Weight Loss and Exercise #5

2nd run of week 9 this morning and felt better after a rest day. In fact I got a bit confused about my route and it felt like the 30 mins ended before I was expecting. Final ‘graduate’ run will be next week now.

Lovely sunrise this morning on the coast, don’t think there’ll be many more like this so I enjoyed the sight.

@JaneOnceMore
Congrats on starting your diet I hope all goes well with it. I wish I could eat healthier but my family are such picky eaters, I just can't all the time. But I was able to have a healthy dinner last night with foods my daughter actually ate completely, so that felt good. Lately I've been snacking on trail mix, an unsalthed omega 3 variety which is pretty good I haven't been snacking as much lately but I am bad about drinking diet soda

@Discombobulated
Congrats on the 30 min run! That's a great accomplishment and congratulations on nearly finishing couch 2 5K! It sounds lovely to be able to run along the coast.



Today I did week 7 day 3 on 10K runner. It had the 5 min. warmup & cooldown walks, a 20 min. run, 3 min walk, 5 min run so 25 min. total running. The program gave me a 3K running badge today which is 1.86 mi though I think I ran close to 2 mi with the program today. Then I ran off and on shorter distances but I think close to 3 mi total. I walked the rest of the way home.

I'm taking a rest day today since I ran 4 days in a row. My body needs to recover. I feel guilty about it on the one hand, but I'm listening to my body on the other, so that's good. My legs are especially tired after 2 longer runs in a row.

I've had 9 Ritz crackers and a couple Jack Links beef steaks. I've had coffee and a Coke too. I'm at 776 calories, 121 carbs, and 32 grams of protein. I just want to sleep today. My stomach feels fine

Idk if my ulcers are healed and now my appetite is ok? I don't throw up much anymore and my eating has been fine lately if not on the low side.

@Blueberrybook:

@JaneOnceMore
Yeah, it can be a slippery slope that I need to watch. The thing I most have to remember is that my metabolism tends to kick up a TON when I walk & jog, so I have to eat more to maintain my weight. At this weight, things are still fine, I'm a normal weight for my height. I don't count calories since that is highly triggering to me. I haven't made any changes to my eating habits, but I need to add in regular snacking more than just once a day, maybe 2, 3 times a day. IDK, for a lot of my adult life, I weighed a lot less than I do now without engaging in ED behaviors but I was consistent about exercise, and I have only been able to restart walking & jogging b/c I was finally restarted on Cymbalta & lamotrigine, both of which helped peripheral neuropathy in my feet that got really bad after I was taken off those 2 meds. Thank God the neuropathy is so much better now.

I don't belong to a gym any more though, so weight training is harder, and I don't like it as much as walking & jogging. When I ran, walked AND lifted weights, I had a lot more muscle on my frame though back then I was also drinking those muscle building protein shakes made from protein powder & skim milk in addition to meals & snacks. I need to think about restarting those shakes again if snacking more often doesn't help maintain my weight. Unfortunately, those shakes gave me a lot of very stinky gas.

@Blueberrybook:

Glad you're aware of the hazards and took my post in the spirit in which it was intended.

This morning I did 10K runner week 8 day 1. I can't believe I made it to week 8! It had the 5 min. warmup & cooldown walks a 23 min. run, 3 min walk, 5 min. run. I think b/c I had a rest day yesterday, the 23 min. run wasn't so bad and I have to have covered at least 1.5 miles during it. Then a bit more with the 5 min. run. Maybe close to around 2 mi total? Not quite sure since my pace is pretty slow; I have to keep it that way to be able to have enough juice to run the distance. I did run around 1.5 mi one the way home, broken up with walking in between.

I have to make sure to snack more today to keep my weight steady. I'm pretty happy about my curret weight (which is normal for my height), but I still want to tone up some more, especially in my abs. Running & walking has helped me tone up quite a bit.

Well done Blueberry, I definitely find I feel better after rest days. I’m finding as I get older rest days really are important.

I graduated the couch to 5k program this morning, nice weather, cool, early autumn mist, although the sunrise wasn’t as stunning as last week it was nice to run along the coast. They’ve redone the surfaces on the footpaths along there and it’s a really good surface to run on. I was focusing on mindfulness and taking in my surroundings as much as possible, I do tend to drift mentally when I run and sometimes I can dwell on negative stuff which I’m not sure is helpful.

