I was so excited about not snacking that I forgot yesterday’s update!
The only thing reminiscent of a snack I had was a slice of toast with some no-sugar-added strawberry jam on it, which I ate after my run, because I was hungry. The toast doesn’t count, so it was a totally snack-free day, woo.
I was up another half-pound, which means I have to lose 0.9 pounds over the next two days in order to come in below where I started the month. Technically possible, but given my yo-yoing and the trend toward still going slightly up in weight, it seems less likely than it might first appear.
But I will remain hopeful and snack-free for those two days. Or else!
I’m writing this a little early because there has been cheating. Yes, cheating!
Behold:
Several Reese’s mini peanut butter cups
A small handful of Fritos BBQ Hoops
I estimate that this cheating is probably about 225 calories (the Reese’s are about 18 calories each for reference). Which is not too bad, really, but it represents a clear break from previous days when I only ate a wee bit of cheese as a snack. I have been bad. I will atone by doing my stretching exercises tonight, which will burn off at least 25 of those calories, and also make my legs feel like wet noodles.
If I was flexible enough, I could whip myself with my wet noodle-like legs. Maybe that can be one of my goals for the year, along with getting down to 150 pounds in weight.
Now that I’ve cheated, I enter Phase 2 of Snack-Free, where I find out if I can gracefully rebound, or if I just bury my face in a giant chocolate cake and eat my way out.
It was just one tiny slice, not a whole loaf. I swear! Photo by Airin Party on Pexels.com
Some cheating was involved. Let me explain.
I had four ripe bananas, and the only thing you can do with those is give them to monkeys or make banana bread. And there were no monkeys around.
Now, once the bread had cooled for a few minutes on the counter, I was obligated to have a small slice, to make sure it turned out okay.
It turned out okay.
But no more for me! Other than that, I have been snack-free once again. I know that sounds a bit like, “Apart from the iceberg, Titanic had a great maiden voyage” but let’s just go with it.
I am prepared for the scale to give me bad news tomorrow.
Speaking of bad news, yesterday’s 1.5 pound weight loss was more than half eradicated, as I had predicted. I gained back 0.8 pounds, which puts me up a little for the month. All I want is to be lower at the end of the month than I was at the start. I have five more days. Can I do it?
The word “scarfing” comes to mind. Not that I would, I’m just saying. Photo by Jonathan Meyer on Pexels.com
Plus, it’s now just seven months till Christmas. Start your shopping early to beat the rush!
I have gone through another day without any snacking, save again for a little bit of cheese in the afternoon, which I have officially declared Not a Snack™ when consumed in modest quantities.
I was also down an impressive 1.5 pounds this morning, but of late, all that’s meant is my weight is guaranteed to go up the next day. Will this happen again when I step on the scale tomorrow morning? We’ll find out soon! In the meantime, I shall dream of cookies, but there they shall remain, in the calorie-free realm of my subconscious.
More things I did not eat today. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
I was snack-free again!
Sort of.
I made a tactical error by having lunch a little too early, which left a vast gulf between lunch and dinner. I had some cheese to tide me over, which as a cheat food is not as bad as a big bag of chocolate or deep-fried bacon rolled in candy bits. So I still consider myself to be on-track.
I will properly pace my meals tomorrow.
Oh, and I was down 0.2 pounds this morning. Admittedly, it’s a large rounding error, but it’s still in the right direction.
Pictured: 10 million calories. Photo by Leigh Patrick on Pexels.com
Today is the first day I vowed to go 100% absolutely, positively, no-questions-asked, no excuses made, snack-free.
How did I do?
I did it!
As of 9:22 p.m. as I type this, I have not had any snacks today. I have not eaten any of the following since getting up this morning:
Cookies
Crackers
Chocolate
Donuts
Potato chips
Tortilla chips
Poker chips
I also did an 8.4 km walk, but did eat some bacon. If I’m up tomorrow in weight, I’ll blame the bacon. I assume it is like lead and adds way more to your body that you would judge from its appearance.
One day down, eight to go! I mean, if I do all eight, I’l keep going, but baby steps and all that.
If I sit on the couch, rest my legs horizontally on the coffee table, then lift my left leg from the foot to the knee, my left leg soars majestically into the air. When I do the same with my right leg, it’s more like a home-built plane that theoretically can fly but mostly bounces along the ground. Which is to say, I can’t raise the right leg as high, it is clearly limited by the movement of the knee, which is not rotating as it might, due to Runner’s Knee1Officially known as Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome.
But in two days I go in for my first-ever physiotherapy appointment where a sports doctor (I am hoping he will be wearing a sweatband on his forehead and be wearing those cool socks all the runners wore in the 70s) will spend half an hour assessing my current condition, make recommendations and perhaps offer guidance on when it is safe to run again. I suspect a foam roller is in my future, and I am hoping I can start running again soon. Three weeks feels a lot longer than three weeks. It feels like my last run was in 1890, with coal-fired plants belching soot into the sky behind me.
