12/30/09
I weighed in this morning just because the personal trainer tool I'm using from the Runner's World web site can track it daily. To my chagrin, I was at 232 pounds or 3 more pounds than when I weighed in Monday. Disappointing, but shouldn't be surprising since I haven't been tracking what I eat, and eating pretty much whatever I wanted. So today I made a run at trying to eat better and did pretty good until a few minutes ago when I had a bunch of Doritos. I was feeling a little empty and they were sitting there and though they hadn't tempted me until the moment before I started in on them, I didn't hesitate a moment before opening the bag and digging in.
Here's the thing. Food has become much more to me than it needs to be or should be, and also so much less. What it is, is fuel to make my body run and to keep it healthy and running at the optimum efficiency. Eating the right foods and quantities will help me to live better, feel better and do more in my life. I want it to be simply that, a tool I use to run my body and mind well. Instead, I have given it the power to make me happy or deprived and have focused on two negative aspects of eating. Eating too much so I feel really full, and eating food that is processed and convenient and that I can pull out of the bag at 10:30 at night and ostensibly make myself feel better when it has the reverse effect. And I keep doing it anyway.
I'm starting to think about exercise - running, as a method for getting fit and for setting and achieving positive goals, rather than a way to get thinner. I'm thinking of it in terms of wanting to do it because it is fun to see what goal I can achieve, fun because there are all sorts of data to track and analyze and that provides instant feedback on what I've done and how I'm progressing toward the next goal. It's simple and can be done just about anywhere, (as long as you have warm clothes) anytime. Its a chance to see what *I* can do on my own; how far I can improve and what I can achieve.
So the feeding of my body, the instrument of the running is just as important as everything else I'm doing with running. Eating right will support progress in running both physically and mentally. My body will have the fuel it needs to perform and as my body performs better, that feeds the mental side, which can in turn, drive the body to achieve even more when I'm tired during a run, or don't want to get out of bed for a run. It all works together. It isn't reasonable to expect that I can maintain running without also maintaining a healthy diet. SO, the question is, am I making a commitment to running or not?
How do I do it? By eating REAL food, not over processed junk food that only pretends to be fuel. By eating the right amounts of real food at meal times. Avoid going out for dinner so much when the healthy options are limited and the information about nutritional information is even more limited. By educating myself on what I really should be eating and then taking the steps to have that food available. Create a meal plan and stick to it-make it realistic and know that I will be able to eat meat and fat along with fruits and vegetables. Have those indulgences like half and half with my coffee. Eat desert as long as it is a real food desert, not processed crap like candy bars and muffins out of a tube.
The fun part is that I believe I can do this. I believe I will do it despite all the evidence to the contrary in the form of numerous failed attempts in the past to get healthy. The difference I have now is running. Running as a goal and as a positive activity that I enjoy and which can be the focus of my efforts, rather than losing weight or some vague notion of getting fit. Yes, those things are important and I expect they will happen, but it isn't the focus, isn't the main goal. The goal is to run a marathon, along with a bunch of other races, starting with a 5K on April 25th in Iowa City. Rain or shine, I will run 5 kilometers and not only finish, but finish feeling pretty good. And making that goal a reality is not going to be easy, but the steps are pretty simple. I have to prepare my body and mind to run 5 kilometers. That preparation comes in two major forms. Training through runs of greater duration and distance leading up to 30 minutes/3.11 miles. And fueling my body and mind with the right kind of food. As long as I do those two things, then I can't be stopped in pursuit of those 5 kilometers.
FOOD IS FUEL-MAKE SURE MY BODY GETS THE BEST I CAN GIVE IT.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Couch to 5K in 2010
12/28/09
I started a training program called 'Couch to 5K' today. It is a program geared toward sedentary people to gradually get your body used to running with the goal of being able to run 3 miles without stopping. 5K is 3.11 miles. As I mentioned in my last post, I have been doing pretty good on the treadmill and I have decided that I really want to make a commitment to running as a way to stay fit. The exciting thing is that I have finally found that elusive goal I have been searching for that isn't just losing weight. The goal is to run a marathon. I'm still not sure if it is a realistic commitment for me, but I firmly believe that I CAN do it. The only question is if I WILL do it. And the funny thing is, I think I will this time. For the first time, I'm excited about an exercise program and am thinking more about that than the losing of weight which will almost surely follow. The first race I plan to run is a 5K on April 25th in Iowa City. The Couch to 5K program is only 9 weeks and the River Run in Iowa City is 17 weeks from now which gives me plenty of time to get ready. Between now and then, I will decide what races I want to run next. I should be able to get a 10K race in relatively quickly after the 5K and then I will decide if I want to try a half marathon first or go straight to the full 26.2 miles. If I decide to do the half marathon first, the I may not get to the full until next year, which is not the end of the world, but I'd really like to try and get it in this year if my body can take it and I am ready. The last thing I want is an injury though, so I want to make sure that I don't do something I'm not ready for.
