Spring Chick Challenge Wrap Up & EAYGW Challenge Update

SPRING CHICK CHALLENGE – WEEK 12 – WE DID IT!

Start – Week 1	213.8
Week 2	213.4
Week 3	210.3
Week 4	210.3
Week 5	206.8
Week 6	204.3
Week 7	No weigh in
Week 8	202.3
Week 9	201.2
Week 10	200.2
Week 11	No weigh in
Total Loss	13.6

Somewhere I lost a week. I know at the beginning I wasn’t quite in synch with everyone, so that must be where it happened. Anyway – I didn’t weigh in this week as I went out of town early so I have no finale to announce!

Overall, I am pleased with how I did. The challenge kept me focused and made me always remember to do the right things; fluids, counting and tracking and get in exercise.

One of my goals was to run 5K twice a week by the end of the challenge – well I’ve actually done that for the past two weeks, despite thinking it was a goal I wouldn’t meet, but it makes me happier that I didn’t force it or put pressure on myself. When it was the right time, it happened naturally.

From here, I continue with Allan’s Challenge and also keep on doing what I’ve been doing for a long time – trying to find the right balance for me and getting healthier, one day at a a time.

Thanks for all the work you put into the challenge Stormy! And thanks to everyone for their support, especially my commenters and Cowgirl Warrior.

 

EAT AT YOUR GOALWEIGHT CHALLENGE – WEEK 3

Start	202.3
Week 1	201.2
Week 2	200.2
Week 3	No Weigh In
Total Loss	2.1

I’m not going to type all my calories/goals for the last week, too much to type and I just don’t have the time or inclination to do it right now.

I did meet my calorie and water goal each day. The challenge continues!

THOUGHTS & RAMBLINGS

This was a rough week for me emotionally. It was the birthday of a dear friend who passed away two years ago and I found myself thinking of her and missing her terribly all week. She was obese since childhood and  had issues with diabetes, sleep apnea and lymphoma when she died. Although it was cancer that finally took her, the other issues made her quality of life so much less than it could have been and I know she had many regrets of things she didn’t do.

As well, I have another friend who is fighting health issues (he’s not obese) and it just made me realise how short life really is.

Enough of the melancholy!

As well this week, I was playing with my carb levels as my endo suggested a higher level than the one I was at for the last few weeks. Verdict? It didn’t work for me. The difference of adding 30-50 more grams of carbs per day in the form of grains/legumes completely put me in a state of being hungry all the time! As well, I found myself craving sugar. Most of the week I felt lethargic and didn’t have as much of the newfound energy I had previously. As the week went on, I found it harder and harder to keep counting carbs and stay focused on my goals and I found my quality of sleep lessen and my breathing issues increase.

These feelings had just about completely disappeared over the last three weeks and for them to come back made me realise how precarious the balance is for me. I didn’t like this past week and I don’t want to live there anymore.

I am back to my metabolic diet – Phase I and Phase II.

We’re in Week 2 of the Running Room’s Learn to Run clinic and this week is 1/1’s and today I found it really hard – I am convinced because of the extra carbs this week and also the lack of good sleep.

Next Sunday is the Round The Bay 5k and my plan is to do 10/1’s for the race with my friend Melissa.

As the weather is now nicer and I am trying to get out and walk and run more and more I am not sure I will be able to do daily updates – and I don’t want to make my blog something I “have to do”….but I will be checking in and posting at least once week for the challenge and commenting on your blogs when I can.

Let’s do this!

Rolling With The Cinnamon

My legs and feet were really, really sore today. I was stretching my legs as much as I could all day. I’m hoping a good night’s sleep will make it all go away.

This is the first time in this challenge that I’ve gone over my calories – by 37 calories. I don’t care so much about that – I care more that I had a cinnamon roll for dinner.

Don’t ask. The story isn’t important. I did stop at the cinnamon roll and didn’t spiral from it though.

I am off work tomorrow and have appointments with my son but I am hoping to get out for a walk before the Learn To Run Clinic tomorrow night.

March 13, 2012	Goal	Actual
Calories	1540	1577
WW Points Plus	26-29	26 + 7WP
Carbs (grams)	50-100	137
Water/Fluids	100 oz	104 oz
Exercise	30 min	15 min

Spring has Sprung

I have been so psyched by this mild weather. It makes me want to go outside and DO stuff. No more hibernating or cocooning! Tonight I went to the park and did intervals run/walk of 10/1, Week 1 Day 1 of the Bridge to 10K app that I started back in October and had to give up on.

No lie, it was hard. The first ten minutes felt like an hour. I was having a hard time believing I had run 4 x that long before – many times – when I was struggling to get to through the first interval. At almost the end of the third interval, I was telling myself to just finish that one and I could stop. Three intervals were good enough after so long of not running regularly. Then U2’s Miracle Drug came on and I heard the line “There’s no failure here sweetheart, Just when you quit….” The funny thing is I heard iit in the voice of my wonderful Aussie friend Andrew – and I heard it in his sexy Aussie accent and it pushed me to keep going. Andrew has been one of my biggest supporters and I could hear him in my head.

