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.