A Simple Explanation of MAF Heart Rate Training (and why I love it!)

I just got back from an evening run, and I just have to write this down so I remember it: the circumstances in THIS RUN are exactly the reason I fell in love with MAF training back in 2015.

I'm going to back up and bit and just explain what MAF is and its significance to me (as well as to my running coach style). If you've been reading my blog for a long time, then you can skip over all this...

MAF stands for "maximum aerobic function" (don't worry, I'm not going to get technical about all this, even though I am a total nerd for it; I'm going to keep it very simple here). It was developed by Dr. Phil Maffetone ('MAF' and 'Maffetone' are purely coincidental). Here is how his logic works:

Everybody has a MAF heart rate. There is a formula on his website which takes into several factors, but for the general population--as well as the way I use it--you subtract your age from 180 to get your MAF heart rate. I'm 39 years old, so my MAF rate is 180-39=141. The "golden rule" of MAF training is that you don't exceed your MAF heart rate while exercising.

(Note: Your MAF rate is a single number, but since it's nearly impossible to consistently train at that solid number, Dr. Maffetone says to create a range of 10 beats per minute below your MAF rate, with your MAF rate being at the top of the range. Since my MAF rate is 141, my MAF range would be 131-141 beats per minute. )

For almost everyone, this means exercising considerably easier/slower. For runners, it can feel painfully slow and ridiculous. There is a reason for training at this pace, though, otherwise people wouldn't do it.

To keep things simple and easy to understand, I won't get into the physiology of it, but according to Dr. Maffetone, when you exercise at your MAF heart rate, your body gets more efficient and when you eventually add more stress (running faster, cycling harder, whatever your exercise is), your heart won't have to work harder to keep up. You will be putting in the same amount of EFFORT (as evidenced by your heart rate), but you will improve your fitness level.

I'll use running as an example, since it's my "thing": Let's say I run a 5K race at 10:00 minutes per mile (running as hard as I can for that race). Then I start MAF training: I do ALL of my training runs at or a little below my MAF heart rate--in this case, 141 beats per minute. While it feels like I'm not working hard, I am actually making my body more efficient.

Over a period of several months (more or less--it varies greatly), I might need to start running a little bit faster in order to get my heart rate up to 141 bpm. It will still feel just as easy--I'm still stressing my heart the same as before--but I'll be able to do more/work harder in order to get my heart rate to that number.

Then, because my body has become much more efficient over, say, six months, I might run another 5K race at the same effort as the first one (pretty much as fast as I can) and my pace might be 8:00 minutes per mile.

To put it super simply, when MAF training, you're not working HARDER in order to become more fit; your body is just becoming more efficient at the same effort.

I will use myself as a testament that it really works:

In 2015, my pace had gotten much slower than I used to run. My 10K pace was about 11:00 minutes per mile (just two years prior, I had run just under an 8:00/mile pace in the 10K). My training had never involved my heart rate--I used my pace to gauge my fitness and my training. I did my "easy" runs at a heart rate of about 20 beats per minute OVER my MAF rate!

After getting over a stress fracture, I finally decided to try something I'd never done before: running at a truly EASY pace, by the very definition.

I read a book called '80/20 Running' by Matt Fitzgerald (Amazon affiliate link) that had a huge impact on my training. I combined what I'd read about MAF training with 80/20 running (and my knowledge as a running coach) to produce my own training plan. The biggest change in my training was that I began running MUCH slower than I was used to. I did at least 80% of my training at my MAF heart rate--and that translated to a pace of 11:00-12:00/mile.

Per the 80/20 method, I also did a small amount of speed work (no more than 20% of my TIME spent running per week was done at a heart rate higher than my MAF rate). Here is an explanation I wrote about how I combined the two methods to train.

I found that I was getting faster on the days that I did my speed work and that I was able to run slightly faster while maintaining my MAF heart rate during training. There wasn't a huge difference in the training pace, but I could see progress.

I was training for a goal 10K in April 2016--which was about five months after I started running at my MAF pace. I ended up running my goal 10K in 49:03 (a 7:54 per mile pace!).

Running my easy runs EASY was the best change I could have made in my training. I have no doubt that my combination training (I really should name it something--I made the training method by combining 80/20 and MAF in my own way.)

