Getting in sync with your body is amazing

Getting in sync with your body is amazing. I am now able to predict my periods to the DAY. This may not seem like much (or maybe it's TMI for those sensitive souls out there) but that means I can also predict the other parts of my menstrual cycle.
 I can predict when I'm going to get PMS. (<-- a="" and="" b="" big="" c="" depressed="" food="" get="" i="" it="" on="" one="" out="" p="" s="" take="" that=""> I can predict when I'm going to start craving sugar more.
 I can predict when I'll have less energy, or more energy and then plan my work outs accordingly.

If I can track my menstrual cycle I can plan on what I can eat to stop me from cramping (so badly).
I can even plan what I'm going to wear.
I can predict a bigger number on the scale and I can tell myself to relax.
I can even predict how thirsty I might get.

Listening to my body is definitely key.
I wake up in the morning and I assess, "How do I feel today? Tired? Achy? Energetic? Heavy? Sluggish? Light? Does my hip hurt? Does my right foot feel great?" etc

When I eat I pay attention to how I feel afterwards (learning that after the lactose intolerant reveal)." Does this food make me feel good or horrible afterwards?" " Did my stomach hate that cookie?" "Oh wow I feel great after organic protein bar!"

It's a good practice to have. That way I can remember how I feel and either stay away from certain foods (like sugar and the office candy section) or try something good again (like stretching after swimming).

It may seem like common sense but I don't think I'm alone when I say I just don't do it most of the time. You're so busy, you're always looking for the quick fix or the "it tastes good right now" that we don't stop to pay attention to our bodies.

It's time to pay attention now.

-w0rld

Weigh In.. No, Measure In

I've decided that I would give the scale a break and focus on measurements. Yes, I've done this before with little success but I have a new mind set on it now so I'm going to try again. Every Monday I not only weigh in but I also measure my bust, waist, hips, thighs, calves, and arms. I have a nice history now and it's interesting where I lose inches first, middle and last.

It's no surprise that my waist has been having the toughest time to lose anything but that is the life of a PCOS woman--belly fat is the hardest to get rid of and the most important to lose.

So here it is:

Last Monday's measurements:

Arms: 14.25" (Left), 14.25 (Right)
Thighs: 26" (L), 25.5" (R)
Calves: 15.75" (L), 15.75" (R)

Bust: 45"
Waist: 41.75"
Hips: 47"

Today's measurements:

Arms: 14" (L), 14 (R)
Thighs: 25.75" (L), 25.25" (R)
Calves: 15.75" (L), 15.5" (R)

Bust: 45"
Waist: 41.5"

Big belly + skinny legs= not cool

Hips: 46.5"

I've lost 1/4 inch on my arms, thighs, right calf, and waist. I lost 1/2 inch on my hips. All of this is great news.
The only thing I'm concerned about is the fact that my right and left legs are different sizes. My right leg has been giving trouble forever (plantar fasciitis and hip pain) so I'm sure that has something to do with it. I do worry that I'm losing muscle on my calves. My legs are getting skinnier while my belly is struggling to keep up. I feel like I'm going to turn in to a balloon in the middle with two toothpicks for legs. NOT COOL.

But I'm still extremely happy that I'm seeing results. The pool, and going to the gym 4-5 times a week is really helping.

Achievements:

The fancy pool I swim in

After completing 50 lengths in the pool (which I later learned is 1.13 miles) I changed my tactic last week and started doing intervals in my laps. I spend less time in the pool, work on different strokes and hopefully keep my body guessing which then equals more calories burned. That's the hope anyway. It seems to be working.

I started calorie counting again. Honestly it's the only way to be mindful of what I put in my mouth. I have to be accountable for it and write it down. It makes you think twice when you have to cop out that yes, you did eat that second helping of honey roasted peanuts.

Goals:
I decided to keep it simple and follow the first "protocol" in the Woman Code book: 'Managing Your Blood Sugar'. Here's a sneak peek of what it says:

They're practicle suggestions that I can easily do. I'm going to stick with that for now. 

Good luck everyone! And good luck with all those holiday parties. I survived my jobs party last night. Woo!

