There you go a bit of Robbie Burns in the post title!
The first 16 hours of yesterday went really well. Light breakfast and mid morning snack then wholefood salad shaker and fresh pineapple from Marksies for dinner on my way to a couple of meetings in Nottingham.
Then the wheels started to fall off.
The plan was that I'd leave Nottingham by 4.30 at the latest in time for a massage at 6.30, then running club at 7.45 and a couple of bowls of homemade minestrone when I got in about 9.20pm.
In the event the second client was nearly an hour late arriving and then the meeting over ran by an hour on top of that so it was gone 6.30 before I'd even left Nottingham. Massage and run were already scuppered.
The temptation to respond to that with a visit to a services to get something terrible to eat was strong, but to my credit I resisted that at least.
When I got in at a little after 8pm I had the planned 2 huge bowls of soup. Unfortunately I then also had 2 bowls of rice crispies and finished off the remains of the previous day's baguette before the eldest gave me the remains of the bag of sweets she'd bought earlier...
I don't adapt well to forced changes to plans!
Still, at least it was logged again and it comes out at maintenance level so perhaps it wasn't too bad for a forced rest day.
Showing posts with label Blips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blips. Show all posts
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
Blip
During yesterday afternoon I'd considered my next blog entry and decided it was going to be on cooking. However, there's also a Pilates session to mention and also last night where I was bad; bad to the degree that would normally require a visit to a Hague Tribunal...so I better examine them instead.
First the initial 1:1 Pilates session.
In reality this was a massage on my lower back, my neck, my hip flexors and a piriformis stretch as well as a few minutes explaining what might be a good approach for me in the future. Overall it was good. Before the session I couldn't turn far to the right making driving dangerous, but afterwards (as now) my neck is sore but mobile. The back probably got worse afterwards but the groin, which wasn't painful before, does feel looser and is pain free.
Last night though I had a good old fashioned binge. There's a few things that conspired to create the conditions for it so its maybe worth mentioning them:
The weather - it was dull, windy and raining for most of the day. Distinctly autumnal if not wintry. Such weather makes me feel a bit down and gives me a significant craving for carbs.
Work - nothing terrible, just that a few things went wrong that were outside my control but where I'll need to pick up the pieces and formulate the apologies. That's a common feature of my job but one that occasionally gets me down a bit.
Eldest daughter - started high school recently and seems to be feeling forced into getting closer to a couple of vacuous girls from her old school who flitted between friendship and alot of mind games and online/offline bullying of her last year.
Home alone - OK, not quite alone, Charlotte was with me, but no restraining adult influence!
Disappointing meal - I'd made a cucumber and lentil curry to have with brown rice. In itself it was alright though it needed something with it to give some variety, and the rice timings I'd been blasé about leaving it a little undercooked and chewy. I felt a bit let down by it and didn't really feel satisfied, with the next options all being calorific and 'dirty'.
Bread - this can be such a danger for me and features in most of my episodes. Sue had bought a fresh baguette and crusty rolls (neither of which normally feature for us and I later they were for her work - oops) and left them on the side. They taunted me and once I'd given in to have just one it was like a feeding frenzy - think Cookie Monster from Sesame Street.
Rest day - even with the extra 250kcals a rest day can feel a bit restrictive and sometimes I can feel like rebelling against that. Plus, exercise forces me to be disciplined in a way a rest day doesn't.
(Any of these triggers sound familiar to anyone else?)
In isolation none of those cause a problem but put together they can do. And they did.
Overall I left myself with a sugar induced headache by 8pm and went over by 2000 kcals for the day.
In a way though, that's the silver lining to this particular cloud: I did, at least, enter what I'd eaten (after the event) and feel that I can put it behind me and get back to plan immediately. It might be a big blip but its still only a blip!
That's something isn't it?
First the initial 1:1 Pilates session.
In reality this was a massage on my lower back, my neck, my hip flexors and a piriformis stretch as well as a few minutes explaining what might be a good approach for me in the future. Overall it was good. Before the session I couldn't turn far to the right making driving dangerous, but afterwards (as now) my neck is sore but mobile. The back probably got worse afterwards but the groin, which wasn't painful before, does feel looser and is pain free.
Last night though I had a good old fashioned binge. There's a few things that conspired to create the conditions for it so its maybe worth mentioning them:
The weather - it was dull, windy and raining for most of the day. Distinctly autumnal if not wintry. Such weather makes me feel a bit down and gives me a significant craving for carbs.
Work - nothing terrible, just that a few things went wrong that were outside my control but where I'll need to pick up the pieces and formulate the apologies. That's a common feature of my job but one that occasionally gets me down a bit.
Eldest daughter - started high school recently and seems to be feeling forced into getting closer to a couple of vacuous girls from her old school who flitted between friendship and alot of mind games and online/offline bullying of her last year.
Home alone - OK, not quite alone, Charlotte was with me, but no restraining adult influence!
Disappointing meal - I'd made a cucumber and lentil curry to have with brown rice. In itself it was alright though it needed something with it to give some variety, and the rice timings I'd been blasé about leaving it a little undercooked and chewy. I felt a bit let down by it and didn't really feel satisfied, with the next options all being calorific and 'dirty'.
Bread - this can be such a danger for me and features in most of my episodes. Sue had bought a fresh baguette and crusty rolls (neither of which normally feature for us and I later they were for her work - oops) and left them on the side. They taunted me and once I'd given in to have just one it was like a feeding frenzy - think Cookie Monster from Sesame Street.
Rest day - even with the extra 250kcals a rest day can feel a bit restrictive and sometimes I can feel like rebelling against that. Plus, exercise forces me to be disciplined in a way a rest day doesn't.
(Any of these triggers sound familiar to anyone else?)
In isolation none of those cause a problem but put together they can do. And they did.
Overall I left myself with a sugar induced headache by 8pm and went over by 2000 kcals for the day.
In a way though, that's the silver lining to this particular cloud: I did, at least, enter what I'd eaten (after the event) and feel that I can put it behind me and get back to plan immediately. It might be a big blip but its still only a blip!
That's something isn't it?
Monday, 6 September 2010
Weekend woes to weekend wonders
It occurred to me on Saturday morning that a subtle change in approach had taken place.
When weighing daily the results on the scales would warp my self image so that, for example, if I appeared heavier than expected I would look in the mirror and see a flabby physique whereas if the scales suggested loss or that I was ahead of target I'd be happy at how lean I looked. To some extent the mirror maybe did reflect the scales but not to the extent I felt.
Now, starved of weight feedback, I have to look more carefully but perhaps what clues I find are all the more reliable. So, on Saturday morning I felt my stomach certainly looked pretty flat, I felt I looked a little less flabby and was pleased to find when putting on jeans that I've gone back to the tightest notch on the belt.
Mind you, the second half of Saturday might have undone some of that!
I did a short (2.6 mile) jog with a few strides thrown in on Saturday lunchtime and found even that to be tough, but again I suspected that I was poorly hydrated despite making more of an effort to drink more water rather than the Rooibos or 7up Zero that had been mainstays of previous days.
Late afternoon I headed to Bradford to meet the family as Charlotte's dance club had been putting on a show at the Alhambra theatre and with Saturday having both a matinee and evening performance she had 2 hours off in which we'd all eat and then watch her in the evening show.
I knew this would mean high calories as we'd agreed to walk up the hill to one of Bradford's many curry houses but wasn't too concerned as I was happy to have plenty of glycogen in the muscles ahead of Sunday's relay race. In the end I ate more than planned though - Charlotte wanted a starter so we all had (unplanned starters) then she couldn't eat much of her curry so I felt obliged to eat some of it and finally the others wanted to order a naan bread (that the particular curry house is famed for and are the size of 5/6 ordinary naans put together) and then ate very little of it so I again felt obliged to eat until full to make more of a dent in it.
The theatre also contained challenges. Its custom to get sweet and/or an interval ice cream and I ended up with my very own over priced box of Smarties, though mercifully no ice cream. On getting in I had 2 pieces of unnecessary toast.
Yesterday, I needed to meet at the running club at 12:30 so Peter (my team mate) and I could sort out transport and logistics, and then was due to run about 1:50pm. I had a bowl of Special K in the morning along with many, many drinks of water and was thankful that it appeared to be breezy and overcast outside.
By 1:30 that had changed to sunny with occasional breaks and it felt warm as we stood and waited.
Bang on time the preceding pair came in, I took the baton and off we went.
I knew the route very well for the first 3.5 miles and by the end of that section, and for a half mile beyond, we averaged 8.0 minutes a mile. I was pleased with that. Not that it was particularly fast but I hadn't run much, it was an undulating route and it was hot and sunny (with all clouds now having gone). Moreover, I'd seen the team's performance from the last 2 years and knew that our leg had taken 1:28 and 1:25 and so an average pace of 8.30 and 8.50. We seemed well ahead, although Peter my team mate had warned that the second half is tougher than the first.
He was right. As we crossed the Harewood estate at the 4 mile marker we left some shady woods and set off through a gate and up a steep rough track. I'd ran the reverse in a trail race and thought there would be 1/4 mile uphill followed by 1/3 mile flat before we reached the road. In the end it was a full mile of uphill by the end of which Peter was a fair way further back.
As part of the relay rules the pair have to finish together so there's no point in one getting too far ahead of the other. For the most part I'd ran 5-10m ahead so far acting as a sort of pacemaker and Peter, who hadn't done too much serious training for a few months, was able to hold on to what, at that stage, felt a comfortable pace to me.
The end of the uphill was marked by the busy A61 and sod's law being what it is we arrived about 2 seconds too late to run straight across and had to wait well over a minute eventually finding a half gap to sprint through in the two streams of traffic.
The hill and the crossing, along with the 2 gates meant we'd lost a fair chunk of time but mile 5, along a trail once more, wasn't far from 8.0 minute pace despite containing 3 more gates.
The gates became a very regular feature from there on and one of the reasons why we steadily lost time. If running together a gate would mean 10 seconds lost in stopping, opening and closing but typically I was a little ahead so I'd stop, open and wait but the net loss would be about the same. Some gates were more difficult though. There was one that had been tied together with twine half way down so we spent 10/15 seconds working this out and then had to climb over (probably losing half a minute), at another a horse rider had opened it and left it for us to close but having not opened it we couldn't see where it closed again giving an additional 15 seconds or so before we figured that it just hooked onto some barbed wire.
As well as the gates there were a few stiles to clamber over and all these obstacles (I'd guess at 4-5 per mile from mile 6) took time and disrupted rhythm.
They weren't the only challenge. By mile 6 we had other problems. The heat, for me, had become quite oppressive and whilst being fully hydrated when we set off and getting a cup of water at 7.5 miles I flagged a bit in the last two and realised later from colour and frequency of toilet trips that I'd got dehydrated again. Navigation was also an issue. Peter knew the route but I didn't so he tended to shout an instruction for where the next turn was but there were times when I'd need to stop and beckon back for guidance and two occasions where I took a wrong turn in one case assuming a gate was the one we wanted and another where I turned left about 5m too early and merrily headed off on the wrong track before being called back.
The other issue was the hills. There were some downhill sections but the uphills seemed longer. There were two uphill road sections that were steep and baking, including 1/4 mile to the finish, but two that skirted recently ploughed, rocky fields stick out for their length and gradient, and by the end of one of these I felt shattered struggling to get back into rhythm quickly on the short flat section that followed.
