The journey so far

I started this blog 7 years ago as a way to journal and track my weight loss journey.  Recently it's evolved into more of a running blog, but that is because running has become such an important part of my health routine.

Much like my blogging, my weight has ebbed and flowed over the years.  By 2013 I had lost 60 pounds.  I was running 2-3 times a week and doing Tae Kwon Do 2-3 days a week.  On the food side I was counting calories and following the 5:2 Fast diet plan.  I feel that the fasting is what really had me losing weight, but I didn't find it sustainable, especially with all the exercise I was doing.

After 2013 my weight slowly crept back up.  I stopped fasting, I stopped going to Tae Kwon Do and I stopped counting calories.  The only consistent thing that I've kept up is running.  But my running has gotten slower and harder the more weight I've put on.

The plan is to get back on track.  I start training for the Valley Harvest Half Marathon next week through the Running Room.  I'm also going to join a gym so that I can go to their boot camps 2-3 times a week.  I'm tracking my food again.  The only thing I'm not going back to is fasting. While it is an effective tool for weight loss, I find it makes me too tired and I would rather focus on eating healthy and exercising.

Like always, I don't have a specific weight goal or running pace that I'm aiming for.  Healthy, injury free and happy are the best goals to have.

Jumpstart

While I haven’t posted my weekly weigh-in here in a while, I still weigh myself every Sunday and record it as my official weight for the week. The problem is that the number seems to be stuck. Since January I have lost and regained the same 5 pounds. I continue to count calories, watch what I eat, exercise when I can, but nothing seems to be working.

Something obviously needs to change. I had great success last year when I was doing the 5:2 Fast diet plan. / So I’m going to give it a try again starting today. I’m starting off with only 1 day of fasting per week instead of 2. Last time I found that on the days that I was fasting I didn’t have the energy to run or do any other exercise. So my week is going to look like this:

• Sunday – Long Run / Rest 
• Monday - TKD 
• Tuesday – Fasting Day 
• Wednesday - TKD 
• Thursday – Short Run 
• Friday - Rest Day 
• Saturday – Long Run / Rest

The basic premise of the fast day is that you only consume approx. 500 calories. I am going to break that into 2 meals – my Shakeology shake for breakfast (eaten around 10:00) for about 200 calories and then a 300 calorie dinner after work. Hilary has been great in researching different meals that fit this criteria and are still delicious and filling. I may “cheat” and go over the magic number of 500 calories by adding in a morning coffee. I don’t think I’m ready to give that up just yet.

I’m really hoping that this will be the jumpstart that I need to get the scale moving in the right direction.

Fast Day Dinner

On fasting days I aim to eat a 300 calorie meal for dinner.  Hilary has done an amazing job at finding a variety of meals that are not only low-low cal, but tasty and filling.  Follow me on Tuesdays and Thursdays as I share our meal plans.

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Menu:

• Spicy Shrimp
• Broccoli Slaw with honey, olive oil and apple cider vinegar
• Thin Tortilla

I had 2 wraps for a total of 298 calories.

Fasting Weigh In - Week 5

Last Week's Weight - 203.2
Current Weight - 199.5

Weight Lost This Week: 3.7

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It's been a long time in coming but the numbers on the scale finally start with a 1!  2 fasting days, 2 days of TKD, 1 run and eating well the rest of the week was the magic formula.

Of course we leave for vacation in 3 days.  I won't be fasting while we are gone because a) it's vacation!  and b) we will be in the car driving 6 hours a day for more than half of our vacation and I don't want to have to stop every 30 minutes to pee because I've consumed 3 litres of water.

I do plan to make good food choices while we travel.  We'll be going through the Okanagan valley and hope to find lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.  And of course once we hit the coast there will be fresh seafood.  I'm going to take my running clothes with me in the hopes that I can get out at least once in each of the provinces that we'll be in for a run.  We'll be staying near the water in BC and I think a run along the trail that borders the shoreline would be wonderful.

Fasting Weigh in - Week 4

Last Week's Weight - 202.8
Current Weight - 203.2

Weight Lost Gained  This Week: 0.4

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Another small gain this week.  I only Fasted for a day and half.  Thursday was Liam's Birthday so we went out for dinner and Hilary made her famous Chocolate Irish Potato Cake at his request.  I don't usually Fast on Wednesday's because of TKD.  I tried to Fast again on Friday to make up for it, but I did it without having something for breakfast before leaving home and by noon I was head-achy and starving in a way that water and positive thinking just wasn't going to over come.

Now the cakes (yes, he ended up having 2) are almost gone, we have no social eating plans for this week, TKD  is on for Mon and Wed  and the stars and planets are all aligned.  This will be a great week!

Fasting Weigh in - Week 3

Last Week's Weight - 201.9
Current Weight - 202.8

Weight Lost Gained  This Week - 0.9

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No big surprise that I gained almost a pound this week. I had a 4 day weekend last weekend, and while I did Fast on Tuesday and Thursday, I certainly enjoyed more treats during the rest of the week then I should have.

We are in the midst of a heat wave, several days at 30C plus, even through the night.  It certainly makes me lose my appetite for much beyond fresh fruit and water.   Though I will confess that I have enjoyed some 67 calorie beer in the heat.

The journey continues!

Fasting Weigh In - Week 2

Last Week's Weight - 204.8
Current Weight - 201.9

Weight Lost This Week - 2.9

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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.

Fasting Weigh In - Week 1

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

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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.

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. 

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!

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.

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.