Yael452's Accountability Journal

1246710

Replies

  • Yael452
    Yael452 Posts: 82 Member
    edited June 2017
    blambo61 wrote: »
    How many miles/week running you getting in? What kind of pace are you running?

    I do about 30mpw, and I run anywhere between 8.00 min/mile and 9.30 min/mile. I used to be significantly faster ;)

    I'm still at it. I weighed on Thursday after my long run, still 158.9 and haven't had the guts to weight again because I was due my T.O.M (sorry, TMI!).
    I'm one of those unfortunate women who gain a fairly noticeable amount of water weight starting about 10 days before, and then there's usually some form of "whoosh" effect in the days after. It just sucks to weigh during that time because my weight can be completely out of whack and it is not always the most emotionally stable time for me to deal with it! Haha

    I went to a wedding on Saturday, we were part of the groom's party and invited to the three course lunch/dinner preceding the reception party (only a select number of guests were invited to this part). I had to deal with moving my eating window slightly earlier than normal, and broke my fast around 4:30 P.M. - so actually not too much earlier than normal. The starter was mini mozzerella balls with sliced tomato, the main was lamb shank with mashed potato, and the dessert was a platter of one mini lemon cheesecake, one mini brownie and a small berry tart (teeny tiny!). It was filling, but not too filling! My calories (through some guestimation) came in at around 1000 for the day.
    Unfortunately, due to it being my "T.O.M", I felt way more bloated and "full" than usual.

    I will do another weigh-in after my "whoosh". I think my new weigh-in day will be Thursdays after my longer run, it seems to work better than Sundays for some reason.
  • blambo61
    blambo61 Posts: 4,372 Member
    edited June 2017
    Yael452 wrote: »
    blambo61 wrote: »
    How many miles/week running you getting in? What kind of pace are you running?

    I do about 30mpw, and I run anywhere between 8.00 min/mile and 9.30 min/mile. I used to be significantly faster ;)

    I'm still at it. I weighed on Thursday after my long run, still 158.9 and haven't had the guts to weight again because I was due my T.O.M (sorry, TMI!).
    I'm one of those unfortunate women who gain a fairly noticeable amount of water weight starting about 10 days before, and then there's usually some form of "whoosh" effect in the days after. It just sucks to weigh during that time because my weight can be completely out of whack and it is not always the most emotionally stable time for me to deal with it! Haha

    I went to a wedding on Saturday, we were part of the groom's party and invited to the three course lunch/dinner preceding the reception party (only a select number of guests were invited to this part). I had to deal with moving my eating window slightly earlier than normal, and broke my fast around 4:30 P.M. - so actually not too much earlier than normal. The starter was mini mozzerella balls with sliced tomato, the main was lamb shank with mashed potato, and the dessert was a platter of one mini lemon cheesecake, one mini brownie and a small berry tart (teeny tiny!). It was filling, but not too filling! My calories (through some guestimation) came in at around 1000 for the day.
    Unfortunately, due to it being my "T.O.M", I felt way more bloated and "full" than usual.

    I will do another weigh-in after my "whoosh". I think my new weigh-in day will be Thursdays after my longer run, it seems to work better than Sundays for some reason.

    Very nice pace! How fast were you if you don't mind answering (I'm a track fan and follow it still). In my former young life, I ran track a few years also and I'm appalled now at the pace I run (my longest run at any pace I did was a 15-miler that also had a very steep mountain climb of about .75miles at the 5-mile mark, I did that at 7:00 min/miles for the 15-mile flat part).

    I never really posted very good racing times cause I always got injured or sick it seems like (in college). I only ran one year in high school (4:48-mile, 2:04-880, :54-400). In college I did workouts that indicated I could probably run about a (4:2x mile), I did run a few 1:58-880y indoors in January (1st race of the year) but then got sick or injured, did run :51-400m in practice (not all out) in the middle of a workout, and ran a 22.3 200m in the middle of a workout (that was about all out). I think I could have gone :22-200m or maybe a little lower and I think I could have been in the 48s for 400m and probably 1:53-1:54 for 800. Will never know since I didn't do it and I'm old now. Anyways, keep it up!

