oncall sex for life: exercise

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Fitness Fatigue

I have not done a Monday fitness update for a couple of weeks I think, mainly because I haven’t had anything good to say. I have been officially “on a diet” for 4 weeks and I’ve gained 3 pounds. I don’t think that is the way it is supposed to work. I have tracked my weight faithfully for a month yet, when it comes time to make a decision about eating, I basically say “fuck it” and eat whatever I want.

It’s totally self-defeating and I know it at the time I make the decision and again the next morning when I do my weigh-n. I went for a week without chocolate which is good, but that followed a week of too much chocolate. I go to the gym 5 to 6 times a week yet, but then eat an apple fritter at the grocery store.

Some of my pants still fit, most of them do, but one pair which was always a bit snug, is a bit snugger. (That might not be grammatically incorrect, but it is the truth.) There are a couple of pairs of pants that I use to measure the real change. I don’t know how much I should care, it is so frustrating that I can’t get my head around eating right. This morning, no last night, I made myself a very healthy lunch then proceeded to ignore it and got a grilled turkey and Swiss sandwich with potato salad and half of my boss’s French fries.

These are not the decisions of a person who wants to lose weight. They are the decisions of a person who just wants to have more sex, look better naked, and enjoy things a bit more. I know that if I don’t stress about my weight I will be happier, but if I gain weight I will be unhappy with myself and I will run slower which makes me upset even more.

My race is in one month. I need to get down to at least 208, that is only 6 pounds which is pathetic, but I’ve been bouncing around the 213 mark for a month and have not budged except upward.

I went for a five-mile run this morning and while I finished it only a minute and a half out of first place, I was a minute out of 3^rdplace. (This last sentence did not make much sense as I was not in a race this morning. It is more likely explained by the fact that I am sitting at my desk with my feet up, my headphones on for voice dictation, and I am very sleepy.)

I went for a five-mile run this morning. It was supposed to be 6 but I had to stop at Starbucks to use the bathroom. This is too much information, but there is a conflict when you realize you have to use the restroom when you are running. You want to run faster to get to the bathroom sooner, but the faster you run the more you bounce and the more, well, everything wants to get out. Luckily, I made it, but it wasn’t pretty.

I’m not making any grand commitments in this post, I am going to get back to logging all that I eat, and trying to make a few decisions that actually help me drop weight, but I’m not promising anything.

On a positive note, I sent a picture to a friend of mine and she said I was looking good, so that made me smile for a long time, and I'll try to build on that.

Be healthy my friends!

xoxo

Fitness Update - Trust the plan

213.2

That is what the scale said this morning. After 2 weeks of being back on track with Lose It!, trying to watch what I eat, working out like crazy, and weighing in every day, I am at 213.2 pounds, exactly where I started.

During this time I weighed in at 210.4 after a run, and in a shocking development, I had a 3 pound upward spike and hit 215.6, later that day it was 216.2. I was stunned, but not surprised. It happened on Wednesday to Thursday. I knew I was going to go out to eat twice on Wednesday. I had a sushi lunch with my boss, and that night I had a business meeting over dinner. I started off the day with the 9 mile run to earn myself some points, to counterbalance the meals I knew were coming. Apparently it did not work

There are a couple of schools of thought about how often the person should weigh in while they are trying to lose weight. When I worked with Weight Watchers a few years ago we had a weekly weigh-in that was our “official” weigh-in. I always liked having mine on Mondays because it helped me stay focused over the weekend. They encouraged fewer weigh-ins in order to not get discouraged by spikes like the one I had this week. I go the other direction; I weigh-in every day, write it down, and worry. I don’t really worry, I just get frustrated, but I know if I stick with the plan that it will work in the long run.

While it was distressing to see a 3 pound spike I knew it was coming. I knew that with sushi and Chinese food there was no way I was going to avoid it, however, I knew it would come off quickly as well, and it did. I am back to where I started.

