Week 27/28, Yay!! Back with the programme!!

Thursday to Sunday were difficult to calculate calorie wise as I was at my sisters for dinner on Thursday night, out for dinner Friday night, out all day for all food on Saturday and had lunch out on Sunday. I don't think I went over the top - well, maybe on Saturday a little with the wine and food but the rest was reasonably well behaved.
I managed my 1.3 mile walk with a 2 minute jog at the end on Thursday morning. I walked a fair amount around the new Westfield shopping centre at Stratford on Saturday and then Sunday was a mega calorie burner!
On Saturday night I dreamt I was running, running a very long distance with ease, my legs felt like effortless springs and I was gliding along a dirt track feeling very happy indeed. So, when I woke up I decided I was going to attempt my Couch to 5k programme again. My back had been pain free all week so I thought I would give it a go. I could always stop if I needed to. I got up, got dressed and went out. I had to do 8 one minute runs with a minute and a half walk in between. The first 6 runs were no problem at all but I started to feel it in my lungs and throat for the last 2 runs. Apart from the lack of exercise for 4 months I think I ran faster than I did the 1st time around back in April this year. Anyway, it felt really good to have done it and not a wince from my back :-) I also clocked up just over 7 miles walk too! I had to get the car from the station (1.36 miles) then we decided to walk to Kingston from Hampton court and back again (6 miles). My legs started to feel very stiff but I stretched them out quite well. I was worried they my have stiffened up totally by this morning but they were fine and I managed my station walk with a 2 minute run at the end again.
Next Couch 2 5k run tomorrow!

Wk 27, Going good!

I did a minute and a half jog on Tuesday morning but nothing on Wednesday. My back is still ok, not 100% though. I have been having soup at lunch and dinner this week so the calories are still going good. I weighed myself on Wednesday morning and have already lost a lb or so :-)
Tuesday
Exercise - station walk/jog = 138 calories
Food = 1259 calories
Breakfast
Porridge
Tea
Lunch
wholemeal wrap with houmous, ham and salad
Pear
Tea
Afternoon
Yoghurt
Dinner
Soup
2 Ryvitas
Wine
Wednesday
Food = 1346 calories
Breakfast
Tea
2 Toast with butter
Lunch
Soup
2 ryvitas
Tea
Pear
Afternoon
Houmous and ryvitas
Tea
Dinner
Soup
Ryvitas
Wine

Wk 27, Jogging again!

Well it looks like I can start with mini jogs again. I did a minute and a half yesterday morning and the same again this morning without back pain. Yay!! Finally it looks like I can start the Couch to 5k programme again, although I know I won't need to do all of it. My fitness levels have really dropped in the last 4 months but I know it will pick up quickly again so I wont struggle so much with my breathing this time around. I am still very wary of how my back is reacting so I'm not doing any 5k's just yet.
I was very pleased with my food intake yesterday too. I am hoping to lose a couple of lbs this week although I do have a party to go to on Saturday which will doubtlessly involve too much alcohol (again). Anyway for now here is yesterdays (Mondays) diary :-

Exercise - 1.36 mile walk/jog = 166 calories burned
Food = 1098 calories (178 left over)
Breakfast
Porridge
Tea
Lunch
Houmous
wholemeal wrap
Pea
Tea
Dinner
Pumpkin soup
2 x Ryvita's
Small glass of wine

Caffrins get fit and slim Journey - Chapter 2

I am starting again from today. A new beginning. In the last few weeks I have been slowly reverting back to type. My piggy-self is emerging again. I have put on 5lbs since my record weight loss at the beginning of September, so I need to deal with it before I am back into my bag of big clothes that are waiting patiently to go to the charity shop.
Since I injured my back the lack of running, well of any exercise at all apart from the odd walk, is slowly creeping up and becoming part of my life again and along with it, the eating and drinking with impunity. At 5.30 in the afternoon I find myself thinking about opening a bottle of wine. In the supermarket I'm wandering down the cake and chocolate aisle wondering what would be nice while I sit with a cup of tea in front of the telly for the next few hours. I start the day counting the calories only to give up by the afternoon because I only have 95 calories left and I haven't had dinner yet! Four months ago these thoughts were, well, unthinkable! Four months ago I spent the day working out what time I could fit in a run and what we would have with our salad later on.
My back has improved greatly, although not quite back to 100%. There is still a very, very stubborn knobbly bit of muscle at the top of my left buttock that just will not go away. That is the bit that will spasm and spread if I run to far. So I am starting the whole thing again. I walked the station walk this morning of 1.36 miles jogging the last 90 seconds to the car without back pain, so that is my plan of action for this week and I will see how my back works with it. I have already lost so much fitness that I was glad to stop jogging! If that stubborn muscle eases completely I want to get back to my 5k Parkrun in January and hopefully do a 10k race next year. In the meantime I need to address my food intake again so will start listing my daily foods too.We only have just under 9 weeks to Christmas and I would like to at least get rid of 6lbs in that time. If I lose more that would be a great bonus. So keep watching this space!

