The post about a gain, a training plan and a strict diet

My sexy new scale I got from Amazon. It only measures
weight which is what I want. I will be doing bi-weekly weigh-ins.
#weighinWednesday
Link to scale

• Yesterday was my first day of strict eating again. Today was my first home weigh in since last year. I got a much needed rude awakening. I weigh 172 pounds. That's 7 pounds over my "normal" weight, 12 pounds over my training weight and 15 pounds over my lowest weight. I am not buying into the "it's muscle" theory. 
• My running has been pretty much non-existent over the past month due to my injury, but I have been eating fruit, nuts and drinking wine like I'm still running 50K a week. Doesn't compute. So starting Tuesday I began my food journal again and I began my 2-3 month plight of eating only lean protein and veggies grown above ground. No more fruit, nuts, root veggies, and limited higher carb above ground veggies (non-green). I'll only have those (ie: squash, red peppers), once or twice per week. And no more wine. I've also cut my coffee intake by 50% and upped my water intake by 100%. 
• This weekend I begin training for the Boxing Day 10 Miler. Although I was supposed to start yoga on Monday, work kept me from the first class and yesterday's snowstorm kept me from attending the 2nd class. I have penned all the classes till the new year into my agenda now...so I am taking that time for me and scheduling work stuff around the yoga classes. This morning I have physio and will be talking to Graham about private pilates classes. I want to do 2x per week and it can be billed under my unlimited physio benefit through work. So running starts Saturday, yoga Sunday and Pilates next week.

My training schedule for the month of December.
I'm hoping to do Pilates Friday and Saturday mornings

• I am super excited. Next month would have marked my 2 year maintenance anniversary, instead I'm going back into weight loss mode. I want to drop my weight by about 20 pounds. I was my leanest last winter while training for the Around The Bay 30K. And despite my painful foot issues, I ran a good pace (for me) for a 30K. I have big running goals this year. I want to get a PB (Personal Best) on the Chilly Half, Around the Bay, and the Niagara Falls Women's Half. Even an extra 5 pounds for a runner can make a difference with speed. So I am motivated!
• And I'm also pumped about seeing results again. Being the same for almost 2 years has been great, don't get me wrong. But sometimes when you work as hard as you always have and see no change because you're maintaining, it becomes old hat. I know that yoga and Pilates along with the running will change my body and make me a better runner. So this excites me. And having to restrict my eating again? I'm fine with it. It's not forever, just for now. And other than nuts and wine, everything else I eat is just fuel for my body. 
• I will be putting up my food journal daily on my Instagram and Facebook Page. I'll try to do regular updates on the blog, but depending on how hectic life gets, the blog may not be as regular. But it will be a couple times a week (I hope).
• So there you have it. My plan for the next few months. Dropping weight and getting my body fat% down. Would like to get down to the fitness level eventually which is 21-24%. I am super excited, motivated and relieved. I feel like I'm gaining strict control of myself again. And to be 100% honest, that is when I feel most secure with myself.

I don't pen in amounts that I eat because I'm following Dr. Poon's formula for
Phase 1 weight loss. Lean protein and leafy greens till full. All other (above ground)
veggies limited to 4 cups per day. 

The post about getting weighed, food journaling and phase one

Physio this week. I have started doing strengthening exercises and he's
using a suction cup on my foot. Not sure how I feel about that...

• It's that time again. Weekly check in time. Not much has happened this week. I'm still not running. I have 4 races coming up. So that could suck unless things get moving. My first race is the Boxing Day 10 miler here in Hamilton. I need to start training for that soon. My physio guy knows all this. He thinks that I can start running next weekend. I'll have make an adapted training schedule. It'll all be good. If I can't run it, hubby will have to run it in my bib. No big deal. Except that I want to run it...
• I need to be smart about my recovery. Having to give up the Boxing Day race would suck, but I really want to run the Around the Bay again. So I'm keeping that race in my sights more. And my recovery is going well. HUGE difference between last week and this week with the Plantar Fasciitis. Other than when I first wake up, the heel pain almost completely disappears as I move around more. Only first thing in the morning is it really sore. After moving around for about 10 minutes, it feels much better. 
• So I am trying to be very optimistic. And my PT is optimistic. He said I could do short runs this weekend if I really had to, but he want me to rest the full 2 weeks before running. That brings us to next weekend. I can do this. I went 10 weeks without running before and lived to tell. 
• My biggest issue is I'm going stir-crazy. So I am getting the bike out this weekend and going for a long ride up the mountain. I've also penned in Yoga and Pilates classes for the rest of the year. Penned them in ink I did. I have to do them now. My first Yoga class is tomorrow. So back to the gym I go. I need to work on my core and balance for running anyway. So it all works out. It's gonna be a fecken cold ride, but I'll bundle up in layers.
• I am blessed to have unlimited physio benefits through my work place. Real important for a runner. I can take private pilates classes through my PT practice and have it billed as physio. Definitely going to be taking advantage of that. Balance and core is my biggest problem.

