Trying to keep up with this blog, my main one, & my SparkPeople one is getting tedious, so time to consolidate a bit! From now on, you can find all my entries at my main blog: When Cats Attack!
There are other non weight-loss related entries there, but you can look in the categories for "Chasing 150" and you'll find only the weight-loss ones:
When Cats Attack
Friday, August 13, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Calories! Oy!
I know I said last week's small loss didn't bother me, but something's been on my mind for a few days. Actually, more like a few weeks. The more I think about it, the more I realize it's not the small weight loss or previous losses that get to me. It's the constant fatigue that I hate so much.
One of the main reasons I started this change was for my health & energy levels. I suffered from high levels of fatigue, so crippling I couldn't do more than the bare minimum chores around the house. And after the first few weeks of exercise, calorie & carb adjustments, I did find that energy. I was almost bouncy, which is unheard of for me. I felt good mentally and physically.
I don't know when exactly this went away. Looking back, I suspect the energy rush only lasted 2-4 weeks at most. After that point, I've gradually been feeling more and more fatigued.
Some of it is major amounts of stress. Major financial issues, college, switching around schedules & having less rest time. My therapist is not surprised that I am so fatigued based on the stress level I'm dealing with right now.
But it's been something more than that. I can feel it. But when I was dropping weight quickly, I was able to push through the exhaustion, because I was meeting at least one of my goals. But now I'm not losing weight AND I feel like crap. I've got to have at least one ;) Actually, the ideal is both, based on the success stories I've seen at Fitday, SparkPeople, and 3 Fat Chicks, that is an attainable goal. You don't have to be miserable to lose weight.
So we're going to try upping the calorie intake. I know, AGAIN. But SparkPeople's recommendations have been scolding me for weeks that I need to eat more calories to sustain the huge amounts of exercise I'm doing. I've been ignoring it, but it looks like I've been going through a wonky weight loss since I started adding more exercise without upping the calories. Based on what I've seen from other people warning about this & based on how I feel, I worry that my body is trying to hold onto whatever fat & energy it has because I'm not fueling it with enough calories.
So I'm going to follow SP's recommendations of 1820-2120 calories a day, staying on the lower end on low activity days & higher end on big workout days. I've also dropped down my calorie burn to 4000 a week, and I'm going to try to stick to that and not blow by it like I have been, logging 5000 calories or more burned each week. It means cutting out a little bit of exercise, but I think it's worth it. I want to exercise & enjoy it & be healthy, but there's no point in killing myself with exercise and not having energy to do more with my family & around the house.
Plus, I've got to create a do-able exercise schedule that I can continue with when I start school on the 30th. I'm not going to be able to work out 7 days a week, or probably even 6...so now is the time to make sure I have a good 5 day a week routine.
I'm not going to stress if my Monday weigh-in shows bad results. I know it's going to take a week or two for my body to readjust. And this will probably mean that I will have a more "average loss" of a pound or two a week. But you know, if I feel great, am eating right & exercising, then I can be patient.
One of the main reasons I started this change was for my health & energy levels. I suffered from high levels of fatigue, so crippling I couldn't do more than the bare minimum chores around the house. And after the first few weeks of exercise, calorie & carb adjustments, I did find that energy. I was almost bouncy, which is unheard of for me. I felt good mentally and physically.
I don't know when exactly this went away. Looking back, I suspect the energy rush only lasted 2-4 weeks at most. After that point, I've gradually been feeling more and more fatigued.
Some of it is major amounts of stress. Major financial issues, college, switching around schedules & having less rest time. My therapist is not surprised that I am so fatigued based on the stress level I'm dealing with right now.
But it's been something more than that. I can feel it. But when I was dropping weight quickly, I was able to push through the exhaustion, because I was meeting at least one of my goals. But now I'm not losing weight AND I feel like crap. I've got to have at least one ;) Actually, the ideal is both, based on the success stories I've seen at Fitday, SparkPeople, and 3 Fat Chicks, that is an attainable goal. You don't have to be miserable to lose weight.
So we're going to try upping the calorie intake. I know, AGAIN. But SparkPeople's recommendations have been scolding me for weeks that I need to eat more calories to sustain the huge amounts of exercise I'm doing. I've been ignoring it, but it looks like I've been going through a wonky weight loss since I started adding more exercise without upping the calories. Based on what I've seen from other people warning about this & based on how I feel, I worry that my body is trying to hold onto whatever fat & energy it has because I'm not fueling it with enough calories.
