Masters Swimming

This morning was my first Masters swimming workout. First of all, why do I always forget how great swimming makes me feel? Seriously, I think I've made that comment no less than 5 times on this blog, yet it always feels like a new revelation every time. Just 40 minutes of swimming gives me such a great endorphin buzz.

I can already tell that having a coach and swimming with other people at about my same level (and better) is going to push me much harder than I would push myself. We practice as a group on Tuesday mornings for an hour, then during the week our coach sends us a workout to print out and do on our own time, based on our skill level.

We did a 20-minute swim this morning so the coach could get an idea of our pacing and place us in the appropriate level. I think my result was a little skewed, since there were 5 people in my lane and I stopped a couple of times because either someone needed to pass me, or I needed to wait a few seconds so that I wasn't on someone's heels the entire length of the pool. I'm going to do another 20-minute swim myself either tomorrow or Thursday morning so that I get a real idea of my pace, without any interruptions.

The workouts are for Level A through Level E, with A being the fastest. Right now I'm in Level C, which I think isn't so bad considering I haven't even been in the pool for about 9 months (or more). Our coach sends all the workouts to everyone, so if I want to push myself, I can try a B or an A workout during the week. Which I already know I'm totally going to do. The competitive swimmer in me wants to be in the A group!

In most aspects of life, I'm not really that competitive. I mean, I like to win as much as the next person, but I'm ok with not being the best of the best. Usually. The difference is, I know I'm a good swimmer. I know this is something I can do well, so I actually do want to be the best. I'm not saying I'll get there, but I'm definitely going to push myself.

Injured. Again.

Every time I start running again, I get injured. Every. Single. Time.

This is just getting annoying. It's not like I'm doing excessive amounts of training here. All I'm doing is going for walks every day, peppered with an occasional jog totaling about 8 minutes of running. I'm not training for some long-distance race. I'm not even breaking a sweat most days when I'm out for my walks.

And still I manage to get injured.

So. Frustrating!

It's always different, though. First it was my ankles. Then my IT band. This time I'm about 99.9% sure I have plantar fasciitis. I've had pain since I did my first jog a couple weeks ago, but after yesterday's jog it's just excruciating. I'm hobbling so much that Jason (who HATES doctors) is saying maybe I should go to the doctor.

So let's look at the symptoms, courtesy of coolrunning.com (the people who gave you the Couch to 5K program):

1. This is among the most common of foot injuries and is signaled by pain on the front of the heel or all along the arch.
Not so much the arch, but my left heel sure hurts a lot.

2. You probably have a lot of pain when you first get out of bed -- it's probably murder just to walk out of your bedroom.
Check.

3. Ditto on standing up after a long time of being seated.
Double check.

4. To make sure it's plantar fasciitis, as opposed to a heel spur (see below), press your thumb up hard on the middle of your heel. If you feel pain, it's plantar fasciitis.
Ow!

Likely Causes:
"In the ideal foot with the ideal stride, your weight during your stride rolls efficiently from your heel, through your arch, and off of the ball of your foot. The arch flattens a little bit to absorb your weight and then springs back. Plantar fasciitis is the all too common result of your weight moving improperly through your arch so that it is overstretched. In more extreme cases, the arch loses its flexibility altogether so that it no longer springs back.
Considering I have the flattest feet on the planet, I'm thinking this might be my problem.

The injury is aggravated, like most injuries, by running too much.
"Too much" in my case apparently means once. For 8 minutes.

Remedies:
First, ease off on the miles and cut out the hills and speedwork.
Of course, it makes you feel like less of a total running loser if you're actually doing miles and hills and speedwork to begin with. I am a total running loser.

Give it ice immediately after running -- ten minutes on ice, ten minutes off, and repeat. Take anti-inflammatories to reduce the swelling.
Noted. Hello, ibuprofen!

For that early-morning pain, avoid getting out of bed barefoot. Put on some thick socks or slippers first.
Yes, I've found stepping immediately into my squishy shearling slippers helps me not to collapse when I step on my left heel first thing in the morning.

I think I may just need to accept the fact that my body does NOT want me to be a runner. Or even an excessive walker. Maybe it's time to concentrate on that strength training...

Challenges

The last time I updated my fitness challenge on here was on Day 6. Today is Day 12 and I'm still plugging along, and haven't missed a day yet (though I had a couple of close calls). Here's my report:

Day 7: 45-minute lunch walk
Day 8: 50-minute lunch walk
Day 9: 30-minute walk (busy day at work with a lunch meeting, but I managed to sneak out for a bit mid-afternoon)
Day 10: 35-minute walk partway home in the freezing rain as the Nor'easter rolled in.
Day 11: 3-mile walk home from work

Today (ie, Day 12) I talked Jason into doing a walk/jog with me down the path this morning. It's so nice to have someone to go with, though I know my short stubby legs are holding him back. He's very sweet to run with me. He also pushed me to do 3 extra minutes of running, which was great.

Well, the running wasn't great, but the fact that we did it was. The running kind of sucked, if I'm going to be honest.

Anyway, I'm almost halfway through the fitness challenge and I'm going strong. The extra hours of daylight over the last couple of weeks have definitely helped. This coming week is the week I need to step it up a notch. Masters swimming starts Tuesday, and I'm going to make a better effort to get up in the mornings and go for a run, or do some strength training. I may still go for a lunch walk most days, but I think that needs to be on the side, rather than being my main exercise.

As for the low-carb, I've been fudging a bit here and there. For instance, I bought some Newman's dark chocolate caramel cups and I allowed myself to eat them over three days this week (there are 3 caramel cups per package). We're going over to some friends' house tonight where the husband, who is from Spain, is making us paella. Yum! I'm not turning that down, despite the carbs.

I definitely think I'm sticking to a good 80/20 balance, like Mark at Mark's Daily Apple espouses. Basically the idea is to eat on plan (whatever your plan is) 80% of the time, allowing for some fudging the other 20%. Sounds reasonable, right? I think I could even claim 85/15 for this month, honestly and I'm pleased with that.

Swim

I think it's about time for me to swim again. Jason and I know a guy in Cambridge who swims with a Masters team up there. He was talking about his latest meet on Facebook, and I felt kind of jealous. I've thought about joining a Masters team for years, but never really looked into it too seriously. And when I did it seemed like practices were a bit too far away and at somewhat inconvenient times.

That is until I went online a couple of weeks ago and discovered that they just started a Masters swimming program at my Y. I noticed they only practice 1 day a week for now, and I thought to myself, "I could totally do 1 day a week." Even if it's a total butt-kicking (which it probably will be), I can do 1 day a week of anything.

So starting next Tuesday, I'm doing Masters swimming! I'm excited (and a little intimidated).

Jason tells me he'll go to all my meets (when/if I actually start competing). He's so supportive.

I Heart Sun!

For the past two weeks it has been pretty gloomy around here, but the last couple of days have been full of lovely sunshine. And wind. Providence isn't allowed to have sunshine without wind, it seems. I will find that much more obnoxious when it gets warmer and I'm trying to wear flippy skirts without the benefit of a heavy winter coat weighing them down.

This weekend I went on a couple of long walks on the path near my house. I'm so glad I started this challenge because otherwise I would have sat on my bum watching Firefly all of yesterday afternoon. Jason was gone and I wanted something fun to watch. I forgot how engrossing that show is. I watched the pilot, then dragged myself off the couch and headed to the path.

When I got home, I did some cleaning and planted some tulip bulbs. They actually wintered in our garage, instead of in the ground, but I planted them in some pots yesterday and am hoping maybe they might come up. If not, I'll just dig them up and plant them in the yard next Fall.

I'm really excited because all of the seeds I planted a few weeks ago have sprouted. This year I'm growing zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and peas. I also started some sage. My rosemary plant is looking a little sad so as soon as it's warm enough, I'll be putting it outside to soak in the sun. Even though I have it in a sunny spot inside, it's still too cold in the house for the rosemary to do well (as we keep the thermostat low in an effort to not go completely broke over heating costs).

Days 1-4: Success

I've been bad about keeping up on here, but suffice it to say, I have rocked the first 4 days of my challenge. Well, "rocked" might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but I've fulfilled the challenges I set for myself.

30 Days of Low-Carb
Day 1: 52 g net carbs
Day 2: 67 g net carbs
Day 3: 58 g net carbs
Day 4: Still eating, but since I only have 14 g net carbs right now (post-lunch), I figure unless I go crazy tonight, my carbs will be pretty low

30 Days of 30 Minutes of Activity
Day 1: 45 minute lunch walk
Day 2: 60 minute lunch walk
Day 3: 45 minute lunch walk
Day 4: 50 minute lunch walk + I'll probably walk the 3 miles home from work.

What's with the lunch walks, you might ask? Well, I've been feeling super sleepy in the mornings and getting up to go to the gym has felt impossible. Heck, getting up to arrive at work on time has been nothing short of miraculous. The whole theory behind this challenge is that something is better than nothing. So I'm doing something.

Day 1 Fail - Let's Try Again Tomorrow

So this morning didn't work out with the strength training class thing. I don't mean this to be a blog of excuses, but I was really, REALLY sore after my walk/jog on Saturday. By Saturday afternoon, my heels were killing me. Basically it felt like the bottoms of both of my heels (especially my left heel) were covered in bruises and every step was excruciatingly painful.

I swear, every time I start running, a different body part hurts. At least it keeps recovery interesting.

Today my heels feel a lot better, but my thighs and knees are sore. Plus, Jason's sister, who was in town this past week, left today and the three of us were up late last night. I still gamely set my alarm, thinking I could go for a walk, but I was so exhausted this morning that it didn't happen.

So, ok, I figured I could do a lunch walk. Only it's been snowing/sleeting/raining ALL DAY. Yeah, it was almost 70 and sunny on Friday.

Not fair, Providence. Not fair.