-w0rld

December Weigh In

Gone for a month. What have I been up to? Well a few things:

First of November weigh in: 202.2 lbs 
I finished my job as an Outdoor Educator.
I went on vacation.
I ate a lot of delicious food.
I learned to appreciate wine.
 I got my car impounded.
I got my car back.
Learn(ing) what it means to be lactose intolerant.
I cooked new recipes like my first roasted chicken and butterscotch.
I realized I'd been gaining weight.
 I joined a very fancy gym.
 I started swimming again (yay!)
I started my new job (same organization/ better job).
Had to use snow chains for my little sedan for the first time. Psshh snow...
I started reading again.
I am currently cooking my first butternut squash soup.

First of December weigh in: 203.8 lbs

Sigh.. Why can't I let myself stay in ONE-derland. It's very clear how much I sabotage myself the second I see something under 200 lbs. I am seriously considering getting rid of my scale and focusing on calories, exercise and measurements. I tried this before but wasn't actully diligent about taking care of my food in take. This time I am going to have to be very diligent and not think of a break from the scale is a break from staying on task.

Never give up! Never surrender!

Thinking up new weight loss regime while making soup!

-w0rld

Late Weigh In: How Badly Do I Want It?

Happy Tuesday,

Although I didn't update yesterday I did weigh and measure myself.

Current Weight: 202.2 lbs

Another gain. I'm upset not because I gained another two pounds but because I promised myself that I wouldn't get higher than 201 lbs (my 50 lbs loss mark). I have been flirting with binges and maintaining but now I've gone too far. To confirm my gain I recorded a gain in my legs and thighs. Fractions of inches really make a difference don't they?

Despite that set back I'm actually feeling pretty good compared to previous weeks. My stress has calmed down, I feel like I'm slowly gaining control of my eating and I started calorie counting again yesterday.

Achievements:
 Last week I drove 350 miles (700 miles total) to see one of the most important people in my life. I knew that seeing him would help me tremendously. And it did. Driving that distance was worth it. He helped me calm down, self reflect and remember one of the reasons WHY I want to lose weight and gain health. I guess really having that support group is crucial to any weight loss journey and mine has been lacking or losing it's effect. I guess I wish I had people to do this with me... near me so I don't lose track of my goals. It sometimes really sucks living in the middle of nowhere.

But I did do a couple of hikes last week. It had snowed the week before so the area looked gorgeous and white.

Saddlebag Lake: just outside the eastern entrance of Yosemite National Park

 I definitely had a huge reminder of the beautiful place I live in when later that same day this amazing view met me.

Sunset in the Mono Basin. 

A part from pretty pictures, I've been paying attention to what my body is telling me. For a while now I've been dealing with indigestion, bloating, cramps, gas... you name it. I didn't know what exactly was causing it so I focused on relieving my symptoms. More fiber, teas, etc.. But I think I finally found out what the (at least one) reason for all the discomfort. I think I'm becoming lactose intolerant.

I'm not 100% sure of this but I went off dairy for a couple of days and felt fine. Then I tried something with cheese in it, or yogurt and started feeling gassy again. Oh man. This is going to be difficult. But maybe I'll finally get a chance to step away from my obsession with cheese.

As I was reading different blogs I saw a picture of a sign that said "How Bad Do You Want It?" The sign was for Bitch Cakes's marathon in NY but the second I saw it I burst in to tears.

I WANT it. I really do. I want to look in the mirror and see a body I'm proud of. I want to feel great and get results from a physical that says "You're in perfect health... No, you're better than perfect health!" I want to look at my reflection and look at a person that has worked hard to get to where she is but has made it.

I burst in to tears because I'm realizing that I've lost focus on what I want and what I've been striving for. It's time to get back on track

Goals: 
I want to focus on how my body feels. I want to listen to my body more. I was amazed to realize that once I sat down and noticed what my body was telling me I was able to understand what was wrong with my digestion. I also remember how light and great I felt when I did my 4 day cleanse earlier. Eating all those veggies and complex carbs made me feel amazing.

I want to pay attention to aches and pains and address them instead of simply trying to mask them with pills or ignoring them.