Anyway, why am I writing about all this again now? (Because you're hypomanic, Katie!) (Just kidding.) (But not really.)

Because my run this evening brought back all the good feels from my MAF training and it makes me want to do it again.

When I first ran at a truly easy pace (my MAF heart rate), I just let go of any and all expectations of my pace (that's very hard to do as a runner--we always want to go faster.) To be successful at this training, and to actually enjoy this training, you have to set your pride aside and trust the process. Someone is giving you ORDERS to go slowly, so enjoy it!

Today, I decided to run at my MAF heart rate range (131-141 bpm) and just see where my pace was when I ran at that heart rate. At first, my thoughts were focused on how slow I was and it's going to appear to others that I am losing fitness and all those thoughts that we need to get over in order to train properly. Once I embraced the slower pace, a big change came over me. I felt wonderful!

I didn't feel out of breath and I stopped focusing on how much longer until the run is over; I started to think that maybe I'd run farther than planned. I had planned to go just two miles and I procrastinated all day long because I didn't want to do it. Once my mindset switched over to that MAF feeling, I felt like I could run for hours (which is how you SHOULD feel when you are running at a truly easy pace). I tacked on an extra mile. When I stopped my Garmin in front of my house, I didn't have to catch my breath. I felt like I'd just gone for an easy walk. I actually felt really excited!

And maybe it's just because I'm hypomanic, but I started thinking that I want to train at my MAF rate again. Not only that, I want to write a new training plan--a lower mileage plan for beginners to MAF training. I am not interested in building up mileage--I only want to run enough to stay fit, at least for the near future--so I want to keep my mileage relatively low. I want to do my own method of combining 80/20 running with MAF.

I have written a couple of plans (that you can find here--named "Your Best 5K" and "Your Best 10K") for 5K and 10K training in this way--those plans were the most challenging plans I've ever written because I had to make all of the math work! However, even the 5K plan has more mileage than I want to run.

I don't want to train for a race or to hit a particular goal. I just want to use the training method because I enjoy it. So, I'm going to work on writing up a training plan for that purpose. (Let's hope it's not just my hypomania talking--this is a textbook example of something like that!)

Since I usually write about my running on Thursdays, I will try to write more about it then. Hopefully I can get the plan done this week!

Note: Something that people always ask about when I write about MAF training is that they can't run and stay under their MAF heart rate. The only way they can stay at that heart rate is to walk (or at least take walking breaks). Dr. Maffetone would say to do whatever it takes to stay in your zone. This really sucks for people who want to run! (And this is the reason that I wasn't doing MAF training as I got back into running--I just wanted to run for the feel of running.)

The training will work if you follow it as Dr. Maffetone states, if you're willing. You will eventually be able to run and maintain your MAF heart rate; it just takes patience. I think one of the biggest factors as to how fast that works is just how much training you're doing.

To a certain extent, the more you are training at your MAF rate, the faster you're going to see progress. Doing 30 minutes 3 times a week is likely to take a lot longer than 60 minutes 5 days a week. (Keep in mind that the training is EASY, so doing a 60 minute run/walk/other exercise at MAF heart rate isn't going to exhaust or overtrain you.)

If there is only one post you read about proper training, let it be this one: The Importance of the Easy Run!

To read all of the details about the MAF method (it goes into WAY more than just the heart rate training) you can find it on his website.

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Aging Humor

I just wasted a WHOLE lot of time prepping a post called, "Things That Make Me Laugh"--which was full of my most favorite memes. I have a folder on Pinterest called "Things That Make Me Laugh" and whenever something makes me legit laugh out loud, I add it to the folder. So I was going through that for a couple of hours picking out my favorites.

And then before I started adding them to this post, I did a quick search on my blog and discovered that I already made a post with the exact same title and the exact same content! As I approach 40, everything seems to be going downhill, including my memory.

So, I just pulled some fun things that make me laugh in regards to getting older... enjoy :)

(Here is the previous post I was referring to--lots of funny memes!)

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What Hypomania Feels Like (to me)

I was going to take a "mental health day" from blogging today; my anxiety has been really bad ever since I started feeling the onset of a hypomanic episode, and today I just wanted to work on a project with all of my focus so I don't think about anything else. But that is classic hypomanic behavior...