  • Brendalea69
    Brendalea69 Posts: 3,863 Member
    You could always weigh every day and record the lowest weight for the week...You are doing so good :)
  • Yael452
    Yael452 Posts: 82 Member
    edited June 2017
    @blambo61 I wasn't much of a track runner myself, since I started on the roads and in the parks as a home-schooled teen, and I was my own coach for a long time. It was when I joined a running club that I started really improving and I was able to compete in the local league races.
    My specialties tend to be longer distance (5 miles, 8 miles, half marathons); and I did a lot of trail/off-road distance races in the winter. I won my age-group (U20) title for my county cross country championship in 2012, where I believe I ran just over 20 minutes for a 5.5k race. Cross country in the UK is primarily mud-treading with hills.
    I was never a "whippit" as they say, but I had a lot of stamina and it was almost as though I got faster the longer I ran.
    My training pace before I got injured was about 7/7.30 min/mile, and about 8.30mm on easy and long runs. My race-pace was in the 6.00-6.30 min/mile region, and about 6.45-6.50mm for halves. At one point (when I pushing myself too hard) I would go out and run a 5 miler in about 35/36 minutes, but I was ignoring my coach's advice because I couldn't resist running faster. Stupid.

    I did my first half marathon when I was 17 at a steady, "easy" pace in 1hr51; and my last half marathon (pre-injury) at 19 years in 1hr29. I progressed very quickly.

    My PB for a road 5k was 19min11; but I know I could've run faster on a different course (wasn't flat at all). If I hadn't become injured, I have no idea how fast I would've been now!

    My coach always reckoned I was build for half marathons and possibly the full - but I never had any desire to punish myself over 26.2! I liked half distance too much, and considered it "far enough for me".
  • Yael452
    Yael452 Posts: 82 Member
    You could always weigh every day and record the lowest weight for the week...You are doing so good :)

    I think that's probably wise! I always get so anxious to weigh around "TOM", but I really do need to get over it.
    OMAD feels so natural, and I think it always suited me, so the transition has not been too difficult thankfully!

    It's the calorie counting I need to get more accurate about, and the weighing.
  • Brendalea69
    Brendalea69 Posts: 3,863 Member
    edited June 2017
    You'll figure it out, I'm new in maintenance and I just finally figured it out :p
  • blambo61
    blambo61 Posts: 4,372 Member
    Yael452 wrote: »
    @blambo61 I wasn't much of a track runner myself, since I started on the roads and in the parks as a home-schooled teen, and I was my own coach for a long time. It was when I joined a running club that I started really improving and I was able to compete in the local league races.
    My specialties tend to be longer distance (5 miles, 8 miles, half marathons); and I did a lot of trail/off-road distance races in the winter. I won my age-group (U20) title for my county cross country championship in 2012, where I believe I ran just over 20 minutes for a 5.5k race. Cross country in the UK is primarily mud-treading with hills.
    I was never a "whippit" as they say, but I had a lot of stamina and it was almost as though I got faster the longer I ran.
    My training pace before I got injured was about 7/7.30 min/mile, and about 8.30mm on easy and long runs. My race-pace was in the 6.00-6.30 min/mile region, and about 6.45-6.50mm for halves. At one point (when I pushing myself too hard) I would go out and run a 5 miler in about 35/36 minutes, but I was ignoring my coach's advice because I couldn't resist running faster. Stupid.

    I did my first half marathon when I was 17 at a steady, "easy" pace in 1hr51; and my last half marathon (pre-injury) at 19 years in 1hr29. I progressed very quickly.

    My PB for a road 5k was 19min11; but I know I could've run faster on a different course (wasn't flat at all). If I hadn't become injured, I have no idea how fast I would've been now!

    My coach always reckoned I was build for half marathons and possibly the full - but I never had any desire to punish myself over 26.2! I liked half distance too much, and considered it "far enough for me".