If Wednesday was my weigh-in day on a weekly schedule I would have been devastated to be up so much with 7 full days to wait to see if I have any changes.

I like to correlate what I eat with what I weigh, though I know that is not an exact science. Water weight, bowel habits, calories versus roughage versus bulk, all play into what the scale says. Also, there is not a daily correlation because what I eat today does not get metabolized before I go to bed, it has to work its way through the system in the body pulls out fat, sugar, nutrients, and water, and does all sorts of miraculous things with it. Unfortunately, some of that miracle involves storing fat so I have to get away from the idea of “dodging a bullet” on days when I eat poorly.

Just because I have a good weigh-ion the next day, doesn’t mean the bad news is over. The cheeseburger and fries I eat today doesn’t count until tomorrow or the next when my body’s done with it.

The key is to not get discouraged.

Gaining weight is easy, losing weight is hard. We all know that but we somehow think we have the magic bullet solution. We think that if we drink lots of water, avoid one particular food like chocolate, or go to the gym for a little bit longer that it will work before the next wedding, date night, shopping trip, or trip to the scale.

The one thing I have not yet measured during this round is my body fat percentage. At my old gym I had access to some of the trainers and their tools and a body fat meter was one of them. I have a feeling that my body fat percentage is going down, but that usually just turns out to be wishful thinking.

It is like today in the pool. I am getting better in the pool. I am swimming longer without stopping which is my main goal, endurance. I am not, however, getting much faster. That is all about technique and energy level. Today I swam for 45 minutes without stopping, at my pace that is 45 laps or 1.25 miles. That is very good. I do not, however, know how fast I was really going. In the middle of the swim I felt very fast I was at a good stroke pace (stop giggling) and felt like I was moving along better than usual. But when I looked at my watch, reality struck and I was still right around the one minute per lap pace I’m always at.

The fact that I felt good, felt fast, and wasn’t getting tired is the best sign, but my optimism always outstrips reality, and I think I’m faster, leaner, or better than I am. Coldhearted measurements me bring me back to earth but, like the scale, they do improve over time so I have to keep measuring. I have to keep track because in the long run, it gets better.

So don’t get discouraged in your plan. Keep track, write it down, measure the progress, and allow yourself time. Allow yourself to have good days and bad days, fast ones and slow ones. If you miss a day, don’t beat yourself up, just get out the next day. If it is too cold outside, do something inside. If you are too tired, be extra good with your eating. Increase your water, eat more vegetables, make simple changes that allow you to feel good about each day.

If anyone has particular ideas on what is working for them, please share them in the comments, I hope that these Monday posts can act as inspiration for more than just me.

Never give up the fight! No healthy choices ever wasted, no effort goes unnoticed,, and every step is a step in the right direction.

Monday Ramblings on Fitness

Weight
Pounds

Waist line
Thighs,
biceps,
abdomen
Penis
Breasts
BMI
Bank accounts
Facebook friends
The number of bedrooms
Number of tattoos
Initials behind our name on a business card

These are all things we measure to make ourselves feel better, at least better than other people. We try to measure things to capture whether we are succeeding or failing. these to the list minutes per mile, total mileage, T-shirts collected, bones broken, laps counted We try to make ourselves feel better by writing things down and see if the numbers go up or if the numbers go down. Maybe we should measure other things,

Number of orgasms shared
Number of blog posts written
Tumbler picks re-tumbled
Videos watched
Virgins it defiled
Paternity suits avoided
Tattoos removed

We are hung up on measurements that define us.We seek to quantify and qualify the people around us so we know if they are a good match for us or not.

“Did you laugh more than 3 times at the last Adam Sandler movie?”-This is a bad thing.
Did you vote for or against prop 8?
For or against the Barack Obama?
Did you support the fiscal cliff legislation?
Do you believe that minorities get a fair shake or should we abandon affirmative action?
Do you live with your mother, yes or no?
If I go out with you on a date will you rape me?
If I fall in love with you will you break my heart?

