July 15, 2008: 37 minutes 42 seconds at a pace of 15′01″/mile

July 17, 2008: 40 minutes 40 seconds at a pace of 14′19″/mile

First run was very consistent, but the second run was plagued with a bit of tummy trouble while I was running, thus the constant stopping.

Thus, a few tips I picked up this past week: Don’t eat less than two hours before running, and if you do, eat something with high energy. Also: Planning out a running playlist to put on your iPod beforehand is SO WORTH IT.

Now that I’ve been in this for more than a month, I’m going to start incorporating more strength training into the routine. I actually enjoy it a LOT more than this whole running thing, but since cardio is harder to commit to (for me anyway), I wanted to see if I could do this first. I’m still not convinced I can (after all, I did skip a week or two) but it’s worth a shot, if only to try something different.

June 25, 2008: 33 minutes 02 seconds at a pace of 18′44″/mile

June 30, 2008: 33 minutes 19 seconds at a pace of 18′06″/mile

July 02, 2008: 37 minutes 27 seconds at a pace of 17′37″/mile

As you can see, I was stuck in the fewer-than-2-mile run for those first two runs. I was just really fatigued and didn’t feel like pushing myself, so I ended up walking more than usual. I finally pushed past the 2 mile mark on the third run, but not without quite a bit of fluctuation.

Depending on the weather this weekend, I might try out my first real run not at the gym. Perhaps at McLaren Park, if I feel safe enough.

This is probably the first ever full running week I’ve ever done, and I’m mighty proud of myself for it. I might have to read up on what regular runners do for pain though. Ibuprofen? A wrap of some kind? Not too sure. Speaking of which, I should also probably visit the doctor soon.

My current goal is to just keep up a full month of regular runs. After that, I can see about setting actual distance goals.

Onward!

June 13, 2008: 42 min 22 secs at a pace of 17’44″/mile
Rather inaccurate starting points, due to me starting the countdown when I was walking up and down the stairs in the gym.

June 16, 2008: 32 min 50 secs at a pace of 16’00″/mile
Actually followed through on a cool down on this one, thus the downward slope at the end.

I’m not really pushing myself, I admit it. I have the ability to go much faster and longer than this, but I don’t want to kill myself right at the start. I’m also running on a treadmill, which is infinitely easier than on the pavement. I’m thinking of scouting out a “softer” place to run in the City; a place with a lot of grass maybe.

So yeah. It’s a start. Maybe I’ll stick with it this time.

Speaking of that, I had an amazing shopping adventure this past weekend. I have this pair of Nike+ shoes that I bought with the Nike+iPod kit. It looks pretty stylish, and it fits my feet just fine. The problem with it though, is that running with the shoes really hurt my feet. I wasn’t sure what the deal was. It just didn’t feel right. Someone then suggested that I go to a professional running shoe store where an expert can look at my feet and get me the right kind of running shoe. So I make the long trek to On The Run, which is purportedly the best running shoe store in the Bay Area. And after getting my feet evaluated and scoring a sweet pair of shoes, I almost want to say it’s the best running shoe store in the whole world.

This was the procedure: They measure your bare feet. Then they ask you to roll up your pant leg, and walk around as they look at your gait, posture, and so forth. After that, they get a sense of what your “problems” are — whether you over-pronate when you walk, or you tend to lean a little toward the left, etc (These guys are trained to notice these things). Though I didn’t have many problems, the one thing that the store assistant did notice was that my left foot tended to roll a bit more on the ball of the foot. Not too sure what this meant, but I get the feeling that it means my left and right feet walk slightly differently. Then the guy disappeared into the back, and emerged with a pair of Brooks’ Addiction 7 shoes for women. He then placed them on my feet, and encouraged me to go walk around the store, run in place, even jog around the block and come back. And I have to say, these shoes are amazing — they are designed for control, cushioning, and stability — basically meant to “correct” your stride as much as a pair of shoes can. I was impressed, I have to say. He even taught me a special “butterfly” lacing technique meant to secure the shoe further. I was sold. Great shoes, and top-notch customer service. What’s not to like?

Of course, the next solution was to get one of these cheap Shoe Pouches for the Nike+iPod sensor so that I can use these new shoes to track my running progress. I’m guessing I will suck royally, but hey, I gotta start somewhere.

That’s key. Getting started. We’ll see where I go from here.

And so it was that in mind that I went low-carb starting last Monday. Following the South Beach Diet methodology (but tweaked slightly), I cut out all carbs from my diet, while maintaining the five-vegetable-servings-a-day rule. Every once in awhile I would drink soy milk, which has some sugar in it, and sometimes I’ll give in to a few chips in a restaurant. But it was all in small enough amounts that it didn’t have a huge impact. By the end of the first week, I lost 1-2 pounds, but I’m sure that was mostly water.

Now it’s the second Tuesday and I’ve really stuck to it. After this week is over, instead of going full throttle in Phase 2 (which allows carbs but mostly in the whole grain form), I’m going to go low-carb for two meals out of three, which I’m calling Phase 1.5. This is to prolong Phase 1 just a tiny bit longer, to provide a “cushion” period before the vacation. At the same time, I’m stepping up the exercise — heading to yoga about 1-2 times a week, and sneaking in 20-30 minutes of cardio when I can.

After Hawaii is over, I’m going back to the low-carb phase, and repeating the above process. It’s strange, but after all the diets I’ve tried, this is the only one that I’ve ever stuck with. For the record, this method is the same exact method I used three years ago when I lost over 30 pounds. I know this works because I’ve been through it. The only problem was that I got too comfortable and stopped exercising.

