I don't know how I got so deluded, but I thought that pushing my double stroller while running would add minor difficulty to a run. Ummm... no. It's a whole lot harder than I anticipated, not simply because of the additional weight (I test-ran it with almost 50 total pounds of toddler on board), but because it seems to require a change of running posture which isn't very comfortable. The handlebar has tremendous height variability, but it wasn't really comfortable in any position. Running one-handed was the best I could do (thank goodness it handles well that way and if I remember to lock the wheels next time it might help keep the kids from squirrelling off the path), but uphill and downhill require both hands, and there seem to be lots of those here in the mountain foothills.

Regardless, I'm still working my way through my running program though sans stroller for the time being. The first full run comes at the end of week five (I'm currently in the middle of week two) and I decided to see how I felt after that point and to revisit the stroller training run idea then. On race day I'm expecting to have only about 37 pounds of kids in the stroller and am hoping like crazy to be yet another 15 or more pounds lighter myself. Thirty pounds doesn't sound like a lot to me right now, though my four-year-old is 40 pounds and if I imagine carrying three quarters of him along for a race, I suspect that it will make a difference.

I've had to put a concrete limit on my intake as that's my bigest problem weight-wise: snacking, snacking, snacking. I don't necessarily snack on bad stuff (chips and the like) but I do tend to favour high-calorie stuff (nuts, trail mix, granola bars, breads of all sorts) so I decided to see how I felt at 2000 calories a day. Two thousand seemed right because I thought a reasonable diet would be about 1700 (I have since learned that 1780 is my daily limit to maintain my goal weight) and I wasn't sure if breastfeeding allowed me an additional 300 or 500 per day. It's day five and it seems to be just the right number to keep me from feeling deprived, though I do have to exercise a lot of self-control to keep from using up all my calories by mid-afternoon.

The really good news this morning was that the scale is finally budging! I stepped on and off three times just to make sure it wasn't reading 3.5 pounds lighter because of standing on it the wrong way. So seven pounds down and uh... only 75 to go. This race at the end of August is my first mini-goal; getting under 200 pounds will be a huge relief!

Labels: calories in, calories out

I ran Day 3 of Week 1 this morning and feel great, but this runners' high must be messing with my mind. I just registered for a 5.5k race for August 30th. I guess I've got to stick with this now, huh? I'll be done C25K August 14 and will need to add another 0.5k in the following two weeks.

It's a run to raise money for a women's shelter, so there's a mother/daughter team category. While I didn't officially enter that category (my girls won't be running at 22m and 4m at race day), I noted on my registration that I will be running with them in a stroller. So now I've got to find out if I can not only run that distance but with a double stroller and two kids! Maybe that's the push to drop some more weight so that I don't have to drag that around too!

Labels: calories out

So what does it really mean when you see ads that claim that so-and-so lost X number of inches? I realize that their total measurements are smaller than they were when they started, but I'm not convinced that there is a standardized total. Surely the total inches lost would look better if you include losses not only from the trunk (chest/waist/hips) but limbs (arms/thighs) as well. Wouldn't it be easier to compare apples if it were expressed as a percentage? Or is that misleading too because perhaps core and peripheral inches are lost at different rates?

I didn't think to take measurements when I started this a few weeks ago. I've always assessed my condition based upon my scale and not a measuring tape, in part because the measuring tape seems rather unreliable -- pulling it a little more snugly easily drops another half inch or so. Being stalled for a while now though, I thought to check on things to get something of a baseline.

And the award for Ms. Disproportionate goes to...

I know I carry my weight around my middle. I always have. I've never had an issue with weight accumulating on my hips and thighs and even now I don't mind the way they are. When I've tried pants to fit my butt and legs, the waistband has always cut very uncomfortably into my stomach, so I've lived in pants that are forever a bit baggy in the behind.

My measuring tape really grossed me out though. I measured my waist first to get the worst news over with, then measured my hips. So am I supposed to measure my hips with or without the apron of skin (and fat) that hangs in front? Even including it, the measurement is a half inch smaller than my waist. If I measure under it, my hips are 4" smaller than my waist. Ugh!

Labels: the shape of things

Little R and I were in a department store today while running a few quick errands; we passed a stroller going the other direction carrying an older toddler sporting a substantial mohawk. Only two steps past the stroller, he asked in a loud voice whether I had seen that the kid had a broom on his head.

Labels: Little R

I have three weeks behind me without losing a pound; not that I've actually been doing anything about it mind you, but really. Ok, doing nothing isn't entirely true; I've bought running shoes, and have had appointments with my GP to talk about weight loss options, get opinions on various diet programs, check fasting glucose, thyroid function and CBC. I also met with a behaviour counsellor hoping she might have some insight into my poor eating behaviour; unfortunately I left that appointment feeling like I'd wasted my time entirely, and have yet to get the bloodwork results from my GP. I agonized a lot about my lack of self-control regarding eating these last weeks, and was on the verge of tears as a result on at least a few occasions.

I'm still not walking as I keep promising, but today was finally Day 1 of Couch to 5K, except that the podcast I thought I had loaded onto my iPod wasn't there. I knew it was supposed to be 20 minutes of alternately walking and jogging, though I didn't have a watch on to improvise that properly either. I didn't let it stop me though and jogged/walked about 30 minutes. I was quite surprised that I was able to run more than I thought I would. It's 10 hours later and I feel perfectly fine -- not overworked or sore in any way -- so I guess I did okay.

With regard to eating, I have it in the back of my mind that I'll be going to Jenny Craig at the end of August. I'm at a point where I need someone else to control the food for me, and I did well the one other time I joined. I really need that kick-start to have incentive to continue. I'm not joining sooner because I'm registered for a two-month fitness and nutrition counselling program starting next month and if I'm really lucky that may get me doing the right things. I'll admit to being sceptical about the nutrition component helping much, as I know a fair bit about nutrition having taken enough biology courses, some kinesiology, and even nutrition courses at university.

So I'll continue to get myself back to running 5K (about 3 miles) and hope that I see the sticky digits on my scale move next week. Couch to 5K is only three sessions each week, but I'm hoping the feeling of accomplishment for having finally gone out to do it carries over, especially into my eating motivation.

Labels: calories out