In some ways, the difficult thing about the C25K program is that I feel like I'm taking a bit of a step backward in terms of the amount of running I'm doing. The last time on the treadmill I did 3.83 miles in 45 minutes. I had also been running 4-5 times/week. This program is running only 3 times/week with the other four days as rest days. And for the first couple weeks, it's only 20 minutes of walking and running for those three days. The first two weeks is 60 seconds of jogging and then 90 seconds of walking repeated 8 times (total 20 minutes). When I was doing the treadmill on my own, I was up to 3 minutes of jogging and 2 minutes of walking for 45 minutes. Granted I was exhausted when I finished. And that is the problem; I was probably overdoing and setting myself up for an injury, or for a pace I couldn't maintain for a long time. The advice I read online said again and again to avoid trying to do too much too fast and I'm going to take that advice and 'run' with it. Here is the 9 week C25K program:
Week Workout 1 Workout 2 Workout 3
1 Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2 Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3 Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4 Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
5 Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
6 Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 25 minutes) with no walking.
7 Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8 Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9 Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes). The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).
So, I've begun and today I made my first monetary commitment as well. I bought running shoes to the tune of $100. I went to a running shoe specialty store in Cedar Falls and had the guy video tape me jogging on the treadmill to determine what shoes I need. I had a balanced stride so he recommended a neutral stability shoe and gave me three different ones to try. I ended up going with the Brooks DeFyance 3, they were the most comfortable. Iowa City, here I come!
I started a training program called 'Couch to 5K' today. It is a program geared toward sedentary people to gradually get your body used to running with the goal of being able to run 3 miles without stopping. 5K is 3.11 miles. As I mentioned in my last post, I have been doing pretty good on the treadmill and I have decided that I really want to make a commitment to running as a way to stay fit. The exciting thing is that I have finally found that elusive goal I have been searching for that isn't just losing weight. The goal is to run a marathon. I'm still not sure if it is a realistic commitment for me, but I firmly believe that I CAN do it. The only question is if I WILL do it. And the funny thing is, I think I will this time. For the first time, I'm excited about an exercise program and am thinking more about that than the losing of weight which will almost surely follow. The first race I plan to run is a 5K on April 25th in Iowa City. The Couch to 5K program is only 9 weeks and the River Run in Iowa City is 17 weeks from now which gives me plenty of time to get ready. Between now and then, I will decide what races I want to run next. I should be able to get a 10K race in relatively quickly after the 5K and then I will decide if I want to try a half marathon first or go straight to the full 26.2 miles. If I decide to do the half marathon first, the I may not get to the full until next year, which is not the end of the world, but I'd really like to try and get it in this year if my body can take it and I am ready. The last thing I want is an injury though, so I want to make sure that I don't do something I'm not ready for.
In some ways, the difficult thing about the C25K program is that I feel like I'm taking a bit of a step backward in terms of the amount of running I'm doing. The last time on the treadmill I did 3.83 miles in 45 minutes. I had also been running 4-5 times/week. This program is running only 3 times/week with the other four days as rest days. And for the first couple weeks, it's only 20 minutes of walking and running for those three days. The first two weeks is 60 seconds of jogging and then 90 seconds of walking repeated 8 times (total 20 minutes). When I was doing the treadmill on my own, I was up to 3 minutes of jogging and 2 minutes of walking for 45 minutes. Granted I was exhausted when I finished. And that is the problem; I was probably overdoing and setting myself up for an injury, or for a pace I couldn't maintain for a long time. The advice I read online said again and again to avoid trying to do too much too fast and I'm going to take that advice and 'run' with it. Here is the 9 week C25K program:
Week Workout 1 Workout 2 Workout 3
1 Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2 Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3 Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then do two repetitions of the following:
Jog 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Walk 200 yards (or 90 seconds)
Jog 400 yards (or 3 minutes)
Walk 400 yards (or three minutes)
4 Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 2-1/2 minutes)
Jog 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Walk 1/8 mile (or 90 seconds)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
5 Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Walk 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.
6 Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 3/4 mile (or 8 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1/2 mile (or 5 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then:
Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)
Walk 1/4 mile (or 3 minutes)
Jog 1 mile (or 10 minutes)
Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2-1/4 miles (or 25 minutes) with no walking.
7 Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8 Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9 Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes). Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes). The final workout! Congratulations! Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).
So, I've begun and today I made my first monetary commitment as well. I bought running shoes to the tune of $100. I went to a running shoe specialty store in Cedar Falls and had the guy video tape me jogging on the treadmill to determine what shoes I need. I had a balanced stride so he recommended a neutral stability shoe and gave me three different ones to try. I ended up going with the Brooks DeFyance 3, they were the most comfortable. Iowa City, here I come!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Going the Distance
12/18/09
It's been 13 days since I last wrote a blog post. True I was gone for 5 days traveling where I couldn't get onto the blogger site, but I still could have written it in something else and posted later. Traveling was tough on the eating part of the diet, though I did treadmill 2 of the three days that I had hoped to. Friday was a 6:00 AM flight after dinner out with the client and not getting to the hotel until about 11pm the night before so I knew that I wouldn't be exercising that morning. But I ate badly pretty much every meal with a couple exceptions with breakfast. This week hasn't been too good either, I've been eating a good breakfast, and mostly good lunches, but blowing it with dinner and snacking at night after. But I've been doing good with the treadmill and increasing my distance almost daily. I'm up to 2 minutes of walking at 4 miles/hr and running at 6 miles/hr for three minutes. Yesterday I managed to do 3.75 miles in 45 minutes. But I was just about wasted afterward and tired for quite a while that morning and afternoon. Since I'd been doing it each day of the week, I decided to take a day off today to let my body rest and recover a bit. So I'm pleased with my exercise, but need to get back on track for eating. I actually gained back 1.4 pounds on this past Monday's weigh in and expect I will have gained this week as well or best case, not lost any. Then next week is Christmas so it could be a challenging couple weeks for weigh in. I just hope I don't lose all the ground I made in the first two weeks.
