Diane - The dry needling sounds deeply unpleasant. I am glad you are getting treatment, though. Also very glad you're here and that you're still progressing toward your goals. And thank you for your kind words. They always mean a lot, but especially when I am struggling. I am hopeful that your PT will work both quickly and well.
Carter - Scale progress is not totally linear, but you are still making great (and fast) progress. I am so glad to see it! And I love that your posts seem to indicate you have taken on the rhythm of long-term weight loss and maintenance. Pretty chill about things that might trigger a freak-out for a newbie, but definitely focused forward. I also appreciate the patience with my whiny posts. It makes so much difference.
I did not want to run yesterday. I have a brief due -- my first brief in federal appellate court -- and I wanted desperately to just stay at work and pound it out. I kept getting interrupted all day yesterday with other issues, and the afternoon sort of slipped away. I never leave on time, but I committed myself to doing so and drove straight to the gym, where, to my relief, all the treadmills were taken. I just did not want to run. But I decided to change into my work-out clothes and wait five minutes before giving up. After I had changed, two treadmills had become available. And you know what? Despite my attitude, I could still run. I had committed to 4.75 miles steady state running, and allowed myself to pace at 5.0 mph instead of 5.2 mph. Once I got to 4.25 miles, I decided it would be ridiculous to quit just .25 miles shy of 5, so I committed to do 5 miles. Then, I decided to do a bonus .25, and cranked the speed up to 6.0 mph for the last minute. I ran 5.25 miles in 62:46, with an average pace of 11:57 per mile, or just slightly more than 5.0 mph. If I can maintain that pace for 13.1 miles, I will finish my half marathon. I still have a little over four months to train to be able to increase my mileage. This is starting to look more than just possible. I might even call it likely that I will do this.
Food was also way, way better yesterday. Maybe part of it was that my period ended. Whatever it was, though, it was much easier to make better food choices.
I am relieved that I seem to be on slightly more solid ground now. At least, the hooker in my head isn't telling me that I have always failed at this and will always fail at this. Today will be focusing on staying on course. Today is a lifting day, but the gym that I use when my kids are in judo is being painted, and not only would I have to deal with the paint smell, but some of the equipment will be unavailable. So, I am going to try to escape in the early afternoon to lift, and may just decide to work well into the evening, which means I will not have inappropriate food available to me. I also have been eating almost no fruit or veggies lately, so I am going to try to add some of that back into my diet. I have spinach, sugar snap peas, and blueberries at my office now.
It's gonna be a good day, y'all.
Last edited by LaurieDawn; 01-26-2017 at 10:22 AM.
Good morning <-- I feel I will need a second cup today before I even get to work.
Laurie: Your running stamina impresses me (even has me a little envious). I hope yesterday went according to plan, that you got your workout in and stuck to your eating plan.
I'm very frustrated with my old fat body this week. I had to cut my strength training workout short on Wednesday because my knees wouldn't bend - too much pain and stiffness for squats, and I did not even try lunges. It made me miserable. Yesterday was supposed to be a running day but I was short on time and truthfully still frightened by how recalcitrant my knees had been the day before, so I just did 30 minutes on the elliptical. Today is supposed to be another strength training day and I'm afraid of what I will find when I try. I used to be so strong. I'm built like a wrestler and I used to be strong as an ox.
This weekend I have a houseguest. When this particular friend visits we usually cook together, but this time, we have tickets for a music event on Saturday so there might not be time for cooking. Which also means there might be a lot of dining out for me this weekend, which will be challenging. I'll have to keep my eyes on the prize. It also means there will be no time to work on my writing project, which I have been too tired from my day job to work on much during the week (as I usually am) so I'm a little itchy about that as well. I do enjoy houseguests, and I enjoy visiting with friends, but I also do get cranky about the disruption it tends to cause in one's routine!
I wish good luck, good strength, and a good weekend to all.
Carter - I know exactly what you mean about social engagements! At the time I make them, I'm always so excited. But as they approach, I start to worry about the time commitment. It sounds like it will be lots of fun, though, and as challenging as eating out can be, I also know you have the tools and the commitment to tackle it, if that's what you choose. Of course, indulging for a meal or two is also a valid choice. I'm super curious about your writing project. I also relate to the injury concerns. I often don't know when to push myself and when to back off for fear of injury. Hopefully, your recalcitrant knees stop being so stubborn.
Diane - Hope PT is going well and that the stiffness is going away / is gone.
Mandy, Uber, Trazey, Bookmark - Hope you have a fantastic weekend! Mandy - Can't wait to hear about your inaugural run in those supa fly shoes.
Yesterday was not strictly on plan, but was not a disaster either. I stayed at work until 9:30 before finally getting to the gym, and then only did some half-hearted lifting, so it wasn't a great day for exercise either, though I did hit my 10K steps. I haven't missed hitting 10K steps since January 2, and that was because we took a 16-hour road trip that day. I feel good about that.
