Weight Weight, don't tell me!

So if you've read this blog for a while you know I tried to do a weekly weight update column, then I got discouraged, so I stopped writing it. Well, just cause I stopped updating you guys, didn't mean I stopped trying to drop pounds.

I got some advice from the calorie counting obsessed Jenna, the most profound advice being to think of having a calorie bank account. In her words: Your caloric intake is a like a bank account. When you have money, there are no rules about what you can spend it on, just the rule that if you spend more money than you have, you will incur a fee. It's the same idea with food. Thus, you can eat whatever you want. Brilliant, right!

I also attended a nutritional clinic specific to runners. Because I run 3-4 times a week for an average of 15 miles (and growing) I have to fuel differently than a sedentary person, or even some one who is active, but not running for 75 minutes at a time. The nutritionist also had us think about our hunger and fullness levels in a different way, a way that has worked for me. Think of your hunger on a scale of 1-10. One being starving and 10 being Thanksgiving stuffed. On the scale she recommended that one not get below a 3 in hunger and not above a 7 on the full end. I have tried to follow this at every meal. Sometimes this means leaving half a meal untouched (leftovers!) or being finished eating before everyone else at the table. I have also adopted a few of her other guidelines: no artificial ingredients and more veggies and fruit.

The final bit of advice I received from that clinic that I have whole heartedly adopted is don't measure your weight loss success by pounds alone. Look at inches, measure how you feel, think about energy levels, etc. This hasn't been easy since we are brain-washed to believe that 120 pounds at 5'2" is ideal and until I weigh that I've failed. Well, I will never weigh 120.

Results? You betcha! It has been 4 weeks since the clinic, Jenna's advice and my new way of thinking and I have lost 5 pounds. Today wasn't a great day on the scale, so instead I measured myself. In 3 weeks I have lost 6.5 inches! Awesome, right!? These food guidelines, coupled with running, weight lifting, yoga and my new 100 push-ups challenge will help me not only look good for the wedding, but hopefully stay sane!