xiao : I know what you mean about the warming up time before your body really kicks in... My first kilometer is always so crappy. When I was checking my splits from yesterday's run, the last 5k were all between 5:47-6:17/km while the first one was... 6:30 LOL. Oh, awesome results for you! That is awesome to lose at 1850, but you are running a lot and probably have a killing metabolism.. good for you!

Alexis : Awww, allergies must make running outside so hard! :S I do start to get why the threadmill is a great go-to workout for you! Oh dates! I could eat 20 of those in one sitting. (have you ever tried throwing some chopped on in banana muffins? YUMM)

Olehcat : Get better!! Don't push to run if you are not feeling fine, it will just suck more and more.. Get some rest

***

Still 134.2 this morning, I'm PMS-ing real bad, TOM should be here any day now (on my 28th day today, but last month I had a 30 days cycle, oh how I love this kind of surprises) and I want to eat everything in SIIIIIIIIIGHT. Seriously, I feel ravenous. Which is honestly rare for me, even when I am on PMS. Usually when I overeat, it is planned out and everything. I think I'll have a Crytal Light thingy, just to have a sugary thing to slurp on.

I had an good day foodwise, I tried to keep a decent foodlog, especially since I was not training today. We had teriyaki marinated chicken thighs for dinner, new recipe, they were great (even if I remember how I hate eating thigh, I just always need to use my fingers and I get messyyy).

I also baked AND ate for the FIRST TIME EVER a bread pudding. Yup, never tasted that thing before. We had a bunch of hard bread and I was like 'MEEEH why not''. How did I live so long without tasting it? It was a rum, raisins and chocolate chips one, and I used skim milk and cut half of the sugar and it was amazing.

Of course, thank to the PMS, I now want to eat the whole 8X8 inches in one sitting :P

I am supposed to run tomorrow morning, but they forecast rain/snow/bipolar weather. I guess I'll have to grow a pair and do it, it will probably help since we are supposed to have dinner with friends tomorrow, we're eating fancy badass sausages on the BBQ.

Have a great weekend ladies!!!

Mitsy – I TOTALLY feel your pain! Hope you feel better soon  and yes, chicken noodle soup definitely helps – I made 2 pots of it this week.

xiao – when you are slightly hungry at night, have you tried drinking a tea (non-caffeine of course)? I find my body does the same thing but it’s not like I am hungry enough to eat something but I find usually a nice tea does the trick and then I feel satisfied – otherwise it seems like your current plan is working, so stick to it!

krampus – whoa girl! how long have you been lifting for? good luck at open mic night, what is it that you play/sing?

alexis – I am in the same boat with you about the allergies – I never had allergies until I lived in the Midwest and now that I am back, I forgot how much they suck!

Turbo – YIKES for the snow! and I exactly like that when I am PMS-ing – pretty much anything I see goes into my mouth. however, I have read studies showing that we actually burn more calories when we are on our cycle. good luck with the race tomorrow, hopefully the weather will hold out.

olehcat – feel better! I am a wimp and whenever I feel slightly sick I don’t even attempt to work out so props to you for trying to run.

-----------------------------------
Well this week turned out to be pretty good weight loss wise -1.6 lbs… probably because I haven’t been eating much and not much of an appetite. Yesterday I had to leave work early and went back to the doctor, now I’m on some antibiotics and an inhaler – a combination of cold/sinus/allergies. It’s been 2 weeks now, so let’s hope after this week I’ll be better and can get back into the exercise routine because I'm going stir crazy!

I tend to over baby myself when I’m sick and let myself indulge in anything that makes me feel better – like ice cream. I have been very good though and I passed up the Ben & Jerrys – I told myself I can’t taste it anyway, so why waste the calories!

Today I am in bed and I will probably be here all weekend – drinking lots of tea with honey, now is a good time to catch up on all the TV shows I’ve been missing LOL. I also have a ton of quizzes to grade, so that will keep me busy. Otherwise I’m in the middle of planning Summer vacay – planning on going back to France in July-August to see the in-laws and then the hubby will be coming back with me to America, yay!