I think I am going to tighten up my food starting today. I started integrating more carbs/fiber into my diet (vegetables and berries), and I want to make sure I have those available. I am going to stop the Fiber One treats. They are delicious, but I have started eating too many of them. I am going to run today. I am going to do the intervals - 18 minutes running/1 minute walking x 3 and increase my pace back up to 5.2 for the running intervals.
Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend.
Last edited by LaurieDawn; 01-27-2017 at 10:01 AM.
Lol. I'm ordering my treadmill today. I'm running nowhere though, until this sinus infection leaves. But the shoes are crazy comfortable and feel like they belong on my feet. I wore them for an indoor aerobics workout a couple days ago and they felt pretty good!
It's been a funny weekend with respect to eating and plans. I was expecting a houseguest. Long story short, she canceled, but not until after we'd planned to cook a ridiculously indulgent breakfast on Sunday - that would be today - and I went and bought the ingredients. But I'm not making the indulgent breakfast this morning without her, and that makes me worry a little less about the weekend as a whole.
Let me tell you all about the breakfast we planned: It was halwa poori, a North-Indian and Pakistani breakfast made up of three main parts: fresh poori (you might be familiar with this fried bread), channa masala (chick pea curry), and halwa (the south Asian kind, made from semolina flour and sugar and lots and lots of ghee). It's amazing. Well, my friend is going to try again to visit next weekend, so I will plan for the halwa poori then. I may not eat anything else that whole day.
What else? Laurie asked about my writing project. Well, after years of sticking strictly to essays, film criticism, and occasional cultural criticism for my side projects, something put a bug in my ear last year to try to write a novel. So, I'm writing a novel. It is the strangest, most vulnerable experience I have ever had. I have no idea whether it's any good, and I feel completely, utterly stripped naked and exposed when I show pieces of it to anyone - or even talk to anyone about it - in a way that even my most personal essays never made me feel. Oh, but it can be a seductive escape from reality's near-relentless buffeting.
Anyway, I wish you all good luck, good strength, good healing, good exercise, and a peaceful day.
Funny story you guys: Remember my snarky MIL who got me the shirt that was clearly too small and she hoped I could wear it some day??? Yeah, she saw a progress photo, and sent me a $75 gift card so I could buy a new outfit. Crazy woman. But I used it for new sports bras, so the running will be easier.
Starting to feel better, but not 100% yet. Hoping when January leaves it takes all the sickness with it.
Mandy - Yay for the treadmill! That must mean that you shed those extra two pounds then? WOOT! You are rocking this. And yay for your MIL sending you a card. People can be crazy, but it's good to have her in your corner for whatever amount she can be. Sports bras are a great investment. I will run in just about anything, if I have limited options, but I won't run without a sports bra.
Diane - Yes. The pain needs to just be done for you. Dry needling does not seem all that pleasant, but I hope that it's effective for you.
Carter - A novel? That is fantastic. I have often imagined writing a novel, and have even gone so far as to plot one out. But to move from that to actually doing it is incredible. The breakfast sounds delicious. Hopefully, you get to make it next week and enjoy it, but balance it out so that you keep moving forward. I have no doubt you'll do this successfully.
I went to the gym on Saturday morning for my weekly fitness class with a couple of my friends. They are just starting a new fitness regimen, and so the videos we select are typically not very challenging. So, I decided that since I was at the gym, in my gym clothes, that I might as well make up the run I missed last Monday. So, I did. I decided to challenge myself by increasing the speed ever so slightly (5.0 to 5.1 mph), and seeing if I could increase the distance. I surprised myself by running 6.3 miles - officially finishing my 5K210K program early. 10K, baby, in the books. And I only took a single breathing break. I don't know why or how I was able to break through struggling to even finish a mile at the beginning of January (though I did run my "graduation" 5K on January 3) to having some decent endurance now, but I will take it.
Food was good until yesterday, and it was pretty disastrous yesterday. But I am on track this morning. I seem to struggle whenever I hit milestones, which I think is odd. I weighed in yesterday morning at 163.6. In April, when I restarted all of this, I had gotten up to 263. So, to celebrate my 100 pounds lost, I guess I decided to try to gain it all back yesterday.
Today is good so far, though. I quit my FiberOne treats, have small portions of veggies and fruit stocked at work, as well as lean protein. And I have a gap in my afternoon schedule when I can go for a run. I am going to try to increase pace today. I am going to run 6.0 mph, but do walking intervals.
Hope everyone is having a great start to a beautiful week.
Just a quick note. I should write more, but just not much to say. Just dealing with my back/neck. I went in today to see about the "needling". The guy that does it said that he thought we should try traction first. So, I was hooked up to this traction device. Then, he did some deep massage that has me sore right now. I go back on Wednesday for more torture. So over it.