I've made the executive decision to postpone the fitness challenge start date to tomorrow. However, the food is going well today, so at least there's that.

In related news, my jeans are really tight. I hate it.

Spring In My Step

Rather than be lazy until I restart my challenge on Monday, I've decided to begin getting in the habit of being active every day. Yesterday I had an early morning meeting in Boston, and instead of taking the T from South Station after I got off the commuter rail, I walked the mile or so to the meeting, then back to the train station after the meeting. It's a nice way to get over my sleepy head from the hour-long train ride up from Providence.

This morning I got up early (well, early for a Saturday) and hit the trail near my house. I did the Week 1 workout for Couch to 5K down the trail, then briskly walked back. I honestly am not sure if I'm going to complete the whole Couch to 5K program (since I haven't managed to do it yet), but the first few weeks of workouts are actually a good way to get in some intervals. According to Fitbit, I wind up running at about 6 mph, so that's not too bad. And for how hard I'm breathing after each 1-minute jog, you would think I was doing sprints.

I came home to some happy purple crocuses in our front yard that someone planted who knows when. I love bulbs that come up every Spring!

Monday morning my plan is to head to the gym and take that strength training class that I took once a long, long time ago. It kicked my butt then, so I have a feeling I will be in a lot of pain come Tuesday. But I think I need someone telling me what to do, and a whole class full of peer pressure to really push myself with the strength training.

It's On!

Today it feels like Spring and I love it!

It also reminds me that Summer is around the corner and that I would really like to go to the beach with the Young Women (the teenage girls I work with at church) like I promised them and not feel so unbearably self-conscious about my thighs in my swimsuit. I accept that my thighs will always be big, but there is no reason to accept the amount of fat currently on them. I need to cut the carbs, cut the flour and sugar, and up my strength training. I need to get back into my workout routine pronto, and not half-a$$ it all like I've been doing for the past few months.

My cousin Amy reposted someone's great blog post today about being honest with yourself. It was a good thing for me to read today.

Monday I'm restarting my 30 Day Challenges. Actually, I'm planning to go to the gym on Saturday morning too, but I'll officially start Monday. (Can't go to the gym tomorrow morning because of an early-morning meeting in Boston.)

On Monday I will begin 30 days of:
- Low-carb: under 100 g net carbs per day, though shooting for between 50-75 g. NO white flour or sugar.
- 30 minutes of activity every day.

It's sunny, the days are longer, and I'm feeling pumped!

Sleepy

Yesterday I did my first active thing in a few weeks and I went for a 50-minute lunchtime walk. Even with that, I didn't quite hit 10,000 steps for the day. Hi, my job isn't just sedentary, it's SUPER sedentary!

I planned to get up this morning and had grand visions of a walk/jog down the path near my house. Only I could not get up. Starting last week, I have been completely unable to get up before 7 AM, even if I get to bed by 10:30 or 11. I have a very bad habit of hitting snooze in my sleep and not even realizing the alarm has gone off until after 3 or 4 10-minute snoozes. The days when the alarm actually wakes me up, it usually wind up ripping me from some intense dream and the grogginess makes it impossible to get up.

Usually I need less sleep and wake up more easily when I'm exercising regularly, but in order to exercise regularly, I have to actually wake up. Vicious circle.

I'm planning to go for a walk in a bit to run an errand if the rain will ever let up, so that will have to count as my activity for the day since I'm busy tonight.

Seriously, how does anyone work out regularly after work? I don't get out of the office until 6:30 or so, and then there is ALWAYS something going on in the evening. This is why if the workout doesn't happen in the morning (or on my lunch hour) it's not happening.

I Keep Getting Sidetracked

I am the queen of good intentions it seems, but then it all gets blown out of the water. I was merrily chugging along with my good eating and daily activity, then I got sick, which I wrote about. Cold + flu. Good times. I can't remember the last time I got the flu, but it knocked me out for that entire week.

Last week, my cousin George passed away. He was a year younger than me and though we weren't really close, I have a lot of childhood memories with him and his younger brother, Greg. We lived in the same town when we were very small, and our parents often tried to time our summer visits to the grandparents so that the three of us had some overlapping time. I learned during Greg's eulogy that the very first time I went to my grandpa's camp in the Everglades, was also their first trip there.

It was a tragic accident and very sad. Jason and I drove the 14 hours to Tennessee to be with my extended family and I am so very glad we did. I think it meant a lot to my aunt, my mom's little sister, and it was good to be with family. It was also good to be at the funeral, which made the whole thing more real. Though, I had one weird moment at my aunt's house when Greg walked up the stairs into the living room with Geoff, the other brother, behind him. For just a split second, I expected George to be there too. If I was having flashes like that after not seeing him for so long, I can't imagine how it must feel for those who were around him every day, especially his wife.

Of course, everything took a back seat to that and my food choices were completely out of whack. One thing I have to say for the South, folks take care of you when there's a tragedy.* My aunt and uncle's house, and George's house were overflowing with food from neighbors, friends and co-workers. So many people showed up to give their words of condolences and to just love my family. It was wonderful to see.

* To be fair, I've never experienced a tragedy in the North, so it might be just the same. But I love that Southern hospitality.

So now we're back and I'm trying to get on a good schedule again. This week has been (and continues to be) really busy with work, church and personal commitments. I've been getting to bed by 10:30 or 11, but sleeping solid through until 7 and feeling like I could use some more sleep. My eating is ok, not great, but not horrible either. I'm putting off restarting exercise until Monday.

I need to figure out a way to not get sidetracked when life happens. It's so easy to let my good habits fly out the window at any opportunity.

Monday, Monday

Boy, it is DREARY in Rhode Island today and I almost wiped out a couple of times this morning when I walked out of the house to a world glazed in ice. I'm feeling better and thought I might take a lunchtime walk, but the weather nixed that idea.

So, yeah, so much for my 30 Day Fitness Challenge. Getting sick right in the middle of the month put a big snag in my plans. I'm thinking about starting over again tomorrow for the month of March.

I also didn't keep up the low-carb very well over the past week and a half. OK, really, I didn't keep up the low carb AT ALL. Last Tuesday I probably ate (or kept down) about 300 calories, if that. Jason bought me some saltines on his way home from choir practice Tuesday night and I just ate those on Wednesday. The next couple of days, I kept the food bland and sparse because my stomach was still pretty wonky.

Then we had a crazy weekend of church activities. I spent all day Saturday shopping and cleaning in anticipation of having a bunch of girls at my house and feeding them. Saturday night we drove the youth up to Weston, MA for a meeting, then the girls came back to my house for a sleepover. Jason and I fell asleep at about 1:30 or 2, but the girls told me they stayed up until almost 4. The next morning, we were out the door by 8:15 to get everyone to a meeting in Groton, CT (I got muffins and fruit for everyone to eat on the way). There was much driving this weekend. Also, teenage girls are exhausting. And ours are actually pretty low-key.

We went to our bishop's house for a luncheon after the meeting and I was famished. His wife (hi, Deb!) knows I'm doing low-carb and made a comment to me about it, and I completely waved her off. I was famished by the time we arrived and while I could have munched some cold cuts, cheese and veggies, instead I ate a big sandwich plus dessert.

Jason and I got home yesterday afternoon and he immediately fell asleep. I made a valiant effort to watch a mystery I've had in the Netflix streaming queue for awhile, but only got about 15 minutes in before I was asleep too. We both woke up at about 7:30 and proceeded to eat leftover stew, watch the Oscars and play a board game. Oh, and I ate some Oreos that I had bought the girls.

I woke up this morning feeling like I could really use a weekend right about now. Today is a new dawn for my personal low-carb movement. I am convinced that my malaise is equal parts being sick, too many carbs, and not enough sleep. Tonight I am looking forward to getting to bed early.

Mental Health

I'm taking another day off of work today because as long as I'm sitting down, I'm ok, but I start feeling very woozy when I stand up and I didn't want to try to navigate the bus and the office feeling like this. The good news is, today I don't feel the need to sleep all day and I can actually concentrate enough to do some work. Yesterday was a lost day.

Speaking of lost days... On Sunday, Jason and I went over to the home of some friends of mine for a visit. They are in Virginia temporarily, preparing for a move to India, so while we were visiting one set of friends, I figured I should try to see this other set, since who knows when I'll have the chance to see them again. We spent a lot of time reminiscing about people we knew and things we did when we all lived in Chicago.

Only here's the thing - I don't remember a lot of it. Those 3 years in Chicago are a haze in large part. I remember some things, but other things are just a blank.

Same goes for the first year and a half of law school.

Midway through my 2nd year of law school, I started taking anti-depressants, and my world changed. Almost 2 weeks to the day after I started taking the pills, a switch clicked on in my brain and suddenly I was all there again. There's really no way to express how huge of a shift this was. After probably 5 years of living in a haze, the fog lifted. I understood what was going on. I actually felt happy. I was able to move on from a bad relationship.

I know that in large part Jason doesn't understand depression. I think he sees anti-depressants as a crutch, or, at best, a placebo. But every so often he gets a small view into what my world was like. Sunday night was one of those moments. He commented to me on the way home how weird it was that I didn't remember anything, and I told him that's what depression does. I was physically there, but mentally I was only partially there.

Part of the reason why I want to be as physically healthy as possible is because I don't want to be on anti-depressants forever, especially as Jason and I talk about starting a family. So I'm working on upping my endorphins and decreasing the meds.

On the Other Hand...

...maybe I just have the flu.

Side Effects

I was going to save this post to the end of the month, but since I'm home from work sick today, I thought I would go ahead and write it. Yes, I'm sick, and this is after I was just thinking to myself last week that it had been awhile since I've been sick and how thrilled I was about that. I guess I got too cocky.

