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Pugmamastace

Pharmacist, Health and Wellness Advocate, Pug Mom, Girly Girl

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365 days, 25 lbs gone!

April 2, 2012

I started hiking a little over a year ago at a little trail down the road we call Telegraph Pass. I went with my good friend Heidi on a Saturday morning in March 2011. Little did I know that this little hike would begin a new chapter in my life. At this point, even the thought of exercise made me tired! I thought about it a lot. I did TONS of research:

March 2011 Shape Cover

The more I knew, the more prepared I’d be! Right??

I refused to buy new clothes until I started losing weight, because I was determined not to be overweight (for me) forever!

We live in a place where people are very active. Whenever you leave your house on any given morning, there are at least 20 people between our house and the main road through Ahwatukee that are running, biking, walking their dogs, walking their kids, etc. I noticed that there were always tons of people at the trailhead down the road, and wondered why it was so popular. There is even a sign that says “no parking in neighborhoods for trailhead.” So I thought to myself, “This must be a fun place, I should check it out sometime!” I noticed that a lot of my new friends in the area were always either coming from or going to the trail when I saw them. So I mentioned it to Heidi one day, and she agreed to take me there!

I was so out of shape that I couldn’t even make it to the top! I made it about 2/3 of the way up, and told her to go ahead. “I’ll be right here!” I said, lol!

I’m a pretty stubborn girl, so that next Wednesday, I decided that I was going to make it to the top no matter WHAT! No matter HOW many times I had to stop, I was going to make it all the way this time! Well, I probably stopped 4-5 times, but I made it! Something about the way I felt after I got to the top, and got an awesome workout, kept me coming back. Pretty soon, I was hiking 3-4 times per week, going to Piestewa (Squaw) Peak, Camelback, and even exploring the rest of South Mountain.

                                    

The pounds just started falling off! It was amazing! All of the time I spent on the couch thinking about ways to lose weight without having to get off of my ass were such a waste of time! Here I was with a new way to be active and have fun at the same time. Not to mention, clear my head from work, and everything else that I had going on in my life.

Eventually, after getting into pretty darn good shape, I started running on some of the trails. I would do a combination of hiking and running almost every time I went.

In October, 2011, I volunteered to give flu shots at the 2011 Phoenix Aids Walk with my company, Walgreens, who was the title sponsor.

My colleague giving shots with me was signed up to run the 5K. As you can see (that’s her on the right) she did great! The atmosphere and excitement was contagious! From that moment, I wanted to sign up for a race. I almost randomly signed up that day, but someone had to run the flu shot table!

I got online and found the Women’s Running Magazine 5K. It was a month away, and it was perfect for me! So I signed up, ran it, and loved it!!

Women's 5K Bib NumberWomen's 5K Finish with Medal!

My first race! I even got a finisher’s medal! From then, I was hooked! I did the Mesa Turkey Trot 10K:

Mesa Turkey Trot Turkey and IMesa Turkey Trot Me

And the 12K’s of Christmas, and had planned on doing a half marathon in January. I started having knee pain, and ended up not doing the half because of it.

Since January, I have been in PT for my issue, and am a lot better now.

I can’t believe it has been a year already! I am SO happy with running and hiking now! I am signed up for my first half-marathon in May. I really hope I can do it! I have trained up to 7 miles so far, and plan on getting to 10 miles the week before.

The whole point of this post is to express how amazing I feel since I have started hiking and running. I never thought I would get into this kind of shape again. Ever! It did not happen overnight. It has been a complete lifestyle change. Along with the hiking and running, I also started eating better. I was always a very “bi-polar” eater. I would eat realllllly clean and healthy for like 2 or 3 days, then just absolutely sabotage my diet; and decide to start over “Monday.” I have learned to incorporate moderation into my habits. I let myself have fro-yo without feeling bad about it!

Who has a fro-yo addiction?! I DO!!