The good thing is that I'm not getting too down on myself about it. I'm in it for the long haul and know there will be good times and bad and as long as I don't just completely stop exercising and trying to eat right, I feel good that I will make long term progress. I haven't completely abandoned eating well, I still have at least one good meal a day and often two since I got back from the travel. If I can stop eating out at night, I'll do much better. And I think I'll need to stop making or buying sweets as it's been really difficult to leave those alone.
It's been 13 days since I last wrote a blog post. True I was gone for 5 days traveling where I couldn't get onto the blogger site, but I still could have written it in something else and posted later. Traveling was tough on the eating part of the diet, though I did treadmill 2 of the three days that I had hoped to. Friday was a 6:00 AM flight after dinner out with the client and not getting to the hotel until about 11pm the night before so I knew that I wouldn't be exercising that morning. But I ate badly pretty much every meal with a couple exceptions with breakfast. This week hasn't been too good either, I've been eating a good breakfast, and mostly good lunches, but blowing it with dinner and snacking at night after. But I've been doing good with the treadmill and increasing my distance almost daily. I'm up to 2 minutes of walking at 4 miles/hr and running at 6 miles/hr for three minutes. Yesterday I managed to do 3.75 miles in 45 minutes. But I was just about wasted afterward and tired for quite a while that morning and afternoon. Since I'd been doing it each day of the week, I decided to take a day off today to let my body rest and recover a bit. So I'm pleased with my exercise, but need to get back on track for eating. I actually gained back 1.4 pounds on this past Monday's weigh in and expect I will have gained this week as well or best case, not lost any. Then next week is Christmas so it could be a challenging couple weeks for weigh in. I just hope I don't lose all the ground I made in the first two weeks.
The good thing is that I'm not getting too down on myself about it. I'm in it for the long haul and know there will be good times and bad and as long as I don't just completely stop exercising and trying to eat right, I feel good that I will make long term progress. I haven't completely abandoned eating well, I still have at least one good meal a day and often two since I got back from the travel. If I can stop eating out at night, I'll do much better. And I think I'll need to stop making or buying sweets as it's been really difficult to leave those alone.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
12/5/09
It is Saturday and it has been a few days since I have posted. It's been a so-so week as far as the changes go. The exciting thing is that I have been enjoying my time on the treadmill more than I did before. I've gotten into seeing how much further I can go in the 45 minutes I'm on and though it is probably too early to tell, I could see getting into running and wanting to participate in races at some point.
I started out just wanting to walk for 45 minutes, but one of the first times I did it, I decided to jog for part of the time and then I just started jogging for a while, then walking for a while. I realized at some point that I was getting close to 3 miles so decided I would go until I reached that point, which took a minute or two more than the 45 minutes I had planned. So the next day, I tried to do enough jogging and increasing my walking speed as close to 4 mph so that I could reach the 3 mile mark at or before the 45 minutes were up. Once I did that, then I wanted to try to do a little more and then in subsequent days, a little more. Yesterday, I did a total of 3.37 miles in the 45 minutes. My goal is to hit the 4.5 mile mark some time soon.
I find that this is appealing to my desire to set and reach goals and I get the instant gratification of doing it immediately, same day. It also has the potential to open up fun on the analytical side as I can start to figure out what speed I need to maintain and for how long to reach specific goals. The last couple days, I've been thinking about how I would set up a simple spreadsheet that would allow me to put in some assumptions about the walking speed and jogging speed and what mixture I would need to have to reach certain distances. For example, I start out by walking at around 3.5 mpg until I get warmed up, then I bump it up to 3.8 or 3.9 before the first jog. After that, I try to maintain it at the 4.0 even mark and that keeps me on the 3 mile pace and then any jogging I do after that just adds to the 3 miles in 45 minutes. As it is, I'm looking at my distance in relation to time and not really paying attention to how long I'm jogging or walking at a particular speed. I've been thinking that I will want to start doing that; first because I want to use it to increase my fitness and start making those jogging intervals longer and longer. Second, it will help me to set and hit goals because I will know what I need to do in terms of speed and time to hit the goal distance.
The cool thing is that it makes the time on the treadmill go by so much quicker. It was incredibly boring just to walk for 45 minutes and the time just dragged most of the time. Listening to music helped, but only somewhat. But, and this is completely counter-intuitive for me, the more I switched from the speed readout to the time and distance readout, the faster the time went. Especially today where I was watching it really closely since I was trying to beat the previous day's 2.24 miles, the first 30 minutes really went by fast. I find that I'm actually looking forward to getting on their and that is definitely a first. I'm still doing more walking than jogging, but there isn't any reason to believe that as I get more fit, I can switch that around, and perhaps eventually stop walking altogether after the warm up. From there, it isn't too much of a leap to think about jogging, or even running a 5K or 10K. So that is what was good this week.
