA thesis on that film. It only messed me up.

But she did look good, right?

So this week, I'm going to catalog and blog daily about my quest to lose the last 10 (well 9) pounds. I've got that silly video by Jillian Michaels, "something yoga blah blah blah" (clearly not the exact title) which does advertise (with no asterick, BTW) that you can "lose 10 pounds in a week". So let's put that to the test. I also have my lovely treadmill (it's cold outside... and covered with snow, bugger it) so I'll run five miles a day, coupled with the yoga DVD. Diet will consist of approximately 500 calories.

I also want to be honest about the emotional impact of this decision and process. I'm keeping it a secret from my family, including my husband, so fake eating is going to be practiced (just move the food about the plate, remember when you were 4, it worked then!). My brother's wife, whom I love and adore, battled anorexia her young life and even her adult life. She's lovely, she looks like Mariska Hargitay, she's just beautiful. So to see her destroy her body through lack of food is quite terrifying. But she's really tall too, like 5'7", really tall! (I'm only 5'1", anything is tall to me!)

So, for tomorrow, post workout update and weigh in. Measurements, diet plan for the day. Evening log in with effective eating log. Also my response to how I feel about this. As I said, I teach so no pictures what-so-ever. No thinspiration pictures either.