Operation Treadmill 2010 is still in effect. I've missed a week of exercise here and there, because of heat, or the exorcism that occurred on my face in late August, or whathaveyou. BUT. I've always climbed back up on the wagon (treadmill). In fact, this is the first time in my adult life when I've implemented an exercise routine and stuck with it even after a bad week. In the past, if I missed a few workouts I threw the whole thing out the window. I'm pretty proud of this fact alone.
It's been 9.5 months. My weight loss has plateaued in a big way. I'd lost 15 pounds by late spring/early summer, and I've put a couple of those back on. I'm still fine with how I look, but a good nutritional plan was eluding me. Back in June I was running a lot of miles. I was going on 5-7 mile runs. I was thinking about training for a 10 mile race in my area, and possibly a half marathon. Everything came to a screeching halt when I didn't support any of it with the right nutrition. I was still restricting calories, and especially carbs, while upping and upping my miles. I got really sick. For 2 weeks I would have a couple hours in the afternoon where I couldn't get off the couch. I was nauseous, exhausted, a mess. (It felt like early pregnancy, but I knew I wasn't pregnant.) I even cried to Bennett one day What is wrong with me? I feel like I'm dying. I was really and honestly worried that something was seriously wrong with my health. I didn't run for a few days because I was feeling too sick, and then I went on a carb binge. After 3 days of eating whatever sounded good (read: lots of carbs) I felt human again. After reading a bit about nutrition and training, it quickly became apparent that I wasn't eating right/enough to support my work outs. So, I started eating more. But running less. And then I missed a week here and there. But I was still eating more. So I gained a few pounds. Which is no big deal, but I felt like I was still left with the mystery of: How can I eat enough to support my work outs (and rev them back up) without gaining more weight, but without feeling sick?
And then I read Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Micheals. Holy smokes. I've never gotten into fad nutrition philosophies or the whole organic movement. My philosophy was always to eat well, lots of produce, not a lot of simple carbs, keep the meat lean, watch your portions, have a treat now and then, ect. This philosophy worked great. Even when I gained weight, I could look at my eating habits and know where I got off track, and get back on track. This whole regular exercising thing really threw me off. I needed more calories, but didn't know how to go about it. Until I read this book! It's amazing! The focus is on whole foods, and total hormonal balance. I learned so much about the hormones of hunger and fullness, as well as stress hormones and girly hormones. I have only made a few changes, over the last few days, but it already feels "right".
It's also been the motivation I needed to keep OT 10 going. I was still enjoying my work outs, but the whole thing felt kind of direction-less. I feel focused again, and I won't lie, I'd love it if another 10 pounds came off ;)
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exercise. Show all posts
Friday, October 8, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
The Opposite of Last Monday
Today was an incredibly sunny, warm day, but kind of poopy in general. Not a total wash, but just, meh.
- Jeb didn't sleep well last night = I didn't sleep well last night = sluggish morning = not the greatest start to the day.
+ Story Time at the library rocked, as usual, and thank God, because if not for that motivation we might have wasted the entire day.
- I have some kind of infected cyst on my forehead. It hurts, and it's swollen, and it's embarrassing. I have a derm appt for tomorrow, but I'm worried that either 1.)I won't be taken seriously, or 2.)There will have to be some sort of procedure that will leave me looking ridiculous. Oh, and husband didn't offer the exact kind of support I was looking for this morning, which left me choking back tears, and on self pity. Awesome.
- Hormonally this isn't the best time. For some reason CD5-CD7 are always very very low for me. (shrugs)
+ Jeb and I bought an S-load of fruit. It was on my to do list, and dammit, I bought the hell out of some fruit.
- I haven't been running in since Thursday. Very, very bad. And we ate Chinese food last night. So now I'm bloated, and sluggish, and all I've fallen off the wagon! Why even bother?! I'm so fat and lame! And I have a CYST on my FOREHEAD! I sound so fun to be around, don't I?
+/- I've been on vacation for the last 5 nights, and have 2 more. I'm already sad that it's winding down, but thrilled to still have a couple of nights off. I want these last evenings to be fantastic, not full of, well, me. like this.
- If I can't find my way out of this mood, I'll feel guilty which will be like Shit Frosting on Barf Cake.
I really prefer terrific days to poop days.
Here's to hoping: I get a decent run in this evening which completely revitalizes my mood, and that half of my face doesn't have to get cut off tomorrow. fx.
(eta: Didn't get a run in because Husband didn't get home early enough (-), but he did bring me flowers because he knew I was feeling down (+). )
- Jeb didn't sleep well last night = I didn't sleep well last night = sluggish morning = not the greatest start to the day.