The downhills too seemed difficult. Firstly there appeared to be fewer and they were shorter but they frequently seemed to take place over rough ground or on narrow twisting paths regularly punctuated by stiles or gates and so giving limited opportunity to speed up and make up some time.
By 9 miles I felt less able or inclined to be a pacesetter as the lack of recent running began to take it's toll on me and in the last mile we were often running together again and in the end we finished in 1hr 27 mins - pretty much on track with the last 2 year's performance. Bearing in mind the weather and our recent running history I think we did OK.
Immediately after I felt fine but after an hour I was shattered - very much like the aftermath of a gruelling long run feeling tired, hungry yet not hungry (difficult to explain that one)and by 7.45pm I was struggling to stay awake as I lay on the bed reading.
Happily though I felt no groin pain during the run nor since and even the back/piriformis pain and Achillies pain that have greeted me on getting out of bed most mornings of late don't seem evident today. That being the case I feel pretty good about things.
When weighing daily the results on the scales would warp my self image so that, for example, if I appeared heavier than expected I would look in the mirror and see a flabby physique whereas if the scales suggested loss or that I was ahead of target I'd be happy at how lean I looked. To some extent the mirror maybe did reflect the scales but not to the extent I felt.
Now, starved of weight feedback, I have to look more carefully but perhaps what clues I find are all the more reliable. So, on Saturday morning I felt my stomach certainly looked pretty flat, I felt I looked a little less flabby and was pleased to find when putting on jeans that I've gone back to the tightest notch on the belt.
Mind you, the second half of Saturday might have undone some of that!
I did a short (2.6 mile) jog with a few strides thrown in on Saturday lunchtime and found even that to be tough, but again I suspected that I was poorly hydrated despite making more of an effort to drink more water rather than the Rooibos or 7up Zero that had been mainstays of previous days.
Late afternoon I headed to Bradford to meet the family as Charlotte's dance club had been putting on a show at the Alhambra theatre and with Saturday having both a matinee and evening performance she had 2 hours off in which we'd all eat and then watch her in the evening show.
I knew this would mean high calories as we'd agreed to walk up the hill to one of Bradford's many curry houses but wasn't too concerned as I was happy to have plenty of glycogen in the muscles ahead of Sunday's relay race. In the end I ate more than planned though - Charlotte wanted a starter so we all had (unplanned starters) then she couldn't eat much of her curry so I felt obliged to eat some of it and finally the others wanted to order a naan bread (that the particular curry house is famed for and are the size of 5/6 ordinary naans put together) and then ate very little of it so I again felt obliged to eat until full to make more of a dent in it.
The theatre also contained challenges. Its custom to get sweet and/or an interval ice cream and I ended up with my very own over priced box of Smarties, though mercifully no ice cream. On getting in I had 2 pieces of unnecessary toast.
Yesterday, I needed to meet at the running club at 12:30 so Peter (my team mate) and I could sort out transport and logistics, and then was due to run about 1:50pm. I had a bowl of Special K in the morning along with many, many drinks of water and was thankful that it appeared to be breezy and overcast outside.
By 1:30 that had changed to sunny with occasional breaks and it felt warm as we stood and waited.
Bang on time the preceding pair came in, I took the baton and off we went.
I knew the route very well for the first 3.5 miles and by the end of that section, and for a half mile beyond, we averaged 8.0 minutes a mile. I was pleased with that. Not that it was particularly fast but I hadn't run much, it was an undulating route and it was hot and sunny (with all clouds now having gone). Moreover, I'd seen the team's performance from the last 2 years and knew that our leg had taken 1:28 and 1:25 and so an average pace of 8.30 and 8.50. We seemed well ahead, although Peter my team mate had warned that the second half is tougher than the first.
He was right. As we crossed the Harewood estate at the 4 mile marker we left some shady woods and set off through a gate and up a steep rough track. I'd ran the reverse in a trail race and thought there would be 1/4 mile uphill followed by 1/3 mile flat before we reached the road. In the end it was a full mile of uphill by the end of which Peter was a fair way further back.
As part of the relay rules the pair have to finish together so there's no point in one getting too far ahead of the other. For the most part I'd ran 5-10m ahead so far acting as a sort of pacemaker and Peter, who hadn't done too much serious training for a few months, was able to hold on to what, at that stage, felt a comfortable pace to me.
The end of the uphill was marked by the busy A61 and sod's law being what it is we arrived about 2 seconds too late to run straight across and had to wait well over a minute eventually finding a half gap to sprint through in the two streams of traffic.
The hill and the crossing, along with the 2 gates meant we'd lost a fair chunk of time but mile 5, along a trail once more, wasn't far from 8.0 minute pace despite containing 3 more gates.
The gates became a very regular feature from there on and one of the reasons why we steadily lost time. If running together a gate would mean 10 seconds lost in stopping, opening and closing but typically I was a little ahead so I'd stop, open and wait but the net loss would be about the same. Some gates were more difficult though. There was one that had been tied together with twine half way down so we spent 10/15 seconds working this out and then had to climb over (probably losing half a minute), at another a horse rider had opened it and left it for us to close but having not opened it we couldn't see where it closed again giving an additional 15 seconds or so before we figured that it just hooked onto some barbed wire.
As well as the gates there were a few stiles to clamber over and all these obstacles (I'd guess at 4-5 per mile from mile 6) took time and disrupted rhythm.
They weren't the only challenge. By mile 6 we had other problems. The heat, for me, had become quite oppressive and whilst being fully hydrated when we set off and getting a cup of water at 7.5 miles I flagged a bit in the last two and realised later from colour and frequency of toilet trips that I'd got dehydrated again. Navigation was also an issue. Peter knew the route but I didn't so he tended to shout an instruction for where the next turn was but there were times when I'd need to stop and beckon back for guidance and two occasions where I took a wrong turn in one case assuming a gate was the one we wanted and another where I turned left about 5m too early and merrily headed off on the wrong track before being called back.
The other issue was the hills. There were some downhill sections but the uphills seemed longer. There were two uphill road sections that were steep and baking, including 1/4 mile to the finish, but two that skirted recently ploughed, rocky fields stick out for their length and gradient, and by the end of one of these I felt shattered struggling to get back into rhythm quickly on the short flat section that followed.
The downhills too seemed difficult. Firstly there appeared to be fewer and they were shorter but they frequently seemed to take place over rough ground or on narrow twisting paths regularly punctuated by stiles or gates and so giving limited opportunity to speed up and make up some time.
By 9 miles I felt less able or inclined to be a pacesetter as the lack of recent running began to take it's toll on me and in the last mile we were often running together again and in the end we finished in 1hr 27 mins - pretty much on track with the last 2 year's performance. Bearing in mind the weather and our recent running history I think we did OK.
Immediately after I felt fine but after an hour I was shattered - very much like the aftermath of a gruelling long run feeling tired, hungry yet not hungry (difficult to explain that one)and by 7.45pm I was struggling to stay awake as I lay on the bed reading.
Happily though I felt no groin pain during the run nor since and even the back/piriformis pain and Achillies pain that have greeted me on getting out of bed most mornings of late don't seem evident today. That being the case I feel pretty good about things.
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
The Dirty Dozen
That’s my last 12 days. Very little exercise and horrendous over consumption.
On the afternoon of the 20th August I was able to look back on a pretty solid couple of weeks in terms of weight loss and exercise, and my mirror image and feeling of energy confirmed the good news the scales were telling me. So where did it go wrong?
I suppose it started that evening with a trip to an Indian buffet and an unsurprisingly large and difficult to calorie count meal but the problem really set in on the Saturday morning following a short run with Beth. I’d felt a slight twinge in my back the previous day while doing a side plank exercise. The pain was to the right of my spine, very low down where back blends to buttock and an hour or two after the run it was considerably worse with bending or twisting very difficult.
I have no idea how I did it but the cramp like pain was unpleasant and pretty soon the whole area tightened up so that any sort of movement was as painful as it was difficult. That ruled out the planned trip to the gym on Saturday afternoon as well as Sunday’s run, so I found solace, as ever, in eating.
By Monday it had eased a fair bit – still there but far from debilitating - so I ventured another short run with Bethan and if anything it helped loosen things up. That should have been the end of that but maybe because the core exercises had ceased as soon as the back went my groin now started to give a few twinges of pain and tightness. I continued to seek comfort in food.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were similar. I didn’t feel I should try anything at the gym or do core exercises until the back was completely pain free and didn’t feel I could run until I could do the core exercises to ease the groin...so all I managed was another short jog with Beth.
I was frustrated and continued to eat with a vengeance but added excessive amounts of chocolate to the daily shopping list.
I think Saturday was then the worst day when I managed a large Dairy Milk, a large Milky Bar, a small Milky Bar and a bag of jelly beans AFTER a Chinese takeaway. Some going huh?
Saturday had been especially difficult as we had been due to go camping for the weekend but by Friday evening my back seized up again and there was no way I could pack the car let alone put a tent up. Saturday morning felt similar but after a hot shower, then a hot bath and 400mg of Ibuprofen I was able to keep my back moving and it seemed to respond well to that and eased off hugely.
Trouble was I’d had the expectancy of meals out on Saturday, Sunday and Monday which not only made it feel difficult to think anything other than ‘Oh sod it’ during the week but also meant we felt we needed to go out at the weekend in the absence of camping- particularly as it was Sue’s birthday weekend. Result being that Sunday meant a trip to a pub for a huge gammon and chips followed by sticky toffee pud and Charlotte’s leftover chocolate fudge cake (with a box of Milk Tray – of all things – consumed when I got in...), and then Sunday was another trip to the Indian buffet for an enormous meal.
At least on Sunday I did manage to fit in a fairly gentle 4/5 miles walk on the moors and showed marginally more restraint before and after the evening meal than I had in the previous days.
On the afternoon of the 20th August I was able to look back on a pretty solid couple of weeks in terms of weight loss and exercise, and my mirror image and feeling of energy confirmed the good news the scales were telling me. So where did it go wrong?
I suppose it started that evening with a trip to an Indian buffet and an unsurprisingly large and difficult to calorie count meal but the problem really set in on the Saturday morning following a short run with Beth. I’d felt a slight twinge in my back the previous day while doing a side plank exercise. The pain was to the right of my spine, very low down where back blends to buttock and an hour or two after the run it was considerably worse with bending or twisting very difficult.
I have no idea how I did it but the cramp like pain was unpleasant and pretty soon the whole area tightened up so that any sort of movement was as painful as it was difficult. That ruled out the planned trip to the gym on Saturday afternoon as well as Sunday’s run, so I found solace, as ever, in eating.
By Monday it had eased a fair bit – still there but far from debilitating - so I ventured another short run with Bethan and if anything it helped loosen things up. That should have been the end of that but maybe because the core exercises had ceased as soon as the back went my groin now started to give a few twinges of pain and tightness. I continued to seek comfort in food.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were similar. I didn’t feel I should try anything at the gym or do core exercises until the back was completely pain free and didn’t feel I could run until I could do the core exercises to ease the groin...so all I managed was another short jog with Beth.
I was frustrated and continued to eat with a vengeance but added excessive amounts of chocolate to the daily shopping list.
I think Saturday was then the worst day when I managed a large Dairy Milk, a large Milky Bar, a small Milky Bar and a bag of jelly beans AFTER a Chinese takeaway. Some going huh?
