#NotEatingAllTheThings - the demise of my diet attempts

Way back, sometime between San Francisco Marathon last year and CIM, I hit this weight, and it stuck - I was marathon training, and I was content where it was. It didn't take any real effort to stay there, and I wasn't really concerned with losing any, at least not enough to be bothered with it.

Between CIM and Eugene, though, I continued to eat kind of whatever I wanted. While that strategy worked a-okay while I was in marathon training for CIM, it was no bueno when I ran about half the mileage in my Eugene cycle. It's not a surprise that I gained a few pounds.

When Becka and I brainstormed the #NotEatingAllTheThings Challenge during Eugene and the weekend of eating EVERYTHING, I figured I would just play along and see what happened. I'm not really big on numbers, and don't really have a "goal" weight - I kind of have a "feel better at this" weight, and a "that number makes my clothes uncomfortable" weight.

So, listen. I played along with the #NotEatingAllTheThings Challenge for awhile - I still send Becka pictures of most of my meals, I still weigh in habitually on Tuesday's (official weigh in day; Friday just for funs).

Weighing in has become an exercise in frustration for me - not because I'm not hitting a certain number (I have no certain number in mind still), but because my body just seems to be perpetually screaming, "NAH NAH NAH NAH I DO WHAT I WAAAANT CAN'T TAME ME!", and I gain/lose 2-3 lbs within a few days, back and forth, over and over. It didn't really matter what I ate, or what exercise I did.

So by the numbers on the scale, this has not been a success for me. While Becka has lost something like 18+ lbs, I have lost.....

6 pounds, net. Since May. I'm dead smack right back where I was in December, last year.

I dropped a few pounds initially, and I've been hovering at the same spot for about two months now. (In full disclosure, I am currently another pound down according to yesterday's weigh in, but I'm assuming it will pop back up, because my body LOVES what I weigh THE END).

I'm still running a fairly low mileage (25ish mile weeks), but I'm doing a LOT more cross training and strength work than I have before.

I still eat kind of whatever I want, but probably more reasonable than I was early this year. Maybe.

The result of this, is that despite the number refusing to budge, I am certainly more fit than I've been... maybe ever?

Unsure why my face is being a jerk

I  have tiny muscles, even. IT'S TRUE.

Bad lighting, but I swear they exist, not just in my brain.

So, I guess this is the thing.

I don't measure weight loss in any other way - I don't use a tape measure or fancy scale. I know my clothes are looser. I know my beautiful striped Lulu Pace Setter is too big.

I know that the stupid tank top arms video used to be hard with 2lb weights, but now it's manageable with 5lb weights.

I guess my conclusions from this Challenge are:

• I'd rather feel stronger, than skinnier
• As long as I'm comfortable in my clothes, I'm pretty indifferent to my weight
• The numbers don't really mean all that much
• I'm not willing to give up foods I love
• Counting calories is BORING and tedious
• It's easy for me to get carried away and "reward" myself, when I'm being too restrictive (and I use that word VERY loosely).
• It's easier for me to eat what I want in moderation, all the time. I'm way less prone to "rewards" that way.

Anyway. I didn't want to just abandon the #NotEatingAllTheThings, without filling in the ending.

Thus concludes my experiment.

I declare Becka the winner!

#NotEatingAllTheThings - week 7-8

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3.5
Week 5
Week 6

So, listen. Long report summarized, I'm up 1.7lbs over the last 2 weeks.

Total since beginning this experiment: -5.4lbs.

As I told Becka yesterday, I was anticipating a gain, because I've 1. been eating kind of whatever I want, and 2. barely moving my body. I just didn't feel like it, so I didn't do much to be productive in the "experiment".

I'm not really too bummed about it; I'm not going to pretend I've been eating well and it's a mystery why the scale creeped up.

Nope. No mystery.

I'm pretty comfortable with how my clothes are fitting, which is really what prompted the experiment to begin with. So I just wasn't super motivated to try harder?

Now that I'm planning on ramping back up on the mileage and cross training, I think I'll go back to logging my food in My Fitness Pal so I can keep myself in check - I am quick to say I earned a treat, and then it fast becomes I earned ALL the treats.

Becka, on the other hand, has killed this game. She wins. If you want to see someone doing this game RIGHT, go read her recap. It sounds like drinking more beer is the key to her success??

I'll have to stop at the store on the way home to stock up.

edited this to say, I am not unhappy with 5.4lb loss over 8 weeks - considering the minimal amount of exercising, I'm fine with it - it's just over .5lb/week, and that's a-okay in my book. Just to clarify.

#NotEatingAllTheThings - Week 6. Frozen Crap I've been Eating for Lunch (review)

Previous recaps here, here, here, and here.

