Ew. I feel utterly disgusting. So I just got back in from a big Easter potluck that was put together by all the Westerners in my city. Granted, Sundays are typically my "cheat days", but cheating doesn't mean all-out stuffing my face, either. Which is exactly what I did. And I washed it down with first a generous glass of wine, a Jack and Coke, and then a beer, although the drinking damage could have been a LOT worse. This is the most I've eaten in months in one sitting -- I feel gigantic and like I just erased a week's worth of good progress.

Also, my boyfriend is not on Skype like he'd promised, because with France just having come off their daylight saving's time, he got messed up by an hour. So now I'm sitting here fat, alone, slightly drunk, and greatly disappointed that I probably won't see him tonight like I'd so much hoped.

Blargh Monday! I ate a lot this weekend - holiday meals twice, burger at the AA sober club (my bf's dad brought us with him), too much cake. I'm looking forward to eating vegetables and drinking lots of water this week! 132.5 this morning according to my scale.

I met my bf's whole family and they're all really cool and down to earth, and seemed to approve. Everyone is very interested in nature and the outdoors, so I played all day in the woods Saturday and walked all over the beach yesterday. It was really nice to just be out in nature enjoying it.

philana I don't really worry about it! My body gains and loses "water weight" very quickly and I trust myself to eat intuitively most of the time. I think it's normal to fluctuate and be hungrier sometimes and less hungry other times, and around holidays if I gain a pound, oh well, I'll lose it afterward. I used to have terrible binging problems where I would eat 6000 calories in a sitting and gain like 8 lbs overnight, and then those lbs would be gone 2-3 days later.

xiaobaicai I definitely gorged myself at almost all the expat holiday events when I was living in Japan. Don't beat yourself up about it though. I don't know about fasted-state workouts affecting weight loss.

jayohwhy Well done on the personal best!!! Hope you have a wonderful time in SF with your friends.

TurboMammoth Feel better! Salt is terrible, sometimes my fingers feel fat and I understand the "pregnant" feeling.

krampus : I'm jealous of you that you were able to go outside this weekend, the weather was horrible here!

xiao : I thought I would be able to be in control during Easter weekend too! and don't worry, it did not happen with ne neither

***

Tuesday morning, and I wanna diiiiiie

I KNOW I ate too much during the weekend. I know it, I feel it. And I'm still a bit sick from the cold the bf and I got over the weekend.

I tried on some Pilates dvd yesterday and GOOD LORD I'M WEAK. My legs and but are so sore! It's a beginner DVD and I think I'm gonna be okay sticking with the beginner thing for many weeks. I'm supposed to go running tonight, starting hills training. Sick + sore, what a great run it would be!

I told the bf that for the next weeks, we're gonna be eating SUPER healthy, even during the weekend. we are doing good during the week days but during the weekends something always come up and we eat too much. he agreed that we needed to get the control back and to do the last effort before summer.

so this week, veggies and healthy fish and chicken! yay!

xiaobaicai - today is a new day! I hope you feel better. You will lose the added weight quickly enough anyhow, don't beat yourself up over it!

krampus: that's good to hear! It sounds like you had a pretty awesome weekend too, his family sounds like fun.

Turbo: sounds like your BF is gonna slim down some too hihi. But seriously, it's good for him and for you! I know about feeling weak, my core is just incredibly weak. I shake like crazy when I do core stuff. It's one of the big lessons I am learning in this weightloss process, that there's stuff you can't do but with effort and a plan and patience you can build up to doing it. I've always been the instant gratification type. And I never did stuff that took me more than 2 days to learn to do well.

---
The weirdest thing ever is that I ate more than on a good day during easter but not over my maintenance calories (well, maybe like 50 or so!). I did not exercise either for 3 days. And guess what? My weight dropped the last 2 days. Haha. Went from 141.5 to 139.3. Finally!

I started running barefoot this weekend, did my first run.. and omg my calves are SORE. I can't run too much while I build this back up and the gym was closed so I was sorta getting frustrated, the weather here is just as awful as with Turbo it seems so I stayed in. SO! I just went to the gym and went totally nuts for an hour and a half and burned about 900 calories.

I also just realised that I am back on track for a whole month now. The last time I was as on track as this is last summer and I lost my 20lbs in 6 weeks. Doubt that is gonna happen again, but it's gonna happen. I am gonna reach my goal before my birthday. Must. Will. Hihi.

Still 132.5 this morning, but I ate normally and feel less bloated than I did yesterday. Tonight I'm gonna check out the "big man" lifting gym with my bf and go to work. I feel SO inspired by so many 3FC posters who are getting strong with weights - sumire, sontaikle, ValRock, Petite Powerhouse, so many cool strong chicks here!

philana : The boyfriend keeps on loosing so easily, it is almost getting frustrating to me LOL You said you started to run barefoot... god you're brave! I could never do that! yay for the 130's WI! all your effort are paying off!

krampus : rock that weight lifting girl!! how is it going so far??

