Still kickin it

Hola Blogstars! Oh, I'm a bad blogger, so I am. Only know that I am here in spirit, even when not in print. I am mere weeks into my new work gig and have found it has required some very long work days just to settle in and get up to speed. It has meant adjusting my goals and expectations somewhat. Achievable goals and moderation are huge for me. So I decided to shoot for 2 early mornings during the workweek to either do some strength training at home (e.g. 30 Day Shred) or hit the gym for sprints or some other quick and intense cardio. (I guess I could take the run outside, too, but I have not tried that yet.) Then do activity on both weekend days. Ideally a long run and a long hike and/or yoga.

It's quite likely this isn't enough for weight loss - at least not at current food intake levels. (I haven't been tracking my food, either. Another thing I hope to reincorporate - soon!) But it is my way of carving out what I'm willing to do without going into "now I'm off this plan" mode. No all or nothing thinking here! So I will continue to weigh in weekly. And if I see the trend moving upward, I'll know I need to reevaluate. Hopefully I'll soon be more established in a work routine so I'll know where the give is. I don't like admitting I don't have all the answers, but I'm happy I'm hanging in there and willing to work it out with time.

I will also maintain this blog - just not as often. I'll shoot for once a week. I've already given myself a calendar reminder to go off weekly so I can't forget to weigh in like I did a couple weeks ago.

Just did a 4-miler in the Park. It was crap rain in the a.m. and then the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful, sunny, breezy Saturday afternoon. Time for a shower and a smoothie. Enjoy your weekend, wherever you are!

I am aware!

I remembered to weigh in today. Up half a lb. since I started working, though I completely forgot last week's weigh-in, so who knows? I ended the month of April down. And that's why I post those scary little numbers only at the end of the month. Whatever else may be going on in my life, at least I get a sense of overall trend in those monthly stats.

Is there a blogger award for typing entire posts with your thumbs?? I have been remiss in all things weight loss: tracking food, measuring, working out, and blogging. Yep, that just about covers all the things I rely on in my "journey". Hence I find myself knocking this out on my blackberry on the subway.

Positives: since I didn't really cut out any foods or drinks from my "program" (everything in air quotes when you're blogging pre-coffee), I don't feel I went outta control "off" plan despite not tracking and measuring. That helps. Also I did wake up and go for a run yesterday. Since I could only spare 30 minutes, I incorporated sprints. My goal is to wake early on 2 weekdays to workout and then get 2 sessions of activity in on the weekend. Or honestly, even one weekend session if I'm really exhausted come Sunday. Not ideal, I know ("ideal"!) but I want to be realistic and aim for something achievable and sustainable.

Sadly my bodybugg has been on the fritz and has thus not been a part of my life this past week. Luckily my friend (who gave me a bugg when she purchased one for herself) will allow me to borrow hers to help me diagnose what is ailing mine (not sure if it's the arm device or the display watch, which has a fresh new battery btw). But I would like to incorporate that into my plan - even if the bugg may be more obvious under work clothes, potentially inviting commentary or questions. I got by in the past with it's a pedometer.

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Workin for a livin

Oh man, I am so behind on my blogs! I imagine by the time I go through and get caught up on everyone's news, you'll all be at your goal weights and running marathons.


I didn't even weigh in today because I forgot it was Tuesday!


I did wake up early and do some 30 Day Shred on my first day of work, just to establish for myself that it could be done. And should be! Today I slept in, so exhausted was I from the first day. But I aim to get up early tomorrow and do...something. (I'm thinking a run might be in order.)


On the food front, it's been ok, but not great. BF has turned himself into Betty Draper and has been packing up some fairly healthy and absolutely delicious homemade fair in many tiny bowls. Probably too much portion-wise, but not obscenely so. The office itself is stacked with all sorts of (free!) sodas, snacks, bars, and juices. Including some fine euro chocolate. I have not had anything but the yummy coffee so far. (Uh, yeah, I realize it's only been 2 days.)


Food and exercise tracking has fallen temporarily by the wayside as bodybugg is on the fritz and I haven't had time to troubleshoot. But I'm aware of the precarious situation I'm in - not yet in trouble, but drifting from the game plan a bit. I will continue to evaluate. Hopefully the weekend allows me to re-establish the routine a bit!

Facts of Life

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of life...

Natalie was always my favorite. I was pleased to read in her adult, post-Facts life she has declined to appear in so-called "celebreality" shows, such as Celebrity Fit Club.

Anyway. Life is what happens when we are making other plans. My April was breezing along wonderfully. I was cutting out Rest days from my routine, instead opting for lighter intensity days. Incorporating more strength training courtesy of the Exercise on Demand channel. Motivating myself to get to my favorite yoga class weekly. And mixing up my running routine with new routes in the Park, as well as completing the weekly long run from the One Hour Runner program. (Yesterday I did the 38-minute nonstop run at 5.2 mph.)

And the weekly weigh-ins continue to reflect new lows. Huzzah! Until...

I got a job! Woo hoo! Months of searching, interviewing, trying to compose thoughtful thank you notes and keep myself in clean interview suits. I'm thoroughly overjoyed with the company and the position....yet, change is scary, too. When will I run? What will I eat? I've worked for years before this (comparatively) brief period of unemployment and obviously had routines to make sure I got workouts in, lunches to eat, etc. so clearly I can reestablish those routines in the new gig.

But routines take time to develop. And I know initially my focus will be on navigating the company, adjusting to early days again, readjusting to corporate dress (as opposed to all yoga pants all the time). So I'm not going to go into denial mode (calorie? what is this calorie you speak of? running schedule? como?), yet I can't really maintain the focus a 0-hour workweek allowed, either. I'm aiming for a Pause button or temporary maintenance.

In the weeks ahead, I will create a new exercise agenda, plan work-friendly lunches, etc. But for now, I will shoot for some pre-work, shorter runs or fitness videos and rely on some healthy, convenient staples for eating (like the Starbucks yogurt I love, Luna bars, fruit, sandwiches on whole grain bread) until I discover what's on offer near the office, what the office kitchen offers in terms of chilling and heating capabilities, etc.