Have a great weekend ladies… I saw a quote on FB today and it is is SO true and it gave me some motivation to stay on track:

“I regret eating really healthy today” – said no one ever (LOL!)

Where last month I did really well with calorie counts, but not so much with the exercise, this month has been the opposite. Basically, my principal stipulation for calories is that, so long as I've done a solid workout, the only thing that really matters is staying under 2000. I mean, it does result in a slow loss, but how else can I possibly fuel my runs without enough food?!

Last month, I was doing like <1700 per day pretty reliably, but this month I've been hovering between 1850 and 1950. That said, my workouts were much lighter last month -- think 45 min-1 hour jogs most days of the week, plus my half-a$$ed lifting routine 2 or 3 times. This month, I've been doing 2x workouts maybe 4 days out of the week, and have been coming close to 40 mile running weeks (although tending to hit more like 38, on average).

I felt really bloated and heavy today, although I did suck down a bag of 5 big pears yesterday, and I think I underestimated how many calories were in them. They're the lower sugar variety, but very crisp and delicious. Rather TMI, but my punishment for this fruit feast was a morning punctuated by several urgent visits to the bathroom.

Anyway, I did a 1h55min run of 11 miles today, and it was glorious. Ate 1910 calories, with a dinner of a big salad with canned tuna and thousand island dressing and cabbage, and two ears of corn. Had a fun-size Snickers for dessert. I'm stuffed to the point of discomfort, but oh so satisfied.

Turbo ~ Oh, bread pudding... De-LISH! I especially like at around the holidays, although you really can't go wrong with bread, raisins AND choco chips! Boo to the bipolar weather. It's chilly again out here again, too...

Chahma ~ Lol - You're so right that no one's ever regretted eating healthy. Good for you for treating yourself well and rationing your cals. Being sick is NO FUN! And especially that kind of allergy/weather-related/bacteria sick... I feel like the earlier you go to the doc for meds, the better (even though I hate admitting defeat!)