Basically, I just wanted to write about how I've been feeling while eating low carb and concentrating on activity. Overall, it's been great. I have a lot of energy, and never experience the mid-afternoon slump, which tells me I'm doing well at keeping my blood sugar pretty constant over the course of the day. Also, I haven't had a migraine in weeks. I had been popping a migraine pill or two at least once a week for several months now. So much so that Jason had commented on how I was becoming a Maxalt addict. Since starting to eat low-carb, I haven't had one migraine. I know that doesn't prove cause and effect, but I'm willing to stay away from the carbs even if there is just a slight connection to my weekly debilitating headaches.

Now, let's contrast that with how I've felt when I've indulged a bit over the last few weeks. (Warning: following are minor discussions of some basic bodily functions.) First, was Sunday before last when I had a small piece of chocolate cake and some frosting straight from the mixing bowl. That night and part of the next day, I felt like my stomach had expanded about 4 sizes as my insides churned with gas. Yuck! Again, not proof of cause and effect (can you tell I've been married to a scientist for 3 years?), but interesting to note.

Then we have today. This weekend was not a low-carb weekend. We visited some friends in Virginia and it's hard when you're staying in someone's home to say "No thanks" over and over, plus try to make your own food. Kind of rude, actually. Also, I wasn't able to be very active, partly because we were spending time with the friends and partly because I started getting a cold on Friday.

Saturday and Sunday weren't too bad food-wise, but yesterday on the drive home I just let all my standards fly out the window. The day started with a bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats. Then, Jason really wanted to stop at this sandwich place in Pennsylvania, so we did and I had a 6-inch sub and onion rings. Then came the afternoon McFlurry snack. Finally, we topped off the day with pizza.

I know!

Guess who woke up this morning feeling absolutely rotten? I really don't think this was related to my cold (which continues to improve). Basically, I felt like I had food poisoning, with all the attendant pleasantness. I called in sick to work and slept until 1. Maybe it was completely unrelated. But maybe it was related to all the crap I ate yesterday. I don't really want to do another experiment to find out. Let's just say it's good motivation to eat healthy.

New Podcast!

I love discovering new and interesting podcasts to entertain me while I'm lifting weights or going for walks. (Not for the elliptical, though. I need some good pumping music to stay motivated for that.)

I just started listening to Latest in Paleo, and each episode is chock full of interesting news tidbits and other information gleaned from around the internets about Paleo and low-carb living.

Yesterday, thanks to Latest in Paleo, I listened to the audio of a 2002 panel discussion between Gary Taubes, Dean Ornish, Barbara [something] from the American Heart Association, and Dr. Mehmet Oz. Here's the first segment (the rest are on youtube):



The discussion is very interesting, but also incredibly frustrating to listen to. Dean Ornish and the AHA lady spout the typical low-fat, whole grains line and equate low-carb to "eating pork rinds" over and over. I'm just about to finish Gary Taubes's new book, and I'm really wondering if the low-fat people have really looked into the science of insulin production and fat storage at all. This panel happened right after Taubes's New York Times article, and since then many people have jumped on the low-carb bandwagon, more studies have been done and Taubes even succeeded in getting praise from the revered Dr. Andrew Weil.

The only downside to the video is Gary Taubes comes across as a bit petullant at times, but I chalk that up to him getting frustrated too.

Swollen

In between yesterday morning and this morning, I gained 3 pounds and added back that inch to my waist. TOM anyone? I know I'm oversharing, but I can really feel the PMS bloating this month. Actually, by yesterday afternoon suddenly my stomach didn't feel as flat as it had in the morning.

I planned to go to the gym this morning, but decided it would be better to walk to work because I needed to throw a bunch of stuff together for our weekend road trip. Well, I only got a mile into the walk before my complete and utter exhaustion and aching legs convinced me to stop and get on the bus instead.

Bleh, sometimes being a woman is a total drag.

On Track

First, an update about the raw macaroons. I wanted to decrease the carbs in each cookie (because I keep grabbing them out of the fridge to pop in my mouth every time I walk by) so I halved the maple syrup from 1/4 cup to 1/8 cup. To compensate on the liquid, I upped the coconut oil, but more fat isn't a bad thing. They still taste great and yummy and, most importantly, coconutty.

My food and my exercise are on track except for a couple little food slip ups, which I actually allowed and accounted for in SparkPeople and weren't deadly by any stretch of the imagination. On Sunday I baked a cake for one of the teenage girls I work with at church. I can take or leave cake, frankly, but I love icing. I had a small piece of cake with everyone else, but I also had a few finger swipes of icing out of the mixing bowl. And, actually, I paid for it in how I felt later.

I've started writing down the physical changes I've noticed so far this month and am planning a month-end recap. Suffice it to say, there have been some interesting physical effects of removing grains and sugar from my diet.

On Valentine's Day we got some See's Candies in the mail from Jason's parents and I totally ate a piece of toffee (my favorite). It was worth it to me and was a small enough piece that I was satisfied without feeling yucky afterward.

I've exercised in some form every day since February 7th, which according to SparkPeople is a new continuous record for me. The one thing I need to do is start adding some intervals in the elliptical, but they're so painful. I have to remind myself how awesome I feel afterward and push through it. Seriously, the endorphins following a HIIT workout are out of this world!

This morning I did a quick weigh and measure just to see where I am. I weigh the same, but according to the measuring tape, my waist has decreased by an inch! An inch in a week! Or less than a week, actually. I'll take it!

Cookies!

No, seriously, COOKIES! That I can eat without blowing my food plan!

I have 2 recipes for you. One is for pumpkin cookies from Everyday Paleo and the other is for raw macaroons courtesy of Charlotte at The Great Fitness Experiment (whose name I will forever praise because of these cookies).

Paleo Pumpkin Cookies

1 C. almond meal
1/2 C. finely chopped pecans (the original recipe calls for walnuts, but I'm not a big walnut fan and I LOVE pecans)
1/2 t. baking soda
1 T. cinnamon
1 egg
1 C. cooked and mashed pumpkin, sweet potato or butternut squash (I used pumpkin and it still tasted like Thanksgiving sweet potatoes. Go figure.)
1/4 C. coconut milk
2-4 T. maple syrup (I admit it, I used all 4. I could see using less if I used sweet potatoes or a sweet squash instead of pumpkin.)

Preheat oven to 400. In a mixing bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients. In another small mixing bowl whick together the egg, coconut milk, and maple syrup. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the mashed sweet potato/pumpkin/squash to the dough and mix well. Grease a baking sheet (or use a Silpat) and scoop about one heaping tablespoon per cookie onto the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Makes approximately 15 cookies.


Raw Macaroons

2 C. raw, unsweetened coconut
1/2 C. almond meal
1/4 C. maple syrup
1/4 C. coconut oil (the recipe called for coconut butter, but I didn't have any. Coconut oil works great, though maybe the cookies would have a bit more structural integrity when they get warmer with the coconut butter. Must experiment (and make more cookies))
1/8 t. vanilla
pinch salt

Mix everything together, roll into balls and chill in refrigerator for a half hour or longer. (Try not to eat all the dough right then and there when you give it a little taste.) Made about 30.

The macaroons taste like heaven. And I discovered this morning that a couple of them are a great little pre-workout snack.

Progress!

Saturday is weighing and measuring day for me. So guess what? It's working!

This week I lost 3.4 pounds. I also lost a 1/4 inch off my waist and a 1/4 inch off each of my calves. Yay!

I'm just so thrilled to finally see things moving in the right direction, plus finding out for sure that the level of carbs I'm at - this liveable for me level - is working.

Days 6-11 in Food

I'm still on track for food. It's amazing how easy it is to stick to this when I really put my mind to it. I had a planning meeting for church on Tuesday night and baked brownies, but I didn't eat any. I had the Young Women over for our activity on Wednesday night and set out two kinds of cookies. Didn't eat any. This morning at a work meeting, I could have eaten a big ole bagel with cream cheese. But I didn't.

I think really thinking about the science of this is helping me. The basic gist is, you eat carbs, your insulin spikes, and insulin promotes fat storage. When you eat protein and fats, your insulin doesn't spike. Sometimes I worry that I've become insulin-resistant at this point and need to be eating even fewer carbs than I am. I've been eating about 50-70 net carbs per days and I hope I'll start losing weight and/or toning up soon so that I know I'm at a good level of carbs. This is liveable. I don't know if I can go much lower without feeling deprived.

Jimmy Moore, one of the low-carb podcasters I listen to, often says that he broke his sugar addiction by imagining sugar as poison. I didn't think that trick would work for me because my brain knows very well that sugar is not poison. Sugar is sweet and yummy and happy-making. However, I do have this internal monologue that's been kicking in lately when I contemplate eating something with sugar or grains. Just a little reminder of how the cookie or the bagel will affect my insulin. Then suddenly I don't even want whatever it is anymore. For some reason, that's what's working for me right now.

As I told Jason the other night when he asked me if I wanted a little bit of a cookie, it's a little bit of cookie here, and a small brownie there that got me to where I am right now - heavier than I've been in 4 years.

If nothing else, I'm feeling really good. No late afternoon drops in energy anymore. I love that aspect of eating this way.

I started my 30 days of 30 minutes of activity per day officially on Monday. Every day this week, I've managed to get in at least 30 minutes of activity, and some days more. My steps have been over 10,000 every day since Monday as well. I've started strength training again.

Basically, I feel like I'm doing all the right things. I hope to see some progress on the scale or in my clothes or somewhere soon.

To the Gym!

Yesterday we drove up to Boston, so I figured my excuse of not being able to get to the gym because I couldn't get the car out of the ice wouldn't hold up any longer. However, I'm still trying to get to work earlier (and stay later) in an effort to show my boss that my life isn't being overtaken by my church responsibilities. December was a little light on the billable hours because I left early a bunch of evenings.