+ Story Time at the library rocked, as usual, and thank God, because if not for that motivation we might have wasted the entire day.
- I have some kind of infected cyst on my forehead. It hurts, and it's swollen, and it's embarrassing. I have a derm appt for tomorrow, but I'm worried that either 1.)I won't be taken seriously, or 2.)There will have to be some sort of procedure that will leave me looking ridiculous. Oh, and husband didn't offer the exact kind of support I was looking for this morning, which left me choking back tears, and on self pity. Awesome.
- Hormonally this isn't the best time. For some reason CD5-CD7 are always very very low for me. (shrugs)
+ Jeb and I bought an S-load of fruit. It was on my to do list, and dammit, I bought the hell out of some fruit.
- I haven't been running in since Thursday. Very, very bad. And we ate Chinese food last night. So now I'm bloated, and sluggish, and all I've fallen off the wagon! Why even bother?! I'm so fat and lame! And I have a CYST on my FOREHEAD! I sound so fun to be around, don't I?
+/- I've been on vacation for the last 5 nights, and have 2 more. I'm already sad that it's winding down, but thrilled to still have a couple of nights off. I want these last evenings to be fantastic, not full of, well, me. like this.
- If I can't find my way out of this mood, I'll feel guilty which will be like Shit Frosting on Barf Cake.
I really prefer terrific days to poop days.
Here's to hoping: I get a decent run in this evening which completely revitalizes my mood, and that half of my face doesn't have to get cut off tomorrow. fx.
(eta: Didn't get a run in because Husband didn't get home early enough (-), but he did bring me flowers because he knew I was feeling down (+). )
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
It's a bullet-y kind of day.
- I had 8 nights in a row off, kind of by accident. It was heaven. I want to be a SAHM so badly. I've got a couple more years of this WFTOOTHAHI (working full time out of the home and hating it), and then I will likely be able to stay home. I can't wait.
- Last week I ran 7.2 miles! The last mile hurt, I won't lie, but I was so proud of myself for running the entire way. I'm toying with the idea of training for a half marathon in October, but I'm afraid to commit and then not make it. My next goal is a 10 mile race in late July; if that goes well maybe I'll officially make the 13.1 my next goal.
- Jeb is so funny these days. The phrases that come out of his mouth blow me away. I am so torn with wanting him to stay 2 forever, but also loving every new stage. Seriously, I love every age more than the one before.
- He turned 2 and a half last Friday; we had cake and candles and balloons :).
- I've got baby fever so badly I can taste it. There are at least a dozen really, really good reasons we are waiting a few more months to TTC, but it is a daily mental battle to keep it in check.
- The weather has been gorgeous. I can't remember a better spring/start to summer in New England. We have been taking full advantage, and there are so many things I want to do and places I want to go this summer. I am LOVING living so close to the beach; there are only ever 15 minutes between my toes and the sand.
- The business is going well. What a roller coaster. That's all I can say.
- We had a couple over on Sat for a grill out. It was so fun; I really miss entertaining. We used to entertain often in Richmond as we had many more "couple" friends. I hope we can start doing it more, we both really enjoy it.
- Life is good. I am loving our (fairly) simple routines of play, outings, work, and just hanging out.
- Last week I ran 7.2 miles! The last mile hurt, I won't lie, but I was so proud of myself for running the entire way. I'm toying with the idea of training for a half marathon in October, but I'm afraid to commit and then not make it. My next goal is a 10 mile race in late July; if that goes well maybe I'll officially make the 13.1 my next goal.
- Jeb is so funny these days. The phrases that come out of his mouth blow me away. I am so torn with wanting him to stay 2 forever, but also loving every new stage. Seriously, I love every age more than the one before.
- He turned 2 and a half last Friday; we had cake and candles and balloons :).
- I've got baby fever so badly I can taste it. There are at least a dozen really, really good reasons we are waiting a few more months to TTC, but it is a daily mental battle to keep it in check.
- The weather has been gorgeous. I can't remember a better spring/start to summer in New England. We have been taking full advantage, and there are so many things I want to do and places I want to go this summer. I am LOVING living so close to the beach; there are only ever 15 minutes between my toes and the sand.
- The business is going well. What a roller coaster. That's all I can say.
- We had a couple over on Sat for a grill out. It was so fun; I really miss entertaining. We used to entertain often in Richmond as we had many more "couple" friends. I hope we can start doing it more, we both really enjoy it.