"Hey I'm just gonna stay up until 4 AM so I can fine-tune this miter saw until the 90 degree angles are PERFECT because right now they are at least 0.003 inches off of square and how am I supposed to make anything at all if the cuts aren't precisely 90 degrees? I might as well just pitch the whole thing in the fire pit and forget about woodworking altogether because how am I ever going to be good at it with angles that are off by a titanic 0.003 inches? That's shoddy work and I don't want to be known for doing shoddy work and if I just work on this tonight I know I can square up the cuts by morning!"

(I hope you know that I am saying this with tongue-in-cheek... but that's basically how hypomanic/manic thoughts work.)

Which leads me to this post. I may have written about this before, but since this is what's going on with me right now, I thought it appropriate to write about how hypomania FEELS. For the 99% of the population who don't have bipolar disorder, here is a description of what it's like for me. (It varies from person to person. I'm just writing about MY experience.)

If you're not familiar with the term "hypomania", it's an episode of bipolar disorder that is a slightly milder form of mania. Hypomania does not involve psychosis or delusions or require hospitalization. (I wrote a lot about bipolar disorder on the post where I "came out" with my diagnosis--you can find that post here.)

I'm SO ANNOYED by absolutely everything right now (by "right now", I mean much of the time during an episode of hypomania). When I'm hypomanic, my senses go into overdrive and it makes me crazy (well, crazier than I already am). Every single noise is magnified and trying to concentrate on something is impossible with all the noises going on.

Right now, just trying to write this, I hear Eli in the kitchen getting ice water--the ice cubes clanging around--while Joey's nails click on the floor as he follows Eli around. I hear the hum of the refrigerator and one of the cats walking around the living room. I hear the fan from my ice machine. I hear Noah across the house talking to his friends online. And I even hear my own heart beating.

The worst part is that all of the noises are at the same sound level--I don't know how or why this happens, but each of those noises is 10 times louder than normal and I couldn't even tell you which is the loudest.

Noah has a cold and he's been blowing his nose a lot--it is all I can do not to rip my ears from my head and throw them in the garbage disposal just so I don't have to hear that noise anymore.

My sense of touch is also heightened, and not in a good way. My clothes irritate my skin, but even my bare skin is irritated by the air around it. (I know how weird that sounds.) 

I also can't focus on anything. I know that contradicts what I wrote about wanting to work on a single project; basically, I get super focused on one thing at a time and I put all of my energy and effort into it, but at the same time, I can't focus on anything other than that. And then I get really annoyed when something distracts me from what I'm TRYING TO concentrate on.

This morning, for example, Eli showed me his geometry homework and said he thought it was dumb--that it didn't have anything to do with geometry. He was given a worksheet of logic puzzles (you know the ones that you read clues and you have to fill in the grid to solve the puzzle?). Well, I LOVE those things. I have even bought books of them to work on back before playing games on my phone and stuff like that. Eli said it was extra credit so he didn't have to do it, but I told him I wanted to do it.

So I grabbed the paper and was excited to work on it (at first, I was going to show him how to do it, but he had no interest in learning). Within 15 seconds, I knew I wasn't going to be able to do it because of all the noises. The house wasn't any louder than usual, but because of the hypomania, all I could focus on was the noise around me.

Another symptom that I experience with hypomania is anxiety. I have generalized anxiety disorder and anxiety is always there, waiting below the surface, but when I'm hypomanic it decides that it's a great time to mess with me. So I feel really uneasy and anxious without knowing why.

There are some good things about hypomania (although they don't outweigh the bad, in my opinion): I have lots of energy; I get in the mood to clean everything ten times over; I feel a higher sense of self-esteem; and I get super talkative. As a quiet, shy person, sometimes I really wish I was more outgoing and talkative. Hypomania makes me feel like I need to tell someone all the ideas and thoughts I have.

A lot of times I'll be talking to Jerry for a while and he's just staring at me with an amused look on his face. I'll finally ask him why he's looking at me like that. And he laughs and tells me that I'm talking a mile a minute and where on earth are all these thoughts and ideas coming from?

