Week 2, c25k

Went to the gym tonight first time since my week off for vacation.  I did the C25K Week 2 again, officially my third time doing it but spread over two weeks.  I am really making progress- my walking speed is up to 3.5-3.6, which was my jogging speed when I started.  My jogs are up to 4.0-4.1 (and occasionally 4.2).  My heart rate tonight was up higher than it has been, and when I was 5 minutes from being done I got pretty bad cramps (but kept going).  I burned almost 400 calories and went 2.75 miles in 45 minutes!  (last best was 2.69- yay me!) My son went along and walked 3 miles in 30 minutes, but he's 100 lbs lighter than me so I'll chalk it up to that.  I feel victorious.

My eating has been good, and I was down 1 lb at weigh in at my WW meeting today.  Really, based on food alone, I feel like I should have lost more than that.  But my weight just doesn't come off unless I am exercising too. I hate to admit it because I hate exercising. But my metabolism is crap and I think my body will just keep adjusting to calorie deficit unless I keep my body moving.

I am starting to feel the difference, and am excited by being so close to losing 20 lbs.  I hate to project way in to the future (and then beat myself up later) but if I can keep up 1-2 lbs a week and exercising on plan, I could be running and getting close to a normal weight at the end of the year. The thought of having all the clothing choices that come with normal sized stores is exciting. (Heck, even broadening my selection at the goodwill is exciting.) One foot in front of the other!

I have only been doing c25k- no other exercise- and am feeling like I need to get in some strength training now. I am losing weight in my arms and they are feeling flappier.  There is a 30 min sculpt class on Tues/Thurs at 5, and I am thinking I should go check it out.

still working on it!

I am just back from a week's vacation, which is customarily excuse to eat, drink, and play. Although I have not been to the gym in a week or kept up with my running (no excuses, I took my running shoes), I did a good job of making healthy choices, not eating until I was sick, and taking opportunities when I could to be active (a few steep sets of stairs, running on the beach.)  Tomorrow's weigh-in day and I think I'll be down a pound, which is good news in my book.  Down 17 lbs total at last weigh-in, I am inching toward the 20 lb mark in only two months. I am still tracking my WW points, still going to meetings. I'll report back!

C25k Week 2

Today was my first time running  jogging and walking through the C25k at Week 2. I have done the week 1 routine about 8 times now... That's a 5 min warm up, 90 sec walk, 60 sec run, X9 and then cool down.  I actually stretch it out a bit because I want to build a little more endurance- I got for 45 minutes, which is about 12 cycles.  Anyway, today I started the Week 2 program, which is 90 sec of running.  I didn't realize that Week 2 also gives you a longer walking time- 2 minutes- this helped recover from the time added to the run.

Verdict: it didn't kill me. And that's great news.  :)  I went 2.63 miles in 45 minutes, which is still turtle-pace compared to anyone who runs, but pretty speedy for me.  I have bumped my regular walking speed up to 3.4mph, and my running speed up to 3.8-4.0, so you can see I am making tiny progress.

My legs feel pretty ok. I have a bad ankle and it is a bit irritated by this routine, but not to the extent that I feel like I shouldn't do it.  I posed some questions about whether to reach for speed or bump up my running time over in the Runner's World forums, and everyone said running time was priority, so that's why I decided to move on to Week 2.  Some of the more experienced folks there also advised that maybe I shouldn't be trying to do the minimus shoes because of my size, and more support might be better.  I don't know, I am torn about it... I think I'll stay in these shoes as long as they continue to be comfortable.

On the home scale I was down to 249 this morning (but was a little dehydrated, so we'll see if it sticks!) which is my lowest weight in about 3 years.  And when I weighed that for a minute 3 years ago, I was hardly eating.  So I am feeling generally victorious about this whole thing- that's about 16 lbs since the new year.  :)  I sure hope it keeps coming.

Eating's going ok. I am eating a lot of beans. I am trying to avoid carbs, but am not swearing off of them.  Good days and bad days getting fruit and veggies in. In reality I am usually eating fewer points than my daily and not eating enough bulky food. I am trying to make good choices and focus on my hunger. Some days are better than others. I am going to my WW meetings.  Next week I fly to the West Coast for a while, hopefully I can stay on track away from home.

If anyone's reading this, hope you're well- have a great week!

good food and making progress

I am eating grapefruit, also like it cold... just peeling it and eating by the section. Good fiber in grapefruit. Also- cherry tomatoes make me happy. Sometimes in my spinach salad but sometimes just on their own. :) My son and I share a love of cucumbers with vinegar, and we had those this week.

I have been eating baby spinach almost every day. I love it, I'd say one of my top foods these days (and I didn't really start eating it until a few months ago.) I usually eat it with lemon juice. Sometimes with a bit of chicken breast on top.  I get it in the big grocery containers and each one lasts about a week. Once it starts to get soggy it's all over with... has to be dry and fresh. I am so happy to find greens that I like.

My kiwi experiment went pretty well. I ate about 6 kiwi's last week. They were fairly easy to bring to work. I discovered that I like them much better cold. They started getting a little soft/mushy after about 8 days.

I tried this recipe for broccoli:  http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2008/11/the_best_brocco.html and it came out pretty well. My son and I split a whole tray of it for a late-night snack. It's not as soft as steamed and not as firm as barely-steamed... (that's an awful description).  I didn't find it to have a slightly baked texture, which is what I expected. But still good- we ate it all.  Tonight I had broccoli from one of the Green Giant steamer bags with cheese. Pretty healthy, but I am trying to eat fresh (not processed) as much as possible, and I am sure the cheese has funky stuff in it.

