What I've Been Eating As I've Been Losing Weight

Several people have asked me to do a "what I eat" post recently. I don't normally like to post these because I get a lot of criticism for my food choices. But as I'll explain below, I just do what works for me. I'm not at all saying that this is how other people should eat!

I still feel like posts like this are premature because I am not at my target weight (goal weight, comfortable weight, happy weight, call it what you like). I'm still in the process of losing the weight I'd gained over the last few years.

Thankfully, it's going very well! I've lost just over 30 pounds in 16 weeks, going from a 10-year-high weight of 197 to 163.8 at my most recent weigh-in.

To lose the weight, I've just been counting calories (something that has never failed me in the past). There is no cookie cutter weight loss plan for everybody; we all need to find out what works for us (that took a lot of trial and error for me).

I've learned quite a bit about my body over the last three decades of dieting! Here are just a few things I've learned:

I lose weight very consistently when I reduce the number of calories I'm eating. If I just try to eat less food, I still tend to eat too much; that's why I count the calories.

My body likes to run on carbs and fat. Whenever I tried to get the recommended-at-the-time ratio of macronutrients in the past, I was miserable. It caused me to binge eat and quit altogether. I don't even look at my macronutrients now; I just trust that my body will crave what it needs.

I feel best when I eat a small volume of food, but still keep the calories at a "normal" number. In other words, I prefer calorie-dense foods. When I eat a large volume of lower-calorie food, I just don't feel good. Eating smaller, higher-calorie foods satisfies my appetite and hunger without making me feel overly full and bloated.

I do best without a calorie limit. This is always hard to explain, but I don't have a particular number that I aim for each day. I find that when I do, I don't listen to my body's cues. Some days, I have no appetite and I eat very little; other days, I'm ravenous and I eat a lot. I find that if I have a target, I'll continue to eat until I reach that number whether I'm hungry or not. Or if I have already used my calories for the day and I'm super hungry, I'll binge eat. So, I choose not to have a calorie limit. I find that I average anywhere from 1300 to 1900 a day. But still, sometimes more and sometimes less.

Finally, I much prefer to use my calories on a meal that I really look forward to (which is dinner). So, I save the majority of my calories for dinnertime and a snack a few hours later. I eat dinner very early (between 3:30 and 4:30 ish). So I'll eat very lightly until dinner.

Okay, I just wanted to explain all that before I get into what I tend to eat day-to-day. To someone who is used to eating 5-6 times a day, it would sound like I'm starving by eating only 2-3 times. Or to someone who likes 3 square, balanced meals, my food choices seem odd.

Note: My serving sizes may vary from what is shown here or listed in recipes. I base my serving size on how hungry I am--I just make sure to measure it and count it.

Breakfast

For a while last year, I got into doing intermittent fasting and I skipped breakfast and lunch. I really liked that, because I found it freed my mind from thinking about food all day! I don't do fasting (deliberately) anymore, but I also don't mind missing meals if I'm not hungry or I'm just busy.

Breakfast is the same for me every day. I have black tea with a teaspoon of honey and a tablespoon of heavy cream. Most days I don't eat anything with it, but when I do, it's fruit. I'll have a big bowl of grapes or a couple of plums or peaches. Whatever I have on hand. I love fruit!

Asian Pear (These are my very very favorite fruit! But I can never find them and when I do,
they are $2-3 EACH. I'm hoping my Asian Pear tree will give me fruit one day!

Lunch

I've never enjoyed lunchtime. It seems so inconvenient--it's always when I'm busy doing other things, and I don't like to cook just for myself. Also, I never know what to eat for lunch.

If I'm really busy, I'll just skip it. Otherwise, I almost always have a couple of pieces of string cheese and either crackers or fruit. I can't remember the last time I had something other than that, actually!

The jalapeño string cheese is my favorite!

Dinner

I'm always hungry for dinner, which is how I like it. If I'm not very hungry, then the food doesn't taste as good. By 3:30 or 4:00, I'm definitely ready to eat. Since I eat very lightly throughout the day, I like to plan a satisfying dinner. Satisfying doesn't always mean "big" (as in volume) but it's almost always something high in calories. I don't skimp on using oil or butter, cheese, pasta, rice, etc.

