Sunday, December 9, 2012

Decisions, decisions... and a nice surprise

I've gotten a few good runs in this week and feeling really good about that.  One great part of getting out there for a longer run is I get a big chunk of time to think (and talk to myself) (and talk to my dog).  My thoughts this week were running (no pun intended) along the lines of, "where am i with this whole dieting / weight loss thing?" and "what's next right now?" and "goal? what goal? better get on that."

I made a couple of decisions along the road.  First, gotta get through December.  Christmas cookies and holiday pies to bake, New Year's celebrations, a week of stress at work to close out the books for the year... recipe for disaster, right?  Better get used to the idea that I'll be up 3 or 4 pounds by the end of the month, right?  That way I won't feel the need to beat myself up about it.  Doesn't have to be that way.  The plan for the rest of the month is to stay right where I am:  maintain current weight for the next three weeks, then kick it into high gear in the first week of January.  Maybe not an aggressive decision, but I think it's a reasonable & attainable goal.

After setting my strategy for this month, I started wondering... what, exactly, has been happening recently.  It occurred to me I haven't been paying terribly close attention.  Mid-August through the end of October is the busiest time at work for me, lots of travelling, lots of late nights, 8pm-pizzas at the office, working till 10 or 11pm in a hotel room, very stressful.  It's a great excuse to eat way too much fast food, McDonald's for breakfast, second helpings at dinner, an extra cookie here & there... well, you get the idea.  With the travelling especially, it's difficult to get any exercise in, and so hard to eat right.

No need to wonder, of course!  I log all weigh-ins, food and exercise on my LoseIt app, and took a look at a chart of my weigh-ins over the past few months.  It turns out, I've pretty much been in Maintenance Mode since early September.  Up and down the same few pounds through all that mess at work, even through our (much-deserved) Mexico vacation and Thanksgiving, but I haven't gained or lost really over all.

[I have this great chart I exported from LoseIt, but I can't find a way to paste it in here...]

Today's weigh-in brought a welcome surprise   down 0.8 lbs... the first "real" loss since September!  Lost a "new" pound, so great news!

I said I've made a couple of decisions... well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration.  I've been thinking more and more about when I'll be ready to take on the challenge of a half-marathon.  I feel like I need to get a couple more 10k's under my belt, but the training runs for a half wouldn't be all that much longer than the training runs I did for my last 10k.  It's starting to feel... well, not "possible" yet, not "do-able", but... "not outrageous".  I'm also thinking hard about participating in a Marathon Relay - 1/4 of a marathon is right up my alley, I just need 3 people to join in the fun and train with.

So that's where I'm at right now... ready for another week of work, and hitting the road for a few more miles this week with my trusty companion.

2 comments:

  1. It is difficult to eat on the road. Not to mention the exercise. I really only eat a couple of places when I'm hardcore and have to eat out. DQ chicken salad, McDonald southwest chicken salad and couple of Subway sandwiches. Those are all under 500 calories. That limited selection would get boring. But I eat the same thing everyday anyway. I'm also thinking about a marathon next spring. Started training this week. But I'm also 50 and worry if the body can take the punishment. I follow you on lose it so I'll be cheering you on.

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  2. Eat to live, don't live to eat, my mom always said, she even had it on her fridge. I used to eat boring, and weighed a lot less, & felt a lot better. you've changed a lot, and seem well-adjusted to those changes. Change On!

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