Losing Weight...boo!

Let me start off with a major 2 thumbs DOWN for even having to write this post.

I am not big on "weight," or the scale. I like to pay attention to my overall health, how I feel, and how my clothes fit.  I truly believe it's about how healthy you are as opposed to how you look or even how much you weigh! (Yes, you can be a skinny fat girl....and according to Tosca Reno's book, muscle weighs more yet takes up less volume than fat, which is why a 145 lb lady with muscle might look better than a 120 lb lady without much muscle...)  But even with that in mind, I do have a "number" in head that I don't want to go over (unless I'm preggo, which I'm not...).

I am on week 10 or 11 of my marathon training-I can't remember which. Last week I ran 30 miles and I will have ran 37 miles at the end of this week. No doubt running makes you hungrier than normal...(I burned 411 calories during my 38 min run yesterday and 638 during my 6 miler this morning)...but somehow I have managed to put on a few pounds.  ???? I know, it's a mystery to me too.

{And here we go, I am going to post my weight on the Internet for the whole world to see!}

I typically weigh about 140 lbs. (I have a lot of muscle!! At least that's what I keep telling myself...) I have recently been coming in around 144, which I am okay with because I know I'm working out and running a LOT, which requires lots of fuel and carb loading for longer runs.  However, I stepped on the scale at the gym one day last week and almost passed out when I saw 147.2! Now I'm not saying that is a lot by any means, but it is much higher than I should weigh for my height and activity level.  Up until two or three weeks ago I weighed the exact same weight (down to the ounce!) every morning- even on different scales!!!!!!  By the way, I am back down from the 147 to the 144 I've been recently (must have been some major water weight!), but still need to shed a few of those extra pounds to be comfortable.  And obviously if someone asked me if I was expecting (once again let me clarify- I am NOT!), then I have an issue. My stomach is usually flat and one of my better physical features in my opinion....

Here's the deal. My weight is normally very consistent, and I am typically happy with it. I like being able to eat a normal, balanced, healthy diet, and splurge when I want, work out hard, and feel good knowing that my weight will stay the same.  I HATE keeping a food journal (even though I totally recommend it to people trying to lose weight) and loathe the thought of counting calories.  But I am left with no other choice. Wahhh!!!  {I'm sorry, I just want to whine about it!} It is NOT easy for me to lose weight. I know it's not easy for anyone, but I am already extremely active, eat very healthy, don't drink anything other than water and hot green tea. Basically, in order to lose weight I'm going to have to eat less, and that is NOT EASY when you're in the middle of training for a marathon.  I'm sure if I was sedentary, then eating fewer calories wouldn't seem so tough.

So....enough of my whining....here is what I'm going to do about it.  I started using My Fitness Pal this week, which is a FREE, user friendly online calorie counter. It keeps track of all your daily totals and measures them against the recommended daily totals for what you're trying to achieve. You enter your height, weight, and activity level, along with how much you want to lose (I put 1-2 lbs per week). It also allows you to track your exercise, and obviously burning calories allows you to consume more throughout the day.  I also am showing my log to one of my friends at work who knows a lot about nutrition....because even though I am pretty knowledgable, sometimes it helps for someone else to look at it.

According to the site, I should be eating somewhere around 1600 calories a day. I consumed around 1900 yesterday (and felt super hungry all day!), but I burned at LEAST 411 (from running) and probably more at pitching lessons after school.  P.S. All 1900 calories were from highly nutritious foods, such as egg whites, almonds, spinach, oatmeal, an orange, grilled chicken, etc.

There you go....puttin' all my biz out there! It's cool, maybe it'll hold me accountable to getting off those 4 lbs that snuck up on me like a ninja in the night. (Seriously, I don't know where the heck they came from....unless it was my daily fro yo nightcap? Thank goodness we ran out- and NO, hubby, I'm not buying any more!) 

I want to look like I did on my honeymoon. Is that too much to ask??

(137 lbs)

ANYWAY, thanks for letting me vent. And for your support. :)

As much as I'm dreading the whole weight loss process, I'll keep ya posted on my progress!!