I’ve always thought this little guy was kinda cute:
For those of you who haven’t seen this adorably annoying little guy before, he’s the latest weight watchers (anti?) mascot. This is the little guy that follows you around, terrorizing you at every corner. Apparently, WW is supposed to help you avoid the hungries, which I cannot attest to, as I never have followed the plan, but maybe I should start.
Holy fuck, I am a human garbage disposal lately. The first month of half marathon training, I didn’t notice much of a difference. It’s not like I was training all that much harder than normal. Two short fast runs, and the difference was one longer run – but really? No biggie. The second month, I was a little hungrier, but mostly I just craved PROTEIN. In my belly. Now now now. I would actually snub my nose at carbs for more protein and fats. This is NOT NORMAL for me – I like my meat as a condiment. I was starting my day with a 30g protein bar, having a sandwich with 1/4 lb of meat on it, a handful of pistachios for a snack, and then having at least another 1/4 to 1/2 lb of meat with dinner. I also developed the habit of sitting at my desk and mowing down veggies with reckless abandon.
This last month it has been out of control. I am easily outeating Zliten most meals lately and getting to rival our friend P. The one who we use his name as a verb meaning to assault the refrigerator. I have to be extremely careful to keep myself on almost exclusively healthy food. Month two, it was what I was craving. It was the holidays so I had some, sure, but I wasn’t standing in front of the fridge shoveling shit into my mouth. Now, if you put something in front of my face, chances are I will a) be hungry and b) eat it. This has been dangerous – as we have houseguests/temp roomates who don’t cook quite as healthy as I do (which is fine, as 99.9% of the world doesn’t either) and have danger danger foods around like cupcakes and cinnamon toast crunch and potato chips.
That being said, I haven’t been under my “oh shit” weight of 155 for at least 2 months. I’m closer to 156-158. Or maybe worse. I’m actually a little afraid to get on the scale this week. I have lumps and bumps in places I probably shouldn’t. But you know what? I’m feeling strong when I run. I don’t need to inhale sugar twice during a 12 mile run to make it. I recover a lot quicker after longer, faster mileage. My body doesn’t feel like it’s falling apart this week like I did last time – I feel strong. I’m sure I can attribute some of this to the different training, but I am pretty sure it’s also the way I’ve been eating. I kinda don’t want to get on the scale right now not just because I want to be in denial (ok, maybe just a little), but because I don’t want to be compelled to restrict calories.
For example – today’s eats.
Breakfast – 270 calorie protein bar
Lunch – 1.5 cups of leftover homemade chili, a gigantic salad with full fat jalapeno ranch dressing
Snacks – handful of pistachios, about 2 cups of raw veggies, a peach
Workout
More snacks – pretzels, melba toast and spreadable cheese, more veggies, rice cake (go to cupboard, shove food in face)
Dinner – 1/3 lb of pork roast, 1.5 cup of cauli-taters (half cauliflower, half mashed potatoes), 2 cups of asparagus, and 1 cup of broccoli
Dessert – 3 hershey kisses
It’s kind of disgusting. I’m actually trying to be good or I’d continue to eat because I am not very full. But I know I have a nice big amount of food for tomorrow at work (protien bar, greek yogurt, blackberries, a plum, a gigantic turkey sandwich on sprouted grain bread, more veggies, and a backup soup in case I chew through all that and want more). I’m sure my boss who I share my office with thinks I am a) a rabbit b) a piggie c) slightly insane, but whatevs.
So, for now, I’ll continue to consume 2 lb bags of baby carrots at my desk in 3 servings, outeating all the boys, and running strong. I’ll give myself this week, and next week for recovery. Then, it’s on like donkey kong to try to get down to my maintenance weight. But no hurry, I have the rest of my life, right?