I also get very excited about all sorts of new projects and plans. I make lists of all sorts of things--as fast as I can write them. I come up with lots of plans and ideas (and sometimes I actually do them). 

In that sense, hypomania can be kind of fun. If it didn't involve all the other stuff I mentioned, I'd really enjoy it, actually. But the anxiety and the hypersensitivity cancel it out.

I'm on medication to manage bipolar symptoms and the meds actually do work wonders. Having episodes of both hypomania and depression are pretty much inevitable, though. The medication makes the episodes milder and much less frequent, but they do happen. Sometimes an increase or decrease in the dosage of my medication helps, but usually I just ride it out. 

Another big benefit to the medication is that I recognize what is happening now and I can also control my reactions. The noises, for example--when I'm trying to concentrate but the noises are totally overwhelming, I don't overreact and take it out on other people. I just deal with it silently, knowing that it will go away eventually. Before medication, I most definitely did not stay calm. 

Before my diagnosis and medication, my hypomanic episodes would last for months; then they were followed by depression, which lasted just as long (if not longer).

Now, though, the episodes usually last less than a couple of weeks. I can't wait for my irritability to go away! It would be nice if I could keep my excessive motivation and energy, though ;)

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Friday Night Photos

It's been feeling like it should be Friday night for the last four days, haha. I'm so glad it's finally Friday! Here are some pics from my camera roll this week...

I made some homemade granola and I've been eating an old favorite snack--an apple, spread with Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter (it's got to be that peanut butter for some reason!), and then pressed into the granola. So good!

 

I got to practice using the jointer this week (if you don't remember, I bought it for $90 via Facebook Marketplace--a great deal!). I had also gotten a solid oak dining table and chairs for $25--I planned to refinish it, but the legs of the chairs ended up being way too much work and not worth the hassle to me. So, instead of using it for firewood or something, I took the chairs apart and turned the seats into nice solid oak boards. I ran them through the planer to flatten them, and squared them up with the jointer and table saw. (I plan to do the table as well.)

In the photo where I'm pointing, that's actually where the edges of two boards meet--it's barely visible! (It's straight above my fingernail--not to the right, where the color changes). This shows the purpose of the jointer. It makes the edge of a board super straight so that you can then join the boards against each other and after glueing, it looks like one solid piece. (In the photo above, I haven't even glued it yet. I just set it on the floor to see if the edges were straight. Clearly, the jointer was a good deal!)

And this is the jointer! Yes, it's old--I believe from 1988. But I put new blades in it and it works great!

I was walking through the bedroom and noticed that Estelle had buried herself in this blanket on the floor. It looked like she made her own little sleeping bag!

This showed up as a Facebook ad for a t-shirt (because you know how Facebook knows everything about you?) and it made me laugh. Couldn't be more appropriate right now!

Jerry and I went to Eli's soccer game on Wednesday and they played the second best team in the league. It was hard to watch, haha. But Eli is loving soccer, which I'm excited about! Unfortunately, the season is almost over.

I finally had to upgrade my phone (I'd had an iPhone 6 from 2014!). I didn't want anything fancy, so I just got the cheapest iPhone model (I think it's called the SE?). But I noticed that there is a "portrait" mode for selfies, so I tried taking side-by-side pictures to see the difference. The portrait mode just softens the background so that the subject (i.e. me, in this case) stands out more. I kind of like it!

I had no idea what was going on when I walked in and found my boys sitting at the table drawing/coloring. It was the strangest thing! ;) Eli was making something for his girlfriend and Noah joined in on the fun and started drawing something as well. It was cute that they were doing that together.

I feel terrible for laughing, but I crack up every time I look at this picture of Joey. I was in the garage (I always bring Joey out there with me--he likes to watch what's going on outside). I happened to look over at him and he was lying like this in the driveway! He looked dead. I have a little bed for him just inside the garage door, but when the sun is out, he likes to lie in the sun. On this cloudy day, though, he just decided to play dead, I guess.

Eminem's "Mom's Spaghetti" restaurant just opened in Detroit. As a big Eminem fan, lots of people have told me about it; I'm not sure how I feel about it. I think the name is clever and I'm surprised this hasn't been a thing before, but it also feels kind of gimmicky. Still, of course I'll try it!

