Oh, the pain

The past two weeks seem to be nothing but one pain after another.  Ug.  I was so stoked about the relatively big numbers I was enjoying the first couple of weeks after getting my treadmill, that I upped the intensity to try to do better.  Enter the first round of pain.  I'm not entirely sure why it is, but my whole right leg started getting achy.  I pushed through it when trying to do the workouts, but dealing with a painful hip and lower back was something I couldn't do while trying to sleep.  Finding a comfortable sleep position with a hip that twinges with every movement was just not fun.

On top of it all, even with the dialed up the workouts, the weight loss didn't increase. Hmmmm..... There's got to be a whole lot more to the whole equation.  Maybe it was the lack of sleep.  Maybe I went off menu more than I realized.  Hard to say, but clearly there are lots of stars that have to align to make the weight losing thing work.  And they did not align when I was hurting.  Two weeks ago, the weigh-in showed a loss of some percentage of a pound.  And I truly thought I'd done better. 

So after that small percentage of a pound, I figured I'd go back to a more manageable intensity on the workouts, and go back to the choosing my own foods from the JC list, and not counting calories so strictly (by the way, two weeks ago I tried to do one of their planned menus again - with less than stellar results).  I was doing great for the first few days, until I came down with strep throat.  Strep is painful, painful stuff.  Not only could I not swallow without intense pain, my neck muscles hurt, and because of a few bouts of intense fever shivers, my entire back hurt.  So there was no kind of activity for four days.  And these four days followed directly on the heels of two big dinners out, where I didn't even attempt to make good choices.  I got my favorites, and enjoyed every single bite.  But I guess the fact that I was living off of soup and tea for the next few days made the difference last week, because at my weigh-in, I was down by 3lbs again.

Now, there's no way I'd wish for a continuation of a sickness that makes swallowing so painful.  Good for weight loss, I suppose, but not a fun way to live.  So I'm still trying to figure out the right combination of stuff that makes for an ideal weight loss week - one that doesn't include pain, that is.

Progress

I can't believe I never got around to posting about last week's
weigh-in. It was a shock! I lost 4lbs last week, and considering
that I munched myself silly at the NYE party on the 31st, it's a
miracle. I did try to account for that night of splurging by making
sure I got more activity in, and I guess that did the trick.

This past week wasn't as difficult - I didn't have the major splurge
night like the week before, but I did have a few meals off-menu. I
guess I go less insane about the whole meal plan thing that way if I
try to stick to "the plan" in a loose kind of way. I lost 2.5 lbs
last week, which I'm quite happy with. I think the new treadmill
helps a lot - I've been doing all of my walks on an incline.

Also, in good/bad news, I just bought new pants (good!), but if I keep
this pace for too many more weeks, I'll only get a few wears before
having to drop some more money on clothes again (bad). It's times
like this that I wish it were spring - I'm sure I can get more mileage
out of a skirt, or at least be able to take in a skirt myself. Oh
well - I wanted this. So I've got to deal with the extra expense of
the in-between clothes (since they'd surely frown on my switch from
business casual to sweat pants at work ;-) ).

New Stuff

It's the week after Christmas, and of course there's new stuff. I got
some attachments for my sewing machine, which will ensure that I never
ever have to make ruffles by hand ever again (and there was much
rejoicing), and I got some gift cards to my favorite scrapbook supply
stores, so that's a happy thing too. But this week, I've done more
purchasing - stuff I NEEDED. And this is the kind of thing I can't
ask for as a gift. And it's the kind of thing I get very little joy
out of shopping for.

Need #1: a new treadmill. I had a treadmill - the same one that's
been in my basement for the better part of 15 years (it took a brief
hiatus at a friends house, but ultimately came back home). It works,
and isn't really showing any signs of being non-functional. But I
could use something with an incline, and a better display for how fast
I'm going and how far I've gone. Old treadmill had such a display,
but it was flaky, and the speed control was on a slider thing - not
offering very precise control. And I've actually been using the
treadmill 3 times a week for the last month. So it was time - I've
earned the upgrade. I picked up a ProForm 400 CT from Sam's, and
I'm extremely happy with it. It has plenty of incline, and far more
precise control of the speed. There are also built-in speakers and a
cable that plugs into my phone so that I can play music without having
to wear headphones. It's nice - but it's not very loud. Good if the
kids are down there - it allows me to hear their argument before it
escalates into disaster. But most of the time I wait until they're
asleep, and I want to drown out everything - including any type of
independent thought I may want to have. So I still have a need for
headphones. Anyway, it's really nice (especially considering that I
only parted with $500 to get it) and I'm very happy.

Need #2: new pants. I'm down 18 lbs, and my pants are finally baggy
enough to look bad. When I started JC, the pants were tight - as in,
time to go up a size. But I couldn't handle that idea. By around the
10lb mark, the pants fit the way they should and were no longer
cutting off circulation or threatening to split up the back. Now, at
18lbs, they're not in any danger of falling off, but they're looking a
little saggy in the back, which is probably just as unflattering as
the tightness that was there 12 weeks ago. So last night I purchased
pants. CJ Banks (a plus size store) was having a pants sale, so I
lucked out. I was able to get 4 pair for the money I was planning on
spending, and I had only figured I'd be able to get 2. So that's a
happy thing. They're only one size down, and a little tight around
the middle still. But at least I'll have a frame of reference as
these (hopefully) start to get less snug.

My hopes are that by spring, these pants will start to be in the
too-big range, and it will be time to do another round of shopping.
But at that point I can shop for skirts, which have a much larger
range for weight - the right style skirt could probably cover a range
of 3 sizes without much more than the move of a button. I really
don't enjoy shopping for clothes. The now-baggy pants were purchased
during my maternity leave 4 years ago, when I realized that there was
no likelihood that I'd be dieting or exercising and getting back to my
pre-pregnancy clothes any time soon. Perhaps by spring, my
relationship with my new treadmill will have produced enough results
that I'll change my mind. But for now, this week's purchases were
about as fun as shopping for a new set of tires for my SUV. But it's
done, and should hopefully sustain me for a while. Now I can
concentrate on my fun shopping - spending those Michaels and Archivers
gift cards.