Change is good!

Spring extremes

It is officially Spring and it is extremely pretty out there. It also got extremely hot out there. In my naiveté, I went running for a good 3.5 miles or so in the 86-degree heatwave the other day. My sweet spot is definitely 40-60F (with no wind, hills, or humidity por favor!) Today it is extremely cold again, so it's getting difficult to know what to wear.

Funny slip: in the paragraph above I wrote "funning" for "running." Is it possible I'm enjoying myself out there? I don't think so. Well, I'll admit I always enjoy the post-run endorphin rush and love that sense of accomplishment, but lately I have noticed more moments of enjoyment (or less moments of "how much longer do I have to do this?", "how far to the next functioning water fountain?") during the run.

I'm still incorporating the at-home component (mostly Shred or whatever looks interesting on the Exercise On Demand channel on cable), though not as much this week. I've been job interviewing quite a bit lately (angst!) so like the weather, my mood and motivation have seen extreme highs and lows as well. Overall, I'm trying to sustain some equilibrium and keep up with my exercise regime and food tracking as best I can. This week, I'm operating at about a 7.5, I think.

Getting Stronger

I sort of eliminated Rest days. Maybe it's a function of wearing the bodybugg, but I find a body at rest tends to stay at rest. And eat cookies. Yet if I commit to doing an at-home workout ("it's only 20 minutes!") I'll strap on the bodybugg and get some positive reinforcement in terms of calories burned, steps taken, and minutes of physical activity. And that spurs me on to head out for a long walk or do something else to get to 10,000 steps, 2400 calories, and at least an hour of physical activity. And not eat cookies.

So it's not that I don't mix it up for my body, like I rarely run on consecutive days, but I'm no longer taking a day of Sloth. It's more like intense workout days and less intense (or active rest) days. Today, for instance, I'm meeting a friend for a run, then we're headed to a yoga class.

A note to Ishmael: I was going to post a more elaborate view of my bodybugg contraption, but had all sorts of trouble trying to get the screenshots I wanted to show. So in typical FitFunk fashion, I abandoned the whole effort. And had a cookie. (Just kidding there.) For me, the bodybugg keeps me accountable, appeals to my geeky/analytical side (32% of my calories came from protein yesterday, fascinating!), and motivates me to move, as indicated above.

When I first got it (as a gift, it is pricey, I probably would have gotten one myself eventually, but it was an awesome gift!), I felt a little overwhelmed with all the screens and set up and was therefore a little overzealous. There's a screen where you set your shorter-term goals, say, 10 pounds in X weeks, and you just move this little cursor to how many pounds you'd like to lose per week and the dates and calorie deficit required. It all looks so easy when it's numbers on a pull-down menu...sure, let's aim for 2 pounds per week...burn 2900 calories per day and take in 1900 calories per day, that's a deficit of 1000 calories per day, or 7000 per week and voila! 2 pounds.

Yeah. Except. I have had days where I burn 2900 or even more calories in a day, but it's so not sustainable for me to achieve every day. After much trial and error (mostly error) I had to go back to the control panel and lower my expectations to one pound per week. So now I aim for a 500 calorie deficit per day. I like how my little 'bugg beeps it's little messages of "Activity Target Met!" (one hour), "Step Count Met!" (10,000), and usually bringing up the rear, "Calorie Burn Target Met!" (2400).

Something I've been refocusing on lately is actually meeting that 2400 calorie burn target daily versus on most days. It's a reasonable target. That's why I ended up doing The Shred on 3 days this week. I did my 30-minute run for One Hour Runner at the gym due to rain, but was happy to do the whole thing at 5.2 mph. I also took the run outside once the sun reappeared and did 5 miles in Central Park (though that was on a 4 min run / 1 min walk that allows me to get some faster - higher calorie burn - segments in), and I'll get yoga in as well. Woot! Woot!

Unfortunately I also had about a vat of wine last night (that was fun to plug into the bodybugg) Trying to seriously rehydrate/caffeinate before this run. 10,000 steps forward, 10,001 steps back? Oh the struggle is eternal I tells ya! These are the moments when I have to console myself with the knowledge that I'm learning what maintenance will require of me.

Slowly Does It

This little pup weighs 2 pounds. And, bonus, he kind of looks how I feel today.

I was slightly disappointed that I only lost about 2 lbs over the course of March, especially as I had seen slightly lower numbers last week in my (secret, not really, but not posted) weekly weigh-ins.


And my second thought was, I AM SO SICK OF THIS RAIN. I did the Shred at home again, but I want to/need to get out and run. And I'm a fair weather runner. Yes, the gym is a block away, but I had sort of (prematurely it seems) liberated myself from the treadmill shackles once Spring temps hit. Additionally the rain is sucking out my will to live, let alone m o v e.

I gotta get outta my own head! It's great to be more safely in the 180's. (As opposed to when I briefly saw a 189.9999 pop up a while back and, again, prematurely called myself Back in the [1]80's.) Lately I've also been cruising the BMI/BMR/misc. weight charts trying to come up with a goal weight to plug into my sidebar. Having been overweight since uh... people started weighing me, I guess, it's hard to pick a number. I suppose it's better to pick a range and see what happens when I get there. I will be giving this more thought and post further.

Since I did not commit to a d-plan or eliminating any individual food or food group, I know my weight loss is going to be slower. What I did commit to is weighing myself weekly (even if I eat take out Chinese the night before or it's that time of the month or had 2 pints of Ben & Jerry's for dinner, etc etc.) The point is it's a snapshot in time that may, as much as I dread it, go UP on occasion and I have to learn to deal with it as a data point in a series, not a summary judgment.

I also committed to exercise. And while it's great to incorporate the Shred and to finally get myself some zen on the yoga mat, last week my running (or even long walks) sort of fell off.

Exercise program, goal weight reflections, food tracking...that's what I'll be working on in the week ahead.

