fiddle-on

I'm having a little trouble balancing my diet. It's the first week my gym is closed, so instead of working out intensively for an hour twice a week and 20-30 minutes some other days, I'm working out for 20-30 minutes most days at a somewhat lower intensity. But my body hasn't got the message yet that I'm burning less. I've been eating at about maintenance, but I want to be losing weight. I'm also eating too much junk food. I'm going to go back to a stricter diet until eating proper portions gets easier again. Breakfast is either 2 eggs with a veggie and toast, avocado, or potato, or oatmeal with nuts and fruit. Lunch: Either bring 500-600 calories, or buy a salad at work. Dinner: Figure out how many calories I need before cooking (probably 400-600), then make that size portion. Treat: Hot chocolate in the evening any evening you don't have desserts earlier. Or 1 piece of Halloween candy. Macros: Back to 50% fat, 15-20% protein. Extra smiley's for: - DON'T stop at the desk of the coworker with a candy jar. - DO aim for a calorie deficit of 300-500 per day. Somewhere around 1500-1700 calories eaten. - DON'T buy more ice cream until December. Seriously, 3/4 of a cup of Haagen-daas for breakfast is pretty good evidence for why.

Exercise: This morning was Simple and Sinister. I used the 16 kg bell for 2x10, and it was manageable. Challenging to control, but it was still within my control. I was also just thinking how I started in March doing 2 hand swings with a 8 kg bell. Now I'm doing 1 hand with 16 kg. I've also got a short run on the board for this evening. Diet: I had way to much candy in the house for Halloween. Of a 5 pound bag, I probably gave away about 1 pound. So I saved 10 pieces for myself, then put the rest outside my door with a free sign after it was too late for trick or treaters. All gone this morning. Life: I've got a phone interview after work today.

Thanks! I'm very happy with my race. I was pretty surprised with the kettlebells, because I still think of the 12 kg bell as kind of challenging. But I used the 16kg for 2x10 this morning, and it was manageable. Not completely controlled, but enough that I'll be sticking with that number of reps for the week.

I'm in the minority around here with not doing meal prep, so I was wondering if I'd found someone else into quick recipes. Living someplace walkable and bikeable (and then walking and biking) does make fitness easier for me. As does working full time while NOT being a full time student. I'm seriously impressed by people like you, who are balancing so much more and still making improvements.

Following for the gainz. Do you think they're contagious?

Good work on the cooking. Do you usually go to the store every day? I know a lot of people here swear by once a week meal prep, but I like to walk to the grocery store a few times a week and pick up fresh veggies for a stir fry. It's exercise, plus I don't have to eat the same thing every day.

He's got an older book (90s?) that I found used a few years ago. It's got plans for running races in specific times. I'm using his 5K in 30 minutes plan right now. The best part for me is that he encourages running 3 days a week while still working towards improvement. Most of the free plans past raw beginner take the attitude that if you aren't running at least 4 days (5 for some), you'll never improve. He doesn't encourage 4 days until you are pretty fast and experienced, and actually recommends against 5 if you aren't both young and very fit. I like variety in how I exercise, so this is great for me.