Saturday had been especially difficult as we had been due to go camping for the weekend but by Friday evening my back seized up again and there was no way I could pack the car let alone put a tent up. Saturday morning felt similar but after a hot shower, then a hot bath and 400mg of Ibuprofen I was able to keep my back moving and it seemed to respond well to that and eased off hugely.
Trouble was I’d had the expectancy of meals out on Saturday, Sunday and Monday which not only made it feel difficult to think anything other than ‘Oh sod it’ during the week but also meant we felt we needed to go out at the weekend in the absence of camping- particularly as it was Sue’s birthday weekend. Result being that Sunday meant a trip to a pub for a huge gammon and chips followed by sticky toffee pud and Charlotte’s leftover chocolate fudge cake (with a box of Milk Tray – of all things – consumed when I got in...), and then Sunday was another trip to the Indian buffet for an enormous meal.
At least on Sunday I did manage to fit in a fairly gentle 4/5 miles walk on the moors and showed marginally more restraint before and after the evening meal than I had in the previous days.
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Too quick to point the finger?
After the first of the new weights sessions last week I was undeniably sore for 48 hrs, so, when I did the session for the second time and had soreness in the legs the following day I assumed the cause was the same.
I'm not so sure now.
First time round it was the hammies and lats that complained the most but after Saturday's second time it was the quads and calves with nowhere else giving more than a very slight feeling of fatigue. Maybe that should have raised a question, but after running Sunday and resting Monday I went to the gym yesterday and only did upper body weights along with 10 minutes each of very gentle exercise on the rower and cross trainer. When I got back I took Bethan for a run. Ouch.
Whilst the quads were fine the calves still complained - especially up hills - and just before going to bed I massaged myself with the massage stick http://www.the-stick.co.uk/ they felt sore and knotted.
I suspect that's not down to the weights as down to a combination of weights and, principally, the cross trainer machine.
When I use the latter I'm not good at just doing it, I have to feel that I'm pushing myself and tend to set targets for calories burned within the time. On Saturday after the weights I did the toughest 30 minute session on there to date with the resistance and RPM both high. I did it straight after weights so in order to keep up I noticed that I'd gone up onto my toes alot, presumably to bring the calves into play to support tired muscles elsewhere.
I now wonder if that is what has done for my calves?
Either way I'll keep up the massaging and stretching and see where we get to.
Monday's rest day was a challenge. Not having exercise calories to burn and feeling a little stressed with work had be reaching - or the second night running - for the toast and agave nectar. Eugh.
Better yesterday though. Stuck nicely to target thanks to a combination of gym, short run and banning bread!
Today will most certainly be similar.
I wonder if I'm the only one who has to ban certain foods?
I'm not so sure now.
First time round it was the hammies and lats that complained the most but after Saturday's second time it was the quads and calves with nowhere else giving more than a very slight feeling of fatigue. Maybe that should have raised a question, but after running Sunday and resting Monday I went to the gym yesterday and only did upper body weights along with 10 minutes each of very gentle exercise on the rower and cross trainer. When I got back I took Bethan for a run. Ouch.
Whilst the quads were fine the calves still complained - especially up hills - and just before going to bed I massaged myself with the massage stick http://www.the-stick.co.uk/ they felt sore and knotted.
I suspect that's not down to the weights as down to a combination of weights and, principally, the cross trainer machine.
When I use the latter I'm not good at just doing it, I have to feel that I'm pushing myself and tend to set targets for calories burned within the time. On Saturday after the weights I did the toughest 30 minute session on there to date with the resistance and RPM both high. I did it straight after weights so in order to keep up I noticed that I'd gone up onto my toes alot, presumably to bring the calves into play to support tired muscles elsewhere.
I now wonder if that is what has done for my calves?
Either way I'll keep up the massaging and stretching and see where we get to.
Monday's rest day was a challenge. Not having exercise calories to burn and feeling a little stressed with work had be reaching - or the second night running - for the toast and agave nectar. Eugh.
Better yesterday though. Stuck nicely to target thanks to a combination of gym, short run and banning bread!
Today will most certainly be similar.
I wonder if I'm the only one who has to ban certain foods?
Monday, 9 August 2010
All over for another year
That's it then, summer holiday over with for another year. Its been a strange one too.
Between the summer of 2003 and last summer I can recall going to Crete three times, Corfu, Kefalonia, Kos, SW France twice, Paris three times, Rome, Barcelona, Prague, Budapest, Scotland twice. That's not bad in a little over six years but it all stopped after last summer, since when we've had two weekends away camping in Swaledale and 5 nights the week before last camping in Scotland.
Last week I was off work too but instead of heading to North Wales as we'd planned we stayed at home and went for trips out. During the week we went to Magna in Sheffield, the National Coal Mining Museum near Wakefield, to the National Rail Museum in York and then yesterday to the Castle Museum also in York. On top of that we twice went to the buffet at Agraah in Shipley, had a Chinese takeaway, ate in two of the museums and had sweets, chocolates, biscuits, peanuts, dips, cakes, crisps most evenings as part of 'treat week'. Oh, and we twice had ice creams too!
All in all it was pretty good, and the kids also went to the Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds and to see Toy Story 3 at the cinema. OK, we didn't get sunshine or to see another culture or sample another country's foods but it was OK.
What's all this got to do with running and fitness?
Not a lot, and that's the point of blogging it. With other temptations, a groin injury for me and a bad back for Sue there was limited running, only the short walk in Scotland and only two trips to the gym in the fortnight despite all the free time. There was also the 'traditional' feeling sorry for myself and (failing to) find comfort in eating crap.
A little over two weeks ago I was very much 'in the zone', feeling good about myself and weighing in at 11st 11lbs. Eighteen days later and I weigh 12st 8.2lb. Yes, you've read that right, that's a gain of 11.2lbs. Now, I know a good chunk of that will be water retention and 'food in transit' but even so there's some considerable weight gain that I can feel as well as see in numbers on the scales.
So, later today I'll reassess my objectives and plans in light of this but before that I'll put this latest setback into context...
Between the summer of 2003 and last summer I can recall going to Crete three times, Corfu, Kefalonia, Kos, SW France twice, Paris three times, Rome, Barcelona, Prague, Budapest, Scotland twice. That's not bad in a little over six years but it all stopped after last summer, since when we've had two weekends away camping in Swaledale and 5 nights the week before last camping in Scotland.
Last week I was off work too but instead of heading to North Wales as we'd planned we stayed at home and went for trips out. During the week we went to Magna in Sheffield, the National Coal Mining Museum near Wakefield, to the National Rail Museum in York and then yesterday to the Castle Museum also in York. On top of that we twice went to the buffet at Agraah in Shipley, had a Chinese takeaway, ate in two of the museums and had sweets, chocolates, biscuits, peanuts, dips, cakes, crisps most evenings as part of 'treat week'. Oh, and we twice had ice creams too!
All in all it was pretty good, and the kids also went to the Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds and to see Toy Story 3 at the cinema. OK, we didn't get sunshine or to see another culture or sample another country's foods but it was OK.
What's all this got to do with running and fitness?
Not a lot, and that's the point of blogging it. With other temptations, a groin injury for me and a bad back for Sue there was limited running, only the short walk in Scotland and only two trips to the gym in the fortnight despite all the free time. There was also the 'traditional' feeling sorry for myself and (failing to) find comfort in eating crap.
A little over two weeks ago I was very much 'in the zone', feeling good about myself and weighing in at 11st 11lbs. Eighteen days later and I weigh 12st 8.2lb. Yes, you've read that right, that's a gain of 11.2lbs. Now, I know a good chunk of that will be water retention and 'food in transit' but even so there's some considerable weight gain that I can feel as well as see in numbers on the scales.
So, later today I'll reassess my objectives and plans in light of this but before that I'll put this latest setback into context...
Monday, 2 August 2010
More camp than Kenneth Williams
That was my last week in Dumfries & Galloway, staying on the shores of Loch Ken.
It's funny how holidays are never quite what you'd envisaged they'd be. In this case I'd had a ragged notion that the holiday would include hiring a mountain bike for half a day, 3/4 runs, some swimming in the loch, lots of hill walking and several trips out ion the loch in a canoe or kayak. I'd also kidded myself that it would be a few days of healthy eating punctuated with the odd treat for all my physical exploits.
In the event I ran once (the race), did one 4 mile walk up/down a hill in the Galloway forest and had 40 minutes each in a kayak, canoe and rowing boat. I also managed about 20 seconds swimming in the loch. Ah well.
Food wise was even worse. Probably Monday and Tuesday weren't too bad - if you exclude the post race chips and bag of jelly babies that is - but after that it wasn't good. There were few obvious candidates for eating out on an evening and limited to a single gas burner we fell back on fish & chip shops for 3 nights, a disposable barbecue for one and a pile of cheese sandwiches for the other. During the day there was the novelty of frying eggs and bacon at six am, the lure of the on site sweetie shop and three trips to tea shops for scones and or cake. Oh, and a trip to an ice cream parlour.
It was still a decent break though.
It's funny how holidays are never quite what you'd envisaged they'd be. In this case I'd had a ragged notion that the holiday would include hiring a mountain bike for half a day, 3/4 runs, some swimming in the loch, lots of hill walking and several trips out ion the loch in a canoe or kayak. I'd also kidded myself that it would be a few days of healthy eating punctuated with the odd treat for all my physical exploits.
In the event I ran once (the race), did one 4 mile walk up/down a hill in the Galloway forest and had 40 minutes each in a kayak, canoe and rowing boat. I also managed about 20 seconds swimming in the loch. Ah well.
Food wise was even worse. Probably Monday and Tuesday weren't too bad - if you exclude the post race chips and bag of jelly babies that is - but after that it wasn't good. There were few obvious candidates for eating out on an evening and limited to a single gas burner we fell back on fish & chip shops for 3 nights, a disposable barbecue for one and a pile of cheese sandwiches for the other. During the day there was the novelty of frying eggs and bacon at six am, the lure of the on site sweetie shop and three trips to tea shops for scones and or cake. Oh, and a trip to an ice cream parlour.
It was still a decent break though.
Monday, 19 July 2010
A weekend of excess
Excessive food consumption but also excessive exercise.
Hopefully the latter will cancel out the former.
Saturday was pretty good through the day and I treated myself to a really good gym session. Over the last few months trips to the gym have been hurried affairs - straight in, straight out but on Saturday, with the family out shopping, I took the opportunity to take my time.
I managed a very good weights session with weights up to a point where I'd got slight DOMS in triceps and glutes by Sunday morning, 10 minutes HIIT on the stepper, 30 minutes steady on the cross trainer, 12 minutes on the treadmill, a very quick swim and sauna and even a Costa coffee while I read the Guardian after.
The treadmill was quite pleasing. Generally speaking I avoid them wherever possible. Partly as I don't see the point when you can run outdoors and partly because I find a flat constant speed in a still warm room to be quite difficult. Saturday wasn't too bad though. I had to guess pace a bit but started at 12km/h and increased to 15 km/h. I suspect that for adding in a really short recovery jog; doing 40 minutes when the roads are icy or even practicing running form could all be doable on there. I might add in an occasional use.