Xiao ~That's some workout you got going on. Watch those calories burn!


~~~
Someone's feeling pretty chipper this morning! I've been adding in vitamin D and B supplement and feel like they're slowly but surely changing my world. Have a good chunk more energy. Yay!

Epic week of concerts concluded last night and I'm now in recovery mode. I crashed on the couch last night and was in bed fairly early. Managed not to buy the entire supermarket and kept eating pretty clean. Still sitting much higher than I would like, but a few pounds lower than I have been in the past few weeks. Small win, but I'll take it.

Also must remember that this is PMS week, so objects in the fridge are larger than they appear. Will try to stay hydrated and up my activity a bit, to give my body a fighting chance at keeping level through all this.

Oooooh, feedback from the "meet up" on Saturday... Pretty positive! I was afraid he'd be wimpy or arrogant or scrawny, but he was none of those things. Reminds me of either Martin Freeman or a cross between Data and Commander Riker from ST: TNG. He's actually a "real person", too, with real world credentials and everything. Just got his doctorate in military history (focusing on midcentury politics) and was on consultant trips for the DoD this past week. We both want to see more of eachother, which is a good thing! I just friended him on fb, too, so now I feel like we're officially "friends" in the real world.

Planning a trip to DC this weekend. Excited for that, too. So all in all, lots going on. Hurray!

Happy Monday, feather friends!

chahma : Amazing weekly result!! Are you feeling any better? You seem to have fallen in the bandwagon of ''every body is sick'' of the thread...! hehe And I love the quote!

xiao : I always have trouble balancing fueling/refueling on big training days (especially long run days). I'm always scared of not eating enough, but I also don't want to it too much. Awesome run, woman! I love reading about you and krampus fast run, I'm a slow runner, and all this motivates me

Alexis : My boyfriend told me that a breadpudding is more ''Christmas thing'' too but I gave the look ''Do I really look like I care '' LOL. The thing that is cool with the dessert is that because there is not much sugar/flour/butter and I used skim milk, it's pretty low calorie (for a dessert) and I had room to throw chocolate and stuff. I think that is why I am in love LOL

I'm so happy that you had a nice time on Saturday! And I love Martin Freeman! Your guy sounds like a winner! PhD in military history, that must be so interesting! Keep us updated on this!

***

Hi ladies! Up to 136.2 or 136.4 this morning, I can't remember what I posted in the daily WI. It's not a surprise though LOL considering the addition of all the following factors ;
- Ate out at friends Saturday (sausages, hanful of tostitos (hello, salt!), beers, etc (but at least I had a 12k run in prior to the dinner)
- the boyfriend decided to cook a kick*ss dinner last night, and by kick*ss I mean Beef/Foie Gras Wellington with a béarnaise sauce (read here BUTTER BUTTER BUTTER sauce). But it was so amazingly good, no regret at all
- Rabbit pooping for the past 2 days
- HELLO TOM WHERE ARE YOUUU

So. Yeah. I'm back on track, drinking water, meals of the week and trainings all planned out. I just can't weight for the scale to go down, not because I don't like the number but because I was so bloated last night, it was uncomfortable.

I did my Monday run training this morning, 6k including 5 hills repetitions. Felt good, my recovery is so better than it was 1 year ago.

Have a good week, everyone!!

Turbo ~ A healthy bread pudding? You go, girl. Man, now you're making me crave... I'm on PMS watch this week too, so my strategy is going to be "keep calm and make tea" + gallons of water. Am going to try to stick to a meal plan so that I have some indication of when I'm going out of bounds (as tends to happen when I'm in PMS-ville...)

I'm kinda interested to see where this thing with the dude goes, too. Our interests are pretty dissimilar (he's military + Ukranian background; I'm ecclesiastical + Scandinavia) but I've gone out with guys with whom I've shared interests and that doesn't always guarantee compatibility... *shrug* Guess we'll see...

Drive-by! 124.6 this morning. Was 123.6 yesterday. Both days this weekend I ate NOTHING all day, just a snack, and then had a HUGE dinner - went to bed feeling stuffed and woke up feeling light. I'm a fan. Work is BUSY today - it's flown by! I like it.

Personals later!

Put. A. Ring. On. It.

Personals later, too.

Just wanted to come in and say that while I may still be slightly exhausted from yesterday's run, I'll be doing another one of equal or greater length after I finish lesson planning this morning. For Boston.

波士顿恐怖分子，我操你妈

I'll leave you to translate that on your own.

Hi, feathers,

I'm just so horrified by what happened in Boston that I can't stop thinking about it.

But it makes me all the more determined to run in the half marathon in two weeks. My training is a little off (being sick all of last week didn't help), but I did an 8-mile mostly run (walked the last mile) on Sunday. I can finish, even if it won't be my best time. There will be a more sobering feeling to it, though, sort of "running for those who can't anymore" or something.

I haven't weighed in about a week. I won't weigh until I feel through my clothes that things are looser. Otherwise, I know that I will only be feeling extreme disappointment and anger if I step on the scale. Right now I'm trying an experiment where I keep to mostly healthy eating, but I basically don't eat dinner. I eat a little something in the morning, have lunch which is usually a large salad, some protein, and some fruit, then a bit of protein at around 3 p.m. (on class days of Monday and Tuesday, this is a tuna unwich (no bread, just a lettuce wrap) from Jimmy John's and then nothing but maybe a glass of wine later. I'm hoping that will help me keep my calories down without feeling deprived. We'll see.

Krampus ~ I know, right? I'll do my best.
Look at you, Miss She's Got the Whole Company in Her Hands. :thup: Power woman. Does it increase your stress level or do you just feel more effective now?

Turbo ~ That menu sounds ah-MAY-zing. Worth the extra salt, imho, but I understand that the bloat can be frustrating. How exciting to see the development of your running abilities from this time last year!

xaio ~ Tragic what happened in Boston. Hoping they catch the person responsible... if there even is such a thing.

oleh ~ Probably a smart choice to hold off weighing until your clothes feel different. Sounds like you and krampus are doing a similar (but reverse) IF-ish type eating thing. I'm all for programs where you don't have to stress over the food that you're eating. Time limiting eating structures can be so freeing, y'know?


~~~
Ack. Hit the 2PM slump HARD man...