    Hope you can get back to where you were and beyond. Not sure what your injury was/is but hopefully you can overcome it. I tore my ACL playing basketball one year and lost that year. I had a stress reaction from doing too much speedwork on a hard track and lost that year (I was in real good shape that year so that really ticked me off). I can't currently race at my old warm-up/cool down pace! Anyways, I still like to run and hope to build up and maybe eventually be able to run a little better at least for my age group. Good luck!
  • Yael452
    Yael452 Posts: 82 Member
    edited June 2017
    I had a severe foot injury called "Plantar Fasciitis"; though not limited to runners, my symptoms were brought on by stress, over-training, and some biomechanical issues (I was very efficient, but my hips were weak apparently!). My injury was classed as a grade 3, very severe, and I walked with a limp even when I was still training. The physio and work it took to get back to running pain and problem free took about two and a half years.
    I'm more or less injury free now, it's just the extra weight holding me back now. I'm very impatient to lose the weight, but I have to try and focus on the long term game.

  • blambo61
    blambo61 Posts: 4,372 Member
    I'm familiar with the ailment. I had some arch problems myself when running track and learned to tape my feet from the trainers and it helped a lot. Be patient and you should be able to get back. I have injured myself numerous times doing stuff I shouldn't have been doing. Good luck! I ran a 5k this morning at 9:30 pace on the way to a little bit of a longer run. That is as good as I have done and was not pushing like a race so I was happy with that. If I can lose 30-lbs, I might really be running!
  • Yael452
    Yael452 Posts: 82 Member
    @blambo61 Awesome work!
    It's strange, I have such a different relationship with running to what I did as a "young'in"; it's not that it is harder or less enjoyable, but I definitely think as long as you carry extra weight, running becomes something other than total elation - which is honestly how I used to experience it. No matter how difficult the route or the weather, running used to give me such a rise because I knew I was fit and I felt fit. Right now I know I'm fit, but I don't feel or look it - so that detracts a little from my running enjoyment.
    Like you, I can't wait to see what running feels like - 40lbs!
  • Yael452
    Yael452 Posts: 82 Member
    edited June 2017
    Start weight:162.9
    Sunday 28/05/17: 161.3 (-1.6)
    Sunday 4/06/17: 160.7 (-0.6)
    Changed weigh-in day to Thursday
    Thursday 8/06/17: 158.9 (-1.8)
    Thursday 15/06/17: 162.2 (+3.3)

    Agh, today's weigh-in was pretty depressing. Every time I go down, I go right back up. It could be water, it could be hormones, it could be anything.
    I'll try not to let it get me down too much, but it is disappointing to eat in a deficit, in a four-hour window once a day and exercise daily and feel like you aren't getting anywhere..."this too shall pass", but for now, I am feeling despondent.
    I don't want to know how much extra weight I was carrying over the weekend considering I looked visibly bloated, and some of that has gone down over the last few days.
    Anyway, I'll keep plugging away. I think I need to be stricter on my eating window start and end times, eat less sugar+salt, and be even more diligent about weighing my food with a food scale.

    At twenty-four you'd think this would be easier, but I think I will just have to wake up to the fact that there are no easy routes!




  • minigrrll
    minigrrll Posts: 1,590 Member
    My weigh-in was the same - a gain from last week. Just have to hang in there and not let it get to us!
  • blambo61
    blambo61 Posts: 4,372 Member
    I am about in the same place. Very slow losses. Look for non-scale victories like clothes fitting better and running better!
  • Yael452
    Yael452 Posts: 82 Member
    edited June 2017
    Feeling not so great today, for no particular reason.

    I'm still absolutely fine eating OMAD, coming in under my calorie goal - but I feel really heavy and bloated after eating. Today I almost considered not eating my OMAD at all because I don't even seem to be getting hungry after 20 hours of fasting.
    In fact I'm considering doing a longer fast in the first week of July. My family are going to be away for a week, so I won't be cooking for anyone else, and I'll mostly be alone so it will be easy. I also really, really don't want to feel this bloated and heavy on my birthday. I had so wished I would be down a significant amount of weight for my birthday, but I'm exactly the same as I was 6 months ago.

    It doesn't help that the weather in England right now is uncharacteristically warm, and I'm NOT OKAY with it. I'm perspiring sitting down and not getting very good sleep because I find it really hard to sleep when it is this warm. There is like no wind outside, just warm, thick air.
    On top of that, one of my wisdom teeth has decided to cause me trouble since Saturday. I don't know if it's suddenly turned or what, but the darn thing is rubbing the inside of my mouth and the whole area is swollen and sore. I have been eating less as a result, but I still feel "fat", and the heat isn't helping because I don't want to go on walks or runs when it's this warm - I will do it, but I'm not likely to enjoy it as much.
    I have a dentist appointment on Wednesday, and I'm hoping to get the go-ahead to yank the darn thing out!
    I've had one out already, but the UK system (NHS) requires that a tooth be causing a certain negative impact on your life (pain, damage to other teeth, affecting your job etc.) for them to remove it. Stupid really.

