TFG: Hi Krissie! Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions about your journey to lose weight and become a runner. You've kept a blog for well over three years now at http://www.questionsfordessert.com�what brought you into the blogging world and how has it helped you to achieve your goals?
Krissie: I'm not really sure why I decided to start blogging. I remember reading a few blogs and thinking that I had finally found people like me - people who would understand me. It's funny for me to go back and read my first post and see how long I spun my wheels before I really made the commitment to those goals. I don't know that I would have made significant progress without my blog. I don't have a system in real life that indulges me to let me talk incessantly about myself. That's not who I am in the real world. My blog is just like a journal with accountability and feedback and suggestions. It really has been the key to keep me going.
TFG: Can you talk a little about how and why you became a runner and how this new identity has helped you with other health related goals?
Krissie: You know, I've wanted to be a runner ever since I was in college. I dated a guy who was a runner and he always wanted me to run with him. I was not interested. Then, when we broke up, I started running to spite him (healthy, huh?). When I started dating my husband, I didn't need running to fill that void anymore, so I stopped running. At the time, I was running maybe 2 miles at a time a few times a week. But it wasn't for me. For the past few years, I wanted to run for me.
I can't preach running enough. It, like blogging, has been absolutely necessary to my success. The desire to be a runner and actually becoming a runner has pushed me every day. I set a goal, I create a schedule, and I have to follow it. If I miss a few days and it messes up the schedule, I don't know how I'll do in the race. So if the schedule says I need to run today, I run today. It's that easy. It takes the guess work and the emotion out of the plan. I follow the schedule. No argument.
TFG: Speaking of identities, how has the "I'm a runner" identity helped you to stay focused on your goals? Before you started running on a regular basis, how did you mentally see a runners life as being?
Krissie: This "I'm a runner" identity has been huge for me. I know my readers tire of hearing that statement (I've got the comments and emails to prove it), but it think it is probably what I see as my biggest achievement, other than my marriage. Being a runner changes the way I make my food choices. Being a runner changes the way I look at sleep and alcohol and even laundry. Being a runner keeps me focused on the big picture because the big picture has such an affect on my running.
I really didn't ever think that a runner's life would be this involved. I honestly thought I'd just lace up my shoes and run. I thought that's what runners did. I love that I'm learning it's so much more than that.
TFG:What advice would you give to those who are struggling with a fitness identity and how has this mold helped your process?
Krissie: Wow. I'm still shocked when I realize that I have a fitness identity. How cool is that? I don't know exactly why I was bit by the running bug, but it has been a large part of my motivation long before I was able to run. I've been driven by running for such a long time. I always felt like I'd know I'd made it when I was able to run a 5K. Now I'm not sure I'll ever feel like I've made it. There'll always be longer or faster or harder to run. And I love that.
TFG: You've blogged in the past about your struggles with weight loss and following diet plans particularly in times when your career was moving in different directions. What do you think prevented you from being successful before compared to your recent success over the past year? What has helped you control emotional, stress or boredom eating?
Krissie: My success with eating has been simplistic in nature but difficult in implementation. I just learned to take the emotion out of eating. I used to feel a sense of entitlement, like I deserved to be able to eat whatever I wanted, like I was being cheated by the universe because I couldn't live on potato chips and ice cream and still look like a hottie. In the past, I definitely used food as a crutch and a comfort. And I just had to stop doing that. My dad was following Weight Watchers for a while and he said he wasn't going to eat something because it was "too expensive" and "cost too many points." And that's the way I started looking at calories - like my checkbook. Am I willing to work to earn the extra calories for that handful of goldfish or that cookie? Sometimes I am. But when I'm not willing to earn it, I don't eat it. It makes each bite a choice that I have control over. Not about desire or deprivation, but instead it's about math.
TFG: Do your friends and family read your blog? What advice would you give to those who want to share their weight loss efforts through a blog?
Krissie: I try to live in the dark with this one. I like to assume that few people that I knew before blogging read my blog. I know my husband reads. I think my brother and a few male friends read. Other than that, I don't know if my family reads and I don't think I want to know. My parents know I blog, but I don't know if they've found it. It wouldn't be hard to find if they went looking. The only advice I can give is to blog like no one is reading. Be you. 100%. You'll get support, encouragement, and the catharsis that comes from getting it all out there. You can always be an anonymous blogger and have no names or pictures anywhere. Just get out there. Start commenting on the blogs you love. Put yourself in the community you want to be in. Say hello and we'll check you out. We're fun people.
TFG: In 10 words or less how is the 2010 Krissie different than the 2008 Krissie? What has been your biggest "a'ha" moment in this process?
Krissie: 2007 Krissie doubted herself. 2010 Krissie knows anything is possible.
Probably my biggest aha moment was the day I walked into Express and could actually wear things in the store. That moment really represents to me the things I didn't think I'd ever be able to do. Now I'm doing things that I never even entertained before.
TFG: You've lost about 55 lbs. What about your new body surprises you? Do people treat you differently at this weight?
Krissie: The weirdest thing about my new body is that it doesn't feel new to me at all. I've lost the weight very gradually. What I am able to do physically has been very gradual. I know I would feel differently if it was a quick, Biggest Loser-type process. I have to remind myself often that I am different. It still seems unreal to me sometimes.
