Learning, learning, learning...

Week 24 of Maintenance...6 months already...half a year!!!

119.8 at meeting with long pants, heavy shoes, sweater, pockets full, after breakfast and water

111.8 at home, clean weight

Some things I've learned this past week:

- a REALLY good way to lose weight is to limit yourself to the same 10-12 foods for an entire week. By the 3rd day, you're sick of everything. By the 5th day, you can kill your hunger just by THINKING about eating something on the list. Then it's a matter of forcing yourself to eat just because you know you need to eat SOMETHING!

I didn't make it the full week...I started adding foods back in on the afternoon of the 5th day...I couldn't bring myself to eat another bite of any of those foods  = (

But the super strict diet accomplished what it was supposed to...Betsy is happy and only complains to me when I eat something that irritates her...and then it isn't as severe as it was before and the painful burning passes much more quickly.

I've been able to hone in on that specific feeling...burning...that means I've eaten something I shouldn't have. I've been making a list every day of things that could possibly irritate Betsy...keeping track of what does and what doesn't.

I find myself testing the boundaries quite often! Like yesterday...we picked some tangerines from the neighbor's tree. They smelled HEAVENLY...and I haven't had any citrus fruit in almost a month! I decided to try one small section...oh.my.goodness.

Then I told myself that "maybe" I didn't really have IC...maybe I have something different and it might be perfectly fine to have citrus! So I talked myself into eating the whole thing...enjoying every bite!

Yep, you already know what I'm gonna say...I paid for it several hours later  =(  Betsy let me know LOUD and CLEAR that I do, INDEED, have this crazy condition that I didn't even know existed until November 2, 2012...the day my life changed.

As long as I can keep the thought of that uncomfortable and/or painful burning in the front part of my mind, I'll have the motivation to NOT eat citrus, no matter how fresh, delicious and tempting it might be!

- another thing I learned is that when I eat healthy foods, my body fat percentage responds quickly...much faster than I would expect. It dropped 3% for the week I was eating the strict diet, which only allowed me to have Nilla wafers for a "treat".

In case you're curious, here are the other foods I could eat:

Proteins - plain chicken breast, cottage cheese, eggs
Complex carbs - plain white rice, white bread (bagels ok, which is what I got and they tasted good...for the first 3 days!)
Veggies - plain potatoes, corn, green beans
Fruits - blueberries and pears
Treat - Nilla wafers

- straight running DOES irritate Betsy. I haven't yet learned how much I can do and still be in the acceptable range of discomfort. I've been experimenting with run/walking and also shuffle-running. I've been able to do both of those for 5 miles and more with burning that lasts only an hour or two afterwards.

I'll be keeping track and fine-tuning...maybe running 2 miles, 3 days a week and then walk/running or shuffle-running on the other days. I guess it will also depend on whether I've eaten anything that is also upsetting Betsy.

- I completed my week-long assessment with the ActiveLink and I'm very pleased with my results...proud of myself, even!

Click on the pics to enlarge so you can read them  = ))

- I'm at the 23 pound weight-loss point. This past Sunday I had a number of people comment to me about my weight loss and how good I looked. No one has said ANYTHING before this...but I just now hit the "more than 20 pounds" weight loss.

The first time I lost weight with Weight Watchers (9 years ago), I was really disappointed that no one was noticing. A lady told me that you usually have to lose 20 pounds before people start to notice. It appears it's still true!

And actually, I've just now gotten to the point where I think I look "ok" as in "not fat anymore". I've always thought my optimum weight was around 108-112 but I was scared to try for that when I officially signed up with Weight Watchers because of the unknown of maintaining that range through an entire year...cold winter season included!

Anyhow, I'm gonna see how things go now that I'm not eating the strict diet anymore. I know these pounds I've lost lately are not a true loss but more of a "sick" loss.

- I'm ending this week of Thanksgiving on a very thankful note. Thankful that I'm feeling better, thankful that my doctor was able to diagnose the condition quickly, easily, without needing a lot of unnecessary tests which can make the condition SO much worse. Thankful that the condition is controlled almost exclusively by diet and not prescription medication with side effects. Thankful that already I'm learning to recognize what foods bother Betsy and what doesn't. Thankful that even though I haven't been running my regular schedule, I've been able to walk much more, still enjoy myself as much as if I were running (even more really, since my Sweety Petey has been coming with me!!!) and not gaining any weight back. I'll be WAY over 100 miles for November!

