Monday, February 15, 2010

The number on the scale went down.

 When my midwife asked me in a follow up visit after having Jupiter almost eight years ago what weight I wanted to be, I said I was most comfortable at 145. Its a weight for me that is not stressful to maintain and thin enough to like what I see in the mirror, find clothes that fit, and not feel burdened by unnecessary baggage. I am blessed with pretty good genes in that I am tallish at 5'9" and carry my weight fairly evenly throughout my body with a small propensity to collect fat on my midsection.

  After 4 children and 10 years of babies and nursing, I am now at that 145 weight according to my early morning every couple of weeks weigh in. This is encouraging in and of itself but also the fact that its winter and I have not stress eaten myself into a bigger pants size makes me pleased with my hard work and also rather sorry for my bitchy "I want sweets and meat because I am hungry all the time" moments. Notice the plural on the word "moments". It has been a roller coaster ride of weight gains and loss over these ten years and now I think its can finally  be at a balance again.

  Now that I am calling myself a runner and taking my training more seriously I want to take it down to 135 give or take some muscle weight increase.  I don't want to lug around the extra poundage when I am running more and more miles.  The longer miles are definitely burning off the fat slowly but surely. Its amazing that adding some calories seems to boost my metabolism and I can move past that aggravating plateau. Weight loss is tricky. You have to cut calories and exercise more however you have to eat enough to  burn the fat and recover well from said exercise. Like I said, tricky and a tad bit frustrating at times as well.

  This last week has been another treadmill week.My week goes from Monday through Sunday.  I did 10.5 miles twice and 11 miles on Saturday for a total of 32 miles.  I wanted to run yesterday but spent some time with my Valentine instead which also burned some calories hehe!
 I was working on speed a few weeks ago although it was wreaking havoc on the bottoms of my feet from running barefoot on the treadmill.(running barefoot on the roads does not do this to me) I decided that I need to run regularly especially in the winter to stay sane and that working on distance with less risk of injury was a better strategy for now. The speed will come. Last year I was surprised over and over how the speed came without me really working on it as the distance continued to  increase.

  For now it seems to be paying off since my last run of 11 miles felt easy and I still felt like I could go for a few more miles. No blisters, minimal aches and  my easy runs are getting longer.  There will be plenty of time to get out and hit the trails and roads when it warms up but for now watching Lost or Ugly Betty on Hulu for hours while running in the basement is working just fine.

 This week will hopefully be the same as far as mileage goes and maybe I can increase to 35 if I stick in a lower mile day once a week too. Hopefully I will get in some yoga and get my slug self to work on that handstand and core work.  I have Px90 giving me the stink eye as it sits collecting dust on my desk.

 I feel like I am missing something nutritionally  in my diet and am going to start drinking a smoothie everyday again with fruit, kefir and Chia seeds and some kind of protein.  I don't know why I got out of the habit but a friends blog post about drinking a protein shake everyday reminded me that it was something that made me feel good in the morning.
 My SCOBYs seem to be in hibernation and not making very good kombucha due to the cooler temps. I miss my kombucha in the evenings and can't wait for hot weather when a batch  brews in a week!
 We are headed to the store shortly and I am going to pick up some bison meat for a soup recipe a friend gave me and some rosemary for gluten free crackers so I can spread butter and Marmite on them for a snack. Maybe some frozen berries and definitely bananas for those smoothies that will be added to my morning routine again.

Birthdays coming up and cake shopping is in order :)  Maybe a pineapple upside down cake can be done in a gluten free fashion....There has to be, its my favorite!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can only assume by the picture that you and your Valentine were out picking berries...

Ewa said...

I find that it is easier to lose weight once winter is over.
I have done some PX90 sessions and they are great. Too bad I don't do them often enough.

Unknown said...

You could put it that way!

Julie said...

Hi Angie,
I know how it feels to finally get to a weight that you personally are happy with. I myself have also had my share of ups and downs. You are one inch taller than me and I am pretty confident that if you keep running the weight will easily come off:) Also, you just had Jupiter eight months ago...trust me on this one..you will lose more in no time:) Awesome job Angie!! Happy Monday:)

Also, I have attmpted to leave Ewa comments and I don't think her blog is set up to receive comments yet. I feel bad for her she has a nice blog with several great posts...not one comment. I wish there was a way to let her know:)

Unknown said...

I can't post comments on Ewa's blog either. Hi there Ewa! I like your blog!!!

Julie, I had Jupiter 8 years ago however my youngest just turned 2. I gained more weight nursing the older 2 boys than I did the younger two. I think I was ready for the weight gain and worked on keeping it off with the younger spawn.
I have developed better stress coping mechanisms that keep me from eating so dang much and gaining weight! The miles sure do help for my complete well being!

shel said...

drink your shakes! doing great angie, keep at it!

Erin said...

So do you have any smoothie recipe's that you recommend? I've just finished my first week of the couch to 5K and so far so good! I have actually enjoyed it this week :)

Barefoot Nick said...

Hey Angie, way to keep those miles rolling in through these cold months!

I am wondering about the kefir as I have seen you mention it a number of times since making your acquaintance on runnerworlds last year.

I like it, but the brand I like is prohibitively expensive (only one I tried). Can you recommend something that does the taste as well as the economy trick?

Unknown said...

Keep it up Erin!! That is fantastic that you are liking it!
I think I would like to try adding hemp protein powder to my smoothies but for now I put mixed frozen berries, banana, kefir and chia seeds together. Its very tasty!

US, we make our own Kefir. We use skim milk, ( I get milk on WIC program still so for economical reasons we use regular milk instead of organic local milk) Anyways skim milk and kefir powder. I will post a blog about kefir with a photo in a bit.
THe kefir powder is mixed into the milk and you set it out until it gets thick. I like to go by smell. If it has that wonderful fresh sour smell like plain yogurt then it is done. It will ferment longer if left out.

You can buy kefir grains online or sometimes a friend can give you some but they do take a little more work to keep alive and feed them properly. I really enjoyed mine while I was able to keep from killing them! I will post more about that too!
Making your own Kefir is cheaper and tastes much better in my opinion and you can add anything to it that you want.

Barefoot Nick said...

Angie,

Sounds fascinating! Can't wait to read about it.

misszippy said...

You go! I always pack on extra pounds at this time of the year...I just eat too much when I am shut up indoors. So I am impressed by anyone who can take it off/maintain weight in the winter.

Sherri said...

You sound like incredible mother! I am very impressed with your blog! =)

Marny said...

Wow! I'm so glad I found your blog. I'm trying to go barefoot and haven't met any barefoot women thus far. It looks like we have a lot in common. You're doing great in the weight loss journey. I always gain weight in the wintertime...it's just too easy!

Unknown said...

I am happy at my weight which I have held for over 1 year. But I would really like to shed 10 before Marathon day.

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