Water
I had a conversation with a friend the other day about stagnating and what to do. I seem unable to get below 200, and before I sit here at 202 too long, again, I wanted to get the ball rolling by offensively planning against the plateau. The first question he asked was how much water I was drinking. I reflected back to last month, you know, January, when somehow I lost a staggering 19 pounds, and realized I was drinking water like crazy. As soon as that conversation ended I drained my water bottle, refilled and continued to do it all day. I did the same thing the next day and the day after that. Immediately the bloat that I was carrying from my Valentine chocolate consumption came off, my face slimmed down and my skin looks better. Water.
Through that conversation I also realized that I was solid in January, with calories, exercise, nutrition, fiber, clean eating… No wonder I did so well. I got back on that horse and am expecting to see numbers shift any minute- I’m sure feeling it in my clothes. 🙂
But not enough to move down to my smaller jeans yet. 🙁
But, still… 🙂
Popcorn
This is just an opportunity to brag: we went to the movies and got popcorn and a cherry coke. I ate less popcorn than ever at the movie theater and skipped the soda altogether. I was really proud of myself. It’s the small things, sometimes.
As a side note, I got to wondering what is the least of two evils: high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners like aspartame. It turns out that new studies link aspartame to Parkinson’s, now and while high fructose corn syrup is linked to diabetes and heart disease, but that’s only with regular consumption. The other builds up over time. So anyways, I have decided to skip any artificial sweeteners for now, and am choosing the regular coke in that situation, but I find that I just can’t will myself to drink something like that anymore!
Hip Flexibility & Strength
I was reading in my Runner’s World magazine about quick fixes for common injuries, and/or strengthening exercises and stretches to help prevent those injuries from happening. The first exercise, the one they recommend above all else, is for the hips. From before day one, back in the day of super heavy and plantar fasciitis I was going to physical therapy and measured a negative ten on hip flexibility. When I started running, my hips were the place I felt the most pain, and still, if there is a place I feel any pain, it is in my left hip. After reading the article I realized that my little hip problem has the potential to be a major hip problem, especially with my dreams of 13.1 miles lingering there in the near future. I decided to take stretching a little more seriously – I stretch my legs out great but had a hard time finding the right hip stretch.
My hips already feel better, and when they are aching at night I just do my stretch and feel, instantly, so much relief. The next step is to add the strength piece. I basically need to stand next to a table with a big rubber band around my ankle and the table leg moving my leg in and out, over and over. I’ve got the rubber band thing, I just need the gumption, now.