Beer and/or Dessert

OK, mostly beer. True story. I made a little dinner of roasted broccoli and this little french bread pizza I like to make (it involves a whole-wheat baguette with homemade marinara and fresh mozzarella and basil) and then as it was baking I plugged it all into my bodybugg database. I also input the 2.5 bottles of beer I intended to enjoy along with said healthy-ish pizza (I'm a sucker for the Belgian blonde beers, esp. Leffe...mmm) While I was at it, I decided that after a night in sipping brews in moderation and watching Netflix with BF, I might want a sweet treat. So I went ahead and added in a delicious cookie from a batch I made yesterday and promptly froze.

Except. Consider it a sign of growth, maturity, or somehow something clicking, but the cookie put me well over 2000 calories for the day. And since I had not yet eaten said cookie, I could magically delete it and watch those calories disappear from the day's tally. Yes, I could choose to have a couple beers and still practice moderation by not having the cookie. Do other people know this is possible?? Get me to my blog!

Kudos here to Kat of Low-Fat Kat. I am currently reading through her archives and am totally enthralled with her story. She posted this oatmeal/peanut butter/chocolate chip sensation that is pushing all of my buttons at the moment. Yum! And while I'm at it, I may as well mention I found her through the witty comments she left on another new find, 100in12, which captures the journey of Laura, who is hilarious and genuine and inspirational all in one! As NY temps dropped back to the 30's, I enjoyed a little yummy Laura turned me onto, namely brewing a cup of mint tea and mixing in a packet of sugar-free hot chocolate. Choco-minty yum.

In other news, I made it to yoga today! Huzzah! So along with the Shred session on Monday, my One Hour Runner 30-minute straight (slow) running episode, a couple 4-mile runs in the Park, I also did some incline walking before yoga today. (3.5 mph walk with inclines at 2.0 for 5 minutes, then 3.5 incline for 5 minutes, then up 1% incline every minute until I got to 10%, then back down 1% each minute until I got to 5% incline, which I did for 5 minutes, then 3.5% for 5 minutes and then 3.5% until cool down.)

So...Moderation. Exercise. Inspiration in the internets. That's what I've got this weekend. Pass it on!

Shake It, Don't Break It

Hola rockers! Dreary rain here today. I snapped this photo, I like to call "Signs of Spring," as I was walking along the river this misty morning. So exciting to see the trees beginning to bud/bloom!

Even though my "official" (according to me) weigh-in will occur next Tuesday, I am happy to report the month of March has been a good one weight-wise, so far. (So, Self, don't go blowing it this last week!) Each Tuesday has seen a new low on the scale. Not massive new lows, but about a pound a week, which is what I claim to be aiming for, but honestly will take what I can get. But it's nice to see anything lower than the week before and nice to see a low number not yet seen (this time around!)

Last week the FitQuest revolved around loads of walking. I think between running and walking, the mileage for the week came out to about 39 miles. I haven't been to any classes at the gym lately, so I was thinking I needed to get some strength and yoga in soon. I also wanted to incorporate some longer (slower) non-stop runs, a la One Hour Runner.

I'm happy to report that yesterday I was successful on 2 of those fronts. First, after digesting brekkie of coffay and steel cut oats (I like mine with a little milk and maple syrup), I tuned in to Channel 1025. Here in NY that is TimeWarner's Exercise on Demand channel. I've been reading so many bloggers mention they do Jillian's 30-Day Shred at some point in their week, that I had to get in on that action. So I did Level 1, which was about 20 minutes. I used my 8-lb dumbbells for most moves, but had to modify/improvise with some 2.25-lb. cans of tomatoes (I weighed them on my digital kitchen scale).

After that, I went to the treadmill (it was monsoon season out there!) and ran for 30 minutes non-stop. Luckily the Yankee game was on and I had some fun music in (remember that song "Jump, Jump" by Kris Kross?? The little dudes who wore their clothes backwards? Good times.) I ran most of it at 5.0mph (12-minute mile), but about halfway through, went down to 4.8mph and then returned to 5.0 for the last 5 minutes.

I am really sore today, but in a good way. So I guess the title of the post should be "Shred it, don't break it", but that's not really a saying.

Walk, Run, Shoot (photos, that is!)

Things have been going well since I got over my horrible pre-Spring cold. I've been tracking my food daily and monitoring my caloric deficit, so it's all good. The weather has been so freaking fabulous, I have been walking and walking and walking just to soak it in. There was one 11-mile trek almost to the George Washington Bridge up the paths along the Hudson River. I say "almost to" because we had gotten a late start and it was nearing 5:00 when we decided to turn back to avoid finding ourselves walking along the river after dark. Here's the view of the bridge in the distance.


With the weather being so nice, it's been a good week or 2 since I set foot in the gym. So I'm in dire need of some strength training, which I usually get in with a weekly conditioning class or doing a solo session of moves learned in that class. I guess I'm in a sort of seasonal transition. I need to revisit the Fitness Spreadsheet and reassess.

This is Grant's Tomb, from the 11-mile trek up Riverside

This is the Civil War Memorial, also from the 11-mile trek
(who knew there was so much history on view walking up Riverside Drive?)






Thermy of See Thermy Run is doing the One Hour Runner program, which a lot of people use as a follow-up to C25k. I went right from C25k into a mileage based program and have kind of been hitting the wall with it, so I'm thinking of backing up and adding the OHR, or at least incorporating it into a customized program of my own design. For calorie burn, I've been focusing more on intervals - running at a faster pace than I can really sustain for too long, interspersed with walk breaks. This also alleviates my ADD/boredom. But I do want to work on building up distance and sustaining a comfortable pace as well. So I think I might make one run per week the OHR run, probably the long run of the 3 weekly runs that program suggests. They start at 30 minutes of non-stop running and gradually build up to 60 minutes (hence the name) by adding a few minutes to each run over 10 weeks.


This week though, I ran 4 miles twice and then did the 11-mile walk, then did a 7-mile walk with a friend. And yesterday did an 8-mile walk with another friend. Good to have friends who want to catch up over a walk! Or if those friends are busy, it's good to have a 4-legged friend who likes to walk. (No, dear Reader, I am not sticking my tongue out at you...that's at the BF who took the photo. And took his time walking behind me as I tried to hustle us home before nightfall.)

Running on (away from) St Patrick's Day

No, I did not eat this cupcake!