So I'm going to follow SP's recommendations of 1820-2120 calories a day, staying on the lower end on low activity days & higher end on big workout days. I've also dropped down my calorie burn to 4000 a week, and I'm going to try to stick to that and not blow by it like I have been, logging 5000 calories or more burned each week. It means cutting out a little bit of exercise, but I think it's worth it. I want to exercise & enjoy it & be healthy, but there's no point in killing myself with exercise and not having energy to do more with my family & around the house.
Plus, I've got to create a do-able exercise schedule that I can continue with when I start school on the 30th. I'm not going to be able to work out 7 days a week, or probably even 6...so now is the time to make sure I have a good 5 day a week routine.
I'm not going to stress if my Monday weigh-in shows bad results. I know it's going to take a week or two for my body to readjust. And this will probably mean that I will have a more "average loss" of a pound or two a week. But you know, if I feel great, am eating right & exercising, then I can be patient.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Monday Weigh-In & Thoughts - August 9th Edition
I didn't do much differently this past week than I did the week before, but there was a little less sleep, a little more stress, a few more carbs & one missed exercise day on the treadmill. So I suppose this shows the importance of getting a full night's rest & the impact stress has on weight loss.
But I still feel accomplished, because the scale is not bothering me at all this time. Last week was exhausting for me. The husband actually worked 4 nights, which meant that I was up and moving from 6:30am to 9pm every day, Mon-Fri. I was super tired and exercise was an effort.
Some nice inch loss on measurements, though I'm puzzled by the half-inch gain in the waist & hips. Muscle, perhaps? My clothes are starting to look pretty loose, which is exciting. So is the inch loss on my thigh. My thighs have been the bane of my existence even at my skinniest, so any loss there makes me happy :)
Food - My goal was 1,590 - 1,790 calories a day. I think there was one day that I didn't hit that goal, but I was only over by 100 calories. I did notice that most of my days were in the 1700s, which was a little higher than the previous week.
I was also too focused on carb percentages than carb amounts. While I was hitting my carb percentages, I went way higher with grams, most days over 230.
Exercise - 2 days of 45mins on the treadmill, 6.5 incline, more 2.5mph than 2. Skipped Monday due to exhaustion, but made up for it on Friday when I went 15 minutes straight at 2.5mph.
Strength training & Yoga 3 days out of the week, and my Tae-Bo tape 1 day. And 28 laps in the pool on Saturday with a boost in speed to try to add some intensity.
Mood & Energy - Another blah week. I was exhausted most of the week, and had to take a nap Sunday. Stressed over all the same old things...money, school, new dog, etc. It was a real effort to exercise this past week.
Upcoming week: Try to pull my calorie intake down to see more 1500-1600 days, with a little more zig-zagging of calorie intake. Also reduce number of carbs to less than 220. Treadmill exercise is getting ramped up, a 7% incline going at 2.5mph for at least 35 minutes. Will also push to do more daily walks at work & endure the heat. Will push a little harder during Saturday's lap swim.
This morning was a good morning. I got my treadmill exercise in and feel pretty good. Am hopeful this week will be better than the last.
Upcoming Week
Calorie range: 1500-1800
Treadmill (with 7% incline) @ 2.5mph - 3x a week, 35mins
Tae-bo/Yoga videos - 2x a week, 50 min (also 30 min Yoga on Sunday)
Energizing Yoga - 3x a week, 20 mins
Calisthenics - 3x a week, 2 sets of 15
Swimming - 1x a week, 32 laps total = 6 breast stroke, 6 paddleboard, 10 crawl, 10 backstroke
Monday, August 2, 2010
Monday Weigh-In & Thoughts - August 2nd Edition
So it looks like my body just needed to readjust a bit. I blew out the expected loss of 1.5lbs with an almost 4lb loss for the week. Only 6.2 more lbs until my 2nd mini-goal is met! (losing 25lbs)
Almost every day I stepped on the scale this week, I was down. Even my "monthly visitor" didn't cause any gains due to water retention. I'm hopeful that the new BC pills are making a difference, and so far I'm seeing great results.
I've averaged a 2.6lb/week loss so far. I'm sure this will slow down greatly as more weight comes off. But I'm going to enjoy the ride while I can!