This just made me laugh and say "YESSSSS!"

All four five pets in one picture is a rarity! The cats always like the spots where you see Duck and Estelle. When a third cat (in this case, Phoebe) jumps up there, looking around like, "Hey, where can I go?" I put another bed next to the first two so she feels included. And then Chick wants in on the sleepover, so I put a bed up there for him, too. And Joey, well, he just needed to be let outside, so he's standing by the door. Still, I think this might be the only picture I have of all four five of them. (I originally wrote "four" because I clearly can't count! I'm so used to saying "four cats" that it came out, "four pets")

I had posted pictures last Friday of Eli and his girlfriend, Grace, but I didn't have pictures of Noah. Since it was Eli's first dance and Noah had been to a few dances before, I chose to go get pictures of Eli's friends rather than Noah's. But I was bummed that I didn't have a picture of Noah and Eli together (they got ready at different times and had different plans with friends) so I told them to make sure they get a picture together at the dance. This is what they sent me.

This is the project I was helping my mom with a couple of days ago. These are vinyl letters and trying to do this huge piece was tough (it was four feet wide)! I was really worried I was going to screw it up, but I took my time and it turned out great.

Well, Jerry is off work tonight and we're going to watch a scary movie (I love October! There are so many scary movies on TV.) Have a great weekend! xo

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Return to Running Recap : Week 19

I've never had to wait this long for test results to show up on my online chart! (Remember back in the day when you couldn't see your results until you went to a follow-up appointment?) My sacroiliac joint is still extremely painful. I did see the results of my lumbar spine (low back) and my cervical spine (neck) x-rays. I'm still waiting on thoracic.

I don't want to spell it all out here until after I talk to my doctor about it, but both x-rays had abnormal findings. And in the lumbar results, the radiologist's notes suggested I get an MRI. I really hope that my doctor agrees, because I feel like an MRI would show a lot of what is going on. My appointment isn't until next month, but I might try to get a follow-up sooner.

Anyway, about my running for this week...

Like I said last week, I decided to try doing two-mile runs instead of three-mile. The thought of running two miles seems like no big deal--I can get it done quickly--so I'm less likely to procrastinate. (Isn't it funny how two miles seems like no big deal now? Remember just 19 weeks ago, when the thought of running even a quarter-mile seemed SO hard? It's kind of amazing what a difference 19 weeks can make.)

Since I decided to do just two miles, I figured I might as well make them a little harder. Until now, I've mostly been doing 5.0 mph on the treadmill, hoping to see my heart rate improve over time (evidenced by having a lower heart rate while running at the same speed for weeks/months). I haven't noticed much of a difference in my heart rate (it's actually hard to tell because it's so inconsistent).

I'm still going to pay the most attention to my heart rate because that's my biggest indicator of fitness, but to change things up I'm going to work on varying my speed. Maybe by running faster 2-3 times a week, the slow runs will feel much easier and my heart rate will be lower. I guess I'll have to see! I love experimenting like that.

This week, I'd planned to do four runs; however, yesterday ended up being so busy that I didn't get in my run. (I also had a flu shot, which may have made me more tired than usual.)

Week 19, Run #1: Run 2 miles (treadmill)

Since this would be my first 2-mile run, I wanted to make it count. I was kind of excited to run faster! As I was tying my shoes, I thought, "I wonder if I can run 2 miles at 6.0 mph?" Looking back, that was kind of a tall order. I was so used to running 5.0 mph. But I decided to give it a try.

I set my Garmin for 5-minute laps (when on the treadmill, I use time as an indicator on my Garmin to calculate my distance--when running 5.0 mph, for example, I set my splits to 12-minute intervals. That would equal 1 mile. The Garmin's distance while on the treadmill isn't very accurate, so I use the treadmill's distance.)

Anyway, I set the Garmin for 5-minute laps, just in case I couldn't handle the speed and had to slow down. If I stayed at 6.0 mph the whole time, then it would equal 20 minutes/2 miles.