Hope you've had a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving too!

Working, working, working...

Week 23 of maintenance

120.6 at meeting, with jacket on, phone in one pocket, keys in the other
118.2 at home before leaving and putting jacket on...drank water on the way
113.8 - clean weight...one more pound and I can be out of the "teens"  = )

What a week...Betsy is still not settled down completely. When I got the diagnosis of IC, I ordered 3 books for information. The first 2 came pretty quickly and I've been working my way through them. Lots of good medical info but I haven't gotten to the practical, day to day, "get me out of pain!!" info.

The third book came yesterday...THIS is the practical one! So now I've started on the super-restrictive diet...less than 10 things on the list to eat from. You're supposed to see improvement in 3 days and stick to the diet for a week. Then I can start adding other safe foods back in.

But I just realized that I've been taking my vitamins and I need to stop taking those since there might be something in them that is an irritant. I'm also going to search out a dietitian for help if I can't get a handle on this myself in the next several weeks.

It's not like I'm in constant, severe pain but except for a half day or day here and there, I've had some measure of discomfort and/or pain...including severe... all day, every day for several weeks. It's gettin' old, let me tell ya!

So I think that's contributed to the extra weight loss, along with eliminating lots of foods...just not eating normally.

On the running front, I've not been doing much because on top of the bladder troubles, I've also had a cold, which I thought was allergies for several days because I couldn't tell for sure. I didn't have the symptoms of a normal cold...never really did...but it reached a point where I didn't have the symptoms of normal allergies either.

I've had to suck on BUNCHES of Halls because of the tickle in my throat and I've started wondering whether those might also be irritating Betsy  = (

I've still been doing longer walks (4-5+ miles) in the mornings and then Piper's normal walks (2-3 miles) in the late afternoon. Used to be evening but now it's much earlier with the time change! 

Petey's come on my longer walks and that's been AWESOME!! Just the two of us listening to music on his iPhone, enjoying the beautiful park and each other's company! We even started incorporating running bits, which felt sooooo good  = )  And tonight Piper and I did 4 miles with a walking/running 1/4 mile pattern.

In other news...I got my ActiveLink from Weight Watchers and I'm on Day 1 of my Assessment period! I'm looking forward to taking it off and plugging it into the computer here in a bit to see how many activity points I've earned...if they tell me that. They said I'll only get a wee bit of info for each day during the assessment before I start getting lots and LOTS of info after that.

I did play 2 games of ping pong with Petey before we had to leave to take him to the airport... and then the 4 mile run/walk with Piper tonight. It'll be neat to see how those 2 activities compare in intensity  = )

I hope they at least tell me how many activity points I earned because that feature isn't showing up on my eTools tracker since I linked the ActiveLink to my account. I just figured that since that will be tracking my activity, it disabled the feature where I track my own activity. Not that it really matters since I don't "eat" my activity points...I'm just curious.

Well, time to throw the frisbee for Dingo and then put the dogs to bed and then put myself to bed too! Gonna try to do a regular shorter run in the morning...looking forward to it! Gotta see how it goes since I want to do the Sugar Land Turkey Trot (5 miles) on Thanksgiving morning!

Betsy is behaving!

120.0 at the meeting with my sweater on

114.4 - "clean" weight, at home

Week 22 of maintenance

Boy, do I feel different from this time last week! ALL my symptoms are GONE! Saturday and Sunday were still miserable...especially Sunday night. Then I really got serious on Monday and only ate foods that were on the "safe" list on my iPhone IC app.

Tuesday was MUCH better, Wednesday even better and today, totally symptom free! I've even added one food back in that's on the "caution" list...prunes. Yes, it's crazy but I love them and they are important for me to eat so that was the first food I chose to test out.

What a relief!!! I'm still going to be very careful...still eat safe foods except for the prunes for several days until I'm SURE that prunes are ok for me and Betsy. Then I'll add another "iffy" food in to see how I handle it. As you can see, not having an appetite because of the pain and then being scared to eat and very careful with eating, I lost another pound. 