So what that means is the alarm goes off at 5:15 AM. Which means I can hit the 10-minute snooze once, maybe twice, before I absolutely have to get up and go. I had a giant battle in my head this morning, but in the end, I won, and I was up and out of the house by 6:05. A little late, but not terrible. I got in 25 minutes of weights and 25 minutes on the elliptical.

The first day back on the elliptical suuuuucks. (Can you tell I've been hanging out with the teenagers?) I know tomorrow and the next day and the next day will be better, but for some reason, I kind of feel like I'm dying the entire time when I hop on the elliptical after not doing it for a few weeks.

For extra credit, I went on a 50-minute lunch walk. The sun was shining and the snow was finally melting and I figured I should get out there while I could since I think tomorrow it's supposed to snow a bit or rain a bit (or maybe, to be super fun, both).

Today will be Day 1 of my next 30 Day Fitness Challenge. That's 30 minutes of activity per day for 30 days.

Still holding strong with the low carbs. Saturday I ate 31 net carbs. I know, right? I was a little amazed by that. Sunday we had Indian food and I was pleased to discover that the flatbread is made from lentils. I wound up with 55 g net carbs yesterday AND I totally didn't cave and eat one of the fudgey brownie bites at our post-choral service reception.

I love those brownie bites.

Go me!

Day 5: Weighing

I'm trying to stay optimistic. The thing is, I know low-carb works. It's worked for me before. Not only that, but it makes sense. The more I learn about the biology and what's going on in my body when I eat carbs, the more convinced I am that it really is the key to gaining and losing fat.

Jason summed it up nicely after we finished dinner the other day, consisting of steak, salad and roasted cauliflower with cheese sauce: "Now we'll sit back while our blood sugar doesn't go up."

It's been awhile since I've made a real go at it, and I know it will take time, like everything. This month of February, I have a goal of being consistent and getting in the habit of minimizing my carbs.

Only it's really hard not to pay attention to the number on the scale. Today I weighed 2 pounds more than last week. The number just keeps going up and makes me want to cry because it's a number that I promised myself 4 years ago I would never see again.

On the other hand, my hip measurement has decreased 3/4 of an inch and my chest has decreased 1/2 and inch. So, like I said, I'm trying to stay optimistic and hope that this is just that awkward moment at the beginning when I'm starting to get a bit leaner, but it's underneath this layer of fat I have.

Jason and I went for a 3-mile walk this morning. Having a buddy really makes the time fly, that's for sure. Then I did about 20 minutes of strength exercises when I got home.

I know if I can just stay the course, I'll start seeing results. I'm just so uncomfortable in my own skin (and my clothes) right now. More motivation to keep working on it, right? Yeah, but it's also easy to get discouraged. Am trying to just stay motivated.

Day 4 and Last Night

Last night: Capital Grille for Restaurant Week.

Stumbling blocks: lack of choice for side dishes and the bread basket.

I ate a couple of pieces of the divine bread in the bread basket. I also ate some mashed potatoes because the only other side option on the Restaurant Week menu was creamed spinach. I can't handle creamed spinach. (Massive penicillin allergy + creamed spinach = lifelong aversion to as much as the hint of the odor of creamed spinach. I can't even handle sauteed spinach if it's been sauteed a touch too long.)

Net carbs for yesterday: 68 g.

That's still a far cry from the 250-300 g per day that most people eat. I'm ok with it.

It's sunny out today and I was thinking about venturing out for a lunch walk, but my boss just came back inside and informed us that it's sunny, but COLD. I think I'm officially going to defer my activity challenge until the weather gets a bit better and I can actually do some activity every day. I think Jason extracted his car from the ice this morning, so maybe I'll make it to the gym tomorrow. If not, I'll do weights at home again.

Day 2: Low Carb and Activity Challenge

I've decided to adjust my food goals a bit from strict Paleo to low carb, with a strong focus on whole foods. It's a little bit of a cop-out because I discovered a really good fake mocha recipe, but it involves Splenda. And cream. I know, weak, right, but it's so great on these cold, cold winter days.

I say "fake" mocha because as a Mormon I'm not supposed to drink coffee, but I LOVE coffee-flavored stuff (I blame my Nana who used to let me finish the last few sips of her full-sugar, full-cream coffee when I was too small to realize my religion didn't want me to do that. Nana was not Mormon).

As for other hot drinks, hot chocolate is full of sugar and sometimes I just get tired of tea, so I started poking around for options. Apparently there are some coffee substitutes that are made from chicory and are very popular in Utah among the Mormons that want coffee too. The fake coffees are available at Whole Foods so I've been checking out the options for a good flavor.


Yesterday when we were snowed/iced in for the day, I invented the following:


10 oz almost boiling water
1 1/2 T. instant Cafix (faux coffee)
1/2-3/4 T. unsweetened cocoa
2 packets Splenda
Cream to taste


Yummy! And warm!

I've also decided that I need to have a spiral cut ham on hand at all times. I bought one and froze it when they were on sale around Christmas, and just cooked it this last Sunday. It's so handy when I have the munchies to just go grab a slice of ham.


So the food is all good. We're going to the Capital Grille tonight for Restaurant Week where I fully intend to eat the flourless chocolate cake that I'll get for my dessert course. At least it's flourless. Even with the cake figured in, my net carbs for the day are 36 grams.

However, yesterday's activity part of my challenge was dismal. On Tuesday, I did a bunch of weight exercises while we watched TV and felt quite proud of myself. I am really feeling the sumo squats today.

Yesterday, as I mentioned, we were stuck inside while it snowed and freezing rained all day. The cars are still stuck in the ice so there's no driving to the gym, and given that I ice skated down my driveway and to the bus this morning, I'm a little nervous about going for a walk. I thought about doing some more weights last night, but my sore muscles were asking for a break. As soon as we thaw out a bit, I will be back to the activity. Maybe I'll postpone the activity challenge until I can actually DO some activity.

Paleo and Fitness 30 Day Challenge: Day 1

February 1, Day 1

So I've already failed the "Paleo" part. Well, not "failed" exactly, just not completed 100%. Let me explain.

My goal with Paleo is to eat whole foods and remove grains and sugar, right? Right. However, I had some leftover Dreamfields pasta (5 net carbs per serving and it tastes good!) and homemade tomato sauce sitting in the fridge that I meant to eat yesterday. I know for a fact that Jason won't eat it (he's not so much about the leftovers unless I force them on him), and I didn't want it to go to waste. So I brought it for part of my lunch.

Today I've had:
4 scrambled eggs in coconut oil (I heart coconut oil, but I may actually like my eggs better cooked in butter)
Big romaine salad with tuna and balsamic vinaigrette
Pasta with tomato sauce and parmesan

At home, simmering away in the crock pot, is Azorean Beef Stew. The spices in this stew are amazing, and since it's blizzarding outside, this will be the perfect welcome home for me this evening.

I also made a ham on Sunday and might have some ham later. Who can say? All told, SparkPeople tells me I'm at about 34 carbs for the day, though I may have some almonds later too, bringing me up to 40. Pretty great, and the majority of my food has been whole, healthy fare.

As for fitness, there will be no gym and no walking due to today's snow and tomorrow's predicted ice storm (doesn't that sound fun?). I think it's time for me to turn away from the computer mah jong while we're watching TV in the evenings and do some improvised workouts. I have a yoga mat and dumbbells for a reason.

To give myself even more inspiration, I just started reading Gary Taubes's Why We Get Fat: And What To Do About It. Gary Taubes is my nutrition hero. (I was going to say "nutrition boyfriend", but Jason is already a little jealous of my adoration of Gary, so I'll just leave it at "hero".)

30-Day Challenge #2: Paleo

I have been keeping up with my Fitness Challenge, though you would only know that if you are also my Facebook friend. Last week, we went to St. John in the Virgin Islands and it was fantastic! We were active for multiple hours of every single day. I discovered that open water swimming in a still ocean bay is kind of amazing and I wished I had brought my goggles with me. I told Jason if we lived there, I would pop down to the beach every morning and do some ocean laps before work. Rhode Island has nice beaches, but not so much in January.

Because of the cruddy weather since we've been back, I haven't made it to the gym and I can't really run or walk outside because the plowing and shoveling in this town is dismal at best. Walking anywhere = dodging traffic. Jason and I have been jogging in place inside to get our daily step counts up to 10,000. I would like to note that my ankles hurt just as bad when I fake indoor jog as they do when I jog outside on the path.

Basically, yesterday was the first time in almost 2 weeks that I haven't had 30 minutes of activity. Today is day 29 of my 30-day fitness challenge, and even though I wasn't perfect, I know that challenging myself made me more aware of fitting activity into my day, even if it was just a walk. I think I only missed 3 or 4 days of activity in the past 29, and that's pretty great, in my opinion.

So I've decided on my next challenge, and this will focus on my overall health, rather than just fitness. February I'm going to go Paleo - or pretty close, at least. It's pretty much how I eat anyway, when I'm focused on eating healthy. Whole foods, no grains, no sugar, no processed foods. They also say no dairy, but I'll probably weave some in here and there (what is my roasted broccoli without the parmesan? Well, probably pretty tasty, but I do love the parmesan.) I'll shoot for carbs under 100 g per day.

I'm also focusing on Paleo exercise. Strength training, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and some low level cardio (meaning long walks). I'm still going to try to get in 30 minutes of activity a day.

Ideally, I would like this to be the way I eat and live forever. But I'm setting it up as a month-long challenge right now to really focus on it and get myself into these good habits for 4 weeks.

Day 1: Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Bad Blogger

That would be me. I'm starting to reach that point again of wondering if I should just end the blogs altogether. I just don't have the time to dedicate to them and I've learned that in order to have a blog that people will read and comment on, you have to be consistent and you have to be interesting. I know I have my interesting moments, but sometimes I'm writing just to have something up here since it's been 3 weeks since my last post.

