Where did I lose my butt this time?

Today's Miles: 0. Rest Day:) Yesterday's Miles: 800m warmup; 2x1600s; 2x800s; 3x400s at 5K pace; 400 cooldown.

Yes. I am forgetful. My keys have a bowl. If my keys are not in the bowl, I will spend 2 hours looking for them. I.Am.A.List.Maker. If I go to the grocery store, and it’s not on the list, don’t expect me to get it……even if it’s something I’m suppose to get EVERY time I go to the store (ah-hem….milk, beer, the essentials). I am so forgetful and live with such a hectic schedule I once asked Mark during our morning phone call….”Where Am I?” Seriously. It was more than one of those “wake up and not know where you are for a second” kind of feelings. I had no idea where I had parked my butt the night before! Thank goodness for Blackberry Travel App or I’d go to the wrong state on a regular basis.

But this story is about how I literally lost my butt, as in my seat padding. The joke in the family is that we all have a “Hill Butt.” Translation….NO butt…as in belts do no good because you have no butt to hold up the belt. No Hill ever born into this family has ever had a butt. Except me. I never had a “Hill Butt” until recently…. I certainly had a butt, a large one….along with a muffin top, jiggly arms, waddle thighs, and everything else that comes along with it. (Well, I’ve almost got a Hill Butt…I’ve recently discovered I do have a coccyx!)

So, how did I lose my butt? Did I run it off? Did I drink special shakes? Did I skip meals? Did I take some type of energy pill? Did I go on a low carb, high protein, only pineapples in the morning and grapefruits in the evening with no red meat & lots of pea soup kind of diet? Or did it just fall off?

Are you ready for my secret to weight loss????

I WORKED MY BUTT OFF!

Sorry to say, but that’s it. It wasn’t easy. It was hard. It IS hard. I work an outside sales job that keeps me on the road 4-5 days each week…..Translation….Eating out 3 meals a day plus snacks purchased at gas stations; and long work days of 8-14 hours meeting clients and catching up on paperwork late at night in hotels….G..L..A..M..O..R..O..U..S.  And so not conducive to maintaining weight, much less losing weight.

My truth. In October 2009 (the beginning of my running obsession?), I weighed 180 lbs. In August of 2010 (when I tore my quad), I weighed approximately 177 lbs. Today, I weigh approximately 145 lbs.

There it is….in black and white…..in all its shame and glory…….for all the world to see. I feel like Oprah wheeling out a Red Rider full of fat! Scary….and freeing.

So did running cause me to lose 30+ lbs. Not really. Yes…you read that right! It was NOT the running that caused me to lose weight. It helped. It helps keep me sane. It helps keep the weird cravings at bay, but creates some too…like Taco Bell Cinnamon Twists!? But nope, running did not cause my butt to magically fall off.

I lost weight because for months I counted every single calorie I put in my mouth. I weighed food when I cooked it; I calculated how many calories were in each dish; I weighed my portions; I only ate at restaurants that posted their calorie-counts on-line & chose reasonable things (not the 1200 calorie Oriental Salad from Applebee’s that I loved); I took a restaurant calorie notebook with me on trips; I kept a journal of everything.

I had to see how much crap was going in my mouth before I could figure out how or what to eliminate from my diet. And guess what…..I HAVE NOT ELIMINATED ANYTHING FROM MY DIET. If I want dessert – I have it. If I want a burger, I get it (just avoid the Ruby Tuesday Turkey Burger – not a healthy option or calorie saver!). I simply make better choices now (or try), and I am more accountable for what passes through my lips straight to my butt. And guess what….A 6 piece McNugget and Small fry does still fill me up! I do not NEED a 9 piece meal deal just because it’s cheaper!

I didn’t start counting calories because I wanted to lose weight. I did it because I didn’t want to GAIN weight when I tore my quad last fall and couldn’t walk much less run. I’d been running for nearly a year & only lost a whopping 3 lbs. I figured that if I stopped exercising I’d blow up like a balloon. Without exercising for 8 weeks, I dropped 15 lbs…and I never once starved myself.

It was a pain in my Non-Hill Butt at first, but it has become second hand now. And when I ‘go off the wagon’ on counting calories for a few weeks – it shows. That’s why I say my weight is “Approximate.” I can fluctuate 5-10 lbs depending on how well I’m doing at keeping track of what I eat.

According to my BMI I’m still overweight. I feel better than I did before, that’s no joke. I’m happy that I can wear a size 10 again! Would I like to lose more? Sure. But I know that in order to do that – it’s completely up to me and my level of commitment and discipline…..not some magic pill or shake. And the weight loss has made the running easier. Maybe one-day I’ll LOOK like A Real Runner!

So how do I feel now that I’ve joined the family in the Hill Butt tradition….kinda proud of myself. But kinda annoyed at not finding pants that fit right in my closet.

Gotta run.....