Munky's Journey in Progress (Still at it...)

[Munkers]

Goals

I've been thinking about my goals a lot lately. For awhile now, my goal has been 135 pounds with the knowledge that 135 might not look the way I think it'll look. I've been doing a lot of reading in general, but especially over the past few days about ideal weights according to frame and such. The more I read the more I think that my goal is pretty spot-on for a weight that's healthy and achievable, but that still doesn't mean I'm going to like what I see in the mirror. I still want to shave another four inches off my waist, but I'm only 11 pounds from my goal.

After seeing how my weight fluctuates after I've been splurging, I'm considering maybe trying for 130 and then putting my goal for maintenance at 135 and getting back on the diet wagon if I exceed 140.

The real issue is going to be if I hit those goals and still have more "squish" than I'd like. I don't really want my weight to drop into the 120's or lower, but I also know that flab means fat and if it's going to to go away, it usually means some weight loss. I do still want to start in on some more serious weight lifting which would require some major shifts in my diet to put on actual muscle mass. It's totally a mental thing, but I don't think I'd feel so bad about losing weight on a muscle-building program compared to losing weight on calorie restriction.  

[Munkers]

Same old same old...

Not much to report. Still off the running bandwagon for now. My knee has really been bothering me for awhile now and it's got me a little worried. The bulk of the issue seems to be extreme stiffness so part of me wonders/hopes that maybe it's because of the lack of running. Maybe if I use it more, it'll loosen up like my hip flexors have. It's definitely a different sort of pain that what I've experienced in the past with my chondramalacia.

In happier news, I'm down to 145.2 as of this morning which made me happy indeed cause my weight was riding kind of high for awhile there due to various outings and such. (I drank beer at a movie this week. Oh gosh!) I set a new 30 day weight loss goal on the tracking site I use (Weight Commander--go check it out). I kind of like that it sends me a little note every time I enter my weight and says that to reach my goal, I should weigh X amount today. Obviously there are some fluctuations and stuff, but meeting that daily goal is a huge boost.  

[United Paper People]

Oh noes! BEER? *Shock horror*

Congrats on the loss!
It's also good to hear that you've been having fun.

I also hope your knee starts to recover...

And I'm really keen to check that website out now.

As for the earlier post on goals, I sort of understand what you mean, as my goal is kind of indefinite at the moment. Can't say I know a lot about strength/muscle, but it sounds like a sensible way to go about it (as long as you're not dropping to an unhealthy weight). I don't think there's anything wrong with setting a new goal once you reach your original goal (eg. a weight-lifting/muscle- orientated goal). I personally think... as long as you acknowledge that you have, in fact, reached your goal.

I guess I don't know what it feels like to finally reach a weight officially set out from the beginning, so if it were me, I would take atleast a moment of 'YEAH, I DID IT!' ... sort of thing.  

[Munkers]

I actually kind of have met my "original" goal. When I first saw the endocrinologist, I had been trying to get to 160 and he told me that he thought I could easily get to 150 which, at the time, seemed crazy. Once I started losing the weight though, I realized that this really was doable and changed my ultimate goal before I'd actually hit 150. I'm coming to a point that I'm getting pretty darn proud of my progress though. I think I might also be doing some clothes shopping next week and I'm tentatively hoping to be another size smaller in my jeans.

Maybe once I hit my weight goal I'll set a measurement goal and let my scale rest for a bit.  

[pigeonsoup]

whee lots of people set more "reachable" goals thinking that anything more would be crazy, until they reach their goal and realize they can totally keep going xD

That's how I was. I was like "Well I want to be 110 again. 100 would be impossible to reach." Then I reached 110 and was like ..well I guess i can keep going to 105. And then I reached 105 and was like, hell yes I'ma be 100! Now I'm close to 100 and I'm like wow I could be 98 [still in the healthy weight range for me because of my height, but only just barely, haha] if I keep going. But I don't know if I really can, depending on whether or not I actually really start building up muscles now I may sort of lose the same amount of fat I would at 98 but weigh about 100-103 because of the muscle I'll build up. In the end anyways, I mean. My guess is I'll reach about 99 before any weight change due to muscle even starts showing.