On the down side, my calorie intake was all over the board and I had three pretty bad days. The problem is all the eating out that I did this week. Every time that happens, I go well over my goal and I'm going to need to find some way to deal with that, especially this week as I'm traveling for work and it will all be eating out. I do think I'll buy some frozen lunches so at least I can have that going for me, but it will still be tough with that buffet breakfast every morning and then going out after work. I will also need to try and minimize alcoholic beverages since they are loaded with calories no matter how I go (beer or vodka and 7up). I still think I have a shot at good news when I get on the scale Monday, only because my pants have felt really loose the last couple days, and they haven't been feeling that way for some time. I think the 45 minutes is working out much better than the 20-30 I was doing before.
Holy crap, I just figured out what my calories were for the day and it was even worse than I thought. Over 3100 calories today and 2500 of them were during dinner or after. That isn't going to help much. I'm not going to be a nazi about eating under 1800 calories EVERY day, but I can't afford to have many days AT ALL like this one. This is what I'm trying to avoid. A little slip and going a little over 2000 is one thing, but over 3000? That just is not going to work for me. Not any more. The average for the week, and I didn't count them on one day which means that day was probably not good was 2158. Almost certainly better than I was doing before I started paying attention again, but not where I wanted to be. I've got to start saying 'no' to eating out, that is what is killing me right now. If I eat at home, I have good calorie intake, if I don't, then I am well over. It's that simple.
It is Saturday and it has been a few days since I have posted. It's been a so-so week as far as the changes go. The exciting thing is that I have been enjoying my time on the treadmill more than I did before. I've gotten into seeing how much further I can go in the 45 minutes I'm on and though it is probably too early to tell, I could see getting into running and wanting to participate in races at some point.
I started out just wanting to walk for 45 minutes, but one of the first times I did it, I decided to jog for part of the time and then I just started jogging for a while, then walking for a while. I realized at some point that I was getting close to 3 miles so decided I would go until I reached that point, which took a minute or two more than the 45 minutes I had planned. So the next day, I tried to do enough jogging and increasing my walking speed as close to 4 mph so that I could reach the 3 mile mark at or before the 45 minutes were up. Once I did that, then I wanted to try to do a little more and then in subsequent days, a little more. Yesterday, I did a total of 3.37 miles in the 45 minutes. My goal is to hit the 4.5 mile mark some time soon.
I find that this is appealing to my desire to set and reach goals and I get the instant gratification of doing it immediately, same day. It also has the potential to open up fun on the analytical side as I can start to figure out what speed I need to maintain and for how long to reach specific goals. The last couple days, I've been thinking about how I would set up a simple spreadsheet that would allow me to put in some assumptions about the walking speed and jogging speed and what mixture I would need to have to reach certain distances. For example, I start out by walking at around 3.5 mpg until I get warmed up, then I bump it up to 3.8 or 3.9 before the first jog. After that, I try to maintain it at the 4.0 even mark and that keeps me on the 3 mile pace and then any jogging I do after that just adds to the 3 miles in 45 minutes. As it is, I'm looking at my distance in relation to time and not really paying attention to how long I'm jogging or walking at a particular speed. I've been thinking that I will want to start doing that; first because I want to use it to increase my fitness and start making those jogging intervals longer and longer. Second, it will help me to set and hit goals because I will know what I need to do in terms of speed and time to hit the goal distance.
The cool thing is that it makes the time on the treadmill go by so much quicker. It was incredibly boring just to walk for 45 minutes and the time just dragged most of the time. Listening to music helped, but only somewhat. But, and this is completely counter-intuitive for me, the more I switched from the speed readout to the time and distance readout, the faster the time went. Especially today where I was watching it really closely since I was trying to beat the previous day's 2.24 miles, the first 30 minutes really went by fast. I find that I'm actually looking forward to getting on their and that is definitely a first. I'm still doing more walking than jogging, but there isn't any reason to believe that as I get more fit, I can switch that around, and perhaps eventually stop walking altogether after the warm up. From there, it isn't too much of a leap to think about jogging, or even running a 5K or 10K. So that is what was good this week.
On the down side, my calorie intake was all over the board and I had three pretty bad days. The problem is all the eating out that I did this week. Every time that happens, I go well over my goal and I'm going to need to find some way to deal with that, especially this week as I'm traveling for work and it will all be eating out. I do think I'll buy some frozen lunches so at least I can have that going for me, but it will still be tough with that buffet breakfast every morning and then going out after work. I will also need to try and minimize alcoholic beverages since they are loaded with calories no matter how I go (beer or vodka and 7up). I still think I have a shot at good news when I get on the scale Monday, only because my pants have felt really loose the last couple days, and they haven't been feeling that way for some time. I think the 45 minutes is working out much better than the 20-30 I was doing before.