Also, I don't like eating a typical "meat and side dishes" type meals. I almost always make one-pot meals, skillet dinners, and casseroles. Clearly, I don't eat enough vegetables. I like to mix them into whatever the dish is that I'm making. If I was to cook a side of veggies, I'd be the only one in my family to eat them!

Here are some examples of dinner (I've linked the photos to my recipes, if they are posted on the blog):

Chicken Fajita Bowl

Fried Rice

Gnocchi and mushrooms with pesto cream sauce

Some sort of Asian chicken with rice (I can't remember)

Chicken Taco Soup

Spicy Chicken Taco Pasta

Chicken Broccoli Lo Mein

Pork Bibimbap

Mushroom Stroganoff (I give the family beef, but I prefer just mushrooms)

I'm not sure what this is, but it was good! Some sort of Asian-flavored skillet meal.

Meatball subs on garlic bread

Spaghetti Pie

White Chicken Enchiladas

Sesame Chicken

Tortellini with pesto cream

Chicken Pot Pie Bubble Up

Margherita Pizza

Spicy Peanut Noodle Bowls

Steak, green beans, mashed potatoes, and mushrooms

Hawaiian Fried Rice

Spicy Black Bean Enchiladas

Jerry's Favorite Pork and Rice with applesauce

Grilled cheese (muenster) with bacon

Chipotle chicken and cheese quesadillas (the kids like me to make this when they have
friends over for dinner--it's a teenager favorite!)

Ground turkey and cabbage with peanut sauce

General Tso's Chicken

Smoked sausage hash with a runny egg

Pesto Cream Gnocchi (we LOVE this! I usually make it with tortellini now, though)

A lot of the dinners are deceptively high in calories. Like the gnocchi above, I think it's something like 800 calories. It has heavy cream, parmesan cheese, and pesto sauce, which is a lot of fat. So even a small portion is very filling. That's what I am referring to when I say "calorie dense" foods. My dinner is almost always 700-1,000 calories. If I want to have less calories for dinner, I'll just eat a smaller portion of whatever I'm making rather than try to alter the recipe.

Snack

Since I eat dinner so early, I like to have a good-sized snack at around 8:00 or so. And this is where I basically just eat anything that sounds good. From a big bowl of grapes to a piece of homemade dessert to a couple of ounces of cashews to salami and string cheese. Anything goes--it just depends on my mood. But here are some examples of snacks:

Almonds and dried cherries

A candy bar of any sort--I love candy bars!

A Larabar with chocolate peanut butter and strawberries

Chips Ahoy cookies and milk (Chips Ahoy cookies are a vice of mine--
I like them more than homemade cookies a lot of the time! ;) 

Animal crackers and salami slices

A cookie sampler... I ended up not liking these ones, so I didn't finish them.

Cashews and string cheese (cashews are a go-to when I need more calories;
most of the time, I'll have 2 ounces, which is 340 calories; shown above is only 1 ounce).

Peach cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream

Imitation crab in butter with applesauce (yes, this is weird--it was a craving!)

Popcorn with fake butter (you know that butter flavored oil? That.) and salt

Cheez-its and string cheese

Marshmallows and cashews (marshmallows only have 25 calories each!)

Apple with cinnamon raisin peanut butter

Cap'n Crunch cereal (or any kind, really--I love cereal!)

As you can see, my snacks are a big smorgasbord of stuff. Sometimes I have as many calories as a full meal, other times just a couple hundred. Again, it all depends on how hungry I am and/or how much I ate during the rest of the day.

Drinks

As far as drinks, I only drink tea and water. I quit drinking alcohol in February and I don't like to spend calories on other drinks like soda or juice. If we have friends over or something, I might have Heineken 0.0, but other than that, I just stick to water. Occasionally a La Croix if I can get them on sale for cheap! Haha.

So there you have it. My diet is far from perfect, but it's a million times better than it was when I was 253 pounds. I eat what I enjoy and I don't obsess about getting in the perfect numbers. I eat too much sugar, not enough vegetables, too many processed foods, and all the other things that I've heard before. But I eat how it works best for ME. And I'm cool with that.