Well it has been a wild few days, scale-wise. Up as high as 197 for no discernible reason, then back to 196 (I've been living between 195-196 for pretty much two weeks), then this morning, suddenly down to 194. (Oh, my period started last night, I am sure that had something to do with all of this.) So I get to finish up January with a number that pleases me tremendously.
So, since Jan 1, I have not had a single binge. I have overeaten at a couple of meals, but not outrageously so, and always with awareness and deliberate choice. I have twice had two drinks when one would have done fine. And I've lost 8 pounds, which is not a total I can ever expect to see in a month again but is great fun for a first month back on plan.
How was your first month of the new year?
What really puzzles me is that I don't know what changed. I struggled and struggled with binging and overeating. I kept thinking I wanted to get it under control but I kept not actually getting under control. I don't know what switch flipped on Jan 1 that made it possible for me to just stop binging. That's all I did, I just stopped. Very strange.
Well, as one of my professors used to say, moving forward ever onward.
KayG, welcome to the thread. I understand wanting to make sure you're really in it before standing up and saying hello. I thought I had done the same thing, but I looked back recently and saw that I resurfaced on Jan 4. So much for keeping a low profile. Anyway good luck and good strength going forward. You got this.
Diane, ouch ouch ouch. I'm so sorry you are still suffering with this. NO fun at all.
Laurie, congratulations on the 10k milestone. That's really superb. I also have a feeling you've done yourself a favor by ditching the Fiber One bars for now. I struggle a lot with snacks that are too tasty, even if they are "good" snacks with lots of protein and so on. It's just too easy to eat them for entertainment, and not really be honest with myself about whether I'm really too hungry to just wait until mealtime.
Mandy, I love the equipment collection you are putting together. Get better fast so you can get to using it all!
Diane - I looked up dry needling. It does not look like fun. The traction device sounds challenging as well. Deep tissue massage can be great -- but it can also be pretty painful. I do not blame you for being "so over it." It's just one of those things where you go and do it because there's not any other good option, and I genuinely admire you for just going in and doing it. But I hope something works, and that it works quickly with a minimum of pain.
KayG - I am so glad you decided to post! You're in good company -- I think all of us have had lots of setbacks and restarts. And we're all still in the fight. But I think we're all around 50 pounds (or more) down from our highest weights, and most of us have maintained those losses for some time. It's something I like to remind myself of when I get into a "Why am I doing this? I will never win this war." Thank you for your kind words about my loss. I'm good at losing fast, but I'm also good at gaining fast. That's actually why I love this group. None of us see someone else's loss and assume it will be permanent. We all know the work that goes into maintenance. So glad you've joined us! And congratulations on your 47-pound loss! (Assuming your ticker is correct.) That's awesome.
Carter - I, too, find these things a bit mystical. I don't understand how some days, things just click and it feels easy, and other days, it's all I can do to stop myself from consuming the kitchen sink. I am so glad that you've found the formula for now, and that you're eight pounds down from your 01/01 weight. And a month of no binges? So. Awesome. February is a shorter month, so maybe two months in a row binge-free is in the cards?
Running is still going well. I ran for 5 minutes at 6.0 mph, then did a second (not impressive) interval of 8 minutes at 6.0 mph where I took a couple too-long "breathing breaks," followed by a final 5 minutes at 6.0 mph. I then did random intervals to make it at least three miles, which included a minute at 7.0 mph and three concluding minutes at 5.5 mph. I am feeling good about the running.
I ate too much last night, but I did well with food during the day. I miss the FiberOne treats, but am surprising myself with how much I am enjoying the added fruits and veggies. Gonna try to go to bed early tonight, both because I had very low sleep last night and because I don't do well with food temptation when I am really tired. I am also scheduled to lift tonight. Whereas I have been making good progress on the running, I have really let the lifting go. I am going to recommit to hitting the weights hard this evening. I have loose skin everywhere. Though I know lifting is not the "solution," I also know it helps, some. Plus, I like feeling strong.
KayG: Welcome! Glad you are joining us! This is a pretty special group that benefits me greatly.
Carter: That's so good that you are finishing up January in a good place. You've done well this month! You should be proud. Sometimes it just finally happens and you don't binge. Sounds like you hit your stride!!!
Laurie: Your running is impressive! You're doing so well with that! Glad that it is clicking for you!
For me, I kind of had a mini-meltdown this morning. I am just so tired of constantly thinking about my back/neck and how it is stopping me from my goals. I had asked the doctor if I could try going back to workouts. He said to wait until after our appointment tomorrow. Sigh... So, it kind of got me this morning. I can tell that it is affecting my moods, my energy level, my weight... But, the good news is that after I got through the initial meltdown this morning, I do think it is better. I feel like something loosened up (in a good way), so maybe the traction is helping. I'll do more tomorrow at the appointment. I'd like to get the pain to subside much more, too. I am just shocked at how much this has taken me out of my routine.