Holy crap, I just figured out what my calories were for the day and it was even worse than I thought. Over 3100 calories today and 2500 of them were during dinner or after. That isn't going to help much. I'm not going to be a nazi about eating under 1800 calories EVERY day, but I can't afford to have many days AT ALL like this one. This is what I'm trying to avoid. A little slip and going a little over 2000 is one thing, but over 3000? That just is not going to work for me. Not any more. The average for the week, and I didn't count them on one day which means that day was probably not good was 2158. Almost certainly better than I was doing before I started paying attention again, but not where I wanted to be. I've got to start saying 'no' to eating out, that is what is killing me right now. If I eat at home, I have good calorie intake, if I don't, then I am well over. It's that simple.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Week 2 begins a day late
11/30/09
8:30 AM
The good news first; I lost 4 pounds last week. Considering that I had three days of not eating on plan, and only managed to exercise 5 days, a pretty surprising result. So I weighed 232 pounds this morning. That is a total of 10 pounds less than when I started back in January. I should also always keep in mind that my all time high was probably somewhere 260 though I'm not sure exactly. The heaviest weight the doctor had on file for me was something like 263, but that would have been with clothes on and possibly even during the winter with boots. All that together could easily add up to 10 pounds. So we'll call it 252 just for round numbers and say that I'm 20 pounds less than my all time high.
The bad news is that yeterday I basically completely fell down. I didn't exercise because I didn't get up in time and then we had things to do. I started out with a healthy breakfast, but then we went Christmas shopping, I with Alia and Mindy with Camryn. We decided to meet at IHOP for lunch and I opted for the heart attack special of biscuits and gravy with two sausage patties, two eggs and hash browns. Probably a 1500 calorie feast. I thought I'd eat a light supper, maybe soup, but I ended up eating what everone else ate, which was a greasy fried chicken from the store and some steamed veg. That would have not been a particularly good day, but mentally, I wouldn't have completely let go. Except I did after putting Alia to bed when I went through 2/3 of a bag of club crackers topped off by a bowl of cereal. In other words, I just completely gave up. To top it off, I set my alarm to get up this morning for the treadmill, but then I ended up staying up late so reset it NOT to get up to run and so now have to try and get that done during the day or after bed time tonight. My record on that is not very good, I'm sorry to say. But I did have a healthy breakfast; I've been going on the philosphy that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so allowing myself a few more calories this time around than I did last spring. Pretty much every morning has been a cup of juice, a banana, oatmeal with 1/2 c milk and my coffee and half and half. The last couple mornings, I've been having the OJ and banana in the form of a slushie putting them into the blender with some crushed ice and a 1 tsp of half and half. I've always liked the orange/banana combo and it's very good. I think I'll try it without the half and half tomorrow and see if maybe I like it better without that little 'clingyness' you get with dairy.
10:05 PM
I did the treadmill today; the usual 45 minutes and 3.08 miles. I finished up with a sprint that felt good and really winded me. Since I didn't get enough sleep last night, I felt tired for most of the day, but after that, I had plenty of energy. I'm going to get right to bed so I'll feel like getting up at 6:00 tomorrow and start my day out with that energy instead of getting it mid-way through. It wasn't a great calorie day as we had pesto sauce over cheese tortellini and two pieces of bread with smart balance for dinner, but I didn't snack after dinner and still feel full now so mentally it was a pretty good day. I'm trying not to focus too much on the four pounds I lost the last week, but its hard because it feels good. The important thing to realize is that it was a one time thing that won't continue to happen weekly if I'm not more disciplined in my eating and exercising.
8:30 AM
The good news first; I lost 4 pounds last week. Considering that I had three days of not eating on plan, and only managed to exercise 5 days, a pretty surprising result. So I weighed 232 pounds this morning. That is a total of 10 pounds less than when I started back in January. I should also always keep in mind that my all time high was probably somewhere 260 though I'm not sure exactly. The heaviest weight the doctor had on file for me was something like 263, but that would have been with clothes on and possibly even during the winter with boots. All that together could easily add up to 10 pounds. So we'll call it 252 just for round numbers and say that I'm 20 pounds less than my all time high.
The bad news is that yeterday I basically completely fell down. I didn't exercise because I didn't get up in time and then we had things to do. I started out with a healthy breakfast, but then we went Christmas shopping, I with Alia and Mindy with Camryn. We decided to meet at IHOP for lunch and I opted for the heart attack special of biscuits and gravy with two sausage patties, two eggs and hash browns. Probably a 1500 calorie feast. I thought I'd eat a light supper, maybe soup, but I ended up eating what everone else ate, which was a greasy fried chicken from the store and some steamed veg. That would have not been a particularly good day, but mentally, I wouldn't have completely let go. Except I did after putting Alia to bed when I went through 2/3 of a bag of club crackers topped off by a bowl of cereal. In other words, I just completely gave up. To top it off, I set my alarm to get up this morning for the treadmill, but then I ended up staying up late so reset it NOT to get up to run and so now have to try and get that done during the day or after bed time tonight. My record on that is not very good, I'm sorry to say. But I did have a healthy breakfast; I've been going on the philosphy that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so allowing myself a few more calories this time around than I did last spring. Pretty much every morning has been a cup of juice, a banana, oatmeal with 1/2 c milk and my coffee and half and half. The last couple mornings, I've been having the OJ and banana in the form of a slushie putting them into the blender with some crushed ice and a 1 tsp of half and half. I've always liked the orange/banana combo and it's very good. I think I'll try it without the half and half tomorrow and see if maybe I like it better without that little 'clingyness' you get with dairy.
