Chug-along-chica!

I wasn't planning on running today.  I was just sitting there digesting, and I was seized  by an UNCONTROLLABLE urge to run.  So, luckily, I succumbed to the temptation, even though I had just barely eaten breakfast and was full up to my eyebrows in oatmeal.  Actually, that is probably why I wanted to run.  There is something mystical about oatmeal, isn't there?  It makes you want to be a healthier person.  Think of all the healthiest people you know...what do they eat for breakfast?  Oatmeal every time.

This run felt really delicious.  I was just a little bit sore from yesterday.  Being a little sore actually feels good...you know you are alive, know what I mean?  It felt kinda like a massage on those sorta sore muscles with every step.

Dah!  I had to run during the daylight, and I thought I'd die of shame when my single-guy neighbor watched me for longer than necessary.  There are a couple of things about being a nursing mother that inhibit my running BIG TIME!  This because I produce enough to supply a small country...thirsty, Liechtenstein?

Ahhhhh, sweet darkness.  Back in my comfort zone. 

I only missed one day this week.  Next week I'll try for 100%

Lovely little run.  There was just a little sliver of moon out.  It made me laugh to remember how one of my little boys saw a moon like that and said "Mom!  The moon is a toenail!"  He was probably not more than three.

While I ran I contemplated the mystery of my chimney neighbor.  There is a guy in our neighborhood that is ALWAYS in his garage, with the door open, smoking like a chimney.  It doesn't matter what time I run: early morning, late at night, midday...he is always there smoking.  I guess he just smokes 17 hours a day.  Odd life.

This was my very first day back to the gym since I had Danielle.  Yea!  I did a 1 hour Tai Chi/Pilates/Yoga class.   It was so nice not to be 8 months pregnant while I was doing it!  Nobody stared at me, and I was able to do all the moves without a humongous belly hindering me. 

Nice little run this evening.  Beautiful temps!  This was the first run since the start-up where I seriously considerred stopping to walk.  Why?  My muscles were complaining loudly from the gym  workout yesterday.  I'll blame that. 

I thought about the Avatar movie on this run.  I liked it!  Someone told me there were a bunch of naked blue people and it was really offensive.  I didn't think so!  I SEE you...  What a cool greeting. Bioluminescent trees=GORGEOUS.  I want to fly on one of those lizard thingies in my dreams (not the psycho one).  So I am off to get my flying zzz's.  Sweet dreams, all.

I am so excited!!!

I am so excited.  I am so excited.  I am so excited.  I am so excited.  I am so excited.  I am so excited.  I am so excited.  I am so excited.  I am so excited.

SO...wanna hear why I'm so excited?  Yea!  A solution has dropped into my lap. 

Problem:  I am fat.  No really, I am.  I have not lost a single solitary pound since they first yanked Danielle outta my abdomen.  Seriously.  Same weight as I was in the hospital and everything.  Soooo many many pounds to get down to my pre-pregnancy weight.  This has a couple of hideous consequences for running.

1.)  I am embarrassed to run when people might see me.  It is like every added pound is hanging onto me by a separate bunjee-cord, and they all bounce when I run.  Yuck!  I can't stand it.  

2.)  It is inherently depressing to be fat.  And nothing makes you want to eat more like feeling depressed.  And let me just say that depression is NOT my thing.  I like to be happy. 

3.)  It is hard to run with a lot of sudden weight.  People who have 20 pounds to loose that gained it over 5 years, well, I assume their bones and ligaments and everything have adjusted.  People who gain 20 lbs. in 6 months are risking stress fractures or other injury if they run too much, I think.  (By the way, light people are much more likely to get osteoporosis, did you know that?  Your body only maintains as much bone as it needs to support your weight.  Super heavy people have mammoth bones.  They almost never get osteoporosis.  This is why I think running correlates with bone loss.  Runners tend to be skinny, skinny people have more fragile bones.) 

Sooooo, I want to start running a lot, and beat my PR for the 5K, and run a marathon.   I want those things a lot.  Here is my secret strategy:  loose a lot of weight and THEN go and beat all my records.  I think I was about 10 lbs. overweight when I beat my 5K record.  Bet I could SMASH that record if I was at my ideal weight...Man, I wish some fabulously consistent runner would race a 5K with a 10 pound weight strapped to his back.  Then we could have some data!

Anyway, I'm sure you are all wondering why I don't just eat a little less and run some more and just lose it really gradually.  Nursing makes you lose weight, right?  Wrong!  Not for me.  I have the appetite of a sumo wrestler in a donut shop when I am lactating.  The same is true of running:  I lost not a single pound after beginning to run 2 years ago or whenever it was.  My appetite just adjusted to the missing calories.  So anyway, for the last 6 months since I had my baby, I've been trying the gradual method in terms of eating.  And guess what, it is just too boring to work for me.  I am careful for about 2 days, and then apathy takes over and I pig out for a week.  Honestly, this is what I've been doing these last months:  Careful, apathy, pig out, apathy, depression, careful, apathy, etc. 

