Tag Archives: fitness

DAY LXXXI

At 203 pounds today, I’m pretty pissed off. Yesterday I took a day off from running and had ONE extra bowl of Cheerios — it wasn’t even Cap’n Crunch or Cocoa Puffs — and the scale told me I was up THREE POUNDS over yesterday. One day and one bowl of Cheerios has cut my two-week weight loss in half! Both my morning and my after-work weigh-ins showed a three pound increase. In fact, the after-work weigh-in pegs at 204.4 pounds!

Yes, I know a two to three pound swing can simply be water or something, and is within the normal fluctuation range, but seriously, ONE bowl of Cheerios undercuts two weeks of almost nothing but celery and carrots? That ain’t fair!

Only one Coca Cola today… but I’m not running. I’m going through a what’s-the-effing-point pouting phase.

DAY LXXVIII

Walk-jogged 12 km today, at an average pace of 7:30/km.

Sadly, I didn’t do as well avoiding Coca Cola, downing three and a half large glasses of the stuff while working on shuffling boxes around the house today. I get annoyed and depressed while shifting stuff around, as well as hot and thirsty, so there was a double reason for the cola.

Before and after photos of one of the rooms in the house:

Guest Room – Normal Appearance

Guest Room – Decluttered

And a bonus view of the lanai (porch or covered deck) at sunset this evening:

Sunset Lanai

DAY LXXVII

Back to it: only one glass of Coca Cola today; celery with peanut butter for lunch; jog-walked 22 kilometers, including a loop up Long Road (Mokuleia Access Road) from the bottom to the Peacock Flats campground gate. Average pace: 9 minutes per kilometer.

I made the mistake of looking at a couple of running blogs this afternoon. Nine minutes is the easy pace at which slow runners run a mile. Slow girl runners! My nine minute per kilometer pace is equivalent to 14:30/mile, or walking pace.

Here’s a fun* running blog: My Endless Summer: Adventures, Marathon Training, and Good Eats while Island Living. Yeah, it’s another blog by a gorgeous girl who bombs ultras like they’re nothing.

*Or, “discouraging,” when I consider my waddling fat-guy efforts.

DAY LXXVI: Triple Cheat Day

When I’m on a “healthy eating & exercise” program, I generally set aside one evening a week, usually Friday, as “Cheat Night,” meaning I can eat whatever I want without guilt or repercussions during a set period. I limit myself to a time block, because I could, and would, very seriously abuse an entire “cheat day.” I like to set 8pm until midnight as my “Cheat Night,” which usually consists of some sort of serious concoction of ice cream, cookies, candy, and basically anything resembling chocolate or sugar. Then I sit down in front of the TV and watch old “B” noir or sci-fi movies from the 1950s. It’s awesome. The next morning I go for an extra-long run or walk.

Today, though, I kind of started early. As in, at lunch time, with an extra Coca Cola. You see, I was stuck in a work-related “training” all day today, sitting in an alternately freezing cold or stuffy and hot conference room being bored out of my mind and feeling irritable and annoyed by my not-so-professional peers. I mean, c’mon, people, can you just shut up already and politely listen to the presentation? It got so noisy the last half of the day with all the “side-bar conversations” and people messing around on their phones that I could barely hear parts of what the speaker was saying. And it just so happened that the last part of the day was the “important part” we were supposedly there to learn. Ah, but I digress. In short, I resorted to Coca Cola to keep me going through the day, and then, on the way home, I drove through the drive-up window at McDonald’s and picked up two double-cheeseburgers and a small fry, which I devoured at home along with yet another Coke.

And boy, did it taste good! And that supposedly unhealthy meal dramatically improved my mood and my general sense of well-being. Most of my frustration and despair evaporated. I say “most” because I’m feeling a little bit badly about not running now for two days.

But it’s the weekend! I can sleep in tomorrow morning. Then I will run. Or walk-jog. I’ll go further than I have been. No, it won’t entirely make up for the higher-calorie, lower-quality food or for the two days of not exercising. But I’m not giving up. And unlike previous times I’ve “fallen off the wagon,” I’m not going to let one blown day totally derail my efforts.

Oh, as for “Triple Cheat,” yeah, one was the extra Coca Cola; two was the McD’s; three will be the “regularly scheduled Cheat Night” ice cream and chocolate feast later this evening.

For now, I’m going to take a nap.

DAY LXXV

Thursday. “Weigh-in” day. 14 stone 5 pounds.
Another “only one Coca Cola” day.
Really tired after work. Feel badly about not running, but I don’t want to get sick. Even though I’ve been trying to get at least nine hours of sleep each night this week, I’m dragging. Taking an afternoon off from running. Three-day weekend coming up, so I should be able to make up the distance over the next few days.

DAY LXXIV

Wednesday. The middle of the week. As is typical, I’m dragging.

Did not feel like running after work. Went anyway. So far, I’d like to think I’m refusing to allow that stupid job to drag me down and wear me out. If I want to wear myself out by jogging, fine. If I want to feel dragged out because of cutting out Coca Cola and junk food, fine. But that job… it isn’t worth it.

So yeah, I jog-walked, twelve kilometers today. I was so annoyed with myself for feeling so tired and crappy I pushed myself to feel even more tired and more crappy. Somehow, my average pace, according to the Nike+ Sportwatch, was 7:34 / km.

Only one Coca Cola today.

DAY LXXIII

Tuesday. Managed to jog/walk yet again after work, 10k, 7:47/km

Only one glass of Coca Cola.

What’s it been, only three days? Feels like forever. I am really dragging.

I see there’s a new video post up at Steve Roy’s SingleDadFitDad blog that kind of addresses why I’ve spent these last four days being tired and irritable… errr… I mean, why I’m trying to jump-start healthier habits and trying to lose weight… again.

DAY LXXI

Jogged/walked 10 kilometers. Average pace, about 8:17 (slower than yesterday).

Successfully limited myself to a single cup of Coca Cola.

Working toward a mostly-Paleo eating plan. I’m eating “normal” dinners, although avoiding breads as much as possible. During the day I’m avoiding added sugar products, most processed grains, and most pre-prepared foods. Essentially I’m trying to eat only vegetables and fruits and a bit of peanut butter or a few peanuts during the day. I know peanuts are frowned upon in full-on Paleo circles, but I don’t quite understand that. Lots of nutrition in a small quantity, and a small handful of peanuts is a great appetite, and more importantly, a great craving, suppressant.