I just thought it made a better image than snapshots of the happy (drunken) revelers outside my building all along Second Avenue. It's sunny and in the 60's here in NY today. And the celebrants have been belly up to the bar since the dog's first walk a little after 8:00 this morning. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

So of course I wanted to take my run outside on this fine day. And where better to run than Central Park? Except the parade route lies between me and the Park, so I had to head east instead and run along the East River. It's "a-ight"...the path is nice, but while the river flows calmly on one side, there is a highway on the other side of you. (Cough, cough) I was so dehydrated. Like, couldn't swallow level of dehydration. I may have to get one of those crazy velcro belts that hold the little water bottles.

I have been taking my run outside the last few days now that I'm feeling better and the weather is warming up. And now that the awful cold and the dreary rain are behind me, I've also just noticed how bright and sunny it is later in the day, which translates to even more time to wile away the day reading blogs and stuff before I realize it's time to hustle to get that run in before the freaks come out. (Just kidding, there are absolutely no freaks in New York.)

Other than that, I've been really focused on my food choices and tracking my eating and using the bodybugg to track my daily caloric deficit. I'm feeling pretty good about this because in the past I've typically treated each day in isolation as opposed to keeping tabs on the running total overall. Which is a better gauge since of course there are higher and lower calorie input/output days and how they average out is more important than any given day alone.

Raindrops keep fallin on my head

Just checking in to say I am back, baby! It's raining nonstop here in NY, but I'm feeling groovy. I've had a cold throughout most of this week, but yesterday managed a walk across Central Park and back. I also noticed my appetite coming back (I guess it's a good thing) and went cold turkey on the cold meds as of yesterday afternoon.

I was happy to have slept well last night (sans Nyquil) and really felt good this morning, despite the raaaaaaaain. I suited up and headed over to the gym. Ran 3 miles without feeling like I'd overdone it. Then walked at various incline levels for another 30 minutes before running home in the rain.

It's been a weird week without much exercise, lots of meds, strange eating or lack thereof, but through it all, I've been trying to focus on getting myself back to health and staying on track as best I could manage.

There's to be an outing tonight, I think. Somewhere here in the 'hood. In the rain. (Yes, I like to keep harping on that.) But I've decided I don't want to drink beer. It's too easy for me to drink too much, even though I make it a point not to keep up with, for example, BF. So maybe a wine bar tonight, though usually I find the by-the-glass programs so disappointing and overpriced. Anyway, that's today's challenge and I'll figure it out before I head out for the evening. Planning is everything...

P.S. I've been having some weird issues on the blog. Hope this isn't screwing up anyone's feed. Will try to look into today!

This may not be why I'm fat, but it can't be helping

I came across this great graphic on Consumerist. It originally appeared in an article, Health vs. Pork on Good Medicine.

I couldn't have summarized this graphic better than the President's Cancer Panel:  

"[C]urrent agricultural and public health policy is not coordinated—we heavily subsidize the growth of foods (e.g., corn, soy) that in their processed forms (e.g., high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated corn and soybean oils, grain-fed cattle) are known contributors to obesity and associated chronic diseases..."

I'm sure many of you have read, or are familiar with, the work of Michael Pollan and Marion Nestle and other advocates for change in our nation's food policy. I have nothing smart to add to the debate, but wanted to post something here...I don't know, to show I am aware of how messed up the situation is.

It's better (for me) to take a few steps back and adhere to Pollan's wise mantra to Eat [real] Food. Not too much. Mostly plants. I'm not a vegetarian, but I do try to find humanely raised animal products, like grass-fed, antibiotic-free meat and hormone-free, free-range poultry. Usually this means finding small farmers at the Greenmarkets here in NYC. 

When you factor in corporations ("Big Food"), I completely lose any ability to articulate my anger. Even as the bulk of farm subsidies goes to growers of corn and soy, the cost of those crops are skyrocketing due to the virtual monopoly of genetically-modified patented seed from Monsanto. In New Zealand, Weight Watchers has teamed up with McDonald's to offer a few menu items coming in at under 6 trademarked WW Points. Pepsi is funding a research chair at Yale's Medical School. How long until a Yale researcher publishes an article touting the health benefits of a daily Pepsi (perhaps infused with Vitamin D or the antioxidant du jour) and some Frito-Lay (another healthy Pepsi brand) snack "made with whole grains!"?

See, this is where I get crazy. I know Farm Subsidies and Big Food didn't make me fat, but they sure as hell didn't help! I try to eat clean, whole/real foods. But I'm human, too. I like the occasional Cheeto! (Just one, of course.) I just wish processed food didn't take up 90% of the average grocery store. And that it offered honest labeling - no flimsy health claims, honest nutritional information (make the label state the contents of the entire package, not "about 14 cheetos")...but that's a whole other topic.

I always know I'm sick when I lose my appetite

I

I hate that the little scratch in my throat has turned into full-fledged cold symptoms. It is 54 degrees here today and I would love to be running outside instead of drinking my lemon water. I was unsure if I should run or not yesterday, so I compromised by bringing lozenges and tissues, doing a much longer walking warm-up and interspersing running with walk recovery breaks to not overdo it. Today I'm definitely doing that whole "listen to your body" thing and will be holed up in my privy chamber with my historical fiction (Henry VIII, you royal cad, you) along with my DayQuil. Drat.

 

In yesterday's weigh-in (weigh weekly, post monthly), I was down a pound and a half and was very glad for it! I know taking a couple "sick days" from the fitness routine is not going to magically put the pounds back on, especially when combined with the (rare!) loss of appetite, but it is so frustrating to be fired up for fitness and be sidelined. Because, let's face it, getting the mojo working can be a feat as well. And I want to ride the momentum. 

 

Ah well. I know when I read others' posts about how frustrating an injury is or fears of weight relapse due to forced inactivity, I always comment (or at least think) soothing, don't-worry-this-is-a-blip-in-the-journey type thoughts. So I'm trying to force myself to be rational here.

 

There will be lots of sunny running days to come, I know.

5k in brief

Me, brief? I know, it hardly seems possible. Alas, I have a scratchy throat and am not feeling quite so chatty today, but I did want to share some news of the 5k I ran yesterday. 