Wait... yes, here's my hive mind.  Broccoli and cheese ingredients: 

Broccoli in a Sauce Containing Water, Modified Corn Starch, Chicory Root Extract, Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Baker's Cheese (Skim Milk, Lactic Acid, Cheese Cultures, BHA [Preservative]), Salt, Butter, Whey Protein Concentrate, Whey, Onion Powder, Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Alginate, Hydrolyzed Corn Gluten, Xanthan Gum, Parmesan Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Natural and Artificial Flavor, Garlic Powder, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Dextrose, Buttermilk, Paprika and Annatto Extract Colors, Disodium Inosinate, Disodium Guanylate.

uh,yeah, who needs all of that? I will just get more fresh broccoli. Anyway... moral of the story... I am not eating 7 servings of fruit and vegetables a day (what percent of Americans do you think really do that??) but I am eating way more veggies than I have in my whole entire life and feeling accomplished.

At this week's WW meeting I weighed in down -2.2, which brings me up to 12 lbs lost in about 5 weeks. Go me! My gym stuff has been going just so-so... still just doing my C25k, but only making it to the gym like 2-3 times a week vs my goal of 3-4 times a week. Today I planned to go but came home and took a nap instead.  It's back on the calendar for tomorrow.  When I went to the gym last on Tuesday though I felt like I was close to being ready to do Week 2 of the program- so I am going to try to bump up to that next week.

We have a nice gym with lots of fancy equipment, and I have been to the gym,used trainers, etc in the past.  I would like to find an app that gives me a suggested routine that I can alter using the machines. I prefer them to free weights because of various injuries.  There are a zillion apps but they are all based on free weights... so if you find one that uses gym machines let me know.  I don't want to use a trainer because at my university gym they are (a) not used to working with fat people, and (b) generally know nothing about fibromyalgia and other issues specific to my body.  I need to listen to my body and pace myself, and can't work with some young trainer with a "work it til you feel it" mentality or else I will not be able to crawl back to the gym for two weeks. I am really trying to avoid the routine of overdoing.  That said, I guess I shouldn't beat up on myself for only going a few times a week so far... I didn't go at all for the six months prior, so this is progress.

I did get new walking/running shoes, the Minimalist from New Balance. I've only worn them once so far. I ordered a half-size up, which is good advice- they run small. Since I am heavy I have always purchased shoes with tons of cushion. Cushioned shoes typically also make your foot rigid. The Minimus has support, but they are super light weight and not rigid at all so your foot can bend, which changes your running form.  I felt like I was able to move faster in them, but also found that I worked new muscles which made me a little sore. I hope they turn out to be good for me. They get great reviews on Amazon, where I got mine. I kinda love the daring yellow and the bright blue sole.  

back on the treadmill

I got back to the gym tonight- the last time I was there was last Sunday. I expected to have lost momentum but I did pretty good.  I am still slow like a turtle, dreaming of the day I'll work up to even a 4mph jogging pace.  But I was at least as fast as the last time I was at the gym.

2.5 mi, 338 calories burned, avg heart rate 154

I am still doing the first week of the C25k program but it's getting a little easier.  The program is 5 min of warm up walk, 60 second jog, 90 second walk, 60 second jog, repeat 9 times... followed by a cool down. I have been pretty consistently reaching 2.5 miles in 50 minutes.  Today I tried to split up my 60 second runs- using half to jog at slow pace and half to jog at a faster pace. (My times are really slow... this usually means 3.6 and then 3.9, and my walking pace is 3.3).  I am hoping that this propels my routine a little bit so I don't get stuck.

Because of my weight I am worried about injures or pushing myself along too quickly, so I will stay at Week 1 a little longer. I felt like I could have gone faster today, but my heart rate was registered at max (163) and I didn't want to have a heart attack in the gym, so I am hoping my cardio improves a little and my heart rate comes down- this will give me confidence to push a little harder.

I hate lacing up and getting out there.  But I feel good when I am done! My goal this week is every other day at the gym.

slow progress, mindful thoughts

After my husband (and workout buddy) slipped on the ice and tore his hamstring last week, I stopped going to the gym. I haven't been to the gym since last Sunday, so when I go later today it will have been seven days since my last visit. I know this is not the way to my running goal. I  have felt sloshy and unmotivated. My eating is off (I am still under my WW points limit, but eating fewer veggies and more carbs) and have been sooo tired.  I have been weighing myself daily (I know, bad thing to do, but I do it) and then beating myself up after finding myself up a pound.  (Self talk: this is never going to work, I work so hard and gain weight, why bother at all, might as well go have a milkshake and be happy.)

I distract myself with the internet, randomness, tv, radio, all the things that keep me tuned out. So my goal this week is to work on mindfulness. I am going to work on self kindness, paying attention to how I am doing, to my hunger, to whether I am focusing on thoughts that are useful and healthy.  I will try to focus on self-thoughts that affirm my health, my progress, and my positive goals. I will also work on getting my veggies back up and carbs down because it will make me feel more energetic and less hungry.

I was at a lecture last week and the speaker talked about a study that suggested we have between 40,000-60,000 thoughts each day, and that 80% of them are negative. This may have served us well as cavemen when there were so many things in the world to be worried about.  But today we mostly live to old ages and there are fewer legitimate worries. That leaves a lot more room for positive thoughts.  Try it with me?