Pass the Bread, Please 10 November 2009

I was perusing CNN.com as I do in the afternoons and saw this article about how dieters on low-fat diets are generally happier than those on low-carb diets.  All I have to say is: DUH!

What’s the point of dieting, exactly?  To get to a lower, healthier weight, yes, but eventually it should become a natural way of life.  Last time I checked, passing on bread at every meal isn’t exactly natural.  I’ve become a firm believer over these past few months that dieting of any sort has to be maintainable.  No drastic cutting-out of any food group, and no temporary substitutions of fake foods (light butter, sugar substitutes, etc).  Yep, you might lose weight slower, but in the end, apparently you’ll be happier, and as far as I’m concerned, you’ll be more prepared to keep the weight off because you’ll be in a habit of doing good, healthy things for yourself.  In any case, thought you might like to take a look.  Enjoy!

182.4 10 November 2009

Wouldn’t it be nice if I could lose 2 pounds every day?  I’d be maintaining in no time! 

Seriously though, I ate well yesterday, added a run in, and felt good about the whole day, so I’m not surprised to see good progress.  Tonight should be good too.  Brought my sandwich to work, and I’ve got dinner at mom’s tonight.  There won’t be any exercise, but I think that I can offset that by eating well. 

I don’t think I’ll see 179 again this week, but I’m hopeful for next week.  Last weekend was rough all-around, and this one is shaping up to look quite nice.  I think it’s going to be good progress from here on out!

11/9 Workout: Speed Work 10 November 2009

Did another speed run with Will last night, felt a little weak, but that was to be expected based on the fact that I was completely exhausted.  I finished, which was great, and I think that the run actually helped me sleep better last night, so I feel a million times better this morning.  Go running!

184.4 9 November 2009

Yeah, you read that right … must have been a rougher weekend than even I thought it was.  I didn’t get a chance to run at all this because we spent all of Saturday and most of Sunday morning outside digging out what I believe to be a garden.  We’ve lived in our home 4 years now, and we’ve apparently completely ignored the flowerbed on the right side of our home, resulting in what I can only call ridiculous overgrowth.  After much digging, cursing, and chasing Liam away from the shovels, its back to an acceptable level of ugliness.  Now if we could only plant stuff …

In the meantime, that full day of gardenwork on Saturday resulted in a second dinner out.  This normally would have been alright (think, chicken and pasta or similar), but Liam was in an “I’m going to throw a tantrum wherever we are” sort of mood, so anything sit-down was not acceptable.  Off to the pizza place we went.  I only got one slice, but I’m sure the salt did me no good.

I may not lose this week, but that doesn’t mean giving up … that means buckling down and getting myself under control.  The Christmas music has come out, which means that there are precious few weeks  before the official beginning of the holiday season, where my goal will be to merely maintain and curcumvent a horrible new year gain.

Can I do it?  Sure!  Today its back on the wagon, so to speak.  I intend to run tonight, though my exhaustion level might have other ideas for me … I haven’t been this tired since we brought Liam home from the hospital.  I’m sure its mostly a hormonal thing, but it’s going to present a challenge.  Thankfully, Will HAS to run tonight, so I’ll feel bad sending him out all by himself   I’m going to try and get out there at least for a little bit at the very least.  Dinner will be simple – chicken and pasta most likely, and we’ll see how it all works out on the scale tomorrow.

180.0 (13.4 Total Lost) 6 November 2009

Ok, its not bad, but definitely not as good as the 170’s.  I think going out to dinner last night played a salty part in this, so I’m not getting myself too concerned. 

Today, I’m going to have another go at giving blood … I had a vitamin last night and another one this morning, so my iron levels should be better, hopefully.

Oh!  Speaking of iron levels, all of my blood tests came back and they were all normal, which to me is both good and bad.  Good in that there isn’t some major issue with my hormone levels, etc.  Bad in that my dizziness isn’t being caused by some weird need for an iron supplement or the like.  So, I’ve got to schedule an appointment with a neurologist now and see if (s)he can find anything.  Unfortunately, that’ll have to wait until the New Year, when the PPO insurance kicks in, because asking my HMO doctor for a referral is a pain in the ass.

Body Fat / BMI Calculation 6 November 2009

Well, I did it.  I got a baseline read on my Body Fat Percentage and my BMI.  I called my local Curves and asked them to do it, and they were gracious enough to give me a base reading, though I think that they’ll expect me to join the club if I go back for it again, but it’s a start.

My BMI is 31.7, well into the obese category according to WebMD, which I knew, but am still frustrated by.  Of course my personal ideal weight of 155 is 27.5, which is very high on the overweight scale, and I know I was relatively thin by that point.  So, I don’t know how much faith I put in BMI.