So here are some before pictures(don’t get me wrong, I felt beautiful at my wedding, but I was NOT healthy!):

Wedding 2Wedding 3

Germany 1

After:

Ready to Dance!Cam and Stace at Pool

I want to hear your stories! How have you improved your life through exercise and diet? What does exercise do for you? Are you totally addicted to running? Hiking? Biking? Swimming? How much weight have you lost since you started? Tell me ALL about it! Oh, and what’s your favorite fro-yo? Smile

Happy Trails!!

8 Comments

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ari @ Ari's Menu says

    April 2, 2012 at 9:57 pm

    Girrrrlll!! You look amazing! I love hearing other people’s success and weight loss stories. You are gonna rock your half in May!! I can’t wait to hear all about it 🙂

    Reply
    • pugmamastace says

      April 3, 2012 at 11:28 pm

      Thanks Ari! I love how as painful as a run may be at the time, I always want more! Crazy self-induced pain loving people we are! Are you doing the Firefly run next weekend??

      Reply
  2. Megan says

    April 3, 2012 at 7:34 am

    That is so awesome! You look great, and I’m sure you feel even better! I’ve been the same weight since high school, but I wear it totally differently now that I exercise regularly, it’s a lot more muscle, so those high school clothes are actually too big! I love seeing those changes. Bipolar eating totally describes my eating habits at times too, but I guess as I’m getting older I’m realizing it’s not worth it and eating a mix in moderation is just so much better. I LOVE froyo, but I don’t get it often. I have a shop that’s like a 3 minute walk from my house that I still haven’t been to in the six months I’ve lived there because I know I’ll just end up there every night (maybe in the summer heat!), but when I do allow myself a treat I’m all about coffee or peanut butter yogurt and cookies or something chocolate on top! Maybe if I just went fruit I wouldn’t feel so guilty!

    Reply
    • pugmamastace says

      April 3, 2012 at 11:23 pm

      Thanks Megan! I usually get a lowfat or a no sugar added yogurt. I don’t add a ton of toppings, unless it’s fruit. I almost always put a chunk of brownie on top and eat it on my way out the door! My husband bought 41 boxes of Girl Scout cookies, (yeah….don’t get me started!!) so lately those have been my naughty treat. I could eat a whole box of Samoas I bet….not going to try! Too afraid I’d succeed! I find that my legs are so much more muscular than I expected them to be since I started running! Don’t you love it!?

      Reply
  3. Nicole W. says

    April 3, 2012 at 9:06 am

    Way to go Stacey! You look great – and I am sure that you feel amazing! It’s crazy that we both did that same 5k and 10k 🙂 And Ahwatukee is such an active community! People are always out and about!

    Exercise is relatively new for me as well. I started running in May last year and fell in love with it. It’s so challenging and constantly has me pushing myself. I recently added biking and swimming, and I absolutely love biking – and I am starting to love swimming too. I like the variety that it adds to my workouts now! I havent lost any weight from adding this exercise but I feel better now that I’m more active.

    Oh and I love fro-yo too! I am a fan of the fruity tart ones, with fresh berries and fruit on top 🙂

    And you will rock that half marathon girl – no more doubting yourself!!

    Reply
    • pugmamastace says

      April 3, 2012 at 11:26 pm

      Thanks Nicole! It is too cool that we did the same two races! I am so glad to have met you and all of the other girls! We will have so much fun doing these races together! I LOVE the tart ones with fruit! It totally depends on the moos I’m in, though….have you had pistacio flavor? WOW it is amazing! It doesn’t sound that good, but it IS! I will try to keep my head on straight about the half-I am pretty excited about it on top of my nervousness. It’s going to be an amazing weekend! You are doing the FireFly run, right?

      Reply
  4. Kelli @ Howdy from NYC says

    April 3, 2012 at 9:18 am

    You look great! You go girl!

    Reply
    • pugmamastace says

      April 3, 2012 at 11:26 pm

      Thanks Kelli! Your trip to Ireland looked amazing! That is definitely a country on our list of places we want to visit. Someday we’ll get there!

      Reply

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Here on the blog, I share my experiences living a healthy lifestyle, trying new products, and living the PugMom life. I also like to blog about makeup and beauty stuff, because although I’ll get dirty hiking mountains or riding my bike here in Phoenix, I’m a total girly girl!

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