really? Really? REALLY? sigh...really

yesterday marked the beginning of the sixth week of my 10k training regimen.  I have been nearly slavishly devoted to the schedule...except I've been doing a teensy bit more than required for the long runs (I'm up to 5.4 miles in roughly one hour!).

I've been making great progress with the running, but terrible progress with weight loss.  I have not lost one single pound since the beginning of the 10k training!  I'm not exaggerating or anything. the scale has been stuck. no weight gain, no weight loss.  so now what?

well, Heather says go radical.  that means that I have to cut down on calories. ugh. it's going to be hard.  I'm at 1500 per day now, which means that the next step is 1200 per day.  smaller meals...sniffle sniffle...no beer (not that I've been too indulgent, but I did have three beers this weekend)...or if drinking no eating (HARD!).

OK, that's the plan.  we'll see how it goes.

quote of the day



quote from david lebovitz at davidlebovitz.com



in lieu of having class

best thing to do with an ipad: string various 10-minute fitsugar classes together into a decent strength workout. yesterday, I went to the gym and worked out in the class room to 3x10 minute classes. I wanted to get at least 5 of them in, but chatting and husband conspired to cut the workout short. still, it was a worthwhile effort, and all in all, it's the next best thing to having an actual teacher in the room. besides, you can mix and match the segments that appeal to you, and you have someone to call out the timing and reps. so, if you're like me and need external discipline for non-cardio workouts, try the "tablet" method. here are the three I did yesterday (in order):







if you try it, let me know what you think! or tell me which ones you liked.

if you can't view the videos from my page, go to the fitness video page of fitsugar.com and look for the following workouts: (1) Victoria's Secret Model Workout: 10-Minute Fat-Blasting Circuit, (2) Get a Calorie Burning Workout With This Yoga Flow Series, & (3) 10-Minute Bikini Body Workout

carbs carbs carbs - I lurv carbs

have I mentioned that I tried the infamous nearly zero carbs diet for a few weeks? it (surprisingly) wasn't a disaster, and actually helped me to lose about ten pounds without cutting calories and without wanting to kill anyone. I was pretty liberal with the fats - as in, sure, I'll eat that slim jim (yes, I did).

the oddest side affect of the diet was that I couldn't stop myself from having KFC extra crispy. my friend, Heather, set me off by reminding me that KFC existed, and once that happened, it was all over. a couple of months later, I was at the drive through buying 8 pieces...I didn't wolf them all down at once, or anything as sordid as that, but I certainly ate a few of the pieces throughout the week.  they were SO GOOD, obviously not zero carb due to breading, but if you're judicious about it, you can still eat low carb and lose weight while incorporating fried chicken into your diet (hm, maybe I can publish the fried chicken diet).

finger lickin' good, y'all

I'm over it now, thank goodness (ask me about McDonald's and pregnancy #2 sometime)...

I'm also over the low carb diet. it stopped working after that initial ten pounds. I suspect that the lack of sustained efficacy had something to do with the fact that it was impossible for me to cut the fatty things out and still feel OK with eating so few carbs. to actually begin moderating my caloric intake, I added carbs back in so that I'd feel happier - rice is AWESOME (stay tuned for the bi bim bop diet). I'm not sure that running and low carb go together. vegetarian and low carb is really hard. vegan and low carb is nearly impossible. not that I'm either or those, but I am trying to be more conscious of how much meat I consume.

even still, it's really annoying that body chemistry has to be so complicated. why do I have to trick my body into using fat as energy? if my body has so little intention of using fat for fuel, then why is it so good at turning food into fat and packing it away? I'm not a hoarder and it bothers me that my body is. I swear that my body is utterly determined to keep as many calories as it can. take my pregnancies as evidence: I've had two children and have not gone into labor once. why is that? well, obviously because my body was intent upon resorbing those nutrients and energy! I rest my case.

pre mortem

this is where I am with my life: I have created a detailed eating schedule. and now you likely understand the title of this blog. there are two versions of the schedule; one version is for when I can work out at noon, the other version is for when I can't. weekends are flexible, but believe me, my brain still does the accounting, even if I let myself have cheats.

"the schedule" version 1 - workout at noon
8:30am breakfast = not to exceed 200 calories
10 - 10:30am snack = not to exceed 100 calories
11:30am snack = not to exceed 100 calories.  must be mixture of simple carb & protein
1:15-1:30pm lunch = not to exceed 400 calories
3pm snack = not to exceed 100 calories
4:30 - 5:30pm snack = not to exceed 100 calories
6-6:30pm dinner = not to exceed 400 calories
8pm if I must = not to exceed 100 calories
Grand Total = 1500 calories