I am so not a morning person. Had to set the alarm to get up early and get myself across Central Park and on a subway headed north to Washington Heights for a 9:00 (a.m.!!) start time. No you cannot spot me here at the starting line as I am bringing up the rear with the other slow pokes who signed up as 12-minute milers. 

 

The great thing about this race (aside from being only 3.1 miles in distance) is that there are musicians all along the course to inspire you. Everything from blues, jazz, rock, marching bands, and my personal favorite: mariachi - how cool are they?!

And there are lots of people from the neighborhood leaning out their windows or lining the streets to cheer you on, even New York's Finest offering a word of encouragement. (I personally abandoned an impromptu walk break halfway up a %*&#$! hill as I passed a crew of NY FIrefighters cheering the runners. Suddenly "this is a steep hill" didn't seem like a compelling reason to slow down.) 

After the official 5k, they had the cutest thing: kids races! Instead of pace times, they had the rugrats queue up by age, the youngest sign I saw was, "Age 2". I'm not sure how far they ran, but they were adorable. And they were presented with little medals at the finish line by the NYFD. Cute! 

I had a bit of a sore throat the night before, but nothing severe enough to consider bailing on the run. The weather wasn't too harsh. About 40 and sunny, no wind, thankfully. So I don't know if running in the elements exacerbated my throat or what, but I'm trying to take it fairly easy today. It's in the 50's now, so I'm excited to get some regular runs al fresco happening!

One more thing, results! I finished just a few seconds after 35 minutes, which of course makes me wish I had worn a stop watch because I'm sure I could have shaved off 6 seconds...coulda woulda shoulda... My pace per mile averaged 11:19, which is all ok with me. I strive to 1) finish and 2) beat a 12-minute mile. Done and done!

Now for my tea...

And the winner is...steel cut oats

The Yankees spring training opener was on Wednesday, which rolled right into Trivia Night at the pub at which BF and I were planted. So beers were had, though I tried to pace myself. And most of those beers wound up being free, because BF and I won the trivia challenge! Yay for otherwise useless Oscar knowledge and word puzzle abilities! 

Balanced that day of inactivity with a run in Central Park yesterday. The snow is gradually melting as the temps get into the mid-40s. Was good to be out there, though I was initially focused on not mucking up my new running shoes. On Cindy's recommendation, I went to Jackrabbit Sports to get myself properly fitted for a shoe. They give you a neutral shoe and set you up on a treadmill to film you running. There is a small camera focused on your legs so they can evaluate your stride, footfall, etc. Then they bring out a couple different models based on that information and let you repeat the treadmill video session. Based on what they see and your own feedback of what feels good on your foot, consensus is reached. I ended up in an Asics, which I've worn for the last couple years, though a different line. It cracked me up that it took someone coming to NYC from TX to point me towards a shop 2 blocks from my house. (Oh that store next to the Starbucks I always stop at on my way to the subway?? Who knew?)

Just finished my brekkie of steel cut oats. So good and good for you, too! Oatmeal is my default filling and nutritious breakfast, as well as my get-back-on-track reset meal. I'm running a 5k this weekend, which I'll post about next week. It's also Oscar night and there will be wine. Have to strive for some balance. Enjoy in moderation, as they say. 

That could sum up my whole FitQuest, what I'm really working on is incorporating everything in moderation.  I don't want to cut anything out that I don't plan on cutting out forever. I don't want to over-commit myself to unachievable 3-hour daily workouts. I don't want to get on a rollercoaster of deprivation followed by free-for-all, repeat. And I want to be aware of the indulgences I'm incorporating, to better compensate for them before and after. For example, in the coming week my focus will be on more runs and oats and less televised sports and drinks. 

I'm excited for Spring! More outdoor running, long walks. Greenery and blue skies versus murky, gray overcast.

Pear-shaped loser updates

Slogging away on the treadmill today, I saw a Jenny Craig commercial and was surprised to see my old friend, George Costanza, standing next to Valerie Bertinelli! Ok, of course his real name is Jason Alexander. I'm not a fan of any "diet program", but I think Costanza brings some much needed levity and relate-ability to the journey. And I'd rather some of the billion dollar weight loss industry revenues make it into the pocket of someone I like. Go pear-shaped losers!

 

This pear-shaped loser has been trying to dust herself off and regroup after a lackluster showing in the Official Monthly Weigh-in. I've been tracking diligently, eating more meals at home, and cutting back on drinking (cue Santana singing, "baby, you've got to change your boozing ways"...) So far, so good. Yeah, that's about 3 days of good for those of you counting at home. 3 is better than 0, I say!

 

I just came back from a 6-mile run on the treadmill. At one point I had to stop to use the restroom and refill my water bottle and of course the machine timed out on me so I had to restart the effort (keeping track of course of the 4.32 miles already logged.) It felt like a freaking marathon! Now the trick is not to eat like a marathoner the rest of the day.

Seems like a lot of blogs I follow updated today - yay! So I was about an hour delayed heading out as I first like to catch up on what everyone else is doing for inspiration. Then I like to add my 2 cents (sometimes more like 10 cents) and then an hour has passed. But the extra inspiration is so worth it - so thank you bloggers!

And Betsy commented! Girl, I have you in my little mojo blogroll, so I've been watching that space eagerly for news from you and was so excited to hear from you. Your audience awaits you! (But in a friendly, supportive, non-stalkerish way!)

MMMM, yummy beef & broccoli stir-fry incoming...thank you, wonderful bf! Oh, brown rice, carrots, garlic, ginger. Later a cup of tea and a dvd while we watch the Blizzard of 2010. Enjoy the weekend wherever you are!

And *You* Wanna Be My Latex Salesman?

February's a short month?

I'm retaining (3-5 lbs. worth of) water?

I gained muscle?

If we were playing 10,000 Pyramid, this would be the point when you'd yell out, "Reasons you didn't lose weight this month!" and Dick Clark would say, "Judges? No, I'm sorry, we're looking for Excuses there...Excuses for not losing weight this month"  Things a toothbrush would say! (Ok, I used to love that game show in my youth and I will abandon the imaginary set now.)