Because if I put it out as a public promise, I will totes stick to it. This has nothing to do with me gaining 0.8 pounds overnight. NOTHING.
Also, I am making an exception for Tic Tacs, as they have no calories, they are tiny, and I don’t exactly eat them by the bucketful. And they have adorably cute names, like BIG BERRY ADVENTURE:
* Starting tomorrow, May 23, since I already cheated today as I wrote this
Not my knees. Also, those socks. Photo by SHVETS production on Pexels.com
I went to the doctor today, and he looked at my knees. He poked them, prodded them, all the things you expect a doctor to do. He posed questions to me regarding my running habits. He looked dubiously at the sneakers I wore to the appointment and asked, “Do you run in those?” and I assured him I do not (which reminds me, it’s probably time to look for a new pair of trail runners again).
In the end, he said that, while there was a slight chance that my right knee is suffering from the start of arthritis, it is more likely that I am afflicted with “runner’s knee.” After 5760 km run1Not really a humblebrag, since that’s spread over 14 years, I suppose it’s not entirely unexpected. The main remedy is to rest, stretch and get bionic knees.
Actually, this article says what I really need is RICE:
Rest: Avoid repetitive stress on the knee.
Ice: To reduce pain and swelling, apply an ice pack or a package of frozen peas to the knee for up to 30 minutes at a time and avoid any heat to the knee.
Compression: Wrap your knee with an elastic bandage or sleeve to restrict swelling but not too tightly as to cause swelling below the knee.
Elevation: Place a pillow under your knee when sitting or lying down to prevent further swelling. When there is significant swelling, keep the foot elevated above the knee and the knee above the level of the heart.
As of this coming Tuesday, it will be two weeks since my last run. I will probably wait a little longer still, then gradually start running again, first 5K, then 10K, then upping the frequency and hopefully my knees will be cool with it. Or else it’s RICE time.
My doctor also suggested physical therapy, which might include massage and that might be nice, so I’m looking into that, too.
As a bonus, I also have what he says is a baker cyst, which sounds like something you’d see in the world’s worst, most horrifying bakery. While my doctor thought it was no big deal, the causes listed on the Mayo Clinic link above do concern me somewhat:
This can be caused by:
Inflammation of the knee joint, which can occur with various types of arthritis (arthritis would be bad, although in this case, also very sudden)
A knee injury, such as a cartilage tear (anything inside your body tearing is bad, though cartilage can heal)
He said to just treat the knee and the pesky fluid should go away without any direct intervention, such as a judo chop.
Anyway, bodies are dumb. I’ve only had one knee incident before in 14 years of running, so I guess in a way I’m lucky. Maybe I’ll get new and comfier shoes before that next run, something nice and pillowy, like the old colour-bleeding Speedgoats I had way back when.
Once again, my weight loss plan has worked in reverse. Oops.
The first three weeks were bad, a snack-laden mess. On the 9th I did actually lose weight, technically, shedding 0.1 pounds. After that, it was balloon time, with my weight peaking at 167.5 pounds on the 26th. I impressively lost 2.2 pounds over the next four days when the snacks were put aside instead of put into my tummy.
But it still left me two pounds up for the month.
The negatives:
Up two months in a row
I’m now up on the year to date as well
The positives:
This is less than last month’s gain of 2.2 pounds
The snacking purge means actual weight loss may occur
While I’m now up 1.2 pounds on the year, that should at least be pretty easy to erase in the next few weeks
My body fat percentage remained unchanged at 24%, which means I may have actually gained a little muscle weight?
My knees are feeling better. This matters because I didn’t run as much in April because the knees were feeling stiff, so I should be able to run more often in May.
Stats:
Weight:
January 1, 2023: 164.2 pounds
Current: 165.3 pounds
Year to date: Up 1.2 pounds
April 1: 163.3 pounds
April 30: 165.3 pounds (up 2 pounds)
Body fat:
April 1: 24%
April 30: 24 (unchanged)
Historical:January 1, 2022: 182.8 pounds
Last week, I decided to change up my nightly routine. Instead of climbing into bed with my iPad and checking social media/tech news before going to sleep, I decided to switch to reading a book on my Kindle and then, as of last night, switching to my Kobo Libra instead (I prefer the Libra, as it has page turn buttons and understands that some people are left-handed, but the first book I read was a Kindle exclusive [boo]).
I use my Garmin Forerunner 255 to track my sleep and while it is not going to be 100% accurate, it usually gets pretty close to reflecting how I feel I’ve slept. It gives your sleep a score between 1-100.
Except for one bad night’s sleep (late to bed, stressed, early to rise), my scores have been consistently in the mid 70s to mid 80s, with plenty of REM sleep. During the blue light/iPad phase in the weeks before, my scores would dip into the 30s and 40s and insufficient REM sleep was a common issue.
So yes, it appears removing blue light as I was getting ready to sleep has resulted in better sleep. Science!
It also means I’ve finished reading an entire book this year. Miracle!
