Time for some R.E.P.A.I.R.

[marthand99]

Originally Posted by Bytsi

Smart woman! I blew my entire day at the dang buffet! Of course there was no menu option where we ended up... sigh...

Hi Bytsi! I ended up having salmon and a plateful of veggies and fruit, so it worked out okay. I avoided the chocolate fondue fountain like the plague! I think that's one thing that's a great idea in theory and sort of disgusting in reality, especially after it's been out for a couple of hours. hee hee.

Hope you had a great mother's day!

Originally Posted by gobbla

Glad you like the blog. If you've got any ideas or suggestions for improvement I'd be thrilled for feedback.

For some reason my brain keeps scrambling the "ormon". That's not good.Leigh is a great person\trainer and is constantly getting better and better. Stick with it. To be honest I just want to read about a success story. Do good things.

That's funny! I always scramble it to "moron".

I think I'm going to try the Imam Bayalda with tofu (instead of lamb) tonight. I'll let you know how it goes!

Originally Posted by kfisherx

Wow this is an excellent log for me to read. I came from the same place as you. I hired a local trainer and he kicked my metabolism back into shape in a few months time. I went from eating 1400 kcals a day (and doing massive amounts of cardio) to 2300 kcals a day (and losing weight still) with much less cardio. It has been quite a nice ride for me the past months with emotions all over the place about eating and being fat and all that silly stuff. Interestingly I am also 5'5" and 135 ish pounds. My bf is also dialed in at around 22% on the hand-held Ormon.

Hi Karla! The emotions are so hard. For me, it has really helped to have someone tell me exactly what to do (like you with your trainer). Otherwise I start second guessing myself and changing plans and eating and then not eating and making myself generally crazy.

I'm watching your cut, too! Good luck with everything. I can't wait to see your final pics. You are so inspiring!

[marthand99]

Project Sit On Ass continues to go well. You know what else I've noticed? I'm not as freezing cold after eating like I used to be. Generally, after dinner, I'd feel so cold (like, to my core) that I felt like I'd never be warm again. This led to a lifestyle of parking myself in front of my space heater at work and taking a lot of baths at home to warm up.

I'm still a little chilly after eating, but it's definitely improving, which is great.

Food numbers:
1477 calories
34g fat
154g protein

I won't whine about how hungry I was, because that's probably getting old. I am glad to be into my second week of Rest, because that means that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and next week I get to Eat!

Sleep: 8 hours. Slept very well.

Water/sodium: Water is getting easier to keep at reasonable levels. (I used to drink 6-8 liters a day, which come to think of it probably contributed to the cold situation.) Still might have gone a bit over on sodium. (I just REALLY like salt. My mom's cooking ruined my taste buds. The woman salts blueberry pie! I'm not nearly that bad, but you see where I'm coming from, yes?)

Emotionally: Very happy.

Weight: 133.4
Waist: 26.75
Omron: 23.9%

[Bytsi]

The emotions are so hard. For me, it has really helped to have someone tell me exactly what to do (like you with your trainer). Otherwise I start second guessing myself and changing plans and eating and then not eating and making myself generally crazy.

Ya mean like me!?!?
Maybe I should start saving up for a trainer...

[kfisherx]

Oh yeah the freezing part. I remember that. I was ALWAYS cold when my metabolism was screwed up. Everyone was in short sleeves and I was shivering in a sweat shirt. People thought I was nutz. I remember that went away about 3 weeks after hiring my trainer. For that alone his salary was worth every penny. It sucks to be cold all the time.

[misstenacity]

Marty,
Thanks for starting this log - I think I'm gonna have to do my own, too, as I'm absolutely nose-deep in Leigh's book and ready to grab my metabolic reins again.

One quick question - what is the ~1475 calorie level like for you, relative to when you were training? Is that low, high, normal...?

I just calc'ed my numbers and found that my first two rest weeks will be at 1075. Oh, my, eek.

