Losing Weight is as Easy as Being in the Olympics

Last night, I was thinking about why I'm writing this. It turns out there are two reasons. One fairly obvious reason is accountability. If I just keep eating Miss Vickies and watching mtv I'm gonna feel pretty crappy about the fact that I made this pledge on the web. The other reason, though, is way more important. It's that I'm a liar. I'm not normally a liar. I consider myself a very trustworthy individual, but in this case, I lied...to myself...a lot.

You see, it's not like the weight came back on all at once. I gained it slowly. First it was 10 pounds. And I said to myself "10 pounds, nothing. I could lose that any time". Then it was 30 pounds, and I though "Pfft...30 pounds. I've lost 50 pounds, I can handle 30". But then it was 50 pounds, and I started to realize it wasn't that easy. I somehow had convinced myself for a year that when I lost the weight the first time it was a cake-walk, but it wasn't. It was hard work and I had to literally work my butt off to do it. If I didn't work out 5 days a week I didn't lose weight. If I'm going to be stuck losing the weight a second time I want it to be for good. So I'm going to document it. Every day. And hopefully this'll be the last time.

To inspire me, here's a picture from 2007 of skinny-me:

Now, I also have another, more short-term weight loss goal I have to worry about. I'm an Olympic Torchbearer. I'll be carrying the torch with a team on February 7, and I'm so not ready. In more than one way. About a week and a half ago I got my uniform. When you're selected as a torchbearer you have to go online and say what uniform size you want and how fast you plan to run (more on that in a minute). I looked at the sizes (unisex) and thought...hmm...February 7th...that's about 12 weeks away. I should choose a size small. Thank GOD I came to my senses and went with a medium. I'm really good at budgeting how much weight I can lose in a set amount of time, I'm just not good at actually doing the work.

So I got the uniform in the mail when I was at work and my coworkers wanted me to try it on. No FREAKIN way! I had no idea if this thing was going to even close let alone zip up. I waited until I was in the safety of my apartment and tried it on. My boyfriend knew that I was a bit stressed out about it, and he was a good sport. But you know those uniforms that the skeleton or speedskating competitors wear? That's what this looked like on me. At least I'll be an aerodynamic torchbearer. So goal #1 by February 7th: lose a couple inches around the midsection so that I don't have to lay on the ground and wrap my belly around my back to wear the damn uniform. (PS - I looked up the rules. You're allowed to alter the uniform in a way that doesn't change the look, but if the uniform doesn't fit you have to drop out of the relay).

Goal #2 is a little more daunting. I have to run. Most torchbearers run 300 meters, and that would be a lot for me. But because I'm running as part of a team, I actually carry the torch for 50 meters, but I run with my group for an entire kilometer. Yes, that's correct, a KILOMETER. I'm pretty sure the last time I ran that far was in grade 8 when I was forced to be on the cross country team so I could play soccer. I took that as my cue not to try out for the high school team the next year. I now consider myself in training for this kilometer of doom. Before yesterday, the only time I had ever run on a treadmill was when I was trying to beat my friend's calories as we worked out side by side at the gym. That lasted about 30 seconds. But I'm determined to not pass out during my mind-blowing once-in-a-lifetime experience, so I'm training. I went to the gym, cautiously approached the treadmill (only once two were open next to each other so my bf could be there for moral support) and started out. I started at 2.0...then made my way up, until finally I hit 4.5!! Some might not even call this a run, but boy was it a run for me. Before I even got there I didn't think I would make it. But I did. I ran at 4.5 for 5 whole minutes. And I don't feel all that bad today. Score 1 for Allie on Allie versus the treadmill.

I can't post this without recording a quote that one of my mom's friends made to her upon finding out of my Olympic involvement "You're Daughter's a Torchbearer? She Must be Quite the Athlete"...quite the athlete indeed...