Let’s Have THE Talk

Oh yeah… I’m bringing IT up: weight gain (and why I blame it on the marathons).

One year ago I was about 10 pounds over my happy weight. I blame it on the transition from being a student running around working two jobs to being a 50-hour-week lazy that spent her whole day in front of a computer.

Then in July I left my job, moved to Orlando, went vegan, became dedicated to training for the marathon and biking and slowly lost my 10 extra pounds. I know I hardly mentioned it on the blog, but I felt great. I was more comfortable in my own skin than ever before. I was training hard, watching what I ate and my healthy (and leaner) body reflected that.

Then came marathon #1, Thanksgiving, Christmas and marathon #2. Welcome back, 10 pounds and the inability to fit into my favorite clothes.

Sure, marathon training means tons of exercise, which makes weight maintenance (or even loss) very attainable during training. It’s the two weeks before and the two weeks after the race that will get you! Your marathon appetite is still alive and well, but your exercise decreases considerably- more than running 26.2 miles in one day can make up for.

I’m ready to get back to that healthier, leaner version of me. It’s better for my clothes, my speed and my energy level.

I exercise plenty, so I know it all comes down to what and how much I eat.

The kicker of it all is that I am least motivated when I have weight to lose. When I’m at my happy weight I see and feel the motivation to eat healthy. Silly, right?

I need to eat cleaner- and less! I’m going to work on choosing fresh fruits and veggies for snacks and watching my portions at meal times. Now more than ever I’m going to shoot for including most or all of my meals on the blog.

Speaking of running… meet my new friends: Brooks Trance 9’s! I’ve had them for almost two weeks and they’re heavenly. My glass slippers :)

How do you deal with weight gain? How do you motivate yourself when you don’t feel so hot?

When Maintaining is Not Enough

I shouldn't be writing this. I am frustrated and severely lacking motivation. But I work hard to make this blog real- all of my ups and downs in striving to be "healthy ashley." So I write tonight to represent women who are frustrated when their hard work just doesn't pay off.

Tonight I used the LifeCenter at my gym (a small booth that measures and tracks weight, cholesterol, heart rate, body fat, etc.) before my appointment with my personal trainer. End result: the numbers are the same as two months ago. All the numbers are the same. Even body fat- so it's not like I've just "gained muscle."
I feel great. I'm happy and strong and feel tight all over (woohoo!). But I am over the weight I should be. I don't fit into my normal jeans-- and I really don't fit into my skinny jeans.

So I get new workouts from a personal trainer every week, exercise as much as I can, limit my calories and eat mostly whole foods. Yet I maintain. It pisses me off.

Really I know I need to hit the calorie range 1400-1500 each day and I will lose, but right now I'm really upset that the things I'm doing already should be working... yet nothing changes at all.

So tonight I cut my workout short, ate a bowl of cereal and am going to bed without cleaning the house.

So when you're fed up and need to quit for the day, it's okay. You're not alone. Tomorrow I will think of my half marathon in January, how strong I am from my new workouts and the nutrients I consciously put into my body each day. But tonight I am pissed that every stupid number stayed the same. And my jeans still won't fit.