10:05 PM
I did the treadmill today; the usual 45 minutes and 3.08 miles. I finished up with a sprint that felt good and really winded me. Since I didn't get enough sleep last night, I felt tired for most of the day, but after that, I had plenty of energy. I'm going to get right to bed so I'll feel like getting up at 6:00 tomorrow and start my day out with that energy instead of getting it mid-way through. It wasn't a great calorie day as we had pesto sauce over cheese tortellini and two pieces of bread with smart balance for dinner, but I didn't snack after dinner and still feel full now so mentally it was a pretty good day. I'm trying not to focus too much on the four pounds I lost the last week, but its hard because it feels good. The important thing to realize is that it was a one time thing that won't continue to happen weekly if I'm not more disciplined in my eating and exercising.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Getting Through Thanksgiving Weekend
11/27/09
The day after Thanksgiving. It's been two days of not counting calories and I'm sure well over the daily budget of 1800 calories. But I did the treadmill both days for 45 minutes and 3+ miles. I showed a little restraint yesterday until it was time for desert and then had two pieces of pie with loads of whip cream. This morning we had the sausage egg casserole and buttermilk biscuits. I had 3-4 biscuits. A couple of vodka and diet 7's in the afternoon, and then for dinner a big burger, fries and two more pieces of pie and whip cream for desert. So tomorrow, its back to counting and a reasonable diet. I guess I failed the holiday test where food is concerned, but passed for exercise. Then again, it was a tough week to start something like this and I think I've come through it reasonably well. As always, what important is what comes next.
I've been thinking about my goals and motivation for this change in lifestyle. I more interested in measurements than in weight, but I'm not sure what my goal should be for waist size and that is the only one I would even have a clue what I am now or what I would like to be. Now I'm probably close to a 42 inch waist and somewhere between 40"-42". I'd like to be at a 34", but no more than 36". I want to be able to wear size large shirts comfortably.
I think the idea is that I don't have a specific weight as a goal, but I use weight to periodically measure my progress. I'll know if I'm balancing food and exercise close to what I should be. Also, regarding the goal of 98% of the days following the plan, maybe that isn't such a bad idea after all. Maybe I should allow myself the big holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and maybe Independence Day without worrying about watching what I eat, and all the rest are where I am mindful. In a year, that is 7 days of free for all and 358 of planned eating. As for the exercise, there isn't any reason that shouldn't be on every day except where I'm too sick to get out of bed. And those should be fewer when I'm treating my body better.
I'm a little sore and tired from the treadmill. It was probably harder today then the other two days, mostly because I'd had the huge breakfast first and that was definitely a challenge. It was harder to breath in part because of that, I think, though I was also keeping up a faster pace than I had before. This afternoon, after doing a little with Christmas decorations, I was just beat and sat down with Cammy to watch some Sponge Bob and took a cat nap or two in the chair with her sitting in my lap. It was nice time together.
I'm not particularly looking forward to the weigh in Monday morning, but I'm not stressing about it either. If I didn't gain any weight during the Thanksgiving week, then that is a victory. And if I did, I still know that it is less than it would have been had I maintained the path I was on of eating badly and not exercising.
The day after Thanksgiving. It's been two days of not counting calories and I'm sure well over the daily budget of 1800 calories. But I did the treadmill both days for 45 minutes and 3+ miles. I showed a little restraint yesterday until it was time for desert and then had two pieces of pie with loads of whip cream. This morning we had the sausage egg casserole and buttermilk biscuits. I had 3-4 biscuits. A couple of vodka and diet 7's in the afternoon, and then for dinner a big burger, fries and two more pieces of pie and whip cream for desert. So tomorrow, its back to counting and a reasonable diet. I guess I failed the holiday test where food is concerned, but passed for exercise. Then again, it was a tough week to start something like this and I think I've come through it reasonably well. As always, what important is what comes next.
I've been thinking about my goals and motivation for this change in lifestyle. I more interested in measurements than in weight, but I'm not sure what my goal should be for waist size and that is the only one I would even have a clue what I am now or what I would like to be. Now I'm probably close to a 42 inch waist and somewhere between 40"-42". I'd like to be at a 34", but no more than 36". I want to be able to wear size large shirts comfortably.
I think the idea is that I don't have a specific weight as a goal, but I use weight to periodically measure my progress. I'll know if I'm balancing food and exercise close to what I should be. Also, regarding the goal of 98% of the days following the plan, maybe that isn't such a bad idea after all. Maybe I should allow myself the big holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and maybe Independence Day without worrying about watching what I eat, and all the rest are where I am mindful. In a year, that is 7 days of free for all and 358 of planned eating. As for the exercise, there isn't any reason that shouldn't be on every day except where I'm too sick to get out of bed. And those should be fewer when I'm treating my body better.
I'm a little sore and tired from the treadmill. It was probably harder today then the other two days, mostly because I'd had the huge breakfast first and that was definitely a challenge. It was harder to breath in part because of that, I think, though I was also keeping up a faster pace than I had before. This afternoon, after doing a little with Christmas decorations, I was just beat and sat down with Cammy to watch some Sponge Bob and took a cat nap or two in the chair with her sitting in my lap. It was nice time together.
