Weight Loss and Exercise #7

@Discombobulated - 13 miles! I can't even imagine! You've made it to the half marathon mark Congrats! How much longer until your race?

As for me, I jogged 8 mi this morning, but I struggled the last half mile. @Discombobulated, you run so far, I feel like a turtle! I have to remind myself I ran more than 10K, and that's quite a workout, especially in the heat & humidity.

Oh no @Blueberrybook please don’t feel like a turtle, you are so active and that’s what it’s about imo. It was only 18c this morning, a fraction of your heat but I still felt too hot. I’ve been wiped the rest of the day, and I remember why I stopped doing half marathons, they eat into your time, not just time running but recovering.

Thanks for your post re pics Unaluna, I’m still completely bamboozled. But it doesn’t really matter - for some reason I can see the image but no one else.

I bought a kind of water called Inferno berry. Its a brand I regulary drink so I thought it was just berry stuff
I took one sip and it was so spicy I was coughing for 5 minutes. If I drank anymore it would burn my *** out and blowout my stomach.

I'll stick to the Fruity Pebbles kind.

I've had 1815 calories. My TEDEE is 1920. The 1800 I guess isnt that bad.

I’ve stalled with my weight loss this past week. Hasn’t gone up. Hasn’t gone down and I’m eating very healthy. I should have lost another kg but I haven’t.

I converted 18C to find it is around 64F degrees. Oh, I'd LOVE to run in 64F and if the humidity actually got below 90% (anything above 80% is horrible though and only gets worse as it goes up). I'm sure that would be fantastic running weather! I have to admit I'm jealous of you weather and your well-maintained running footpaths!

@Crazy Hitch - Try not to stress too much about your weight. From the picture you posted in the other week in the BP thread, you look beautiful and not as if you need to lose any more weight at all. I'm sure the stress with your work just doesn't help things.

@Discombobulated - I'm not sure whether you use a desktop or a phone to post. What I do to post pics is I download them from my phone onto my computer (via icloud since I have an iPhone) and from my computer I edit them (trim down edges, flip them if they photo'ed upside down), save the file in an images folder I created under a Pictures folder on my computer and then upload the pic to a free image hosting site called postimages (you can google it). Once uploaded there, it gives you display links; I usually choose and copy the forum thumbnail image. If you just use a phone to post, from your phone, you can go to postimages on safari, chrome, whatever your web browser, choose the pic you want to upload from your photos on your phone, press upload, then copy & paste the forum image size you desire from the links for sharing. Maybe that would help you? It's a bit of a run-around, but I find it works well for me.

You’re too kind Blueberrybook. I’d like to lose exactly 4.5kg then just call it maintenance from then on

I warmed up on a recumbent bike for 20 minutes before my personal training session, and greatly enjoyed the Aerobic workout I chose for the warm-up. It had me climb from resistance level 6 to 13 and then go down, and then up again, and down again. I only did 20 minutes, but the full workout is supposed to last 60 minutes. One day I will do the whole thing, as it was so much fun.

I then had a great session, pushing harder than usual and not experiencing ANY vestibular symptoms. Literally for the first time since I began this training in late 2023, I had a smooth session without any dizziness, headache, or anything. I wish I had more days like this.

Also walked in the evening and in total, my step count for today is 7400. Not too bad. Oura thinks I spent 3 hr 24 mins being active today, but I know it counts minimal movement as activity.

Oh, and I wore my 20-lb vest this morning when making breakfast. It takes me 30 minutes to cook steel-cut oats, and I wore the vest throughout that time.

Here is my recipe:

1/2 c steel-cut oats (I get mine from Trader Joe's)
1/4 c milked almonds
2 c of water
some butter
some blueberries
1 scoop collagen peptides for extra protein

I first boil the water on high heat. When it is boiling, I pour steel-cut oats and reduce the heat to medium. Stirring frequently, I cook the oats for 15 minutes. Then I put collagen peptides and stir really well. 5 minutes later, I add milked almonds. At the 30-minute mark, I turn off the heat, add butter and blueberries, and stir well once again.

Steel-cut oats are less processed than quick oats, so they are healthier for you. I also find that the texture of this oatmeal is very pleasing, making the 30 minutes of wait worth it. I do not make this every day, but I make it often enough. Instead of blueberries, I sometimes use Gravenstein apple sauce.

My Kegel Trainer app told me that my muscles need a rest. Today was my 5th day using the app. Tomorrow I will see my pelvic floor PT and ask her if this is true that pelvic muscles need a rest, like the muscles in the rest of the body. I think the answer is no, because otherwise the PT would have warned me.