After I got in I cooked a vegetable biryani. Of sorts. Unfortunately I didn't look at what I was doing and added brown pilau rice instead of the white the recipe called for. As a result the rice was still hard after the cooking time and I needed to add alot more water and cook it on the stove. That left the whole thing rather more moist and stodgy than I'd wanted but it was OK. Unfortunately, later in the evening I ate several rounds of toast and had a couple of curly wurlys as well as 2 bowls of Weetabix. With sugar! I doubt I'll have gained from that but it will have used up most of the day's planned deficit.
Yesterday was long run day, and due to the heavy rain of the last few days I modified the 'normal' route in a few places in order to stay mainly on road. That left an 11.7 mile run with a few more drags up and down hills than usual and a last 2 miles that were relentlessly uphill.
I found it hard going from the outset. I suspect that was mainly because the previous 36 hours contained a trail race, a reasonable amount of cardio and some weights. In any event I started and finished slowly and finished with an average pace of bang on 9 minute miles. Just about still inside the LSR target pace range but at the opposite end of the range to normal.
After a quick shower, protein shake, and three bread cakes we booked a campsite for the first week of the kids' summer holidays (when I'm off for 2 weeks too) then set off for Langstrothdale to do a short walk. Before reaching Kettlewell the rain started to come down heavily and remained that way throughout, so it was full waterproofs on before walking up the hill and along from Hubberholme to Yockenthwaite and returning along the river. The river is normally languid, shallow and clear but after the recent rains it was a deep, dangerous, fast moving torrent that was slightly unnerving to walk alongside.
After that it was treat time and we headed to the White Lion at Cray where I had a huge (and lovely) horseshoe gammon, chips, salad, 2 eggs, tomato, mushrooms, onion rings; followed by 4 'balls' of toffee ice cream and the kids leftover puddings (chocolate fudge cake and Dutch apple crumble). Stuffed. No idea how you'd count that lot but the walk and the run should have offset the damage. Still, it really was gorgeous.
Onto a new week, and this weeks objectives are to stick to exercise plan:
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Club tempo run
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - VO2 max test
Friday - Weights & cardio
Saturday - LSR
Sunday - Weights & cardio
As well as maintaining some consistency in diet, sticking close to allowances each day rather than the more up and down approach I had last week.
Hopefully the latter will cancel out the former.
Saturday was pretty good through the day and I treated myself to a really good gym session. Over the last few months trips to the gym have been hurried affairs - straight in, straight out but on Saturday, with the family out shopping, I took the opportunity to take my time.
I managed a very good weights session with weights up to a point where I'd got slight DOMS in triceps and glutes by Sunday morning, 10 minutes HIIT on the stepper, 30 minutes steady on the cross trainer, 12 minutes on the treadmill, a very quick swim and sauna and even a Costa coffee while I read the Guardian after.
The treadmill was quite pleasing. Generally speaking I avoid them wherever possible. Partly as I don't see the point when you can run outdoors and partly because I find a flat constant speed in a still warm room to be quite difficult. Saturday wasn't too bad though. I had to guess pace a bit but started at 12km/h and increased to 15 km/h. I suspect that for adding in a really short recovery jog; doing 40 minutes when the roads are icy or even practicing running form could all be doable on there. I might add in an occasional use.
After I got in I cooked a vegetable biryani. Of sorts. Unfortunately I didn't look at what I was doing and added brown pilau rice instead of the white the recipe called for. As a result the rice was still hard after the cooking time and I needed to add alot more water and cook it on the stove. That left the whole thing rather more moist and stodgy than I'd wanted but it was OK. Unfortunately, later in the evening I ate several rounds of toast and had a couple of curly wurlys as well as 2 bowls of Weetabix. With sugar! I doubt I'll have gained from that but it will have used up most of the day's planned deficit.
Yesterday was long run day, and due to the heavy rain of the last few days I modified the 'normal' route in a few places in order to stay mainly on road. That left an 11.7 mile run with a few more drags up and down hills than usual and a last 2 miles that were relentlessly uphill.
I found it hard going from the outset. I suspect that was mainly because the previous 36 hours contained a trail race, a reasonable amount of cardio and some weights. In any event I started and finished slowly and finished with an average pace of bang on 9 minute miles. Just about still inside the LSR target pace range but at the opposite end of the range to normal.
After a quick shower, protein shake, and three bread cakes we booked a campsite for the first week of the kids' summer holidays (when I'm off for 2 weeks too) then set off for Langstrothdale to do a short walk. Before reaching Kettlewell the rain started to come down heavily and remained that way throughout, so it was full waterproofs on before walking up the hill and along from Hubberholme to Yockenthwaite and returning along the river. The river is normally languid, shallow and clear but after the recent rains it was a deep, dangerous, fast moving torrent that was slightly unnerving to walk alongside.
After that it was treat time and we headed to the White Lion at Cray where I had a huge (and lovely) horseshoe gammon, chips, salad, 2 eggs, tomato, mushrooms, onion rings; followed by 4 'balls' of toffee ice cream and the kids leftover puddings (chocolate fudge cake and Dutch apple crumble). Stuffed. No idea how you'd count that lot but the walk and the run should have offset the damage. Still, it really was gorgeous.
Onto a new week, and this weeks objectives are to stick to exercise plan:
Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Club tempo run
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - VO2 max test
Friday - Weights & cardio
Saturday - LSR
Sunday - Weights & cardio
As well as maintaining some consistency in diet, sticking close to allowances each day rather than the more up and down approach I had last week.
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
I'm a Guinea Pig
I'm going to make the uncommon (for me) move of updating a couple of days into the week.
Monday was a rest day; just a bit of caution after Saturday's difficult feeling run and recognition of some possible groin discomfort.
Not sure whether the latter is real or not. In a response to Alison's excellent blog (linked to on the right) I stated my belief that marathon training is as much a mental challenge as a physical one i.e. one that's filled with obsessive introspection, doubt and phantom concerns. I think training harder after a long injury is similar. I probably get little niggles all over my body and think nothing of them but if its in my lower abs I take the slightest twinge to be a portent of doom.
Whether real or imagined I'm starting to do the core stability exercises that I have largely, but not entirely, neglected since the middle of May. If it is real I hope they'll nip it in the bud.
Back to Monday. I certainly embraced the rest and refuelling principles, as having been good all day I weakened and allowed myself to go through half a dozen slices of bread, a 9-Bar and two Club biscuit bars in the evening to take me comfortably over calorie target. Its tough on 1250 kcals without any exercise calories to burn and, perhaps, I needed it.
Yesterday I reclaimed half of the excess. A long trip down to Essex and back during the day along with a planned run in the evening limited my ability to eat (though even then the diet Gods looked down kindly on me as when I stopped at a petrol station I decided to get a chocolate bar to help keep me awake but found myself at a 'pay at the pump only' pump). Then, in the evening, I headed up to Fewston & Swinsty reservoirs, north of Otley, to recce the three relay routes for Friday's relay event with a group of Abeey Runners, most of whom were faster than me. In all I covered 9.6 miles, with the first 3 miles at 10k pace and the remainder at half marathon pace. I'm happy with that, particularly as it was largely off road in the pouring rain and featured several short, sharp inclines.
Overall, despite being about a stone heavier than where I want to be I feel I'm running better than at the equivalent weight last year and possibly better than I was when racing half a stone lighter.
I found out yesterday that I've been accepted to take part in a trial at Carnegie Sport College that'll consist of 2 hours running to exhaustion in a VO2 max test and then a second test a couple of days after. The second of these is the day after the Pudsey 10k race I've entered, and as a result I'll pull out of the 10k. I'm not too bothered by that. Its a horribly hilly route that wouldn't really tell me anything much about my condition or form; probably more an invitation to injury than anything else.
Monday was a rest day; just a bit of caution after Saturday's difficult feeling run and recognition of some possible groin discomfort.
Not sure whether the latter is real or not. In a response to Alison's excellent blog (linked to on the right) I stated my belief that marathon training is as much a mental challenge as a physical one i.e. one that's filled with obsessive introspection, doubt and phantom concerns. I think training harder after a long injury is similar. I probably get little niggles all over my body and think nothing of them but if its in my lower abs I take the slightest twinge to be a portent of doom.
Whether real or imagined I'm starting to do the core stability exercises that I have largely, but not entirely, neglected since the middle of May. If it is real I hope they'll nip it in the bud.
Back to Monday. I certainly embraced the rest and refuelling principles, as having been good all day I weakened and allowed myself to go through half a dozen slices of bread, a 9-Bar and two Club biscuit bars in the evening to take me comfortably over calorie target. Its tough on 1250 kcals without any exercise calories to burn and, perhaps, I needed it.
Yesterday I reclaimed half of the excess. A long trip down to Essex and back during the day along with a planned run in the evening limited my ability to eat (though even then the diet Gods looked down kindly on me as when I stopped at a petrol station I decided to get a chocolate bar to help keep me awake but found myself at a 'pay at the pump only' pump). Then, in the evening, I headed up to Fewston & Swinsty reservoirs, north of Otley, to recce the three relay routes for Friday's relay event with a group of Abeey Runners, most of whom were faster than me. In all I covered 9.6 miles, with the first 3 miles at 10k pace and the remainder at half marathon pace. I'm happy with that, particularly as it was largely off road in the pouring rain and featured several short, sharp inclines.
Overall, despite being about a stone heavier than where I want to be I feel I'm running better than at the equivalent weight last year and possibly better than I was when racing half a stone lighter.
I found out yesterday that I've been accepted to take part in a trial at Carnegie Sport College that'll consist of 2 hours running to exhaustion in a VO2 max test and then a second test a couple of days after. The second of these is the day after the Pudsey 10k race I've entered, and as a result I'll pull out of the 10k. I'm not too bothered by that. Its a horribly hilly route that wouldn't really tell me anything much about my condition or form; probably more an invitation to injury than anything else.
Monday, 12 July 2010
Happy with that
Overall I'm happy with the last week - even if the weekend proved to be a bit of a challenge.
Monday was a rest day and also proved to be a rhubarb crumble day too! As a rest day there weren't that many calories in the allowance to start with but I had done well until early evening. By then Sue went back to work for a bit and left me, the girls and a rhubarb crumble in the oven. I intended to resist but when I put theirs out it proved futile and 3 helpings later I left it alone!
Tuesday was good though. Stuck to target and clawed back some of the previous day's crumble damage through an undulating 6.4 mile trail run with a faster group in the evening. I was pleased with that as there were little or no breaks and I managed to hold the pace far more comfortably than I'd have expected.
Wednesday was a rest from running but I did head to the gym to do some weights. Still able to increase weights further without any doms afterwards.
Thursday meant speed training in the evening. In this case cross country pyramid intervals of 6, 8, 10, 8, 6 minutes ostensibly at 10k pace, plus warm up and cool down runs. It was hard work but I found myself doing them at more like 5k pace which, again, was pleasing.
Maybe that inspired me to run again on Friday, even though it wasn't planned. Possibly a mistake. I headed out along the canal to do 4 easy miles but it was extremely hot and muggy and I felt jaded from the outset. On a whim I decided to head back the longer route back along the river but felt I had no energy and had to stop 4 times en route. The experience wasn't helped by the path being overgrown with long grasses, brambles and above all nettles leaving me stung from ankles to the tops of my thighs. Did also mange a trip to the gym where, at last, I found a couple of taxing weights to lift - not that that makes me in any way strong, its purely relative - and which left me with a bit of soreness in the left deltoid/upper triceps area by Sunday.