Am trying to make my calls (ugh.) and be a diligent employee... easier said than done!

I sent a coy-ish text to "the professor" last night (he sent a text from a new number and didn't introduce himself... how was I supposed to know who it was???) and he just now returned. He's not a phone person, but still... Ack.

Debating the DC trip now... was planning to go with a college friend to go visit another college friend, but just had to shell out for a new hard drive and am feeling kinda "blah". Dunno...

Alexis : Actually, I'm a big fan of ''you dont have to be totally compatible to get along well with your significant other''. I really had almost nothing in common with my boyfriend when we started dating, and we slowly grew into some stuff that the other enjoy! Win win. I hope you PMS watch is doing okay. My big craving phase are mostly gone, thank god!

AHH, guys and cell communication! He just really might not be a ''phone'' guy, but I know it's annoying. Is DC a long drive from where you live?

xiao : I wore a random race tshirt to the gym today, to follow up the lead of Facebook/Fitocracy movement For Boston. I am so shocked, disgusted and sad by these events.

krampus : Great weigh ins, woman! You seem pretty busy at work. How is the new tasks/bookkeeping thing you are now doing going?

Olehcat : It is great love you are showing by pushing through your halfmarathon despite not feeling completely ready as you want for it. The solidarity in the runner community online is enormous and touching.

***

134.4 this morning, happy to be back down under 135. I know it is just mental, but 135 became my new threshold or something. I don't care if I am not losing much anymore, as I am trying to get muscles strength, but at least I want to maintain and not go up.

I was totally shocked and taken aback from yesterday's event, I can't even imagine what those poor people and the families of the lost ones are going through. There is a run held near Sherb to support Boston on Sunday and I'm super disapointed I won't be able to make it, it is the same day as the Christening of my goddaughter.

I wore a race tshirt at the gym today to show support though. My session was hard, sweaty and awesome, but next to what people are living right now, it's seem pointless... But as Olehcat said, I guess you have to keep pushing for those who can't anymore.

Love ya feathers!

Alright, personals time:

chahma: I actually don't mind the slight nighttime hunger. In fact, I kind of embrace it, because it's a sign of good things to come on the scale
Hope you're feeling better!

Alexis: I love this: "objects in the fridge are larger than they appear". Also, absolutely frigging yes on the vitamin D. I always forget to take them, but my Centrum multivitamins (one of few foreign vitamin/medicine brands available here) are my lifeline. I remember several years ago, my dad clued me into the vitamin D thing, and it really helped me out through a long and grey winter of seasonal low. Of course, my preferred means of getting vitamin D are in long afternoons spent running/biking in the torrid sun.

Turbo: I'm actually pretty slow, too. I always run long, as I find short stuff to be bo-ring, but a typical pace for me is like 10.5-12 minutes a mile, depending on wind conditions, how juiced-up I am, etc. And actually, I always start super slow and work up mid-to-late route to my best speeds. I don't think it really matters how fast you go, in numerical terms of distance/time. All that matters is how well you taxed your body
---
That's it for now! I've got millet porridge cooking in the other room and it's boiling out of the rice cooker aslkfjfkjdfk
---
Edit: I seriously wish I'd taken a picture of the destruction I just cleaned up in the kitchen. Millet porridge is an awesome Chinese staple food (they eat all kinds of porridge, but millet's my fave), but cooking it is such an absolute pain in the a$$. I don't know why, but it just *loves* to go spraying out of the steam-vent in the top of the rice cooker, getting sticky water everywhere and necessitating a full component strip-down and scrub of the cooker.

Good evening!

@xiao - Interesting about the millet porridge! So what is a typical Chinese meal? I know that stuff we get in American Chinese restaurants are not it. What would the average person there eat? /curious

@turbo - thank you! And I love the idea of you wearing that race shirt to the gym. I need to remember to do that. I haven't run the last two days because of my 13-hour days that I have every monday and Tuesday, but tomorrow I plan on a 4-mile run, Thursday on a 6-mile run, and hopefully something on Friday (although I have a ton of work to do that day).