Food - My goal was 1,590 - 1,790 calories a day. With the exception of Monday & Friday, I did really well with my goal. I also made an effort to push my carbs closer to 55%, protein 25-30%, and fats 15-20% (similar to when I first started this) and I feel a LOT better. Current calories & ratios = good results. So this week? More of the same.
Exercise - 3 days of 45mins on the treadmill, 6.5 incline, more 2.5mph than 2. Got good & sweaty with this, but it didn't kill me, which is apparently right where I need to be.
I took Thursday off of it because I was exhausted. But I did do some strength training & Yoga 3 days out of the week, and my Tae-Bo tape 1 day. And 24 laps in the pool (we managed to scrounge the money to go).
This week? Will probably stick with the same exercise schedule, with a little tweak since I didn't work out this morning (stayed up too late last night). I've also been using work breaks for walks, shooting baskets, & playing Wii Sports, so that's squeezing in a little more activity time.
Mood & Energy - Mood isn't great. The monthly visitor didn't pack as much of a wallop as she normally does, and I think that's due to the Sprintec. But our dismal finances are making it hard to keep my spirits up. We need Adam to work 2 days a week to make it on our plan, and he's not even getting that right now. Energy is OK. If I was in a better mood, I think the energy would pump up a little.
Upcoming week: Try to keep a similar schedule as last week & see if I can see another good loss on the scale.
Calorie range: 1600-1800
Treadmill (with 6.5% incline) @ 2.5/2mph intervals - 2x a week,60 mins
Tae-bo/Yoga videos - 2x a week, 50 min (also 30 min Yoga on Sunday)
Energizing Yoga - 3x a week, 20 mins
Calisthenics - 3x a week, 2 sets of 15
Swimming - 1x a week, 4 sets of 8 ( 2 each freestyle,backstroke,breast stroke, and paddleboard)
Saturday, July 31, 2010
August: Moving from Broke to Poor
In the ongoing saga that is our financial state, Adam's new "full-time" job is only working him 1-2 days a week, and now something's happened to unemployment and it's not covering what we're missing in paychecks.
Adam called the unemployment office, but due to "high volume" it could be 2-3 weeks before they call him back.
So we are faced with the situation I dreaded: a month of trying to get by on my paychecks alone. My hope is that my financial aid refund hits our account by the end of August. If it doesn't, I don't know what we'll do, and I can't worry about that right now. I just have to think about the next 4 weeks.
So bills are being pushed off to the last minute. I might even have to use the credit card for one, which would max it back out again, but it's better than having my lights shut off. I'm working from home 1 day a week to save gas. I might even bunk with a friend in Nashville a few times to save gas as well.
Our grocery money is bare bones. It's so bare bones I'm going to attempt to make my own tortilla wheat wraps & Greek Yogurt. I'll let you know how it turns out.
But with all those changes (& some long prayers), we should make it. It's not going to be pretty, but as long as I have God & a plan, I can get through it.
So swimming money was kind of out of the question this week. But Spidey was with us for the weekend, and we had already promised him we'd go swimming. When Adam tried to explain we didn't have the money, Spidey wanted to use his piggy bank money. That really made me sad & determined to find the few dollars needed to swim.
So we went swimming this morning & had a good time.I also made it to the library to swap out my Yoga DVD with another one & a walking DVD. Then I got home & crashed for a 3-hour nap, and I feel a LOT better.
In other news, nothing exciting is going on (and I'm kind of grateful for that). Adam's still trying to find a part-time job for when college starts in 4 weeks (he'll be working a little more than he is now, plus he'll actually know what hours he is working before he gets there each night).
Spidey starts 1st grade next week. He'll meet his teacher on Wednesday & the first full day is Friday (weird, right?). I'm nervous about how he will adjust to the more rigid classroom & slightly longer day. He's been doing really well lately. He's been behaving himself at the babysitter's, and he's really enjoying playing the Wii with me as a reward for good behavior.
And school for me starts in 4 weeks. I'm a little nervous about it. I'm not looking forward to the crazy schedule I'm going to have Sept-Dec. There are going to be some long days. I've also got to push through some of my therapy work before school starts, because I'll have to cut down my visits with my therapist to accomodate classes.
Adam called the unemployment office, but due to "high volume" it could be 2-3 weeks before they call him back.
So we are faced with the situation I dreaded: a month of trying to get by on my paychecks alone. My hope is that my financial aid refund hits our account by the end of August. If it doesn't, I don't know what we'll do, and I can't worry about that right now. I just have to think about the next 4 weeks.
