Sunday, June 30, 2013

Fasting Weigh In - Week 2

Last Week's Weight - 204.8
Current Weight - 201.9

Weight Lost This Week - 2.9


It's great to see the weight loss continue this week! I fasted for 2 days this week but was pretty limited in my exercise.  We didn't make it to TKD all week, but I did get out for a 40 minute run on Saturday. I also enjoyed a few too many treats Friday night, but that is the joy of the 5:2 Fast diet approach.

My goal this week is to get back to TKD and to try and run more.  I may only fast one day this week as I've taken a vacation day on Tuesday to enjoy an extra long Canada Day weekend.  We have lots of yummy, healthy meals planned for the week, so I'm okay with skipping one Fasting day and just watching what I eat the rest of the time.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Dyed Trying


It's been 2 weeks since I ran my first ever 5k run and I've only managed to get out and run once since then.  Turns out that I need a wee bit more motivation then just knowing that it's good for me.  Someone suggested that I find another 5k race and sign up for it.  Then I have a committed date and I've paid money, so I will feel that I have to keep at it.  Good advice!

So on September 28th I will be running my next 5k, a fun looking race called Run or Dye.  I've even formed a team, Dyed Trying, and have convinced some co-workers to run it with me.  The fun part of this run is that at every km mark volunteers throw coloured cornstarch at you so that by the finish line you are a tie-dyed human canvas.


Now I just need to get out running again so that I will be ready to go in September.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Fasting Weigh In - Week 1

Starting Weight - 208.9
Current Weight - 204.8
Weight Lost This Week - 4.1


Even though I did 3 fasting days a few weeks ago, I am considering this my first official week.  And what a great way to start off again!  While I doubt that I will continue to lose at a rate of 4 pounds a week, I was very pleased when I got on the scale this morning.

I fasted on Tuesday and Thursday.  I found both days to be fairly easy, with Thursday being the better of the two.  On both days I had an egg white omelette before leaving for work and simply drank water and green tea throughout the day.  My evening meals were yummy salads, including a great quinoa recipe that Hilary found for us on Thursday.  I even went to Liam's end of school picnic on a fasting day and served hot dogs and ice cream for 2 hours before having a chance to eat my salad and I still wasn't starving by that point.

I really do see the sustainability of this plan.  While I have watched what I eat on non-fasting days I have enjoyed ice cream, fried chicken, take away Chinese food, and a gourmet hamburger.  I don't feel deprived in any way and it's very easy to tell myself to soldier on when a hunger pang does hit mid morning of a fasting day.  Knowing that it's only for a few more hours makes it easy to handle and move on.

One thing that did come up that may or may not be related to fasting, is that I tested as anaemic when I went to donate blood yesterday.  Their cut off for your iron level is 125somethings and mine was only 113.  While I've been eating more meat and some dark leafy greens, I suspect that I'm not getting enough vitamin C for my body to be able to absorb the iron. I'm going to try to rectify that going forward.

We are already planning this week's fasting dinners, and I'm looking forward to another successful week.

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Back at it

For the last two weeks I have not focused on weight loss.  I didn't track my calories, I didn't worry about eating ice cream, I didn't wear my pedometer and count my steps.  I also didn't go completely overboard, making healthy choices when I could. We've also had a car for the last 10 days which has meant no walking and a lot more fast food.  My focus was on getting ready to run my first 5K.

So the results on the scale this morning were not at all surprising.  In 2 weeks I gained 7 pounds. This week we are back to low carb meals and 2 days of Fasting.  I anticipate that the weight will come off fairly quickly and I can get back to working towards my goal weight. 

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Personal Best

Since this is my first race, any time would qualify as my Personal Best.  But I am happy with my time of 42:16 for the 5k Ocean Breeze Trail Run.    More importantly, I finished!

After a week of rain, we woke up to a beautiful, sunshiny day, with the temperature hitting 20°C.  It was nice and cool along the water, but a section of the trail was cut off from any breeze and was down right HOT. I ran with my running partner from the Learn To Run program.  After running together for the last 10 weeks it was great to finish the race together.

Before the race, squinting into the sun.

Pre-race warm up.

Sheila and I coming into the finish line.

Almost there.

I'm so glad that I stuck with the 10 weeks of training and ran the race this morning.  I hope to keep running, even without the push of a planned event to work towards.

Friday, June 14, 2013

My first race kit



12 hours to go!

How to run your best 5k ever

This is pretty timely since my first 5k is tomorrow!
 























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Saturday, June 1, 2013

IF diary and running update

I've made it through  3 days of Fasting.  It was no where near as hard as I thought it would be.  Thursday was my first time Fasting at home.  I thought being surrounded by food in the cupboards and fruit in the fruit bowl would make it harder to resist.  But I drank lots of water and green tea and didn't once feel like I wanted to cheat.

Hilary fasted with me on Thursday out of solidarity.  She found it a lot harder.  She is not a huge water drinker and doesn't like green tea, and I think that was what made it harder for her.  Filling up with calorie free liquids can take the edge off.

So it seems that this approach really does work.  I started out last Wednesday, before my first fast day at 206.5 and I weighed in Friday morning, after my 3rd fasting day at 201.9.  That's a loss of 4.6 pounds in just over a week!  I'm sure I will go up again with several non-fasting days in a row, but as long as I don't go up more then I lose, I think this will work for me.

The down side is that 2 of my 4 running days each week fall on the same days as fasting.   I would need 9 days each week to be able to keep TKD, running and fasting all on separate days.  I tried running last Tuesday after fasting all day.  I was scheduled for 4 sets of 8 minutes.  The first 2 sets were great, but I could only make it through 6 minutes more of running before I simply ran out of steam.  I didn't even bother to try on Thursday.

I've decided to not Fast again until after I run the Ocean Breeze 5k run on June 15th.  That gives me 2 more weeks to train and prepare for it.  Since weight loss isn't my ultimate goal, but being healthy and in shape is, this seems like the best plan.

I ran my first set of 9 minutes last night with our Learn to Run group.  It hit 30° C yesterday and the heat nearly did me in.  I've always been a delicate flower in the heat, so running in it is not my idea of fun.  I did have to stop a couple for times and walk for 30 seconds before I was able to keep going.  I run with the same person every Friday and we think that we will likely run the 5K with 8 minute sets as neither of us are really ready for 9 or 10 minutes.  We'll see how we do over the next 2 weeks.

13 days to go!