Addie Lillian

Addie recently started her own photography business.  She's awesome, and you can check out her website/blog by clicking the link above the photo [in this post], or by clicking the tab above, or under "links we love". Any of those will direct you to her fantastic NEW site!  Spread the word!

Addie Lillian Photography

Muffin Top

Remember way back when..., when I looked like this?

My legs and arms were slightly bigger than toothpicks. You don't? Me neither. Lately I've been trying to figure out what my diet deal is. Why I am having a hard time (other than laziness) losing weight. I work out four to five times a week, yet I'm still gaining instead of losing.

When it comes right down to it I know the source of my whole problem.  I just don't want to admit it.

I'm admitting it now.

My worst and beloved favorite frenemy. My go-to for comfort, wake-up, and delicious beverage. Yes, THE Diet Coke ("DC").

When I'm off DC I never want the added snacks or fast food that go with it. I eat my food at home. I eat healthy-er-ish. Here's a little diagram I made of how I'm tricked by this liquid sweetness:

Looking at the diagram you would think it would be easy to quit. So why is it so hard?

Truth is, it's not. Three days is all I need to get my diet to stick. Three days, and I wave my hanky to my fountain drink as it leaves on the train to diabetesville. It's worked before multiple times. I can do it again. The problem is the round trip ticket back that meets me at the movie theater next to that bucket of butter with occasional popped popcorn.

This May my sister is getting married. I've got three months to either wave goodbye forever to DC, and walk into that wedding looking like a skinny supermodel's older sister-mom lady, OR decide that I want a life filled with buckets of chicken, whole pizzas, and 100 oz. DC's for dinner. Both have a degree of happiness (one less because I kick the chicken bucket sooner). It's just a matter of which I want more.

Is this a dilemma? It's not.

No more GIGANTIC "last supper" dinners before the diet. No more DC.

Save me Tom Cruise!

Halloween

A few Halloween photos for now.

Halloween 5k

This past Saturday I ran in my first Halloween 5k.  It was super fun!  I kept laughing at how fun it was to be running in a costume.  My friend Kristi had been training for her first 5k, and decided on the Halloween Half (5k portion). I helped all the girls make Wonder Woman costumes so we would all match.  My friend Alicia and I had decided beforehand that we were going to run the whole thing (I better be able to run the whole thing since I just did a half marathon) so we broke off from the rest of the group who ran/walked with Kristi.

 All of the runners:
(Left to right) Kristi, Josh, Ben, Dave, Alicia, Eric, and I.

 The whole group, runners and supporters:

It was a total blast, and I would definitely do it again next year.

half-marathon

Last month I ran my very first (and maybe last) half marathon.  A whopping 13 miles. My friend Veda had signed up to do the marathon for her birthday, and I decided to sign up with her since I had always had a goal of running a half. Veda's friend Julinna also ran the marathon.  I trained as best I could beforehand, and I was grateful for all the advice, support, blessing, and help I received.  My roommates spent their Saturday mornings taking turns picking me up at the bottom of the canyon, and driving me up 10 miles to where my car was, which I am super grateful for.

I wasn't too nervous for the race.  I just wanted it to be over with.  The night before we picked up our packets and ate a carb filled dinner discounted for the race at Whole Foods.  The next morning we left at 3:30 am to make it on time to catch the shuttle up the canyon.  It wasn't till I boarded my shuttle that it set in that from then on I was on my own.  Once we reached the top we waited for over an hour for the starting gun.  It gave us time to eat, go to the bathroom, and FREEZE.  It was a good thing they gave us foil blankets (which actually work).

We actually started on time (I think around 6:40 am), and the first 6 miles I ran with my jacket on.  The first 9 miles were all downhill.  Glorious downhill.  Once we passed 9 miles it was pretty flat from there.  Those last 4 miles were hard, and the last mile was the hardest.  But I ran the whole way.  You can probably tell in the photos below that I was on the verge of a break down.  A girl in my stake was there to support her brother and had made a poster for me.  I think she was scared when she saw my face though.  April, Blake, and Brooklyn were there to cheer me on as well.

Overall I count this experience as one of the hardest things I've ever forced myself to do.  I wouldn't say the experience was great, but the sense of accomplishment is worth it.  How's that for some negativity?  Would I do it again.  Not now, but maybe some time in the long distant future when I weigh 100 lbs and can run like a gazelle.