I'm not particularly looking forward to the weigh in Monday morning, but I'm not stressing about it either. If I didn't gain any weight during the Thanksgiving week, then that is a victory. And if I did, I still know that it is less than it would have been had I maintained the path I was on of eating badly and not exercising.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Day 1-A. And, Do we know Where we are Going yet?
11/23/09
Got up at 6am this morning and did 45 minutes on the treadmill. Just over 3 miles so averaged 4 MPH though it was actually a mixture of mostly in the 3.5-3.9 range with occasional bursts in the 5-6 range. I weighed exactly 236 pounds. That's 6 pounds less than when I first started back in January and 18.2 pounds more than the all time low I recorded on 4/9 of 217.8. Kind of a drag to have lost all that progress, but meaningless when I think of this as a new lifestyle. The weight isn't the important thing, it's how I feel and there really is no point in dwelling on how I felt the last few months. What is important is how I feel today and how I will feel the rest of my life. Mentally I felt better today than I have in a while, knowing that I exercised and ate well today. I only had 1160 calories which is much lower than the <1800 I am tentatively planning. I feel a little hungry and have since not long after I ate, but I did feel full after dinner and I think what I'm feeling now, rather than hunger is the difference between stuffed to the gills and a normal, healthy fullness. I'd like to be able to go on a <1200 intake, but I'm not sure that is realistic. In fact, I'm pretty sure it isn't, but we'll see. Maybe I can think about a <1500 goal. Speaking of goals, I didn't given much thought today about what my goal will be with this lifestyle. Some thoughts include clothes size (seems vain) running a 5K, 10K or marathon; or some other type of endurance test/competition (maybe, but I don't love running) exercising and maintaining the caloric intake for a specific period The last one is intriguing and seems to match up best with the idea of making this a permanent change. Could I maintain those two things for a year, or even six months, EVERY day? Or do I say for 98% of the time? In six months, a 98% success rate is missing on only 4 days. But if I'm doing this for ever, why not 100% of the time? What about sick days for missing exercise? Does it mean NEVER exceeding the caloric goal? Or does it mean just eating sensibly, even if the food I'm choosing is higher calorie, like holidays? Or does it mean on a weekly basis, allowing me to completely blow a day but make it up in the other days of the week? Is that cheating; if not from a calorie standpoint, then at least philosophically? The endurance test is also interesting in that it is a specific event which would give me that sense of accomplishment. But what comes after? Another, similar event, or just another let down? Will I turn that into, "OK, I did it, now I can relax a little bit."? Clothes size seems the most like a weight goal which for whatever reason doesn't feel right. Feels like I'm doing it for the wrong reason though I can't quite put my finger on why it seems; why they both seem wrong. It just feels shallow somehow and like it isn't the right motivation. I guess because I don't really care what I weigh, or what size my pants are, ultimately. I want to feel better and be healthier. A reduction in weight will happen if I'm living healthier, but it is a byproduct, a symptom and not good in and of itself. For example, I could weigh 190 pounds and still be not healthy, say if I went on a crash diet that wasn't sustainable, or had cancer and couldn't eat. Or if I lost a leg. Ok, a little ridiculous, but the point is that there are lots of ways to hit that goal that don't accomplish the real goal, which is a healthy lifestyle. So I'm back to how do I measure living a healthy lifestyle? Maybe taking a step back and thinking about goals in a general sense will help. So, of course, I fall back on what I know about goals from work. Make them SMART. Specific-clear and unambiguous
Measurable-the one I'm having trouble with at this point
Attainable-that was the question about meeting my daily exercise and calorie goal for 180 days straight. Is that attainable? theoretically, but is it realistic?
Relevant-this is 'realistic' in some versions of the SMART goal, but it always seemed like a synonym for Attainable so I found a source that had something different. Relevant seems like a good one-does the goal even make sense? This is where weight and pants size seem to lose out. They don't seem relevant.
Time Driven-an end date; again carries concerns with it about what happens after, or as the time approaches? Do I get scared as it approaches, either because I'm afraid I won't hit it, or that I will and then be lost. But it seems the key to that is to have short, medium and long term goals and then to understand that medium and long term goals may well change as long as it is for the right reasons; and of course, you can always add more, bigger goals.
Another goal I just thought of in the exercise realm is to log a specific number of miles in a certain amount of time. Say 21 miles/week; or a 100/month? I like the sounds of that; it's a longer term goal which relies on the output of daily exercise. Its scalable so I can have a daily minimum to ensure daily engagement, but have weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual and even multi year goals. This along with caloric intake goals under the same time frames has a good feel to it. It allows me freedom to have some outright misses and some not quites on a daily basis while still leaving open the ability to make the longer term goals. These types of goals, along with some basic philosophies about how to act in the world-no gratuitous overeating, no eating when I am full or even not hungry. limiting the amount of food that has no healthy food value.
Which brings up coffee. I keep thinking that it is something I should give up. there are no calories associated with it, but nothing particularly healthful about it either. If it weren't for the half and half, I probably wouldn't think ill of it, but I don't love black coffee and if it came to that, I'd probably go with tea. I'm not giving it up yet, but if the idea is to just put healthy things in my body, where does that leave coffee? Are there any good effects that I can use to keep it around? I would miss you, oh coffee; you're the only one I want to talk to first thing in the morning.