@Alex - yep, exactly. If you just restrict the time you can eat, it allows for a bit more freedom. Today I had a lot of healthy food, but I also had some treats (like a big glass of wine) and not eating dinner has actually been really easy. I feel slight hunger but I go to bed so early anyway, it's really nothing to me. And did I miss something? Are you dating someone? Am intrigued! I need to jump into the dating world, but I haven't had time yet, and I'm soooo intimidated. Haven't been on a date with a non-husband person since well, I'm embarrassed to admit! ;D

@chahma - thanks! I feel WAY better now. On Sunday I woke up and almost felt giddy I felt so good (as opposed to having been sick ALL of last week).

Maybe too early to be excited that this is a lifestyle I can maintain and that will allow me to lose? I don't know yet, but I weighed myself for the first time in a week, and I'm down almost 1.5 pounds since last week. And that's with hardly any exercise since last Wednesday (I was sick all of last week, then Monday and Tuesday are my 13-hour days so I don't run then). Basically just did my long run/walk on Sunday. Plan to go today.

It's been a few days that I've been doing this lifestyle of not eating dinner. I've been having breakfast (usually something small and proteiny like an omelet or black beans and also something small and treat-like (I had a small raspberry tart yesterday). For lunch I have a healthy salad-type thing (yesterday I made a shrimp and avocado salad), some fruit, and some Greek yogurt, some raw veggies on the side to snack on. And then I eat something proteiny and filling around 3 p.m. (my two class days I've had a tuna unwich from Jimmy John's, but today I'm bringing a few hardboiled eggs before I go to the gym)

Then in the evenings? Nothing. But I may enjoy a glass of wine. I might have a piece of chocolate, too. It doesn't bother me to not eat dinner when I'm by myself. If someone wants to go to dinner with me, I'm still going to go and eat lightly. Anyway, I imagine I'm saving quite a few calories since I'd be doing all those same things, only eating something in the evening, too.

So anyway, I'll weigh again in a few days and see what it shows...

Hi Feathers!

I'm feeling good today - had a really fantastic band practice last night where we all realized we are OBSESSED with "Hungry Heart" by Bruce Springsteen and covered it with all three of us singing (yelling) ad-libbed harmonies while playing instruments. Eating and exercising has been going well - I'm liking the recent pattern of "skimp on lunch and gorge at dinner" and despite hitting the Double Dunker ice cream every night I've been shrinking and keeping a deficit. The past two nights we've had roasted veggies and chicken or turkey with a Greek yogurt/sriracha/mustard/pepper "sauce" that feels like you're eating aioli or sour cream. It's soooooooo perfect.



Things that shouldn't cause anxiety but do - the scale is on its last leg, and I have the irrational fear of "what if I replace it and it ISN'T THE SAME AND I WEIGH MORE?" - ridiculous I know because really what does it matter?

Looks like it's finally gorgeous out, going to take a walk at lunch I think and either run or go for a long walk in the evening. Dinner is going to be salmon fillets with veggies of some sort with BF. Mmmmmm.

olehcat I'm glad you finally feel hopeful. The most important thing is not having to think about food constantly! Even if your weight doesn't drop further I think "not stressing about what you eat" is a great goal for right now. 8 miles is intense!

xiaobaicai Millet porridge looks like the ultimate kitchen mess! I don't know how anybody runs longer than 7 miles - I always get knee pain and stiff legs and snapping hip! Glad you are feeling satisfied and pounding out miles. Is the weather finally warming up where you are?

Turbo Being busier is nice, sitting around with my thumb up my butt is good some days but I prefer a faster paced workday. How are your poops? Is TOM late again?!

Alex Oooooh, the professor! I am interested in hearing where this goes. Bookkeeping is kind of a drag in that if I make a mistake the world ends and the organization loses trust in me, but I'm naturally EXTREMELY disorganized, so it's good practice under pressure. No one has to know the company is all a grand experiment...

chahma I've been lifting for about 1 year but only recently am getting into heavy barbell lifts. Sorry you're STILL sick - I hope you rest up and don't OD on dairy, the last thing you need is MORE mucus! :} I play violin and melodica and sing sometimes.