    I keep forgetting to step on the scale before I break my fast, I *really* need to get this down.
    I don't want to be so negative...but sometimes it is really hard to be positive.
  • wsandy8512
    wsandy8512 Posts: 1,897 Member
    Aww, hugs to you! I'm so sorry about your wisdom tooth, those things can be a pain and a huge downer. In the US, they pretty much remove them as a standard procedure. At least they used to. I hope they'll remove yours.

    On to the next part, and I hate saying this, I really do... it truly is best to weigh and measure everything or you'll never have an accurate count. Your gains could be water weight, but at six months in, if you're the same weight, it'd be a good idea to examine exactly how many calories you're eating by not guesstimating anything.

    On another note, and I have no clue what your meals look like, I've been noticing some of the plates people have been eating on OMAD lately, particularly those struggling. In Joe's YouTube OMAD Revolution videos, he uses the one plate rule and said food shouldn't be hanging off the sides or piled high; I'm seeing quite a few where food would definitely fall off the plate when a utensil is used and/or everything is piled super high. If someone doesn't want to count calories, I think adhering to Joe's advice about how to have the plate would be really beneficial.
  • blambo61
    blambo61 Posts: 4,372 Member
    edited June 2017
    Keep a positive outlook. This will pass! I've had some issues myself recently with a bad root canal resulting in me getting an implant (I'm in the middle of that process). Also, I have gout issues that really get to me and have caused me to miss a lot of running. I think above advise is good also. I think those that exercise a lot tend to eat back a lot. I know I do and that is why I lose very slowly. Just stick with it. Good luck!
  • Yael452
    Yael452 Posts: 82 Member
    edited June 2017
    The last few days I've been really trying to keep calories under 1,500 - because I am only 5'3 after all.
    Finally stepped on the scale today (last weighing was last Friday) and I'm up another 2.7lbs, I can't seem to catch a break this week!

    I have been weighing my food that I set out on my plate, but perhaps not every single thing that goes into my mouth. Individual packaged food, for example, I just use the calorie count on the pack. I use Google Fit on my phone to track my activity and burned calories together, then I have a pedometer in my pocket at all times. I track my food on an app called Lifesum, and my weight on Libra. They all sinc together so it gives me a pretty good timeline for what I've been doing (or not doing) that affects my weight. I haven't done a long run in the last week (10+miles) which could be a factor...I also only took 5,000 steps yesterday because my mouth was hurting me and I spent a lot of the day lying down.
    I think my water intake has dwindled a little the last few days. If it all comes down to CICO then I must me missing something...I must be eating more, even though I really, genuinely haven't felt myself to be eating any more than usual. If anything I've been eating less because of my painful mouth!

    Something I'm finding difficult is having a set meal time, because I live with my large family and you could say I am the most organised of the lot - and I am not that organised!
    My mom cooks very haphazardly, and since I've been unemployed she has been leaning on me to come up with meals and help my siblings to cook when it is their turn. My family have strayed from a lot of good habits we used to have (sitting at the table for example) and often choose to eat in the sitting room watching a show/movie.
    I also have this weird thing with my dad, where if he sees me weighing food etc. he starts badgering me about it.
    Lots of things...all excuses I suppose. I just need to get on with it and find something that works for me.

    I spent the majority of my teenage years and now into my twenties fixated on my weight, even when I was genuinely slim, and so my family are used to it, but they don't try to help either. When I was in full runner mode I actually rarely ate what my family ate, I also rarely sat down with them. Maybe that is what it took? Maybe I'm going to have to eat completely separate to them? I mostly run in the evenings, that's why I rarely ate with them.
    My family doesn't eat unhealthy food, and rarely even take-out, it's just that they don't make any effort to eat "healthy" food either. It's very meat+veg+carb type meals, with some casseroles thrown in.
    My mom is overweight, but she doesn't really care unless she has to fit into an outfit for a particular event. Then she just eats lower carb and skips a couple meals and then goes back to normal after the event. She really isn't bothered by her weight - and she doesn't exercise. She looks good for someone who has had seven children, so I think she feels fairly happy with herself. I've tried to get her to go on walks with me, but she doesn't like it apparently.