So…I did it. Times weren’t great – but I didn’t give up. Next time will be easier.

My right foot was a little sore after all the walking yesterday, I thought I was getting a blister on the sole of my foot, but it didn’t get that far – thankfully. I had never worn those shoes for that long before, so for my 5K at the end of March I’m going to stick to my older shoes until these new ones are broken in a little more.

March 12, 2012	Goal	Actual
Calories	1540	1234
WW Points Plus	26-29	25
Carbs (grams)	50-100	56
Water/Fluids	100 oz	100 oz
Exercise	30 min	53 min

Spring Chick Challenge & EAYGW Challenge Updates

Long post ahead, I’ll try and keep to the point!

SPRING CHICK CHALLENGE – WEEK 10

Start – Week 1	213.8
Week 2	213.4
Week 3	210.3
Week 4	210.3
Week 5	206.8
Week 6	204.3
Week 7	No weigh in
Week 8	202.3
Week 9	201.2
Week 10	200.2
Total Loss	13.6

It was a pretty good week, I stayed within my calories and points, drank all my water and walked 6/7 days, and started the Learn to Run Clinic on Friday night and this will be a 3 times a week activity as well as Yoga starting at the end of March. I lost 1lb which brings me to a total of 13.6lbs for this challenge and averaging over 1lb per week, I’m happy with that. Hopefully next week will put me back in Onederland. It was hard to stay focused this week, I felt like what I was eating was tasteless and I had no appetite, not sure if that was a result of being tired of Winter and tired in general or an actual reflection of what I was eating. Weather is changing this week and we are expecting very Spring temperatures and with longer light in the evenings, I’m hoping this will encourage me to get out in the evenings and run/walk or at least improve my general malaise after 6 p.m.

I signed up for Maren’s Summer Challenge as well and Cowgirl Warrior and I are going to stay buddies – we’re good at encouraging and supporting each other and she is such good motivation for me to keep running. She has done Half Marathons!

EAT AT YOUR GOALWEIGHT CHALLENGE – WEEK 2

Start	202.3
Week 1	201.2
Week 2	200.2
Total Loss	2.1

So I am not the fastest loser in Allan’s Challenge, but I’m happy to keep losing 1lb a week. No gains and no setbacks in diet and I am still feeling determined and successful. As I mentioned above, eating this week was wierd, I didn’t seem to enjoy food the way I normally do and I don’t know if this is good or bad at this point.

March 9, 2012	Goal	Actual
Calories	1540	1223
WW Points Plus	26-29	26 + 2WP
Carbs (net)	50-100	67
Fluids/Water	100 oz	120 oz
Exercise	30 min	30 min – Learn to Run Clinic – 1&2

March 10, 2012	Goal	Actual
Calories	1540	1174
WW Points Plus	26-29	25
Carbs (net)	50-100	68
Fluids/Water	100 oz	100 oz
Exercise	60 min	30 min – walking leisurely

March 11, 2012	Goal	Actual
Calories	1540	900
WW Points Plus	26-29	24
Carbs (net)	50-100	51
Fluids/Water	100 oz	104 oz
Exercise	60 min	30 min – Learn to Run Clinic – 1&2 (2.69 km) 1 hr 24 min – Walk (6.07 km)

SOME GOOD NEWS

There was a huge difference in my blood work from January (when I was feeling so sick and crappy) to this past week. My cholesterol went from “good” to “ideal” and my blood sugar although always “optimal control” is even lower now. Iron stores are almost normal! My iron has never been close to normal levels in my adulthood, it’s always been depleted. I also stopped one diabetes med and lowered the dosage of the other one, and although we are now playing with my thyroid meds to find the right dosage – and this worries me a little – I have the utmost trust in my endocrinologist.

And I am feeling physically stronger.

All my tests for heart, lungs, liver, kidneys – came back normal and in some cases, in excellent condition. All this makes me feel like I’m on the right track to getting healthy. The cause of my breathing issues seems to be a minor hiatal hernia but the medication I’ve been taking for the previous diagnosis of GERD has helped and I’m hoping that as the weight comes off, I will no longer need the medication.

I discussed the metabolic diet with my endo as well and she suggested raising my carbs a little.  She’s suggesting add some lower glycemic carbs back in, but just at one serving per day, i.e. 1/2 cup brown rice or quinoa, 1/4 cup legumes, 1 slice whole grain bread, or 1/2 cup of the lower glycemic fruits/vegetables. So I’ll try that this week and see how I feel, how it affects my weight loss and if it sets off any cravings.

The Learn to Run Clinic started this past Friday and it was fun. We’re a small group, only three women, and I like that. On Friday night it was bitter, bitter cold but other than that, I found the run relatively easy. Back in July when I started running and I did 60 seconds I could barely stand up and breathe at the same time, it’s amazing the difference in such a short time. It’s really encouraging to have someone to do it with – thanks Leigh! Today was our second clinic and we did great!