Saturday wouldn't normally be long run day but with my marshaling on the Sunday I had to switch. I don't know if it was the runs the previous days or the heat but it was another toughie. I set out more slowly than normal without realising and whilst the first 5 miles got progressively quicker they were all some way slower than a normal LSR average. I expected the pace to naturally lift from there but by 6 miles I'd slowed again and was finding it hard going. After a brief stop I did another 5 miles but these were slower still, then after a drink break did a slightly brisker final 1.5.
It was tough, it was pretty hilly and it was certainly sunny, hot and muggy. Afterwards we went to Gateshead for the athletics and by the time we got home I felt absolutely zonked.
On Sunday I just cycled to/from the marshaling at the Eccup 10 race - no more than 8 miles. When I got back Sue and the girls had left for her parents in order to attend a family gathering (that marshaling and work stopped me going to) and whilst I resisted the lure of the takeaway I did hoover up most of the crap from the fridge and cupboards. I'm not going to be hard on myself for that and maybe I needed it after a couple of hard days.
Overall I'm pretty pleased.
Exercise wise I did all I intended to do - albeit that it included an extra run and one missed gym trip - and the quality of the 2 club runs was pleasing. The two runs that I found harder I'll just shrug my shoulders at and move on.
I'm probably even happier with the food intake - despite going overboard at the beginning and the end of the week - because I'm pleased at what I didn't do.
I've learned to recognise my binge triggers:
I did over eat those two days but I didn't on Wednesday and managed the stress challenge really well. I resisted the takeaway on Sunday as well as the strong temptation of nipping to the shop for biscuits or chocolates. When we went to Gateshead, despite being tired, pooped from the run and 'out' I resisted the chocolates, crisps and sweets at the refreshment kiosks. That might not sound like much but the challenges I had could have made it far worse!
Monday was a rest day and also proved to be a rhubarb crumble day too! As a rest day there weren't that many calories in the allowance to start with but I had done well until early evening. By then Sue went back to work for a bit and left me, the girls and a rhubarb crumble in the oven. I intended to resist but when I put theirs out it proved futile and 3 helpings later I left it alone!
Tuesday was good though. Stuck to target and clawed back some of the previous day's crumble damage through an undulating 6.4 mile trail run with a faster group in the evening. I was pleased with that as there were little or no breaks and I managed to hold the pace far more comfortably than I'd have expected.
Wednesday was a rest from running but I did head to the gym to do some weights. Still able to increase weights further without any doms afterwards.
Thursday meant speed training in the evening. In this case cross country pyramid intervals of 6, 8, 10, 8, 6 minutes ostensibly at 10k pace, plus warm up and cool down runs. It was hard work but I found myself doing them at more like 5k pace which, again, was pleasing.
Maybe that inspired me to run again on Friday, even though it wasn't planned. Possibly a mistake. I headed out along the canal to do 4 easy miles but it was extremely hot and muggy and I felt jaded from the outset. On a whim I decided to head back the longer route back along the river but felt I had no energy and had to stop 4 times en route. The experience wasn't helped by the path being overgrown with long grasses, brambles and above all nettles leaving me stung from ankles to the tops of my thighs. Did also mange a trip to the gym where, at last, I found a couple of taxing weights to lift - not that that makes me in any way strong, its purely relative - and which left me with a bit of soreness in the left deltoid/upper triceps area by Sunday.
Saturday wouldn't normally be long run day but with my marshaling on the Sunday I had to switch. I don't know if it was the runs the previous days or the heat but it was another toughie. I set out more slowly than normal without realising and whilst the first 5 miles got progressively quicker they were all some way slower than a normal LSR average. I expected the pace to naturally lift from there but by 6 miles I'd slowed again and was finding it hard going. After a brief stop I did another 5 miles but these were slower still, then after a drink break did a slightly brisker final 1.5.
It was tough, it was pretty hilly and it was certainly sunny, hot and muggy. Afterwards we went to Gateshead for the athletics and by the time we got home I felt absolutely zonked.
On Sunday I just cycled to/from the marshaling at the Eccup 10 race - no more than 8 miles. When I got back Sue and the girls had left for her parents in order to attend a family gathering (that marshaling and work stopped me going to) and whilst I resisted the lure of the takeaway I did hoover up most of the crap from the fridge and cupboards. I'm not going to be hard on myself for that and maybe I needed it after a couple of hard days.
Overall I'm pretty pleased.
Exercise wise I did all I intended to do - albeit that it included an extra run and one missed gym trip - and the quality of the 2 club runs was pleasing. The two runs that I found harder I'll just shrug my shoulders at and move on.
I'm probably even happier with the food intake - despite going overboard at the beginning and the end of the week - because I'm pleased at what I didn't do.
I've learned to recognise my binge triggers:
- Stress
- Being alone at home when Sue goes away
- Tiredness
- Over training
I did over eat those two days but I didn't on Wednesday and managed the stress challenge really well. I resisted the takeaway on Sunday as well as the strong temptation of nipping to the shop for biscuits or chocolates. When we went to Gateshead, despite being tired, pooped from the run and 'out' I resisted the chocolates, crisps and sweets at the refreshment kiosks. That might not sound like much but the challenges I had could have made it far worse!
Monday, 14 June 2010
Now the pressure is on
I should have hit my weight loss target a long time ago.
By late April to be precise.
Yet here I am in mid-June and its looking a long way away.
The last 3 weeks echo the results and sentiment of the entry below. I've done no core work, haven't been to the gym, missed a couple of runs, haven't logged what I've eaten, have eaten a number of very unhealthy meals and snacks and have even missed a couple of scheduled runs.
I could come up with a number of excuses/justifications: I had a cold for a couple of weeks, hay fever, felt stressed from work, didn't sleep well for a week, stayed away with work, stayed away on a farm for a long weekend enjoying cream teas, puddings and cooked breakfasts....but the truth is I've been a bit slack and let things stop me. Once something breaks my virtuous circle the wheels fall all too easily off.
I said in the entry below that I respond best when I have a target. I believe that's at its most accurate when the target is close and I have the pressure of being 'up against it'. That's true for far more than weight loss as I was the same with exams and still am with regards to work deadlines.
I'm up against it now. To get to 11 stones I'd be looking at early September, though I suspect I'll lose enough water and 'food in transit' this week that late August will be more accurate.
I have 3 things now helping me:
1) Running is going OK as I managed 13 miles yesterday with no ill effects.
2) Its now a family thing with joint weigh ins and measuring each week.
3) I've found the scales were set incorrectly so my body fat percentage was far lower than I'd previously thought.
The family approach looks like being a huge help and the scales settings mean that I may not now go for a target as low as 11 stones.
We shall see!
By late April to be precise.
Yet here I am in mid-June and its looking a long way away.
The last 3 weeks echo the results and sentiment of the entry below. I've done no core work, haven't been to the gym, missed a couple of runs, haven't logged what I've eaten, have eaten a number of very unhealthy meals and snacks and have even missed a couple of scheduled runs.
I could come up with a number of excuses/justifications: I had a cold for a couple of weeks, hay fever, felt stressed from work, didn't sleep well for a week, stayed away with work, stayed away on a farm for a long weekend enjoying cream teas, puddings and cooked breakfasts....but the truth is I've been a bit slack and let things stop me. Once something breaks my virtuous circle the wheels fall all too easily off.
I said in the entry below that I respond best when I have a target. I believe that's at its most accurate when the target is close and I have the pressure of being 'up against it'. That's true for far more than weight loss as I was the same with exams and still am with regards to work deadlines.
I'm up against it now. To get to 11 stones I'd be looking at early September, though I suspect I'll lose enough water and 'food in transit' this week that late August will be more accurate.
I have 3 things now helping me:
1) Running is going OK as I managed 13 miles yesterday with no ill effects.
2) Its now a family thing with joint weigh ins and measuring each week.
3) I've found the scales were set incorrectly so my body fat percentage was far lower than I'd previously thought.
The family approach looks like being a huge help and the scales settings mean that I may not now go for a target as low as 11 stones.
We shall see!
Monday, 10 May 2010
I am the walrus
The last couple of weeks have been difficult.
First problem was that I had far, far more DOMS after the walk up Ingleborough & Whernside than I'd realised. Monday started with slight soreness but by the afternoon, calves, quads, glutes and hips were all very sore - almost to post marathon levels. That meant no exercise on the Monday and working away on Tuesday ruled that day out too. Wednesday was still a little sore so I limited myself to a 2 mile jog with Bethan. By this time I'd started to feel frustrated and sorry for myself at the lack of exercise opportunities. Inevitably that led to overeating a little - though still largely cleanly.
Thursday I did an unenthusiastic 4 miles but continued to overeat. Friday became a 'rest' day as work was pretty solid through the day and I didn't want to go to the gym in the evening as I was going to do a rowing half marathon the following morning.
The row itself was pretty good. I'd rushed to the gym having had no breakfast and forgot my gloves but settled into a decent rhythm and finished in 1:28 which I was quite pleased with.
That was decent calories burned but I probably ate all those during a trip to a Thai restaurant in the evening.
Sunday started well enough too with a 7.5 mile tempo run along the canal. With hindsight, it felt marginally tougher than I'd expected but I was still happy with it at the time.
Late morning we set off to do a walk in Swaledale but by the time we were driving through Ilkley I was feeling a bit queasy, tired, shivery and aching. I felt sure I'd feel better with fresh air so we stopped for a few minutes then carried on to the village of Keld in upper Swaledale. As soon as I got out of the car I felt ropey - I couldn't get warm and my teeth were chattering, and as we completed a 5.5 mile circuit I really struggled to keep up even with the kids. Funnily enough, I felt far better after we'd finished and agreed to go to the pub for tea on the way home. I actually ate voraciously when we were there, and not at all cleanly!
I woke bank holiday Monday morning and felt fine but once I'd had a shower I felt exhausted and weak so went straight back to bed, eating little through the day then 'grazing aggressively' through the evening. I woke in the early hours of Tuesday morning desperate for the loo - and spent much of the next 24 hours there, and quite a few visits in the days that followed too. I won't go into detail but I'm sure you get the idea!
You'd think that would help with weight loss but far from it. I called NHS direct on Wednesday morning and was told it sounded like food poisoning. I'd felt ambivalent about eating the previous couple of days but the nurse advised I should eat lots of carbs to help get the bacteria through my system. Not feeling particularly hungry I placed my order for all the things that might conceivably tempt me, mainly unhealthy comfort foods from childhood: pikelets, Danish pastries, bread, white chocolate cookies, crisps, biscuits and even a Pot Noodle (something I hadn't had in well over 20 years). Probably not what the nurse had in mind but it became a bit of a frenzy with new supplies on each of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and unsurprisingly no exercise.
Saturday things improved at first. I felt pretty much back to normal and, conscious that I hadn't been taking Bethan for runs, took her to do a 4.5 mile run round Eccup reservoir. I wanted to get her to do something new and challenging and she didn't walk a step of it - not bad for an 11 year old!
That evening we went to a vegetarian restaurant called the Cheerful Chili. Sue had booked it before I'd been ill, and I felt fine to go. It was very good but not necessarily healthy, especially as having eaten my cheese laden main course I felt obliged to eat some of Beth's leftover curry and Charlotte's leftover pizza. On the way out we ordered desserts to take away, swimming in double cream, and later in the evening the binge mood continued as I ate 2 choc ices!