It was hard! I didn't expect it to be easy, but wow. I just kept reminding myself, "It's only 2 miles! You can finish it!" I didn't quite make it, however. After 15 minutes (a mile and a half), I just had to take a break--I lowered the speed to 5.0 mph and I planned to finish the run at that speed. After a quarter mile or so, I was thinking that if I really picked up the speed, I might still be able to hit 2 miles in 20 minutes (a 10:00/mile average pace).

So, after 0.3 miles at 5.0 mph, I bumped up the speed to 6.5 mph! It was only for 0.2 miles, so I just pushed myself hard in order to finish it out. I wasn't sure if that was fast enough to average a 10:00 pace overall, but I knew it would be close.

As soon as I hit 2 miles, I stopped the treadmill and sat down, gasping for breath. (I ended up finishing at a 10:06 pace--close enough.) I was totally drained... but I felt so good about it! I took my post-run selfie, but then almost deleted it. I was wearing just a sports bra (something I've gotten comfortable doing at home) and when I saw the picture, my immediate thought was, "My stomach looks fat!" But the more I thought about it, I realized it was dumb--everybody has rolls when they sit like that. It's not a flattering position. And besides, who cares what my stomach looks like besides me?

The real thing of note in this picture is my face--look how red it is!

Check out my heart rate!

Week 19, Run #2 : Run 2 miles (treadmill)

I felt super rushed for this run. I had a dentist appointment at 11:00 and I was working in the garage during the morning. I'd planned to change clothes at around 10:40 and then leave for my appointment by 10:45. However, I felt gross not showering before my appointment, so at 10:00, I made the hasty decision to jump on the treadmill for 2 miles before showering and getting to my appointment on time.

Because I was so rushed, I felt like my heart was already going way too fast, and I didn't want to do another run like the first one. But I still wanted to finish as quickly as possible.

I decided to run intervals: 1 minute at 6.0 mph, then 1 minute at 5.5 mph, and repeat 10.5 times (to total 2 miles). I don't think I like the 1-minute intervals; the time seemed to go by so slowly because there were so many intervals to do (21). I like the intervals that are more like 3:1--they go by much faster.

Anyway, I managed to finish the run, take a an ice cold shower, and then get to my appointment on time!

Week 19, Run 3 : Run 2 miles (outside)

It was raining and there is something about the rain that makes me want to run outside. I don't like when it's totally down-pouring, but a steady, gentle rain feels really good. Since my previous two runs were harder, I decided to take this one very easy.

Despite the fact that I was running relatively slowly, I felt much more tired than usual. It was actually hard to slog through two miles. Running two miles seemed so short, though, considering I'm used to at least three.

It was totally uneventful. My average pace ended up being 11:55 (just about the same as my 5.0 mph on the treadmill).

Overall, I liked the running this week--one hard, faster run; one interval run; and one easy run. Next week, I'd like to aim to do four runs.

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Wednesday Weigh-In : Week 19 (and hypomania)

Man, I'm exhausted. Today was a busy day!

This morning, I dropped Eli off at school and went straight to my mom's to help her with something. She bought a very large decal for her dining room wall (it's a quote or a bible verse--I forget what it says) and she wanted help applying it. Well, that was much harder than I thought it would be!

I had no problem mapping out where it would go and getting it centered, but because of the size of it, it was tough to peel the paper back slowly, making sure all the letters adhered to the wall without folding over on themselves. We started at around 7:15, and I had to leave for an appointment no later than 8:30--and we were only halfway done! So I'll have to go over there tomorrow to help finish it.

I left for my doctor's appointment for an annual physical. I have to get one every year for our health insurance. I keep looking for my test results online, but they aren't in my chart yet.

After that appointment, I went to the hospital to have x-rays done. My rheumatologist ordered x-rays of my cervical and lumbar spine. (I asked my primary care doctor if she could add in my thoracic spine, too, because that is the spot that's been painful for 20 years and I'm curious if anything has changed on those x-rays.)

I had kind of given up on my rheumatologist finding anything after she diagnosed fibromyalgia and I decided to cancel my next appointment (nothing we've done has helped the pain and all of the tests were negative). She had ordered the x-rays at our last appointment, though, so I figured it can't hurt to get them because my back has been bothering me SO badly.

