Day 4 of 35 -- It's not about a number

I was asked recently what I thought my "ideal" weight was. Honestly, I have no idea. I do hope I know it when I am at it but right now I don't know what that would be. I used to think that there was a magic number. My previous doctor used to try to tell me what the number was for me, without really having any idea about my body composition other than my height. When I did have my body comp measured at one point last year, I was told that my lean muscle mass was 20 pounds MORE than the weight my doctor was targeting for me. I don't know about you but I would rather have lean muscle mass than anything else. 

My focus for now is to lose weight to be healthier and to be able to do more physical activities. I know I will not be able to run faster unless I lose weight....and I want to run faster. BUT I also want to get stronger. I love swinging heavy kettlebells. I love pressing heavy things. Maybe some day I will know what an "ideal" weight is but for now I am trying to focus on more than the numbers. Although I would be lying if I didn't say that the numbers were a motivation, I hope that I can rely on how I am improving in other areas to measure my progress. I do want it to be more than about a number. I am more than just a number.

Day 3 of 35 -- So much to learn

Ok. Day 3 of 35 is about to start. I really thought I would be entitling this post Day 3 of 35 -- I so miss my caffeine. But honestly it has not been that difficult. I am quite surprised by that. I will admit that the first day I was craving coffee and the second day I caught a whiff of a nice dark roast and the thought of a nice hot Americano crossed my mind. I have not, however, had any headaches from the lack of caffeine, which was one of my fears. I have filled my craving by having some mint, ginger or licorice tea. It fulfills the need for a soothing hot beverage.

Giving up coffee has not been that bad. The hardest part has been giving up eggs. Eggs for me are a "go to" protein. When nothing else sounds good, I have eggs. It is funny because a few years ago, I didn't even like eggs. Now I miss them but again, as I said yesterday, I want to heal my body so I will complete this 35 days. I mean, if I can drink the powdered RepairVite (or as I think of it, coffee flavored sweat -- seriously that is what it tastes like to me), I can endure 35 days or a lifetime without eggs, if it is what I find will keep my body healthy.

So, what is the title about "So much to learn"? Well, I am trying to understand the difference between rest and recovery. Here is a good post about the subject. I always feel like a slacker when I take a day off from working out. Maybe I am a slacker. I am going to try to focus my "off" days as being recovery days. My favorite recovery activity is swimming. I realized this weekend I wasn't swimming enough. After my 5K this weekend, my hip has been bothering me but I still worked out at kettlebells on Monday and Tuesday as well as running Tuesday. They have not been the best workouts. I am wondering if, even though I "rested" Sunday afternoon, maybe I didn't do necessary "recovery". Does that make sense? 

Today is going to be a day of recovery. I went for a long walk with the dogs this morning and, instead of kettlebells, I am going to go swimming tonight. I am going to move my body but not as intensely as a kettlebell class would be. I am also going to rest a bit by sitting in the jacuzzzi and sauna at the gym.

I have long heard about the need to recover and that your body is actually getting fitter during the periods of recovery but I don't think I have ever understood what it meant for me. Hopefully I am understanding it more now and am doing the right thing for my body.

More later.

Healing myself -- day 2

As I said yesterday, I am on a 35 day protocol to cleanse my body. But more importantly, I am seeking to heal my body. I have been working hard on this for the last few years and, for the most part, have been quite successful. My blood work has improved significantly over the journey. I feel more energetic. I can do more things than I ever thought possible.

So, what am I seeking through this cleanse? Well, there are few things that I have been researching more and more through the past year. The two things that I am working on now are related to each other...leaky gut and inflammation. You can do a google search and find a ton of information on leaky gut. Here is one link that I found helpful. I don't know if I have leaky gut syndrome or not but I am sure I can use some healing in this area. For the protocol I am on, that is what the intent is for the first 15 days. I have to remember that I am healing myself because the supplement that is used for this portion of it tastes HORRIBLE. 