So bills are being pushed off to the last minute. I might even have to use the credit card for one, which would max it back out again, but it's better than having my lights shut off. I'm working from home 1 day a week to save gas. I might even bunk with a friend in Nashville a few times to save gas as well.
Our grocery money is bare bones. It's so bare bones I'm going to attempt to make my own tortilla wheat wraps & Greek Yogurt. I'll let you know how it turns out.
But with all those changes (& some long prayers), we should make it. It's not going to be pretty, but as long as I have God & a plan, I can get through it.
So swimming money was kind of out of the question this week. But Spidey was with us for the weekend, and we had already promised him we'd go swimming. When Adam tried to explain we didn't have the money, Spidey wanted to use his piggy bank money. That really made me sad & determined to find the few dollars needed to swim.
So we went swimming this morning & had a good time.I also made it to the library to swap out my Yoga DVD with another one & a walking DVD. Then I got home & crashed for a 3-hour nap, and I feel a LOT better.
In other news, nothing exciting is going on (and I'm kind of grateful for that). Adam's still trying to find a part-time job for when college starts in 4 weeks (he'll be working a little more than he is now, plus he'll actually know what hours he is working before he gets there each night).
Spidey starts 1st grade next week. He'll meet his teacher on Wednesday & the first full day is Friday (weird, right?). I'm nervous about how he will adjust to the more rigid classroom & slightly longer day. He's been doing really well lately. He's been behaving himself at the babysitter's, and he's really enjoying playing the Wii with me as a reward for good behavior.
And school for me starts in 4 weeks. I'm a little nervous about it. I'm not looking forward to the crazy schedule I'm going to have Sept-Dec. There are going to be some long days. I've also got to push through some of my therapy work before school starts, because I'll have to cut down my visits with my therapist to accomodate classes.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
6 Weeks? I can't believe it!
I've been riding this train for 6 weeks now.
I'm a queen procrastinator & known for my ability to not stick with anything longer than two weeks. New hobbies, interests, and food/exercise changes are the worst offenders.
Since college, I've made some effort to lose weight, but as soon as life got tough and I got stressed, the new lifestyle high-tailed it and I indulged in what I like to call "cupcake therapy". And I had no desire to pick things up & start again. I'd give up. And this usually happened over the course of...you guessed it, 2 weeks.
But this time, I'm still going strong at 6 WEEKS. I haven't been a saint or anything during this time. A dipped Dairy Queen cone, some Cocoa Pebbles, quite a few servings of mashed potatoes, Wallaby Darneds from Outback, and a few sodas are the immediate items that come to mind. There's also been stress...my husband's continuing unemployment and housework saga, ex-wives, work, school.
The amazing thing about it all is that I didn't indulge in the sugary foods BECAUSE of the stress. I had them because I wanted to. And even more importantly, I had them in moderation.
Therapy is a beautiful thing when you find the RIGHT therapist & you listen to them :) When I'm anxious or scared or angry or sad, I pull out my notebook instead of junk food and I write.
I feel like things are changing in my life. So many cool things are on the horizon, but I've got to work to get there.
I suspect that some of the tiredness I'm experiencing is coming from my carb ratio. If I keep my carbs closer to 55%, I feel better, but 50% or lower and I have a real dip in energy. I spread them out through the day, and they are not processed carbs, so I know that's not it. I'm insulin resistant, so you would think the less carbs the better, right?
Still, 55% is a good ratio compared to the 70-80% carbs I was eating before I was diagnosed with IR. It looks like the weight is still coming off, and I have a lot more energy & better moods than I did 6 weeks ago.
I'm a queen procrastinator & known for my ability to not stick with anything longer than two weeks. New hobbies, interests, and food/exercise changes are the worst offenders.
Since college, I've made some effort to lose weight, but as soon as life got tough and I got stressed, the new lifestyle high-tailed it and I indulged in what I like to call "cupcake therapy". And I had no desire to pick things up & start again. I'd give up. And this usually happened over the course of...you guessed it, 2 weeks.
But this time, I'm still going strong at 6 WEEKS. I haven't been a saint or anything during this time. A dipped Dairy Queen cone, some Cocoa Pebbles, quite a few servings of mashed potatoes, Wallaby Darneds from Outback, and a few sodas are the immediate items that come to mind. There's also been stress...my husband's continuing unemployment and housework saga, ex-wives, work, school.