Also, my tastes change over time. I usually go through phases for months at a time, or even a year or more. (In 2015-2016, I probably ate 2,000 packs of fruit snacks! And in 2017, I ate probably 400 bowls of cereal. In 2012-2013, I ate oatmeal probably 700 times. One time, I even went through a salad phase--and I don't even like salad, for the most part! Lately, it's been string cheese, pickles, and crackers (Goldfish, Cheez-its, animal crackers, or plain old saltines).

Like I said, there is nothing special or exciting about my diet. I just eat whatever sounds best to me :)

Continue Reading...

HERITAGE RECIPE: Apple Delight

Since I didn't post a heritage recipe yesterday, I decided to find something simple from the heritage book to make today (with ingredients I already had on hand). The name "Apple Delight" sounded kind of retro and it looked simple enough.

It wasn't until just now, as I'm writing this post, that I realized I'd posted one of this woman's recipes recently. I typed her name into Google, and when the results popped up, I saw the first link was an ancestry site that had been clicked on (you know how they show up in a different color when you've already visited the links?).

Then I noticed that the second result on Google was "Creamed Ham, Asparagus, and Mushrooms (in a noodle ring!)" I thought, "Hey, I just made that... how funny."

THEN it hit me: "Waiiiiit a second.... that's my blog post!"

This recipe was submitted by Jean Eagal in memory of her mother, Elizabeth LaBo. I wrote a little about them in the post for Creamed Ham, Asparagus, and Mushrooms. Unfortunately, I couldn't find much--but I did post a couple of photos of them (both have passed away).

As I started making the recipe for Apple Delight, I started having some hesitations (which I'll note below). As always for the heritage recipes, I did not substitute ingredients or alter the recipe at all and I prepared it to the best of my understanding from the recipe. In the "printer friendly version", I've rewritten it with my notes included for clarification.

Here is a printer-friendly version!

Here is the recipe exactly as written in the heritage cookbook:

Apple Delight

Beat 2 eggs till lemon color and stiff. Add 1 cup sugar, slowly. Add 2 tablespoons flour, sifted, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 cup chopped nuts, 1 diced apple (more if you want) and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour into baking dish. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes. Crust will rise up into a beautiful brown, then will fall. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.

My Notes:

I got out the ingredients and as soon as I started prepping, I had a question: to peel the apple or not to peel? I really wanted to peel it first, because I just felt like that would be better in this case, but I left the peel intact because the recipe did not say to peel it.

It didn't say how small to chop the apples, but because the nuts are chopped, I assumed the apples should be on the small side as well. 

What size baking dish? This was totally up in the air. A pie plate? An 8x8? 9x9? 9x13? Based on the amount of batter, I guessed a smaller dish. Rather than choosing between square or round, I chose a 1.5-quart oval CorningWare dish.

And the biggest question of all: Do I grease the dish? Every instinct in my body was telling me to grease it! There was no butter or lard of any kind in the dish (the only fat came from the eggs--which stick to everything--and the nuts). But I don't have "baker's instincts". I have amateur cook's instincts. So, in the spirit of following the recipe instructions to the best of my ability, I did not grease the dish.

I put it in the oven and set the timer for 30 minutes, hoping that I wasn't going to be scraping egg off a baking dish for an hour tonight. (Ask me how I know how much work that is! Haha)

While it was baking, I made some whipped cream. I didn't have any ice cream, but I wanted to serve it how the directions specified. So I just whipped 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 2 Tbsp. sugar until I had a delicious whipped cream.

When I pulled the dish out of the oven, it was indeed a beautiful brown color and it was puffed up high.

As it cooled, though, the center wasn't sinking. I gently touched the top with my finger, expecting it to be spongy, but it broke apart and I could see it was hollow underneath. (The top was like meringue.)

That's when I noticed that the center didn't appear to be cooked. I turned the oven back on, even though I knew that would probably mess it up, but I wanted to at least try to get it right.

After 10 more minutes, the center no longer looked like the yellow-ish brown batter. This "Apple Delight" isn't cake-like. I'm not really sure how to describe it. There are chunks of nuts and apples with a REALLY good meringue holding it together. But it's not something you slice; it was something to be scooped out. I scooped it out onto a plate and topped with the fresh whipped cream.

