Progress and Dreams

Everything is going well. I’ve lost more weight (down 14 lbs total and 37 to go!), I’ve been keeping up with running, and I feel better in general. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do about Couch 2 5k since I’ve been on the fence about using that program, because for the future, I want to use the Jeff Galloway Run/Walk method of 1 min run/1 min walk. I decided to get a timer app for my phone that I can customize to notify me to run or walk after each minute. I’ve used It once and it worked well so far. I figured I should train now the way I want to run later.

I also started school again last week. I’m attending Arizona State online now and my first class is Abnormal Psychology. It’s very intense because it’s a compressed summer class (only 6 weeks) but I had to start with a summer class because I was going to have to start paying back my student loans since it had been almost 6 months since I last attended classes through Plattsburgh. Juggling the class, life, work and running is a challenge but I’m keeping at it. Eating better has been easier the last 2 weeks since I haven’t been PMS’ing. That was definitely the roughest it’s been so far. 

I’ve been listening to some trail running podcasts. My dream is to start doing trail running and long distance runs on the trails at some point. I have no doubt that I will get there. Things have been going so well and the weight has been coming off, which will make running easier as time goes on. The less weight I have to carry, the better.

I also registered for two races to keep myself motivated. One is a 5k at the end of September and the other is a 10k at the beginning of October. I should be ready by then to tackle these new challenges!

The Stuff of Tuesday

It's been up and down. More up than down.

This eating better/dieting thing is rough. I know, it's never easy for anyone. It's hard not to compare yourself to others though.

My husband has been on his diet for 3 weeks and he has lost 30 lbs. I've been on mine 4 weeks and I've lost 11 lbs. Crazy, right? Yes, his is more restrictive than mine and he has a lot more to lose than I do and yes, he's a guy and they always lose quicker but... wow. It's hard not to be a little jealous. I'm doing my best though and we are very supportive of each other.

I'm happy with my progress. Since this plan is something I came up with myself, I've had to re-evaluate it a few times, adjust here and there. It's not perfect but I need it to work for me, not anyone else. I track my food in an app on my phone but sadly, I become a little obsessed. I have a very addictive personality anyway so once I focus on something, I give it 110%. I'm going to need to relax a bit as of tomorrow because I start school again and the class I'm taking is a compressed summer class so my focus will have to be mainly on that... and running.

I can't forget the running. I finished day 1 of week to of couch 2 5k yesterday. It went well. Some of it (or most) was because I found a new running route that was beautiful. It's by a waterway and there were geese, ducks, baby geese and beautiful scenery in general. The weather was a perfect 71 degrees and not humid. It was great to be out there!

I'm considering signing up for a race. It's a 10k that will be in Lake Placid in October. I'm not sure yet but I'm definitely going to think about it.

Mentally Challenging Monday

As the title states, today has been mentally challenging.

I started PMS'ing today which hasn't been awful in general each month but I definitely feel myself having less tolerance for things. Luckily this only goes on for a couple days.

Of course this time, I don't have food to fall back on when I'm stressed. Today is the start of week 4 of my eating better/trying to lose weight. I've lost 7 lbs so far and I have 54 to go. My first goal is to lose 34 more pounds. I can't wait!

I got back outside yesterday for day 2 of couch 2 5k. I did well but I think I overdid it. I was pretty exhausted for a few hours afterwards and I realized that my head still thinks I can run like I did a few years ago but my body begs to differ.

I'm going to keep at it though!

It will all come back with time, I know that. I took 2 walks today which helped me mentally. I know it will help physically too. I'm looking forward to the day where running is good again. I know it was never easy, so I won't say that but I look forward to it being a regular part of my life again.

I wasn't really sure how to start again. I thought maybe just getting out there doing walk/run intervals would be good but I really need structure. I've always been like that. I'm not a "winging it" type of person. So, the couch 2 5k app is the way I'm going.

I think that's about it for me for now!

Megan

A New Leaf

Hi!

It’s been a few years since I’ve written but it’s finally time to put pen to paper or fingers to keys and start recording my journey again.

Health-wise I’ve been fine in the sense of no major problems. Weight-wise, I’ve gained around 40 lbs which has really made a difference in how I look and feel.

I got off track with eating better mostly when I went back to school in 2015. I also stopped running at that point, which I miss greatly. It’s time to get back on the horse.

Since 4/16/18 I’ve been working on losing weight. Since my needs are different since I had bariatric surgery in 2011, I decided to go with a sort of jump-start option called The 5 Day Pouch Test. The goal is to go back to basics, similar to the days following surgery. The first 2 days are liquid-only and for days 3-5 proteins are added back in. Protein is the most important thing in a bariatric surgery patient’s nutritional needs and we need more than most people. Since my surgery, protein shakes have come a long way and I’ve found some that taste great, are low in sugar and carbs, and really help me to get my daily protein in.

Along with the 5-day jump start, I decided to go processed carb and sugar free.  There are some carbs and sugar in the food I eat but it’s natural for the most part. My main goal with this part of my new journey was to get off bread, which I’ve successfully done.

The first 2 days of the pouch test were difficult and all about carb withdrawals. My 13-hour long headache was evidence of that.

I miss bread but I don’t crave it. It’s very strange for me because I figured out yesterday that I’ve never not had bread or at least some type of processed white flour food. This is the longest I’ve gone without it. As for sugar, I haven’t had that either. Strangely, I don’t really miss it either.

The choice to go processed carb and sugar free was because I finally got to the point in my bariatric journey that I ran out of luck. I was one of the lucky ones who rarely had an issue eating most any type of food after surgery. A few months ago, I started to have issues, especially at night. I would eat something like crackers, go to bed and the wake up a couple hours later to low blood sugar. Since I’ve stopped eating those processed carbs, I no longer have that issue.

I’m also starting to run. I’m doing Couch 2 5k. I started it last Saturday and haven’t been again since. I need to start working it into a routine. The main issue for me is that I’m still not, nor will I ever be, a morning person so it’s either run in the morning or at night after work. My next goal is to start being consistent again. I felt so much better when I ran and I really want it to be part of my life again.

I’ll be back soon!

Megan