Intermittent Fasting

I saw my doctor yesterday and we discussed the fact that my weight loss has plateaued for the past 9 months.  I've lost and gained the same 6 pounds over and over again, despite my increase in activity with running and TKD.

Now, this is a doctor that I've been seeing for 15 years, who has always preached good eating, less calories and more exercise as the only way to weight loss.  She doesn't believe in fads, quick fixes or drugs.  So I was very surprised when she recommend  Intermittent Fasting and that I should read the book The Fast Diet.

After researching it a bit online, I went out and bought the book.  I haven't finished reading it yet,but so far it seems to be based on a whole lot of science and study, unlike most diet plans (which is why my doctor is endorsing it).  The overall concept of IF is that you fast 2 days a week, limiting yourself to just 500 calories on those days.  Since I currently eat around 1500 calories a day, this seems pretty extreme.  However, based on my doctor's recommendation and what I have read on my own, I'm going to give it a go.

Tomorrow will be my first Fasting day.  I'm planning to have an egg white omelette and a piece of toast before I leave for work, giving me 200 calories.  I will then just drink green tea and water throughout the day and will have a salad with shrimp and avocado for dinner, for my other 300 calories.

I've forewarned my co-workers that I may be grumpier than usual, and to PLEASE not offer me food.  The group of people I work with are very bad for always having candies, cookies and chocolates at their desks. Hilary, my rock, is on board with not just supporting me, but trying the Fasting day too.

While I don't expect miraculous results, I would be very happy if some of this weight would start to come off.

Running - 2 Weeks down

I've completed 2 full weeks of my running program.   With this program we run 5 out of 7 days each week, and each day the number of minutes spent running increases.  The first day I only had to run 1 minute before being able to walk.  By the 10th set, I wasn't sure I could run for a full minute.  Today I'll be lacing up and heading out to run 4 sets of 5 minutes.  I'm a little nervous, as I've only gone as long as 4 minutes at a time one other day, so this is a big jump.

Running a full 5k still seems very far away.  Right now I'm averaging about 3.8 km with the 30 minutes I'm doing each day.  I know that as I add more running minutes and have less walking ones, that the distance will increase.  It's still another 7 weeks until the actual race, so I feel good that I have lots of training time left.

The one thing I find I'm struggling with the most is what to wear.  It's April in Nova Scotia, so it rains a lot, it's foggy and drizzly, there's a lot of wind and it's still pretty cold out.  But within 10 minutes of running, I'm so hot that I'm ready to strip down to my bra.   I hate having to take off my hat, gloves and coat while I'm running and try to stuff them in pockets, or tie the coat around my waist, so I've given up on all of that and have accepted that I'll just be cold to start and freezing when I do my cool down walk.

Overall I do enjoy running.  I know, it surprises me too.  There is something to be said about the sense of accomplishment when you finish.   Of course that might change today after my 4th set of 5 minutes!!

Gadgets

 I never would have considered running to be a sport that required a lot of gear or gadgets.  And really, it doesn't "require" anything beyond a good pair of shoes and a great sports bra (DO NOT skimp on a good sports bra ladies, it is not worth it)

But I have found that I now have 3 different gadgets that have become part of my running kit.

Fitbit

This one isn't specific to running, in fact I wear it everyday.  It's a step counter that automatically syncs up to their website to track your daily number of steps.  I was amazed at how many steps 30 minutes of running/walking can add.

TimeTimer watch

I recently won this watch from a Toys are Tools giveaway.  I was very excited because I knew that I was going to start learning to run and this has a great counter feature.  You can not only watch the timer run down, but the whole watch vibrates letting you know when the minute is up.  This worked great for the first week of training when my intervals were all 1 or 2 minutes.  Now that I'm getting into sets of 4-5 minutes, it's a lot harder to keep track of the number of times it's gone off during each set.  That led me to my next gadget.

Ipod Touch with an UltraTimer App

I searched out a few apps before settling on this one.  It has the ability for me to set up any combination of run/walk times as well as lets me pick the number of sets to do for each run.  It has great sound effects like a groaning crowd when it's time to run, cheering when you are supposed to walk and applause when you are finished all sets.  It runs in the back ground while you listen to your music, even turning down the music so that you can hear it's updates.  The counter numbers are also nice and big and you can set different background colours, so that at a glance you know if you should be running or walking.