I am as frustrated and filled with self-loathing as George Costanza when his ruse to have Jerry be his front for the unemployment office failed.

Yes, that's me crying on the floor in my underwear after the Big Weigh-in. It's not a plateau. It's just slacking off on the food front. I sort of predicted this a post or two back, but it still sucks to be confronted with reality. 

I know what I need to do, but knowing is not doing. Over the last month, I checked off my scheduled runs and other workouts for the most part, but I let the food take care of itself on a lot of days. And if there's one thing I've learned the hard way, it is that the food does so NOT take care of itself. I have eaten poorly due to laziness, happiness, boredom, and defiance. Yes, defiance! I showed me, I guess. 

So onward and upward. Er, I mean downward. Why can't everyday be the first day of the life change, the day we're all fired up and gung ho? Or better yet, the last day, hitting the goal day? The slogging through bits in between those two points are really a drag sometimes. And even though I've testified before a jury of myself that I want this to be a life change and I don't care how long it takes, no one likes to flatline on the scale while they are still ostensibly hoping to lose weight. I was logging into my bodybugg software and it cheerfully exclaims I've owned the contraption for 56 weeks! Why would I want to know that, (a), and (b), why would I be excited about stagnating for so long, as indicated by the exclamation point. And p.s. Mr. Bugg, but the contraption was a gift and I activated the device for warranty purposes. That doesn't mean I was on a Program all those weeks. It doesn't mean I'm on one now.

I don't know what the hell I'm doing, honestly. That's what I'll be trying to figure out this month, I suppose....

Well, alright then!

I'm trying, I tells ya! Without going totally girlie & tmi on you, I'm having a very rough week. It involves debilitating cramps, faintness and cravings for red meat (iron) and chocolate (chocolate). Yet, I had in my last post promised to be good, good, good. Or at least strive for goodness. So I have been dragging myself to the gym for treadmill sessions. The me vs. me would have been hilarious if I were watching someone else battle her inner sloth. I basically bribed and negotiated my way through two 4-mile sessions. Passerby with mind-reading abilities might have caught these gems from my internal struggle:

• "You can run the whole thing at your slowest pace if you need to"
• "I'll try, but I'm already tired"
• "...although this is the shorter run this week, so you should try to go a bit faster maybe?"
• "3 minutes I've been on this thing???! I think it's broken"
• "You can drink water at a mile"
• "I might just do 2 miles"

And so on.  Eventually I got the sh!t over and done with and of course felt fantastic (and famished) afterwards. In a rush, I had the best little treat on the run from Starbucks. I love their yogurt parfaits once in a while. There's one with peaches and one with berries. All the nutrition info is on there and it's already in my online tracking database, so all signs point to Easy. (I actually prefer to make my own version of this at home and plan to make a batch of my homemade granola tomorrow, but the Starbucks option is nice to have when needed.) As I entered the cafe, I saw there was one yogurt left! It ended up being a dark cherry, which I wasn't sure about, but desperate times... It was delicious. Tasted like a cherry cobbler. And quite filling.

I'm a bit worried about this month's weigh-in next week. It's been a weird rocky month. Although I'm quite pumped about my running progress, my food (and drink) intake has been at times what can only be called a free-for-all. I'm trying to get that under control and make room for more planned indulgences. So far I've been sticking to my promise to myself to track all food (even the chocolate Entenman's donut, 300 calories for one, thank you very little!), do all slated runs (even with the cramp attack and the Fitness magazine article warning me about the risk of premenopausal women suffering exercise-induced strokes - how is that helping my FitQuest?!), and get in a yoga session (that hasn't happened yet, but I'm still committed to fitting it in on or before Sunday at sundown!)

Is it me? Is it Winter? I need a mojo overhaul. But I'm fighting on, so help me, I am... 

Struggle

So sore. Went to my strength training class last night. With the federal holiday, I was able to rope in a friend who had the day off who normally wouldn't be able to make the earlier start time of the class. Too bad, because it was so fun to have her there. Knowing I'd be meeting her there would totally remove some of the struggle from getting myself there every week. (I do usually get myself there, but not without some inner debate between my funk and fit selves.) 

I started this post unsure of its tone. I have been struggling the last week, but also doing some very positive things, so I decided to just freestyle here. Looking back over the last 10 days or so, I see positive and negative. Achievements and setbacks. And I realize that's not unique to this FitQuest, nor is it unique to me. That's just life. So how can I be positive about the negative?

I ran 18 miles last week - that's huge! It included a 6-mile run. I'm very proud of that achievement, but there's a small part of me that fears I won't be able to continue to progress. I have a training program in Excel, where I mark off each scheduled run as it is completed and I have to say lately I've become somewhat ambivalent. I'm really excited to gray out the number in the cell to signal completion (yay!), but then find one eye wandering (not literally) down the sheet and agonizing, "7 miles?! When is that run? No way!" Struggling...

Message From Above interlude: as I was staring at the paragraph and confronting my running fears, the cursor hovered on the toolbar at the top of the screen and displayed this wisdom from the Laptop Gods, "Change system appearance and behavior, or get help." I am soooo trying to change system appearance and behavior! 

So I'm thinking that admitting there is struggle is the first step. Awareness is good. Now what can I do with that awareness? This might be a good time to review and retrench. I'm on top of the running at the moment. That is my anchor, my main fitness activity with built-in progress points, increasing challenge, fairly easy to execute. (Well, "easy" is not the word, but it can be done anywhere with minimal equipment, etc.) Yoga has fallen off a bit. Or rather, I have slacked off on the yoga. This, too, is something that could be done independently. There are a couple classes I enjoy at my gym (a sunk cost as the membership is already paid, so why not go and maximize the investment already??), but could also be done at home via iTunes or using one of the many routines I happen to have from back issues of Yoga Journal or yoga books I own.