So finally I made it a matter of prayer.  Is there some way I can miraculously get out of this cycle?  Please help me find a way and please be sure to drop it right in my lap, because sometimes I can be a bit dense about recognizing solutions.  That was yesterday.  God.  He knows how I work;  he knows that I have to be excited about stuff to accomplish it.  Apathy is Lybi kryptonite.

So here's the solution part.  When I went to the gym today they announced a weight loss challenge with a $1000 prize for the winner.  Does that sound awesome to you?  It does to me!  It is a 10 week challenge, starting tomorrow...I know what you are thinking.  You're thinking, "That Lybi, she doesn't understand that the challenge will be won by some 600 pound man who looses 70 pounds."  But this is the cool part--it is % of body weight lost.  So a 300 lb. person who looses 30 lbs. is the same as a 100 lb. person who looses 10 (darn her!).  So you see, the unfair advantage to super big people is taken away.  And I have a secret weapon!  I'm Nursing!  Plus, this weight really and truly does not belong on my body.  It hasn't been there long enough to get super comfortable.  So once I get my eating under control, I really think the pounds will absolutely FLY away.  BTW the personal trainer that I got randomly assigned to is a nutrition expert--he is in school to become a Dietician.  It was meant to be! 

There are about 65 people in the challenge.  And I really feel a little bit bad for those other 64, because I AM GOING TO WIN!  I can FEEL it!  Don't you dare underestimate me when I get seriously excited. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go eat a whole thing of pringles so that I will be all bloated tomorrow for the weigh-in.  Oh the evilness...chuckle...the eVILity...hahahahahAHAHAHAH!

And in the slight, less than 1% chance that I don't win, I will at least loose a bunch of weight.  The End.

Tune in next time to hear my sneaky, evil plan in full.  And chime in if you have any helpful suggestions!

I started the day bright and early with a hydrostatic weight measurement at the gym.  So you lay down in this big tub, exhale out all your air and pull yourself under the water, face down.  It's kinda disconcerting, but I think I got a good measurement.   Hehehehehe.  Actually, I quaffed a whole bunch of low-fat whipped cream to make me more bouyant!  Haha.  You want to be bouyant so your fat reading will be high.  Plus whipped cream is good.  I felt kinda sheepish buying it, though.  What kind of a person dashes to the store in the middle of the night (really early morning) for whipped cream?  Don't answer.

So the trainer dude who set up the program said that I'd need to loose 21.6 pounds of fat to have a chance to win.  Not 21 pounds TOTAL, 21 pounds of fat, as measured by a 2nd hydrostatic measurement in 10 weeks.  He said I'd have to work really hard to try to keep my muscle mass up.  Ok, all systems ready (at least willing & committed)!

1.1 on the treadmill, plus 45 min. of walking to round out the hour.

Then for weight training I did the plyometric workout from P90X.  Ow. 

So, dastardly plan for winning is simply:

1 hour cardio (walking & jogging--mostly walking) 8-9 pm

1 hour weight training (P90X) each morning with James

The occasional yoga class

Food

     Grains: Whole grains only, no bread, crackers etc. (whole wheat pasta ok)

     Lots of fruit and veggies

      Lean meat, whole eggs, nuts, beans

      Olive oil, flax oil, or smart balance, fish oil supp.

Pretty simple; no protein shakes or weird supplements.  The PT didn't like that.  He wanted me to be on all kinds of caffiene, pyruvate etc.  It didn't sit well with me.  I looked it up later and that stuff is NOT for nursing mothers.  (Although according to captain biceps it was just fine.)  Humph.  I'll meet with my real trainer on Monday, and he's a dietician, so hopefully he won't be so hokey.

The End

One day down, 69 to go.

All is going according to my evil scheme....So far (after 3 days) I have lost 5 pounds, haha, goodbye water.

MAN, I am sore today, but I did p90x chest and back and walked for an hour.

I met with my nutrition dude.  He is a gnarled mess of muscles, and dare I say it...he almost looks like he wears eye brow liner.  Interesting combo.  He is really into whole foods, though, which is STELLAR in my eyes, and he made up a food plan for me.  Basically, I am supposed to eat the same thing every single day this week...5 meals all around 340 calories or something.  1700-1850 for the day.  Does that sound right for a nursing mother?  I don't feel all that hungry...possibly because my food option is a "pancake" make of 2 whole eggs and a 1/4 cup of oats in it--with stevia dusted on top.  It is like an oat omelette.  *Hork*  But I could do worse.   I am one of these people who would take 1 pill a day if it supplied everything my body needed, and just do away with the inconvenient mess of eating altogether.   Although if you stick a can on pringles under my nose, I am in jeopardy, and that's a fact. But not right now, 'cuz I'm on FIRE, I tell ya.  FIRE!