Similar pattern yesterday. I went for an 8 mile run first thing, again loosely round the reservoir, but starting a mile or so further away and including some wider loops on trails. About a minute a mile slower than the previous week's tempo run but it was almost exclusively off road, and featured several hills and numerous stiles and gates so I was happy with the time, besides which I'd made a point of not looking at the pace or time until I'd finished.
In the afternoon we headed for Malham and did a 5 mile loop round Malham cove. My legs felt a bit achy by the end but we, once again, detoured to a pub for a huge meal on the way home. As a last hurrah for gluttony I had 3 pieces of toasted white bread thickly smothered in butter before heading to bed.
So, 2 weeks of disruption to exercise, carte blanche to eat whatever I wanted, 4 big meals out, clean eating principles out of the window and not a single item logged on WLR. I'd expected a reasonable weight gain and could feel and see it in my body but I wasn't expecting today's weigh in numbers: nearly 11lb on in 17 days!
Now, I don't for a moment think that's 11lb of fat gained and hope for a big fall off this week as a result, but even so!
Back to logging from today and back to the gym after work. Back to clean eating and back to some focus.
As a final aside, when the routine was disrupted the physio exercises were disrupted too - first by aching limbs and then by illness. I've probably done the equivalent of 3 days of exercises in the last 2 weeks, so that has to start with a vengeance once more.
Wish me luck.
First problem was that I had far, far more DOMS after the walk up Ingleborough & Whernside than I'd realised. Monday started with slight soreness but by the afternoon, calves, quads, glutes and hips were all very sore - almost to post marathon levels. That meant no exercise on the Monday and working away on Tuesday ruled that day out too. Wednesday was still a little sore so I limited myself to a 2 mile jog with Bethan. By this time I'd started to feel frustrated and sorry for myself at the lack of exercise opportunities. Inevitably that led to overeating a little - though still largely cleanly.
Thursday I did an unenthusiastic 4 miles but continued to overeat. Friday became a 'rest' day as work was pretty solid through the day and I didn't want to go to the gym in the evening as I was going to do a rowing half marathon the following morning.
The row itself was pretty good. I'd rushed to the gym having had no breakfast and forgot my gloves but settled into a decent rhythm and finished in 1:28 which I was quite pleased with.
That was decent calories burned but I probably ate all those during a trip to a Thai restaurant in the evening.
Sunday started well enough too with a 7.5 mile tempo run along the canal. With hindsight, it felt marginally tougher than I'd expected but I was still happy with it at the time.
Late morning we set off to do a walk in Swaledale but by the time we were driving through Ilkley I was feeling a bit queasy, tired, shivery and aching. I felt sure I'd feel better with fresh air so we stopped for a few minutes then carried on to the village of Keld in upper Swaledale. As soon as I got out of the car I felt ropey - I couldn't get warm and my teeth were chattering, and as we completed a 5.5 mile circuit I really struggled to keep up even with the kids. Funnily enough, I felt far better after we'd finished and agreed to go to the pub for tea on the way home. I actually ate voraciously when we were there, and not at all cleanly!
I woke bank holiday Monday morning and felt fine but once I'd had a shower I felt exhausted and weak so went straight back to bed, eating little through the day then 'grazing aggressively' through the evening. I woke in the early hours of Tuesday morning desperate for the loo - and spent much of the next 24 hours there, and quite a few visits in the days that followed too. I won't go into detail but I'm sure you get the idea!
You'd think that would help with weight loss but far from it. I called NHS direct on Wednesday morning and was told it sounded like food poisoning. I'd felt ambivalent about eating the previous couple of days but the nurse advised I should eat lots of carbs to help get the bacteria through my system. Not feeling particularly hungry I placed my order for all the things that might conceivably tempt me, mainly unhealthy comfort foods from childhood: pikelets, Danish pastries, bread, white chocolate cookies, crisps, biscuits and even a Pot Noodle (something I hadn't had in well over 20 years). Probably not what the nurse had in mind but it became a bit of a frenzy with new supplies on each of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and unsurprisingly no exercise.
Saturday things improved at first. I felt pretty much back to normal and, conscious that I hadn't been taking Bethan for runs, took her to do a 4.5 mile run round Eccup reservoir. I wanted to get her to do something new and challenging and she didn't walk a step of it - not bad for an 11 year old!
That evening we went to a vegetarian restaurant called the Cheerful Chili. Sue had booked it before I'd been ill, and I felt fine to go. It was very good but not necessarily healthy, especially as having eaten my cheese laden main course I felt obliged to eat some of Beth's leftover curry and Charlotte's leftover pizza. On the way out we ordered desserts to take away, swimming in double cream, and later in the evening the binge mood continued as I ate 2 choc ices!
Similar pattern yesterday. I went for an 8 mile run first thing, again loosely round the reservoir, but starting a mile or so further away and including some wider loops on trails. About a minute a mile slower than the previous week's tempo run but it was almost exclusively off road, and featured several hills and numerous stiles and gates so I was happy with the time, besides which I'd made a point of not looking at the pace or time until I'd finished.
In the afternoon we headed for Malham and did a 5 mile loop round Malham cove. My legs felt a bit achy by the end but we, once again, detoured to a pub for a huge meal on the way home. As a last hurrah for gluttony I had 3 pieces of toasted white bread thickly smothered in butter before heading to bed.
So, 2 weeks of disruption to exercise, carte blanche to eat whatever I wanted, 4 big meals out, clean eating principles out of the window and not a single item logged on WLR. I'd expected a reasonable weight gain and could feel and see it in my body but I wasn't expecting today's weigh in numbers: nearly 11lb on in 17 days!
Now, I don't for a moment think that's 11lb of fat gained and hope for a big fall off this week as a result, but even so!
Back to logging from today and back to the gym after work. Back to clean eating and back to some focus.
As a final aside, when the routine was disrupted the physio exercises were disrupted too - first by aching limbs and then by illness. I've probably done the equivalent of 3 days of exercises in the last 2 weeks, so that has to start with a vengeance once more.
Wish me luck.
Monday, 12 April 2010
A week off: the alternative view
It was a really good week last week but from a diet & fitness perspective it was more mixed, and has probably put my loose shedule back by a week or 10 days.
I went into the 10 days off buoyed by my weight dropping to 12st 6.0lb, and after the most recent run felt like fitness was markedly returning.
The plan was to really compound this by eating well and getting in plenty of exercise through running, gym, hill walking and maybe even a couple of swims. In the event it didn't go entirely to plan but its interesting to note what did happen and what the results were.
In terms of exercise I wasn't far out. By the Wednesday (six days in) I'd been to the gym 6 times, walked once and ran twice. Whilst I didn't go to the gym in the last 4 days I did manage one run and went walking twice.
That's not too bad, though what it doesn't show is that I got out of the habit of doing the physio exercises and missed them on 5 of the 10 days. That may or may not be connected to one of the factors that prevented my exercising more in the last days - that my injury seemed rather more sore than it has been of late.
The other, bigger factor is how I've felt in the last few days and that may well link more to diet.
Again, the plan was to eat cleanly throughout the time off as I'd managed it for the best part of the previous 6 weeks, and to track my eating as normal.
I managed that goal fully on Good Friday but on Saturday and Sunday I didn't track what I'd eaten though I did eat cleanly. Monday and Tuesday were a return to tracked clean eating but after that the wheels fell off a bit!
On the Wednesday evening we went out for a meal and over ordered. I have a thing about not wanting to send uneaten food back - especially if I've really enjoyed it - which left me to eat my curry, pretty much all of the side dish, 2 nan breads and a good chunk of the large side salad. When I got in I followed that up with 2 slices of my mum's fruit/nut cake!
That evening I felt really bloated and felt the same way the next morning and through much of the day, though I did eat cleanly again (the nan breads and cake were both made with white flour).
Friday saw a return to clean eating for the most part. Pub food in the evening doesn't lend itself to clean eating principles though I did forsake chips for new potatoes, didn't use the butter, and only drank water.
Saturday was when it really went to pot. Through the day was ok again but this time at the pub I had salted nuts and J2O, a couple of crisps, dumplings with the casserole and a huge toffee ice cream for pudding. When we got in I had a craving for buttered toast and also opened a box of fancy chocolates. Sunday was similar, cleanish through the day but buttered toast in the evening (following a baked spud with butter and cheese and streaky bacon) and then onto the chocolates again. Last night I was very bloated again and feel the same this morning.
I'm not sure whether the bloating is from large meals or is a reaction to 'unclean' foods, but other symptoms over the last few days have been lethargy, extreme tiredness on an evening, difficulty in waking up and cravings. Lessons to be learned eh?
As well as learning lessons the other plus is that I didn't quite get out of control in the way I have done in the past.
As well as eating clean 90% of the break, I went to ASDA yesterday and whilst the idea of buying chocolate bars flashed across my mind it was immediately dismissed and I've had no doubt that as of today I will be back on track.
The scales say I've put on 4.6lb in 10 days and the body fat percentage has risen. However, I'm confident that the apparent gain is largely 'food in transit' and will disappear this week - mostly in the next couple of days.
I went into the 10 days off buoyed by my weight dropping to 12st 6.0lb, and after the most recent run felt like fitness was markedly returning.
The plan was to really compound this by eating well and getting in plenty of exercise through running, gym, hill walking and maybe even a couple of swims. In the event it didn't go entirely to plan but its interesting to note what did happen and what the results were.
In terms of exercise I wasn't far out. By the Wednesday (six days in) I'd been to the gym 6 times, walked once and ran twice. Whilst I didn't go to the gym in the last 4 days I did manage one run and went walking twice.
That's not too bad, though what it doesn't show is that I got out of the habit of doing the physio exercises and missed them on 5 of the 10 days. That may or may not be connected to one of the factors that prevented my exercising more in the last days - that my injury seemed rather more sore than it has been of late.
The other, bigger factor is how I've felt in the last few days and that may well link more to diet.
Again, the plan was to eat cleanly throughout the time off as I'd managed it for the best part of the previous 6 weeks, and to track my eating as normal.
I managed that goal fully on Good Friday but on Saturday and Sunday I didn't track what I'd eaten though I did eat cleanly. Monday and Tuesday were a return to tracked clean eating but after that the wheels fell off a bit!
On the Wednesday evening we went out for a meal and over ordered. I have a thing about not wanting to send uneaten food back - especially if I've really enjoyed it - which left me to eat my curry, pretty much all of the side dish, 2 nan breads and a good chunk of the large side salad. When I got in I followed that up with 2 slices of my mum's fruit/nut cake!
That evening I felt really bloated and felt the same way the next morning and through much of the day, though I did eat cleanly again (the nan breads and cake were both made with white flour).
Friday saw a return to clean eating for the most part. Pub food in the evening doesn't lend itself to clean eating principles though I did forsake chips for new potatoes, didn't use the butter, and only drank water.
Saturday was when it really went to pot. Through the day was ok again but this time at the pub I had salted nuts and J2O, a couple of crisps, dumplings with the casserole and a huge toffee ice cream for pudding. When we got in I had a craving for buttered toast and also opened a box of fancy chocolates. Sunday was similar, cleanish through the day but buttered toast in the evening (following a baked spud with butter and cheese and streaky bacon) and then onto the chocolates again. Last night I was very bloated again and feel the same this morning.