Body fat, however, seems to hold a little more weight (ha!).  My percentage is 33.8%.  I’ve been poking around on the internet and there seem to be varying recommendations here.  One I ready actually said that normal is up to 33%, and I KNOW that can’t be possible.  I checked with WebMD again, and they said that up to 31% is acceptable.  So, I’m still obese, but I feel like 2-3% is a manageable initial goal.

The lady at Curves used a little handheld machine to calculate both numbers.  She inputted this morning’s weight, my height, and my age and I held onto these little metal handles to get the numbers.  I would love to know if this is considered more or less reliable than calipers or the hydro-versions.  The lady at Curves suggested that I call my doctor and see if they have something to measure it, which I might do.  I’d ideally like to get both numbers maybe once a month, max … once a quarter at the least.  For now, I’ve got a good baseline to start with.

179.6 5 November 2009

No budge from last night, and that’s okay.  I think that now that I’m back to my pre-summer weight (and I think even .2 pounds below it currently), the trickle will probably slow even more.  I’m good with that.

In the meantime, I was hoping for a little bit of a false boost today … I was supposed to give blood.  When I do, I’m almost guaranteed an extra pound off just because I’ve lost blood and my body is working to generate more.  Unfortunately, this is the second time that they’ve refused me due to low iron levels.  It makes me all the more interested in what the results will be from my blood test on Tuesday. 

In the meantime, I’m headed out to dinner this evening with friends, and then I’ll be chatting with Bobby tonight.  I’ve made an appointment for this evening to have my body fat tested as well, we’ll see how that goes … the lady didn’t really sound convincing that they knew what to do, but we’ll give it a whirl!

Womanly Symptoms 4 November 2009

So, while I’m at work, I’ll stop on occasion to peruse CNN … its a good 10-minute break here and there, and it helps keep me up-to-date on the world since I refuse to be depressed by watching the local news.  Today, I found this article and couldn’t help but read it.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to know about women’s symptoms and what they mean?  I was absolutely baffled to come upon this symptom:

Tingly thighs?

It could mean: Your jeans are too tight

That tingle could be the result of the Skinny Jeans Syndrome–a compression of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, which runs across the outside of your thigh. High heels might make it worse because they throw the pelvis forward, compressing the nerve even more, says Dr. Michael Port, a pain-management specialist and medical director of the D.I.S.C. Sports and Spine Center in Marina del Rey, California.

What to do: Get bigger jeans

Stop wearing those tight pants and you’ll be amazed how quickly the tingling ceases. If you have a few pounds to lose, dropping the weight may take the pressure off, too. If the pain continues, Port says, a steroid injection may help reduce the discomfort. Another option: Try “jeggings,” comfy leggings disguised as skinny jeans; we like the Quinn Dark Striped Skinny Jegging by bebe ($109). A less-expensive choice is stretchy jeans with spandex, like the Silence & Noise Pull On Jean from Urban Outfitters ($58).

You’re kidding, right?  Now, I wear a snug jean every now and again, and I’m fairly certain that I’d notice if my thighs started to tingle … I mean, HELLO?!  Isn’t that the universal symbol for “your pants are too damn tight”??  I find a problem with the fact that its common enough that there’s a phrase called “Skinny Jean Syndrome” and yes … Google (who is showing an adorable pair of none-too-tight Big Bird legs today) shows over 66,000 hits for that search phrase.  It’s a problem, people.

It just goes to show that we’re expected to squeeze into the smallest pair of pants that we possibly can.  Sorry, fellas – my delightfully ghetto derriere will be very comfortably resting in jeans that don’t cut off the circulation to my bottom half, thank you very much!

179.6 4 November 2009

Down is down.  In all honesty, if I can keep somewhere in the 179 range until weigh-in on Friday, I think I’ll be one damn happy camper.

11/3 Workout: Run 4 November 2009

It wasn’t a long run, as I had myself a little freaked out about this dizziness thing.  It’s been getting more and more annoying, and since I lost my RoadID (its somewhere in the house, I just haven’t been able to locate the obnoxoius pink glowing from underneath anything  yet), I’ve been a little concerned about passing out on the sidewalk and Will not being able to come out and find me.  Basically, I need to find the RoadID, and then I’d feel better.  Maybe I’ll just buy a new one.

Still, the run was decent last night.  Not my fastest, and the wind kept blowing the headphones out of my ears (if anyone can recommend a good pair of sports headphones, I’d really appreciate it), but also not bad.  I probably could have run farther, but I chose to go home and sort of cut my losses I guess. 

I’m not 100% sure when my next run will be; it might have to wait until Saturday afternoon, but we’ll see!