For the past several months, it's been my right sacroiliac joint. I am at the point where I just can't take this anymore, but I don't know what else to do! I cannot, for the life of me, find a comfortable position to sit, lie down, stand, or walk. Sacroiliac joint pain can't usually be diagnosed with x-rays, so I don't have much hope for that. However, the x-ray could show a herniated disc or something that may mimic the same pain. (At least that's what I've read.) But my symptoms are textbook for sacroiliac joint pain on the right side.

Anyway, they took a lot of x-rays and I keep refreshing my online chart to see if the results are posted. Do any of you have experience with sacroiliac joint pain? Did you find a way to relieve it? I'm desperate!

Okay, enough complaining about that. It's just bogging down my mind today because it's hard to think of anything else when such a specific part of your body hurts.

I did really well with my eating this week, and thankfully, the scale showed it!

I was at 162.0, which is down 3.6 pounds from last week's 165.6. However, since I'd gained weight last week, I'm actually only down 1.2 pounds in the last two weeks. Still, I'm at a new low since I started losing weight in May--and getting closer to being back in the 150's! This brings my total to 35 pounds in 19 weeks. I'm happy with that :)

I didn't really do anything too different this week. I have the nagging suspicion that I am at the beginning of a hypomanic episode, so I've been trying to be aware and cautious of that. I haven't had a major hypomanic episode since 2017; my medication has really helped. I have an appointment with my psychiatrist soon, so I'll talk to him about what's going on. For now though, I am just trying to rein in my urges to start ALL the projects, make ALL the plans, spend ALL the money, stay up ALL night to clean ALL the house, etc.

The biggest problem with hypomania is the anxiety. My anxiety gets pretty bad when I'm hypomanic. Also, all of my senses are on overload, which is annoying (things sound louder, smell stronger, and my skin feels really sensitive to touch).

It's kind of weird, isn't it? I'm just glad that after being diagnosed with bipolar II and put on the correct medication, I recognize the symptoms of hypomania and that alone helps me to deal with it. I am able to think logically and reason with myself (most of the time).

Anyways! After my x-rays, I had to pick Eli up from school and go straight to his soccer game. It was really fun to watch today (a nail-biter) compared to yesterday's game (they played the second best team in the league yesterday and got mercied 11-0 before halftime). Today, the score was 2-1 at the end (we lost, but it was a good game).

Now, it's 8:00 PM and I need to eat some dinner--I'm starving! I think I'm going to make poached eggs on toast :)

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Transformation Tuesday #45

Happy Transformation Tuesday!

Like I mentioned a few days ago, I've had a crazy week and a lot of it involved working on stuff in the garage... which subsequently left my garage a huge mess. Yesterday, I spent a few hours cleaning it up. It's definitely not perfect--I still have to come up with a storage solution for scrap wood--but it looks a millions times better. And I can actually walk around in there again!

I have a couple of transformations from readers to share as well! Here goes...

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This entry is a LONG time coming, even though it's so small! Lol. A year or so ago we got some furniture reupholstered - including this ottoman we use in the living room. I didn't want it damaged by feet or dogs, so I decided to make a simple slipcover for it. Fast forward to a month ago, and I finally made the slip cover - except for hemming it. So the ottoman sat around for another month with a towel tossed over it (classy!), until I finally hemmed the darn thing on my lunch break today.

It doesn't look very different, the cover is a bit greener, but the idea was that it would still match the room. Glad to have this one done!!

Deb

Deb, you are very talented! The new cover looks great. And I can certainly see why you want to protect the original upholstery--I really love that fabric. Nice job!  -Katie

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I follow GoCleanCo on Instagram who is an awesome cleaning company based in Canada. They have the tricks for cleaning pretty much anything! At this time of year, they are running a fall cleaning challenge and a spring cleaning challenge for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere which lasts about 8 weeks. So, I've jumped on board the challenge and am slowly working my way through deep cleaning my house. Here are some before and afters from my kitchen and window tracks.

This transformation was one of those 5-minute transformations, once the dividers arrived in the mail! It has made such a difference in the organization of this drawer!

- Sarah

Sarah, you make me want to go clean all the nooks and crannies of my house! Starting with the window tracks. That must have been so satisfying! I'm definitely going to follow GoCleanCo on Instagram--I could use that inspiration :)  -Katie

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Thanks so much for sharing! As always, I am begging for more transformations so that I can continue to do Transformation Tuesday every week. 

