I will NOT have chocolate today

I put cinnamon in my oatmeal because somewhere, sometime ago, I read that cinnamon will increase your metabolism – sometimes I put it into my coffee as well. I eat oatmeal for breakfast almost every day – the Kashi kind that has lots of fiber and is low on sugars

I drink lots and lots of plain herbal tea (sometimes with lemon) because I read that the tea would speed up your metabolism – that plus sometimes I get the added bonus of the lemon flushing out my system. It causes me to dump – it only works sometimes though. Rarely, if ever, do I drink soft drinks – probably less than 1 12-oz can a month but do usually consume 96 ounces of water (or more) a day. All this tea and water equates into many, many trips to the bathroom which I just look at like it is more exercise.

I try to keep my fiber intake up around 30 to 40 grams a day because I read somewhere that the more fiber you take in the more calories that are excreted in your stool and lets just face it – more stool is better stool– at least in my stool book. I eat lots of crisp veggies and at least 1 apple a day.

So I walked 2.2 miles yesterday on the treadmill at the gym at lunch and then because we were installing Elfa Shelving in my daughter’s closet I went up and down the stairs at the house about 25 times. Our staircase has 16 steps so 16 x 25 = 400 steps and that doesn’t include the 3 floors I climb up to get to the gym and the fact that (yesterday) I started parking 2 floors up (on the 6th floor) at the parking garage and taking the stairs down in the morning and back up in the afternoon. I have always taken the stairs but just added 2 more floors into the mix.

I have maintained this weight loss for a while (loss 22 lbs 1 ½ years ago) so really just feel like all I need to do is move my fluffy butt in order to start seeing the scales recede. I’m going to up the speed a bit on the treadmill at lunch today to see if I can get in 3 or more miles. This I’m going to try for the next 44 days (as yesterday was day 45 or day 1 however you look at it) and see where I stand or actually where I weigh at the end of August (which just so happens to be 45 days from yesterday). Last time I lost weight I use the Glycemic Index food plan (diet) and NO exercise and lost the 22 lbs in about 3 months AND those 3 months included Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas). If the scales haven’t moved to my satisfaction at the end of the 100 miles in 45 days challenge then I might start back on the Glycemic Index food plan to see if that makes enough of a difference. My thyroid doesn’t function properly and while I do take Armour out of all of the food plans I have tried I felt the most satisfied and healthy on the Glycemic Index.

So explain to me while the scale was up 1.5 lbs from yesterday when I waddled onto it this morning and why I’m absolutely fucking starving today? My rings are looser meaning I can actually spin it around on my finger instead of just staring at the puffy flesh being pudged out on either side wishing that I could take them off. I’m going to up the speed on the treadmill today and try to run to see if I still can.

I really would like to be running again but also realize that after this much time, at this age and weight and having had knee surgery back in February that I really need to start out slowly and cautiously so that I don’t injure myself and have a setback.