I have FINALLY undone the Weekend of Gluttony damage, plus some. So... essentially, I'm back to the lowest weight I can recall before I got super lazy, from back in December.

Loss this week: 2.9lbs. As it turns out, apparently the key to this is watching what you take in, and exercising.

Who knew.

E from Running with Bling commented last week......

It's true, they are NOT great for me, nor are they particularly delicious (most of the time).

Believe me, I'm under no illusions that I am making a healthy choice by picking these things up. However...

1. I have to prioritize where I spend my time, and often, the time that I'm at home, making lunch doesn't necessarily make the cut. These are fast and easy.
2. It's certainly less expensive than eating out daily.
3. I do not think that they will kill me dead if I eat them for one meal a day, a few times a week. The majority of my diet otherwise is fresh, whole foods that we cook at home.

With all that in mind, sometimes - for me - it's a compromise I'm willing to make.

And just in case you ever wondered, "Man, that picture looks pretty good, I wonder if it's as delicious as it photographs!", I present my review of The Frozen Crap I've Been Eating For Lunch, ranked from least delicious, to most.

The Frozen Crap I've Been Eating For Lunch

1. Healthy Choice Crustless Chicken Pot Pie

In fairness, I don't like cooked carrots, nor do I like peas. Obviously, this was a poor purchase on my part, as both are clearly pictured on the packaging (WHY, me?!). The dumplings (well, "dumplings") were rubbery and weird. The chicken was fine. The corn was... corn. The sauce stuff was okay. But since I don't like half of the other stuff, this gets a 2/10 from me. {unfairly rated}

2. Campbell's Mexican Style Chicken Tortilla

I know, not frozen, but still something pre-packaged. Eh. Not delicious, but not AWFUL. Kind of flavorless and watery? Despite have a billion mg's of sodium, really tasted like it could have used some salt. Also, I have a serious salt-tooth, so maybe it's just me. 3/10.

3. Healthy Choice Golden Roasted Turkey Breast with stuffing, green beans, and cherry/blueberry "dessert".

I actually picked this strictly because it was fairly low cal, and it was birthday cake day in the office, so I was eating lean. It was OKAY. It honestly tastes about as great as it looks, but I love stuffing in all forms, so this earns a little bit of an extra point. 4/10.

4. Trader Joe's Reduced Guilt Chicken Breast with Pablano Sauce, with barley and corn risotto

I don't remember too much about this, so I am assuming it was not offensive? The sauce was DELICIOUS, but the "risotto" was not so much with the risotto, and more with "some stuff sort of creamed together". 5/10

5. Lean Cuisine Ranchero Braised Beef with chipotle mashed sweet potatoes, this is an AWESOME picture.

 

This was surprisingly good. The beef was... you know. Frozen/Microwaved beef, but the sauce was pretty good. And the sweet potatoes were great. I'd totally buy this again. 7/10

6. Trader Joe's Shepherds Pie

I've had this a few times, and I like it. The potatoes are a little watery, and it's never as filled as the picture pretends it is, but everything in it is pretty tasty. It's packaged as 2 servings at 180 cals each, which I find DUMB, because... hello, it's one tiny bowl. Not shabby for 360 cals, and it actually kept me full for awhile (unlike everything else so far...). 7.5/10

7. Amy's Mexican Casserole Bowl

This was pretty good! I added a ton of hot sauce, and that made it even more delicious. It was not terribly filling, though, so only 7.5/10. Womp.

8. Evol Chipotle Chicken Mac & Cheese

Delicious. Tiny, tiny portion for a LOT of calories (400+, if I'm remembering correctly?). I likely wouldn't buy this again, because I was starving the rest of the day, but it was GOOD. 6/10, only because of the portion size/calorie ratio.

#NotEatingAllTheThings - This is not a fun experiment (Week 5)

Last week was recovering from the Weekend of Gluttony. I ended up down 2.5 for the week, BUT I'm still up 1.5 from pre-Weekend.

Honestly, I did NOT think that 2.5 days of Gluttony could do that much damage. I did not think that it would take two full weeks (at least??) to un-do.

This puts me almost right back where I was when I sarted this "game", you guys.

While it was delicious, I suppose it's not really worth it. What a hassle!

I feel like maybe my next experiment will be "These Microwave Meals are NOT as Advertised!!"

I was lacking in the exercise front, for sure, and that would have probably helped knock out some of the extra Weekend weight.
Tuesday: 4 miles outside, easy pace (didn't FEEL easy)
Wednesday: Nothing
Thursday: Arms and Core
Friday: Nothing
Saturday: 4 miles to loserville*
Sunday: more Nothing

*I intended to do a long run, since San Francisco is coming up in less than 2 weeks. The H wanted to run with me (HOORAY!!), so we set out bright and early for a 10 mile loop on the same trails I did a few weeks ago (where it was glorious and the best run ever).

