A journey of a thousand miles

Hey everyone!! My name is Polina, I currently live in the US (moved here from Russia in 2016!) This blog used to be a diary for my c25k challenge to help me complete it successfully (which I did, might I add). Now, several years later, I'm making it into a health challenge - workout, run, eat healthy, lose weight - stay accountable. SW: 164; GW1: 149; GW2: 135; UGW: 120!! Age: 28, Height 5'2''

[chrisdoeslife]

The way another person feels about their own body has absolutely nothing to do with you and the way you might feel about yours.

[massivemiraclesalad]

YES!

[oldfilmsflicker]

Phat Girlz, 2006 (dir. Nnegest Likké)

[banana-cake-deactivated20201028]

Okay so this movie is so important

[theoriginalblackbarbie]

This movie was everything

[massivemiraclesalad]

❤️❤️❤️

[massivemiraclesalad]

164.4lbs weigh-in today which is +3.6lbs weight gain from two weeks of vacation

This is what two weeks of “Pizza? Sure. Cake? ABSOLUTELY! I’m on vacation!!” looks like. *sigh* I knew those 159lbs were so close but sooo far away... I definitely did not follow any rules or restrictions these past two weeks, I wanted to just relax and enjoy. I guess the damage could have been a lot worse, but it’s really disheartening to be back exactly where I started after all the struggles I went through to lose those 3 lbs :( I’m definitely doing something wrong.

Now that vacation is over I guess it’s time to reboot, refocus and get my ass back to the gym. I haven’t been exercising or running the past two weeks, so I guess I’ll start my c25k back at week 3 today and see how that goes. It’s always a struggle figuring out how much I’ve actually gone back after a long break. I’ve heard that one week of no training doesn’t hurt you much, but after that your muscles start losing their strength pretty quickly. 

Next weigh-in back on schedule this Sunday. Too late for July goals but I’ll do my best to kick the rest of this month’s ass!

And I’ll be back to being active on here. Can’t wait to see what all you beautiful people have been up to while I was enjoying my time off!

Make it an amazing Monday everyone!! Hope you haven’t forgotten me :)

[fatmaninalittlesuit-deactivated]

Holly Crap! That was a great run!

I just did 4.5 miles at threshold (140 - 165 bpm) and set 6 PRs!

I ran a mile in 13 min? That’s half what it took me 2 years ago !!

[massivemiraclesalad]

Yeeess!! Great job!!

[massivemiraclesalad]

So I got a little sunburnt today... But! To me these lines aren't a reminder to wear sun screen in the future (oops 🙈) To me they are a reminder that today I was BRAVE enough to wear a sleeveless dress without hiding my arms. Every time I see these red marks I remember how today I decided to love myself, enjoy the warm weather, and not care what anybody else might think!! It might seem like a small thing to someone else, but this is a HUGE thing for me! (And sure, I should probably put some sunscreen on next time 🙃)

[tastefullyoffensive]

[93gal-deactivated20131124]

Legitness!!

[biinarykid]

i enjoy how they didnt over sexualize their prince costumes. like esp with jasmine. she couldve totally been in aladdin’s vest, but nope. fully clothed. thanks. 

[captainthief]

laughing because Mulan looks the same

[wolfenartistofhetastuck-blog]

things i loved more then i expected, this

[al-the-stuff-i-like]

this is honestly one of my favorite posts ever

[cana-mochi]

Meanwhile the Princes:

[massivemiraclesalad]

This is awesome❤️

[massivemiraclesalad]

C25K week 4 day 2!!! My run and a few selfies lol. It's always so awkward for me taking selfies outside, but anyways. Surprisingly I didn't do bad at all, my pace was a bit faster than Thursdays treadmill run and that's awesome!! Outdoor runs are a bit more challenging for me where I live because it's a super hilly place. My last 5 minutes were basically mostly uphill, but I just kept saying "put one foot in front of the other, put one foot in front of the other" and somehow managed! Whoo! It is a total different experience running outside and one that I greatly miss. It's like you're actually GOING somewhere and that feels so amazing compared to the "run in one spot" treadmill. But it's getting super hot outside so definitely going to be running on the treadmill still most days.

[massivemiraclesalad]

And my 4th Sunday Weigh-n!! 

SW: 164

Last Week: 163

Today: 160.8

Weekly Loss: 2.2lb

Total Weigh Loss: 3.2 lb

Honestly, I’m very surprised to see this number. I’m very surprised the number went down at all! I’ve been trying to be as honest as I can about my journey, and though the gym-going and working out are all on point (most of the time), the eating - not so much. 

I’ve been doing my best to make the best choice I can every time I eat something, but sometimes I honestly choose the unhealthy thing, and usually I’m ok with it in the moment. I haven’t been tracking my food. I’ve been doing my best, but not very successful at the clean - eating thing.

Anyway, that was just a long way to say WOW. I’ll take it!! I can just see that 159 right around the corner and I really hope I”ll get there soon! Somehow in the past 6 months, every time I would get super close to that 159, I would go on a binge, or something would happen and that number, once again, would seem so far away. And here we go again. Can I do it this time? 

Aand - I’m off for a morning run! My schedule’s all screwed up because my mother-in-law is here and technically I’m on vacation so it’s all weird. But I’m still gonna do my best to get those runs and workouts in. I’m not going to the gym today though because I know for a fact - it will be PACKED. 

Make it a great Sunday everyone!!!

I might not be posting as much in the next week or so, just letting you know. But I will be keeping in touch and I’ll be back in full force soon!!