Sunroof selfies from this past week. Yes I wore yoga pants for work on Friday. Rebel!

• I haven't weighed myself in ages. I got weighed at the gym in July during my assessment and my weight was in the same range (164 pounds) it always is. It tends to hover anywhere between 160 and 170 depending on how hard I'm training. Before that I didn't weigh myself since fall of 2013 when I broke my ankle. I got my weight down to 156 at that time, but went back up to where I always am once I started running again. I know I gained when I was in Stockholm and London with all the cheese and wine I consumed and all the running I didn't do. My clothes didn't feel right and once I got back and started running again, they fit well again. But I really should be tracking my weight. And I do want to get leaner. So I bought a scale through Amazon. It's arriving on Tuesday. I'm gonna weigh myself, start food journaling again and return to phase 1 of Dr. Poon's diet for a month or so. Which means no more wine, fruit or nuts. Oi! But it's only for a month. I can do that. I didn't have wine, fruit or nuts for over six months when I was in serious weight-loss mode. 
• I also have running goals. Which have to do with getting some PB's (Personal Bests). I want to PB in the Chilly Half as well as the Around the Bay. What will help with my speed is getting leaner. And I always have hip and butt baggage to lose. So I'm going to give it another go. I'm a bit excited to get back into weight-loss mode. Love seeing results. It's what makes weight loss motivational. The results. Maintenance is difficult because you still work hard, but nothing really changes. 
• I leave you with some pics of my food from last week. I ate out four times because work dictated that I had to. That will never change. Unless I change jobs, and that will not be happening anytime soon. So I adapt. And from Tuesday till Christmas I'm going to have to start asking for specialized meals again. No dairy, sauces, dressings. It's all good tho. I'll be enjoying my nuts, fruit and wine soon enough. So today I enjoy my last #winetime till the holidays. Cheers:-)

Food from this past week. Salads, stirfrys, roasts, breakfast for
lunch and clear soup...

The very short post about being grounded and Canadian Running

Lotsa Sunroof Selfies to highlight my frugal fashion. No piece of clothing with
the exception of the leather cost me over $10. I'm a shopping goddess:-)

• It's been an interesting week. Thought I singlehandedly cured my PF earlier in the week by digging out 2 heel corns. It brought me relief for a day, I ran (my best pace in ages), then couldn't walk the next day. I'm a loser. But, I went to physio on Thursday and got taped. Threw around the possibility that I could have a stress fracture. Thankfully I do not have a stress fracture and by Friday after my emergency massage to strip my achilles tendon, I had much better mobility. My foot is taped with super adhesion spray and I go back to physio on Monday. I have been grounded from running for at least 1 week, maybe 2. But I agreed (grudgingly) after losing the bargaining component of the 5 stages of grief Thursday evening with Graham in physio. Rest is really my only option at this point. 
• Something exciting that happened is I got to appear in a running article on the website for the running magazine Canadian Running. You can read the story here. Loved doing this interview because the focus is on running. I've done numerous weight loss interviews which I also enjoy, but besides being a big (weight) loser, I'm also a runner. And I love talking about running. It's part of who I am. 
• My two physio appointments are depicted below. My right foot has plantar fasciitis, my left foot is still swollen and bruised from falling down the stairs on Halloween. Don't know if I mentioned that the reason I fell is because my cat tripped me. She's been trying to kill me since we moved to this house. Not sure why since I'm the only one who feeds her. I think she misses the old neighborhood and is acting out her aggression the only way she knows how...
• Short and sweet as promised. Excited to be making a HUGE 7 lb pork roast today. I'll do a pepper squash, green beans and roasted mushroom side with it. Can't wait. I have homemade applesauce to go with it too. Wishing you all a pleasant week. And don't forget to remember our veterans and soldiers on Tuesday. Lest we forget...

Thursday's physio included manipulation, double icing and a tape job.

Friday's physio was a single icing (after manipulation), getting stoned off of
aerosol fumes and a sexy tape job.