Celebrating too soon..

So what did I do today?

I had a Daphne's vegetarian Combo Plate for a late lunch.
Damage done : 918 calories!!!
2/3 of my daily intake.
Problem was, I had already had another 300 cal just while waiting to get to the place. From 2pm to 2.30pm , when we had to pick up the 14yo to take her with us, I had some peanuts, and oreo cakester, 3 m&ms and that is approx 300 cal. Add the morning oatmeal and I am done for the day at 5.30 pm. So for the rest of the evening I can only have tea or water.

Why, why do I overeat on the rest days??. I have noticed that so many times. I think I will start walking everyday, maybe just 20 min on the rest days to remind myself of my challenge.

Well, the 2 pd loss was good while it lasted.

Soccer tournament tomorrow, so am running the taxi service again, so will have to plan when to do the LSD-6 miles, maybe while shes playing the 2nd game?

Nov11 to Nov20

and I have lost 2 pounds,two pounds!! Cant believe it, know that this could be simply water weight,BUT, I am 2 pounds lighter today. Much better than being 2 pounds heavier.

So how did this happen, because there definatly wasnt a change in the first 10 days.
What did I do better:
--I am more regular with logging the daily intake on fitday.com
--I have walked/run approx. 45-50 min 5 days a week.

Other than that I do not think I have done any thing major. Daily calorie intake has been 1500-1600, the one thing I have done consiously is to not eat out of the house, so I wonder how it will play out after our Friday lunch at Daphne's.
I log in the daily food intake in the morning itself so I know what I will be having for each meal and snack ,and how much. That way if I have anything out of the ordinary, I can factor that into the calorie budget and stop eating once I reach 1500 calories.

Previously whenever I started a weight loss program, I would only do those actions which I thought I could maintain for life. So I never counted calories, or went for long walks, thinking that I wouldnt be able to maintain it forever. That thought is still at the back of my mind, however, now the idea is to first lose the weight and then worry about maintainance. And if I do it healthily, it shouldnt be difficult to maintain. Exercise 1 hour a day is a must as it is, and counting calories is a way to teach myself about the correct portion sizes.

Goals for Nov 21-Nov 30:

-Walk/Run 5days a week, 60 min minimum, esp during Thanksgiving break.

-Try and get 100%of the nutrients in a day- this might be more of a long-term thing, my daily nutrition lacks in a few vitamins etc, so I will work on them one by one.
This session I will work on the Calcium- try to get 100%calcium everyday.

2 pounds gone...WOW!!!

Walking in the woods..

...well, not in the woods, but it felt like it. Its a tree lined street down which I walked today, 4mile round trip. And the trees have changed colors- brilliant fiery orange, lemon yellow, dark green, shades of maroon- an artists palette. I used to admire flowers but now have transfered my loyalties to trees. And the lawns are covered with the fallen leaves, all crunchy under the feet. Its like the set of a movie. I think I took longer today because slowed down to look at some of them- not that I mind, some walks should be just for pleasure.

Last year at this time my long walks were 2-2.5miles, nowadays 3 miles is a short workout!

Today went to the library for M.Pollans book- In Defense of Food, had to put that on hold, instead got The Omnivores Dilemma by the same author. The reviews are good, tho I guess I will just skip over the technical parts, not in a mood to read any heavy stuff. OTOH, decided to read some good books- to that end got Beloved by Toni Morrison, its been some time since I read any thought provoking literature, its been all candy floss magazines for too long. As I am getting more choosy about what I put in my body, so it is for my mind.

Thanksgiving Break coming up- 9 whole days with my kids at home, and along with kids come 3 regular meals, umpteen snacks, leftovers which I have to finish, candy, pumpkin pie, the couch and movies and popcorn!! So the plan is to do my workout in the morning while they are still in bed, 4miles in the morning and I am set for the day. And I have to start being more mindful of there eating too- they have developed a liking for taco bell bean burritos recently, have to wean them off before they end up like me.

Was reading today- the average american woman is 5feet 4 inches, 157 pounds. This is the first time in my life that I am above average- 5'3", 160 pds ;)
Hope to be below average soon!!

Random thoughts

Went for R/W 3.8m in 56 min. Have diagnosed the cause of the pain behind right knee- its because I did all those sessions of downhills and uphills a week ago. Was feeling OK when started but had a tight sensation in the right leg, heaviness, couldnt take a proper stride. Carried on for sometime and felt Ok by the time reached home. Lay down to do hamstring strtches and the right one is so tight and painful.
So within the next month I have to find somebody to do a gait analysis on me.

Diet is going Ok, log in everyday on fitday. That site is good, it gives the daily requirement, the calorie balance, the nutrition etc. But I dont agree with some of the calorie counts for the foods so try and match with the package counts.

I have noticed that running suppresses my appetite to a certain extent. So doing the session in the afternoon helps, I eat slightly less at the evening meal and the warm bath after helps me sleep better. Yesterday was rest day and I ate much more - just snacking and bits and pieces here and there.

I was surfing and came across this book- In Defense of Food by M. Pollan or Pollack. It has some good reviews on Amazon so I might get it to read over Thanksgiving Break.