Also there are times when I really do get a lot personally from writing it all out. Which begs the question, why not just write in a journal? I think I have a bit of an exhibitionist inside me, but since I'm also a prude, it only comes out in publicly writing about my life and weight loss/health efforts. And I like to show off my knitting (see other blog).

I'm also a fairly regular Facebook updater and lately that has been satisfying my narcissistic urge in brief, pithy bursts.

In the end, I'm sure I'll just keep on with my blogs, though I make no promises of consistency. Or of being interesting.

Walking To and From Work

Day 13: 3-mile walk home from work.
Day 14: 3-mile walk to work.

Walking to work wasn't really my plan this morning. But when my alarm went off at 5:30, I was in just the perfect dream-state to convince myself that it wasn't the right alarm going off, it was some other alarm. I actually remember the rationalization in my head: "Oh, that's ok. That's not MY alarm." Then I turned it off in my sleep and kept doing that every 10 minutes when the snooze alarm came on. For an hour.

There's a snowstorm coming tonight and I want to get to the grocery store before it showed up and I wasn't really sure what time it was coming (turns out, kind of late, but better safe than sorry). So I walked to work. My legs were big popsicles by the time I got here, but I'm pleased to already have 7400 steps logged on my Fitbit.

Days 11 and 12: Fail

Day 11:
I woke up a bit later than I wanted to, but figured I still had time to go to the gym for an hour. The BIL, SIL and niece were leaving that afternoon, but I thought it would take everyone some time to get up and ready to go. Jason told me I shouldn't go to the gym because it was our last day with our guests. He said I could go later.

Only, here's what really happened. We went downstairs and found Sarah, the SIL, sitting on the couch doing some work on her computer. Brandon, the BIL, and the niece were still asleep. So we sat around for awhile, talking vaguely of going out for breakfast once everyone was up. I wound up getting on my computer and doing some work too, which was good, but, really, there would have been plenty of time for me to work out.

This is probably the 3rd or 4th time I've been getting ready to go to the gym and Jason has insisted there isn't enough time, but then it turns out there is PLENTY of time. Moral of the story: ignore Jason.

Once everyone was awake and showered, we went to brunch, then drove our guests to the Boston airport. On the way back, we stopped at Costco because there are no Costcos in Rhode Island or in any of the southern Mass. shopping meccas, so we try to go if we happen to be in Boston during shopping hours. Then we got home and I had to write a talk and a Young Womens lesson for church on Sunday morning, plus get some more work work done. Oh, I also baked a birthday cake for one of the YW.

Day 12: Well, I gave a talk and taught a lesson at church, made a roast, frosted the cake, cleaned the kitchen twice, worked on a contract for several hours, and just never made it to the gym.

Yeah.

Anyway, I planned to wake up this morning and go to the gym, but I was exhausted for some reason. I brought my workout clothes with me and I'm going to the gym after work instead. No excuses!

I'm Not Very Sleepy, Either

Despite going to bed at 12:30 last night, I woke up peacefully at 5:50. This has been something I've noticed since I started working out again - I feel satisfied on less sleep. That doesn't mean I'm not tired when 10 or 11 PM rolls around, but in general, I'm feeling active and able to do more after an average of 6-7 hours of sleep per night rather than needing 8-9 hours of sleep.

Might also be related to cutting out the caffeine and the highs and lows from that. And the sugar.

The point is, I'm feeling better.

Day 9 of the Fitness Challenge was 25 minutes of weights and 30 minutes on the elliptical. Then just to be obnoxious, I went for a 45-minute walk on my lunch hour. I was just too antsy to sit still any longer. I originally planned for 30 minutes, but didn't want to come back inside yet.

It's kind of amazing how quickly doing the consistent activity makes my body crave the consistent activity.

I'm Not Hungry

Today I realized that my lunchtime keeps getting later and later. I eat my breakfast when I get in at 9ish, then work all morning, sipping tea and water as I work. Then I think, oh, a walk would be nice. So I go for a walk at around 1. Then I get back to work and realize I should probably eat lunch. Yesterday I ate at 2:30, today at 2.

I'm just not hungry.

When it comes to actually eating the food, I'm excited about it because, frankly, I'm a good cook, and I know whatever I bought is going to be super yummy. But I'm not really hungry.

I know I need to keep my calories up or I'm not going to lose weight, but my incessant need to find something to snack on has just vanished. I did a little Googling and I think this may be a low-carb side effect.

I have a little confession - I've had a couple chocolates. Jason's grandparents make these divine homemade chocolates and toffees and our package from them arrived on Monday. So Monday I had 2 and last night I had 2. I made a point to savor them because I knew that was all I was getting.

Even if I count the grandparent chocolates as Godiva truffles in my SparkPeople nutrition tracker, my carbs are still under 100 g per day. I'm only weighing myself once a week, so I don't know if my weight has gone down, but I think this no hunger thing is a definite positive side effect of limiting my carbs.

Fitness Challenge:
Day 7: Sore from Day 6's weights! I had a lunchtime walk, then did a ton of cleaning when I got home last night.
Day 8: I was going to go to the gym, but company came into town last night and we were up late. It was so nice to sleep. So I did another lunch walk. Tomorrow I'll be back at the gym for more strength training.

Day6: Weights!

This morning I did 25 minutes of weights and 30 minutes on the elliptical. I haven't done weights in, well, ages. I can't really remember how long it's been. I like thinking about how I'll improve in the coming weeks and be able to add more and more weight (and get more and more toned).

Once I feel like I'm not struggling so much just to do the hill program on the elliptical, I'm going to implement some HIIT. The fat is coming off this time!

Day 5: Cleaning

Despite only walking 5,000 steps according to the Fitbit, I worked up a genuine sweat tonight doing some cleaning in preparation for a visit from Jason's brother and family. I cleaned the bathrooms, bedroom and kitchen for about an hour and a half and walked up and down the stairs at least 40 times. Totally counting it.

(I just realized I forgot to record Day 3 here. 30 minutes on the elliptical. I made it to the gym twice in one week. Go me!)

Happy New Year!

And I'm starting the year off right!

Because I'm a nerd, I showed up at the gym at 10 AM. Too bad they didn't open until 12. I could have sworn that sign said 10...

So I didn't get to do the weights and elliptical I wanted to do, but instead came home and walked a loop on Blackstone Boulevard. The walking path is actually still covered with snow (though today's 60 degree weather should take care of most of that), but both sides of the street have huge parking lanes and bike paths so me and about 50 other people were out there walking or jogging.

I have a big pot of black eyed peas on the stove, which I will be eating without the rice tonight. My eating has been great. I've been caffeine- and sugar-free since Tuesday and I haven't even had any cravings.

I weighed and measured myself yesterday and the numbers freaked me right out. Is it really possible to gain 16 pounds in 3 months? Is it? Because that just seems wrong to me. Somehow that's exactly what I've managed to do. So now instead of having 20-25 pounds to lose, I have 36-41 pounds to lose. Sigh.

Jason was as befuddled as me since neither one of us could really remember my eating being super out of control. Anyway, it's a little alarming. Maybe my metabolism decided to completely shut down on my 34th birthday in October?

Well, I'm trying to reverse this gaining trend now. Fingers crossed that it works.

Day 2: Walk

Despite wanting to impress Leita at the Y with my consistency of 2 whole days, I didn't make it to the gym this morning. Instead, I woke up at 4 AM feeling kind of yucky and couldn't get back to sleep until about 6:30. Fitbit tells me I had 4 hours and 41 minutes of sleep last night. I had to be somewhere after work, but I left a bit early and walked halfway home .

35 minutes = I fulfilled my challenge.

Tomorrow I have the day off work and plan to roll into the gym sometime around 8 AM. If only I didn't have to be at work at a normal hour, I would be so good at this whole working out regularly thing.

I have to say, I am sore from yesterday's elliptical session. My calves, my thighs, my hips. It's a good pain and I actually mean that. It tells me that after taking way too long off, I'm finally getting back into fitness.

Also, I went to the doctor this afternoon and doctor scales are NOT KIND. On the other hand, my blood pressure is 110 over 70.

Muffins!

I made some lowish carb, gluten-free Happy Thanksgiving Muffins* last night to have on hand for breakfasts and snacks for the next several days. They are yummy!

A muffin was a good fill-in for a proper dinner tonight as I dashed in and out after work on my way to a Young Women's activity.

* So named because I made them for the first time on Thanksgiving morning.

30 Day Challenge (Take 2): Day 1

I just got home from the gym. The actual gym. I am so pleased with myself.

Also, a little aghast at how out of shape I am.

Also, excited to have access to HGTV for at least a half hour a day. (We haven't had cable for a few years now. Every so often I miss being able to just channel surf through all my favorite home and self improvement shows.)

I walked in and the same lady was working in the cardio and weights room who was there the last time I went, shortly after we moved. We always used to do the smile and say hi thing when I went before, so today she looked amazed and said, "Hi!" in this really excited way. Then she smirked (in a nice way) and said, "You've been coming in at another time, right?" I replied, "Um, riiight."

We both laughed and officially introduced ourselves to one another. I told her the big problem was our move a few months ago and the fact that I actually have to drive to the gym now instead of just stumbling across the street in a half-awake state.

When I left, she called out, "See you tomorrow, Kelly!" and I thanked her for saying that. It's not exactly the same as having a gym buddy, but now that she knows my name and knows I'm trying to get back into working out regularly, maybe Leita at the Y will help keep me accountable.

So I'm re-upping the 30 Day Challenge. I planned to start with the New Year, but I might as well get an early start and have a few days to enjoy the practically empty gym before it fills up with the well-intentioned resolutioners.

Clean Eating

We just got back yesterday from visiting my parents in the Chicago suburbs for Christmas. Magically, our flight was the first one of the day into Boston that wasn't delayed from the blizzard. I had been annoyed at Air Tran for changing our flight time not once, but twice, in between when we made the reservation and when we actually traveled. Our arrival time got pushed from 7:30 PM to 11 PM and I was worried that we wouldn't be back in time to catch the last train of the day to Providence at midnight.