***
The belly bloating is slowly going away, but I can still feel it a bit. I set a goal of no WI until my official one friday morning because one : it gonna help me not feel miserable all week long after the binge weekend of Easter and two : because the scale shows low batteries and we need to get a new one (great coincidence!) I just want to get in control again with the food before freaking out with the scale

I'm still a bit sored from pilates from monday but my run from last night helped a lot (I started hills training.. oh god), I think the the running helped evacuate some acid lactic in the muscles... i still feel it a lot in my inner tighs and glutes though

I am officially in for a half marathon in Montréal, September 23th, part of the Rock&roll series! It's paid and everything, no turning back now! There is 2 others races I'm also eyeing... still have until May 1rst to pay for them though

Hope you're all having a great day!

philana- great job on the one month on track! it's a big feat to avoid temptation and distractions for that long. i also have a birthday goal. what month is your birthday?

krampus- it sounds like you're really liking the lifting!

turbo- half marathon sounds exciting! i think it's going to be great.

------

i'm back from my trip to SF. i had a great time with my friends and tried to keep on my eating in check, but i did have a few indulgences since i hadn't been up there or seen my friends at length for about 3 years.

i had my travel scale which usually weighs me heavier than my home scale, but for some reason my home scale weighed me more today! ugggh. i got out there and ran 4.7 miles but i could see the rain clouds were rolling in and last time i ran in the rain i slipped and fell.

i decided to jump in and entered my name for the drawing to run the nike women's marathon in SF in oct. part of me hopes i dont get chosen but other part of me is up for the challenge.

the challenge over is while iw as gone my husband stopped by this great taiwanese bakery called 85 degrees and my fridge has a box of yummy bread. it usually takes me at least a week and a half to make it through a few rolls since i portion them out daily. the stinking things will be staring at me for a long time. however, my latest thing has been to find a way to have everything in moderation, so i think i'll survive.

philana: Wow -- are you running completely barefoot? That's always something that interested me, but I only tried it once on my university's indoor track. I do have a pair of New Balance Minimus Trail shoes (soles by Vibram, but not divided into toes), and they may well be my most prized possessions. Where do you run without shoes?

TurboMammoth: That's awesome that you're doing the half-marathon! I love distance running, and can put in mileages over the 13.1 mark, but I just chicken out at the thought of doing that in a competitive atmosphere.

----
I've been well and on-track this week, I'm happy to report. The day after the Easter feast, I was so carbo-loaded that I took this beautiful bike ride, hauling A the entire time, almost to the neighboring village of Anda. Total time was 2h20m, and I estimate I burned 1000-1200 calories. You can ride on the highway in China, and it's not too bad, because motorists and truck drivers shift over and give you plenty of room. Only thing is that cars sometimes pull off to the side, or slow down to like 10 mph, because it's sort of a spectacle for them to see a fair-haired foreign woman biking down the shoulder, haha. Where this would feel really threatening in the states, here I just laugh it off and keep moving.

In other news, I've decided to cut my beloved mantou and dou shao bao out of my diet for the time being. They're just these little steamed buns, the former being much like bagel bread, and the latter being the same, but with sweet black-bean filling. I've done surprisingly well with rationing them out, but I felt like I should get my carbs from less milled grains. So I've been eating 8-grain porridge or brown rice. I also came upon some delicious dried and salted white fish (they it make in-house at the supermarket I go to), and it's pretty much the best lean protein source I could ever hope for. Also, I've been spending too much money on these awesome melons. It would be no problem at all for me to eat an entire one in a day, and it wouldn't put me out of calorie budget since it's so light. God I love the food up here.

131.5 for the second day in a row after a rather exhausting lifting day. Everything hurts sooo good. I had a veritable feast of green beans, chicken, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and butternut squash after the gym.

My mood this morning, despite not sleeping enough, is nothing short of GREAT!

xiaobaicai Asian bakeries know where to get ya - I had a problem with daifuku and mochi in Japan. What kind of melons are you loving right now? I had "buntan"/"Chinese grapefruit" on special occasions in Japan - it was super dry pale yellow flesh with tons of seeds. They take forever to peel and eat and are thus super satisfying!

TurboMammoth 1/2 marathon is gonna be great, Montreal is gonna be great too! I'm going there next weekend to drive my roommate to his new home there. How is hills training? I find it so miserable I almost just want to avoid it.

jayohwhy Nice to hear you had a good weekend in SF! "Everything in moderation" can work and does for a lot of people. 4.7 miles is decent mileage, too! What's the furthest you've run?

Hey ladies just checking in! I've had exams and been too busy to come on here. You guys do realize it's the middle of April!!

