Weight Loss VII: Week 18: Saddle sore?
Current weight: 268. Total loss: 40.6 pounds. For the week: -1.6. So yay, back over the 40 pound mark!
After my last update on Wednesday, the scale basically hovered at +/- 270.5 pounds, going a bit up and a bit over. Only today did it actually dip back below where I was a week ago. That's been making it hard to ride the high of being back on track. Have been trying not to overreact, but I expect a bit more this week. Still, 1 week is not a good example. And it did finally tick down to 268, so with some luck that trend will continue. I'd really like to get away from the upper 260s, since I've been around +/1 5 pounds 270 since before the surgery, and I'd like the scale to confirm that I'm finally really on track.
The exercise part has been a bit more on track than the food part. I keep coming in around 2,000 calories, which isn't awful, but it's a bit higher than I would like to be eating just now. But I also don't want to be overly hungry, and I want to be able to enjoy my meals. So some give, some take. As long as the scale keeps moving I'll be okay, and I've got a few weeks before I should really decide if I have to change something.
On the exercise front, I've been quite successful, getting in the 12-13K range of steps most days this week. I also restarted the 5K program and have had two good sessions. I decided the first week was just too mild; given my walking, I've developed SOME stamina and want a bit more than week 1, so I'm doing the week 2. Now, knowing that I overdid it and hurt myself before, the difference between weeks 1 and 2 isn't huge. Week 1 on this program is 1 minute of running, 1:30 of walking, repeated 8 times. Week 2 is 1:30 running and 1:30 walking, repeated 7 times. That did a little bit more to make me feel it, but it wasn't overwhelming, so I think it's where I want to be. Week 3 will be 1:00 run, 1:00 walk, 3:00 run, 3:00 walk, repeat 3 times. I'm kind of looking forward to that.
The one thing I am doing on it is to 1) only run on the treadmill (i'm pretty convinced the injury was as much pavement related as anything. The treadmill has a lot more give and is a lot gentler of an impact) and 2) actually wait 2 days between sessions. So right now I'm on a M/W/F schedule.
Running this program doesn't completely replace my walking for the day; it only ends up being a bit under 4,000 steps, so I still generally need another 2-3 mile walk (depending on what other steps I get for the day, i.e. shopping or spending time in the kitchen where I step a lot) later in the day to keep the numbers up.
However, given that yesterday's walk was a full 6.25 mile 10K walk, that I managed to walk most of it close to 4 miles per hour, a 2-3 mile walk is pretty mild. On the days I don't run I'll do a more intense walk (if I can, scheduling permitting) and on running days a less intense walk just to keep things moving. If I have a big shopping day or something that day, I probably don't need to do much walking at all. It turns out this means I'm shooting for about 90-120 minutes of good stepping activity every day; more minutes when less intense.
I also realized that on Sundays, being football day, I can get a pretty good walk on the treadmill during the morning games. Since I mostly watch the RedZone channel, I don't really need to pay a ton of attention, and I can still see all the good highlights. And I can have the walk as intense or relaxed as I want.
I also think, based on what walkmeter is telling me, that the treadmill runs about 10% faster than it says it does. I find a given speed on the treadmill quite a bit harder than a given speed outdoors, and when I set walkmeter to estimate distance based on my steps, using a stride length automatically measured by my outdoor walks, it says I'm walking quite a bit faster than the treadmill does. It is a fairly inexpensive treadmill, so I wouldn't be that surprised the accuracy is off.
Finally, today I have my appointment with the pulmonologist, where we'll start the investigation into whether or not I still need CPAP at all, after the tonsillectomy.
After my last update on Wednesday, the scale basically hovered at +/- 270.5 pounds, going a bit up and a bit over. Only today did it actually dip back below where I was a week ago. That's been making it hard to ride the high of being back on track. Have been trying not to overreact, but I expect a bit more this week. Still, 1 week is not a good example. And it did finally tick down to 268, so with some luck that trend will continue. I'd really like to get away from the upper 260s, since I've been around +/1 5 pounds 270 since before the surgery, and I'd like the scale to confirm that I'm finally really on track.
The exercise part has been a bit more on track than the food part. I keep coming in around 2,000 calories, which isn't awful, but it's a bit higher than I would like to be eating just now. But I also don't want to be overly hungry, and I want to be able to enjoy my meals. So some give, some take. As long as the scale keeps moving I'll be okay, and I've got a few weeks before I should really decide if I have to change something.
On the exercise front, I've been quite successful, getting in the 12-13K range of steps most days this week. I also restarted the 5K program and have had two good sessions. I decided the first week was just too mild; given my walking, I've developed SOME stamina and want a bit more than week 1, so I'm doing the week 2. Now, knowing that I overdid it and hurt myself before, the difference between weeks 1 and 2 isn't huge. Week 1 on this program is 1 minute of running, 1:30 of walking, repeated 8 times. Week 2 is 1:30 running and 1:30 walking, repeated 7 times. That did a little bit more to make me feel it, but it wasn't overwhelming, so I think it's where I want to be. Week 3 will be 1:00 run, 1:00 walk, 3:00 run, 3:00 walk, repeat 3 times. I'm kind of looking forward to that.
The one thing I am doing on it is to 1) only run on the treadmill (i'm pretty convinced the injury was as much pavement related as anything. The treadmill has a lot more give and is a lot gentler of an impact) and 2) actually wait 2 days between sessions. So right now I'm on a M/W/F schedule.
Running this program doesn't completely replace my walking for the day; it only ends up being a bit under 4,000 steps, so I still generally need another 2-3 mile walk (depending on what other steps I get for the day, i.e. shopping or spending time in the kitchen where I step a lot) later in the day to keep the numbers up.
However, given that yesterday's walk was a full 6.25 mile 10K walk, that I managed to walk most of it close to 4 miles per hour, a 2-3 mile walk is pretty mild. On the days I don't run I'll do a more intense walk (if I can, scheduling permitting) and on running days a less intense walk just to keep things moving. If I have a big shopping day or something that day, I probably don't need to do much walking at all. It turns out this means I'm shooting for about 90-120 minutes of good stepping activity every day; more minutes when less intense.
I also realized that on Sundays, being football day, I can get a pretty good walk on the treadmill during the morning games. Since I mostly watch the RedZone channel, I don't really need to pay a ton of attention, and I can still see all the good highlights. And I can have the walk as intense or relaxed as I want.
I also think, based on what walkmeter is telling me, that the treadmill runs about 10% faster than it says it does. I find a given speed on the treadmill quite a bit harder than a given speed outdoors, and when I set walkmeter to estimate distance based on my steps, using a stride length automatically measured by my outdoor walks, it says I'm walking quite a bit faster than the treadmill does. It is a fairly inexpensive treadmill, so I wouldn't be that surprised the accuracy is off.
Finally, today I have my appointment with the pulmonologist, where we'll start the investigation into whether or not I still need CPAP at all, after the tonsillectomy.