Got up at 6am this morning and did 45 minutes on the treadmill. Just over 3 miles so averaged 4 MPH though it was actually a mixture of mostly in the 3.5-3.9 range with occasional bursts in the 5-6 range. I weighed exactly 236 pounds. That's 6 pounds less than when I first started back in January and 18.2 pounds more than the all time low I recorded on 4/9 of 217.8. Kind of a drag to have lost all that progress, but meaningless when I think of this as a new lifestyle. The weight isn't the important thing, it's how I feel and there really is no point in dwelling on how I felt the last few months. What is important is how I feel today and how I will feel the rest of my life. Mentally I felt better today than I have in a while, knowing that I exercised and ate well today. I only had 1160 calories which is much lower than the <1800 I am tentatively planning. I feel a little hungry and have since not long after I ate, but I did feel full after dinner and I think what I'm feeling now, rather than hunger is the difference between stuffed to the gills and a normal, healthy fullness. I'd like to be able to go on a <1200 intake, but I'm not sure that is realistic. In fact, I'm pretty sure it isn't, but we'll see. Maybe I can think about a <1500 goal. Speaking of goals, I didn't given much thought today about what my goal will be with this lifestyle. Some thoughts include clothes size (seems vain) running a 5K, 10K or marathon; or some other type of endurance test/competition (maybe, but I don't love running) exercising and maintaining the caloric intake for a specific period The last one is intriguing and seems to match up best with the idea of making this a permanent change. Could I maintain those two things for a year, or even six months, EVERY day? Or do I say for 98% of the time? In six months, a 98% success rate is missing on only 4 days. But if I'm doing this for ever, why not 100% of the time? What about sick days for missing exercise? Does it mean NEVER exceeding the caloric goal? Or does it mean just eating sensibly, even if the food I'm choosing is higher calorie, like holidays? Or does it mean on a weekly basis, allowing me to completely blow a day but make it up in the other days of the week? Is that cheating; if not from a calorie standpoint, then at least philosophically? The endurance test is also interesting in that it is a specific event which would give me that sense of accomplishment. But what comes after? Another, similar event, or just another let down? Will I turn that into, "OK, I did it, now I can relax a little bit."? Clothes size seems the most like a weight goal which for whatever reason doesn't feel right. Feels like I'm doing it for the wrong reason though I can't quite put my finger on why it seems; why they both seem wrong. It just feels shallow somehow and like it isn't the right motivation. I guess because I don't really care what I weigh, or what size my pants are, ultimately. I want to feel better and be healthier. A reduction in weight will happen if I'm living healthier, but it is a byproduct, a symptom and not good in and of itself. For example, I could weigh 190 pounds and still be not healthy, say if I went on a crash diet that wasn't sustainable, or had cancer and couldn't eat. Or if I lost a leg. Ok, a little ridiculous, but the point is that there are lots of ways to hit that goal that don't accomplish the real goal, which is a healthy lifestyle. So I'm back to how do I measure living a healthy lifestyle? Maybe taking a step back and thinking about goals in a general sense will help. So, of course, I fall back on what I know about goals from work. Make them SMART. Specific-clear and unambiguous
Measurable-the one I'm having trouble with at this point
Attainable-that was the question about meeting my daily exercise and calorie goal for 180 days straight. Is that attainable? theoretically, but is it realistic?
Relevant-this is 'realistic' in some versions of the SMART goal, but it always seemed like a synonym for Attainable so I found a source that had something different. Relevant seems like a good one-does the goal even make sense? This is where weight and pants size seem to lose out. They don't seem relevant.
Time Driven-an end date; again carries concerns with it about what happens after, or as the time approaches? Do I get scared as it approaches, either because I'm afraid I won't hit it, or that I will and then be lost. But it seems the key to that is to have short, medium and long term goals and then to understand that medium and long term goals may well change as long as it is for the right reasons; and of course, you can always add more, bigger goals.
Another goal I just thought of in the exercise realm is to log a specific number of miles in a certain amount of time. Say 21 miles/week; or a 100/month? I like the sounds of that; it's a longer term goal which relies on the output of daily exercise. Its scalable so I can have a daily minimum to ensure daily engagement, but have weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual and even multi year goals. This along with caloric intake goals under the same time frames has a good feel to it. It allows me freedom to have some outright misses and some not quites on a daily basis while still leaving open the ability to make the longer term goals. These types of goals, along with some basic philosophies about how to act in the world-no gratuitous overeating, no eating when I am full or even not hungry. limiting the amount of food that has no healthy food value.
Which brings up coffee. I keep thinking that it is something I should give up. there are no calories associated with it, but nothing particularly healthful about it either. If it weren't for the half and half, I probably wouldn't think ill of it, but I don't love black coffee and if it came to that, I'd probably go with tea. I'm not giving it up yet, but if the idea is to just put healthy things in my body, where does that leave coffee? Are there any good effects that I can use to keep it around? I would miss you, oh coffee; you're the only one I want to talk to first thing in the morning.
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