Andrea

[marthand99]

Originally Posted by Bytsi

Ya mean like me!?!?
Maybe I should start saving up for a trainer...

Hee hee! I find it so hard to stick with something. Keeping this log is totally helping me, I feel accountable to you guys to sit on my ass.

Originally Posted by kfisherx

Oh yeah the freezing part. I remember that. I was ALWAYS cold when my metabolism was screwed up. Everyone was in short sleeves and I was shivering in a sweat shirt. People thought I was nutz. I remember that went away about 3 weeks after hiring my trainer. For that alone his salary was worth every penny. It sucks to be cold all the time.

It does! It totally impacted my life. Like I wouldn't want to go out to dinner because the second I finished eating I would want to get under a pile of blankets. And summer was hard because I'd be hot until I ate, and then I wanted to put on a parka. In 90 degree weather.

Originally Posted by misstenacity

Marty,
Thanks for starting this log - I think I'm gonna have to do my own, too, as I'm absolutely nose-deep in Leigh's book and ready to grab my metabolic reins again.

One quick question - what is the ~1475 calorie level like for you, relative to when you were training? Is that low, high, normal...?

I just calc'ed my numbers and found that my first two rest weeks will be at 1075. Oh, my, eek.

Andrea

Hi Andrea!

How was Boston?? I hope you had a great marathon! It should be great to rest after that.

For me, 1475 is definitely low. I was at about 1800-1900 with a ridiculous amount of training.

1075 is really rough. Are you a level three or a level four? You know, in the first section, she says that an alternative is to just walk away and eat a lot of food (the catch being that you'd gain a bunch of water and fat). So what I've been doing is, when I have to, just making the choice to eat a little more sometimes, knowing that as a result I might gain a little weight (which I haven't, though I've been pretty close to compliant). She says the more compliant you are the better your results will be, obviously, but sometimes I just need more food.

I'm so excited that you're doing this too!

[marthand99]

Yesterday I did some stretching and realized that I miss yoga.

I also did some running (20 feet to catch a subway train before the doors closed, in a skirt and flip flops). I realized that I do not miss running. Hee hee.

At some point, exercise for me ceased to be about fun and moving my body and 100% about burning calories. It was so stressful that I could never really enjoy it. This break has given me a wonderful mental break and some serious perspective in addition to the physical rest I'm getting.

In all seriousness, I'm sure I'll enjoy running again, once I'm allowed do it. I just didn't know how much I needed to NOT do it for a while in order to like it again.

Food numbers:
1466 calories
40g fat
148g protein

Since I was so close with the calories and macros, I'll post the details today :
7:30am - Hardboiled egg, cottage cheese, strawberries
11am - Fage 2% yogurt, mixed strawberries and grapes, yellow pepper strips
2pm - Spinach salad, cottage cheese, hardboiled egg
5pm - Baked tofu, steamed broccoli
8pm - Tony's Imam Bayalda (made with tempeh instead of lamb - yum though next time I think I will try fake meat crumbles!) w/ Greek yogurt, scrambled egg whites with some mushrooms
10:30pm - Oikos yogurt, protein shake with 1/2 banana

Sleep: 8 hours. Good sleep.

Water/sodium: I actually think I was pretty close in both of these. I'll start getting anal on the sodium this week, just for fun.

Emotionally: Very happy.

Extra credit: Still loving my epsom salt baths. I bought a lavender scent that I really like. I'm also looking into getting a student massage to make it a little less pricey.

The last thing she suggested was to get more potassium and magnesium. I already eat 1/2 banana almost every day and about 3 cups of spinach, so I have that covered. I'm going to try to add a little sweet potato and raisins this week, also.

Weight: 134.4
Waist: 27
Omron: 22.5%

[Bytsi]

Water/sodium: I actually think I was pretty close in both of these. I'll start getting anal on the sodium this week, just for fun.

