I did a little outdoor walking today; mostly flat, but some minor incline. I spent about an hour on the treadmill and didn't do any incline, just walked faster than my usual pace has been lately. I had another successful vegetarian day. My carbs are really high because my honey made me a couple of really amazing sandwiches...black bean patties on gluten free bread with avocado, kale, and mushrooms...so, so good! I ate them as two separate meals, but let him know that in the future, I'd like to not eat 4 slices of bread in a day. It was so worth it today though!

I've been getting back to 16:8 IF. Fudged a little today, but only by about an hour. I'll try to push my first meal out an extra hour tomorrow, and only eat in a 7 hour window.

While I'm not making yesterday my new start day on the MFP app, I'm going to use that as a starting point here. I want my ticker to show my total, but I find it helpful to focus on the more immediate changes too.

Today
217.8 pounds (-1.8 lbs)
4.18 miles
Vegetarian, 2 days
500+ calorie deficit

I ended up snacking last night around 10:30. I was so hungry. Tried water first, but that didn't help. I ended up eating about 300 calories. Still at a deficit, but definitely not within my fasting schedule. I'll try again today.

I'm heading out for my long distance outdoor walk this morning. I want to be home before the temp gets above 80°. I'll be gone for 3 hours, so it'll be close. The other benefit is the fasting aspect. While I'm not technically fasting this morning because not enough hours have passed since I last ate, it still feels good to wait until after exercise to have my first food of the day. I always bring a little snack, just in case I actually need to eat, but I haven't ever eaten it until my walk is completed. I haven't been doing fasting cardio for awhile because the timing wasn't working for me, so I'm kind of excited to get out there this morning. Got my pack with 2L hydration reservoir full, a bit of food, sunscreen, and bug spray. Heading out the door in a few minutes. Will check back in later with numbers for the day.

@totaldetermination Thanks, it was a nice evening all around, even considering why we were all there.

@50extra I took 400mg of ibuprofen before my walk and wore my knee band. Over the course of the walk, my fitbit tracked the equivalent of 20 flights of stairs, which luckily is such a gradual incline that it's only challenging at the end of 10 miles. I had zero pain in my knee, which I was thrilled about. It feels just fine today, as well. Although, the pain I have typically had was during or immediately after activity that diminishes within a day, so I don't expect to have delayed onset of pain.

My legs were fatigued and a bit sore around the 8 mile mark, but no cramping. I think because I've been walking 3-4 miles most days of the week for so long that I've had that as a huge advantage. When I started the 6-month training guide that I found for this event, I seem to recall that my ability at the time was the equivalent of starting almost a month into the plan.

My feet, on the other hand, are beat up. I'm not having structural pain, but during the last 2-3 miles I had blisters break out on both heals. My understanding is that this is not uncommon with walking long distances, even with good shoes. I need to look into using tape or other products to prevent blisters, as well as tips on what to do while I'm walking and I notice them starting. I'm open to trying different shoes, but the brand that I currently wear is the only brand I have found that give me comfortable arch support. I actually have 3 pairs of the same brand, all in different styles, and had already planned to invest in another pair. I think I may try another different style, after my current blisters calm down.

I'm heading out of town for a 4-day weekend, so I won't be able to weigh myself. I'll be camping at a music festival, so food might be tricky, but I'm planning ahead as much as possible. It should be ok though, since the community kitchen that I work with there and all of the vendors are pretty healthy, unlike what most people would consider festival or fair food. There are some deep fried options, but only a few, and it's just as easy to go get a veggie fajita or a bowl of rice and beans with jamaican jerk chicken. Nearly all of the food that the community kitchen serves is vegan due to the challenges of keeping meat and dairy cold enough when you need to have large amounts of it, but there is limited cooler space. I also intend to put in lots of steps, even if it's not formal exercise.

Sometime tonight, I'll come back to post my numbers for the day.

I overestimated my food as best as I could, rather than underestimate. I ate vegan community kitchen last night and had a few beers, and ended up with a nice deficit considering that I didn't intentionally exercise. I had to walk from my van to my camp several times to haul my things in with a little wagon, so steps were pretty easy. I woke up to see that I also already have 2,500 steps that were after midnight so they don't get counted as yesterday even though they were my yesterday.

Yesterday (6/16)
215.8 (-3.8)
11,000+ steps (+2,500)
Vegetarian, 4 days
800+ calorie deficit

I thought that I would want more beers than what I've drank this weekend. Mind you, I don't regularly drink anymore, so I'm a total lightweight. I used to though, and occasionally I like to indulge, but I brought a 12pk of 16 ounce cans and currently have 6 left after 2 nights. I still have tonight at the grounds because I'm in cleanup tomorrow, but I'll probably still take at least a couple home.

I'm feeling really proud of myself for staying on track with my food though. I had planned on extra calories from beer, so my deficits are great by my normal standard, and even more amazing because I'm essentially at a huge party. I think the key point for me is that I don't feel deprived either. I intended to stay vegetarian over the weekend, but I brought some jerky and a little cold smoked salmon just in case. I haven't touched any of it. I might eat the salmon today, just for the sake of not wanting it to spoil.

I walked so much yesterday and last night that I hit 20,000 steps... Of course Fitbit divides is because I crossed the midnight threshold, so I woke up to see that I already had over 7,000 steps toward today's goal... And I've already surpassed my goal by almost 1,000 steps. This has never happened without intentional exercise.

Tomorrow, I'll be walking the park and should easily get my 10,000 steps in. I'm excited to see what kind of progress I've made on my mini vacation.

I got a massage yesterday, and decided that I need to be stretching more than I have been. My calves and outer thighs don't feel tight or sore, but that massage definitely suggested otherwise. This is my motivation to get back to my daily yoga practice.

Yesterday (6/17)
Weight unknown
13,000+ steps (+7,000)
Vegetarian, 5 days
1,000+ calorie deficit

Today
Weight unknown
18,000+ steps
Vegetarian, 6 days
1,200 calorie deficit

@tcunbeliever I love that you know this! I use lavender for so many first aid things. It worked for the small blister, but the big one didn't get enough attention since I'm at a festival. I wore sandals all weekend though, so it's still intact and almost healed.

Barely making goals today, but I'm totally ok about needing a recovery type day after getting so many steps in during the festival. I was definitely pleased with the scale this morning.

Today
213.2 lbs (-6.4 lbs)
10,000+ steps
Vegetarian days 7 of 8
300+ calorie deficit

@50extra Yes, the mostly vegetarian is for calorie control and weight loss. It also helps save on the grocery bill... Not a necessity, but a nice perk. I'm getting used to it more, and I think that when I am at the end of my losing phase, I'll probably stick with it anyway. I was just telling Jeff that meat seems kind of like treat now. Maybe I can use that to my advantage when I'm craving other rich foods. It would be awesome if I could substitute an ice cream craving with a hamburger or some smoked salmon!

I'm trying to get my 10,000 steps in every day. It does require some effort if I don't get a full intentional workout in, but when I miss my goal I am more likely to start the downhill spiral.

I ended up snacking last night and blew my little deficit. I haven't hopped on the scale yet, but I'm not concerned, even if it went up a little. I'm doing another 10 mile training day today, so that'll make up for any potential minor setback from yesterday.