Wk 25

With the weekend nearly over I was fairly good on the eating front although we shared a pizza last night (Waitrose) and I had a pizza on Thursday - in a new local Italian restaurant not Dominoes or Pizza Hut! I also have had a few glasses of wine over the last few nights too, but it is the weekend and that is how I roll. I did a mini step on the scales on Friday morning and it looked like I lost 2lbs, but we'll see what the state of play is tomorrow morning (Monday) on my self imposed, official weigh in day.

My back is a lot better than it has been for a while. I can sit for a long time without pain. I reckon I could even go to the cinema now without annoying anyone! There is still a little niggle so I am not attempting a run yet. I try to walk each day as much as I can.

WK 25, Porridge and Fish

Monday and Tuesday were good days for calories. I went over by a couple of 100 on Wednesday just because...
I am back on the porridge for breakfast as it is a really good filler till lunchtime. I'm trying to eat more white fish. I like fish but I always end up cooking salmon and not much else. Last night I did haddock fillets tossed in flour and hot paprika and lightly fried in the griddle pan. It was nice but I need more ideas.

I have done the station walk without back pain or twinges 3 times this week. I have been walking at a normal pace rather than my 'itching to run, so on the verge of jogging' pace. Now that the majority of the spasmed muscle has relaxed I am left with a rather irritating knotty bit on my left lower back. I massage it about 5 times a day until my fingers ache, but its just not going. Sometimes it causes a lot of stiffness and discomfort and other times I don't feel it at all.

We have friends staying over this weekend so I have a lot of washing and housework to do so I expect I will be feeling it by Sunday! I am hoping one day soon, very soon, I will wake up and it will be gone, then I can start pilates or yoga, strengthen up my core and start running again.

Its been 11 weeks and 1 day since my last proper run. It took me 12 weeks to complete the C25K programme in the first place!! I've be off with an injury for as long as I have been running. It's absurd, let alone irritating and depressing. The definition I was building in my legs has almost gone again. Well, I've learnt one thing and that is to stop running if it's hurting!

Wk 25, Back from Holiday - new start

So, I've just come back from a lovely week in the Loire Valley, France. We did a lot of walking but no running for me. We also did a lot of eating and drinking. One thing we decided to see what all the fuss is about were Macaroons - tiny little colourful macaroons with fruit or cream filling, each one about 2 bites and more expensive than gold!

We bought a box of 6 for 6.95 Euro. We tried one each when we got back to the house then I dropped the rest on the kitchen floor! They weren't all that. I don't get it, they are just mouthfuls of sugar. We baked a banana cake later in the week. That was so much nicer.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings about nice food. I haven't been very good at posting dailies of late, partly because I have been busy or away, but also because I haven't been proud of my achievements in either exercise or weight loss in the last few weeks. I have "fallen off the wagon", well not completely fallen off, I am holding on with both hands, its just the rest of me is being dragged along in the dirt. This week however, the wagon has slowed down enough for me to clamber back up (perhaps it was the holiday that did it) and I am back, trainers on the feet and MyNetDiary in hand. I am still not running yet  - my back is improving but still pinching from time to time  - but will do the station walks the best I can. I am determined to keep track of my calories this week.
Yesterday was a good day. I feel today will be too. Overall I have lost 23.4 lbs which is great but a gain over the last few weeks of 5lbs is not great - it should have been more than 28lbs by now. I should be eating in to (or out of) my last stone (14lbs). So this week is the start of that. My target is to hit a loss of 42lbs by Christmas which is doable as long as I keep track. I have just under 19lbs to go in 10 weeks.