I also think I've been slipping back into on or off eating. I wrote about trying to check in with measuring some commonly eaten foods, like last post's peanut butter debacle. You say tablespoon, I say teaspoon. Let's call the whole thing off. No! Off is bad. My food planning and tracking has been a huge (you guessed it) struggle of late. I don't really plan per se, just try to have a variety of healthy fair on hand, which requires me to rely on the tracking part of the equation. And if I don't track one meal, there's no point in tracking the next and the whole thing snowballs until I can't remember when I last recorded what I ate - or what I ate for that matter. And it couldn't be easier to do! I do it online and the database is full of stuff I eat regularly. 

Alright. Enough whinging then. I already did the strength class this week. (Yay, one cell in the spreadsheet tackled!) I will do the runs. I will do some yoga, even if it is a solo session at home. I will track every meal this week and focus on assessing portion sizes. Struggle be damned, I know I can do these things this week. And I'll worry about next week when I get there.

Again already

I'm baaaaaaaack. I just posted yesterday, but that post really helped me, so I'm going to try posting more and see how that goes. For one thing, I was really in a funk over the last week and since the title of the blog is Less Funk More Fit, well, I needed to get myself sorted. I find that it's really hard for me to post when I'm feeling blah. Which is probably when I most need to write down or try to capture whatever is swirling around in my head. And which may, in turn, help someone else, which is a really cool aspect of this whole blogging deal.

Posting helped me psych myself up for the gym, which I had been trying to gear up for all day and had only gotten to 50/50 on before the entry. Exploring perfection also got me thinking about the Strength class I was hemming and hawing my way out of attending. The last few times I've gone, I have been nitpicking the moves and not enjoying it as much as I did in the past. Yesterday it occurred to me that unless I plan on developing my own fitness class, there is likely never going to be some perfect class I love every time from start to finish. So I really enjoyed last night's class. I tried to go all out ("it's only an hour") and tried to complete all the sets, even when things started burning. There was only one point I rolled my eyes ("how many freaking lunges are we going to do anyway?!"), but caught myself and made a conscious effort to shift my focus.

So much of this journey is my own attitude. I felt good about my performance in the class and instead of nitpicking my instructor's choices in moves and music, I instead appreciated her for pushing me much farther than I would have ever contemplated going on my own.

In other update news, BF placed an order for groceries online and I reminded him to order me my recovery drink (chocolate milk.)  We had some back and forth on the selection; one was my organic standby and the other was the holy grail of milk from the dairy found at area Farmers' Markets, which had just added some of their products to the online grocery service. Well, when I came back from a 4-miler today, lo and behold, both were in the fridge. Apparently BF forgot to delete the first one ordered after I found out about the holy grail. "Chug up," says BF. Mmph. I'll chug up - in moderation. But that's a lot of milk!

My last couple weigh-ins have been flatlining or to put a positive spin on it: Maintenance Preview. So I'm really trying to get my fitness on, but not in a punishing way, more of a take-the-bull-by-the-horns-you-go-girl motivational approach. I've also tried to track my food better. Today I revisited weighing & measuring, the dastardly duo dreaded by losers the land over. (Even for the sake of alliteration I won't say "dieters".) When I track my food online and select natural peanut butter (ingredients: peanuts), it defaults to 2 Tablespoons as a serving, which I thought was absurd! "No way do I eat 2 T's of PB," and I'd change it to 1. Well, 1 might be sufficient on my whole wheat english muffins, but it only covered one piece of my whole wheat toast. Enlightening. And depressing. But why track if I'm going to make up some fantasy (perfectionist?) idealized version of my intake?

I want to own my journey. My decisions. I knocked out [x] miles... I worked out for at least an hour 6 days this week... I ate 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter... So be it.

It wasn't a perfect week

I missed a run last week. And a yoga session. Ah well. I ran 3 times (4 miles twice and a 5 mile run), did a fairly intense cardio session with all sorts of inclines and varying speeds on the treadmill (cardio attention-defecit disorder? "If I keep playing with these controls and only listen to 10 seconds of every song on my iPod, maybe I can will time to move faster..."), and went to an hour-long strength training class.

Alright I feel better now.  If I had stopped my report on what I had skipped out on last week, I would still feel like a fitness under-achiever. But by looking at the complete picture, it's decent. Not perfect. But then again, neither am I.

This reminds me that over the weekend, BF and I were hauling out trash and recycling and I wanted to dump some sketchy leftovers out before we closed up the bag. He held the bag open as I emptied out some black beans that were probably delicious in Q4 2009. As I repeatedly tapped the container against the side of the trash, he finally said, "Good enough, Virgo," and promptly tied the bag close before I could realize the satisfaction of getting that last little bean to surrender to its fate.

Yes, friends, apparently those born under my sign are known perceived to suffer from an obsession with perfection. Which is not the same as doing things perfectly, but often involves a general sense of disappointment and agonizing hours spent analyzing the gap between expectation and reality.

I like to think I am laid-back and easy-going. But when the spreadsheet says yoga and there is no yoga, then I have to edit the cell to read rest. Or abandon the spreadsheet altogether and no good can has come of that (in the past). So, yes, I owned and embraced the Rest Day(s). And I haven't turned into a giant Oreo. Yet.

I said when starting out (this time) that I really wanted to pursue a plan that I could see myself living on for the long-term. No quick fixes. No juice fasts. Even if that means a slower rate of loss. So I think I have to confront the fact that I am not always going to want to work out. Well, that's quite frequent, actually. But there will be times I will not be able to cajole, harass or otherwise motivate myself to workout. Then what? Or there will be times I'll really crave some pizza - not the healthified kind I make on whole-wheat baguettes, but the studio-apartment-sized NY slice served up on way too many corners near my home. Then what?

Then you deal. In the past, either of those instances would have lead to a whole new path of fitnesslessness and gooey foods. Why can't I instead say, "hey, sloth happens...that day off means you can really bang it out on your next run" or, "that pizza was delish...good thing you ate well the rest of the week so you could enjoy that"...or... anything positive. I want the idealized and real versions of myself to get to know each other better. I feel each could really learn from the other and together they could be an unstoppable force for good on this whole Fit Quest. 

(Self)Knowledge is power, I suppose.

We're gonna need some chocolate milk here...