One think I'm FINALLY learning is that I can't go nuts with sodium. I have low/normal BP, so I don't have to watch for any real health reasons... but I am starting to see the scale results of overdoing sodium, and I don't like it (2# overnight, even though I know it'll come back off). So......... I am deciding to cut out the beef jerky (which I love and has tons o' protein) because I can NOT behave and eat just one serving, and the sodium is CRAZY-high in it. If I don't buy it, I can't over-indulge, right?

[tcoy777]

Originally Posted by marthand99

In all seriousness, I'm sure I'll enjoy running again, once I'm allowed do it. I just didn't know how much I needed to NOT do it for a while in order to like it again.

You and running will get back together again. We always do! This time just do it for you and the fun of it.

My wife has been trying to start running. So its been nice for me to go out and run her 1/4 mile intervals and a really slow pace with her. I don't have to worry about if I am on pace or needing X amount of miles. Just running for the fun of it.

Keep enjoying the rest and getting healthy!

[misstenacity]

Originally Posted by marthand99

Hi Andrea!

How was Boston?? I hope you had a great marathon! It should be great to rest after that.

For me, 1475 is definitely low. I was at about 1800-1900 with a ridiculous amount of training.

1075 is really rough. Are you a level three or a level four? You know, in the first section, she says that an alternative is to just walk away and eat a lot of food (the catch being that you'd gain a bunch of water and fat). So what I've been doing is, when I have to, just making the choice to eat a little more sometimes, knowing that as a result I might gain a little weight (which I haven't, though I've been pretty close to compliant). She says the more compliant you are the better your results will be, obviously, but sometimes I just need more food.

I'm so excited that you're doing this too!

Thanks - Boston was good but tough since I had been going off less training mileage. I wish I had started this immediately afterwards, instead of doing the usual half-assed recovery for the last 3 weeks. Oh well.

It sounds like your calorie level is similar, just on a different scale. I ran/lifted in about an 85/15 balance for about 7 total hours a week, on about 1600kcal daily. There were ups and downs and cheat days, but I would say 1600 is average. My level of exercise was not 'ridiculous' like yours.

But, the last 3 weeks I've done about half the usual workouts and still ate the same with no weight gain, so now to do nothing but cut food by over a third is brutal (I'm a "level 3", but that is more based on end-conditions rather than level of restriction, if that makes sense. I "only" restrict 25-35% off what I should eat, but I have all of the hormonal destruction of someone eating far less).

I guess if I don't lose weight on these calories then something is off. I'll have more answers after I speak with Leigh, but she's booked me a week away because of her busy schedule. So I plow forward, regardless. I don't want my bones to keep rotting.

Take care!

[marthand99]

Originally Posted by Bytsi

One think I'm FINALLY learning is that I can't go nuts with sodium. I have low/normal BP, so I don't have to watch for any real health reasons... but I am starting to see the scale results of overdoing sodium, and I don't like it (2# overnight, even though I know it'll come back off). So......... I am deciding to cut out the beef jerky (which I love and has tons o' protein) because I can NOT behave and eat just one serving, and the sodium is CRAZY-high in it. If I don't buy it, I can't over-indulge, right?

Yeah, I have a low BP, too, so I never worried about it before! I did a spreadsheet of everything I ate yesterday and how much sodium was in it. I think I have to give up my favorite salad dressing.

I'm a big believer in, if I don't buy it, I can't overindulge! My new thing has also been buying stuff in the actual serving size, like these teeny tiny Ben and Jerry's containers in the half-cup portions.

Originally Posted by tcoy777

You and running will get back together again. We always do! This time just do it for you and the fun of it.

My wife has been trying to start running. So its been nice for me to go out and run her 1/4 mile intervals and a really slow pace with her. I don't have to worry about if I am on pace or needing X amount of miles. Just running for the fun of it.

Keep enjoying the rest and getting healthy!

My husband has been getting into running too! We did his first race together at the end of March. I'm trying to keep him excited about it and get him to train for a 10K some time this summer.