I love technology and any new toy to play with while I take up this new activity helps to keep me interested.  What gadgets do you run with?

Weigh In - April 14

Starting Weight - 217 on January 1st, 2013
Current Weight - 209.4

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It's been a month since I last checked in here with a weigh in.  I've really been struggling this last month and I'm up 4 pounds since then.

I'm doing well on the exercise front, keeping up with TKD 3 days a week and I can now call myself a runner.  I just can't seem to keep my appetite in check, and worse, I can't make good food choices when I am hungry.  I know that if I were to knuckle down and get my calorie and carb intakes back under control, that the weight will start coming off again.

I'm tired of making excuses and simply need to gain control of my will power.

I am a runner

It’s been almost a week since I officially entered the land of being a runner. I joined a “Learn to Run” program offered through Liam’s school. The intent is to get all of us non-runners up and running (pun fully intended) by June 15th so that we can run our first 5k trail run- The Ocean Breeze – which is a school fund raiser. 

The program is based on interval training – running, interspersed with 1 minute bouts of walking. The first day we ran 1 minute and walked 1 minute for 20 minutes. Surprisingly, no one died. No one even cried or threw up. We all made it back to the school for a stretching session and lots of high fives. It even rained, so I can even call myself someone who runs in the rain.

Since then I have followed the daily program, working my way up to running for 6 two-minute intervals. Tomorrow will be our second group session and the trainers seem to think that we will be ready to run 4 sets of four-minute runs….I’m skeptical , but willing to give it a go.

I never thought I would be a runner. It always seemed like a silly sport, a bit of a waste of time. But I kinda get it now. There really is something to the endorphin high you get when you stop. I like being alone with my thoughts (even if my thoughts quickly become a mantra of “just a few more steps, you can do it”). I’ve also been struggling with weight loss for the last month, gaining instead of losing. That has finally turned around this week, I think in no small part thanks to the great workout I’m getting by running 5 days a week.

So if you are in the North end of Halifax and see a bald headed woman plodding along, give me a shout out.  Any and all encouragement accepted.

Bodyweight Beginner Calisthenics Workout

Tribesports has come out with another great workout guide that can be done at the park (if it ever stops snowing!)   This routine consists of 5 repetitions of 5 different exercises:

1. Australian Pull-ups 
2. Split Squats (right leg) 
3. Split Squats (left leg) 
4. Lying Knee Tucks 
5. Push-ups

Not sure what an Australian Pull-up is?  Neither was I till I watched the video guide.  

I don't have a lot of upper arm strength yet, but I think the pull-ups will be a great way to work on that.  My form for push ups leaves a lot to be desired as well, but it's getting better!

The Clothing Dilemma

 Over the past 3 years I have lost just over 50 pounds.   That’s the equivalent of no longer having a small child sharing my clothes with me.  The problem right now is that most of my clothes are more than 3 years old, so are sized for a much larger me.  And since I like clothes to be loose and baggy, some of those clothes were too big for me when I did weigh 50 pounds more.

Some things, like sweaters and shirts I can make do with.  But the track pants that require me to hold them up when I walk, really should go.  The problem that I have is that I’m cheap frugal and don’t want to spend any money on new clothes when I’m planning to lose another 50 pounds.  And for the most part, my existing clothes are in perfectly good shape and I would not consider replacing them if they still fit me.

Recently several people have commented on the fact that my clothes are just too big for me.  Hilary finally hauled me into a store to buy new track pants (my clothing option of choice to lounge in at home).  We were in a name brand, regular size store (as opposed to the full figured stores I normally shop in).  My first inkling was to try on an XL size pair of pants.  Hilary was having nothing to do with that and made me take in not only a L but a M pair too.  The heavens almost sang to me when I left the store with a MEDIUM pair of pants in my possession.   

Hilary also bought herself some new pants this week, and despite having tried them on in the store, found that 2 of the pairs she brought home felt too big on her once she wore them for a bit.  So I tried them on and they fit me perfectly.  These pants are only a size 16.  I don’t think I have worn a size 16 since I was 12 years old! 

While I have resisted buying new clothes, having new clothes in smaller sizes is such a wonderful boost.  It makes the weight loss much more real and tangible than just a number on the scale.  And a little retail therapy can really brighten up your day.  Now I just have to admit that I need some new tops and I’ll be stylin’ from head to toe.