Lauren (the nutritionist I am working with), to her credit, warned me how bad it would taste. Well, she was so right. But it is only 15 days and I have already completed one of those 15 so 14 more days. I just have to remember it is helping to heal me. 

Then after the first 15 days, I will continue to work on the relieving inflammation in my body. Here is another link about inflammation and what it means. Honestly, I had never heard of these concepts until a year or so ago. I always thought that food allergies were much more dramatic and immediately life threatening. Now, do I know that this is the root of my issues with my weight. No, I don't. I could probably go out and have expensive testing done but it can't hurt me to try this protocol first.

If you have followed my blog from the beginning of the year, you know that I already did a ten day cleanse. I actually followed it diligently and felt great doing it. But I didn't follow it as well in the reintroduction phase. You see, I wasn't quite doing it to see how foods impacted me as much as I was doing it to get ready to go primal. The ten days did help me approach the primal lifestyle for the last few months without much issue. But now it is time to do the reintroduction part correctly and see how certainly inflammatory foods impact my body.

My ultimate goal in all of this is to be healthy. I really is. Yes, I want to lose weight and such but mostly my health is the important thing. What are you doing to be a bit healthier today than you were yesterday?

Day one of 35

So, I am starting a 35 day cleanse today. I am working with a nutritionist. Even though I did the 10 day thing at the beginning of the year, I knew that it was not long enough to really see if certain foods were causing inflammation. Now it is time to find out. The cleanse is sort of like the Whole 30 that I attempted a few weeks ago but a bit more extreme in what I cannot eat. AND you know what, that's okay. It is temporary and I should get some good information as I listen to my body. I also have a guide to help me along the way in Lauren as she is available via email and such. That will be very helpful.

So, I can eat lots of veggies, healthy meats, and good fats. What I cannot eat are grains, dairy, eggs, caffeine, and certain fruits/veggies. I am going to focus on quality food, drinking lots of water, and listening to my body. The hardest two things will be no eggs or caffeine as eggs have become my "go to" protein and caffeine, well, it's caffeine!

I find it is easier to concentrate on a goal if I blog about it so I will likely blog about it every day for the next 35 days. Let's see how it goes.

Westminster Women's Classic

My 5K was today. I did run....just not all of it. I was able to walk a bit and then run again so that part was good. I didn't stop and just walk the rest. I even finished running. For the most part, I think it was my mind more than my body that was telling me I had to walk. I need to get over that. But I also was running at a faster pace than any of my training runs.

I am not giving up on running either. I am already looking for my next event. Hopefully, I can get over the mental issue before then.

Actually running a 5K on Sunday....

and I am extremely nervous about it. BUT I need to keep in mind that it doesn't matter how slow I do, I am still out there doing it. I have been running and actually enjoying it of late. The first two or three minutes are pure hell but after that, I get into the groove and I just run. 

Other than that, things are going well. I met with a nutritionist, who actually understands and supports the paleo/primal lifestyles. We talked for awhile and, although she repeated a lot of things I already knew, it was good to hear her agree with things I believe for my own body. So, we are going to start with a 5 week cleanse and really see if there are certain foods that are causing inflammation in my body. I know it may seem like it is yet another path that I am going down, but it really isn't as I view this as her helping me down the path I was trying to go on my own.

I recently viewed this video on a FaceBook page. I love most of the sentiments in this slide show. In particular, the first one really speaks to me. I have long thought of my struggles with finding the solution to my weight loss struggles as a puzzle I am trying to solve. AND if you know me, you know I love puzzles and I rarely, if ever, give up.

 

I will check in after the run on Sunday!

I am still here....

I am still here, working away. I have been continuing with kettlebells. I have been running. I have been following my primal lifestyle the best I can. I finished reading The Grapes of Wrath as was one of my 2012 goals. I have a 5K walk coming up this weekend. I have signed up for a 5K run the next weekend.

I am busy with life. I am busy still trying to figure out how to spur weight loss and such. I am busy trying to think of what to blog about. In the meantime, I am still here, working away.