HOLY SMOKES. I was absolutely shocked that 1) I managed not to screw this up and 2) It was SO good! There was definitely no need to peel the apples--I didn't even notice the peel at all. The pecans gave most of the flavor--they were perfectly toasted. And with the sugar, it was basically like eating candied pecans with warm apples and a meringue crust--with freshly whipped cream!

"Delightful" is an understatement. I thought for sure when I read through the recipe that it was missing cinnamon or something, but after tasting it exactly as-written, I don't think it needs any changes whatsoever. It didn't even stick to the baking dish! This is a very light dessert (in the sense that it doesn't sit heavy in your stomach or make you feel sick after eating it). I definitely think that the choice of nuts will make all the difference. I don't think I'd like this as much with walnuts or almonds. The pecans were perfect.

This is going to be my go-to when I need to make a dessert. Clearly, it's fool-proof because it worked out for me even after I underbaked it at first. I bet it would be amazing with ice cream, too; but ice cream doesn't last more than 30 minutes in this house. However, I think the whipped cream complimented it really well.

Definitely make this if you're looking for a light but delicious dessert--it's amazing! (Jerry and Eli loved it; Noah said it was good, but he doesn't really like apple desserts, so it's not his favorite.) I will absolutely be making this again!

Continue Reading...

BOOK REVIEW: 'The Running Dream' by Wendelin Van Draanen (no spoilers)

I didn't make a heritage recipe today. I picked one out, but once I realized who it came from, I decided to give it some more time. The recipe came from the mother of my third grade teacher! There are very few teachers that I remember well, but she was definitely one of them--a favorite for sure. I ended up looking her up on Facebook and I decided to send her a message about the recipe. I don't know if she'll read the message, but it would be great to hear from her. I'll post the recipe either way.

Anyway, I finished my September Friends read-athon book, so I wanted to get my thoughts down about it before I forget.

I committed to a 12-month read-athon, where I choose a book each month based on a prompt inspired by Friends (the TV show). Here is the post with the details.

For September, the prompt was: "The One with the Football" - Read a sports-themed book.

When I hear "sports", I think of the well-known ones: football, basketball, hockey, baseball, soccer... I am not a sports fan in the slightest sense of the word. However, even though running isn't the first thing that pops into my mind as far as sports go, I consider it a sport. And I'm definitely interested in reading about running, so I chose a book called 'The Running Dream'.

Here is the publisher's description of 'The Running Dream' by Wendelin Van Draanen (Amazon affiliate link):

Jessica thinks her life is over when she loses a leg in a car accident. She's not comforted by the news that she'll be able to walk with the help of a prosthetic leg. Who cares about walking when you live to run?

As she struggles to cope with crutches and a first cyborg-like prosthetic, Jessica feels oddly both in the spotlight and invisible. People who don't know what to say, act like she's not there. Which she could handle better if she weren't now keenly aware that she'd done the same thing herself to a girl with CP named Rosa. A girl who is going to tutor her through all the math she's missed. A girl who sees right into the heart of her.

With the support of family, friends, a coach, and her track teammates, Jessica may actually be able to run again. But that's not enough for her now. She doesn't just want to cross finish lines herself—she wants to take Rosa with her.

It's a young adult fiction book, and yes, I thought it sounded corny. Sometimes, though, I like corny. (The description should not have abbreviated cerebral palsy because not everyone knows what "CP" is; the description makes more sense if you know what CP is.)

I knew this was going to be a "feel good" type of book so I read it with that in mind (basically, I didn't want to be cynical about it being predictable and/or corny).

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book! It definitely met my expectations of it being a "feel good" book--no surprise there--but there was more to it than that.

First, reading about what it's like to lose a leg... wow. You think you can imagine how awful it would be, but you don't really think about things like, say, how to get into a bathtub when you only have one leg. You can't just hop over the side of the tub. This was a challenge that Jessica had to figure out.

I learned quite a bit about prosthetics as well--and not in a super nerdy all-the-fine-details way, but more of the basics like how it stays on the residual limb (as well as terms such as "residual limb"). It was stuff I'd never really thought about before, but I found it really interesting.

