Running
Well… been meaning to post this for a few weeks, but wanted to make sure I was REALLY on the right track. I think I am. But I need your help… I think maybe if I post here and let the “world” know then I will be more likely to stay on top of this.
So many of you know that in 2004-2005 or so I was doing Weight Watchers and I ended up losing a whopping 40 lbs! Yay me…
However by the end of 2006 and starting 2007 I stopped counting points and for a while I pretty much kept it off, but by the time I started Rose Petal Betty in full force my mind was consumed by that and I let other things slide.. like paying close attention to what I was eating.
By the end of 2008 I had gained 26 of that back. Blech, blech, blech.
In November 2008 I realized that I was going to be one of those people who gained all their weight and then some back if I didn’t get my butt in gear. I started paying closer attention to what I was eating and I started exercising about 3 days a week.
I decided not to do WW again because I just don’t think that for me it is realistic that I will count points my whole life. I really wanted to make a life change not just a means to an end, which is how I looked at WW.
So by February I had only lost about 3 lbs and I was so frustrated. I knew something was going on because it was becoming soooo difficult to lose weight. I heard on a radio show about someone who was diagnosed with PCOS (poly-cystic ovarian syndrome) and I had all the symptoms of it. I went to the doctor and she said that there is no real test to determine if you have it, it’s kind of a process of elimination. And the only reason they really go through the process of elimination is for people who want to become pregnant (if you have pcos it is harder to conceive typically).
I’m for sure not trying to become pregnant, so I decided that it wasn’t worth really trying to get diagnosed. She just said they tell women to lose weight to help control it because the risk with people who have it is that they can more easily become diabetic. That scared me a bit.
Guess what the top symptoms are? Difficulty losing weight and carrying weight the upper half of your body… Hello Apple? Just like me. So I don’t know for 100% if I have PCOS but I have 15 of the 18 symptoms and I have all of the most common symptoms, so I’m just going on like I do.
So over the last couple of months I’ve been trying to read up on losing weight with pcos and I’ve recently discovered that those who are successful have to eat higher protein and lower carbs. This has been a real light switch for me. I was eating so many carbs, but keeping my calories down, so I didn’t understand why I wasn’t losing. I was eating fruit like a crazy person and whole wheat breads and sweet snacks like sherbet for dessert instead of ice cream, thinking that since I was keeping my calories at about 1200 to 1500 calories that I would lose weight.
Well… this is like a killer for someone like me. Keeps me nice and chubby! I was so happy to learn this, but it has been very difficult to adjust. I’ve only been trying to get more protein and less carbs for about a month and some days I slip and eat way to many carbs. I’m supposed to keep it at about 40% which seems like a lot but trust me it is hard, for a carb girl like me.
I also knew I would have to really step up the exercise. When I lost that 40 lbs on WW, I didn’t really exercise at all. I knew I wouldn’t be able to lose and keep anything off without working out this time. So in April I decided to start jogging… I know!! Crazy! I’ve NEVER jogged, never wanted to jog, never thought I would jog, but I now jog.
When I started I could only jog about .4 to .5 miles without stopping and walking, but I just kept trying. I’m ecstatic to report I jogged 2 miles today!! Without stopping once! Yay me again.
There are times when I’ve not done very well (like getting ready for the Funky Junk Show and right after it) where I’ve gone more than a week without jogging at all, but I’m just going to keep trying. In the past when I’ve done bad at eating or working out I’ve gone into a spiral and stopped altogether. But I’m determined that this is my new life, so even if I go a week or two and I only eat bread and cereal, I’m going to get back to focusing and start again.
The thought of having diabetes scares the bejeebers out of me. So now when I eat carbs without protein I feel differently than I use to. It would have never even occurred to me before, but now I realize what I’m doing and at least try and get some protein.
So in the last month I’ve lost 4 lbs, instead of 3 lbs in 4 months! This last weekend I ate WAY too much, but starting yesterday I just got back on the wagon without too much beating myself up like before.
It is what it is and this is life. I’ll get busy, I’ll go on vacation, I’ll eat too much with Karen… ☺ I’m not going to give that up, but when I can I’m going to jog and when I’m at home I’m going to pay attention to what I eat.
Most of all I’m going to TRY and not focus on the scale. This last 7-8 months has been torturous not losing much weight yet feeling like I was trying… But I think I’ve got some good new information and I plan on sticking to it!
So the reason to post all this is…. I need your help! ACK! I would love advice, things that worked or not worked for you any higher protein healthy recipes that you love. But now that it is “out there” maybe it will be just one more reason to not give up! Plus I know losing weight is a struggle that many of us have, so maybe I can give someone a reason to keep trying and going for it!
I'll probably always be an apple... but I'd love to be a smaller one someday!
Oh and when I'm in Oregon I'm going to get new running shoes... I'll go to a specialty store to get the right shoes for my feet. Hey...a girl has to be excited about running and all the positives of running... and new shoes always make me happy.