We want to take the risk out of everything by measuring it, getting a guarantee from the seller, and screaming bloody murder if it doesn’t work out just the way we imagined it.

But life is not like that, life is risk, uncertainty, it is full of liars with good intention and sweethearts with bad. We don’t get to pick and choose what happens to us, we can’t get a guarantee from the universe.

I will continue to measure things. Because I know I run faster at 200 pounds than I do at 215. I will count the miles run and the minutes spent and the pace achieved because I want to see progress and I define progress by numbers. I will pay $90 to run 13.1 miles in under 104 minutes. If I succeed I will be happy with that $90, 13.1 miles, and 104 minutes. If I take more than 110 minutes I will be unhappy with the $90 and the 13.1 miles, and most certainly unhappy with the 105th through 10th minutes. However, if I see Kim at the finish line it may not matter what time it is.

Last night I printed out the chart, set my goals, and drew a line from 215 to 200 on a chart. It is a very steep line, and I get hungry just looking at it. I will weigh in every day.

I will write down what I eat. I will count, measure, and record. I will measure because I am happier at one number that another.

I’m just not sure which number.

Fitness Update - Jan 7

Fitness Update, January 7, 2013

I will be the first to admit that it takes me a while to get going on a new fitness plan. And when I say fitness, I really mean eating. This year is no different and it might be the same for you. We set good goals of the beginning of the year and get discouraged quickly when we can stick to our lofty ideals. No chocolate.

No dairy. No cheese, no sweets, no sugar, no fat, no fun, no food.

We all set goals that we will not meet. We set goals we can never meet. So what do we do when the 7^th rolls around and we’ve had ice cream, we ate an extra cookie, we decimated a bag of Hershey’s chocolates, and the scale hasn’t budged.

I will tell you what we do, we keep going. There are 365 days in a year and I will not be deterred because the first seven of them did not go well. Have I made a great choices? No. Have I abandoned the bad habits that ruled my life between Halloween and New Year’s Eve day? No. Have I done any of the things that I said I would do? Not really.

So what? Do not be discouraged because the first week was not the perfect week. It never is. To be perfect is unrealistic; to be perfect is to buy a discouragement, to shoot for perfection is to guarantee failure, discouragement, and misery.

No, the goal is not perfection. The goal is consistency of improvement. If you did not do well this week do better next week, if you ate too much today eat less tomorrow. If there is a half-eaten bag of chocolate candy in your drawer at work put it in the kitchen where others will eat it for you. If you can’t get skinnier, make others look fatter and you look better by comparison. Do what it takes to get a little bit better every week.

I know I will succeed on a eating plan when I don’t have to think about it too much. If I say no cookies and my daughter makes three batches for her friends and two for us, what am I going to do? I am going to eat a cookie, or two. Does that mean I need to sit down with a glass of milk a TV show and go through eight cookies? No it means I enjoy the cookies and then I brush my teeth and I’m done.

There is a myth about New Year’s resolutions that we are failures if we cannot keep them. This leads to the stereotypical jokes about making them only to have them fail. If we know that goals have built-in failure dates why do we make them? We make them because we know we should do things differently.

So let’s do things differently. I challenge everyone who is reading this post to add one of their goals to the comment section. Make it a goal you want others to know about. A good example would be, “I want to go to the gym three days a week.” Or, I will have two servings of vegetables on my plate and every dinner.” A bad example of a public goal would be, “I will stop embezzling from my company by Friday.” Or, “I will stop smoking so much pot as I fly my passengers across the Atlantic during the winter.” Some goals should be dealt with in private. Please deal with them, but don’t make my travel plans change because of your confession.

In fitness there are many things we can do that have nothing to do with the weight on the scale. Here are a few ideas.

I will drink more water

I will drink less soda (if something is less, it needs to be measured, so write it down)

I will eat less red meat

I will only use butter when necessary

If I cannot taste the cheese in a recipe I will remove it.

I do not need milk with every meal; I will replace it with water, green tea, or a healthy juice.

