Taking the Chocolate out of Chocolaterunsjudy

~ Chocolaterunsjudy

 

Don’t worry, I don’t need to change the name of this blog. I still eat chocolate. Almost every day. But I’m going off the reservation (again!) for today’s Tuesdays on the Run.

Getting to know me
I am including my first (I think) video of myself talking a bit. If you’d like to hear how this Yankee sounds. I am sooooo not good on camera. I can’t begin to tell you how many takes it took me to get a semi-good video. But at least now you can hear me (if you care to) and see what I look like when my hair isn’t sweaty, in a ponytail, or flattened by a hat, which is about 75% of my life.

Leave me a comment if you want to “hear” more from me. Or just give me tips on how to take a good video!

Memorable blog names
So I touched briefly, in the video, on why an easy to remember blog name is important. Only if you want to share your blog with other people! No doubt most of your readers will find you via the Web, but even then, have you ever read a blog and a few days later tried to recall the name of it?

Or you’re at a function or party and realize the people you’re chatting with would be interested in your blog. Maybe you just whip out your cell phone and show them, but what if you have to just tell them and hope that they’ll remember it and can actually spell it?

So yes, your blog name is important. It should be short, easy to remember, and easy to spell. Not that that’s always easy considering everything is already taken these days!

Losing those last few pounds
That’s what I’d like to do, anyway. And yes I’ve been saying that for basically almost three years now. It’s not completely vanity pounds. Weight Watchers works for me. To not pay WW, I need to maintain my weight within 2 pounds of my goal weight. My goal weight, by the way, is set at the very top of my weight range (basically a healthy BMI).

Have you ever tried to maintain your weight +/- 2 lbs?

It’s hard, y’all!

I’m actually quite good at maintaining my weight. Within about 5-6 pounds. Which is quite healthy. The problem is I’m maintaining the wrong weight.And when I’m more than a couple of pounds over my goal weight? Yes, I can see it in my face and other places. Just a few pounds is a lot on a petite woman.

Not to mention that extra pounds make running more difficult.

I really want to get to the point where I can go on vacation, gain a couple of pounds, and come home and not be stressed about having to take those couple of pounds back off. I’d like to go out to eat the night before my weigh in and not worry about what that sodium will do to the number on the scale.

I will always be on the more fluffy side of a healthy weight, and I’m okay with that mostly, but I would dearly love to get to a place where I didn’t have to always be trying to lose weight. Especially because training for halfs while trying to lose weight — which is basically all I know — is really hard!

Don’t get me wrong, either: most of the time I’m pretty happy with how I look, what I weigh, and what I eat. In fact, that’s part of the problem — it would be easier to buckle down and stay the course and lose those last few pounds if I wasn’t happy with myself.

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Life wouldn’t be fun without some chocolate now & again

Giving up a little to gain a lot
I am the girl who thinks that dessert isn’t dessert unless it’s chocolate. I am the girl who looks at almost any recipe and thinks that it would benefit from some chocolate chips.

So yes, it’s incredibly ironic that I named my blog Chocolaterunsjudy and here I am, trying to reign in my chocolate tooth. I will still eat it, because life without any chocolate would be too sad, but I won’t add it to all.the.recipes.I won’t eat it every day.

I will eat more whole foods, more savory breakfasts, more freggies. Small changes can add up to big changes.

Don’t be sad for me, fellow bloggers and readers, because at some point I’ll throw in a few chocolate chips whether or not a recipe calls for it. Just not all the time!

weight
Same dress, 30 lbs lighter

I am very proud to have maintained a 30+lb weight loss for roughly 3 years. It’s hard work but it’s worth it. Because I don’t want to go back to being the girl on the left side of the photo above.

I am also confident, that no matter how long it takes me (years, probably), I’ll get where I want to go. And confident is tomorrow’s Wednesday Word, by the way. You might want to swing back and see what I — and other bloggers — think about being confident tomorrow.

 

Tuesdays on the Run

I’m linking up with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.

Do you struggle with those vanity pounds?

I am participating in Kristy’s Grow Your Blog Hop  (thank you, Kristy, for hosting it!). You might want to hop on through and discover some new blogs, too.

53 thoughts on “Taking the Chocolate out of Chocolaterunsjudy”

  1. I love your video!! It’s great to know how you sound!! Yes, absolutely make more, I do think they’re fun to watch!! And I love that you shared all this info! I feel I can relate to you that much more because you’ve been where I am!! Awesome!

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  2. This is pretty cool. This is the 2nd vlog I’ve got to see tonight just off the blog hop list. I understand the >50 weight loss dealio for sure. I do still enjoy 90% dark chocolate with red wine most nights of the week though but lots of other things have to be cut most of the time.

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    1. This is the third time I’ve lost a significant amount of weight, but the longest time I’ve maintained the loss.

      I do still eat chocolate a lot, but I really do want to lose just a few pounds, so for now it just can’t be daily. Or certainly not multiple times a day like I like to do!

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    1. Marcia, as I keep saying, you’re doing great.

      I, for instance, after several weeks of steady weight loss, gained more than a pound celebrating my birthday.