But yeah I rambled. I just mean it's really cool how you can reach your original goal and then realize your dream goal isn't so far off, after all. 3nodding  

[Munkers]

I did it!

I don't know what came over me last night, but all of a sudden, I had a tremendous urge to go run. It was late at night and I could have easily used that as an excuse, but I kind of know myself well enough to know that, if I had passed up that feeling, it might be another week or two before I get back on the treadmill.

So I got dressed and got my butt down to the gym. 3nodding

Even better, I made it completely through my Week 5 Day 1 without bonking out or have to lower my speed or anything like that. It was hard and I was fighting a stitch in my side, but I made it! And just as fun, I'm totally off the hook for today since it's officially a recovery day.

Tomorrow I'll repeat the same workout, but I'm upping my speed from 5.0 to 5.5mph like I was working at doing before. My goal is to get through the first two running intervals at least while maintaining the higher speed. Maybe I can get through all three. We'll see how it goes.


Also in happy news: My knee didn't seem to be bothered much while I was running. I woke up this morning and it was definitely a little stiff before I got out of bed, but I haven't really had any new pain. I'm still reserving judgment for after I've done some more serious bending and flexing of my knee so I can see whether or not it's going to yell at me like it has the past week or two.  

[Sunsway]

Oh, good job! Sounds like one of those good days when you're walking on clouds. I had one recently too. =D It's amazing that you have gyms open late at night though, everything closes early where I live. =C

So, any plans to jump off the treadmill and hit the sidewalk for a little scenery? xd  

[Munkers]

Well, my "gym" is really just a room in the back of my apartment complex which has a treadmill, an elliptical, a recumbent bike, and a weight machine. All the residents have keys to it so it's essentially a 24 hour type place.

Not sure when/if I'll be moving off the treadmill. I ran at a local track awhile go, but with summer in full swing it's just SO blasted hot, even at night. Maybe sometime this fall I'll pick it up again. By then I should have definitely gotten through the C25k program and it might be nice for me to play on some hills or something.  

[Munkers]

Insert snazzy title here. Also: Protein!

Well, yesterday was definitely a bingey day and I'm up by two pounds this morning, but I'm really not too bothered by it. I was craving protein like mad yesterday and even though I did way more than just give my body what it was wanting/needing, I figure my body needed a higher calorie day since I've more or less been sticking to my plan for awhile now.

Today wasn't necessarily my best day in terms of food choices, but I did pretty much stick to my points. I've discovered that beef jerky might just be an amazing freaking snack for me to have on hand. So far, I've mainly steered clear of anything dried just because it seemed like there was a lot of potential for abuse what with the whole lack-of-moisture-smaller-portions-way-easy-to-overdue-it thing going on. But I can have about an ounce and a half of it (which is more than it sounds) for 2-3 WW points and it gives me about 20 grams of protein. Not bad for a little snack!

I've mentioned to Badger that I'd like to pick up some the next time we go to Sam's so that I can have it around for snacking. A serving of jerky would easily pack twice the protein of other protein-based snacks I've been eating and since I struggle a little bit with eating enough (and because I always feel better on a higher protein diet) I think this could be a really good thing for me.

I should probably also make it a habit to try to have a full chicken breast or pork chop or something with my lunch several times a week. I think that should up my weekly totals a bit.  

[Stars in my Pocket]

Oh my goodness! I forgot beef jerky existed, ha! I tend to do that: get on track for a diet and forget things exist. e__e If only I'd forget diet soda and gummy bears existed, ha.

I'm going to go pick that up soon! It does make an excellent snack, just watch out for extra sodium. (:  

[Munkers]

Yeah... I really wish it wasn't so full of sodium. But in general I don't consume too much and I'm (usually) pretty good about drinking my water so I think I'll be alright. I may want to avoid it around my period to prevent the bloating, but snacking it on a few times a week shouldn't be a problem. whee  

[Munkers]

Oh thank you, Mother Nature

My weight has been trending up over the past few days and at first I couldn't figure out what the heck was going on. I was sticking to my points, drinking my water, and otherwise staying with the program. If it had just been a spike of one day, it wouldn't have bothered me, but as there was definitely a pattern, I wanted to know what the heck was going on.

