Running and Meal Planning

I have managed to end the week on a high note, having consistently run every morning (interval sprints, 6 rounds).  If you know me, you know that I am not a runner - it's just not something I care for, probably because I always end up sounding like I'm about to have a heart attack at any moment.

I've also gone back to planning my meals better now that my round is over.  See, with kids at home, I find it challenging to come up with healthy meals that are really conducive to weight loss.  I just think that cooking good, homemade meals (as opposed to processed foods) is just better for you than junk foods.

So last week I sat down and came up with a menu for over a week.  I created "planned over" meals (for example, planning a beef soup using the broth from a pot roast I made the previous day), and ended up with delicious meals for almost two weeks.

I really think that putting thought and planning - including planning dessert - into mealtimes will get you a lot further than doing things at the spur of the moment.  We were having too many evenings where I would just grab a pizza because I could not face planning, shopping, cooking..... and then I'd have "just a slice" and there went my diet for the day.

Plan ahead - you'll eat better, feel better, and save money too!  It makes it so much easier to stick to the protocol!

Plateaus - and the Walmart HHCG

Well, first off, I need to adjust my review of WalMart's homeopathic HCG.  It does work, but it tastes nasty, until you get used to it.  (It's chocolate mint flavored.  I didn't think anything could make me dislike chocolate mint.  Eww.)  Once you get used to it, it's not bad.

It does work.  Did I mention that?  Works just fine. 

So, I've been plateaued for a week.  It's been driving me crazy.  Apple day helped some, but then I stalled again the next day.  So I went back to that old standby that always helps me.

Exercise.

Now, Dr Simeons does not prescribe exercise in his protocol, but I suggest that you include it in your regimen if you are physically able to do so.  Even if it's just a stroll around the block.  Your body was designed to move, not to veg out in front of a screen.  So start walking.  Just gentle walking, you don't need to run or do power walks! 

I would not suggest starting an Olympic training protocol while on the HCG protocol, but you do need to move. 

My routine will be a run around the block.  I do interval training - a 5 minute warm up, then 1 minute running and 2 minutes walking for six rounds, then a five minute cool down.  However, I am used to training!  I've been working out all my life on some level or another.  I've worked with Olympic trainers and done boot camps, I've done a lot of weight training, and I will say this over and over.....

Listen to your body! 

You may not be able to do what I do.  Find something that is gentle enough for you to stick with, and then stick with it! 

I'm kind of weird about working out these days, I'm so busy that I just can't stand to go to the gym and add another thing to my list.  But I can manage a quick run around the block (and I do this just before bedtime, by the way).  Somehow getting in the car to drive to the gym is just that one more thing I don't want to do. 

So get out and move.  There is so much to do! 

Oh, and I dropped 2 pounds overnight after my first little run.  It will work.

Reviewing HCG

I am beginning a new round of HCG (today was my 2nd load day) and realized that not only am I nearly out, I don't know if I can get more from my supplier in time.  So I've been  looking at other brands of homeopathic HCG to see what my alternatives are.

I've been getting some good laughs reading the reviews.  Remember - Homeopathic HCG has a vibrational fingerprint of HCG, so everyone who is used to the shots is screaming "Oh my hell, there's no HCG in that!"  Of course not.  And I don't care!  I want to know one thing, and one thing only.

Does it work in conjunction with the Simeons Pounds and Inches protocol?  

After reviewing several sites and brands, I have decided that nearly any brand will work.  Don't freak out if it says "hormone free" - homeopathic does not contain anything but water.  And that's OK, because it still works.  I don't care if it's a placebo effect, I care if the scales are going down and my clothes are getting too big - and if I still feel good through the process.

Tomorrow I begin the diet itself.  I've got chicken breast, apples, cucumbers, and lettuce waiting for me.  After gorging for two days, I'm looking forward to eating what I know will work.  Cucumbers are delicious sliced up with salt and maybe some hot sauce - just as good as chips!  Apples with a dusting of cinnamon, perhaps a dip of stevia, strawberries dipped in a little stevia for a treat.... I am never hungry on HCG, in fact often the salad and protein are plenty.

I'd tried to do a few more rounds before, but just could not stick to the diet, mostly for emotional reasons,  and ended up quitting within a couple of days.  This time I have firmly decided that the last 40 pounds are coming off.  I should reach that by Easter.

So far as the running, I'm struggling to get that done.  I have come to enjoy running, but the added step of getting to the rec center seems to be more than I want to do right now.  I did go yesterday, and I plan to go today.  Last week I was so exhausted for some reason that I was sleeping 12 hours or more a day and just felt like I couldn't function.  I don't know what the challenge was - last time that happened I was on vacation in Central America and fell asleep every time I was in the car, in addition to nights and siesta.  I must have been pushing myself way too hard (which would also explain the shoulder injury).