I will eat higher quality protein

I will eat at fast food restaurants no more than twice a week

Every time I eat fast food I will total all of the calories and the money I spent. (This alone will help change your habits)

I will buy by more fresh fruit.

I will buy less processed food.

I will not eat bologna for breakfast

I will walk more.

I will take the stairs instead of the elevator.

I will buy new walking/running/jogging/cycling shoes to keep my feet healthy.

I will challenge a friend to go to the gym with me.

I will tell my husband/lover/boyfriend/girlfriend/roommate about my goals and ask them to hold me accountable.

I will not get angry when they do it.

I will try a new exercise class.

I will sign up for an activity through my city parks and recreation department.

I will cut back on my alcohol consumption.

I will stop smoking.

I will stop smoking pot.

I will have more sex.

I will not eat meals standing up.

I will not eat in front of the television.

If somebody compliments me about my looks I will smile, and say “thank you.” I will not argue with them or debate the validity of the complement.

You should be able to do something on this list, or add your own; I hope these Monday posts can be helpful.

When I asked you to put a goal in the comment section I want you to feel publicly accountable for making change. Change can be big or small. A dear friend of mine purchased a pedometer and has committed to wearing it throughout the day. She does not need to have a goal as to the number of steps she 3takes; except that she should take more of them next week then she does this week. It is cold where she lives so along with the pedometer I suggest gloves and hat and good walking shoes. Can you walk to work or the grocery store instead of driving? Can I walk around the building before going in?

Small consistent changes are more effective than large changes that fail.

Come change with me and we will make 2013 a healthier and happier year. In the spirit of full disclosure, below you will see a picture or why I will not lose weight today.

On a side note, I did go for a nice long mountain trail run on Saturday. 6 miles in just over an hour, but I’m counting it as under an hour because I stopped to tie my shoe and take pictures. I also went dancing that night at a friend’s birthday party, so that counts, and I was SORE on Sunday morning. I’m not sure if it was the running or the dancing, but it felt good to be tired.

Fitness Challenge – Week 2 – Well, that was awful.

OK, so here’s the short version. I was bad, very very bad……

So there is my goals.

1 – Get to the Gym 4 days during the week and run on Saturday. - Complete

2 – Take my lunch 3 of 5 working days (save $$ and calories) – Not Complete. I made my lunch 3 days, but forgot it and then went out out with ‘the group” and got a curry.

3 – Stay under my calorie allotment as calculated onwww.loseit.com 5 days a week not even close. I was under 3 days, maybe, and on the days I was over, I was way over..

4 – Be in bed by 11:00 PM Sunday – Wednesday Complete (Does 11:05 count?)

How did you do? Did you reach 1, 2, all your goals? Did you meet any of them?

If yes, GREAT!!! Reward yourself with a new album from iTunes, a book for your Kindle, or some quiet time with a loved one, or your family, either one.

If not (like me), then what? We have 7 weeks left, that’s almost two months of trying hard, getting better, learning discipline, and making progress. So what if I’m up 5 pounds in the last month, that changes today. I know what puts the weight on and I know what takes it off.

Do we quit? –NO

Do we get discouraged – HELL NO!

Do we wallow in self-pity/ - OH HELL NO!!!

What do we do?

We make one change today. And we make it now.

We get up off the couch and go for a walk. I don’t care if it’s noon or midnight, you get your sunscreen or your flashlight and you get out. You bundle up and go. Just 20 minutes, but you do something. ANYTHING to get the blood flowing a little (and no, THAT) doesn't count.

Do something today. Order a salad instead of a burger, buy non-fat instead of 2% milk, buy 5 extra apples and take one a day to work. We are not going to change everything overnight, but we can change one thing now.

Report in if you’d like or link us to your own post about your success and your struggle.

7 weeks till race day and we can do it, we can change, one decision at a time.

And, I'm sticking with my goals for another week. Today is Day 31 all over again.

Next week we discuss Diet Rebellion or, "How I know better but keep eating anyway."