I'm back at 135, just been yoyoing now for months! Oh well.
Hope you're all well, congrats on getting in the weights everyone

Turbo: The barefoot was awesome but I suffered horrible calf DOMS the days after. I ran with shoes today and it was totally different because I already feel more in control of my stride because of paying more attention. I am gonna continue to run barefoo tbut it sucks that I have to build it up. Hihi.
Awesome on the half marathon! My goal is to run one in november. I signed up for a 10mile run (the biggest running event of the year in Amsterdam) on september 23rd also! It's gonna be so cool.

jayohwhy: I do 'cheat' but I've gone over maintenance calories by maybe 200 only once or twice. The rest of the time my net is under maintenance by quite a bit. My birthday is 29th of july. I started this whole journey a week before my 26th birthday because I was so shocked at being overweight and turning 26. Hihih. What is your bday goal and why?


xiaobaicai: I did it only once and completely barefoot, mostly because I don't have money for vibram fivefingers yet and was so curious. I ran just on the bicycle lane in the park here. Surprisingly enough it's pretty clear from debris and not painful. All I read on barefoot running says you should first learn to control your feet on even ground so you can feel properly what you do. I plan to build it up, but did a 3mile run in my shoes today and it was already way more of a forefoot strike than before.

krampus: So awesome that you also started lifting, let's motivate Turbo together? I love it because I know my body will 'eat' less of my muscles while I continue losing weight and after just a few times lifting I am already seeing small changes mostly in my arms. Are you still tryign to get down to 128 or pretty much done with losing and just sculpting your body?

Lisa: The yoyo effect is so annoying, I've been doing that with the 140-145 for half a year but I finally got really serious about weightloss again and now it's slowly going down. I think when you have less to lose you can't areally afford to not be super diligent. Or you could, if you would then not get discouraged by slow progress and eat back the progress in a few days of 'uhg, I don't care' once or twice a month. (That's how it worked for me anyway!)

--
If I am to believe Myfitnesspall I could be at 129 in 5 weeks if every day were like today. Today was not a very hard day. So that sorta excites me. Though obviously it's gonna go slower, but still, low 130s in a lil over a month would be awesome.

My mom is FINALLY on my page with this weightloss thing. She does not pull weird faces when I wanna eat "my food" or ask her to not offer me cookies and when I whine that I don't wanna go running or to the gym she motivates me and tells me to go because I will feel better. And she offered to buy virbram fivefinger shoes for me in a few weeks because I don't have money for them and she wants to help me! It's very nice to finally get some support.

jayo : awesome on entering the draw for the marathon! wow! and nice about having a great time with your friends in SF : what a great way to recharge the batteries

xia : god, I'd be so scared of biking next to the highway! and for the half marathon, I don't do it for the competitive thing : I just need some end point to motivate me to train... I run so slow, I compete more with myself than with others

krampus : GREAT JOB on the lifting, girl! And yummy, veggies feast... I'm craving for that right now!

Lisa : Good luck with your exams

philana : seeing how I was sore after my monday pilates, I think I'll stick with that for a while and do bodyweight stuff before starting really lifting or I expect I'm gonna DIE lol and GOOD LORD running completely barefoot! I don't think I could do it! and it's fun you're gonna run on the exact same dy in september!!

***

Hello ladies!

I can say I'm really back on track now, I've been around 1500 cal for the last 3 days and it feels good. I have a workout a day planned until sunday, meals are all planned out, I feel like I have control over this again. Finally.

Did not step on the scale since Sunday, tomorrow is my weekly WI, can't wait to know if I was able eliminate all the damages that Easter did on my body héhé

Well ladies I'm back on track! I've been around 1300 the past week and I've been to the gym twice, my exams are over so I can be more focused on working out now. I'm trying to run but my knee is in bad shape after 3 surgeries so I don't know if it's going to happen for me, I may have to stick to weight lifting and biking.

Turbo - are you still losing? have you set a new goal? also how is the job hunt?

Philana - so excited to hear you're doing so well, looks like you might get to goal by your birthday. It would be pretty exciting to have lost 40 lbs in a year!!

xiaobaicai - nice to 'meet' you!

krampus - I'm also inspired by the girls lifting heavy on here, I've been weight lifting 'with the boys' as well.

jay- what is a travel scale?!

Hi all, I ate a HUGE Polish dinner and a bunch of candy yesterday and didn't go to the gym or weigh myself this morning, but I'm sure I'm up. Oh well.

philana You know, I'm not REALLY trying to get down to under 128, elsewise I wouldn't have been hanging around the same weight for months. I guess I'm too lazy to eat few enough calories to lose weight.

TurboMammoth Feeling in control is the best feeling! You totally have this. Hope the WI goes well.

LisaTcan What kind of lifting do you do? I'm really curious to see how much everyone here can lift.

krampus- my longest distance to date is 9 miles. if i get into this marathon, that definately will have to change i totally understand about feasting. i was doing well except i had ayce korean bbq again yesterday for lunch. however i was so full that i didn't eat anything else.

lisatcan- my travel scale is a little scale i got on amazon for 20 bucks. it weighs me a little higher than my house scale, but it helps me to be at ease and accountable when i'm traveling..

philana- my birthday is may 1 and my goal is to be in the 120s. my birthday was also the reason why i restarted losing weight six months ago. i didn't want to turn 27 and not be at my goal.

turbo- i'm super stoked about the possible SF race. it would totally clear something from my bucket list.

-------------
so i've been super active since i've gotten back, but on the other hand i had ayce korean barbecue again yesterday for lunch. however, i've decided to kick it into high gear all the way until my birthday.
i have no idea why, but i've been so hungry lately!