I'm not sure whether the bloating is from large meals or is a reaction to 'unclean' foods, but other symptoms over the last few days have been lethargy, extreme tiredness on an evening, difficulty in waking up and cravings. Lessons to be learned eh?
As well as learning lessons the other plus is that I didn't quite get out of control in the way I have done in the past.
As well as eating clean 90% of the break, I went to ASDA yesterday and whilst the idea of buying chocolate bars flashed across my mind it was immediately dismissed and I've had no doubt that as of today I will be back on track.
The scales say I've put on 4.6lb in 10 days and the body fat percentage has risen. However, I'm confident that the apparent gain is largely 'food in transit' and will disappear this week - mostly in the next couple of days.
Monday, 16 November 2009
Minor trials & tribulations
Its funny how just as you feel you're back in control life can throw some unexpected obstacles in your direction.
Things were going well last week. By Friday morning I'd had a good week dieting and the heavy, morale boosting weight loss of the first week was very much in evidence. After a rest day I was due to run again too.
Then along comes obstacle number one. My youngest daughter was absolutely full of cold, hadn't slept well at all and had a slight temperature so wasn't fit for school. That meant she was home with me all day so no opportunity to nip out for a run during my lunch break. Not to worry though - I could simply run Saturday & Sunday instead.
Time for obstacle number two. Late morning there is a knock at the door and there's a lad selling dish cloths, fridge fresheners and the like. Thanks but no thanks. Then as I run back upstairs I somehow catch my little toe on a door frame. As I do so there's an audible 'snap' and I fear the worst, but as I brace myself for a wave of pain I actually find it doesn't seem too bad. Within minutes though it doesn't look good as the toe swells to be 50% bigger than it's neighbour. It throbs the rest of the day and Friday night and its difficult to walk on. Still swollen and now largely blue, I cancel Saturday's run and don't feel too optimistic for Sunday either.
Saturday dinner and time for obstacle 3 to join the party, as a tooth breaks. That's slightly painful and certainly irritating but a trip to the chemists for some temporary filling mixture limits the damage.
Trouble is I haven't run as planned and, feeling sorry for myself, the dieting stops and is replaced by binging of sorts. Fortunately the tooth precludes sweets but an enormous chocolate cake made for the youngest's birthday party on Saturday (that was cancelled due to her illness) provides a capable stand in.
By Sunday morning the swelling has largely gone and, contrary to expectations, I manage a run. Along the muddy bank of the river Aire and back. Slightly slower than last time but with an occasionally painful toe, lots of slipping and sliding and a wait for a family of runners to pass at one point means that's none too surprising. Positively, at least I'm running again and, passing wait aside, its done none stop.
The chocolate cake hasn't completely gone though - a situation I remedy by early evening. Meaning its turned into a mixed weekend. It wasn't the virtuous, lean, athletic break I'd envisaged but then neither had it turned into the complete disaster that looked on the cards by Saturday morning.
Once again, I'm back on the dieting 'horse' today, and a few days of discipline and the weekend's excesses will be just an insignificant blip.
Things were going well last week. By Friday morning I'd had a good week dieting and the heavy, morale boosting weight loss of the first week was very much in evidence. After a rest day I was due to run again too.
Then along comes obstacle number one. My youngest daughter was absolutely full of cold, hadn't slept well at all and had a slight temperature so wasn't fit for school. That meant she was home with me all day so no opportunity to nip out for a run during my lunch break. Not to worry though - I could simply run Saturday & Sunday instead.
Time for obstacle number two. Late morning there is a knock at the door and there's a lad selling dish cloths, fridge fresheners and the like. Thanks but no thanks. Then as I run back upstairs I somehow catch my little toe on a door frame. As I do so there's an audible 'snap' and I fear the worst, but as I brace myself for a wave of pain I actually find it doesn't seem too bad. Within minutes though it doesn't look good as the toe swells to be 50% bigger than it's neighbour. It throbs the rest of the day and Friday night and its difficult to walk on. Still swollen and now largely blue, I cancel Saturday's run and don't feel too optimistic for Sunday either.
Saturday dinner and time for obstacle 3 to join the party, as a tooth breaks. That's slightly painful and certainly irritating but a trip to the chemists for some temporary filling mixture limits the damage.
Trouble is I haven't run as planned and, feeling sorry for myself, the dieting stops and is replaced by binging of sorts. Fortunately the tooth precludes sweets but an enormous chocolate cake made for the youngest's birthday party on Saturday (that was cancelled due to her illness) provides a capable stand in.
By Sunday morning the swelling has largely gone and, contrary to expectations, I manage a run. Along the muddy bank of the river Aire and back. Slightly slower than last time but with an occasionally painful toe, lots of slipping and sliding and a wait for a family of runners to pass at one point means that's none too surprising. Positively, at least I'm running again and, passing wait aside, its done none stop.
The chocolate cake hasn't completely gone though - a situation I remedy by early evening. Meaning its turned into a mixed weekend. It wasn't the virtuous, lean, athletic break I'd envisaged but then neither had it turned into the complete disaster that looked on the cards by Saturday morning.
Once again, I'm back on the dieting 'horse' today, and a few days of discipline and the weekend's excesses will be just an insignificant blip.
Friday, 13 November 2009
The downward spiral continues
My newly invigorated commitment at the end of the last post didn't quite live up to it's billing. It lasted a day and a half.
For the first couple of days of that week I managed to half heartedly stick to the diet and on the Wednesday I forced myself out for a run. Instead of going to the canal I ran from home which meant a long downhill followed by a long uphill back again. The route I took lasted only 3.45 miles and I found it slow and very hard work, even on the downhill. That knocked me a bit and I found solace in more fatty, sugary, sweet foods for the remainder of the week - and no more runs.
The Saturday was the first of 10 days off for me and we headed down to Northamptonshire to see the in laws. That meant having dinner at a local pub (where I had the enjoyable but uncharacteristic choice of a mixed grill followed by treacle sponge pudding) and then an enormous Chinese buffet cum banquet for Sunday dinner.
I did run on the Sunday morning, along the Grand Union Canal from Foxton Locks near Market Harborough. It was a good run even though the towpath was nowhere near as good as that near Leeds. It totalled 15.1 miles - the longest since Paris - but I found it very hard work after the 11 miles point, underlining my feeling that its stamina I'm lacking.
You'd think that would have energised me for the week ahead with its opportunity to run wherever I wanted each day and cook some healthy meals, but it didn't. Instead I spent the week pretty much indoors, cooking meals each day, cooking other meals for the freezer ahead of Christmas, and having lots and lots of sweets along with ensuring Sue made a pudding most days.
I can't point to a single reason for that but I suspect its a combination of factors:
- The time of year made both of us crave 'hearty' foods. The clocks had changed and there was a definite feel of winter being on the way.
- I had the vicious circle of not running because I felt bloated and sluggish then over eating because I didn't have the discipline of running...
- I turned 40 on the final day of my holiday and, daft though it seems, I felt pretty down about it in the lead up and on the day.
- Job insecurity and reduced pay lead to money worries and I guess I comfort ate in response.
That meant that by the 3rd November, the second day in my forties :-( , my weight had leapt further to 12st 7.2lb. That's a stone heavier than I'd been less than 4 weeks earlier.
That was depressing - to have been so close to goal and then so far away again - and that led to a week where I didn't quite stick to plan but I did cut back on my 'bad eating' and had a couple of day's genuine dieting. I still didn't run though. That all led to a modest loss of 0.6lb in the week. Not quite the heavy early loss I'd wanted but enough to break the cycle of weight gain.
For the first couple of days of that week I managed to half heartedly stick to the diet and on the Wednesday I forced myself out for a run. Instead of going to the canal I ran from home which meant a long downhill followed by a long uphill back again. The route I took lasted only 3.45 miles and I found it slow and very hard work, even on the downhill. That knocked me a bit and I found solace in more fatty, sugary, sweet foods for the remainder of the week - and no more runs.
The Saturday was the first of 10 days off for me and we headed down to Northamptonshire to see the in laws. That meant having dinner at a local pub (where I had the enjoyable but uncharacteristic choice of a mixed grill followed by treacle sponge pudding) and then an enormous Chinese buffet cum banquet for Sunday dinner.
I did run on the Sunday morning, along the Grand Union Canal from Foxton Locks near Market Harborough. It was a good run even though the towpath was nowhere near as good as that near Leeds. It totalled 15.1 miles - the longest since Paris - but I found it very hard work after the 11 miles point, underlining my feeling that its stamina I'm lacking.
You'd think that would have energised me for the week ahead with its opportunity to run wherever I wanted each day and cook some healthy meals, but it didn't. Instead I spent the week pretty much indoors, cooking meals each day, cooking other meals for the freezer ahead of Christmas, and having lots and lots of sweets along with ensuring Sue made a pudding most days.
I can't point to a single reason for that but I suspect its a combination of factors:
- The time of year made both of us crave 'hearty' foods. The clocks had changed and there was a definite feel of winter being on the way.
- I had the vicious circle of not running because I felt bloated and sluggish then over eating because I didn't have the discipline of running...
- I turned 40 on the final day of my holiday and, daft though it seems, I felt pretty down about it in the lead up and on the day.
- Job insecurity and reduced pay lead to money worries and I guess I comfort ate in response.
That meant that by the 3rd November, the second day in my forties :-( , my weight had leapt further to 12st 7.2lb. That's a stone heavier than I'd been less than 4 weeks earlier.
That was depressing - to have been so close to goal and then so far away again - and that led to a week where I didn't quite stick to plan but I did cut back on my 'bad eating' and had a couple of day's genuine dieting. I still didn't run though. That all led to a modest loss of 0.6lb in the week. Not quite the heavy early loss I'd wanted but enough to break the cycle of weight gain.
Monday, 19 October 2009
Oh the irony of the post that precedes this one!
All was going well until Tuesday evening but what followed was a really bizarre week...
At 7.40pm I was ready to leave for my Tuesday evening club run. I'd stuck to calorie limits the previous day and had followed the normal Tuesday plan of eating all my calories by mid afternoon secure in the knowledge that I'd be burning off plenty in the evening ahead of my final meal of the day.
The trouble was the baby sitters hadn't turned up. They normally arrive by 7.30pm - though we said they just needed to be here by 7.45 - so I called Sue to check she's confirmed with them. No...she hadn't thought to.
That meant no Tuesday run and I was fuming as it put paid to my mileage targets for the week, my weight loss targets for the day and was very, very irritating. With little food in the house it meant I turned to toast and crisps and biscuits for the mini binge that inevitably followed.
Didn't feel too good Wednesday first thing (and hadn't Tuesday either) but stuck to plan during the day. I toyed with not going to the Kirkstall run but decided I must force myself out and duly turned up at 7pm.
The run started off ok - straight up the 2.5 mile hill to the ring road - and after 1.5 miles I felt good running just behind the fastest runners. By 2 miles I was beginning to struggle to keep to the pace though and by 2.5 miles a deliberate slow down meant I finished some 50yds behind the quickies and felt rough.
I decided I'd better turn round and head back, making it a 5 mile tempo run rather than the 7 miles planned, but after just another mile I had to stop. I was able to start again but it felt really hard work.