I really haven't noticed people treating me differently. I think it's because I've always been bubbly and approachable and a people-person. But I am often shocked at people's reactions to learning that I'm a runner. Many don't understand the appeal or ask if it's safe or a good idea. I really never thought I'd be an ambassador for running.
TFG: Has losing weight changed the dynamics of your relationships with your husband, friends or family? Do you believe that exercising and having fitness goals with your husband strengthens your bond?
Krissie: I don't think losing weight has really changed my relationships. If anything, I feel like it's given me an avenue to talk about the changes I'm making and why they are health focused, not about getting thin. If I hadn't lost a lot of weight, I don't think people would ask me questions and I would be much less likely to start discussions with what I think is important and why. I love that I'm able to discuss clean eating and running with family members who wouldn't be interested if I didn't look different. It's easier for me to preach my non-scripted "diet" plan when others initiate the conversation.
Nathan has always been incredibly supportive of whatever food or exercise plan I've chosen to follow. But as we made a lifestyle change in gradual steps, he's started to really enjoy and be interested in what we're doing. We grocery shop together, we cook together, he helps me choose recipes to try. We rarely run together, but we are following the same schedule. We'll leave the house at the same time and run at the same time. So even when one of us is having trouble getting going, the other one encourages. We are in this together, even if we're not running beside each other.
TFG: As someone who has lost and gained the same weight over the past few years, I've often wondered if I will ever lose weight. Do you have any advice for those of us who are still struggling to lose weight? Did you worry about others taking you seriously?
Krissie: I don't even know how many times I have put those empty promises out there. The "starting tomorrow, I'm posting pictures of everything I eat again." or "I'm doing Jillian's Shred for 30 days in a row starting Monday!" We all hope. We all have good intentions. And that's real life. Sometimes we follow our plans, sometimes our plans don't get of the ground. That's what makes us real. And in my mind? As long as you're out there- setting goals, trying to change, wanting to be better- you're not giving in. You're not throwing in the towel. You're still trying. And as long as you're trying, you haven't given up. Struggle makes good story. Struggle makes the story real. And it doesn't matter if others take you seriously. You'll find something that works for you. One day, something will click. It's trial and error, struggle leads to epiphany. You'll get there. Try your hardest every day. When you fall, brush yourself off and get back up immediately. Don't wait until Monday, until the first of the month, until after the next holiday, until after your next meal. Make changes now.
TFG: How do your friends and family respond to your new habits? Have you lost or gained any new friends in this process?
Krissie: We get some strange looks, especially during our no-meat and no-spending Lent. And now with our plans to run the marathon in November. But I always have Nathan in my corner to make me feel less freakish. I always have him to back me up when we provide input on where to eat out with friends. When we get an invitation to do something on a weeknight, it's easier to make a good choice because we both have runs planned. It's much easier when people roll their eyes at "us" instead of just "me." But for the most part, I have had very little static. Most people are interested and have questions. I don't think my social circle has really changed at all. Just the activities we do with them.
TFG: In 5 words, can you tell us what are the most important factors in achieving a goal?
Krissie: This question was my favorite. I think the most important piece of achieving a goal is setting a goal. And I think a goal should be behavioral, realistic, measurable, flexible, and meaningful.
TFG: You talk a lot about structure, planning and schedules on your blog, can you talk a little about your daily habits? How do you deal with days when your normal routine is out of balance? How does having a plan help or hurt your success?
Krissie: Structure makes me so happy! My day is pretty easy:
I get up around 5:45. Get ready for work. Mix up my daily Via (instant Starbucks coffee in milk over ice), grab my breakfast (usually a Clif bar or a peanut butter sandwich) and head out to work. Work until lunch. Eat leftovers while reading blogs and twitter, sometimes blogging from my phone. Finish work. Drive home, usually eat a snack on the way. Run. Cook. Eat. Shower. Clean kitchen. Pack breakfast and lunch (leftovers). Blog and watch tv. Try to be in bed by 10.
I think flexibility is very important. I really try just to do the best I can every single day. If things get crazy and we have dinner out and catch a show, I'm okay with that. I don't feel like a failure as long as I know I made the best possible choice at the restaurant and that I have a plan to make up the run on a scheduled rest day. I'm okay with those days. I don't let them happen more than once a week. The same goes with running. This weekend, we got a ton of rain. I didn't get to do Saturday or Sunday's run. It was out of my control. I don't beat myself up over that. I'll work those miles in this week. It all evens out. I don't get crazy over things like that anymore. It's life, you know? In the past, I might have just quit running if I didn't follow my plan to the letter for a few days. But I really try to see the big picture, not just today.
Planning is really the most important piece of my weight loss. If I don't have groceries and a meal plan, I tend to eat all over the place - things I don't need and usually don't even want. Planning is what keeps me running. Just so I can earn that little sticker on my running chart. I'm hoping to get to a place where I am organized enough to share some of that on my blog to. I think it would be so cool to see the specific plans - running schedule, meal schedules, recipes, grocery lists, calorie counts, etc - on the blog. Maybe someday.
Krissie's Race Schedule:
Started following Couch 2 5K program August 1, 2009.
Ran 1st 5K November 19, 2009
Ran 1st Half-Marathon March 28, 2010
Training for Marshall Marathon November 7, 2010
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I look really silly in this photos!