Anyhow I didn’t hit 5k in the 30 mins but that’s fine, I kept going a bit afterwards and think I wasn’t too far off. Didn’t use my watch though as that just distracts me, when I got back I used a website called How Far Did I Run? Which is simple to plot a route on.

@Discombobulated
Congrats on graduating from the couch 2 5K program! You should be proud of yourself! You're an inspiration I won't hit 5K in 30 min. either. I definitely do not run a 10 min. mile! I wish I had footpaths to run along instead of roads. There is a footpath thru my neighborhood park but it is only 0.5 mi, and it's boring to keep looping it, so I have to run on roads, which is bad b/c there is traffic I have to watch out for.

This morning I did the 10K runner again, week 8 day 2. Of course there were the 5 min. warmup & cooldown walks, then a 25 min run, 2 min walk, 7 min run. So all in all I ran 32 min. For me that was just somewhere over 2.5 mi b/c I'm a slow runner, it's definitely just jogging for me. My next long run is 30 min but tomorrow I'm taking a much-needed rest day.

I had a rest day yesterday, and today I ran again. Today my run was 30 min. 2min walk, 5 min run with the 5 min. warmup & cooldown walks. If you had told me I'd be running 30 min. straight by now when I started this program, I wouldn't have believed it! I might do the first part of week 9 and then repeat weeks 8 & 9 for maintenance. By this point, I get a good workout with the 10K runner program. I don't really think I need to advance to a full 10K for regular exercise.

Yay! That’s good to read Blueberry! It’s wonderful when we surprise ourselves isn’t it

I went back to the old running group (not the beginner one) last night. It felt odd, the leader is such a lovely lady and although she doesn’t lead many sessions now (busy with her full on career and children) she was there last night. When she saw me she said it felt like time had faded away, that’s a good way to say it.

Except I was well aware of the passing of time because I’m no longer one of the fast runners, it felt odd everyone being ahead of me, not bad, just odd, plus other than her and one new runner I didn’t know anyone. I was asked if I’ll go back and I think I might but not consistently, my family caring responsibilities are greater now, life is just different. I am different too.

Difficult day here because of something unfortunate I’ll not go into but hopefully I can get out for a pad around tomorrow morning and start my day off right.

I did some walking around today

@Discombobulated
It's nice that you saw some familiar faces in your running group. Believe me, I am a lot slower running too in my mid-40s than I was in my 30s or even early 40s! We need to be proud of ourselves still running at all now with the passage of time! I am sorry that you had a difficult day though.

@Buffy01
Yay on walking! Walking is great exercise.

I went walking/jogging this morning. The weather was cooler this morning, but it won't last. By tomorrow, it won't be as nice outside.

I wasn't really feeling the jogging today. I did run around 2 mi off & on, but I just was tired. I think I was dehydrated after that long run yesterday because I kept waking up dying of thirst overnight and even had to refill my bedside water glass, which I never have to do. It also didn't help that I started my period yesterday.

I deleted my fast food apps. Including my Starbucks and Dunkin ones. I ordered some Pure Protein galatic brownie protein shakes and my mom is picking me up some Ryse skippy peanut butter protein powder. I drank 2 bottles of water and a can Liquid Death sparkling cider instead of soda. I did also have a glass of iced coffee and a Premier Protein shake. I don't reccomend the salted caramel popcorn ones.

Oh yeah. I for sure don't reccomend the salted caramel popcorn ones. Especially mixed with cider flavored sparkling water

I have to get my protein powder delivered. I had asapargus for lunch. It was kinda high in sodium. Idk what I'll do for dinner. Maybe cereal. I don't really know what I'm doing besides cutting back on coffee and soda. Maybe a bit of intuitive eating and not so much planning. It works for some people.

Currently I'm at 650 calories, 100 carbs, and 50 grams of protein. I know how to lose weight. Its just the sticking with it issue.

Sorry to hear about the dehydration Blueberry, how are your temperatures going? Any sign of cooler weather ahead?

I got out for a pad this morning, it was really foggy especially on the coast and quite disorienting, I could just see ghostly figures around me and the air felt thick to breathe. I had a nice little rhythm though and managed 35 minutes, I think I got a bit more than 5k but didn’t measure.