Originally Posted by misstenacity

Thanks - Boston was good but tough since I had been going off less training mileage. I wish I had started this immediately afterwards, instead of doing the usual half-assed recovery for the last 3 weeks. Oh well.

It sounds like your calorie level is similar, just on a different scale. I ran/lifted in about an 85/15 balance for about 7 total hours a week, on about 1600kcal daily. There were ups and downs and cheat days, but I would say 1600 is average. My level of exercise was not 'ridiculous' like yours.

But, the last 3 weeks I've done about half the usual workouts and still ate the same with no weight gain, so now to do nothing but cut food by over a third is brutal (I'm a "level 3", but that is more based on end-conditions rather than level of restriction, if that makes sense. I "only" restrict 25-35% off what I should eat, but I have all of the hormonal destruction of someone eating far less).

I guess if I don't lose weight on these calories then something is off. I'll have more answers after I speak with Leigh, but she's booked me a week away because of her busy schedule. So I plow forward, regardless. I don't want my bones to keep rotting.

Take care!

Hi Andrea! My results were definitely more weighted towards the end-conditions, too. All my C's were about things like being cold all the time, digestion issues, sleep, etc. (And I've seen definite improvement in all of the above since starting REPAIR.)

Good luck with the food. And that's great that you're talking to Leigh!! She was nice enough to email me and has been really helpful.

[marthand99]

Rest was good. Kept the city walking to under a mile.

Food numbers:
1480 calories
38g fat
147g protein

Sleep: 8 hours. Weird dreams.

Water/sodium: So I got anal and calculated the sodium numbers. (Hey, I have a lot of free time now that I don't exercise every waking moment.) Holy crap, it's everywhere. I came in at 3336mg without salting anything. Usually I use at about a tsp of salt a day, which adds another 2000. So I've thought I was doing pretty good, but actually I'm only on target if I don't use salt. Or give up my favorite salad dressing, which is the last vestige of processed, HCFS-laden crap in my diet.

I attached the spreadsheet I used to calculate the sodium for my future reference.

Emotionally: A little anxious today, I have to go to this fancypants luncheon with the CFO of my company. I have no idea what the food is going to be like. AND I have a work happy hour tonight. There is no room in my caloric budget for booze! And if I don't drink, everyone's going to think I'm pregnant and that's not a super happy topic for me and STOP WHINING MARTY.

Extra credit: Made a student massage appointment for next week! Yay. Also had a 1/3 cup sweet potato for magnesium in addition to my normal 1/2 banana and truckload of spinach.

Weight: 134.0
Waist: 27.25
Omron: 22.4%

[Bytsi]

I love the portion-controlled packages of everything. YES, I know they're bad for the environment, and YES they cost more. But for me, with my lifestyle (full-time working mom and exercises, etc etc) and my tendency to not be as prepared as I would like to be, and my tendency to eat "just one more" if I am not being careful... prepackaged is wonderful!

Emotionally: A little anxious today, I have to go to this fancypants luncheon with the CFO of my company. I have no idea what the food is going to be like. AND I have a work happy hour tonight. There is no room in my caloric budget for booze! And if I don't drink, everyone's going to think I'm pregnant and that's not a super happy topic for me and STOP WHINING MARTY.

Take a deep breath... and ENJOY yourself (ok, I'm trying...). Order a club with a twist, and pretend it's a gin and tonic... Or else just say "why yes, I'm 8 months gone, can't you tell?" if someone is obnoxious enough to make preggo jokes.

[misstenacity]

Eliminating that dressing will go a long way to your sodium cut-back.

Also, I love frozen shrimp for adding protein to meals - I think the price is similar to fake crab and it is not full of extra sugar (yeah, imitation crab is made from fish, but also from corn starch and other strange things).

Plus the frozen shrimp is about half the sodium:
CalorieKing - Calorie Counter - Calories in Schwan's, Shellfish, Frozen: Shrimp, Jumbo Cooked Tail-Off

Mmm, shrimpies.