Time flies when you're marathon training! I can't believe it's been 6 months (or 6 months tomorrow at least) since I hit my big 100lb lost goal. I've not posted much on the chat threads on here, although I have tried to keep up with some of the interesting questions that have been posed. I thought I'd try to share some of my experiences of the past 6 months.
1. I'm still losing weight, very slowly, but it doesn't affect me emotionally any more. I can happily go for weeks without weighing myself, and as long as my expensive skinny jeans still fit (they do) then I'm happy. I know I'm roughly on the right track, so I don't get worked up about the number.
2. It's been a bit artificial, the past 6 months. I've seemed to be eating everything that moves (or more accurately everything that doesn't, as I've been vegetarian for 7 months now!), but that's because of the marathon training. I have had a lot more leeway with my eating than I think I would have done without such an intensive workout schedule but, despite that, even during the taper I seem to have worked out working relatively intuitively according to my hunger - sneaking treats in where I can afford them and actually feel hungry enough to eat them, cutting down my eating when appropriate. I'm actually finding the taper quite interesting from that point of view - just as I want to be stocking up on carbs the reduced mileage seems to have killed my hunger and I'm eating less than I was a couple of weeks ago, and ignoring all the carby treats I stocked up on!
3. Exercise, exercise, exercise. I'm not seeing the marathon as the end of my running adventure. I'd like to take a bit of time to take stock without doing things so intensively, but I'm running a half marathon in October (a cool down from marathon training!) and a 10k in November. I've also applied for another half in January but it's hugely oversubscribed so I'm waiting to see whether I get in. Hopefully I'll be able to fit in more other sorts of exercise amid the running though, I'm starting netball practice with a new work team at the beginning of October, and I want to start cycling, with the intention of cycling to work once I get my bike sorted out properly.
4. I'm trying to get on with living my life rather than obsessing about all this stuff all the time. I know that I need to eat well, but I also know that if I stick to certain basic food rules, I don't need to count and weigh and measure constantly, and I'm starting to understand my limits when it comes to the line between "occasional" treats and more dangerous bad habits. Again, this has been hard with the marathon training because it necessarily takes over so much else in my life, and I'm looking forward to Monday morning when I can sit back and think about other things again (probably how much my legs hurt, but never mind!). I've been obsessing about the running, admittedly, but at least I've been focussing on it for its own merits rather than for its weight loss benefits.
It's interesting that the further I get into maintenance, the less I feel like I have to say on these boards. I check in here every day and read threads, but feel like they relate to me less and less these days. I'm always going to be aware of my former obesity, and I'm not intending to take my eye completely off the ball, but as time goes by I'm focussing even more than I already did on exercise and nutrition for their own sake rather than because of their other benefits. I'm not interested in weight loss any more, I'm interested in health and fitness.
And that's most of it. On Saturday morning I'm flying over to Germany for the marathon. I'm switching between being scared and excited almost constantly at the moment, and I can barely concentrate on anything else. Then I guess the real battle of maintenance begins, trying to do another 6 months without stupid amounts of running training to make sure I don't fall off the wagon.
Helen,
Congrats on such a huge accomplishment. In particular, I think this is fantastic:
Quote:
Originally Posted by YP1
... but as time goes by I'm focussing even more than I already did on exercise and nutrition for their own sake rather than because of their other benefits. I'm not interested in weight loss any more, I'm interested in health and fitness.
You say you don't feel like you have much to say over here at maintainers, but I think if you talk a little about how you got to this point, at least what you've done consciously, it would help many of us out. (This is one thing I wonder about as people come and go here. How many of us go away because we've 'outgrown' this board and can go on with a more-or-less normal life, and how many because we've slipped away from some mythical goal weight and don't feel like we deserve to be here any more. I suspect it isn't a happy answer.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by YP1
2. It's been a bit artificial, the past 6 months. I've seemed to be eating everything that moves (or more accurately everything that doesn't, as I've been vegetarian for 7 months now!), but that's because of the marathon training. I have had a lot more leeway with my eating than I think I would have done without such an intensive workout schedule but, despite that, even during the taper I seem to have worked out working relatively intuitively according to my hunger - sneaking treats in where I can afford them and actually feel hungry enough to eat them, cutting down my eating when appropriate. I'm actually finding the taper quite interesting from that point of view - just as I want to be stocking up on carbs the reduced mileage seems to have killed my hunger and I'm eating less than I was a couple of weeks ago, and ignoring all the carby treats I stocked up on!
I don't think marathon training is artificial, but it is different. We go through so many phases of life that put different nutritional requirements on the body: major fitness goals, pregnancy, illness, menopause, and I've found switching from one nutritional phase to another to be difficult, with new lessons to be learned and old ones to be relearned. I hope you continue to stick around and let us know how you are doing, and how the transition goes. But it sounds to me like you've got your head about you.
Finally, have a great race!! Enjoy every minute! And congratulations again.
6 months of maintenance!