Earlier in the week I was contemplating getting a second opinion. I was feeling quite adrift on Sunday, when I was still miserable and trying to figure out what I was eating or doing that wasn't making it better. I was irritated at the doctor for giving me the diagnosis and then not telling me what the next step would be.

But I didn't ask her for the next step there in the office...because I didn't REALLY believe there was such a thing as Interstitial Cystitis...and I wanted to come home and look it up and decide for myself if I truly had it or not.

Once I read about it, I was convinced that's what I had. I guess the optimist part of me thought that I could stop eating my daily grapefruit and I would immediately feel better. And then when I didn't, I started trying to figure out what I should do next as far as seeing another doctor or trying medicine.

I talked to a nurse on our insurance health hotline and she recommended I see a gynecologist rather than a urologist because of the strong tie between women who have had endometriosis then develop IC. Yeah, THAT just motivated me even more to ONLY eat safe foods!

I did more research on Monday and then went to Lil Wally's at night and got a few things that are said to help...Peppermint Tums...which neutralizes the acid not only in your stomach but also in your urine. I opened that baby in the parking lot and popped 3 ultra-strength tabs on the way home!! I also started taking Advil as that was recommended for the pain. I was still take the precautionary antibiotics and the Azo, although I was trying my hardest to get along without the Azo because taking too much of it can damage your kidneys.

When I woke up Tuesday morning and the burning pain was noticeably less, I was FOR SURE going to eat foods that I KNEW would not make it come back! And then Wednesday and today, same thing. Except for the 2 prunes yesterday and now this evening I had my normal 5 prunes so I'll have to see if the symptoms start coming back.

So as of right now, I feel like I'm almost back to normal. I haven't been running, only walking, since any kind of bouncing, jarring exercise can make IC worse. I don't know if I'll try a short run tomorrow or not. I guess I'll see how I feel when I wake up.

A Diagnosis and Discovery

119.8 at the meeting - clothed, after breakfast, lots of water and with my cell phone in my pocket  = )

115.6 - minus everything above

This completes week 21 of maintenance!

I had a bladder infection in July and have suffered...and I mean that in it's MOST literal sense!!...from the same symptoms off and on since then. I did a round of antibiotics in July and assumed everything was clear. I thought maybe there was a bit of infection left or I was hyper-sensitive to watching for the symptoms.

I used to get bladder infections every 3 - 4 months before I had my hysterectomy but had a nice long break without any troubles after that. Except for blood in my urine after really hard or really long runs...which is normal for some runners.

For the past week I've been uncomfortable - in pain - in agony...pick any point along that scale. The agony bits, thankfully, were few...the pain, moderate... the uncomfortable, constant.

I've been trying to manage things naturally here at home...doing what I've learned from past experience. I did some searching online for new treatments and remedies. 

I knew I didn't want to wait too long if I did have an infection but I was doing my best to avoid prescription antibiotics.

I broke down and went to the doctor today, expecting the "sample" to be full of blood & pus (sorry!) like all the other times. 

Imagine my surprise and shock to hear "all clear, your sample is fine"! WHAT??!! How can that be when I've endured a week of (see paragraph above).

And then MORE surprise..."you have interstitial cystitis". Say whaaaaaa??? "Bladder inflammation...it's chronic but there are treatments to help you successfully manage the condition so that you're not uncomfortable/in pain/in agony all the time."

Ok, I REALLY thought she was making that up. I've never heard of such a thing...I thought she was just saying that stuff so I would be "comforted" or whatever. You know how doctors are...ugh  = (

Anyhow, she prescribed antibiotics because sometimes a slight infection can cause inflammation and once the bladder is inflamed, it can be hard to empty and then you really do develop an infection.

I came home and googled "bladder inflammation" expecting to see everything related to bladder infections. MAJOR SHOCK! Not only is interstitial cystitis a real condition...but I REALLY do have it!

Unbelievable!! It described my symptoms exactly and explained ALOT! 