After consulting a calendar, it turns out I'm headed into my PMS week so I'm blaming water weight and preparing to not see much movement on the scale for the next several days.

We went out to CiCi's (pizza buffet) for lunch today and I pretty much blew all of my points there. I didn't eat as much as I usually do, but it was still more than I should have had. I was planning on fixing myself a big salad, but their "salad" is iceburg lettuce and full-fat dressing which doesn't really qualify as real food in my book. (Iceburg lettuce is pretty worthless IMO unless I'm just dying for something vegetable-esque on a hamburger.) I joked to Lauren about how I would just have to fix veggies for dinner.

I ran again tonight and after I was finished and decently recovered, I realized I was freaking STARVING. So instead of lamenting about not having any points left for the day, I fixed myself a salad of epic proportions with a double portion of meat (still having protein cravings) and devoured the thing. And it was freaking amazing. I few hours later I found myself hungry again so I popped open a zero point yogurt and a big handful of grapes.

Yes, my dinner and snack took me over my points, but I feel so damn good about honoring my body's hunger signals. I also feel good about not undermining the time and energy that went into my run by starving myself. heart  

[pinkcatminht]

Munkers

Oh thank you, Mother Nature
We went out to CiCi's (pizza buffet) for lunch today and I pretty much blew all of my points there. I didn't eat as much as I usually do, but it was still more than I should have had. I was planning on fixing myself a big salad, but their "salad" is iceburg lettuce and full-fat dressing which doesn't really qualify as real food in my book. (Iceburg lettuce is pretty worthless IMO unless I'm just dying for something vegetable-esque on a hamburger.) I joked to Lauren about how I would just have to fix veggies for dinner.

haha i love CiCi's! one of the crappy things about being vegan :/ but they do make a pretty kickin' cheeseless pizza if you ask... well, the one near me does anyway.
& i'm totally with you on the iceberg lettuce! can't stand it xp

 

[Munkers]

Hurts so good

Still getting back into the swing of running. And apparently I'll be starting some weight training tomorrow whether I like it or not. xd

Kent's decided to get back on the exercise wagon (C25k was supposed to be a joint effort when I started). At first he talked about us running together somewhere, but I really like my treadmill so he's compromised with me. We'll be trading off. Tonight I ran on the treadmill while he lifted and tomorrow I'll be lifting while he runs. I've been saying that I want to start lifting/cross-training and now I have no choice. whee

My knee pain definitely improves when I stay active and run consistently. I guess my connective tissue just gets really stiff and snarky when I slack off. It's really strange. It had been damn near killing me, but then I ran and the pain was magically gone and stayed away for about a week before sitting on my butt caught up with me. Never would I have imagined that I'd experience pain from underuse.

In other news, my designated running shoes are kind of dead/dying. They were cheap and served their purpose I guess, but I don't exactly have the cash to replace them. I ran in my other sneakers today--the ones that saw me through my 12 hour clinical days again and again. At first it was distracting because they don't come up quite as high on my ankle and I was more aware of the movement. They felt like they were going to slip off of my heel even though they were perfectly secure and never actually slid around any. I have some points racked up on a website that offers gift certificates as rewards and I'm debating getting myself one for Footlocker or another sports chain whose name currently escapes me. It would allow me to purchase some higher quality shoes than I'd be able to afford otherwise, but I could also use those points for fun things like restaurants and clothes. *sigh* I'm conflicted.

I've also been thinking more about barefoot running which makes me want to not spend money on shoes even less. That'll have to wait for cooler weather when I run at the outdoor track without frying though and I'm not sure how long I can put off the shoes decision.

In diet news: I definitely need a higher protein routine. I made a concerted effort to get some protein at every meal/snack today and I feel pretty darn good. I also ate four small to medium sized meals today instead of just snacking all day like usual. I think I like this routine more. Feels like I'm less likely to fill up on carbohydrate options and emptier calories. After Kent gets paid next, I'm planning a trip to Sam's for a humongous package of lunch meat. And since the weather is cooling off a bit, maybe I'll start indulging in beans and rice more often. I suppose it's high time I devised/mastered some sort of recipe for it since I love it so much.


And since this entry has been sort of long and rambly, e-cookies to anyone who made it this far. heart  

[pigeonsoup]

*Takes cookie* >.>