The amazing thing about it all is that I didn't indulge in the sugary foods BECAUSE of the stress. I had them because I wanted to. And even more importantly, I had them in moderation.
Therapy is a beautiful thing when you find the RIGHT therapist & you listen to them :) When I'm anxious or scared or angry or sad, I pull out my notebook instead of junk food and I write.
I feel like things are changing in my life. So many cool things are on the horizon, but I've got to work to get there.
I suspect that some of the tiredness I'm experiencing is coming from my carb ratio. If I keep my carbs closer to 55%, I feel better, but 50% or lower and I have a real dip in energy. I spread them out through the day, and they are not processed carbs, so I know that's not it. I'm insulin resistant, so you would think the less carbs the better, right?
Still, 55% is a good ratio compared to the 70-80% carbs I was eating before I was diagnosed with IR. It looks like the weight is still coming off, and I have a lot more energy & better moods than I did 6 weeks ago.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday Weigh-In & Thoughts - July 26th Edition
So this week's weight is definitely better. I'd still like to see a few more ounces lost, maybe settling around a 1.5, 1.6lb a week average loss, but any loss is always cause for celebration.
But holy inch-loss Batman! 7.5 inches in 2 WEEKS, with a total 15.5 inches lost in a month! Now THAT makes me happy.
People are starting to notice the weight loss. My pants feel looser. My belly no longer pooches out my shirt, the shirts just hang loosely :)
Food - Based on SparkPeople's assessment with an average cardio of 45 mins a day, 6 days a week, I should be consuming a caloric range of 1,590 - 1,940 a day. My past 7-day calorie range has been mostly mid- to higher levels with that range, which could explain why I didn't lose a little more.
So upping my calories? Did help, but I need to tweak a bit more to see the results I want.
Exercise - Upped the treadmill workout to 45 minutes, and switched up my intervals so I'm doing more at 2.5mph than I am at 2mph. Now I'm sweating like I did when I first started this party.
I started a Yoga DVD. In just 3 rounds of the full workout, I can see results with better balance and slightly more flexibility. The Yoga lady is a little New-Agey though, talking about third-eyes and heart space, which is a little disturbing.
Hey, I'm not judging, if that's what keeps you sane & gives you peace, then you're better off than most of the people in this world. But that's just not my thing, and it's really hard to focus rolling around on the floor with her when she sounds like she's high on something.
I was supposed to do 36 laps during Saturday's swim, but I stopped at 24. I wanted to spend a half-hour goofing around in the pool instead of being focused on laps. Sure, I want to lose weight, but I also want to have fun while doing it, and if all I do is focus on laps all the time, I'm going to get bored with it. And I can burn a lot of calories treading water!
Mood & Energy - So I figured out where the lack of energy was coming from. I upped my calories this past week and I had energy to spare. It was hard to sit still for long periods of time. I even spent some of the weekend cleaning. Usually my weekends are spent on the couch catching up on seasons of Rescue Me on Netflix.
The mood is OK. I'm not super-duper happy, but I'm OK. There are still some stressors going on. I'm writing some hard letters in therapy. Adam's new job keeps having to send him home because there's no work for him, and I'm worried about how that affects his unemployment. School for Spidey starts in a week, and school for Adam & I starts in about a month.
Upcoming week:
This is the TOM week for me, so I'm not looking forward to the water-weight gain later this week or the moodiness. Just need to push on through & not give in too much to carb cravings, or I'll feel even worse.
Calories: 1,590 - 1,790 (lets aim for the lower half of the range SparkPeople is giving me & see what happens)
Treadmill: 45 mins 3 days (M,W,F)
Week of 7/26: 6.5 incline, 3mins @ 2.5mph & 2 mins @ 2mph intervals
Old Tae-Bo tape/Yoga DVD combo: 50 mins 2 days (Tu,Th - Yoga also on Sun)
Week of 7/26: Beginner
Swimming: 2 hours 1 day (Sat)
Week of 7/26: 32 laps, 4 sets of 8 (2 freestyle/crawl, 2 backstroke, 2 breast stroke, 2 paddleboard)
Resistance Training: 30 mins 2 days (Sun, Th)
Situps, Push-ups, Leg Lifts, Lunges, Chair pull-ups, Skater squats, Bridges, Arm exercises with 2lb weights
Week of 7/26: 2 sets 15
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