As the weather is getting colder, I'm going to challenge all of you to transform something weather related: clean out a coat closet and purge all the jackets/coats you don't need or won't wear! Another idea would be to sort/organize gloves, hats, and scarves. DON'T FORGET to take a "before" photo, of course.

Then send me the before photo and an after photo along with your name and a description of the transformation, to: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

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Would You Rather... (food edition)

I have about 45 minutes to write a post before I have to jump in the shower. I haven't dyed my hair in about three months and the grays make me cringe every time I look in the mirror--so I finally decided to just quit procrastinating and do it. (I'm sitting here with dye in my hair and figured I'd write a blog post while I wait.)

I had the idea to do a "would you rather...?" post (responding to difficult questions of "would you rather _____ or _____?") and when I looked for ideas online, I saw SO many in different categories. So I'll do a "food edition" here and then maybe another time when I need something to write about, I'll choose a different category. (These questions were found at this website.)

Okay, here goes...

Would you rather eat a raw onion or two raw heads of garlic?

*This one is hard! I love onions and garlic, but eating them this way would be kind of torturous. I think I'd rather eat a raw onion. I think I could be done with it faster than the garlic.

Would you rather have to eat one jar of jam every day for the rest of your life, or never be able to eat bread again?

*I guess I'd choose to never be able to eat bread again. I don't eat a lot of bread anyways (if it was pasta, well, this would be a much harder question!) and I just can't imagine eating an entire jar of jam every day. I only eat jam a couple of times a year.

Would you rather have the only beverage you can drink be water or the only food you can eat be salad?

*Hahaha! Everyone knows that my two least favorite foods are salad and yogurt. And I drink pretty much nothing but water now, so this one is easy. I'd choose to drink only water.

This was actually tonic water, not regular water. And it possibly maybe had vodka in it. But for the sake of this photo of me choosing water, we'll pretend it's simply water! ;)

Would you rather have cheddar popcorn or popcorn with movie theatre butter?

*Again, this one is easy. Movie theater butter all the way! I don't even like "real" butter on popcorn--I like the fake butter-flavored oil stuff. 

Would you rather have cake or cookies for dessert?

*Now THIS is a torturous question! The name of my blog would imply that I'd choose cookies. But over the years, I've grown to love cake even more than cookies. I'd say that cake is my favorite dessert! (Only if it has a good frosting to cake ratio--it's got to be like 50/50.

Would you rather live in a world with no caffeine or a world with no meat?

*I wouldn't mind either of these options, actually! I am WAY too sensitive to caffeine, so I don't drink much anyway (just a cup of black tea, and even that makes me jittery). If I didn't have a family, I would probably be vegetarian anyway (I don't really love meat, but my family does, so I just simplify dinner). I guess if I was going to choose one option, I'd get rid of the caffeine.

Would you rather eat pizza or ice cream as your own meal for the rest of your life?

*And THIS question--it's like someone was reading my thoughts. Pizza and ice cream are my two most favorite foods in the world. If I had to pick a savory food, I'd choose pizza. Sweet food, and I'd choose ice cream. I think if I had to choose one or the other to have for the rest of my life, I'd choose the pizza. (Surprised?)

I couldn't find a picture of me eating pizza, but I did find this picture of me eating freeze-dried Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream--my brother got a freeze dryer and asked what we wanted him to make--this was my choice! ;)

Would you rather be vegetarian or carnivorous?

*I guess I already answered this one... I'd be vegetarian!

If it meant you could save pizza from extinction, would you eat a cricket?

*I would totally eat a cricket. I would probably eat a cricket on a dare, if the stakes were good enough! Haha. 

If you were responsible for choosing whether the world would have bagels or donuts, which one would you choose?

*This one is hard only because it depends on the quality of the bagels or the doughnuts. Assuming they were both top-quality, I think I'd choose to have bagels. You could have sweet or savory bagels and there are tons of different combinations of toppings for them. I think everyone would get tired of doughnuts after awhile. (Well, except Jerry. He'd choose doughnuts, 100%.)

That was fun! Feel free to argue with my choices in the comments ;)

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