So then I was giving Shari (TWGN - see previous post) the report from the doctor and she said "they probably have a support group for it". At which I laughed and agreed with her but really didn't think they did.

THEY DO! And get this...they even have an iPhone app!!! And books! And all sorts of stuff! A little card explaining why you need to go ahead of someone in the restroom line!!! Something I've never even heard of til today and millions of people suffer from it...and I've joined them  = (

IC (it even has it's own acronym!) is mostly controlled by diet...discovering what substances inflame the individual's bladder and then avoiding them all together or minimizing exposure to the amount you can handle.

So after my initial investigation, I was feeling very optimistic. I know what it is, I understand the treatments, I CAN DO THIS. I'll eat the right way and then I can go back to feeling well and healthy and not in pain...or agony.

But after letting this information sink in, the word CHRONIC - for the rest of my life - has reared it's ugly head and I'm feeling less optimistic. What if I can't get this "flare-up" to settle down? What if it gets even WORSE?!

They had information on when to seek surgical options...as in the IC is so bad that it's greatly diminishing your quality of life. Well, my quality of life has already been diminished this week, just in trying to make it through the normal activities of the day while feeling like this. Surgery is a last resort. Most sufferers manage the condition to a level they can live with.

It just brought back all those memories of when I had endometriosis and was trying to figure out how to survive the pain and make it through the day. At the end, I was not living, I was simply existing...breathing in and out, taking up space and very little else. Boooo...I don't want to do that again!!!

Soooooo...I need to do some positive self-talk here! I have lots of dietary changes to implement and something is sure to work to help me to feel better!

Some good things:

- I don't have to drink a gallon of water every day like I have been doing! The doctor said half a gallon is plenty. Of course, I'll boost that up because of running but just knowing I don't have to hit that gallon mark is a relief

- one of the treatments for a flare-up is taking Azo, which I'm already very familiar with and have already been taking and it definitely brings some relief!

- I can have some types of herbal teas!! It doesn't have to be all water, all the time!! I've really missed my tea...

- at least now I know for sure what it is and can do something about it

I'm anticipating losing more weight by next week because these antibiotics make my stomach hurt and take away appetite. Also, I'll be eating a limited diet, only SAFE foods, in trying to get the ol' bladder to SETTLE DOWN!

I'm gonna need to name her so I'm not saying BLADDER all the time...yuck, that's a gross word! Maybe Betsy???

Over-correction...but happy about it!

Week 20 of Maintaining

119.8 at meeting, clothed, after breakfast, 116.8 at home, unclothed, before breakfast

So, the 1.2 lbs that I gained last week resulted in a 1.8 lb loss this week, thanks to being so disgusted with myself that I was SUPER careful about what I ate and also, in a positive way, getting back to my normal running and walking schedule!

Every time I have a moderate gain, I think "uh oh, is this it? is this the first step on the downhill slide to being overweight again?"  And then when I'm able to return to my "I'm ok with this weight" range, I'm ever so thankful!!!

For the record...119's are great, 120's are fine, 121's are watch out! and 122's are DANGER, DANGER, Will Robinson!! 

UNLESS...the body fat is way down and/or the hydration level is way up and then I'm fine with the 121's and 122's...especially if accompanied by a nailing of the speed workouts for that week  = ))

Someone reading this might think that it's not healthy or good to be that concerned with the weights but I know myself too well. I know my history too well. If I'm not concerned with these weights, if I'm not constantly staying on top of them, BAM! just like THAT, I'm up 10 pounds! 

And I think most everyone can understand that it's much easier to lose 3 pounds rather than 10 pounds or more...much less daunting...much less stressful...much less depressing! If you want to refresh yourself on my history...why I joined Weight Watchers...then go back to the April blog posts and start reading.

In other news...I got another little gadget to keep me informed...to challenge me...in my journey to maintain this healthy weight: a Weight Watchers pedometer! They had them on sale yesterday and their pedometer provides more information than the other basic pedometers I've seen and used over the years. 

I like these gadgets...my Nike Fuelband, the pedometer, my GPS running watch, the Nike+ website, my yearly calendars with each day's activities and happenings recorded...SO much fun to go back and look through those calendars!