Today I walked 6.07 km with Guenther along the Chedoke Radial Trail. It was a glorious day and this is something we used to do regularly last Summer and Fall, I hope we can pick it up again this year.

I started wearing my heart rate monitor just to get an idea of calories burned during exercise and to see how that would translate at the end of the week when I weigh in, unfortunately, I don’t seem to be getting accurate numbers. I’m recording them for the week and have no intentions of eating them – just want to see what it looks like at the end of the week.

Quick Update

Crazy busy and crazy tired each night this week. Will update properly on the weekend. My carb goal has changed and I’ll talk more about that in my next post as well as sharing some really good news.

Today I am tired and feeling overwhelmed and have zero appetite. I’ve been forcing myself to eat all day. I’m calling it a night and going to bed.

March 6, 2012	Goal	Actual
Calories	1540	1447
WW Points Plus	26-29	26 + 5 WP
Carbs (net)	<50	92
Fluids/Water	100 oz	124 oz

March 7, 2012	Goal	Actual
Calories	1540	1016
WW Points Plus	26-29	26
Carbs (net)	50-100	56
Fluids/Water	100 oz	116 oz

March 8, 2012	Goal	Actual
Calories	1540	770
WW Points Plus	26-29	18
Carbs (net)	50-100	31
Fluids/Water	100 oz	104 oz

Just another Manic Monday

March 5, 2012	Goal	Actual
Calories	1540	1087
WW Points Plus	26-29	26
Carbs (net)	<50	43
Fluids/Water	100 oz	116 oz

Back to a normal day after yesterday’s carbfest. I was a bit worried I’d have carb hangover this morning, but I didn’t. I guess in reality, 100 or so carbs is still quite a bit less than my old normal and it was just one meal so I seemed to metabolise it ok. I definitely didn’t have cravings or the carb hungries afterwards yesterday or at all today and I was fully expecting it to happen and was ready to fight the feelings away.

Results of the EAYGWC are in for Week 1. Yes, that’s me at the bottom of the ranking. I’m not a “big loser” but I am happy to keep chipping away.  Great group of losers in this challenge – it’s going to be so much fun and so motivating to see the losses each week. It’s definitely keeping me focused on tracking, carb counting and getting enough water/fluid each day.

Thank you for all your kind comments on yesterday’s post. I am, in fact, 44. Liam is 15 and Iain will be 18 in July.  They are not incredibly tall – I am incredibly short – barely hitting 5 feet. Liam is about 5’8” and Iain is about 5’10” – thankfully they take after their father for height!

Today I was pondering a dilemma. I have a doctor appointment after work tomorrow and because of the timing, if I took the train home, I wouldn’t be home til almost 9 p.m. Since I get up at 430, and then travel two hours back to work – it seemed kind of silly. I have a friend in Toronto that I can stay with occasionally if I need to stay overnight so I decided to do that. But then – what about food???? What would I eat at work on Wednesday after leaving her home on Wednesday morning without my normal breakfast, lunch and two snacks packed and going directly to work?

Sometimes I am incredibly or smart – or stupid if you figure out how long it took me to figure out this simple but ingenious plan!  Tomorrow, I will take two days worth of food with me to work and leave Wednesday’s food in the fridge at work for Wednesday. Now the only meal I need to worry about is tomorrow’s dinner and that will most likely be some form of takeout because she doesn’t cook and I have offered to cook in the past and I know she doesn’t like me to do that – so – I will just have a salad and some kind of protein wherever we go.

Problem solved!

I may not post my calorie counts tomorrow night – but I will definitely catch up on Wednesday night.

Happy Birthday Liam!

My baby boy turned 15 today. Somehow, he’s grown into a sensitive, witty, clever young man….when did this happen?

His favourite restaurant is The Mandarin; a Chinese Buffet. We only go once a year, for his birthday, because it’s so expensive and it’s probably the least healthiest restaurant ever invented.

As the day grew closer, I started to form a plan for how I was going to handle this meal. I went over various scenarios, weighing the outcome of each – how would I feel emotionally, mentally and physically after each choice? Which choice was best? I decided to start with a big salad (greens, green onions and light salad dressing) and then have small portions of my favourite foods.  If I liked seafood, it would have been much easier in this restaurant – tons of fresh shrimp, grilled fish and seafood of all kinds – but I don’t so I chose small portions of what I do like knowing that I only go there once a year so it’s not going to be foods I eat again and again and it won’t derail me. I drank 10 glasses of water in the 90 min we were there to help flush the sodium.

Despite that, my carbs are really high today, although I did stay within my calorie budget. I will have to be extra diligent about carbs all week – but I know I can do it. We had a lovely time visiting with family and friends and laughed a lot. It was a great celebration for Liam.

My boys - Liam, Enz and Iain (Iain hates photos, hence the fake smile!)

Louisa (my gorgeous baby sis) and me

 

March 4, 2012	Goal	Actual
Calories	1540	1385
WW Points Plus	26-29	29 + 4 WP
Carbs (net)	<50	114
Fluids/Water	120 oz	136 oz