My weekend went pretty well. On Saturday, I spent a few hours sewing. I did some hemming, took in the waist on one pair of pants, and darted the waist of another. It was my first try taking in a waist, and it came out OK, but I'll only be wearing those pants with a something that covers the back. You know how if you take something mechanical apart, you often have spare parts, or aren't quite sure where things go? Yeah, that happens with sewing too. I think I'll look for some thrift store pants to work on before I try on any pants that I actually like and aren't mostly worn out. Sunday was my race. As I said yesterday, I finished in 35:37. My goal was to beat 36 minutes, and to not walk at all. I clearly made the time goal, and I'm close enough on the all-running goal. It was a fairly hard course. The first mile was flat or downhill. The second mile was flat or uphill. Lots of uphill. Mile 3 was a little downhill, and mostly flat. It got really steep towards the peak on mile 2, and I was running out of gas, so I spent 100 steps walking to recover a bit. I still finished mile two in 12:29, while miles 1 and 3 were both about 11:30. I had a pace tracker app (Pace Control) on my phone. Without that, I don't think I could have finished in my goal time. It let me know that I was doing mile 2 a little slow, but not so much that I had to try to speed up and maybe run out of gas. And then when the hill ended, and I was still going really slow, it let me know I should speed up a bit. Then when I saw that I only had half a mile left, I knew I still had enough energy to run faster for that distance, so I did. I've now got Garmin's heart rate and GPS smartwatch on my wish list, but at $250, I'll be using my phone for a while yet. This morning I did Simple and Sinister. I hadn't tried it in a few months (I've been doing strength and conditioning classes instead). I was alternating a 12kg kettlebell and a 20 pound dumbbell for the get-ups, while I did 100 swings easily in 4:30 with the 12kg bell. I need to be adding in the 16kg bell for those now. :-). I need to be a bit more consistent about cleaning. My apartment is in good shape right now, but I need to get in the habit of putting things away as I use them.

Race results : I finished in 35 min 37 seconds, and only walked a couple hundred feet total, on a steep part of the hill that made up almost the entire second mile. Woo-hoo!

I'm here for Princess Bride. Best Adventure/Romantic comedy/Swordfighting movie ever.

I rarely buy bags of M&Ms, but I may have to test these out. Nice find.

Wow, that 44 pound swing and 35 pound get-up are something to aspire to. I like your challenge.

Getting back into working out is always so hard. I had to do that back in February, and that first month was rough. But it's so nice to be back in shape when you do it! Your logging sounds a lot like mine. I don't need to know whether I ate 1250 calories or 1300, I need to know whether I scarfed 1 candy bars or 5, or whether I'm about to eat my second lunch because I forgot about the first.

I like the "dreadmill" term. I'm an outside runner, but I'm also trying to get more serious about it, which means not completely quitting just because the ground is covered in ice and snow this year. So, so many more distractions outside. TV shows or podcasts just aren't the same. Congratulations on the size 8! Just remember, if you find a pair at a thrift store that's a 16, and they fit perfectly, it's the pants, not you. And yes, this happened to me, except the 30 year old 16s were significantly smaller than my modern size 10s.

I envy your NaNoWriMo plans. I was thinking about it, but knowing me, looking for jobs will not mix well with writing. I'm still going to try to finish up a story I haven't touched since April (!), though. Probably set a 500 or 1000 word per day goal. I'm another person with a messy apartment. It's tiny, so it really shows, and cleaning is going to involve lots of getting rid of stuff. Small steps make a huge difference here.

Yesterday I had a rest day. I walked to a local furniture store, and bought a second hand loveseat. I'd have carried it home, doing overhead presses the whole way, but it was raining, and that's not good for furniture. So it's being delivered this evening instead. It's a boring black, and needs a bit of cleaning, but is in otherwise good shape. It's also a sleep sofa, so if I really hate someone, I can invite them to stay overnight on it. Diet: Too much free candy this week. Too, too much. I think I'm staying within my calorie limit to still lose weight, but it's pretty close. Life: I spent a couple hours cleaning yesterday to get things in shape for the new couch. My living room feels almost livable! I've packed one big box of stuff to give away, and a couple of items I'd rather sell. I was also invited to do a phone interview with a company, so I need to arrange the details of that. Wish me luck!

Well, my easy run yesterday wasn't quite as easy as I intended. I ended up going for a full 4 miles in 52 minutes, mixed running and walking. That tells me that my 36 minute goal is realistic, but between that and my strength and conditioning class tomorrow, I'm thinking my legs will be kind of tired on Sunday. I won't push myself tomorrow, and then see how the race goes. Worst case, I just need to do the 36 minute 5k on my own, later. Today and Saturday are rest days, since I'm otherwise clearly not taking an easy pre-race week. Diet: Very well. Life: Spent 20 minutes cleaning yesterday, plus I got started on my backlog of clothing alterations. The only serious drawback to losing lots of weight is that nothing fits right anymore.