[massivemiraclesalad]

Breakfast/lunch today (had a protein bar for actual breakfast so…)

3 scrambled eggs and cut up salami sticks! And yes, there’s a sf black cherry jello waiting for me to satisfy my sweet tooth!

31 g of protein and absolutely 0 carbs!!

[massivemiraclesalad]

So my mother-in-law is flying in today

And it's super weird. Like I love her and all, she's awesome ( a lot better than my mom, I gotta say), but it's just weeeird. Like my husband and I moved to the states over a year ago and it's a completely different world. Granted I've lived here before so not much of a culture shock for me, but still. Just so weird imagining a piece of our old lives HERE, in our new life. But I kinda can't wait to show off how AMAZING our life here is. Just random thoughts for you sorry lol. Make it a GREAT Friday everyone!!!

[thegreentraveller-deactivated20]

At around my heaviest weight in many years and I am the most confident I have ever been in a swimsuit. I spent so many Summers hating myself and preventing myself from creating memories just because of how much I hated how I looked in a swimsuit or a bikini. But then I realized how silly I was being. How I dreamed of being thin and only then I would enjoy myself. Then I would have a great Summer. But I guess it took growing up a bit more and maturing a bit more to realize that time will pass anyway. Memories will be created anyway. It’s just up to me if I want to remember all the great times I had or all the times I spent at home hating myself. Loving yourself has nothing to do with the scale or even with the mirror. It’s something that comes from deep within you and that turns you into a powerful and confident human being. It’s once you decide to stop waiting for conditions to be met that your love for yourself becomes truly unconditional.

[chasinghighways]

I FINISHED WEEK 5 OF C25K!! My 200+ pound body ran for 20 fricken minutes without stopping. I had an awesome mindset until about 10 minutes in and then it faltered back and forth until about 3 minutes left. I am getting lots better at the self talk during running.

After all of that I still somehow wanted to do weights so I did the machines. I finished with yoga because I am definitely going to be feeling this tomorrow.

[massivemiraclesalad]

Yaaàsss!! Great job girl!!

[massivemiraclesalad]

Today is the day I fell back in love with running. I know I haven't posted in a while,and even this post is 12 hrs later than I hoped...but today. I. Fell. In. Love. With. Running. Again. And I am SO happy!!! I had my week four of c25k and it was 3 min running, 90 sec walk, 5 min run, 2.5 min walk, 3 min run, 90 sec walk and one last 5 min run. Wen I started I thought It would be impossible. I thought I would dread every single second. I didn't believe I could do it.BUTI DID IT!! And guess what?? It wasn't even that hard. During the last 5 min run I went to a sprint for the last minute and my lungs were hurting, my brain was freaking out, but my legs kept moving and I was on top of the world. I had that tingling feeling I haven't had in SO long. I felt like I could go on forever. It was amazing and I had the biggest smile on my face. There were a bunch of people around but I didn't care. I was running and smiling and I was the happiest I've been in a long time! This is why I started running on the first place. This. Is. IT.

[danielle-gets-fit-deactivated20]

I have stretch marks.

[smallerbenz-blog]

Reblog if you do too. Just to prove that it is more normal than what people actually think.

[massivemiraclesalad]

My face when I have the entire gym to myself!!

Time to run home (not literally, my feet are noodles) and get ready for work!! I can never seem to leave the gym when I plan to. I always tend to overstay 10-15 minutes. It’s amazing considering how I always have to make myself come here and then I can hardly make myself leave lol.

Edit: someone walked in literally moments after I posted this lol. Thankfully I was done with my workout!

[massivemiraclesalad]

What really amazes me in terms of the psychology of my perception of myself is how much it relates to the scale. It doesn't even depend so much on the number on that scale, but more on the difference between what it was and is now. My personal example: about 8 months ago I weighed 155lbs. I was going to a small group personal trainer fitness program back then and lost 6lbs. But then my short membership ended, it was too expensive to renew, and then the cold weather settled in and I became mostly a hermit, leaving my house exclusively for work and eating like someone's gonna come tomorrow and take away ALL THE FOOD. Anyway, inevitably this led to weight gain, 15lbs worth, to be exact. And I remember very well the day I weighed in at 163. This was 2 lbs more than I weighed when I started that small group personal trainer thing. When I looked at myself in the mirror that day I thought - "God do I look gross." And then gained 7 more lbs. Today I weighed myself and the scale read 162.2, which is a 1.8 weight loss since I started to go to the gym and trying to loose weight again. And today I look in the mirror and think "giiirl you're not perfect yet but looking good". Wtf is that all about?? Same weight - absolutely polar opposite perceptions of myself. Isn't this the most ridiculous thing ever???

[imhellafit]

Personal Body Positivity Challenge

Everyday, once a day, I am going to commit to finding one thing I like, or appreciate about my body and what it can do. Until the end of the Month.

Maybe end the challenge in a body positive type photo?

I have honestly never tried to love my body as a “whole” Just change it till I like it… which has helped… ish..

But part of recovery is learning to accept the bad with the good, and love the whole self right?

I expect this to become really challenging really fast, but I am just tired of so much internalized hatred.. it’s exhausting.

Loving myself is going to be the run of my life.

[fatmaninalittlesuit-deactivated]

This is such a great idea!

[imhellafit]

I meant to include this in the original post but, as always, if anyone would like to join along just tag me or #body positivity June and I will reblog your positivity posts for my followers

[massivemiraclesalad]

I'm totally on board, I do really need to learn to love myself and part of me thinks my struggle with eating is actually mostly due to self-sabotage, which totally comes from all these negative thoughts about myself.

Like I honestly think that me falling in love with my body and myself is ultimately the first step to becoming healthier, fitter and happier!