Before we got to 1.5 miles in, I needed to stop for a walk break. I felt off - struggling to breathe, head kind of tight and fuzzy, just no bueno. I did this off and on until I hit about 3.5, and decided there was just no way I was finishing this run. I was dizzy when I ran, and it just was not working out. I sat on a bench for awhile. Tried to run a little bit more. Nothing. We walked home.

We did see this little guy, though?

It sucked, man.

I guess the good thing was, that my legs felt fine? Lame. I don't know if it's allergies, or just a cold, or what, but it's currently kicking my butt.

So.... there's that.

I'm hoping the head funk clears away - normally I run through head colds, but it's tough when I'm dizzy - long enough for me to get in a few more runs before SF? I guess I'm just really glad I'm only running half.

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Plan for this week
Monday: 20 minutes yoga with weights (what), 10 minutes arms
Tuesday: Run 3-4?
Wednesday: Run hopefully/cross train
Thursday: Run in am/#1 end of year awards ceremony in pm
Friday: Cross train
Saturday: Run long FOR REAL
Sunday: Rest?

#NotEatingAllTheThings - week 2-3.5

I am planning on a Weekend of Gluttony starting at noon today, so I postponed my weigh-in to today.

And I'm up 0.5lbs.

I know this is likely just a normal fluctuation and water weight and it's that time of the month and blah blah. But it's pretty annoying and a little discouraging to see that number go up when I'm being very careful.

Annoying, I say!

I'm going to confess that I haven't followed my work-out plan this week, either, which I'm sure hasn't helped (my waistline nor my mood....) - I ran 3.5 lame ass miles on Tuesday, and just didn't finish, and didn't try again. I started yoga one night, but got 3 minutes in and turned it off. So.... There's that.

Of note this week:
I THINK I'm less starving than I was last week. I don't think I quite believe Madison's claims that your stomach will shrink; I think it has more to do with my lack of exercise the last 5 days.

Sometimes, I make a salad SO GIANT I get tired of eating before I'm done. What.

I think I'm eating too many carbs (GASP!) for the amount of running I'm doing. Which is, not much - my loose SFM training plan calls for a peak of 26 miles/week. And at the rate I'm completely KILLING this plan (as in, not at all), I will likely scale that back.

This game is dumb. I'm intrigued to see the results after Weekend of Gluttony. But I'm hard-pressed to feel motivated when I think of all the delicious things I passed on in the last 10 days....



Whatever, game.

#NotEatingAllTheThings - Week 2

This pretty much sums up my love for #NotEatingAllTheThings Challenge.

This was actually week 2 of the experiment - my week 1 recap is here - but since I forgot to even weigh in WHEN I STARTED (because I'm DUMB), this is the first measurable week.

And since I'm down 2.2lbs, I am calling it a moderate success. In actuality, I'm now at just about where I was MONTHS ago, before I became the laziest runner ever. So... I guess at least I undid that damage?

Some of the things I enjoyed this week include....

I am taking things VERY moderately, and still enjoyed some treats - a light frap, a tiny cupcake, cookie cake, a beer, some creme brulee (okay, a LOT of creme brulee - I bought it when I went out with #2, to share it, and turns out she doesn't like creme brulee. I'm not sure how that's even a thing, it seems like an impossibility, not liking creme brulee....).

So, considering all of the above, I'm pretty pleased. I suppose it's not as terrible as I'm pretending it is, but it has been a really long time since I've had to pay any attention - I maintained this exact weight for almost a year when actually marathon training. The weight gain would probably explain at least some of the general suckiness of the Eugene training. You know, in addition to the NOT RUNNING parts.

I plan on keeping up with the experiment for at least another 10 days, and then I'll re-evaluate after Memorial Day weekend.

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In unrelated news, I managed to find a pair of ORIGINAL PURE FLOWS. On Saturday, when we were at the mall for NINE HOURS to get our van repaired, I wandered into Sport Chalet. And while they did not have my size in stock, they checked inventory, and a store down the street DID show my size.

As soon as we got the car back, we headed straight there - and lo and behold, there is my beautiful original Pure Flow, size 7.5, resting in a display!

It took several employees, a manager, and 20 minutes, but they found the mate, and my feet can run happy again. Phew. My last pair of Flow's are on their last leg (no pun), so I am extra grateful for this.

This is what happy looks like.

Gabby was bummed that they are not purple, so we are no longer matchy matchy shoe twins - and she was NOT hearing it when I showed her the purple soles.

Kid, tell Brooks all about your disappointment, because I'm sad, too.