Turns out, the later flight worked out great. We got in about 20 minutes early, hopped on the shuttle bus to South Station, and made our train down to Providence.

Anyway, as is usual with holidays, we ate a bunch of junk over the past several days. In addition to the pies and ice cream my parents had, some friends gave us a tin of Garrett's caramel corn, and Jason and I discovered Trader Joe's pfeffernusse, little spice cookies which we kept in the car for a driving treat. They're probably my new favorite thing and one of the better things about them is that they're very rich, so I can only eat a couple at a time.

By the time we got home last night I was craving something savory. While we waited for the train, Jason suggested getting a blizzard or an apple pie at the McDonald's in South Station. I requested a small order of fries. I was hungry, but I wanted salt in the worst way.

Next week Jason's brother and his wife and their baby are coming to visit for a few days and I'm sure we'll have treats again. But in between now and then, I am eating clean. Today I have had eggs and salad and nuts and clementines. Tonight I'll be making us chicken and broccoli. Last year in the post-Christmas sugar haze I wanted nothing more than a big pan of roast broccoli, and I feel the same way today.

I'm sure tomorrow the no-sugar and no-caffeine* malaise will hit, but today I feel good.

* Oh, yes, did I mention all the Diet Dr. Pepper I drank?

Day 22: Lots of Walking

We're just going to ignore that week off, k? Actually last week was pretty crazy and I did a lot. Just not a lot of exercising.

And I will admit that this weekend was about taking some much needed R&R time. In fairness, I am scrambling to get my Christmas knitting done, so I really needed to be still and watch movies for many hours while knitting. Even when I'm relaxing, I'm industrious. I totally think earnest industry should just magically burn calories.

Today has been good activity-wise and I'm already over 11,000 steps. I'm the only one in the office today so I wore jeans and decided to walk the 3 miles to work. Actually, I left a bit later than planned so I thought I would just walk most of the way, then hop on the bus, but my walking location never really matched up with the bus, and rather than stand and wait at the bus stop, I decided to just walk all the way.

At lunchtime, I walked over to the mall to (finally) buy a wedding presents for some friends we're going to see tonight. That's about a 10 minute walk.

So last week was a wash, but this week I have started with a bang.

Calories In/Calories Out - Or Not

Gary Taubes is blogging! Yay!

I finally got around to reading his first post and it's basically what I wrote about this morning. Only less personal anecdote and more logic and junk like that.

Does Not Compute

Through the magic of Fitbit, I now have a couple of weeks of data to review to see how I'm doing. Of course, I'm not doing spectacularly, as mentioned previously, but I just wanted to go on record as saying, I'm not doing THAT badly either.

I still dutifully record my calories most days on SparkPeople, including the cookies and other Christmas treats that I've consumed. I have made an amazing* discovery. You know that whole "calories in/calories out" rubric that the experts like to throw at us? It's just not true.

Since I started recording with my Fitbit, I've averaged a daily caloric burn of 2441 calories. My daily average caloric intake is 1612 calories. I just did a little figuring, and if 3500 calories is a pound, by the magic of calories in/calories out I should have lost 3 pounds in the last 2 weeks. 3.2 pounds., actually.

Instead, I weigh exactly what I did when I got the Fitbit. I'm really becoming a believer in the truth that it's so much more complicated than just calories in/calories out.

Also, I bought a Greek yogurt at Starbuck's this morning and the teeny tiny girl in front of me bought a gingerbread latte and a great big Morning Bun. Unless that's all she's eating today or she's bulimic (which I fully realize are possible), I think that the difference in our sizes (in that I am about 6 inches taller and 120 pounds heavier than her) may be based on more than just calories.

*heavy sarcasm

Take A Step Back

I suppose this would be more productive (and emotionally healthy, if we're going to be all nit-picky about it).

Fatty McFatFat

OK, so I'm trying to be all positive and upbeat about this whole weight thing. I realize my 30 Day Challenge can't be perfect right now because there is literally too much other stuff going on. I realize that I need to eat better and I generally am, but there is also hot chocolate and Christmas brownies around and I'm only human.

And when I say that, I'm not trying to cover up binging behavior. I've actually never binged. I guess I just generally overeat. Or something. I suppose I overeat the wrong things (hello, carbs). I like food. And it shows.

Then tonight my in-laws took a couple of pictures of us in front of our Christmas tree to take home with them. We thought maybe we could use one to quickly churn out a Christmas card. I uploaded the pictures to my computer and just stared, aghast. Rolls and yuckiness and my face looks not happy.

I just...

I really...

I don't know how I let it get this far.

I feel gross, frankly, and I find myself doing weird machinations with my clothes to try to kid myself into thinking I'm actually hiding something. The pictures show me I am hiding nothing.

A Christmas Miracle!

This morning I got into work and completely freaked out when I realized my Fitbit was no longer attached to my waistband. I checked my coat and my bag. I called Jason and he confirmed that it wasn't on my nightstand. I knew I had clipped it on this morning.

I bundled back into my coat and hat and gloves and headed out to retrace my steps. I scoured the ground and nearly did a little happy dance when I saw it lying in the street at the bus station, right next to the crosswalk I had walked through about 30 minutes earlier. Thank goodness it didn't fall off while I was actually on the bus. Thank goodness it didn't get run over by a bus. Thank goodness it looks pretty innocuous and doesn't draw attention to itself like, say, an iPod lying in the street would.

So. Relieved.

This sucker will be attached to my bra from now on.

Day 11: More Walking. And Cleaning

So Day 10 didn't work out like I had hoped. We wound up getting home at about 10:15 since my work party didn't end at 8 like advertised. It was fun and the food was outstanding, however, the only thing I managed to do once we got home was watch Glee and go to bed. Another loss in the 30 Day Challenge.

I'm just going to say, when you have a busy schedule and a busy yet sedentary job, getting in 30 minutes of activity a day can be difficult at times.

Anyway, on to Day 11!

I just got back from a 45 minute walk, even though it's 26 degrees and windy out. Toward the end, I couldn't so much feel my thighs. That'll teach me to not buy enough tights for super cheap at Target. I'm wearing pantyhose and they are just not the same when it comes to wintry winds.

I'm hoping to get out of work a little before 6 and then clean like crazy when I get home. So today will be the day I get over 10,000 steps again. I can feel it.

Days 9 and 10: Cleaning Frenzy

Yesterday was Day 9 and in addition to a 45-minute lunchtime walk (love!), I also woke up at 6:45 AM to do some vacuuming since it was literally the only time I had to do it before we had people come over last night. The walk got me up to about 6,800 steps, but then I came home from work, cleaned some more, then spent the evening on my feet, hosting a church ladies' cookie swap. Cookies for dinner is not very healthy, but logging another 4,000 steps is. I wound up with almost 11,000 steps yesterday. Not too shabby.

Today I had a meeting during my lunch hour, so no walk. Then our office Christmas party is tonight up in Boston. But then we come home and clean clean clean because my in-laws are coming into town tomorrow. It will be the first time my mother-in-law will see the new house. I know we won't be able to get the office tidied (someday!), but the rest of the place can be sparkling. I figure that will be about 2 hours of hard cleaning. I'll be surprised if I don't hit 10,000 steps again today.

OK, back to work. Have to leave early for the party in Boston and there is a lot to do yet.

Day 8: Whoa!

This morning I woke up with a migraine that took a fancy migraine pill and three more hours of sleep to get over. I finally got into work at around 1 PM, which kind of hurts my efforts to hit by billable hours goals for the month. Also, ditching work because I'm overstressed from all of my volunteer activities is so not ok.

So I'm modifying my challenge. For the next couple of weeks, until after the holidays and this most chaotic time of the year, I will give myself credit so long as I don't sit on my bum all day long. I will still shoot for 30 minutes of activity, and will work on C25K and getting outside on my lunchtime walks, but if I don't make it because I've been crazy busy all day with other things, then I get credit for my crazy busy-ness.

After the New Year, I will get more serious about getting to the actual gym and losing this excess poundage I have gained over the last several months, but I think that migraine was a warning that I need to let up a little on my expectations for myself for the time being.

Today, before I came into work, I ran some errands for a church service project. And I do mean "ran". I was practically jogging through Kohl's and Target, snatching things off of racks as I darted by.

Days 6 and 7

Does driving back and forth to Boston and chaperoning a gaggle of teenage girls count as exercising? Fitbit apparently thinks so because despite being in the car and sitting for a big chunk of time, I still managed to log over 10,000 steps and 5 miles on Saturday.

I also did Day 2 of C25K before the whole crazy day started.

I'm sad to say, though, that Day 7 was a fail. Or maybe I just need to start reclassifying what "activity" means. Here was my day - you tell me:

6:20 AM Wake up. Shower, get dressed, chop up an onion and brown some meat to start the Swiss Steak in the crock pot.
7:45 Leave for church.
8-9 Pre-church leadership meeting
9-9:30 Practice Evensong music in a back room of the church. Just me and my iPod.
9:30 Meeting with Jason and the bishop
10-1 Church. (Yes, we have church for 3 hours. As a bonus, from 11:10-12, I taught Sunday School.)
1:10-2:15 Drive to Cambridge.
2:30-3:30 Evensong rehearsal
3:50-5 Evensong service
5-5:45ish Post-Evensong reception, wherein Jason and I sold CDs to raise money for the choir's trip to England. Want to buy one? Only $20 and for a good cause (namely, to help people like us be able to afford to go on tour)
6-7:15 drive back to Providence
7:15-8 start one load of laundry and finish making cookies for the church ladies' Christmas cookie swap on Tuesday night at my house.
8-8:30 eat dinner and watch The Simpsons.
8:30-9:15 start second load of laundry and start cleaning up kitchen. Realize dishwasher is mostly full and start it. Go through Christmas decoration boxes one last time to make sure house is sufficiently festive for Tuesday night church ladies' party and that we can put away the bins tomorrow.
9:15-10:15 watch one X-Files episode and knit my winter hat. It's getting really cold and I need to finish it like yesterday. It's almost done. This is the first thing I've ever knit for myself. Exciting!
10:15-11:30 get ready for bed, respond to emails re: work and Young Womens stuff for church, write this
11:30 (fingers crossed) go to sleep

Anyway, despite not being "active", somehow my day filled up and I'm utterly pooped. Good night.