      Which I am totally okay with. I enjoyed myself. But even when I don’t indulge like that, I still have a tendency to gain inexplicably — it’s rarely linear in my case.

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  4. It’s always a treat to hear someone you’ve been reading for a while. Nice video. Don’t hesitate to do more.
    Phew! For a moment there I did think you were going to change the name of your blog. I’m with you on the chocolate in anything makes it better train. Enjoy the little bit you indulge.

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    1. I always enjoy my chocolate, and yup, I had some with breakfast this morning. 🙂 And plan a protein brownie later in the day!

      But, for instance, I made an peanut butter bake a couple of times now. It’s just crying out for chocolate, but I refrained. 🙂

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  5. Nice to her your voice.Only kidding.

    I can only identify a little. I’ve always been too skinny. That it is until I started running and worse as I turned 60.

    I am the heaviest I’ve ever been. I don’t weigh myself but I cant wear pants & shorts that I used to wear because its all in my waist & butt. Very annoying.

    We all have our issues.

    Compared to serious illnesses, an extra few pounds is no big deal.

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    1. I have never been skinny, never been able to just eat what I want. But yes, healthy is most important.

      Which is part of why I think this time I’ve maintained the loss — in my 20s it was about looking good; now it’s about feeling good, and looking good is just a (nice) side benefit.

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    1. Thanks, Lauren, and yes, weight does absolutely fluctuate throughout the day. Which is why I only weigh in at my meeting, once a week, at the same day & time every week.

      They say maintaining is harder than losing; I dunno, both are hard for me!

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  8. You did great in the video!! It’s nice to hear your voice….it’s been too long. I think you have a solid plan that should pay off for you. You are looking fabulous! Life totally without chocolate would be quite sad.

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  10. It was nice to see you in a video! I’m terrified to do video, I think I sound weird and would probably look crazy too! Good point about your blog name – thankfully I think Run With No Regrets is pretty catchy for people to remember. Congrats on your weight loss and maintaining for so long. Giving up chocolate is definitely tough, but thankfully there are lots of tasty and healthy alternatvies!

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    1. Believe me, we all think we sound weird and yes, look crazy. But I just kept trying take after take until I had one I could at least live with. And freshly washed hair helps in my case. My hair can be all sorts of weird after running.

      I’m not giving up chocolate by any means, just downsizing my consumption of it a bit. I had a protein brownie after lunch that was pretty good!

      I think Run with No Regrets is a great name!

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  12. Really enjoyed your video ! Its not too long and personalities come out in a video. I love chocolate too, which is why I try not to have it in the house ! It doesn’t last long…

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    1. I actually do have a ton of chocolate in the house. Most of the time I’m really quite good with it, it’s just that I think I can have some chocolate chips with breakfast, a little bit after lunch, and so on & that doesn’t work if I want to lose weight.

      I used to have a lot of trigger foods I simply couldn’t keep in the house, and after literally decades of working on it, there isn’t much I can’t keep here now.

      Cookies are probably the exception . . .

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  14. Love the video! I’m with you on taking those last couple of stubborn pounds off — it does mean giving up something, and I’m usually not willing to do it. Bravo to you!! I noticed you ran the Gettysburg Half. My husband and I visited last year and can’t wait to go back. A half marathon sounds like a perfect excuse. Did you like it?

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    1. Other than the fact that I was injured, it was a great half. Very well organized. Rolling hills, but nothing too terrible.

      And of course it was unseasonably warm, because it’s been a long time since I had great weather for a half!

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  15. I’ve been trying to lose my marathon weight gain for almost 6 months now and it doesn’t seem to want to go anywhere. So, I feel you. Good luck – I feel about craft beer as you do about chocolate. Giving it up completely to lose the weight would just make for a miserable life.

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  17. I love no LOVE the video Judy! It is just like sitting down an talking to you, so much more personable! Great job! How many times did you start and stop? You don’t even want to know how many times I did! Ha! You’re so right about your blog name and being easy everyone knows Chocolate and Judy! I am quite positive a lot of people get MissSippiPiddlin wrong, but I have to even stop and think about it sometimes! I look forward to your Wednesday Word post and more videos! Keep em’ coming lady!

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    1. Thanks, Tricia. I don’t know how many times I did it, but it was a LOT. I’d actually done one the week before, but then I had my hair cut and figured why not redo it looking halfway decent?

      I have to admit if I had to spell your blog name there’s no way I’d be able to do it! Sorry.

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      2. Just so you know you’re in good company, so to speak, I used to have my own business. It was called QuaLitty Design. A play off my last name.

        And while people liked it, yeah, spelling it for people all the time was a drag!

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  18. LOVE the video!!!! It’s great to hear your voice 😉 About the chocolate thing… in recent years, I’ve been eating dark chocolate (not all day, and certainly not every day), but I can’t hardly swallow milk chocolate anymore. And, dark chocolate is a lot less-plentiful, so it’s not a constant temptation. That said, you’re doing this the right way…moderation. You got this!!

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  23. I loved getting to hear your voice! You are now officially responsible for your goal since you made yourself accountable on the Internet haha! I used to add a handful of chocolate chips to the top of my oatmeal and it was SO sad when I started moving away from doing that…but now I don’t even miss them 🙂

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