Random Ramblings #2

Salt is not my friend.

I always knew that salt made you hold water. But I was used to it, so it was no big deal to me. It was normal. And I'm pretty sure that the first few pounds that I dropped weren't so much real weight as they were water weight, just from eating better.

But through poor planning, a crazy schedule, and a sense of "I can handle it," I ended up reverting to sweet potato waffle fries Monday and small orders of french fries Tuesday and Wednesday. Mind you, they were YUMMY! But part of that yumminess was because they were salty. Along with the fries, I'd been hitting the Diet Cokes pretty regularly - zero calories, but high in sodium.

And by this morning, my feet were swollen, my knees were swollen (in spite of putting ice packs on them to recover from the running I was doing last week), my hands were swelling easily...I even had cankles!  :faint:

Thankfully, it has just taken one day of getting back to the program and I'm feeling quite a bit better - and less poofy. Fruit for breakfast...salad with chicken and fruit and nuts for lunch...fish and veggies for supper. No Diet Coke. Lots of water.

My feet aren't as swollen. My knees aren't as tight. I just feel better.

Lesson learned.

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You know it's working when......

...you walk out of your house and walk across the street to the yard of the neighbor who has lived across from you for 9 years...and even after SEEING you walk out of your house and across the street, she STILL didn't recognize you right away.

....more and more snug shirts are starting to be loose.

...pretty much every pair of jeans needs to be worn with a belt.

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As I wrote on Monday, I've backed off a bit this week and I'm not running...just walking. And it's frustrating. With the running, I had gotten to where I could do my four miles in a wee bit less than an hour occasionally. I haven't done that even once this week. Not only that, but my walking times aren't as fast as they had been. I'm averaging 16:00 per mile, and I had been down to 15:30 with an occasional walking mile under 15:00. It's like I'm going backward instead of forward. My main consolation is that it's not really about the time, it's about the exercise and burning the calories. 

But durnit, that hour mark taunts me every day.

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My walking partner Sandi had an appointment with her oncologist yesterday. The good doctor is very happy with the fact that Sandi's getting out and walking with me so much. Granted, I think it's often Sandi who is dragging me - she still could kick my butt out there - but making the doctor happy is just another wave in the ripple effect this journey is having.