Looking back. And ahead.

A year ago this morning, I wrote:

Will I turn the blog back into a weight-loss effort? Not likely, although I predict a bit more emphasis on food-and-exercise reporting. And when does this NEW WORLD begin? I'm thinking … today.

Well, it looks as though I have turned the blog back into a weight-loss effort after all. I've been committed to (some would say obsessed with) improving my fitness levels and reducing my lardage for a full year now.

I ended up not doing what I said I would do last December 26. I ended up doing something completely out of my comfort zone. It took a couple months of not succeeding with my original plan to take a leap of faith and try this new-to-me thing that has worked so well for so many.

And it's been exactly what I needed.

I said, a year ago, I would be adding strength training and yoga to my daily walk or elliptical session. That didn't happen. I've dabbled in yoga but the scheduled classes don't mesh well with mine. I always feel good when I practice, but apparently the good feeling isn't enough to get me to keep practicing regularly.

I've been doing squats, wall push-ups and a couple of dumbbell moves pretty regularly since late summer. These moves hardly qualify as hardcore strength training, but I've been consistent with them. And consistency counts.

I did manage to take an almost-daily walk, to the tune of nearly 1,300 miles this year. With five days left in 2013, I will certainly surpass that number. Maybe even today! I'm heading out to visit my son and his family, but hope to get a bit of a walk in before I leave.

And, by eliminating legumes, dairy, grains and sugar from my diet, I've lost – as of this morning – 53 pounds. I've gone from a BMI of 36.6 to 26.5 – still overweight, but just 1.5 points away from normal. My lowest weight this year was three pounds lighter than today's number.

Looking ahead, I'd like to lose 12 more pounds, which would get me to a normal BMI and, more than likely, a size 6 or 8. It would get me to a point where I could comfortably swim with my little fish of a granddaughter. I'd feel like I wouldn't be pounding my knees if I took up running again. I've never done a full marathon. Sometimes I still think that's out of my reach.

But sometimes I don't.

Do I want to eat from the list of foods I've given up since April?
Yes, yes I do. But I've indulged a bit this week and honestly don't feel all that much better for it. The taste of those treats was fleeting, but the achy joints and morning stiffness – gone, for the most part, when I eat cleanly – isn't really worth it. I'm well stocked with coconut and almond flour and raw honey, and paleo pumpkin muffins taste just as good and don't take any more work than those made with flour and sugar.

Do I wish I'd started this plan earlier?
Yes, yes I do. But I had to be ready. I had to hit a brick wall. I had to be doing everything "right" and still not succeed in order to do something really, really different and radical (for me) and totally outside my comfort zone. I had to take the huge risk that if this didn't work, well … I'd be lugging 50 extra pounds around until the end of my days.

Because I didn't know what else I could try.

Do I plan to stick with the paleo template?
Yes, yes I do. Perhaps not as strictly as I have. It's not that grains, legumes, dairy or sugar will kill you if you partake of them occasionally. But two things come to mind when I contemplate going back to the Standard American Diet. These two thoughts have worked well for me in Alcoholics Anonymous. No reason to think they won't work for the rest of my daily life.

If you keep on doing what you've always done, 

you'll keep on getting what you've always gotten.

and

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

As always when I travel, I'm not sure how much posting will get done here. Rest assured I will be making reasonably good food choices, I will be walking at least a couple miles each day I'm gone and I will be enjoying my final Christmas celebration of 2013. I hope you had a Merry Christmas. And I hope the rest of this year is peaceful and relaxing and filled with joy.

Running or walking? Paleo or something else? The media weighs in. Heh.

DISCLAIMER: I write FOR ME. I need to remember these articles and the feelings I have about them now. I blog every day anyway, and this is the easiest way for me to record and, later, find these resources and remember how I was feeling at the time. I might, someday, feel discouraged or bored or frustrated. This post might be helpful at that point.

The New York Times blogged in May about recent studies comparing running to walking. If you're trying to pick up the pace, as I am, it might be worth your time to have a look. The gist of it is that running most definitely aids weight loss, something I've wondered about for years.

Popular literature (aka women's mags) encourages walking for weight loss. It seems logical that any effort spent in intentional activity would burn more calories than sitting on the couch reading a women's magazine. Turns out that might not even be true, as one very small study showed.

Read the article. Then go lace up your pink Mizunos.

U.S. News and World Report ranked the paleo diet 28th overall in a recent study of 29 diets (not necessarily weight-loss plans), taking issue with it on every measure.

Hmmm.

The rundown is here. Paleo ranked dead last when compared to other plans that were specifically designed for weight loss.

•••••

So. What does that mean FOR ME?

The NYTimes article supports my decision to start running again, since weight loss most definitely IS my goal. I'm alternating walking and running intervals, which is the only way I can manage my hilly road at this point. When I moved here 16 years ago I could run for six miles, down and up the hills. Now? Not so much. But I was able to run up a couple little ones yesterday, and a third of the way up a fairly long stretch.

I threw a C25K session in the middle of yesterday's and Sunday's runs, which breaks up the monotony of six long miles. I hope the discipline of the training program will actually get me to the point where I can continuously run a 5K, without taking a walking break.

With regard to USNWP's paleo rankings, I kind of feel like I'm in that Seinfeld episode where George does everything the opposite.

The magazine ranked Weight Watchers #1, a program with which I'm very familiar, having achieved Lifetime Member status and then working for them, back in the mid '70s. Like so many WW veterans, I gained my weight back (and more!), rejoined several times but never made it back to my goal weight.

Is that the fault of the program? Not at all. I think WW continues to tweak its plan to encourage healthy food choices that fit with the U.S. Dietary Guidelines (fruit, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy). Whether you count Points or calories, you can eat from all the suggested food groups AND you can throw in a frozen treat or packaged cookie if you want to.

The difference between the government's suggested plate and a paleo plate is illustrated below:

My paleo plate doesn't have nearly as many vegetables on it. Vegetables are difficult for me to eat. It's not that I don't like them, I do. Wearing dentures, however, limits my food choices in many ways. Food doesn't taste as good and a slimy texture (cooked greens, for instance) is gag-inducing. FOR ME.

But I'm working on it. And I'm losing weight, which is something I didn't do counting Points OR calories. I'm guilty of contempt prior to investigation. I saw people making progress with a paleo plan, but thought:

How can I live without pasta?
What?!?!? No cheese?
Too expensive, too restrictive, and what about fill-in-the-I-can't-do-it-blank?

I was most concerned with how I was going to feed my husband without cooking two different meals. He didn't ask me to. He jumped right on board, adding yogurt to his diet because he really likes it and eating an occasional hamburger bun. He orders whatever he wants when we eat at a restaurant. His enthusiasm and cooperation have made a huge difference.

•••••

So after reading these articles, I've concluded that I'm on the track that works FOR ME. I suspected that certain foods were inhibiting weight loss or triggering food cravings. My little science experiment has proven my theory.

It's also eliminated some serious hip pain and my recent physical was stellar.

Whether running results in greater weight loss or not, I LOVE to run, but couldn't manage it with 35 additional pounds. Now that those are gone, and more will be, I have a greater incentive to stick with what works FOR ME.