Diet: Yesterday I had left over pizza for breakfast. Pizza really doesn't fill me up. I can eat 1,000 calories of pizza, and still have room for more 2 hours later. The problem yesterday was that 2 hours after breakfast, there was a bake sale going on, and cookies fill me up about as well as pizza does. So after 600 calories of pizza and 500 calories of cookies and cupcakes, I had 700 calories of chicken and veggies for lunch because I was seriously hungry. Happily, that left me full and I just had a small dinner. I'm off to a much better start today. Exercise: I had my last strength class on Monday, unless I get off the wait list for Friday. So I'm running today, and need to do a strength workout tomorrow or Friday. Life: I hate PMS. The end.

Thanks! http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/rehabilitation-exercises/lower-leg-ankle-exercises has a whole lot of options, or if that's overwhelming, http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/rehabilitation-exercises-for-an-ankle-sprain has just a few. A physical therapist could help too. Personally, I twisted my ankles all the time when I was younger. Then I got a job that required a lot of hiking, and after about a year, I realized I wasn't twisting them so much. This was the first time in years, and not so coincidentally, came after I stopped hiking for a year. I wish her the best of luck. Strong ankles make hiking much more pleasant.

Last challenge, I put something up, then never checked in again. I seem to be doing that a lot lately, but even just the act of writing this up helps keep me on track. Over October so far, I've lost almost 4 pounds, and continued to strength train. I've finished ZombiesRun!5k and I can do 3x8 negative pushups easily. When summer started I could do none without almost collapsing. Between training and losing 20 pounds, those have gotten much, much easier. My longest run is up to 4 miles, and I've got my second 5K on the 30th. My goal is to run 100% of the race. A secondary goal is to finish in 36 minutes. It's a hilly course, though, and while I practice running hills every week, they slow me down a lot. I've no longer got my easy "Attend 2 strength training classes per week" goal. My wonderful tiny gym is closing at the end of the month because one of the two owners got a job cross country, and the other owner is his wife. Instead, I plan to focus on running while that's still an option, then I'll figure out something else when everything ices over. Exercise goals: Running. I want to run 3 times a week, following Jeff Galloway's 30 minute 5K training program. Saturday or Sunday AM: sprints at the high school track. Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday: Mid pace 30 minute run. I'll probably use a modestly hilly route. Thursday/Friday: Long, slow run. No trails. Strength. I've gained a lot of strength over the last 5 months of twice a week strength and conditioning classes. I want to hold on to it. Improvement is nice, but not my main priority just now. Non-running days: Do Simple and Sinister kettlebell program, plus continue working towards unassisted pull-ups and full push-ups. Running days: Do S&S warm-up, followed by either S&S or pullups/pushups. Rehab: I twisted my ankle a few weeks ago, and am doing rehab exercises for it. Every day, without fail: (at least until Thanksgiving, probably longer) Mobility: Stretch calf. Trace alphabet with my foot, 1 to 3 times. Proprioception: Balance on each foot for 1 minute. Increase difficulty as needed by standing on rolled towel or closing eyes. Strength: push and pull exercises with the ankle and related muscles, and one legged squats. I've got a list. Rest days: Take rest days as needed. Probably 1-2 per week. Stay on pavement. Seriously, if I try to go hiking or trail-running before Thanksgiving, kick me in the ankle to remind me why I'm avoiding it. I keep hurting my ankle (mildly, but still) everytime I go at full speed on grass, much less on actual bad terrain. Diet Goals: Keep doing what I've been doing since June. I'm keeping a food diary and generally aiming to eat at a 200-500 calorie defecit. Life Goals: Apply to one job a week. Clean 10-30 minutes a day. Buy a couch? At least rearrange my apartment again.

