Fitness
Stumbled for a while, but getting back on track. Even though I am exercising more, I am burning fewer calories per day on average than I was 8 months ago. My average burn rate has dropped from 3050 to about 2650, so I'm dropping my goal calorie intake from 2500 to 2100. It has been surprisingly easy to reduce my intake without getting hungry or dissatisfied with my food selection. The biggest trick was letting go of the association between feeling super full and being satisfied with a meal. I focus more on enjoying the flavors and textures of the food, and stopping after a pre-set amount instead of when I can't eat any more.
New personal running bests:
8:20 mile
2 miles before slowing down
The limiting factor now in how long I can run is no longer my breathing or pain in my ankles. It is now pain in my right abdomen. It hurts all the time now, but more when I run, and it gets bad. What I suspect it is, based on an article in a biomechanics journal, is sore tendons and muscles around my liver that suspend it from my diaphragm. As I contract my diaphragm while running, my liver bounces with greater force a greater distance than it has had to before. Hopefully it will toughen up. I am proud of my progress and increased stamina, and I want to keep improving.
My weightlifting has mostly plateaued. I messed up something in my left rhomboid or trapezius again doing rows. The hyperextension in my left arm from two years ago has almost entirely healed, so I'm doing shoulder presses and pec flies again, and improving well. I need to mix up how I'm doing curls and bench presses to get some improvement there again.