I know, low-carb diets are a fad, but I’m trying to go about it the smart way — only doing it for short periods of time, while supplementing other parts with healthy carbs like whole grain foods and fruits.

‘Course this is all fun and games until I’ve actually stuck with it. I’ll try to give a regular progress report on how it’s going so that I can mentally psyche myself into it. Now that I’ve publicly announced it, I’ve got that much more encouragement to stick with it, right? Well, we’ll see.

The key replacements are with the brown sugar and the maple syrup. Instead of those two ingredients, I used Sugar Twin Brown Sugar Replacement and a sugar-free syrup (I used a Smuckers brand, but any kind will do). Because the brown sugar replacement is not as dense as real brown sugar, I added a touch more syrup than is called for (You’ll have to taste-test the syrup a little to judge how sweet it is, and adjust accordingly). Note that this is a reduced sugar version, not a sugar-free version. That means I still used sweetened shredded coconut, and I still added the raisins. This is because I figure the granola still needed that real sugar touch for it to taste good. Plus the sweetened coconut smells wonderful when it gets all toasty.

I just made a batch a few minutes ago, and I can tell you it smells and tastes amazing — warm, toasty, sweet.. Yum. I almost ate the whole batch. Granted, the full-on sugar version probably tastes better. But this is a great alternative if you’re trying to cut down on sugar. I also used safflower oil instead of vegetable oil because safflower oil is lower in saturated fat, but that’s just me.

PS. If you don’t want to use the Sugar Twin replacement, you could experiment with Splenda a little with the syrup (Note this “Brown sugar” Splenda recipe). You probably will need to adjust the amount of syrup etc. I just happened to have the Sugar Twin around, so I used it. Since the Sugar Twin brown sugar replacement measures the same as regular brown sugar, it’s just easier to use that instead.

Set 2:
Ab crunch, Bicep curl, Tricep extension, Seated row, Lateral raise, Lower back.

The idea is to alternate the sets on every other day. Like Mondays I’ll do Set 1, Tuesdays I’ll do Set 2, Wednesdays I’ll do Set 1 again, etc. This way I won’t get muscle fatigue or something like that. I probably won’t work out every day, but with this new plan, I’m planning on at least 3 days a week. I hope to amp up my cardio to at least 5 days a week too.

It’s really weird, but I like working out. The sweat, the rush, the pain that somehow morphs into adrenalin — I never thought I’d say that. I’m still lazy as all get out, but this is at least some kind of motivation. Let’s hope I’ll be ready to fit in a new swimsuit in mid-July, eh?

I recently reached my target weight on the South Beach Diet plan, and have officially moved on to Phase 3 of the diet; the healthy-diet-for-life phase. That means if I want to have some of the bad stuff, I’m free to do so, as long as I maintain a balanced diet in general. Sure, there are days when I’ve put on 2-3 pounds over the target weight (especially those “special auntie visit” days), but that’s nothing.

Thus, my clothing is in a transition phase. I’ve gone from a size 12 to a size 10. My default size is now a Medium (although I still can’t fit in those blasted baby doll things). I bought a dress recently. I don’t normally wear dresses. I’m getting a little freaked out.

Don’t let me give you the illusion that I’m now a svelte model or anything, it’s nothing like that. I’m still an “actual-size” girl (TMBG reference), and rather chunky at that (Hello tire-tummy and thunder-thighs!). But at least I now have a healthy Body Mass Index, which is something.

So, um, yay me.

Decided to share a few of the yummy healthy recipes/ideas I’ve discovered lately (South Beach Diet related mostly, but would be also good for heart-conscious folks). Hope y’all enjoy.

• Mock Hollandaise Sauce — Use low-fat versions of sour cream and mayonnaise if possible (Fat free just tastes nasty). There’s a South Beach Diet version as well, but I don’t have a microwave with a low setting. Use the sauce with veggies or eggs benedict (with a whole-grain muffin ‘course).

• Baked Asparagus — I’m addicted to this. This is my new favorite snack.
• Frittata — Basic steps to making the perfect frittata. Skip the butter though; use Smart Balance instead.
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes — For a spicier alternative, give this Good Eats version a whirl. Replace butter with Smart Balance. It can be a little trickier finding a “safe” adobo, but a little bit of it is fine I think.
• When seasoned right, turkey breast cutlets make a great alternative to the boring ol’ boneless skinless chicken breast (which can get super tiresome after awhile). You could use turkey cutlets as a replacement of chicken in a recipe, or just come up with your own. Slather ‘em up with seasonings, herbs, and olive oil, let marinade, and then saute ‘em or broil ‘em. As for how long, I’m afraid you’ll have to play around with it. I say about 4 minutes tops, but it depends on the size of the cutlet and so forth.
• Speaking of turkey cutlets, I tried this recipe of Seared turkey breast cutlets, topped with asparagus, crab and hollandaise sauce a few weeks ago, and it was absolutely fab.

Other ideas I’ve tried: Don’t be afraid of not finishing your meal. Eat half at the restaurant and take the other half home for tomorrow’s lunch, or something. This is the one thing that will make a big difference, I feel — no more guilt-trips about having to clean up your plate.

Most importantly: TREAT yourself and don’t feel guilty about it. That just leads to depression. If you overdo it, just work extra hard the next day to overcome it. I treat myself once or twice a week, and it’s fine (Double Rainbow’s no-sugar-added strawberry ice cream is to die for). It’s all about balance in the end.

‘Course, I still have weight to lose, so I may not be the best person to give out advice. Yadda yadda disclaimer and all.