    My dad is overweight, but not unfit. He regularly runs four miles, and he walks to work every day. His problem is that he is a snacker, and he is also incredibly unaware when he eats.
    I actually got him using MyFitnessPal for about two weeks, I don't know if he lost any...but he wasn't weighing his food or putting in any of the work. I had to coax him all the time to check if he was really eating "50g" of peanuts, or was it more..My dad wants to lose about 10kgs (about 20lbs) but it's almost like he wants to outsource all the work, because he's not willing to count calories.
    He still has that mindset of just "doing more exercise". The problem is that if he sees me eating differently, he takes that as an opportunity to criticize my mom's cooking, or the families' cooking in general (he doesn't really cook) and it just causes a negative spiral where he blames external factors outside of himself for his weight. Because it couldn't possibly be the four biscuits (cookies) and the spoonfuls of jam and PB!? SMH.

    Anyway, waaaay too much oversharing going on here.
    I will try to pinpoint where I'm going wrong and try harder. The food scale will have to be my new best friend.
  • Brendalea69
    Brendalea69 Posts: 3,863 Member
    Here's what I did...

    Yes, It's hard to diet when you are the only one...I was the only one in the house out of 3 that was dieting and I just did my own thing...The hardest part for me was cooking for my family and not eating what they were eating because I was eating low carb and they were not...When I was doing just OMAD I never counted calories and just ate my one meal with no snacking in between my OMAD meals, just water...If I had to guess I would say that my calories were between 800 and 1000...I also had 1 water fasting day and one splurge day a week...My average loss was 1.7 pounds a week.

    The only suggestions I have would be to not snack in between OMAD meals (if you do) and drink plenty of water and try to eat at the same time everyday...Good luck!!!

  • Yael452
    Yael452 Posts: 82 Member
    Thanks @brendagaudette for your input, I really appreciate it.

    I think you are right. I've been struggling with the "one plate" rule, not in that I snack a lot, but once my "window" opens (usually 5:30pm/6:00pm) I will have say, a pot of yogurt, and then when food is ready (could be up to an hour after) I'll have a plate of food, and maybe an hour after that I'll have an ice-cream (packaged) or hot chocolate. Once my window closes (usually 9:30) I don't eat any more, but I see how not "consolidating" it into one fixed meal could be a problem, especially if anything I graze on before/after my meal ends up adding significantly more calories OR just screws with the OMAD method.
    I don't snack at all in my fasting hours, apart from the occasional Coke Zero when I'm having a difficult time avoiding a food item, and it's the lesser evil.
    I'd like to try it your way, which will require a bit more planning (around my exercise in the p.m.) but may just be what I need to do to get things moving in the right direction.

    I was keto/low carb from January-March (but not counting calories) and it helped with a few things, namely my mood and mental outlook in general. I struggled to maintain it with running because while I could still run long distances, I couldn't run above a certain pace. I think around 100g or less works well for me, and avoiding sugar. I wish I'd never let that evil back in my life! I need to start removing it again.

    Thanks again!
  • HestiaMoon1
    HestiaMoon1 Posts: 278 Member
    Here's what I did...

    Yes, It's hard to diet when you are the only one...I was the only one in the house out of 3 that was dieting and I just did my own thing...The hardest part for me was cooking for my family and not eating what they were eating because I was eating low carb and they were not...When I was doing just OMAD I never counted calories and just ate my one meal with no snacking in between my OMAD meals, just water...If I had to guess I would say that my calories were between 800 and 1000...I also had 1 water fasting day and one splurge day a week...My average loss was 1.7 pounds a week.

    The only suggestions I have would be to not snack in between OMAD meals (if you do) and drink plenty of water and try to eat at the same time everyday...Good luck!!!

    This is spot on advice. I was confused why I wasn't losing for so long since I eat a very healthy diet of organic, whole food. I was eating too much of it! Little things like grabbing 4 macadamia nuts 3 times a day = 200-300 extra cals I didn't even notice.
    You're aware now, and it will work for you.