I will report back tomorrow!

No running today....

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate with me.  And I've been exhausted all day.  Ugh.  Tomorrow, I will go to the city rec center and run there.  (I hope they have treadmills.)  At least it will be warm. 

I noticed yesterday that I was a lot more winded than I had been after running.  It will take some time to build up conditioning and shock my body into releasing the weight.

I also plan to do a salt water flush in the morning.  Sounds pretty nasty, but if it helps me lose weight, I'm all for it.

Getting back to workouts....

I injured my shoulder about 6 weeks ago.  After 3 weeks of trying to work through/around it, I finally had to let it rest.  It was bad enough that working was agony - and I work at the computer!

It's starting to get better, so I decided to start running again.  I do interval runs only, 5 minutes of warm up walking, then 6 rounds of running for one minute, walking for 2.  Then a 5 minute cool down.

Interval running burns more fat than "steady state" cardio does, and gets you into shape faster. I don't know if it's desirable to do the hard, hard, intense workouts - I know trainers who promote them, but I believe I can reach my goals with a much gentler approach.  What good does it do me to work out hard if I keep hurting myself?

My plan is to maintain my nutrition, plenty of vegetables and fruit, lean protein,  a gallon of water a day, and stay off the Diet Coke.  I'm using this weekend to start easing myself into it.  Then I'll do the "hard core" dieting during Lent, appropriately enough.  :)  Actually, 40 days ought to be enough time to take the bulk of the weight off and get used to a new eating plan.  I will also do the interval runs every day except Sunday.  I may run tomorrow anyway to establish the habit.  (There is a major winter storm supposed to be coming in tonight, so the weather will be a factor in running tomorrow.)

So, anyway, I just finished my run, and it was very difficult this time.  I was winded - I hadn't been winded during an interval run in ages.  The lack of exercise has been showing up in a tighter (almost uncomfortable) fit to my jeans, not just on the scales.  But since I know what to do, I'll keep up the hard work and know it will come back off.  Then it will be a matter of working off the rest of the extra weight....

Back to Working Out

I am re-starting my exercise program tomorrow.  Boot camp on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and Couch to 5K on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  This is going to take a lot of self discipline.

I've looked hard at my nutrition and eating habits.  I eat fine, plenty of veggies and protein, easy on carbs.  Nothing extreme, which I think is how nutrition should be.  I should have a healthy relationship with food, not worrying about everything I ever put in my mouth.  I've eliminated sugary foods and most carbs, focusing more on fresh stuff.

Now I need to get back to exercising.  When I have lost a lot of weight before, I worked out every day, sometimes twice a day.  I'm going back to that.  Couch to 5k, developed by coolrunning.com, is designed to help a non-runner (like me) work up to running 3.1 miles a day (5k) comfortably in a 9 week program.  It's interval training, which should make my trainer, Mat, happy - he preaches intervals and tabatas. 

I've been injuring myself a lot (shoulder, hip, knees), so I will probably take longer than 9 weeks. 

One of my challenges with working out is simply that I have so much to do, I need to get up early in the morning to do my workouts, and I don't like getting up early.  However, my alarm is set, and I'm planning on a 6:30 wakeup every day to get this in. 

And, she's off.....

Self Care is More Than Physical

Often we - especially we women! - are busy taking care of everyone around us.  Kids, parents, bosses, clients, customers, neighbors, friends... the list goes on and on and on.  Somehow, between work and children and house and loved ones, we forget about the one person we should take care of the most.

Ourselves.

Yes, I was one who believed that you took care of everyone else first.  I'd have kids who looked nice, had handmade clothing, and were well fed while I looked like....well, like shit.  (Sorry.)  Hair unkempt, clothes that looked dreadful, no makeup, and while I ate, I ate junk food, not the healthy stuff I fed my family.  In the middle of all this, I was having babies, which created an even greater drain on my body.  Especially once I reached my 30s!  With my last baby, who's now 8, I lost over 1/2 my hair, and very nearly lost my health.

Because I was busy taking care of my husband, my 2 year old, the house, and everyone but myself.

I've learned my lesson. 

I got rid of the husband (great guy, but very demanding and not a good match for me), let the children figure out that Mom needs time to herself sometimes, started working out, started eating things that nourish me instead of drain me, and lo and behold, I'm a better mother.  A better worker.  A better homemaker.  And I released a lot of weight.

Because I finally learned to love myself. 

It's OK to put yourself first.  If you don't, who will?