"the schedule" version 2 - eat at noon
8:30am breakfast = not to exceed 200 calories
10am snack = not to exceed 100 calories
11am snack = not to exceed 100 calories
12pm lunch = not to exceed 400 calories
2-3pm snack = not to exceed 100 calories
4:30pm snack = not to exceed 100 calories. must be mixture of simple carb & protein
6-6:30pm dinner = not to exceed 400 calories
8pm if I must = not to exceed 100 calories
Grand Total = 1500 calories

so far, it's working for me, which means that I'm not cheating or unduly crabby.  it's only been a few days, but I swear that my pants are fitting a teensy bit better.

cheery birthday gumballs

plus, I'm in week 4 of my 10K training plan (on the page, the 10K plan is below 5K plan), which mandates working out 6 days per week. I have actually started looking forward to my Sunday long runs, which is surprising. last week I ran a little over 4 miles - without stopping! sure, they were 12 minute miles, but it was still a huge victory to me. I'm a little anxious that I won't make it to 5 and 6 miles...I'd like to say that my goal for October is to run the 10K in an hour, but I have no idea whether or not I'll be able to do that. 3 weeks ago, I was thinking that I'd never be able to run for one hour, but I must say that just slowing down for the long run makes ALL the difference. for my shorter runs, I run at 6 - 7 mph, but mostly in intervals. I do my tempo runs at at least 6mph and my goal is to build up to as long as I can go at that speed at a 1 incline. I must say that I LOVE doing my non-long runs on the treadmill because it makes tempos and intervals so much easier to monitor.

bad iphone photo of yummy breakfast salad with arugula, beets, shaved parmesan, egg, and lemon white wine dressing

I'm also converting into a strength-training fanatic. I can actually tell that my runs get easier as my core gets stronger. sadly, this love of gaining strength does not translate into actual discipline. if I'm not in a class or following along on a video, I am likely to be daydreaming and crapping out on reps. oh well, thank goodness for online videos and free classes at the free gym.

negative splits

check out this short article on training techniques for runners. it's all good (I love running hills), except for the "negative split" suggestion.  I remember these practices from my days of cross country. I remember dry heaving and feeling like I might have collapsed a lung.

and yes, I cannot stop reading fitsugar. what can I say? I love magazines and blogs. and I also love celebrity fitness. it blends reading about exercising with reading us weekly. what's not to love about that? and who doesn't want a body like gwyneth paltrow and / or cameron diaz? so what if I have a thing for blonds? you wanna step? you got beef with me?

no, I didn't grow up in brooklyn, but I did once work with someone who did (bensonhurst).

it's twisted, but I love reading about running. when I was in high school, I used to read a magazine called ultra runner. I've never run more than 13 miles in a row, and I've never really wanted to, but it was still completely fascinating to read about people doing >50 mile runs. imagine having to carry toilet paper with you on a run.

blech, lunch sucked

I was a sucker, and I went for the cafeteria beef bourguignon.  I was thinking that I wanted something warm and yummy. instead of getting it over egg noodles, I had veggies on the side. it's a good thing my veggies were on the side because the beef substance was so gross that had it totally infected my veggies, I wouldn't have had any food to eat at all. ok, not exactly true, I did fish some beef and mushrooms out of the brown grease, but that was because I was starving, and I'd spent my lunch money on the most terrible choice ever. there you go, one big reason I'm bringing carbs back into my diet. had I not been trying to avoid them like the plague, I would have done something sensible, like gotten a barley and wild rice soup. sigh. I'd just seen the chart, below and remembered where beef was versus rice, and wa-bam, horrible lunch decision made. I couldn't tell from where I was standing that the brown stuff was mostly grease...

via thekitchn.com from massivehealth.com

so I'm in the third week of my 10K training. I love it. it gives me something to feel committed to, which has been a big boon to me in terms of motivation. I NEED motivation these days. yesterday was a cross-training day, today is a normal run day (that means running as quickly as possible and intervals - for me, as quickly as possible = 6 - 6.5 mph with a few walking breaks and incline between 1 and 2). my long run last Sunday was a happy one for me because I exceeded my goal of 30 continuous minutes. I went for 40 minutes and ran 12 minute miles, which for me is great (I followed Jeff Galloway's advice and went 2 minutes slower than regular runs - it works!). 

today I feel icky due to lunch and am really hoping the stitch in my side magically disappears by the time I get my sneakers on.  Max, I really hope I don't have your stomach bug!

c is for...

cookies, of course (and for cookie monster, duh), and now, for me, calories. I swear that since I started working out, I've gained weight. sigh, my friend, Katie (who has also signed up for the same 10K - I'll be running with team K8 if Kermit signs up too), says it could be water weight, but I don't know. I started a spreadsheet of calories consumed. I suppose we'll see...

inspired by Heather, I have started taking a walk every half hour at work (every twenty minutes would be a better interval, but corporate life demands compromises) - up three flights of stairs, then back down. there was a NY Times article that detailed the benefits of this type of conditioning, and it was convincing enough to persuade both of us to give it a go. Heather is also practicing her balance while watching TV and brushing her teeth.  I've given up TV (in exchange for sleep) so maybe I'll balance whilst cooking. 

this post was brought to you by the letter C, and the punctuation mark, the comma.