Monday Weigh In + Jingle Bells Walks and Donations.

Click for Ze Beeg Version™

Good morning, peeps.

My weigh-in this morning is 257 even, it was another successful week where I shed about 4 pounds and had some fun new things happen which I shall discuss.  It's looking more and more like I might hit my mini-goal of 250 by the end of the year. I'm pretty stoked about that, 7 pounds to go and about 26 days, yeah I think I can do that.  Here's a little peek at my numbers as well for my total health plan.  I still can't quite believe them but I am enjoying the results every day:

I have a pretty long way to go still and it is going to get much tougher from here on out.  I think my metabolism is in proper working order now, and I definitely have my appetite under much better control.  I'm going to guess that my weight loss will start to slow over the next few months as a combination of holidays and vacations kick in, and it gets colder and nastier outdoors and harder to get out there and walk.  I'm going to have to hit the gym again in order to keep it going, which I have been wanting to do for a while now anyway.  I'm sure it'll just become another part of the routine like anything - I did it before, I can do it again. This time with more energy and certainly much more focus.

Ducks on the golf course, having a bath.

I did a personal experiment this weekend when I did my walks on the college trail - both Saturday and Sunday.  I tried jogging part of the trail to see  how it would go.  Saturday, I wan the whole leg of the trail along 207th, and then ran the paved part of the trail which dips into the college parking lot. I'd say that's about 1/4 of the total trail overall.  Sunday, I walked the opposite direction and did the same.

Result? Ouch. I am feeling it - my left hip was aching a bit yesterday, and my muscles are awake and letting me know they are aware I upped the game this morning.  But both days, I was about to do the 2.5 miles in about 38 minutes, not bad. On average it means I'm doing a 15-minute mile.  Jogging the entire path has definitely become an appealing goal, but I am not quite ready.  Fortunately, it's less because of being out of breath etc. and more because my body needs a bit more fitness (which the gym will help with) - to make it realistic.

Saturday this weekend, I went down to West Seattle with Dawn, Jason and Leslie and we did something pretty awesome. More on that in tomorrow's post. :)

We also got our Christmas decorations up - 90% of the way, I still have a couple more small things to do.  Here's a picture of the tree, Dawn always does a fantastic job with it and this year was no exception.  We have family over for Xmas every year.

Time for something a little more serious + fun, too:

The Seattle Jingle Bell 5K Walk/Run

I have a walking event coming up thanks to Leslie + Parul. This weekend is the Seattle Jingle Bell Run and I am going along for the shenanigans.  I will be walking 5K - about 3.2 miles, with jingle bells tied to me.  This event is held every with the goal of raising funds in the name of preventing, controlling and curing arthritis. 

If you feel so inclined, it is possible to make a donation to support my fundraising goal which I have set at $100. If you'd like to do that, please check out the following link, but that is certainly nothing I'd pressure anyone into.

http://seattlejinglebellrun.kintera.org/mkrepela

Here's a map showing the route!