On Thursday I needed to head to Warwick for a meeting and stuck well to the diet plan again but as I pondered the previous days on the way back I decided to completely change tack for the rest of the week - I would take the rest of the week off. No running, no dieting and no race on Sunday. I'd give myself a physical and mental break.
Boy, did I put heart and soul into that!
On the journey back I ate 4 chocolate bars and had a Burger King meal. That set the tone for the next few days and since then I can recall having:
About 4/5 chocolate bars a day...at least a dozen Indian 'sweets'...2 homemade curries...2 fried breakfasts....a big bag of fruit pastilles....3 big bags of white chocolate 'moments'...a big bag of chocolate eclairs sweets...2 packets of crisps...a packet of peanuts....a pizza...a small box of shortbread....3 butter laden crumpets...lots of white bread instead of wholemeal...sugary squash...about a pint of mango lassi...meat paste....sandwich spread...lots and lots of tea to drink...
All comfort foods, many echoes of my childhood or of Christmas eating patterns. What might a psychoanalyst make of that?
I suppose 'not dieting' immediately became 'binge as heavily as possible to get it out of your system'.
Its had some interesting effects.
- Ten days ago I was 11st 7lb - today I am 12st 2.2lb.
- I've struggled to get to sleep the last few nights, have woke during the night and have felt tired in the morning.
- I've had terrible wind
- I've been constipated and when I've gone its been painful
- I've felt sluggish
- I've felt bloated & uncomfortable, so much so that I couldn't go out with the family to the cinema yesterday
Hopefully, that's that - though this time of year is where I've ceased running and put on weight in each of the last 2 years!
Gradually get back on track today with the diet and tomorrow with the running and no race pressure for 3 weeks. That's the new plan.
All was going well until Tuesday evening but what followed was a really bizarre week...
At 7.40pm I was ready to leave for my Tuesday evening club run. I'd stuck to calorie limits the previous day and had followed the normal Tuesday plan of eating all my calories by mid afternoon secure in the knowledge that I'd be burning off plenty in the evening ahead of my final meal of the day.
The trouble was the baby sitters hadn't turned up. They normally arrive by 7.30pm - though we said they just needed to be here by 7.45 - so I called Sue to check she's confirmed with them. No...she hadn't thought to.
That meant no Tuesday run and I was fuming as it put paid to my mileage targets for the week, my weight loss targets for the day and was very, very irritating. With little food in the house it meant I turned to toast and crisps and biscuits for the mini binge that inevitably followed.
Didn't feel too good Wednesday first thing (and hadn't Tuesday either) but stuck to plan during the day. I toyed with not going to the Kirkstall run but decided I must force myself out and duly turned up at 7pm.
The run started off ok - straight up the 2.5 mile hill to the ring road - and after 1.5 miles I felt good running just behind the fastest runners. By 2 miles I was beginning to struggle to keep to the pace though and by 2.5 miles a deliberate slow down meant I finished some 50yds behind the quickies and felt rough.
I decided I'd better turn round and head back, making it a 5 mile tempo run rather than the 7 miles planned, but after just another mile I had to stop. I was able to start again but it felt really hard work.
On Thursday I needed to head to Warwick for a meeting and stuck well to the diet plan again but as I pondered the previous days on the way back I decided to completely change tack for the rest of the week - I would take the rest of the week off. No running, no dieting and no race on Sunday. I'd give myself a physical and mental break.
Boy, did I put heart and soul into that!
On the journey back I ate 4 chocolate bars and had a Burger King meal. That set the tone for the next few days and since then I can recall having:
About 4/5 chocolate bars a day...at least a dozen Indian 'sweets'...2 homemade curries...2 fried breakfasts....a big bag of fruit pastilles....3 big bags of white chocolate 'moments'...a big bag of chocolate eclairs sweets...2 packets of crisps...a packet of peanuts....a pizza...a small box of shortbread....3 butter laden crumpets...lots of white bread instead of wholemeal...sugary squash...about a pint of mango lassi...meat paste....sandwich spread...lots and lots of tea to drink...
All comfort foods, many echoes of my childhood or of Christmas eating patterns. What might a psychoanalyst make of that?
I suppose 'not dieting' immediately became 'binge as heavily as possible to get it out of your system'.
Its had some interesting effects.
- Ten days ago I was 11st 7lb - today I am 12st 2.2lb.
- I've struggled to get to sleep the last few nights, have woke during the night and have felt tired in the morning.
- I've had terrible wind
- I've been constipated and when I've gone its been painful
- I've felt sluggish
- I've felt bloated & uncomfortable, so much so that I couldn't go out with the family to the cinema yesterday
Hopefully, that's that - though this time of year is where I've ceased running and put on weight in each of the last 2 years!
Gradually get back on track today with the diet and tomorrow with the running and no race pressure for 3 weeks. That's the new plan.
Monday, 5 October 2009
Self destruction
Time for a post on weight loss and binge eating. Not had one of those for a while. Maybe it'll help in the future if I've jotted down a few thoughts now.
By the 24th of September my weight had fallen nicely down as far as 11 stone 9lb - the lowest I've been probably since my middle teens. I felt good. I was on track to hit my target of 11 stone before my 40th birthday at the beginning of November, and thought of myself as being 'about 11 and a half stone' and slim.
I then had a bit of a heavy few days food wise. This was partly because the in laws visited from Thursday to Saturday (meaning fruit pie, a meal out and a relaxed day or two), partly because I didn't run Thursday or Friday, and partly because after the races on Saturday & Sunday I felt like comfort eating and that I deserved it. I did mange to resist another meal out on the Sunday evening but that just led to a mini binge on cheese, toast & butter!
Net result was that on the following Monday Morning the scales said 12st 1 lb!
Now, I know that thats a 'false' weight gain - as much to do with water retention and the weight of the food in the gut after over eating as any genuine weight gain - so I didn't panic. Instead, I went back to basics of dieting and exercise and by Thursday morning was down to 11st 10lb.
Trouble is, that was the high point!
I did ok through the day on Thursday but in the evening went out for a curry with friends. It wasn't a weight loss day as a result but I resisted the temptation to buy illicit chocolate on the way home. Friday started with good intentions but by the middle of the day I was feeling tempted to nip out for a quick treat lunch out despite knowing I'd got a big (and rather nice) casserole for tea.
I resisted once more but again this led to bingeing in the evening - huge amount (8-10 slices or so) of toast and butter (again after a very large tea) plus assorted picking at cheese, snacks, dried fruit, fruit buns and some newly discovered digestive biscuits.
Saturday was even worse. During the day I had 6 chocolate bars and half a bag of fruit pastilles alongside many, many more slices of toast and butter, fruit buns, digestives and 3 decent meals!
On Sunday I ran a tough race and managed to limit myself to only the four chocolate bars and the other half of the pastilles alongside a huge roast dinner and - you guessed it - yet more toast and butter, biscuits and assorted picking.
The scales today were 11st 13.2 lb. At least its under 12, but the lost time and weight gain now mean even at 2 lb a week loss I won't hit my target until the 22nd of next month.
This pattern of weight loss and bingeing is long established so is there a trigger?
Possibly yes.
The following all seem to contribute to this feeling of wanting to binge and sabotage myself:
Stress - especially work and/or money worries - seem to leave me more open to wanting to comfort eat. Funnilly enough money worries leave me wanting to spend too!
Denial - it seems (from this weekend) that if I deny myself a treat (like the meals out) there's a fair chance my response will be to binge on other things which will ultimately be far worse. Worry is though, if I gave in to the initial temptation would the bingeing follow anyway?
Not exercising - not sure how much of a trigger this is but if I go for more than 2, maybe even 1, day without running I'm more likely to go into binge mode. Exercise seems to give me discipline (post 10 mile run mini binges not withstanding).
Complacency - when I've had a few weeks good loss and am feeling ahead of the game I seem to get tempted to go off the rails. Maybe that's a response to a too strict period or maybe its simple complacency. I don't know.
I do think that the likelihood of bingeing (and its severity) are linked to these triggers working in combination though.
I can even recognise them at play. Trouble is recognising them and finding a way of not acting on them seem two very different things and words and phrases like sabotage and self destruction seem very accurate.
By the 24th of September my weight had fallen nicely down as far as 11 stone 9lb - the lowest I've been probably since my middle teens. I felt good. I was on track to hit my target of 11 stone before my 40th birthday at the beginning of November, and thought of myself as being 'about 11 and a half stone' and slim.
I then had a bit of a heavy few days food wise. This was partly because the in laws visited from Thursday to Saturday (meaning fruit pie, a meal out and a relaxed day or two), partly because I didn't run Thursday or Friday, and partly because after the races on Saturday & Sunday I felt like comfort eating and that I deserved it. I did mange to resist another meal out on the Sunday evening but that just led to a mini binge on cheese, toast & butter!
Net result was that on the following Monday Morning the scales said 12st 1 lb!
Now, I know that thats a 'false' weight gain - as much to do with water retention and the weight of the food in the gut after over eating as any genuine weight gain - so I didn't panic. Instead, I went back to basics of dieting and exercise and by Thursday morning was down to 11st 10lb.
Trouble is, that was the high point!
I did ok through the day on Thursday but in the evening went out for a curry with friends. It wasn't a weight loss day as a result but I resisted the temptation to buy illicit chocolate on the way home. Friday started with good intentions but by the middle of the day I was feeling tempted to nip out for a quick treat lunch out despite knowing I'd got a big (and rather nice) casserole for tea.
I resisted once more but again this led to bingeing in the evening - huge amount (8-10 slices or so) of toast and butter (again after a very large tea) plus assorted picking at cheese, snacks, dried fruit, fruit buns and some newly discovered digestive biscuits.
Saturday was even worse. During the day I had 6 chocolate bars and half a bag of fruit pastilles alongside many, many more slices of toast and butter, fruit buns, digestives and 3 decent meals!
On Sunday I ran a tough race and managed to limit myself to only the four chocolate bars and the other half of the pastilles alongside a huge roast dinner and - you guessed it - yet more toast and butter, biscuits and assorted picking.
The scales today were 11st 13.2 lb. At least its under 12, but the lost time and weight gain now mean even at 2 lb a week loss I won't hit my target until the 22nd of next month.
This pattern of weight loss and bingeing is long established so is there a trigger?
Possibly yes.
The following all seem to contribute to this feeling of wanting to binge and sabotage myself:
Stress - especially work and/or money worries - seem to leave me more open to wanting to comfort eat. Funnilly enough money worries leave me wanting to spend too!
Denial - it seems (from this weekend) that if I deny myself a treat (like the meals out) there's a fair chance my response will be to binge on other things which will ultimately be far worse. Worry is though, if I gave in to the initial temptation would the bingeing follow anyway?
Not exercising - not sure how much of a trigger this is but if I go for more than 2, maybe even 1, day without running I'm more likely to go into binge mode. Exercise seems to give me discipline (post 10 mile run mini binges not withstanding).
Complacency - when I've had a few weeks good loss and am feeling ahead of the game I seem to get tempted to go off the rails. Maybe that's a response to a too strict period or maybe its simple complacency. I don't know.
I do think that the likelihood of bingeing (and its severity) are linked to these triggers working in combination though.
I can even recognise them at play. Trouble is recognising them and finding a way of not acting on them seem two very different things and words and phrases like sabotage and self destruction seem very accurate.
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