- Life is good. I am loving our (fairly) simple routines of play, outings, work, and just hanging out.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
OT 2010 - update
Operation Treadmill 2010 is going well, though much different than what I originally set out to do. I had/have a goal of losing 30 pounds. I am amazed at how slowly it is coming off given how much I am exercising. I've lost 13-14 pounds so far. I've been at this for lamost 19 weeks, that's less than a pound per week for crying out loud! My clothes feel much better, but I'm not in my really skinny stuff yet; I'm not even half way to my original goal even after >4 months.
My goal is changing, though. Not just the number of pounds I hope to lose, but what I am looking for all together. If I wind up losing 30 pounds, you won't hear me complaining. But neither will you if I only lose 20 or 25.
My new goal has much more to do with overall health. I've been taking vitamins every single day for almost 5 months; I've never been this consistent, ever. I'm eating better, and thinking about food differently. (I've never struggled with food, but it's taken some effort to get the portions back to a healthy size) I've been doing a lot of thinking about what it means to be healthy in all areas of my life, and how to manage stress better. I've opted for green tea instead of wine to unwind some (not all ;)) evenings. I've been praying more.
I feel a shift happening. Not any major overhaul; I'm not trying to revamp my whole life. I'm just being more careful about where I put my energy, and move more toward behaviors that bring me feelings of strength and peace. It's almost felt like a surrender. I've been working so hard to deal with all the changes life has brought us over the last few years (well, we've brought them on ourselves) and I've felt close to defeated at times lately. I feel like this shift is a result of me loosening my grip. It wasn't even a decision to loosen my grip, I just got to a point where I feel stripped. It feels better to bring my focus to the small things I can do for myself, and take the rest one day at a time. I feel more vulnerable and stronger all at the same time. It's weird, and I don't really understand much of it yet. I am having a hard time explaining it, but it feels good. It feels quiet, but really really good.
So, I hope the weight continues to come off, but it's not my primary focus.
I am still loving my workouts. I ran a 5K race a few weeks ago and will run an 8K race along the beach this Saturday. It's my Mother's Day gift to myself, and I so can't wait!
My goal is changing, though. Not just the number of pounds I hope to lose, but what I am looking for all together. If I wind up losing 30 pounds, you won't hear me complaining. But neither will you if I only lose 20 or 25.
My new goal has much more to do with overall health. I've been taking vitamins every single day for almost 5 months; I've never been this consistent, ever. I'm eating better, and thinking about food differently. (I've never struggled with food, but it's taken some effort to get the portions back to a healthy size) I've been doing a lot of thinking about what it means to be healthy in all areas of my life, and how to manage stress better. I've opted for green tea instead of wine to unwind some (not all ;)) evenings. I've been praying more.
I feel a shift happening. Not any major overhaul; I'm not trying to revamp my whole life. I'm just being more careful about where I put my energy, and move more toward behaviors that bring me feelings of strength and peace. It's almost felt like a surrender. I've been working so hard to deal with all the changes life has brought us over the last few years (well, we've brought them on ourselves) and I've felt close to defeated at times lately. I feel like this shift is a result of me loosening my grip. It wasn't even a decision to loosen my grip, I just got to a point where I feel stripped. It feels better to bring my focus to the small things I can do for myself, and take the rest one day at a time. I feel more vulnerable and stronger all at the same time. It's weird, and I don't really understand much of it yet. I am having a hard time explaining it, but it feels good. It feels quiet, but really really good.
So, I hope the weight continues to come off, but it's not my primary focus.
I am still loving my workouts. I ran a 5K race a few weeks ago and will run an 8K race along the beach this Saturday. It's my Mother's Day gift to myself, and I so can't wait!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Operation Treadmill 2010
OT2010 is yielding slow, but steady results. Weight sure doesn't come off as fast as it did even 5 years ago. It's been 5 solid weeks of eating less calories, and exercising 30-35 minutes per day 5 days a week. I'm not even sure of how much I've lost (maybe 6 pounds?) because I don't own a scale and only weigh myself periodically at work. My clothes feel a bit different, but it's not like I'm fitting into any of my old jeans.
BUT, I am still enjoying my Treadmill time very much. I've also added in some Jillian Micheals workouts (OUCH!) to rest my recurring shinsplints. I feel better, and am not discouraged by the slow(er) progress. Hopefully slow changes will = lasting changes.
BUT, I am still enjoying my Treadmill time very much. I've also added in some Jillian Micheals workouts (OUCH!) to rest my recurring shinsplints. I feel better, and am not discouraged by the slow(er) progress. Hopefully slow changes will = lasting changes.
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