Weigh in and catch up

This has been a very busy week. It has actually gone really well food wise and exercise wise (more about that in a moment). One of the things I learnt a couple of years ago is that home educating Bookworm and Hyperboy takes a lot of time from other things. Something that has been really good for me over the last few months is truly appreciating the time I have given to myself. It feels good to have spent time focusing on me and being nice to me. I have fed my body well and I have enjoyed the time I have spent exercising. I have enjoyed the results of it, losing weight, not feeling so uncomfortable in my own skin and not feeling like a blimp! The result of all that has been a happier Me, Wife and Mummy. We all win. :oD

So weigh in this morning. I only set myself a goal of 1/2lb loss for this week. I knew we were going to be at my parents for a few days and I know that when I am there it is not as easy to eat the way I have been lately. I also knew that I'd be spending a lot less time being active.

Weight - 11st 6lbs- A loss of 1/2lb making 16 1/2lbs loss total. :)

Body fat - 35% - 1% lost this week making 5% loss total. :)

1/2in lost from my waist making 10 1/2in lost from chest/waist/hips in total.

 

I am very happy that I met the weight goal I set myself. It wasn't easy to eat well at my parents and I didn't feel great as a result but I was glad to see the loss I had been aiming for. I now weigh the same as I did 12 years ago. 4lbs to go and I will be weighing the same as I did when I was 21. :oD I am also 1 1/2lbs from losing 10% of my starting weight.

 

I was really surprised to see the body fat drop. It had dropped to 35% 3 weeks ago but the next week was back up to 36%. It did a similar thing when I had the drop to 37% so hopefully the drop will stick this time around.

 

The 1/2inch loss from my waist sort of surprised me and sort of didn't. I knew I had got smaller there because trousers feel loose. These are trousers from my "not a chance" pile that has got shrunk to almost nothing. They are ones that I haven't worn for years (or ever in some cases). I wasn't expecting 1/2in though. (Happy dance).

 

I posted very briefly about the NSV of running. While we were out for a run my husband was in charge of timing. He wouldn't tell me how long we had run for until we got back. He made me wait and tormented me for ages before finally telling me that the first block of running was 10 minutes. After a 2 1/2 minute walk we then went on to run 8 1/2 minutes. I was even more pleased because I had been the one to say when I wanted to stop running and start walking. Not bad seeing as I was so disheartened the other week. Two days later I went out again by myself (husband had competed the day before and little brother was still in his pit bed. I took my ipod and did c25k week 5 run 1. The NSV's came thick and fast. I went the same route and

I was enjoying it.

I wasn't phased by the few other people I saw.

I spoke to another runner I saw (yes I felt like 'a runner').

I ran all the way up an incline.

I had to extend the route because it wasn't going to be long enough and the extension took me up a fairly steep hill WHICH I RAN UP.

I felt like I could do more afterwards.

 

And when we got home that night I ran again after dropping Bookworm off at Brownies. In the heat, dripping with sweat and managed all but 1 1/2 minutes of the route running.

 

 

I AM ON FIRE! No false modesty here. I am doing a great job and am loving exercising.

I have entered a 5k race. It is in August. A lot sooner than the 10k I am entered for next May! I feel super confident that I will be able to run it all by then. And I even feel ok about the small chance that I might need to walk a little bit of it. The only goals I have set for it are

1) Finish the distance.

2) Don't be last.

One last NSV. I mowed our back garden yesterday. It was really hot out and thunderstorms were due so it was very muggy. Our mower is a push mower so it's not an easy job. 45 minutes of doing that and I was dripping with sweat. I noticed something though. I didn't find it hard going. Last time I did it I was aching afterwards and kept feeling out of breath. Not this time. It was a doddle.

I have another super busy week coming up so don't think I have sneaked off into a corner with a big bar of green and black's caramel. I have no intention of doing that. I just might not have much time to check in here. I will be thinking about it though and making good choices.



You are dismissed, I have finished waffling!

No time for a long post

But I have a NSV that I want to shout about. Actually make that two.

1) We had a weekend at my Mum's and when I had a bath after a run my tummy was actually below the water level. Bizarre but true and made me :oD.

2) I went for a run with my husband and brother and knocked 10% off the time I did 2 months ago on the same route but best of all manage a 10 minute stretch of running. I was buzzing afterwards.