Mmmmm,  chocolate milk. I was just reading a study touting the benefits of chocolate milk as a post-endurance training recovery drink. Apparently, relative to most bottled recovery drinks, chocolate milk boasts double the protein and carbohydrate content, plus calcium. The article ends with the researcher's comment that "it's an incredibly effective recovery drink - even though it's never been marketed as one..." 

Well, I bet it won't take too long for that to happen. In fact, I predict food scientists and the marketers that promote their creations will take it a step further by enhancing good old chocolate milk to make it even better...Now with twice the sodium chloride!

There's a really great local dairy whose milk and eggs I've bought at various Farmers' Markets here in NYC that makes an amazing chocolate milk. Their stuff is non-homogenized and sold in glass bottles, so you have to shake shake shake it to get all the creamy goodness mixed together properly. The chocolate milk tastes like a milkshake. Yum! Luckily it's not like real ice cream, where I could easily eat a pint (quart?) and call it a night. I just have a glass after my longer runs and it's surprisingly satisfying and filling. 

I was a little hesitant the first time I picked up a bottle to take home. The ghosts of dichotomies past whispering, "baaaad food, baaaaad..." in my ear. And as a wino, er, wine lover, I already drink too many of my calories in a given day, though I am trying to be one of those in-moderation types (one day at a time). But I figure I'll give the choco miracle a whirl and see how it goes.

Today I ran 5 miles (woo hoo!) and I really enjoyed the creamy treat. A couple years ago, when I first got into running, I had several episodes of post-run vomiting when I got up to running beyond 5 miles. Not every time, but it happened 3 or 4 times and I know it had something to do with the way I was (or was not) fueling my body. So we'll see how this goes.

On an unrelated note, I've been trying to spend time reading some new fitness and/or weight loss blogs. It's great relating to someone you don't know, but with whom you seem to have so many things in common. My problem is I like to read through the Archives, so I: 

1. take a long time to get to comment in The Present 
2. don't follow too many blogs because I'm stuck in someone's 2006 Holiday struggle

What are your most frequently followed blogs? Would love any suggestions...

Tipping the Scales

Are fitness magazines our tormentors or saviors? Maybe none of the above, but as I was catching up on mine this morning, it occurred to me that they can be hazardous to one's self-esteem. 

I must confess I'm a transformation junkie. I go straight for the "Success Stories" complete with Before & After shots. Man, they make it look easy. "Janey cut out fast food and lost 10 pounds the first month. She began walking and quickly lost 20 more pounds. Inspired, she added strength training and lost 15 more pounds before the end of the year." Janey never lets 2 drinks turn into 5 at Happy Hour before finding herself facedown in a plate of nachos. (No, she sips a wine spritzer, which is just a sin against wine, but I digress.)

I was in for a treat with this month's haul of fit mags. This being the January issue, it was Transformation Central!  What got me started on this theme, was coming across the phrase, "tipping the scales" in two different stories. What does that even mean? One person "tipped" at 192. I can see if she weighed 410 and her scale only went to 400. And even if she weighed 410, she could always weigh more. "Tipped the scales" suggests some kind of end-of-the-road weight to me. Like she weighed as much as is humanly possible. Alright, I'm being overly-something. I guess I just don't care for the expression and it got me thinking about the fitness media in more general terms.

Shape, Women's Health, Fitness, Self, I subscribe to all of them. Sometimes it's hard to discern much difference among them. Sometimes  I wonder how a $995 handbag or this season's perfect shade of lipstick for every complexion is going to push me along on my quest for fitness. (I already know the publishers' answer to this complaint: fashion, makeup, celebrity profiles, and other tips and quasi-promotional placements, er, articles, facilitate a holistic approach to women's "wellness".)

Which is fine, I suppose. I'm free to peruse the sections I find motivating and pertinent and flip, flip, flip through the other nonsense. Most of the "fitness models" are the same 4% body fat figures found in glossy fashion spreads - demotivating. Sometimes they'll feature a recipe makeover or a new cardio routine I want to try - motivating. 

Lately though, I've found them piling up for a couple months before I get around to them. Maybe because I've found myself so much more inspired by real people on fitness blogs? They experience struggles, setbacks, and successes - often in the same day! - just like I do. They get fed up and go "awol" and find their way back to an approach they can live with - just like I do. They don't have pat answers or 8 steps to flat abs, they make it up as they go along - just like I do.

Slow and steady

I love the footprints in this photo.  I feel ya, tortoise!  At this point, it seems on average I'm losing about .7 lbs a week. And that's great! I embrace slow and steady as a lifestyle. That's why I'm glad I changed the status bar to report in monthly. It's nice to see the number go down a wee bit steadily, versus the seemingly random ups and downs of the weekly reality. The one sad aspect of this month is that I briefly dipped into the (1)80's, but finished a bit above that, but I am certainly not going to dwell on that, nor am I going to create timelines to get there. (Rock on, tortoise!)

The weather is slowly and steadily warming up here in New York as well. Today it is supposed to get up in the mid-40's with lots of winter sun, so this could be a lovely day for a run in the Park with the boyfriend. He claims he can't talk and run. I complain it's boring for me without conversation or music. (I can't stand the sound of my footfall and breathing. It starts to grate on my nerves until 3 minutes feels like 30.) We like a lot of Podcasts, so maybe I'll load the iPod up and hook up the earbud adapter that allows you to plug in 2 sets of headphones. Or I could draw up and memorize a list of non-yes/no questions and just interview him for a few miles. Podcast sounds like a better way to go...

Speaking of podcasts, the lovely Dietgirl, half of the inspiring duo behind the Two Fit Chicks and a Microphone podcast, celebrated 9 years of blog-o-rific-ness with a 9 Days of Christmas type giveaway contest and I won a fantastic prize! I think it was the only one I entered. I'm so excited! It's a Cardio Coach workout that DG herself tested and approved. Apparently a fit trainer dude guides your cardio workouts by telling you (via your iPod, not like voices in your head or telepathy) when to pick up the pace, when to recover, when to take a cupcake break, etc. (Ok, I haven't redeemed the prize yet, but there might be a cupcake break.) It reminds me of the C25k podcasts that got me started on running - I can't wait to give it a go!