I’ve never heard about pelvic floor muscles needing a rest either, my app just tells me to do 3 sets a day every day.

Recovery run this morning and it felt good, 15c and light rain. I was trashed yesterday after the long run when it’s normally the day afterwards I’m trashed so I’m hoping that means today will be better.

It’s 7 weeks to half marathon day @Blueberrybook so still plenty of time. I haven’t started my fundraising yet though and I really ought to. I find the fundraising more daunting than the run!

@Discombobulated - I would kill for temperatures like that over the summer! I'm SO jealous of you! But then again, winter here usually isn't that cold. Is there a certain amount you need to fundraise? @Tart Cherry Jam - It's great you were able to get through a training session and your steel cut oats recipe sounds delicious! I tend to only eat oatmeal in cooler weather, but I know it's better for me than cereal.

I thought I might be too tired to jog today since I had a long jog yesterday, but I slept really well (8.5 hr without waking once overnight) and my legs felt nice and strong. I ran 8 mi again today, but this time it wasn't a struggle. I felt I could have run even longer, but I decided to come in while I was still feeling good from the run. Tomorrow, I think I will try for pilates though to give myself a bit of a break after 3 days in a row of running.

My weight was the same. I've been eating a lot of pretzele because they dont bug my stomach. I have this box of rice crackers too. I got a snack wrap and small fries today from Mcdonalds. I get the snack wrap without ranch. I'm trying to stick to crackers and rice and other lame stuff my doctor told me to eat on Monday.

Amazing how much winter clothing can make us weigh. Weighed myself with no clothes on and through PHEW I've lost weight. Weighed myself after I'd put my clothes on and realised damn it adds a kilo or two. Maybe my gp can just let me skip the scale this afternoon. It's weigh in time. I'll tell her I weighed less first thing this morning when I got on the scale with no clothes on.

My pelvic floor PT confirmed: Kegels should be done daily; pelvic floor muscles are different from muscles elsewhere in the body and they do not need a recovery day; she herself does her pelvic floor exercises daily.

She tested my Kegels and they were good! Could be better - I "flickered" (her term) at the 7th second but instantly returned to squeezing and was able to hold the squeeze for the required 10 seconds. I showed her the app and she liked it. I am going to continue with it.

Today I had a hard day, with both a sleep apnea-type headache in the morning and a vestibular migraine in the afternoon. So all I could do was walk while wearing my 12-lb vest in the late evening.

8000 steps.

Not too bad, considering how many hours I spent in bed.

Tart - ive heard that the abs can be worked daily too. So it makes sense, they are all
internal torso muscles?

Oh that is right! That must be why - internal torso muscles.

Today I woke up with tired legs & arms, so I just did a gentle pilates video. I think I needed a rest from jogging. It's hard for me to listen to my body and slow down, but today I did, and I'm proud of myself for doing so.

Thanks for clarifying Tart Cherry! That’s good to know re kegels. Not sure why your app said to rest. I think I have good and bad days with strength of squeeze I guess like anything, but any squeeze is better than none hopefully.

Really sorry you’ve been coping with the vestibular issues, and migraine too. You’re doing amazing pushing on when you can.

Rest day for me and very relaxed country walk with my husband, good for the soul and makes me realise how I don’t relax most of the time. I need to pay heed.

I think you’re smart to realise when you’ve pushed it a bit much, I’m not always as intuitive as I should be. You definitely have been running a lot of miles, good for you switching your exercise to Pilates. Something I need to think about.

My GP high fived me for losing 4kg lol

Now there’s pressure to lose another 4kg this month ughhh …. It feels more difficult this month because I’m so close to my goal weight

I've been eating a lot of pretzels and drinking OWYN protien shakee these last 2 days. They have rye and pumperkinckel hard Q10pretzels and the OWYN shakes are almost like drinking chocolate pudding.

But its about what I can deal with

I've been really good taking a packed lunch into work this week. I've managed to eat a variety of salads every day. Hoping to be able to locate some smoked chicken this weekend because my local grocery store doesn't stock smoked chicken. Which is too bad I guess.

I did 30 minutes on an upright stationary bike and later 80 minutes of walking in a warm water pool (moving in all directions). Oura also registered some walking and says that I spent 2 hrs total being active. I have not done Kegels today but I still have time for two sets before I go to bed.

That's excellent work in the pool Tart Cherry Jam! Way to go

I feel so great after the pool workouts! And the atmosphere there is incredibly cheerful: lots of kids playing in the pool and adults chatting around it while they wait for their children. I felt as if at a big party.

Since I came home, I have done two sets of Kegels and am now going to bed.

The new thread is here: Weight Loss and Exercise #8