Saturday, May 25, 2013

Running Update - Week 8

Week 8 of my 10 week running program started on Friday.  I really can't believe I've made it this far!  From struggling to run 1 minute at time, I can now run 8 minutes!!  I'm not fast and I'm sure it's not pretty, but gosh darn it, I'm running!

The group of people that I'm doing the learn to run program with are fabulous.  The 2 instructors are so encouraging.  And I've found a great running buddy for our Friday night runs who moves at my speed.  I'm hoping to be able to run the 5k with her since we run really well together.

In the 3 remaining weeks before the race on June 5th, I will move up from sets of 8 minutes to 9s and ultimately 10s.  I'm always so intimidated by the move to a longer set but so far I always seem to manage it.

Last Sunday I had the worst running day yet.  I was supposed to be doing 4 sets of 7 minutes, but I couldn't get past 5 minutes without having to walk.  Everything hurt, I felt like throwing up and I was ready to quit the whole idea of running a race.  I cut my run short and went home.  I told myself that if the next day was just as bad that I would seriously thinking about giving up.  As the fates would have it, I had my best run ever on Monday. My head is back in the game and I'm ready to keep going.

20 days to go!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

IF Diary - Day One of Fasting

(can I just say that I've been around adoption type blogs too long, every time I see the acronym IF I automatically think invitro-fertilization)

Anyhoo.....

Today was the first day of Fasting.  I had my omelette toast and green tea before leaving for work.  Throughout the day all I had was 2L of water (with calorie free flavoring) and 4 cups of green tea. I felt hungry around 10:30, the time I normally have a morning snack, and then again around 14:30.  Each time I was able to distract myself and wasn't very bothered by it.

At no point during the day did I feel faint, dizzy or head-achy, all side effects that I thought I would have to deal with.  I did however feel EXTREMELY tired.  I'm not sure if I'm just tired or if it is an effect of the low calorie intake.  I yawned my way through the afternoon but have perked up since getting home.

My salad for diner was huge and very filling:


And even now, 2 hours later, I still don't feel hungry.  Weird......

I weighed in this morning at 206.5 lbs and my waist measured at 42 inches.  I don't have a timeline in mind for how long I want to do this.  Once I see how sustainable the 2 days of fasting is, I'll have a better idea of my long term plan.

Sorry if this is a repeat of FB posts... just trying to get my thoughts down on this process.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

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.