Ang, sorry you’re feeling depressed about losing weight, but good for you that you get out running. Running for 30 minutes is a very good run in my book. I find that the most important thing is to eat enough before I work out; I get light-headed when I run after doing weights, especially in the mornings when I only have a shake before I go to the gym (protein, milk, banana). I know it’s good (fat-burning-wise) to run on an empty stomach, but I think I need to eat a little more before I start running, maybe a fruit or protein bar. I want to burn fat when I do cardio so I aim for a 65% increase in heart rate. I like the treadmill, bike and elliptical machine these days, because I can program the machines to keep my HR stable and adjust the resistance while I focus on keeping alive (it’s boring!) for the whole 40-45 minutes.
Ang, what kind of books do your book club read?
My suggestions on how to start over with weight loss is to start writing down what you eat: what, how much, and when.
Write down everything for a couple of weeks, see where you can make changes easily and start changing that, and do it slowly. You could get another diet book if you want to, they’re always good for inspiration, but you already know how to lose weight. You’ve already done that – now it’s about getting re-started. And my best suggestion is to start a food journal, count whatever you want (potion size, grams of protein, grams of fat, calories, points, or whatever), but start looking at what you’re doing right now.
I think my biggest challenge in losing and maintaining weight is to move out of the all or nothing thinking where the ‘eat-everything-mode’ or ‘eat-100%-on-plan-mode’ alternate, and I never could be bothered to change the first because that wasn’t really me, or it wasn’t really something I wanted to look at. I used to think that if I just could get into the second mode, I could forget about the me that ate everything in sight. It’s the all or nothing, and black or white thinking that a lot of us struggle with. How to deal with the black, and use it as a starting point (not deny that it’s there), treat it as a reality and not an aberration, and work on how to get some structure, clarity, good habits, etc. into the black (make it grey!). We don’t want black or white; we want many shades of grey!
(OK, crappy metaphor, but you guys get my point, right?)
Renee – what is the MFD like compared to WW? Different strategies? More food? Different food?
I started my new weight lifting program a couple of weeks ago, and it’s always a real boost to change things around a bit. I already lifted more on the squats (I did a whole set of 135lbs, the goal is somewhere around 160-165 by the end of the year, so I’m doing well). I really like that I get stronger while losing weight (OK slowly, but still! Losing weight. At least in theory!
), which to me means that I do it right. I eat enough (average around 1500-1600 calories a day), and I eat correctly (enough protein).
hump day :(
i can't even get started because I feel like there is no point and it'll never happen. I don't have the patience right now. I'm working on changing my thoughts but no luck so far - and it's almost May! 
5k is excellent. A pedometer is a really good idea. Walking that much is great! Are you going to track a couple of days that you don't go to work just for comparison?
Although it may be better to run on an empty stomach (not sure I have heard that one), I can't imagine that a protein bar would make that much difference. If it stops you from becoming lightheaded I think that's more important and safer.