Calorie Sticker Shock

The other night we headed up to Boston for a choir rehearsal right after work so I stopped by Au Bon Pain to grab a quick dinner to eat in the car. I got a sandwich for Jason and a Turkey Cobb Salad for me.

I don't know if they're doing this everywhere, but ABP has started putting calorie counts on the menu, probably prompted by the fact that so many communities are starting to legally require it. I actually love having the information right in front of me. I know the impetus behind the laws is to legislate health, which I don't think works. I've been to Nathan's on Coney Island and still ate the corn dog and fries even with the calories staring me in the face because I was on Coney Island and I was going to eat a hot dog. And fries. I don't think you're going to convince most people to not eat something they've already decided to eat just because they can see the calories.

However, usually I like eating healthy and I like to be informed about what it is I'm eating. (I would also love to know carbs, fat and protein, but then the menus would be ridiculously cumbersome, so calories will do.)

So, anyway, the ABP Turkey Cobb Salad is listed at 650 calories, which was fine for me, taking into account what I had eaten already that day. Only then I noticed the calories for the dressings. 310 calories for the Blue Cheese Dressing! Which means the salad is really only 340 calories.

Really, ABP? 310 calories for dressing?! That's crazy.

That's assuming, of course, that you have them mix the dressing into the salad. I usually get the dressing on the side anyway because restaurants are so heavy-handed with the dressing that the salad winds up just tasting like crunchy dressing. I had them make my salad, and then I grabbed a packet of the Sesame Ginger dressing, which is 230 calories for the packet, of which I used about a third.

I was just shocked about the 310 calories. That's like 2 Cokes. Seriously, if I'm going to just eat 310 calories willy-nilly, I'd rather have 2 Mexican Cokes*, thanks .

* Made with real sugar, not corn syrup!

Day 5: Walkies!

My plan was to get up this morning and do Day 2 of Week 1 of C25K. Only, as usual, we were busy last night and I didn't get to sleep until late, then I had to catch the early bus to get to work early enough to talk about a bunch of stuff with my boss before he took off at 9:30 for all-day meetings. I'll do Day 2 tomorrow morning when I have the luxury of being all decadent and sleeping in until 8 AM.

I figured I would do another lunch-hour walk, but on the spur of the moment I packed up my backpack with clothes and sneakers, and decided a long walk home after work would be fantastic. Depending on the route I take, the walk can be up to 3 1/2 miles.

Only then at about 11:30, I started getting antsy. Apparently my body has really liked getting out at lunchtime, rather than sitting at my desk. So at 12:45 I set out for a walk and wound up spending 35 minutes winding through some of the old streets just up the hill from my office. Most of the houses have historic plaques on them, and the majority of them were built in the late 1700s and early 1800s. I walked by one lady decorating her flower boxes with greenery and red berries, and we called out a cheerful hello to each other, both filled with the Christmas spirit (well, I'm projecting onto her. But she did seem jolly).

Even if I get in other activity during the day, I think I'm going to make these lunchtime walks a regular thing. I wind up having such a nice time, and come back refreshed for my afternoon work.

Day 4: Lunchtime Walk

I went for another walk today on my lunch hour. It's chilly, but sunny and beautiful outside. I walked up the hill from my office, then up and down Benefit Street, which is my favorite street in town, full of Colonial and early Victorian homes and lined with trees and old-fashioned lamp posts. Not to mention the Athenaeum, on whose steps Edgar Allen Poe's ghost was once spotted, or so the Providence Ghost Tour people told me.

I wound up walking for an entire hour and the pedometer on my Fitbit is suddenly up to around 8200 steps for today. My goal every day is to get over 10,000, so I'm well on my way.

This morning I posted on Facebook that I was walking again today, and that the walks are kind of lame, and maybe next week will be a little less crazy and I can get in something more resembling a workout. An old friend from my swim team days commented that at least I was doing something! She's absolutely right, of course, and the whole point of challenging myself was so that I would be "active", in any sense of the word. Walking is valid activity, and much better than sitting on my bum reading blogs over my lunch hour, which is what I would have done if not for these lunchtime walks.

It's very indicative of my all or nothing mentality. Day 4 and I'm already beating myself up because I'm not being crazy athletic.

Day 3: Hmm...

It's only Day 3 and I'm not exactly sure when I'm going to get in my 30 minutes today. I'm hopeful that it won't have started raining by 12:30 and I can go walking on my lunch break. Yesterday I was basically going from 6 AM to 11 PM. Then this morning I had to drive Jason down to southern Rhode Island to pick up his car from the dealership where it was getting worked on. So in addition to being exhausted, I also didn't really have time to get up and work out. Tonight right after work we're heading up to Boston for a choir rehearsal. Basically, lunch time is the only time I'll have to do anything and if the weather doesn't cooperate (which weather.com tells me it won't), I'm not exactly sure what to do.

I'll check back in later. Fingers crossed for a nice long walk at 12:30.

Maybe the busiest time of the year wasn't the best time to start this challenge, but I know it's what I really need. I can't fail on Day 3!

UPDATE: Got in 35 minutes of brisk walking outside! I got rained on for the last 10 minutes, but that's ok. Back to work!

30 Day Challenge: Day 2

Done!

I did day 1 of C25K. Again. I figure since I'm doing this 30 day challenge thing, I might as well see if I can get further than Week 1 in Couch to 5K. As I've mentioned before, we live right near this lovely path that is a little more than a 5K round trip. It's nice to get out in the fresh air, even when it's cold. The bonus of working out in the morning in the winter is that it warms me right up.

So I'm thinking about ending my membership at the Y and possibly joining the Gold's Gym down the street. We moved in July and I think I've made it to the Y maybe twice since then. Jason hasn't been at all. Kind of a waste of money. I have plans to go, but every time I think about getting in my car and driving over, I decide I don't want to and hit the path instead. We used to live across the street from the Y and I just walked over. We only live a couple miles away now, but it's a long stretch of road with several lights, past a busy coffee shop and highish traffic area, and is kind of a pain. On the other hand, the Gold's is literally just down the street. I could easily walk there if I make the time.

My main reason for sticking with the Y is that it has a pool. However, I haven't swum laps since probably May. Gold's does not have a pool so if I quit the Y I would be completely shutting down that option for myself. There aren't many gyms in Providence with a pool. But does it make any sense to keep the pool if the distance is preventing me from going at all?

That said, I haven't even checked out the Gold's yet. I've just driven by, and while it looks pretty nice, it may be full of meatheads and not really have an atmosphere I want to work out in. Jason and I are mulling this over.

Fitbit

My friend Deborah gave me an awesome birthday present on Thanksgiving: a Fitbit. (Actually, both my and her birthdays were in October, but we haven't seen each other since then.) Deborah got herself a Fitbit awhile ago and I thought it was the coolest thing. It tracks your steps, miles walked/run, calories burned based on your BMR and activity level, and sleep. You wear it on a wristband at night and it tracks your sleep patterns.

Last night was the first night I wore it and it told me what I already knew about my sleep patterns: I sleep like a rock and barely move. Jason's cover-stealing accusations are completely unfounded.

As a bonus, it is teeny. It's so easy to clip on anywhere (like the middle of your bra, for example) and it doesn't show (so long as you're not wearing your hoochie-wear that day, I suppose).

For a numbers junkie like me, this is such a perfect little toy. The information automatically uploads to my computer and I can access the website from anywhere. The website also has a place for you to enter in your food eaten, but I already have a huge self-entered database on SparkPeople and I'm not about to switch now. However, one of the Fitbit gurus on the message boards had a good idea: enter my entire day's nutrition info in at the end of the day as one big food item. That way I can see the calories I'm eating compared with my BMR, plus my steps and activities all in one place. I love the numbers!

30 Day Challenge: Day 1

Today was the first official day of my self-imposed 30 Day Challenge. In case you've forgotten, that's 30 minutes of activity per day for 30 days. I sort of started on Saturday, though I'm not going to count it toward the 30-day total. On Saturday morning, Jason and I went for a walk to explore the big pretty cemetery near our house. You may think that's odd, but New England has lovely garden cemeteries that are so nice to ramble in. It's so interesting to read all of the headstone and think about the people buried there. There were a lot of Civil War veterans in this one. Yesterday, I went for another long morning walk before church.

I was going to get up and go for a walk/run this morning, but getting to bed too late nixed that. Note to self: watching X-Files DVDs is not vital to my mental and physical health. Exercise is.

So I went for a 45-minute walk on my lunch hour, and I'll be walking up the hill to fetch my car from Jason after work so I can run a few errands. His car is in the shop so he has mine.

Proselytizing

This morning my boss came in and told me about a New York Times magazine article he read about controlling epilepsy through a high fat diet. He said the kid in the article eats bacon and cream and meat, which is when our secretary commented that he's going to have such bad heart disease when he gets older. To which I responded, "Actually fat doesn't cause heart disease. Carbs do."

This initiated a conversation between me and my boss about low carb and I told him I started restricting my carbohydrates again as of Saturday. I recommended the Fat Head movie and told him how Jason verified the science was right on. I told him I'm not eating sugar or grains and he said he eats whole grains. To which I responded, whole grains spike insulin just as much as refined grains. It was kind of funny how I just couldn't let our secretary's comment slide like I have when other people have made similar comments. I had to say something. I guess I've become a true believer.

