Day 19

Sunday Rundown:

Weight: 219 lbs
Weight lost this week: 0 lbs
Total weight lost: 18 lbs

Bust: 44" (7/8 lost since last week, 2.875" lost total)
Waist: 38" (0" lost since last week, 2 1/2" lost total)
Hips: 51 3/8" (1/2" lost since last week, 1 1/2" lost total)



Sigh, I've hit my first plateau, apparently. It's not too big of a shocker, really - I could kinda feel it. I didn't wake up and look in the mirror and have any of those "ah-ha!" moments where I noticed a new plane, or angle, or firmness. It's frustrating, to work my ass off all week and go nowhere. I mean, the little losses in my bust and hips are reassuring, but still ... not even a pound off? Really?

I did some research online, and a lot of the things recommended to break a weight-loss plateau are things I'm already doing - workout variety, watching calories, etc. The only thing I'm not doing? Getting my calorie count up. I did the math - based on my weight in kilograms x 23, my daily caloric intake should be around 2,200 calories. Most days, I'm barely topping 1,000. You know what the websites recommend? Let myself cheat a little. Indulge, but not overindulge, to get my body the calories it needs to burn and process fat. I thought my one free meal a week might do that, but clearly I'm still stuck ... we are going to put in a call to the nutritionist and get her opinion. I mean, we spend so much time fighting blood sugar like I'm diabetic, but I'm not - I'm pre-diabetic, and backing down from it fast. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to let me enjoy a few more carb-ish options to get my body out of famine mode.

(Also, in my research, I discovered a new word. Homeostasis: the human body's desire for equilibrium. That's where mine is now, and that's what I need to break out of!)

In any event, today was a pretty fun Father's day. We got up at the absolute crack of dawn to get down to the Arkansas River and walk the Big Dam Bridge, which is the longest pedestrian/biker bridge in the country (1 mile one way, 2 miles round trip). It's built right onto the foundation of the Murray Lock and Dam below, and offers a gorgeous view of the highway bridge and Pinnacle's mountain chain beyond that.


Yeah don't look too hard at that pic, I shut my eyes. It's damn bright without the visor on, but I look goofy in the visor. Compromises, compromises. Anyway, that's me on the NLR side (after one trip across the bridge), and that's the dam and the Big Dam Bridge in the background.

But here's where it gets tricky: Mom and I waited to do the bridge with Dad, since he knew how to get to it and where to park. Instead of driving all the way downtown or across the river to the parking areas right at the bridge's base, we parked along the LR side just past the highway bridge and walked in. Dad assured us it would be a four-mile round trip: one to the bridge, one across the bridge, one back across, and one back down the road.

Now seeing as this is the man who taught me to ski by exaggerating the ease of the slopes ("This is a cruiser blue, I swear," he says as we stare down into a natural double-black bowl at the mountain's peak,) I should've suspected his mile count was a bit, ah, "overly optimistic." But I did the walk in my own time, usually falling back a few yards at a time but keeping a steady pace, and finished pretty comfortably. We get back to where the car is parked and Dad asks me what I thought of the walk. My response? "Bullshit that was just four miles!" He starts laughing, and confesses the road to the bridge is more like two miles one-way rather than two miles round-trip. I knew it - when we stopped to break on the NLR side and I started looking at the trail map, I realized that things didn't add up.


That's our route-map, and after having popped up Microsoft Paint and outlined the official route, I begin to suspect even six miles is a generous estimation. Regardless, I managed it without too much discomfort and kept smiling brightly when Mom and Dad would look back from a few dozen feet ahead. It's good to know I can do six miles without wrecking myself; summer before freshman year, when I was training for the backpacking trip, I was walking a six-mile circuit almost daily. So, woo! My body's waking up a bit!

After that, I went back to bed for a little bit, then hit the LRAC for a cardio and yoga stretch. I noticed I had a far easier time with triangle pose today, which was nice - the other yoga teacher is all about that position lately, and I couldn't quite keep my feet. Today? Barely a wobble. So even if I'm not making progress in poundage, I'm at least getting stronger and more flexible.

My food situation is still a bit weird, as my appetite's still a bit off and I'm flagging on my calorie count. I think one of my meds is to blame - Glucophage. It really screws up your system when you first get on it, and my prescription was out for long enough that my body forgot it; thus the messed-up appetite since Friday, the day after I resumed taking it. Coincidence? I think not. And when it comes down to it, I almost feel like I was doing better before I reinstated the Glucophage. Wonder if I dare back off my meds for a week and see if my body wakes up and drops some more weight ...

Anyway, it's the end of an excruciatingly long and disappointing day; I'm going to bed, and hoping everything looks better in the morning. Goodnight, my blog-ees.