There were lots of funny parts of the book, too--I literally laughed so hard that I was wheezing at one point, and when I read it to Jerry, he was cracking up, too:

Before she was in the car accident that caused her to have her leg amputated, Jessica ran track for her high school. Her event was the 4x400 meter relay--meaning four members of the team each run a 400-meter leg to complete the race. Anyway, she went out to lunch with her friend--also on the track team--and her friend was filling her in on what was happening with the team. She mentioned another girl on the team doing the relay. Jessica responded, "Oh, did she take my leg?" (meaning the leg of the relay). When she and her friend realized what she'd said, completely unintentionally, they burst out laughing. So did I.

Basically, the book goes through stages: it starts with Jessica in the hospital immediately after her amputation. Then it goes into her adjusting to life without her leg (it's so much more complicated than I imagined!). She REALLY misses running, which is obviously a theme throughout the book. Then the books goes into her life after she's physically recovered and trying to resume some sense of normal.

She becomes friends with a girl named Rosa who has cerebral palsy and feels invisible--Jessica admits that she never paid attention to Rosa before her accident. Meanwhile, she is getting fitted for a prosthesis (a very long process!) and there is hope that she'll run again one day with the help of a prosthetic running leg.

I don't want to get much more into that because I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll just say that the book is expectedly predictable and I'm sure you'll guess what happens before you even read it, haha. However, it gave me ALL the feelings--I can't even tell you how many times I cried while reading! Happy tears. It is absolutely the "feel good" book that I imagined it would be. And I loved it!

It made me think of when I went to the Runner's World Half & Festival in 2014 and I met Sarah Reinertsen--a Paralympic triathlete and former track runner with an above-the-knee amputation. I learned a little about prosthetic running legs from her, but if I'd read this book before meeting her, I would have asked her a million more questions.

I highly recommend this book if you're looking to restore your faith in humanity. If you're a runner, you'll especially love it, but even if you're not, it would still be very enjoyable. I was surprised just how accurate the running stuff was--especially the feelings surrounding running and racing--and I figured that the author probably ran track. (In the "About the Author" section, I learned that she did, in fact, run track.)

Overall, this book was incredibly heartwarming and emotional. It was educational without being boring or nerdy, and it seemed to be well-researched. It was inspiring and uplifting.

I liked this book so much that I'd like to give away a Kindle copy! And actually, I have a paperback copy that I'm never going to read (now that I have my Paperwhite, I can't imagine going back to actual books). I got the paperback from a thrift store, so it isn't in perfect shape--it's clearly a used copy--but I'd be happy to pass it along to someone who would like it!

To enter to win a Kindle copy or the paperback, just fill out the form below. I'll email you if your name is pulled :)  (I'll randomly pick the names on September 25, 2021 at 5:00 PM ET.)

If you would like to check it out on Amazon, you can find it here. (Affiliate link)

Continue Reading...

Friday Night Photos : Recent Weight Loss Comparison

I don't have many photos on my camera roll this week, so I thought I'd post some recent weight loss comparison photos--those are always fun :)

I was feeling kind of bummed that despite losing over 30 pounds in the past few months, I don't feel like it's very noticeable. I can feel a little difference in my clothes, but nothing major. So I started looking through pictures, trying to find one from earlier this year that would be a good "before" photo. Unfortunately, I always avoid the camera when I'm feeling bad about my weight, so I don't have many pictures; and the ones I do have aren't full-body shots.

So, I looked through my photos from 2020 when I did the 75 Hard challenge. For 75 days, I had to take a full-length mirror selfie every single day. The pictures are pretty embarrassing--I never planned to show anyone, so I didn't care what I looked like.

But anyway, I picked out a few photos where I still have the clothing I was wearing so that I could try on the clothes and take a comparison picture. I just wanted to see if the 30-pound weight loss was noticeable!

This photo on the left was taken August 20, 2020. The one on the right was taken Wednesday.

While it's just a sweatshirt, sweatshirts make up about 90% of my tops, haha. I think it hangs so much better now--I used to tug it down all the time because it would cling around my middle. And I love that I can see my jawline again!

There's not a huge difference in these pictures below, but the difference in my weight wasn't huge, either: 178 versus 164. (The left photo was taken January 1, 2020, so it was likely a "new year's resolution photo", haha--not from 75 Hard.) Again, the shirt doesn't cling around the middle anymore.

That's actually Chick photobombing on the right, and not Duck--shocker!