I will come back tomorrow with a longer post but right now I am tired after a long weekend and horrible, hot car journey home.

Couch to 5k - week 4 and a heavy rucksack

I did it. I actually bloody did it. The whole thing. Plus an extra 5 minutes walking at the end because, well it was either that or not get home. :oD

I am so pleased with myself. I slowed my pace down and it worked. I am feeling so proud of myself right now. And if you'd been in the park I was in you'd have witnessed me shake my fists and say "YES!" as I finished the second 5 minute run.

At the end my knee felt a bit delicate but when I got back my husband went over some stretches with me and it's ok now.

I also realised there was one of my goals last week that I never got round to. I didn't fill that bag with the weight I have lost so far. I did that tonight and then carted it round on my back for half an hour while I made tea. Holy cow. 16lbs is a fair weight. I can't believe I was lugging that round all day every day! It can stay in the rucksack, I can take that off.

I also realised when I was filling it up that I am about 2lbs away from having lost 10% of my weight. I am almost 9/10 of the woman I was. I think my confidence and happiness has increased 100% though so I am not missing anything.

I could just wait until tonight and post about today...

Or I could post now and be honest about yesterday. If I wait until tonight I can gloss over yesterday. If I post now I can have this here as a reminder to myself and a lesson.

 I started off with very good intentions for the day. I had decided to change my weigh in day so that I now weigh in on a Wednesday. Did that, was pleased to see that since Monday I had lost 1/2lb. I was going to go and do 2 levels of 30DS. I got to that and there was my first hurdle. My legs were tired. Very tired. I did level 1 and couldn't even begin to entertain the idea of doing another level. That was ok, I could see how good it is that I am now exercising for 5/6 days every week and have done for 11 1/2 weeks now. So I left it there and didn't beat myself up about it.

My problem yesterday wasn't exercise it was food. Not so much a hurdle as a tiny pony meeting a ruddy, great jump with a pond on the other side. Now I am logging EVERYTHING on myfitnesspal it's not so easy to ignore what crap (sorry to those who are easily offended) I put in my body yesterday. Myfitnesspal tells me, all cheerfully, that yesterday I consumed 2987 kcals and 120g fat. That is about twice what I should be looking at. So what did I eat that led to this. I am going to be really honest here.

Breakfast - orangey oats (25g rolled oats soaked overnight in 2tsp orange juice) mixed with 20g raisins, 4 strawberries, 1 pot yogurt. - This is my usual breakfast. No big deal.

Snack - caramel slice (shortbread base, covered with caramel and topped with chocolate) - not a big deal at the time. I had made some for a friend and planned 1 into my day.

Lunch - Jacket potato, butter, baked beans and cheese - again no real problem here. it was meant to be for tea but a lack of bread for the sandwich I planned to have meant swapping lunch for tea.

Snacks - caramel slice um. the caramel and chocolate part of TWO more caramel slices - yes I am ashamed, yes it is ridiculous that I actually took the time to slice the top away from the shortbread, threw that away and just ate the caramel and chocolate. WTF!!! Why the hell would I do that? I have a very sweet tooth.

Dinner - 1 slice of bread and butter - this was completely unnecessary. It was fresh out of the oven and I couldn't resist have the crust from the end while it was still warm. Egg/salad cream sandwich made with 2 slices bread, 1 hard boiled egg, salad cream and butter. - this part was what I had originally planned for lunch.

Evening - 4 homemade ginger biscuits and (yes and) 1 chocolate coated ginger ice cream stick - I didn't NEED either of these things. I had made ginger biscuits for Bookworm and Hyperboy and nibbled dough while I made so the '4' was actually 1 cooked and  the equivalent of 3 in dough. The ice-cream is one of the most delicious things I have ever tasted. I bought them from one of the supermarkets here in the UK and they are so yummy. It was the last one in my freezer.

So there you go. That as you can see people is the ridiculous food consumption for me yesterday. It all went to pot from about 4pm onwards. Now I know that before I started my journey it would have looked a little like that every day. The main difference being that most days the dinner (see lunch above) would have been a bigger meal and probably meant somewhere around 500cals/20g fat more than yesterday. So most days I was eating 3500kcals/140g fat. Everyday!!! Add into that the fact that my only exercise was normal day to day movement and I think we can see exactly why I was where I was. Frankly I am amazed I was not a  LOT bigger and very ill!