Weight Watchers is also coming out with their version of the sport accelerometer like my Nike Fuelband. I'm thinking about it  = )  It also would give me more/different information than my Fuelband does and it issues challenges based on your previous activity. That might be fun! 

Hey, anything that keeps me motivated and moving toward the ultimate goal, I'm interested in! Especially with these winter months coming up...speaking of...

It was cold today! That north wind kept me feeling chilled all day  = (  I was at packet pick-up for our running club's half marathon on Sunday (soooooooo glad I'm not running it!!!) so I didn't get to run this morning. I thought about maybe running this evening but I decided to do an extra long walk instead. BRRRRRR....I wished I'd had a hat and mittens!

Ugh...I'm dreading the winter...cool, cold temps...being uncomfortable heading out to run in the morning...more cloudy days...more rain. I was telling TWGN (the world's greatest neighbor!) tonight that I dread running in the cold MUCH more than I dread running in the heat! Almost 90* and I'm just heading out...no biggie...almost 50* and you have to kick me out the door and lock it behind me!

But the good thing...what I'm very thankful for...is that I live in South Texas where when it does get cold, it doesn't stay that way for more than a few days before it warms up again and we have more sunshine...Thank You, God!!

And I realize that "cold" is a relative term. It was 56* today but with wind chills in the low-40's. Might not be cold to some...or most...but it's cold to me and that's what matters...to me and my weight-maintaining journey  = )

Ok, gotta walk around a bit more so I can hit 5000 on my Nike Fuel earned today before I go to bed...good night!

My addiction hits me full in the face!

Or should that be stomach???

Week 19 Maintenance - 121.6 at the meeting

Yes, I went up 1.2 pounds! 

I have often tried to describe a food addiction to someone who doesn't have one. It is the same as an alcohol or drug addiction. If you are an alcoholic, how successful do you think you'd be at staying sober if you kept beer, wine and liquor in the house? If you are addicted to heroin, how successful do you think you would be at staying clean if you knew there was heroin in the guest bedroom and some in the kitchen pantry?

EPIC FAIL!

It is THE SAME for me with certain foods and/or types of foods. I CANNOT resist, there is not enough willpower or discipline or physical, mental, emotional strength on this planet to keep me from succumbing to the pull of...

- M & M's
- white chocolate macadamia nut cookies
- chocolate chip cookies
- Wheat Thins

This is only a partial list...but these are the foods that I gave in to...I got drunk with...I got high on...this past week  = (

If I was required to keep these foods in the house at all times, I honestly and seriously don't know the end point of how fat and unhealthy I would be. 200 pounds? 400 pounds?? 600 pounds??? YES! It's totally possible!

I CANNOT resist these foods! Wow...I tried...I tried HARD...I tried not eating them at all, I tried eating only a small portion, I tried eating just one normal-sized portion per day, I tried eating one normal-sized portion after each meal. 

Finally, with a great sense of relief, I ate the last M & M, the last cookie, the last Wheat Thin...ahhhh...they're gone! Yeah, I should've just thrown them out. But I saved them for Petey to enjoy...he, of the perfect willpower, had just a few and was content.

I told him he'd better hide the M & M's where I couldn't find them or they were going to be gone soon. Did I mention they were the peanut butter M & M's???!!! Heroin with a crack cocaine chaser!!!

He didn't hide them, I finished them. That's all, folks. End of story.

My Petey is a wonderfully giving, helping husband. I'm the one who struggles with feeling guilty at making him suffer for my weakness...my addiction. After the packet-stuffing party we had last Saturday, I kept the leftover M & M's and 2 each of the cookies, thinking that maybe I could be "good enough" or "strong enough" to resist and give him the chance to have a yummy little treat for a change.

Nope, I'm not...I'm not good enough, I'm not strong enough, I'm still as addicted as ever and I really think I'll be this way for the rest of my life! Unless M & M's miraculously start tasting like dog poop, then I might have a chance...

Petey will have to treat himself to these special foods away from home or hide them from me if he brings them home. Or I will throw them away in the garbage if I see or find them. And I'll have to scoop the litter boxes and put some cat poop on top of them in the garbage...