@Discombobulated
Congrats on running 5K! That is a HUGE accomplishment! You should be so proud of yourself

I ran this morning too, also 35 min. with my program. It was 35 min straight which is more than I've done in a LONG time, but I did it. I think I hit 5K or at least pretty close to it. Tomorrow though I think I'll need a rest day or just maybe do a little walking.

I'm not sure if I'll continue my running program after this; the next run is 40 min. broken up into 2 20 min. segments with a short walk in between; that might be a bit much for me, I'll have to wait and see if I feel up to it. I might just run with MapMyFitness on though I might change the measuring prompts and increments to k instead of mi and try to run 5K with that.

I've had a glass of iced mocha with some peppermint cold foam creamer, a can of cherry RC, and a Jack Links beef steak. I'm only at 430 calories and 83 carbs. My protein is 14 grams.

I got some yogurt and apple sauce to go pouches and some Veggie Straws and Apple Straws today among other little snack things.

I'll figure out something to eat. My sodium is low too so I have a lot of room to work with.

I've been eating a lot of beef jerky and zero sugar soda. Its been helping me out. Today I'm at 745 calories, 97 carbs, and 34 grams of protein so far

I was feeling energetic and the morning was cooler than normal, so I ran. I put my MapMyFitness app to track on km, and I was able to run 5K straight The app prompts at each 05. km (or 0.5 mi depending on setting), and I do have to admit that last 0.5 km was a doozy, but I did it!

Tomorrow I'll either walk or take the day off, haven't decided quite yet.

I like that you walk a 5k on your non run days blueberry and congrats on consolidating your 5k.

I went out this morning on a different route, I needed to post a birthday card at my dad’s house. So I’m not sure how far I went, except it was 30 mins. Felt okay, I’ve had time off work and I can feel the difference in my energy level (my job is physical).

I am trying out these $16 30 count once a day pills called Olly combat cravings. I took one around 11:30 and I haven't been drinking loads of zero sugar soda today. I haven't been eating or drinking much of anything. I've only had about 1,247 calories today. But it was like calories in beef jerky, and quinoa and apple sauce and a granola bar. I had some coffee. I'm not having any side effects either from this thing. What if people are wasting money and side effects on Ozempic when they can get an OTC thing with no side effects for $16 a month. Lol.

@Discombobulated
Awesome that you did a 30 min. run. It's great that you have different routes to take. I only have a couple of routes and they involve looping several roads and the foothpath through the park. It gets mononous but it still beats running on a treadmill. I find treadmill running extremely boring.

This morning I surprised myself and did the 10K runner again. week 9 day 2 which was 20 min run 3 min walk 20 min run and the 5 min warmup and cooldown walks. So all in all I did 40 min of running (well, jogging), but the last 10 min was a bear. I always find the first 5 min of running the hardest and then it gets easier until near the end. I may later finish out week 9 since week 9 day 3 is a repeat of today's program, but IDK, I may stop after this week because next week 10K runner has 50 min of running and I really am not sure I'm up for that.

Now, tomorrow I really need to just walk or rest as I've had 4 days of running in a row which is a lot for me.

I've lost 5 pounds since the 7th of September. I get its mostly water but its nice to see a lower number on the scale. I got a bit snacky after my shot today so I'm at 1,760 calories. They were decently healthy snacks. My hunger has calmed down and I've taken all my meds. My protein powder came.

Well, I ran again today because I was feeling up to it, not too tired. I actually repeated yesterday's run - 5 min warmup & cooldown walks, 20 min run, 3 min walk, 20 min run. The first 20 min was easy, but last 5 min of the 2nd run was a struggle. I did it though I can't believe I can run 40 min, even if it's broken up by a short walk in the middle. When I first started this program, I struggled to run the 1 min intervals at the beginning.

I am very pleased with how much my body has toned up doing this program. I've lost 8 lb. total (haven't been losing the last few weeks, just staying steady, but not to worry, my weight is normal for my height), and I've toned up a LOT. I am really pleased with that. Still have a little to tone with my abs, but I'm getting there, and it's a lot more toned than it was. Also nice is that this program has toned up my biceps, which I didn't expect, but I guess it's from the arm motion while running. I didn't even have to watch my diet Doing 7 or 8 weeks of this program will really help you start seeing results, even if it's not always easy.