Last challenge: I lost about 4 pounds, finished recovering from an issue that put me in the hospital in July, and fitness wise worked my way back up to where I was at the beginning of July. I also had a car accident with no injuries during that last challenge that totaled my car. It's been a stressful summer, and I'm hoping that will be 100% behind me by next week (I thought it was, but now I'm getting bills that should have been covered by insurance). So I've been very, very stressed over bills, insurance, and events. I want that to all stop. The single biggest accomplishment of last challenge was running a 5k. I did it in a little over 38 minutes with a mix of walking and running, but mostly running. That was on 4 weeks of run practice. I'm now on week 7 of Zombies Run 5K, so I'm looking for another race, which I want to run 100% of. This challenge: 1) Diet: I've lost 18 pounds so far since the end of June, with 20 or 30 to go. I'm 5 pounds away from a non-overweight BMI, which is my first major milestone. I've also been at this weight now for 2 weeks, and I only had PMS for one of those weeks, so I need to get more consistent about eating at a deficit. - Write down what I eat. - Eat at a deficit. - Bonus: write down my meals for the day in the morning, and stick to them. 2) Exercise: I'm continuing with two kettlebell strength and conditioning classes a week, which I've been doing since February (except in July/August when I was recovering from a medical problem). - 2x a week: Strength and conditioning classes. - 2x-3x a week: Zombies Run 5K! (I'm on week 7) - Find another 5K to run after I finish Zombies Run 5k, and run the full distance. Bonus: Beat a time of 36 minutes. 3) Career: I've been unhappy with my job lately, and the person who I shared a lot of workload with just left. I need a change. The possibilities are: new job, grad school for a slight shift in career focus, or get a promotion at my current job. - Set up a daily job search task (update linked in, search for jobs, apply for jobs, reach out to contacts). I'll be posting these here. - Ask about a promotion. - Find 3-5 ecology programs to apply for. The question here is do I want to stay in New England, or move someplace warmer. From past experience, shorter winters lead to less depression, but I don't get to see my family as often. It's a serious tradeoff.

I haven't been posting much (or at all), but I've been pretty consistent about diet and exercise despite stuff going on in my life. I'm on week 5 of ZombiesRun! 5k, and have been strength training at least twice a week, every week. Since week 1, I've lost about a pound. I was hoping for more like 2 pounds, but when I go out with people, I struggle to eat under maintenance. I'm signed up for a 5K on Saturday. With Zombies run, I've run about 1.5 miles non-stop, and done 3 miles in 45 minutes (run, walk, and knee lifts) without being strained. I did a race 5 years ago, so this is technically my second, but really, it's more like my second first 5K. I'm going to try running all of it, but really, I'll be very happy if I beat 40 minutes, and thrilled if I beat 35. I haven't been cleaning or writing much at all, although I did spend one weekend getting my living room into reasonably good shape, and I've been doing my dishes every day or every other day.

I agree, trail running is so much better than streets. I'm not even sure why it feels so different, but I never need music or distractions if I'm on a trail. But if I want more than a quarter mile of trails, I have to drive 20 minutes. In the game, most of your running is done in abandoned cities or in the woods, so trails could add an element of realism . Just don't get eaten out there.

I went for a run yesterday and today. I'm really liking the get up and run at 6:30 AM thing. I just did a full 3 miles, mixed running and walking, in 45 minutes. Zombies run is way more fun than just going out on my own. I love the Doctor's encouragement - she's always so cheerful when she's telling me I just need a few minutes or seconds more. It's like having my personal cheering section over the headphones.

Just started week 3 today. I ended up doing a total of 2.9 miles in 45 minutes with a workout that included my warmup and a bunch on knee lifts, so I'm feeling very good about being able to do a 5K in under 40 minutes, maybe even under 35. I think I need to plot of a 3 mile course, and spend a day working on pacing to see what I can actually do. Maybe Friday or Saturday.