I was really shocked when I saw these pictures below side-by-side! The picture on the left was taken July 23, 2020, a few days after starting 75 Hard (the pic on the right is from today). I really love how comfy the shirt is now--I'm going to start wearing it again.

And of course, I had to try on The Coats again. Remember the story of my coats? (It's kind of long, so here is the recap.)

First up, my orange coat. It was bittersweet to try it on today and find that it's definitely TOO big to wear now. I love roomy coats, but this one is beyond that point. I'm going to look for another on Poshmark, though ;)  (Maybe I'll do a giveaway for this one... trust me, you want it! It's so so so comfy and perfect for cold weather. And, well--it's orange! What's not to love?)

The picture on the left is from February 6, 2021. On the right is from today.

Then there is my tan corduroy/faux fur coat. Again, soooo comfy! And if you read the story, you know that I wound up with THREE of these (BAHAHA!) in three different sizes: medium, large, and extra-large. Shown below is the XL--the pic on the left from February 8 versus today.

I wouldn't call it "too" big, but I definitely have a lot more room in it than I did before! But since the coat is meant to be a little more fitted, I decided to try on the size large, too. And then just for shits and giggles, I tried on the medium.

I feel like the large looks and feels the best. This is my favorite late-fall coat; the length of it keeps my thighs warm and the faux fur is so soft. If I'm feeling confident that I'll keep the weight off, I'll give away this XL coat here, too.

Okay, well that was a fun boost of motivation--it feels good to try on clothes and have them be loose. I was used to feeling my clothes get tighter and tighter until I couldn't wear them anymore. I think I'll try on clothes every 10 pounds I lose; I forgot that I did that when I was losing weight in 2009-2010. I took full-length comparison photos every 10 pounds and it was cool to see the difference.

Well, I'm about to start a new book. Have a great weekend! xo

Continue Reading...

Return to Running Recap : Week 16

This week was kind of a big deal for me--I did all three of my runs outside! Ever since I started running again, I just haven't been comfortable doing it outside. I'm not sure why that is; staying at home on the treadmill just feels "safe".

However, running outside is almost always a little tougher for me. It's not as consistent (harder to control my pace) and I obviously can't control the weather. There was a time when I despised the treadmill and I would avoid it at all costs. Now, though, I rather like it--when I read my book on the treadmill, the time goes by quickly.

Week 16, Day 1 : Run 3 miles (at lowest heart rate possible)

I'm not sure what made me decide to run outside, because it wasn't exactly ideal running weather--80 degrees and sunny. I prefer temps in the 40s! Within a few minutes, my heart rate was already kind of high. I decided that instead of trying to run my typical "treadmill effort", I would just try to get my heart rate as low as possible but still technically be running.

I slowed way down. I couldn't see my pace, but I felt like I was just crawling along. The first couple of miles weren't bad at all and felt almost effortless; the third mile was full sun and I was running on asphalt, so I started pouring sweat. I ran as slowly as I possibly could, but I still couldn't get my heart rate to my MAF zone.

I think it's interesting to note that my steps per minute (on the left, underneath each lap number) is the same for all three miles. Whether I was running at 12:26/mile or 13:17/mile, I had the same number of steps. That just means that to go slower, I shortened my stride rather than taking fewer steps.

I was SO hot when I was done. (The picture above where I'm covered in sweat is from after this particular run.) I took an ice cold shower after that.

Week 16, Day 2 : Run 3 miles (with 1 mile at tempo pace)

Again, I decided to run outside. Since the previous run actually didn't feel bad (running so slowly and with my heart rate that low, it reminded me of my old easy, effortless runs) I thought I'd try to do the same thing again: run at a super slow pace to keep my heart rate low.

It was immediately apparent that I was not going to have the same heart rate result as before. Still, I decided to just run at the easiest effort I could manage. It felt like it was taking forever, and as I approached the two-mile mark, I decided on a whim to run a tempo mile.

Since I ran a 10:29 mile last week, I figured I'd aim for something faster than that--even 10:28 would be good. So I picked up speed, trying not to pick up *too* much speed (so I wouldn't crash halfway through the mile). About half a mile in, my average pace for that mile was 10:15. That made me start thinking, "I wonder if I could run a sub-10:00 mile?"