I have to go shopping now, so I may not get to my ceremonial 1.1 mile of running.  But just remember, I am doing all this stuff so I can get down to running weight.  Just please don't tell Sasha, because this is exactly the kind of  "get slim quick" scheme that would make his eyes pop outta his head and start frothing at the mouth.  Lazy Americans!

1710 calories for the day.

Ran 1.2 miles

Did "Cardio X" with James.

Begged God for patience with my children approximately a bajillion times. 

Feels good to get enough calories.  I think that the reason I didn't succeed when I was dieting all on my own is that I don't get enough calories, which leaves one suseptible to falling off the food plan!

P.S. Long live oatmeal, the most filling and long-lasting food on the planet.

1.2 miles running

15 min. on the stairmaster as an experiment.   I haven't tried it since that one time I was pregnant and vowed I'd NEVER get on that evil machine again.  Actually, I thought it was a good workout this time.  Got me sweating pretty fast.  20 min. next time.  Then I did enough fast walking to round out an hour.  P90X Shoulders & arms tonight.  They're a-burnin'  which makes me excited.  Think of all those calories my body will spend repairing & maintaining.  Yum. 

Momentous good thing of the day:  my fancy shmancy scale, which gives biometric measurements, said I had the metabolism of a 49 year-old tonight.   Yea! This is good, you see, because I went from being 21 to 50 years old (according to that thing) by the time I was 8 weeks pregnant, and have been 50 ever since.  And lemme me tell you, it sucks to be 50 when you are really 32.  Let's get those numbers going in the right direction!

1740 calories.

I did yogaX from P90X.  Snikes!  I am so sore.  I even woke up in the middle of the night from the soreness.  I gotta hope all this is doing some good.

And what's with all this rain?  I've never SEEN it like this before.  It just keeps coming and coming.  Usually in Arizona it's a really hard rain that lasts no more than 3 hours, and then it's done, and we're flooded.  This time it rained all night, and we're flooded, then it rained all day, and we're flooded, and then another day and a night and it's still raining!  Every park and retaining field here has turned into a lake!  Maybe I could get some rowing in (not really).  James even got sent home early from work yesterday because of the rain.  THAT'S a first! 

PS bad news, I am back to being 50.  I think that running and the stairmaster are the key to the "Benjamin Button Effect."

1.2 on the treadmill at the gym.  I'm DONE waiting for it to stop raining.

followed by 15 min. on the stairmaster and a bunch of fast walking.

Then tonight I did Legs and BackX.  One legged wall sits...fluphst! (General sound of exhaustion with a little bit of defeat--I'll get it next time).  It 's pretty cool that you can get such a hard leg workout without a bunch of big machines. 

Oh, and let me go check...yippee!  I'm 48 tonight. 

1740 calories

I know I need more sleep than this but one of my boys was having asthma stuff last night.  Waddaya gonna do.

1800 calories.

Ran 1.3

Skipped Ken-poX with James because, and this is terrible, but I'll admit it, I have a strong aversion to any kind of martial arts.  Bleh.  I feel about Ken-po the way James feels about yoga.  He thinks it's "girlie"  and I think it's boyish.  One thing I've discovered about men, btw, is that they are just little boys in big bodies.  Put bunch of them around a campfire and they're going to see who can burp the loudest.

I also think my body is a little worn from this week.  Dropped 6.8 pounds officially.  I'm a little worried about my ability to nurse, though.  Gotta eat and sleep more, probably.

1740 Calories

Ran 1.3 miles

At my trainer's request, I did jog/walk intervals for 15 min. and then just walked for 15 min.

Then I did P90X tonight with James.  Shoulders and back,  or in other words "100 different kinds of push-ups."  Or maybe  "Push ups 'til yous Throws Ups."  In between sets I did abs.  I can't do ab ripperX yet, it is just beyond my ability.  I'll get there, though.  I think my posture is improving at least.

Interesting new request from Mason: at least 24 grams of protein in each meal (and I am required to have 5 per day--right now I am sipping a protein shake in milk.  It is yucky, in case you'd like to know.)  I am eating SOOO many eggs.  I couldn't look a chicken in the eye the way I am burning through eggs.

Also, I am supposed to have one "cheat meal" once a week--on Friday.  600-700 calories (340-370 is a normal meal) of carbs and forbidden foods.  Mmmmm.  I'm thinking chips and salsa... This will give me the fuel to get through Sat. without wigging out, hopefully.