Yes, I've had to do that multiple times in the past. I throw something away, then dig it out of the garbage later. I have to throw something disgusting on top of the "drug" food... that's how bad I have it  = (   

Pretty ugly picture, huh? 

I would love to play that little video of me digging in the garbage for the next person who says to me, "Weight Watchers??? You don't need Weight Watchers!! You're skinny!!"  Would you tell an alcoholic that she doesn't need AA just because she happens to be sober right then? The only reason she's sober is because she's recognized her NEED for Alcoholics Anonymous!

And the only reason I'm a healthy weight right now is because I have the opportunity to belong to Weight Watchers. Thank You, God!!!

Now to get back on track...it can be hard after enjoying the taste of those high-fat, high-sugar foods...it kicks my desire for them into over-drive. Thankfully, my back has improved enough for me to get back to running...that should help. I'll let ya know next week!

Oh yeah...I did get two "clips" for my Pandora bracelet to celebrate 18 weeks maintaining. I sure hope I get to add to my bracelet in the future...

Week 18 Maintenance

Half-way through the fall quarter!!

120.4 at the meeting

I didn't stop and get my spacer beads after the meeting today. I glanced at the little Pandora catalog before I left for Weight Watchers and there were WAY more choices than I thought there would be so I've decided to wait until I've spent some time looking at everything. The anticipation is almost as much fun as getting the thing so this will just add more "fun" to the experience  = )

My back is slowly SLOWLY getting better. I have lots of times during the day when I'm not thinking about it...which means that it's not hurting badly enough to be in the front part of my brain. 

I haven't taken a muscle relaxant for several days now and today I skipped the anti-inflammatory just to get an idea of how far I've progressed. I'm tempted to take something tonight because today was VERY busy with lots of physical activity and the next two days are going to be the same.

But I really want to see how my back feels tomorrow, unmedicated, to get an idea of where I stand. 

I have been walking 3 miles almost every day...the muscles tighten up while I'm walking so I stop and stretch a few times. It seems as if there's been no change in this respect for several days so I'm tempted to try a short run even though I'm not totally pain-free yet.

I figure if it hurts while I'm walking but doesn't get worse afterwards, I might as well be running! But I'm going to be good and wait until Monday...I've got alot of "mothers" keeping an eye on me to see if I start running again before I'm "all better"  = ))

I am so very thankful that I've been able to maintain my weight even though I've not been running and also had reduced activity in general. I don't know if the same would be true in the colder months...I sure hope I don't have to find out!

Week 17 Maintenance

Weighed 120.6 at the meeting. 

I'm actually quite pleased with that number since I haven't been able to run for over a week and have even had to reduce my walking. AND my daily around-the-house activity is greatly reduced also.

My back was really good on Monday and even better on Tuesday and then worse on Wednesday...probably because I did too much on Monday and Tuesday  = ((

So to be able to maintain my goal weight range with greatly reduced activity is the biggest confidence booster I've had so far. I've always wondered what would happen if I couldn't run anymore...would it just be CRAZY hard to maintain a healthy weight or would I just get fatter and fatter? Would I be able to find some other activity that I enjoyed and could do to burn a similar number of calories as running?

In one aspect, I'm thankful for this back trouble because it's shown me that my appetite responds to the reduced activity so my eating is reduced also. That's a really great thing heading in to the winter months that I've dreaded for so long. Maybe I won't want to eat everything in sight come December! 

And I REALLY like walking...R.E.A.L.L.Y  Almost as much as or possibly even as much as running!!! And walking is something that even greatly-health-compromised people can do and benefit from. This brings me lots of comfort  = )

As for the back...it is slowly getting better...but it's recovery is so easily set-back. I had to spend a couple hours in the car today...sitting is the WORST...and so tonight it's hurting more than usual.

Also, I'm pretty sure I have a bladder infection too, so now other parts of my back are hurting...and parts of my front  = ( 

I'm excited to get my Pandora bracelet spacers next week...half-way through the fall twelve-week period!!

I have the opportunity to do a 5k in my park on November 3rd...I'd love to do it and see if I can beat my best time from last year. Gotta wait and see if my back will recover in time...

My body continues to fight me...