I just maintained that pace, not sure if I should go for it or not. With a quarter-mile left to go, my average pace was 10:09. I knew that if I pushed myself, I could run a sub-10:00. However, I did something that was even harder than that: I ran slower, even when I knew that I could run a sub-10:00.

How is that harder? Because I naturally wanted to feel that high of reaching a super hard milestone. The reason I chose not to is because I want to have a goal to continue to work toward. If I ran sub-10:00, then each time I run I would feel like I have to constantly push as hard as I can. I like the idea of aiming to run just slightly faster each time I try, rather than aiming for big jumps. I should have aimed for 10:25.

Since I was on pace for 10:09 already, and I was almost on my street, I just tried to slow down. I ended up finishing that mile in 10:10. That's a big improvement from last week! And it still gives me that sub-10:00 to look forward to at some point. I was really happy with this run!

Week 16, Day 3 : Run 3 miles easy

This was a terrible run. I was dehydrated and my stomach was bothering me so badly the entire time (I don't know why). I felt super hot and I just wanted to get it over with. I tried to run slowly to keep my heart rate down and the first mile was pretty good (142 bpm). After that, though, was when I really just wanted to be done with it. My heart rate went up to 152-154 bpm and held steady for the remainder of the run. I was trying to run at a slow pace, but not TOO slow because I was desperate to get back home.

I've been thinking about changing up my training a bit. I may write out a training plan so that I have a real purpose for each run rather than just winging it. And now that it should be getting cooler outside, I'll likely be running outside more--so that will change things up as well.

I feel like it's probably time to add another day of running into the week--the more I run, the easier it will get. I know this from experience! Or possibly just increasing the distance of one run per week. I'll try and figure it out this week!

Continue Reading...

Wednesday Weigh-In : Week 16

What a week! I was really dreading today's weigh-in all week long.

I had a great weigh-in last week (I'd lost 3.6 pounds) and I was excited to go into the new week that much lighter. As I've mentioned before, I weigh myself every morning (I know daily weighing isn't helpful for a lot of people, but I don't let it make or break my day; I just like to see how my food/lifestyle affects my weight). When I got on the scale on Thursday, my weight was up a pound. No big deal.

On Friday, it was up another pound. That was unusual for me--I hadn't overeaten or done anything out of the ordinary. And of course, we celebrated Jerry's birthday on Friday. I didn't let my weight stop me from eating a large slice of the German chocolate cake I'd slaved over! I knew that I hadn't done anything to cause the gain, so I just assumed it would work itself out eventually. And I was pretty sure that after indulging in Jerry's birthday dinner, I was going to see another gain on Saturday.

Sure enough, on Saturday morning, it was up another 2.4 pounds! This was definitely not "normal" for me--I'm used to the ups and downs, but for it to keep going up when I was eating like I always do was very odd.

Interestingly, I was down to 166 on Sunday; then Monday it was back up to 167.4. Yesterday, it was at 165.8. I really didn't want to have a gain for Wednesday Weigh-In... whenever I've gained weight, it's clear what caused it. A binge back in the day would have made me gain five pounds overnight. (It's been a VERY long time since I binged.)

Yesterday, I drank a TON of water. I'd been feeling "puffy" all week--my hands seemed just a little swollen. I didn't feel dehydrated, but I hoped that drinking all the water would help get rid of the puffiness. I ate a normal amount of calories yesterday (a little over 1500) but I ate a small volume of food (when I want to get enough calories but eat a small amount of food and still feel full, I choose calorie-dense things like peanut butter).

And it worked! Barely, but I managed to lose a little this week:

I was at 163.8, which is down from 164.2 last week; a loss of 0.4 pounds, and a total of 33.2 pounds since I started 16 weeks ago.

I'm happy to have had a loss on the scale, especially since I had such a significant loss last week! I'm still clueless as to what caused the four-pound gain. I didn't eat extra sodium, I didn't eat unusual foods, I wasn't noticeably dehydrated... it was just odd. But hopefully I won't have the same issue this week.

I did my Round 3 weigh-in with my 6-month DietBet today--and I won, of course! So I'm halfway through, and I've won each round so far. I'm actually already under the weight that I need to be in December when the DietBet ends! One of the things I like about this 6-month DietBet is that I still have to be at or under my target (I forget what the target is--I think 170?) when the DietBet ends in December; that's to prevent people from losing all the weight quickly, and then gaining it all back before the 6 months is up.

