Weight Loss and Exercise #5

I did my optimized 7 week 10K runner today. It was a repeat of the last one - 5 min warmup & cooldown walks with a 20 min. run. I didn't struggle as much during the run as I thought I would especially considering I was doing the run 3 days in a row. I'm slow though and covered just over 1.5 mi in 20 min., well maybe a little closer to 1.75 mi. Afterwards, I jogged/walked home; I jogged a total of around 1.5 mi but it was all broken up. Still, that's 3 mi running, close to 5K, just not consecutively. My next run has a total of 25 min. running though it has an interval 3 min. walk in there.

I got a brown sugar apple iced tea from Starbucks that I brought home then I went to Walgreens and I needed to eat asap at least thats what my mom told me so I stopped at Dunkins for some loaded hashbrowns. Before that I had
some Special K. Its been ok

I'm going to try and exercise. I haven't gained weight but i feel i've expanded and deteriorated due to all the inactivity.

I did light strength training today as i've heard that is better for weight-loss than cardio -- at least for those starting out at a high weight. I'm relatively new to strength training. My sister had good results with it. We have similar body-types so i hope i will respond as well as she did.

I did ten squats, ten calf raises, five push-ups against the counter, three planks, and stretching. My quads are really weak, they feel "trembly" already. I could feel my abs engaging during my planks -- i was really pleased as i have a big belly.

Well, it is a start. It's nice to read of those of you doing running programs. I can't run at all.

I threw out all my 'naughty' food including pouring out the rest of my pop. I'm going to try and diet! Excited! Here's to feeling better! Water will save me! And ginger tea! I like it better than camomile even.

Four hours without any pop or food. Just cold water. Don't feel hungry. It's a good time of year to start a diet with tomorrow being September first. I tried on the last pair of jeans i wore ages ago. They still fit, so i haven't expanded, after all. I just FEEL fat.

I can't weigh myself because i have cushion flooring and get a different reading depending on where i place my scale. I don't have room to leave it out in the same place. I can weigh consistently in the stairwell as it is concrete but i can't do that first thing in the morning naked, which is the only accurate way to do it. So i guess i won't be weighing myself this diet.

And when i use the word 'diet' i DO understand that it's a lifestyle change, so no lectures about that.

Just read the box for the ginger tea and it said it PROMOTES appetite! So i guess i won't be drinking THAT!

But its so HEALING! Ginger and lemon hot tea will fix a cold like nothing else.

Yeah, Unaluna, it really promotes a sense of well-being. Plus i have this exquisite set of antique tea cups and saucers from the Far East from my neighbor who travelled the world. I just love to use them. I'll get more camomile. It's not really cold enough for tea anyways.

Getting a bit cranky and headachy. It's been 5.5 hours of abstaining except for water. I quit my ZOOM games night. I was short with my dog.

Going to write about food and specs, so those who are sensitive need not read:

Whatever was in that steroid effed up my appetite and I can't eat anything. Even crackers. I can't even drink soda right now. Just some water

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.