The ELFF Diet

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So I asked for a running partner on Facebook, and it sparked a conversation on gear.  Specifically, bras and socks.

I can say BRAS, right?  We are all adults. 

When I first started trying to lose weight, I had enormous boobs. I wore a 40J.  J as in JUGS.  I had herd a lot of great buzz about the Enell bra and tried it, and I ended up wearing it with a regular bra underneath. It gave me just about the right amount of support.  It was a fairly spendy purchase, but it was definitely worth it.  It's a German Prison Matron type dealio, with a dozen hook and eye closures up the front, and it's big and ugly and so not going to attract any men folk.  But it keepsthe girls in place and that's all I care about.

I just remembered that I wrote about bras before.  Read what I had to say about running and bras before. I'll wait.  It still stands.

As far as socks go, PLEASE do yourself a favor and get some good running socks. Wicking, non cotton type, so as to avoid blisters.  i'm a HUGE fan of the DeFeet brand

Any time I wear other socks, I get blisters. 

Speaking of favorites, I have worn out four pairs of Sauconys.  The same style, the same color.  I REALLY would like to get some cool pink runners, but I pronate so awfully that the Sauconys are comfy and I stay with the same over and over.

As far as clothing goes, I'm a huge fan of Lululemon - but I can't afford them. Maybe for Christmas.

What are you favorite brands and such of workout gear?

Woman Loses 410 Pounds!

While watching the Today show, I saw the amazing story of Tammey Burns - a woman who lost 410 pounds.  She was amazing and awe inspiring - and she left me with one piece of very valuable advice.  She made a comment that was so valid and so real, yet one I'd never thought of in precisely those terms.

She changed her attitude on food from a comfort source to an fuel source. 

That's a little thing, but it's a big thing. 

Food needs to lose it's power in all of our lives, so that we aren't unconsciously - or consciously, for that matter - seeking it out to make ourselves feel better.  We need to use food as a fuel source for whatever sport we choose to indulge in - a source of energy and power.

It took Tammey a long time to learn this - and I'm not there yet.  I think I need to create a mantra to repeat whenever I want to make a bad choice.

Food is fuel not love.

The Power of Six

The last fifteen minutes of Muay Thai class is often devoted to plyometrics, abs, pushups - strength training type stuff. It's my VERY favorite part of every class - I really enjoy hitting the pads, not so much on the sparring, but my favorite is the strength stuff.  Here's what we did today.

Six squats holding a medicine ball - mine was 10 pounds
Six two handed kettle bell swings - I think I had a kb in the 12-15 pound range, not sure
Six burpees - my LEAST favorite exercise EVER. They make me want to barf HARD
Six box jumps - jumping up on to the side of the ring - see also, yuck
Six pushups
Six V-sit ups

REPEAT six times.

It was awesome. 

The only not-so-awesome part?  The man next to me passed an insane amount of gas LOUDLY each and every single V sit. 

Roadblocks

Stumbling blocks, whatever you want to label them - we all have them.

The Headless Mom has a great post on this very issue.

What are the rules that you routinely break when it comes to weight loss/maintenance? What are your stumbling blocks? What foods or habits get in your way of losing those last 5/10/15 pounds?

I could:

• walk more often and get back into running
• avoid the occasional sugar soda that has crept back into my diet (damn you, Sonic Vanilla Coke!)
• drink more water
• drink less alcohol
• avoid eating out with my husband - Mexican restaurants are the very BANE of my existence lately
• pull out the stomach exercise equipment and actually USE it
• get more sleep

What about you?

The Thing About Weight Loss

Is that it never really goes away.

Sure, you spend a chunk of time trying to lose weight - focusing on calories in, calories out, getting enough exercise, trying to get that number on the scale to move down - until one day, all of your hard work pays off and you get to the place that you want to be your new normal.  And what happens when you get there?  Is there a celebration, do you get to add cake and frosting and soda and chips back in to your daily food intake?

Well, kind of. Because, really, if you did a sensible weight loss effort, you may not have ever taken those foods completely out of your rotation, because as soon as you put a food off limits you crave it more. I see this with my husband all the time.  He decides he wants to lose weight and tells me to only prepare "boiled chicken breasts and salad" for him - and to keep the cookies and ice cream out of the house.  It goes well for a few days, and then he's back into the treats.  You have a better chance at succeeding if you allow the occasional treat - within reason.

But what happens if you've been successful with weight loss and exercise, and you can handle the treats, because your exercise habit helps you to keep your weight down - and then something happens to keep you from exercise? You have an injury, life tosses curve balls your way - things happen to keep you out of the gym.  What happens then?

You do the best you can do, even if it means you go back up a pants size.  You try to eat healthy, you stop obsessing over the number on the scale, and you recognize that long term weight loss is just that.  Long Term.  Which means that it's going to last your entire life, and life is going to throw you plenty of curve balls.  So you learn to duck the high ones, swerve from the lower ones, and pick yourself up if one manages to hit you.

And you keep on trying.  Because, really, what's the option?