God bless whoever invented chips and salsa.  What a genius.

By the way, last time I blogged I was having a rough day.  Well, I feel great today after resting day yesterday.  My...er...Danielle's feeding is going great too.

1780 calories

15 min. of running

15 min. of light intervals

15 min. walking

15 min. of abs

Count 'em, 5 liters of water

You know what healthy food I've disovered that I like?  Kidney beans.  They've got a lot of protein and fiber, so that's a plus.  Almost makes up for the fact that I hate 2 really heatlhy foods: celery and canned tuna fish.  What exactly is the point of celery?  It is 90% strings that get caught in your teeth.  And the flavor is shudder-worthy.  And the tradegy of canning tuna...so sad!  A nice seared tuna fillet is one of the finest things this world has to offer.  But stick that poor thing in a can and it putrifies, it disgusts!  It gets put into nasty casseroles and forced down the throat of children everywhere.  I'm sorry, I'm being negative.  It is okay if you like canned tuna.  Just don't, you know, BREATHE on me right after you eat it.  Or if you are Grant, for the love of decency, DON'T blow your tuna burp right in my face as I am inhaling.   Little brothers...

1710 Calories

Ran 15 min.

Intervals 15 min.

Walk 15 min.

Water: a mere 3 liters.  Wonder why I drank so much less than yesterday.

Strength:  Arms & ShouldersX with James.  I think I might be getting smallish "guns."  I'm no body builder, but there is definitely some muscle in there.

A word about avocados: avocados may be the most delightful food on the whole of creation.   Think about it, they are full of healthy fats, TONS of fiber, (seriously, one med. avocado has 16 grams of fiber--if you wanted to duplicate that with apples, you'd have to eat 16 of them) and they also have tons of vitamins associated with the green color--B vitamins etc.  Now you may be able to think of 1 or 2 things that taste better than an avocado, but let me ask, is it as good for you as an avocado?  There are pleny of foods that taste great, like Pizza-Flavored Pringles, and there are plenty of things that are good for you, such as fat free cottage cheese (which is better suited as a fire retardant on runways than for human consumption, IMHO.)  But it is a rare and raptious moment to find a truly delicious food that is also truly good for you.  And so, my dear readers, treasure the avocado--a sign to all of us that God is kind.   Think I'll go treasure some right now...

P.S.  My brother Grant is the cutest new daddy in the Northern Hemisphere.

1780 calories

15 min. run

15 min. intervals

15 min. walk

20 min. of Yoga that was mostly stretching

A word about computer games.  It breaks my heart a little to see young ones play computer games compusively.  To me it is the sign of an intelligent mind seeking a challenge.  Computer games give the feeling of accomplishment, or of achievement, without actually accomplishing or achieving anything.  And games these days can be so compelling, so colorful, and so stimulating that real life pales in comparison.  That's why at our house, "computer games" = Chess Titans.   Poor kids...I know.  But it's good for their little brains--it makes them develop the ability to think ahead.  And it's relatively boring.  That's important.  Because if a kid thinks that chess is exciting, they will likely not find life boring.  Which is the truth: life is a great and exciting ride, but like anything else, it has its boring stretches.  

P.S. My brother Grant is almost unbeatable in a game of chess.  BUT if it is just Grant and I, and it is SPEED chess, I will win.  Got game, Grant?  You're going down. 

Who knows how many calories today.  Probaby about 2000.  I had my "cheat" meal today, which was ridiculous, because I squandered my one 700 calorie meal for the week on milk and graham crackers, instead of saving it for something uber yummy, like homemade wholegrain pizza.  Which is why when James make pizza tonight I dove in headfirst.  So I had 2 cheat meals this week.  Mason chided my a little, but overall I think that he is surprised at how well I am following his nutritional guidelines. 

Ran 1.3 and skipped weights.

Also had a sore throat.

1835 calories  Within the allowable 1700-1850 range.  I am especially proud of this day because I even went out to eat and still squeaked by on my dietary guidelines.  Salmon and broccolli, people.  Salmon and broccolli--and NOOOOO breadsticks!

Ran 1.3 skipped weights AGAIN!  There is a problem with doing it at night...it is always just too late to start.  Next week James and I will be lifting, sweating, and grunting at 5:00 am instead of 9:00.  OK, that sounds just...wrong...but you know what I mean.  Mason said that if I am going to miss a weight session, it had better be arms or yoga.  I need to do the leg & back ones so I can get those BIG muscles burning up calories.

Did you notice that I had a perfect week for running?  Everyday.  That has only happened once since I had Danielle.  This is the second.  Next week will be the third, I have decided.  Time to dive in!

1490.  Less calories than allowed, but I also did not do a single lick of exercise.  Meh, It's fine.