So, my weigh in this morning put me at 270.6... SIXTY POUNDS down. And holy cow, 15.8 for January.
I don't know what to do with myself. I feel really good, finally. And like I can keep the ball rolling. Maybe not as fast, because where did that come from?! But I am definitely more motivated than I have been. And I'm only slightly congested now, so when the treadmill gets here tomorrow I can set it up and christen it immediately!
SO EXCITED for the next few months of this weight loss endeavor. I can do this. I'm gonna rock it and knock February right out of the park!
KayG - Yay for January restarts and for (hopefully) hitting super stretch goals. And yay for the restart being when you are still thirty pounds down. This is why you are winning. And, like Mandy said, we are going to rock February. I'm impressed that you gave up sugar. I had a no-sugar January planned, but only completed about a week and a half of it. I think maybe you've inspired me to do a no-sugar February. Sugar is really, really hard for me to quit. But you gave it up, in addition to alcohol and coffee. You have no shortage of willpower, ma'am. Wow. Just wow.
Mandy - Could it be any better on the weight loss/fitness front for you? Excited for you to christen that new treadmill and those fantastic shoes. Hopefully, it gets there on time and setting it up goes smoothly, and that your winter ick is gone for good. And essentially "starting" something new and exciting, when you have reached a milestone of 60 pounds down. There is no stopping you now. That hideous MIL shirt is going to look great on you.
Diane - Sorry about the meltdown. You have more than earned it, but it sucks that circumstances pushed you there. Glad that you are feeling a bit "looser" and that you have another appointment today to hopefully get even better. I don't know if you find venting helpful, but I hope you feel like you can just let loose here with any frustrations you may be feeling. Doing my best to send healing energy your way. I hope this whole thing quickly becomes a story about how you continued to triumph despite this persistent issue.
Carter - Here's hoping February surprises you by resulting in even more weight loss than January did.
Rethinking my eating issues. The problem is that I eat too much sugar. I am too often attracted by my own version of the "Twinkie diet," where I restrict calories but have to do it by eating hardly anything nutritious because I am "making up" for bad food choices. My "no sugar January" did not work out well, though it did provide a needed boost. I feel ridiculous when I struggle at the gym to burn calories, then somehow, justify eating back all of those calories with a 10-minute binge. I can't do that anymore, nor can I continue to deprive my body of needed nutrients (micro and macro) so that I can feed my sugar monster. I can't even say "enjoy a cookie" because I don't really enjoy that cookie.
So - trying "no-sugar February." Ground rules - I am no longer allowed the FiberOne treats as an indulgence, but can have unlimited fruit and veggies. I am allowed to have Arctic Zero "ice cream," which does have sugar, when everyone else at my house is eating the sugar snacks. The ban also extends to high-carb, low-nutrition foods like chips and popcorn. 28 days. Starting with today. I can do this. (I am exempting the cookie I ate this morning. Because it's too late to choose not to eat it.) (Thank you for the inspiration, KayG.)
Running today. Glad that I have one area where I am genuinely feeling successful, though one of my calves felt a little bruised yesterday. I think I am going to try to make today my "long run" day, and I am going to try to push my Personal Best just a titch to 6.55 miles at 5.1 mph. That would be exactly half of the half-marathon. (I ran 7 miles in 2008, and that's my all-time personal best, but that can wait for my next goal.
Hope everyone has a fantastic day.
Last edited by LaurieDawn; 02-01-2017 at 10:44 AM.
KayG - You are a great addition to this group! Thanks for adding your comments and positivity! Here's to a great February. The traction I am doing is while I am laying flat on a table. The machine pulls my head for 45 seconds and then rests for 15 seconds. It lasts about 10 minutes, I think. I have thought the same thing about those things where you hang upside down. My luck I'd be stuck there for hours!! Ha!
Laurie: You can do the 28 days of no sugar. With February being a shorter month, I know you can do it!
Mandy: Wow! 60 pounds is such a great milestone! You have done so well and you are so inspirational to us all! Can't wait until you get to try your new treadmill. I'm sure you'll love it!
For me, I went back to physical therapy this morning for more traction. I do think it is helping. I told him that I still have a little pain, and he worked on some muscle stretches that just about floored me... But I do feel hopeful that there might be an end to all of this. I am going to avoid the weights for right now, but I am going back to the gym tomorrow. Even if I do nothing but walk on the treadmill, I don't care. I need to just get back in the routine. So, hopefully good news is on the horizon for me, too.
I have to get back on a good food plan too. I've been off track for a while now and have gained weight because of it. So, I need to get back to good habits for the month of February. That will be my goal for the end of February. Getting back on track with food and getting back to doing what I was doing before at the gym. Hopefully!!
