Miss Me?

     Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Things have been hectic, but, unlike last time I let life get too overwhelming to take the time to post about my weight loss efforts, I haven't been letting myself go totally off the deep end during my posting absence. Now that Summer is coming to a close and the family visits and visits to family will be slowing down due to school schedules etc., I feel it's time to update on what I've been up to and how I've been doing.

     I have discovered that while around family, it's easy to let oneself become enamored with what I like to call comfort foods. Foods that, when the comfort of more family being around than just your spouse, come out of the woodworks as remembered favorites are typical culprits of comfort foods. The problem with these comfort foods is that they are typically not very good for you at all. With the added calorie possibilities of comfort foods also comes what I like to refer to as vacation mode. People say, "Hey, I'm on vacation, I can indulge on vacation." Well, when family lives four hours away, seeing them is like a mini vacation, and then there's the comfort foods, which leads to "indulging a bit" on things like potato skins. As you can probably assume, I have not lost any weight the past few weeks. I did not gain any weight either, which is a MAJOR accomplishment for me, as gaining weight is my Olympic Gold sport. The only real reason I feel I may have maintained is that there were a few days break between family visits and I was able to do better on those days. 

   

     I have decided two big rules for family time from now on. RULE 1: Be the example. (This means that I should eat better so my family sees it and might mimic my healthy habits.) and RULE 2: Being healthy is portable. (Meaning that I can watch what I eat and exercise no matter where I am.) These rules might be a bit elementary, but for someone who loves to go into vacation mode and has a weakness for eating Taco Bell with her Dad and little brother, these rules are necessary. 

    As far as my exercise efforts have gone, well, it's a sad tale to tell as well. I decided that I would run again last time I posted, but changed my mind quickly when my 4 minute fast-paced warmup walk made my bummed knee start twingeing. I did manage to make a few trips down the river in the past few weeks, which may not seem like exercise, but after going down three waterfalls and swimming across the rapid current and fighting my way up the side of the steep river rocks to climb out to safety a few times, I have decided it's a bit of a work out. I also discovered that I LOVE the game Just Dance. I knew that I loved it already, but now that I have played it alone, in my work out clothes, with no breaks between songs except for the occasional water gulp, I know that it's an AWESOME workout! I sweat more dancing and laughing at myself than I ever remember doing when running, and I could dance for SO much longer! If I ever get the chance, I will be purchasing that game and all it's game friends, for it is definitely a winner, even if just as cross training for my running. I do need to get back to my running though, it's healthy, it's sustainable through life (even when the electricity is out), it can be done almost anywhere, and once I can run far enough, it's something I can do with Kris. 

     Thanks for tagging along after so much time since my last post. Hopefully with the roller coaster that is life possibly leveling off a bit for a while, I'll be able to be more consistent with my writing. The fun song of the week is a video of my favorite just dance song, "Iko Iko", this will show you the moves you have to follow, and it's fun! Watch it here.

This Could Be Working.

     Since last week I've done an okay job at keeping up with my intake on calories and staying below my goal. My "MyFitnessPal" page only shows a 3lbs. weight loss, but I have lost a total of 10lbs. since July 10th! This leads me to believe that the plan I am using is working. Three weeks into restarting my journey I have lost TEN never again to be seen pounds and four of those I lost in the past week. While I am absolutely aloud to be proud of my big loss so far, I do have to agree with MyFitnessPal and say that I have only lost a "Net" of 3lbs. since I began my changing process. So, I will only count that three towards my goal. The other seven never should have existed in the first place, and while I am happy that they are gone, I do not want to count that as part of my official loss. So, in short, I've lost 3lbs. since I started at 260.3lbs. Hello 250's!!!
   
     This loss does come with some realizations about my food habits. I now know that I used to eat almost three times the amount of calories I'm supposed to eat in a day in just one meal from a fast food restaurant. I will miss my little nugget friends, but they are not at the top of the menu list anymore. I also know that not all fast food is bad for me. This past week I was so happy that I was actually able to eat a "Whopper" of a burger and while I had a side salad in place of my usual fries, I did not feel cheated out of my fast food fix. I also have been warned by the MyFitnessPal website that if I am too strict with my intake, I might eat too little in calories and slow my weight loss due to "starvation mode". I actually had a day where I was logging my food for the day before bed and the website "yelled" at me in BIG RED LETTERS that I had not eaten enough calories that day. I thought, "Wait, ME? I have been not eating enough?" I didn't even feel hungry! Needless to say, I have been keeping better watch on my calories in both directions now, both too many and not enough. I don't want to risk lowering my metabolism any lower than it is already, so here's to a happy medium.

     One of the many weight loss tools I have been utilizing is the "give yourself a cheat meal," rule. I have found this in many different weight loss advice plans and thought it would be helpful for me in my fledgling state of healthful eating. The problem I have with this rule is that Kris and I chose to do the "cheat day" on different days. Being that we are the only two in the house, this posed a problem. My cheat day became my cheat weekend. This is honestly why I feel so surprised by the fact that I still lost weight. I didn't keep up with calories in the correct way for TWO days! Not to say that I just lost my mind and ate everything in sight, but I didn't exactly acknowledge everything that I put in my mouth. Now Kris and I will be doing our cheat time together. I'm even hoping to, very soon, not need to cheat at all. With all that I'm learning I can still eat, I may not have the desire to eat things that would be considered a cheat anymore.

     You may be wondering why I haven't mentioned running yet. I mean the name of the blog includes the words, "Clean Run," after all. Well, to make a long story short, I have an old injury from a high school ski trip where I tore my MCL (inner knee ligament), and I aggravated my knee a few weeks ago whilst tubing the river with Kris and his parents. In an attempt to be able to regain my fitness in a healthy way, I decided to make sure my knee was back to normal before running again. It's been almost a week pain free, so I don't think any real damage was done when I tweaked it. As a result, I haven't been running yet, but I plan on restarting my "learning to run" routine this week. I admit, I'm a bit intimidated, but, having attempted running before and going as far as I could then, tells me that I can do it and can keep getting better. So, I will report on running again next week.

    It's been tough to see the good side of myself lately. I am proud of myself that I can control my eating, but there is SO much more to this journey than just losing weight. I want everyone to know that I listen to advice and try to implement it to see if it helps. In taking advice from a dear friend, this week I tried to wake up everyday and make myself feel like I had a purpose that day. I had to wash the clothes. I had to work on school work. I had to be ready to go to the river with Kris. I think it's helping. I can see a glow around my life that I have let get really dim start to shine again.  So, to anyone reading this blog, thanks for your support. Advice and praise are ALWAYS welcome, but just knowing someone cares enough to read really helps. I don't know how many have or will read it, but I know that I owe it to myself to make sure that I give you something interesting to read about. That makes you all a source of inspiration for me. I also thank God and myself everyday for all that I can do. I'd be nowhere without those two. ;)
In light of my cheesy closing, here's an amazing song to listen to by Alanis Morrisette that really picks me up and seems to fit in with my state of mind.