After my boss left my office, I looked up the article he was talking about. The thing that I find sad is how much Sam, the little boy in the article, struggles with the way he eats. I can understand it being difficult at school and at friends' homes, but the author notes that neither Sam's parents nor his twin sister eat the way Sam eats. Of course, they believe Sam's diet is incredibly unhealthy, but given what I've learned about restricting carbohydrates, Sam's diet is actually just an extreme version of a healthy way to eat. I feel bad for Sam, who has to watch while his parents and twin sister indulge in the carbs he knows taste so good. It's too bad the whole family couldn't break their carb habits together.

I'm sure there is a huge difference in Sam's perception of what he eats, compared to the children of low carbers like Tom Naughton of Fat Head or Sarah at Everyday Paleo or all the other low-carb people out there with kids. They are teaching their children that not eating a lot of carbs is a healthy way to eat, and teaching them to enjoy their food, while Sam is being taught that the only reason he's eating this way is because he has a disease. Sam probably perceives this way of eating as a punishment because he's sick, and I'm sure if the epilepsy wanes when he gets older, he'll be eating carbs with the rest of his family.

Fitness Challenge: 30 Minutes for 30 Days

I totally just went public with this on Facebook so there's no turning back now!

I'm starting a fitness challenge on Monday, November 29. 30 minutes of activity for 30 days. Activity can be anything - cardio, weights, yoga, pilates, plyometrics, push ups, lunges, cross fit, etc.

I just need to do something to get in gear and make a habit of being active again. I had grand plans to work out both yesterday and today in the mornings, but sleep won. I'm just not motivated right now to get out there and move, even though I know I will love it once I do it. It's convincing myself of that at 6 AM that is providing to be difficult.

I realize this challenge encompasses Christmas, but if nothing else, I can walk loops around my parents' apartment complex for a half hour.

In other news, I'm still doing well on the food front. No sugar and no grains for 4 days now.

Sugar Stop

So without making any big fanfare about it, I finally went off sugar (and wheat) this past weekend. I've been hemming and hawing for awhile (as evidenced by the last 20 or so posts on here), but I weighed myself Saturday morning and was absolutely horrified by the number. Just awful.

I knew my clothes were tight, but I didn't really want to admit how far I had let it go. I determined that Saturday morning I was turning over a new leaf, and that began with weighing myself and facing the brutal honesty of the digital scale. I'm really disappointed in myself, actually, and frustrated with the knowledge of all the work I'll need to do to get back to my weight of a few months ago, and then I still have 25 pounds I want to lose.

It's amazing what a number like that can do for my motivation, though. I went to a 3-hour long church function on Saturday, and at the end they brought out giant trays of cookies for all of the participants to munch on. (When they had said they would have refreshments at the end, I was hopeful that maybe there would be a veggie tray or a fruit bowl mixed in with the junk I knew was coming. Nothing healthy as far as the eye could see). I was starving by that point, but I can honestly say, I didn't want a cookie at all. So different from my point of view these last few months.

Jason went shopping Saturday and bought some dark chocolate mints for us to share. He said he knew I was trying to be good, but one wouldn't kill me. I decided to try one and it didn't taste that great, actually. I didn't want any more. I think last week I would have popped them in my mouth anyway, even if they did taste like they had been in the box too long.

What is my problem that is it so easy for me to slip into mindless eating?

Today I am at work with veggies and protein and a bit of fruit. I chopped a lot this weekend, and planned for the coming days. I've also planned our meals and am determined to stop our trend of getting take out several times a week because I didn't plan and we're both too tired to cook when we get home. Must remind myself: the crock pot is my friend.

I know this is a strange time to start, what with Thanksgiving coming up. However, I needed to start eating better, and after the holiday I can just pick up again. I actually found a great recipe for a low-carb pecan crust, and ran some experiments this weekend on pumpkin pie fillings with no sugar. Stevia was a no go - it tasted sweet when I put it in the oven, but came out tasting horrible. Agave nectar was the winner, though I'm not really sure what the current low-carb thoughts are on agave nectar. I'll need to research that a bit. I also substituted coconut milk for the evaporated milk and it added a nice flavor. Right now, the only really high carb things on the Thanksgiving menu are sweet potatoes (which I make with a pecan topping) and stuffing. If I don't overdo those, I think I can keep this Thanksgiving pretty reasonable.

Weaning

Health and me = epic fail

It's just not happening right now for whatever reason. I'm still feeling this extreme lack of motivation. And I have a cold. Bleh.

So anyway, I'm starting the weaning process of my personally addictive foods. Today is Day 1 of no caffeine. Not that I can't have caffeine ever, I've just slipped into the habit lately of having it every day, which I don't like, especially since that caffeine is usually ushered into my body along with many chemicals that will probably result in a third foot on my future baby (hypothetical future baby, that is).

Monday will be Day 1 of no sugar. I have discovered that buying Halloween candy early because I had a coupon and it was already on sale is a bad, BAD idea. Jason and I have both been downing the fun size candy bars like crazy. Especially stupid on my part was making sure to buy 2 bags of my favorite candy bar (Butterfinger).

On Halloween, a friend is coming over and we will be doing some Autumn baking. Then that's it. I'm sending all leftovers home with her, and the sugar detox will begin November 1.

Once I get over this cold, I'm going to get back to more strenuous workouts. I actually walked most of the way home from work the other night (Jason picked me up 10 minutes from home because he was impatient and wanted dinner). Our new house is a little more than 3 miles from work, so it's a good hike, especially since the house is at the top of a big hill in relation to downtown. I felt exhilarated. I need to get back in shape. And I think I've almost talked my friend Rachel in A) joining my Y, and B) going to 6:30 AM strength training classes with me. Because I think I would do much better if I had a buddy who is also angry to be awake so early, but there because we have a gym date.

Cycling

Right before we left for Tucson last week, I started doing a little research into carb cycling. After several days of carbs below 50 g, I felt like poo and never got that low carb burst of energy that I've always had before when starting low carb. I also lost no weight.

I joined a carb cycling group on SparkPeople to investigate, and a kind person in that group sent me a whole bunch of information. It sounds like something I want to try. Basically, there are a few days per week of carbs below the 50 g mark, but then there are a few with carbs ranging higher (though never high, per se). Some people have high days at 300 g, but I think my high days will be more along the lines of 150 g max. The goal is to keep your body guessing. I've done calorie cycling before with some success and this is the same general idea, just with more emphasis on grams of carbohydrate versus calories. Since I really do feel a (better)difference when I'm eating lower carb, I think lower, but not necessarily low carb may be best for me.

Of course, in Tucson I ate Mexican food and lots of treats because I was having fun with family, back where I grew up for the first time in over 8 years, with access to old restaurant favorites. Also, it was my birthday. I don't feel bad about it, but I need to get back on the trolley in a big way. I'm tired of feeling persistently bloated and out of shape. Any definition I once had in my arms is completely gone, which is lame.

Anyway, I'll eat healthy this weekend, and then start paying serious attention to my carbs and exercise come Monday. Monday morning strength training class, here I come!

Awesome

Per Tom Naughton, The Dietary Guidelines Committee Receives the Spanking it Deserves.

Whatevs

I posted this as my Facebook status 3 hours ago: Anyone else tired of trying to lose weight? Because I am.

So basically, I'm 190. I graduated from college 11 years ago weighing 190. I would LOVE to be 160. At one point in my life I was 235. But I've been hovering around 190 for several years now. I go down a bit here and there, depending on whatever my recent machinations toward weight loss happen to be.

I'm just feeling really frustrated with the lack of movement on low carb. Apparently I blew my low carb "magic bullet" moment and I didn't even know I was blowing it. Sunday morning I went down a pound, this morning I went up a pound.

My reaction: Whatever.

I'm having a hard time finding the motivation to care.

Throwing Up My Hand

This morning, instead of being the exact same weight I've been for the past 2 weeks, I went up 2 pounds. Sigh.

Anyway, I went for a nice long walk this morning on the path near our house. It was very nice and reminded me that I do like to move. Sometimes when I'm sedentary for so long, I forget. Here's to keeping up the exercise!

At A Loss

Unfortunately, when I say "at a loss" it's not the kind of loss I would like. I've been steady on with the low carb since the weekend and literally have not dropped an ounce. In low-carb terms, I've actually been "better" than I ever have before, keeping my carbs super low (for me). My net carbs for this week:

Monday 40 g
Tuesday 25 g
Wednesday 27 g
Thursday 28 g

I haven't been working out, but that's because I've been feeling so awful. I've been exhausted, but haven't been able to get to sleep at night, and when I do sleep, I don't really feel like I'm sleeping. On Monday night I didn't get to sleep until 3 AM, which I thought was due to the Diet Cokes at dinner. Only the same thing happened yesterday and all I drank yesterday was a bunch of water.

Even so, most people doing low carb will tell you that while strength training is great for building muscle and you want to do that, working out isn't strictly necessary on low carb. You lose weight initially at least because your body starts processing the fat in your diet and on your body for energy, rather than relying exclusively on all the carbs in your diet.

This is not like low-carbing in the past. Previously I felt kind of yucky for a couple days, then was infused with energy. Even when I felt bad, I was getting some sort of motivation because the scale dropped a pound or two, or at least a few ounces, every day.

I've read a couple of articles talking about how you really only have 1, maybe 2 shots to get the maximum benefits from starting low carb. After that, your body has adjusted and, for various reasons, won't let you lose weight so fast initially. Is that what's happened to me? Why am I not experiencing the burst of energy I usually feel on low carb? Is it because the weather has been crappy too and my SAD is kicking in?

I know I need to exercise, but when I'm not sleeping it's really hard to pull myself out of bed after the few hours of sleep I do get. I hope tonight my sleep is better and tomorrow morning I can hit the trail for a walk/run.