I don't really feel like the DietBet is helpful anymore (it's not harming anything, either). It was a great tool to get me back on track and to start losing the weight, but I really don't even think about the DietBet until it's time to weigh-in each month. So this will be my last one.

Well, this week was a nail-biter (haha) but I'm happy to see a loss on the scale. I feel good going into this week :)

(Since someone is bound to ask, here is a recent post about how I've been losing the weight over the last four months.)

Continue Reading...

Transformation Tuesday #42

Happy Transformation Tuesday! I was thrilled to see several transformations in my inbox--enough for a couple of weeks :)   So I'll post a few today and save the others for next week.

Last week, I took a picture of Estelle on the treadmill--I thought it was funny that she was sleeping there. (The bed of the treadmill stays warm for a while after I'm done using it, so I think that's why she was attracted to it.) I was going to post it for Friday Night Photos, but I was kind of horrified at how dirty it was! I never think to dust it, so there was clearly a build-up of dust there. Anyway, after seeing the picture, I decided to take a few minutes to clean it up. It looks so much better!

---

This small transformation of the front door does wonders for our entryway - had the inside painted white and outside black. I’m slowly changing out all of our gold door handles to black, too. Next up is the oak stair rail!

- Stephanie, Colorado

Stephanie, what a huge difference! It looks so clean and modern. The yellow wreath really brings out the color of the door, too. (I was so excited when we swapped out our gold door handles! That alone makes a big difference.) The door looks great! Make sure you get a before photo of your stair rail, too ;) 

---

I didn't grab a great before photo of this. I'm moving and planning to use this big wooden "closet" in my living room, but I despise the color orange (I know you love it, sorry!). I picked up a gallon of paint for $15 and just gave it a quick coat so it is all white/off white rather than such an intense orange. 

I used the same paint on two additional pieces of furniture I'm moving with as well so the paint was money well spent. 

- Crystal

Crystal, isn't it amazing what $15 can do to transform something?! (While I love orange, I know that it's definitely not the favorite for most people, haha.) Something as simple as paint can make you feel like you have all new furniture. You did a great job! -Katie

---

My 15-year old daughter and I cut our hair and donated it. Hers was donated to Maggie's Wigs 4 Kids of Michigan and mine was donated to Locks of Love since it had been permed within the last 2 years.

She cut off a total of 15 inches and I cut off 12 inches. 

Kandi and Tavia - Central Wyoming

Kandi, I LOVE this transformation--what an amazing thing to do with your daughter! You both have gorgeous hair and I'm sure whoever receives it will be thrilled. I looked up Maggie's Wigs 4 Kids (I hadn't heard of it before) and just wanted to share the info here in case anyone else is interested in donating hair to this non-profit that helps kids with hair loss. Here is the info on how to donate (you can have your hair cut anywhere and then mail it--it looks very simple). It takes 10-12 donated ponytails to make one wig!

---

Thanks so much for sharing your transformations! (If you sent me one and it's not here, it's just because I'm holding onto it for next week.) To submit a transformation, just send me a before photo and an after photo at: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. Don't forget to include your name and a description of your transformation!

Continue Reading...

Reader Email

I've had a super busy weekend! I had planned to write a post today about things that I eat (since a lot of people have been asking about it lately) but I haven't had time to look through my food logs and/or photos, so I will work on that this week.

My anxiety is still pretty high (just generalized anxiety; it's not something I can pinpoint) so I'm going to take today off of writing a post and just share some fun news from a blog reader. Check this out!

Hi Katie, 

I had to share our new kittens we adopted from a local rescue a month ago. They are such sweet girls: Chloe Bell (all black) and Evie Binks (black with white).

- Kim

 

Aren't they SO cute?! (Kim, I'm so glad that you chose to adopt from a rescue! And I love that you adopted them together. Enjoy these little sweeties--they grow so fast, don't they?)

Remember, I would love to post happy news from Runs for Cookies readers once in a while, so if any of you are excited about something and want to share your news, please do! Just email me. I'll never post anything without asking permission first. I just know how excited I get to share news sometimes, but not everybody has a blog to do that--so I'd be happy to share it for you ;)

Continue Reading...