Weight Watchers, Willpower and Pixie Dust – From Zero to Tink in 10 months!

[Aura of Foreboding]

Welcome! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Megan and I am a 28-year old Disney nut from Saskatchewan, Canada. I am married to an equally nutty DH and have a wonderful 2-year old daughter. I am also an EXTREMELY busy person – I work two jobs (I teach high school in the mornings and run a home business) while taking a full-time Master’s degree and leading a Brownie unit. I love what I do!

My weight loss/fitness journey has been a long road. In 2008, after being told that I had high cholesterol, I decided to join Weight Watchers. From January 2008 to June 2009, I lost over fifty pounds! During this time, I also trained for a half-marathon (in the walking division), which I finished in a time of 2:54.

In December of 2009, I found out that I was pregnant with my daughter. I tried to eat well, but some health issues forced me to almost zero mobility for the last four months of my pregnancy. As much as I love my daughter, I struggled with some of the adjustments of being a mom, and soon I was past my pregnancy weight. I was also diagnosed with a gluten allergy, giving me another challenge in my quest to eat healthy.

After feeling hopeless for WAY too long, in December I decided that I was going to begin a lifestyle change. I rejoined Weight Watchers and started eating better. I had read a lot about runDisney races, but didn’t think I would ever be able to afford one. When checking out flight prices for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon Weekend (on a whim) in March, I found an amazing deal, talked it over with my husband and booked them the next day.
So here I am, registered to WALK a local half-marathon in September and chomping at the bit to register to RUN the Tinkerbell half next January. I am at 195 lbs (down from 218 in December), and ready to take on the world!

I’ve started this journal in order to document my weight loss and fitness journey, as well as keeping me accountable. I am hoping to share the ups and downs of my journey, and hopefully inspire others to make the leap as well. I will also throw in some paleo/gluten-free recipes.

Enjoy!

 

[Aura of Foreboding]

So, because I am walking a half-marathon in September, I do need to do a fair bit of my training until then walking.

I am following a modified Hal Higdon Half Marathon for Walkers Program. The short version of the program looks something like this:

M - Rest
T - 30-45 minute walk (time increases during training plan)
W - Cross Training (optional - I try to swim)
Th - 30-45 minute walk
F - Rest
S - 30-45 minute walk
Su - Long training walk

Since I started from about a 0% fitness level, I have been following the plan as written for now. My goal is to do a Galloway-style run/walk/run for one of the short walks per week in May and June, two run/walk/runs in July and three run/walk/runs in August. I will maintain my long training walk as a WALK until after the half marathon in September, at which point I will switch to Galloway's training plan for the Tink.

In the four weeks since I have started training, I have improved my speed on the 30 minute walks from 17:30 minute miles to 14:50 this week. That's still not very fast, but it's a heck of an improvement.

 

[sunnygurl]

Hi,I'm new to the boards and just read your post
First congrats on the progress of your journey so far! What is the walking half marathon? I love to walk and hate to run. I'd love it if you could share ideas and resources with me. Thanks!
Lori

 

[KPetty725]

Congratulations on your lifestyle change! I too have decided its time for a change. We're cruising in November and I'm going to try to do the Castaway Cay 5K. I currently am at 0% fitness and am using the "couch potato to 5K" app for the iPad! My concern is that I just found out that I have to have surgery in July that will keep me inactive for almost a month so I'm starting to feel like its not even worth starting a training program when I know I'll be out of it for a month. I'd love to follow your progress. Maybe that will help me with my own hesitations!

 

[Aura of Foreboding]

So, I figured that I should get on and post how my training has gone so far. Please remember that I started absolutely from scratch. I am hoping to add a fourth day of training next week (either another walk on Saturdays or cross-training on Wednesdays).

Week 1 (Started April 14th)

T - 30 min treadmill walk, 1.68 miles (18:02 min mile)
Th - 30 min treadmill walk, 1.75 miles (17:08 min mile)
Su - 3.0 miles walk (16:03 min mile)

Total - 6.43 miles
Weight - 198.0

Week 2
T - 30 min treadmill walk, 1.87 miles (16:03 min mile)
Th - 30 min treadmill walk, 1.91 miles (15:40 min mile)
Su - 2.0 miles walk only (15:41 min mile)

Total - 5.78 miles
Weight - 195.6

Week 3
W - 30 min treadmill walk, 2.02 miles (14.52 min mile)
Th - 30 min treadmill run/walk (1 run/3 walk), 2.09 miles (14.19 min mile)
Su - 4.0 miles walk only (14:56 min mile)

Total - 8.11 miles
Weight - 195.6

I am really proud of my time improvement over the last three weeks. I have managed to push myself without overdoing it, which is my number one goal.

 

[Aura of Foreboding]

Hi,I'm new to the boards and just read your post
First congrats on the progress of your journey so far! What is the walking half marathon? I love to walk and hate to run. I'd love it if you could share ideas and resources with me. Thanks!
Lori

Hi!

Our local half marathon has a walking division. That means absolutely no running - walking the 13.1 miles only. Many races seem to have a walking division. I did one last spring, and finished under 3 hours. It was a great intro to the half-marathon, and it gave me the racing bug. I am now looking forward to learning how to run!

 

[Aura of Foreboding]

Congratulations on your lifestyle change! I too have decided its time for a change. We're cruising in November and I'm going to try to do the Castaway Cay 5K. I currently am at 0% fitness and am using the "couch potato to 5K" app for the iPad! My concern is that I just found out that I have to have surgery in July that will keep me inactive for almost a month so I'm starting to feel like its not even worth starting a training program when I know I'll be out of it for a month. I'd love to follow your progress. Maybe that will help me with my own hesitations!

Hi

It is so hard to make a change, so congratulations on taking the plunge!

I would totally start a training program now, so that when you are back from your surgery, it will be easier to pick it up. If it were me, I would make excuses and bad choices all the way to July. I need a plan and a goal to keep me going. Good luck with whatever you decide.