I want to focus on food. I want to try to cook and eat foods that can help me feel better, not worse in the long run. Instead of simple sugars that taste good when I eat them but make me feel horrible afterwards.

I want to pay attention to my body and what it craves in forms of exercise. Do I want to go for a hike? Do I want to stay inside? Do I just want to dance around in my room? What is it body? I want to make sure I vary my exercises and get the most from my exercises but still.

How do you pay attention to your body? How do you address it?

Have a great week and happy November!

-w0rld

Weigh In: Stress, Stress, Stress

Happy Monday everyone,

This morning I woke up with a sheet of white outside the window and continuing snow throughout the morning. Thankfully I knew that was going to happen and so I didn't fret too much. I weighed myself and sighed.

Current Weight: 200.6 lbs

I've been going back and forth between 198-200 lbs these last two months. Oh plateaus, why do you continue to plague me?

In reality I have been incredibly stressed out these last couple of months, first because I was nervous and self sabotaging once I hit under 200 lbs. Through October I suddenly realized I had one month left at my job and I wasn't sure where I was going to go next. Stress eating commenced.

Whaaa! Where to live??

Starting this weekend I finally got a job offer from my current employer to move to L.A and become a coordinator. I've always wanted to live in a metropolitan city. However working for a non-profit organization means I have an incredibly limited income. I've been stressing out to the point of tears looking at housing in L.A. and realizing that my only options are a tiny 200 ft "bachelor" apartment in the ghetto or sharing a room with a bunch of college students. I'd rather have the ghetto.
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One of the other things that have just been eating at me is that I'm completely DONE with shared housing. I can not STAND living with other people that I don't choose to live with. I've learned my lesson. With this current job I became so anti-social, chagrined in having to share housing again, that now--months later and after calming down-- I'm lonely (my own fault. LOL).

Why can't you wash a dish after you use it??

I have to remind myself that with this new job, although they are limited I actually have CHOICES in my living situation. Something I'm realizing I've never really had. I've always worked in areas where housing is provided. Hence the whole point that I couldn't choose my roommates and therefore lost complete tolerance for living with others.

In my stressed and depressed/ lonely state I realize that I need a vacation. LOL

Accomplishments:

No calorie counting. I've been eating "little snacks" that I'm sure are adding up. No wonder I haven't been able to lose much.

Lost 3 lbs but only .25 inch? Is that right?

I started a new workout routine with walking/strength training intervals. I kept noticing this summer that although I was losing numbers on the scale my measurements were hardly moving. I managed to lose over 15 lbs this summer, yet I lost about an 1 inch total around my body. It just didn't seem right and so I did some research about how many inches you should be losing depending on how many pounds. If I had been losing FAT I should have lost at least 4 inches from my body.

I became scared that this whole time I had been losing muscle and water weight. So I'm hoping that this new interval work out can burn the RIGHT calories and actually shed some fat from my body.
-----

I'm still trying to follow the Woman Code book protocol. Although my food choices have been horrible I've at least been paying attention to my body. The most amazing thing that happened this month of me paying attention to my body is that I'm now better able to understand WHY I feel tired, why I crave sugar when I do and I was able to predict when my menstrual cycle would start!

Don't judge but I added tabs all over the book. LOL

This may seem silly but my periods have always been unpredictable. Being able to plan for it and say "My period will start the 21st of October" and suddenly wake up that 21st and ta da! That's pretty amazing.


Goals:

I need to follow the Woman Code protocol more strictly. The first thing it asks me to do is to stabilize my blood sugar. I think I'm going to focus on that this week. The book has simple suggestions on how I can do this. I'm going to re-read that section and try to focus on just that this week.

I need to stay away from the scale. Since August I've suddenly become a scale junkie. I find myself stepping on the scale multiple times a day! It needs to stop. It's no wonder I'm freaking out and losing optimism.

I need to drink more water. I've noticed I've been waking up feeling disoriented. Clear sign of dehydration since I live in high elevation.

I'm going to continue my interval work out. I downloaded a new app on my phone called Gymboss. It's pretty much a timer specific to interval work outs: so if I wanted to do 30 second intervals for 20 minutes I can set that up and let it run. Every 30 seconds it beeps loudly and starts the next 30 second interval. Simple and perfect for a person who
uses their phone to track workouts already. When I first used it I had Runkeeper, Gymboss, and Pandora running at the same time. LOL.