So I guess I learnt a big lesson yesterday. I treated my body like rubbish. I don't believe in low fat/low calorie food. That is fine when I am making sure that it is full fat/full calorie things balanced out. But when I eat like I did yesterday that adds up to a whole lot of stuff.

Today I feel sluggish, my legs are heavy, I have a headache and my throat is sore. Serves me right but in some ways it is useful to me. I think I had  been doubting how bad it was before. IT WAS BAD. There are no excuses for treating my children's mother that way.

Weigh in - Yes I decided to change it

I said I was considering changing my weigh in day to a Wednesday. I have decided I am going to. It was mainly prompted by the fact that for the next two weeks I won't be able to do it on a Monday. So it's only been 2 days since I last checked in but I figure there is no time like the present! Plus if I leave it until next week to swap and don't check on for 1 1/2 weeks I know I am likely to think "loads of time to make up for any little gains". I don't want to do that. It would mean being less careful, because if I am honest that is exactly what would happen, for 2-3 days before getting back in to it. So I weighed this morning and took it as a proper weigh in.

Weight - 11st 6 1/2lbs- A loss of 1/2lb since Monday(!!!!!) making 16lbs loss total.

Body fat - 36% - Same as Monday making 4% loss total.

1/4in lost from my hips making 10in lost from chest/waist/hips in total

 

I am going to go and get Bookworm and Hyperboy started on their work for the day and then I shall shred for all I am worth.



So it's true, you can run for longer if you slow down

Last week when I was running with my husband and then again when he was nearby playing with Bookworm and Hyperboy he was watching the speed I run at. I have been really struggling to get past 3 minute blocks of running. Husband suggested that if I slow my pace down a bit I would probably find that I could run for longer time. This was met with scepticism by me. I really felt that if I slow down then I wouldn't really be moving.

Last night on my weekly trip back from dropping Bookworm at a group I decided to give it a go. I set out slowly and just carried on until I needed to walk. I managed 5m 22s of running. Darn, the man is right. After 1 minute of walking I ran for another 2m 30s before being almost home.

My right knee is a little sore but I think the cause of that is the gears on my bike not changing properly on Sunday and jarring my knee a bit. I will take it easy for a couple of days and with a bit of luck it will be back to normal. I am looking forward to my next run as it will be the longer route (by longer I mean 2.3 miles compared to the 0.94 miles I did last night) on Thursday.

I am thinking of changing my weigh in day. For the next two weeks I won't be able to weigh in on a Monday anyway so now is as good a time as any. I am considering making it a Wednesday. It is the day we get fresh fruit and veg delivered and having that there to lead me away from being tempted by other things would be better. Mondays tend to be Old Mother Hubbard time in our food stores so after weighing I am thinking 'hmm we have biscuits and cakes that could do with being eaten'.

Friend making Monday

I haven't done this for a couple of weeks and I have missed it. If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments and head over to www.alltheweigh.com to check out Kenz's answers and others links.

FMM: Yes or No?

1. Do you use coupons? Yes, I am always up for saving money.
2. Do you like football? I am guessing when Kenz added this question she didn't mean soccer but as I am in the UK to me that is football. I do like football (ie soccer) but haven't really watched any for a long time.
3. Are you in a relationship? Yes, I am happily married to my childhood penpal. Nearly 10 years now. 
4. Is your phone always within arm’s reach? No, but I always know where it is.
5. Do you like thunderstorms? Yes! I love storms.
6. Can you cook? Yes, I love to cook. It is one of my favourite ways to spend my time. 
7. Are you – or have you – lost weight? Yes, finally successfully for the first time ever. 
8. Do you know how to read a map? Yes,but it has to be 'the right way uo' much to my husband's amusement!
9. Do you wear makeup? No, I really can't be bothered!
10. Do you read regularly? Yes, every day. 
11. Are you publicly affectionate? Yes. 
12. Do you like picnics? Yes! Open air eating is great.
13. Do you have a/c? No.
14. Have you ever been out of the country? Yes. But I am now scared of flying so unless we get on a boat or Euro star it's not happening. 
15. Do you know how to ride a bicycle? Yes.

Happy Monday.