...Which I am dreading because of the FOOD involved! Either one cooks at home or there is so much pressure to eat if you go anywhere else. I know the holidays come once a year but starting with the halloween candy thru Thanksgiving, X'mas, NewYears, its 4-5 solid months of eating. Doesnt help that my DH's b'day, our anniversary and my birthday are in Jan/Feb. So am hoping that the regular logging will hold me in check this time.

Havent done any free weights, tho do some yoga every couple of days and that keeps me limber. Might take the first week of Dec either complete rest from running or cut back to half of what am doing now. Need to give some rest to these old bones and tendons and ligaments etc.

Weigh-in in 2 days, lets see if there is any progress.

Little aches and pains...

...which I hope dont turn into major activity stopping aches and pains.

Woke up at 5AM, had my tea and morning snack, woke up the DH who is himself nursing his own little aches and pains, in the knees and foot, and who now cant run but has to do a measly walk with me!

Started at 6.11 AM, beautiful weather, pinkish glow to the sky in the horizon, 60*, perfect.

But could not run. Attempted it at 4 different times, each time, pain in the lateral part of left knee, as if dry bone rubbibg against something, and feeling of something loose in the right knee. So felt very dejected, went over the past few workouts in my mind, I was Ok till my last workout on thursday which was a R/W but I had started feeling something wrong in the right knee then. Maybe its just my shoes which need to be changed since I have used them for atleas a year. I was planning on buying them over the winter break , so as to start with new shoes in 2009, but I guess I will have to get them now.

Came back home and did some knee strengthenening exercises, specifically for runners knee- tighten the muscles in the front of the leg 10-15 times, or raise the tight leg off the ground 5-10 times. I have had this problem before and the exercises helped then, have to get back into the habit of doing these after each run, sorry, walk, for now.

Reading an old issue of Runner's World, and they say black tea has more health giving properties- preventing cancer/heart ds etc than black tea with milk, the milk negates the healthy properties. My knee-jerk reaction was: I will drink only black tea from now even tho it tastes yuck to me. The next thought was: what is the use of living even 2 years extra if I spend the next 30 drinking that medicine tasting brew? In other words why should I spoil my taste 3 times a day for 30 years to have 2extra years and in todays economy who knows if I will be able to afford it?

So, drink tea with milk, eat more chocolate and keep walking, run if I can.

2 weeks done...

...of this challenge,- nothing lost, everything gained.

Have been walking everyday, did R/W on wed , missed yest and today as soon as started running, within half a min had this uncomfortable feeling in the right calf, back of the knee. And also at the top of the left knee. Usually if I continue running, it goes away in a few min, but today it kept feeling as if something was loose inthe knee joint. So walked the whole way, might try the scheduled 5 mile tomorrow, or not, depending on how I feel.

The eating is a whole another story. Calculated on fitday.com: my basic metabolic rate needs 1700 cal every day, so to lose weight , I should be eating only 1400 cal every day, which is the most difficult thing to do.

The calories info on fitday does not match with the package info, so I try to put in the calorie no. as I see on the package. But I never realised I was eating so much. For example, in my eyes as long as the piece of bread is whole wheat , its Ok. Nope, one slice of whole wheat has atleast 100-120 cal depending on the brand, and fitday puts it in as 78 cal. So I have to double check everything and it gets a tiny bit tedious, esp for a person who doesnt like to get into the details of the matter.

My downfall is rice tho, one cup is such a meager serving, and I am not in the habit of measuring yet, so I just load it on- 200 cal per cup!! And lentils, supposedly very healthy, no doubt, a one cup serving in 333 cal. So if I eat both together, which is what I do mostly,- I can finish a whole days calorie goal in one sitting.

So I am not doing so good with the 'diet' part. And I was going to stop blogging. Then I thought that if nothing else, atleast I am trying. Tho the last time I 'tried' to lose weight, I gained 10 pounds. Anyway, if it takes even 2 months for this to sink in, like the marathon goal, atleast I will lose something in the end. At this time I will be happy even with a 12 pound loss at the end of the year.

So carry on eating and burning and logging.

I never lose...

...weight , that is. Anything else , of course. But these pounds are mine and mine alone.

Weight today, lost nothing,nada, zero, zip, zilch. Dissapointed, ?..., no, in the back of mind, just know that this will be one slow journey, that is, if I move. For a moment felt like giving this up, whats the use, lets have a tangible goal, accopmlish something, but then, if not now, when. I do need to take care of my health, have borderline high blood pressure, just the xtra weight on the joints not good over the long term, love sweets so might end up with diabetes if dont control myself now, there is something called Metabolic syndrome X- a combination of some factors which I might be having which can cause chronic disease later on- i just dont want to be on a bunch of pills which I wont remember to take what with my failing memory.
So onward and forward I go !!

On a better note, was doing the Wii-fit and my calculated age is 35 years instead of the 40, so thats good.
I cant make my weight go down faster but there are some things I can try and control, so for the next 10 days (Nov11-Nov20):
- do the scheduled workout sessions, 7/10 days.
- start the program of strength training again.
- eat everything, yes, including the pizza, but according to the portion sizes. Find and note down the reasonable portions for some common foods.