Here's a painfully detailed account of my week, it's not exciting, mostly just for me, but read if you like

Monday – not a bad day, 108 calories under budget, and a 40 min run

Tuesday –Forgot to log my dinner calories, I’m sure I was over. I was “under” enough to have a Golden Spoon yogurt (so so so yummy), but then I got home to surprise birthday cake and ice cream. I couldn’t refuse, seriously, I couldn’t.

Wednesday –Not horrible, but another yogurt, but another 40 min run

Thursday – OK, this is where is seriously begins to fall apart. I had a 1500 calorie breakfast. OMGOSH!!! I can’t believe I let her talk me into the peanut butter French toast with Bacon and a scrambled egg, and orange juice. Add this to a “regular” lunch which I forgot to write down, 10 pieces of chocolate (dang that Halloween candy) and a follow-up slice of cake and ice cream and I was over my daily allotment before I even got home for dinner. Even with my run in the morning. Without that, yikes.

Friday – A team meeting hosted by me, so I had to get in to the office early, no run, no swim, nothing. Breakfast for the team was fruit (good) muffins (iffy), and extra biscotti for me while picking up muffins (bad), a couple of cookies as I got the afternoon plate ready, and Chinese food for lunch, and another cookie or two in the afternoon. A total disaster nutritionally and THEN I want to a Halloween party thrown by the “Church Friend” and had too much incredible chicken pasta, 1 strawberry filled cupcake, several pumpkin bars, some nuts, and well, I’m just ashamed at that point.

Saturday – OK, I redeemed myself with a 10 mile run on Saturday, but that can only undo so much. And the candy at the youth dance didn’t help matters much.

Sunday – Light breakfast, cheese and crackers snacks at choir practice, and an extra helping of home-made lasagna and 2 slices of pie, NONE of which was written down, put me at the end of the week UP 3 pounds.

Crap.

Old Sauk River Trail

We were lazing around on Saturday afternoon when suddenly I felt that some exercise was in order. Should we do what normal people do and have a walk around the block, maybe go for a swim? Of course not! We decided to go on a six-mile hike.

I found a lovely little trail that looked promising (hardly any elevation gain, lots of old growth), and we set off. We didn't even bother wearing hiking boots, opting instead for running shoes since the trail was reported to be in pretty great condition without a bunch of logs and rocks to climb over. (This nearly proved to be a poor decision near the end, when Patrick almost twisted his ankle, but ultimately managed to avoid it.)

It took about an hour and a half to get to the trailhead, since it was a goodly way up I-5 (past Everett, for those of you who know) and then east out past Darrington, a very tiny town featuring signs such as Sheep For Sale and TNT! Buy One Get One Free!, on the Mountain Loop Highway. The hike itself took a couple hours. 6 miles isn't much when you're walking on pavement, but on windy trails with things to step over and maneuver around it is a significant distance. We did it all! I am so proud of us. I like how we go weeks without doing anything and then suddenly decide to go on a long hike. /shrug At least we made it back before dark.

After our hike, we decided a meal was appropriate and tried Anthony's Seaport in Everett, which was actually really good. Patrick had Dungeness crab fettuccine and I had scallops with green beans and rice. Yum! Their chowder was pretty good as well. It's right on the water, and the wind coming off the waves at 9pm is very chilly when you're covered in a full-body slick of sweat from a hike. Brrrrr! I had some herbal tea to warm up, and the chowder helped a lot too. If you live on a boat, they offer free moorage while dining. So there's that. I love living on the west coast. We're all so strange.

I took numerous pictures (Patrick took a few as well), so I am including them here but throwing in a page jump because otherwise they will clog up the entire first page of this blog. Enjoy!

Driving there you can see the north Cascades.

Farmhouses! We done be country now.

Sunlight through the trees on our hike.

Sadly this is a bit unfocused (digital zoom on iPhones kind of fails still), but the fungus was delicate and beautiful looking, like little ghost dresses rising out of the green.