Week 16 of Maintenance...that's 4 MONTHS of maintaining!!! 6 months since joining Weight Watchers and eating according to PointsPlus every day. Wow, the time has gone by so quickly!!

Weighed 119.0 at home, 120.4 at the meeting

So...I'm happy to report that my body fat percentage has returned to normal...21-23%. I'd love for it to be consistently under 23% but as long as it's close, I'm good. I still have no idea what made it go up!

My problem now...my BIG problem now, is my left lower back...the "dimple" joint, to be specific. I strained it 2 weeks ago while moving furniture around for when I hosted Ladies Bible Study here. Then a number of different things (that I know now) exacerbated it and as of Tuesday...nasty, nasty, miserable pain  = (

I kept running because it seemed to make it feel better. And it definitely felt better while I was running and immediately after. But then several hours after and for the rest of the day, it was considerably worse. So I decided to rest from running and just walk.

I enjoyed the walks...mentally, emotionally, spiritually...but experienced the same worsening of the back pain later on during the day. Yesterday and today I've rested from all but essential activity.

I've been experimenting with what helps, what hurts and what doesn't seem to make a difference. I'm starting to think a doctor visit might be in my future but I'd like to give it a few more days of "being good"...meaning, not doing anything that makes it worse to give my back a chance to get better...such as sitting for almost 2 hours in prayer meeting last night!!!

Sitting is the WORST. Walking is good, until I get tired of being on my feet. Laying down on the heating pad feels pretty nice. I've got some good meds that I'm taking now...I didn't start taking anything for at least a week cause I just kept thinking that it was a bit of soreness that would go away on its own.

But something to be thankful for...with the rest from running has also come the rest from a ravenous appetite! That is SO nice...there's a teeny-tiny part of my brain that says "stop running and you can feel this way all the time!"  But then a bigger part of my brain gets sad and says "nooooooo!!! you would miss it SOOOO much!!"

2 more weeks and I get some spacer beads for my Pandora bracelet  = ))

Where did my body go???!

Week 15 of Maintenance - 119.6 clothed weight at home, 120.6 at meeting (drank a 16 oz protein shake on the way)

I wish I had my own laboratory and needles and x-rays and such so I could do testing on myself. I would surely like to know WHAT is going on inside my body!!

I've had a good couple of weeks with my body fat percentage creeping lower and lower and my runs getting faster and faster. I felt so excited to see these changes because it was exactly what I was aiming for.

Then...this past week. I get on the scale at night, normal weight, body fat up about 1/2 a percent. Hmmmm...need to drink more water tomorrow. (the body fat reading is closely related to the body water percentage...if I'm dehydrated, the fat number will be higher).

So I drink plenty the next day, get on the scale at night, nice low number for the weight, my body fat number is 1% higher this night! And this continues for the rest of the week. My weight stays the same, even going down 1-2 lbs (hit my lowest night weight so far - 118.6 pounds!) but my body fat creeps up .5 - 1% every night - 20% at the beginning of the week, 25% at the end...WHAT???!!!

I didn't consciously change my eating at all...like eating less fat to try and stop the uprising. An interesting thing though...I was far less hungry than I usually am...I wasn't thinking about "what can I eat next" all the time like normal.

The other change was in my running...it was requiring more and more effort to run the same paces that I'd run the previous weeks. The worst day was using more effort to run 2.4 miles at a 9:58 pace than I needed to run 5 miles at a 9:02 pace the week before!

But the not being hungry all the time was SOOOOO nice! There were a number of times where I had to make myself eat because I'd had a very small lunch, no snack and it was past supper.

So after all that I discovered something interesting about my feelings towards those numbers: I would gladly trade a higher body fat and slower running paces for not being hungry all the time, having to resist eating, having to come up with so much will-power to "just say no" and have my weight almost effortlessly stay within the goal range.

For those of you that know me better, amazing, huh?? Even for myself I would have said the exact opposite was true...any amount of hard work is worth being able to run fast! 

I wish I could run tests on myself and discover why this happened...to learn from it and have that knowledge in my "battle of the bulge" arsenal. I'm going to start keeping track of my body water percentage also so I'll know what a normal hydration level is and will be able to recognize if I'm dehydrated.