Time to de-stress! I won't be moving to L.A. until December. I currently live too far from the city to visit and do most of the required research, so for now I'll save money for a move in, work on my credit score and look up fun things to do in the city.

Good luck everyone. I'll do my best. In the end my skin is looking better, my body is showing signs of healthier curves, and I just got a full time job doing something I love! Now if I could just reach that 60 lbs loss mark~

-w0rld

Update.... after I sleep

Happy Monday. I finished work about one hour ago and just finished lunch (frittata slice, bulgur, and peanut butter.. weird I know). Haven't gotten a chance to weigh or measure. Will have to do so tomorrow. I'm about to fall asleep.

So I leave you with a picture of fall colors I took this morning while doing a small hike with my boss.

Weigh In: Celebrating with truffles??

Albondigas and cider. Yumm!

I had a celebratory dinner last night. That was definitely not part of the plan of eating light this weekend. I had a cup of albondigas (meatball) soup, a handful of chips and salsa, a little less than half a fish burrito, a quarter serving of rice and beans, the best hot cider I've tasted and for dessert I bought a truffle and dark chocolate walnuts. Apparently that, and my lunch of a kale and grilled chicken salad, a snack of peanut butter and a green apple, and a breakfast of yogurt, fruit and fiber bar were enough to make me gain 2 pounds over night.

Current Weight: 199.0

I weighed myself Sunday morning too and I weighed 197. Crazy how a day's worth of food can change your body. I know that some of it could be water weight etc but wow. Let's just say I wasn't thrilled this morning. HOWEVER, I measured myself and I lost half an inch on my hips, half an inch on my belly, and fractions of inches off my thighs and arms. Some of these inch fractions I'd gained and re-lost and some of them are new losses which is awesome. My over all body measurements currently are:

Bust: 44"
Underbust: 38"
Waist: 40"
Hips: 45.5"

The dreaded arm fat.

Thighs: 25"
Calves: 15.5"
Arms: 14"

The difference between my calves and my arms are that my calves are almost pure muscle and my arms are almost pure fat. Why is arm fat so hard to get rid of??

So it's a bittersweet morning. In the end I'm still losing fat which is great but the scale isn't showing it. I know that measurements are more important than the number on the scale but can't they once agree on something?

My goal to get to an Overweight BMI (around 185-188 lbs) by the end of the year is getting trickier the longer I'm stuck in the late 190's. I was stuck here before. I then gained 15 pounds and didn't lose it for two years.

I'm not going to let that happen again. I need to figure out a way to boost weight loss and get away from the late 190's.

Achievements:

I hardly worked out this week. The cleanse at the start of the week left me energy depleted and I became exhausted after hanging out with 22 ten year olds for a week. I went on a bike ride and a hike this weekend and that was awesome.

The view of Mono Lake from the trail.

I have been feeling the urge to go running. But I don't think my hip has healed yet and so I've been scared of trying. I've finally started doing hip bursitis physical therapy exercises I found online. I'm not sure if I have bursitis but having to online diagnose myself that's the closest to the symptoms I have. My hip has been feeling fine. It was a little sore after my 4 mile hike yesterday but nothing too bad.

I haven't been calorie counting. After the 4 day cleanse I confess I went crazy with carbs and sugar one afternoon. I calmed down a bit, but then again I ate a truffle last night. I had been stressing over the prospects of a new job and although I haven't gotten a definite YES yet I got hopeful news yesterday. I guess I haven't learned not to celebrate with food. :(

Goals:

I need to drink more water. Now that I'm using a space heater every night it makes me dehydrated faster.
I need to start calorie counting and working out consistently this week. I need to get off this plateau!
I have 3 weeks to get to 191 lbs-- my 60 lbs loss mark. I need to get there by Halloween! In order to do that I need to lose 3 lbs a week. I don't know how realistic that is but I can definitely try my hardest!

Wish me luck everyone. And I hope this fall has been good to you. I'm just cold all the time.

-w0rld