[salish]

Dang, Karen, you are inspiring me to get off my fat butt and jog, but I'm worried about an old knee problem. I like the losing weight thing. How much have you modified your diet? I bike to work (10mi RT) but it's really not enough cardio to get an endurance thing going, nor burn enough calories. Cliff

[Karen]

Hi Cliff, I'm eating about 1,500 calories a day and averaging about 33 fat grams a day, sometimes a little less. On a hard hiking day I don't keep track of the calories and fat grams but try to avoid fatty, greasy food (or too much sugar). Like this last weekend, I did two hikes back to back -- one of them was 10 miles, 2,100 feet gain and the other one was shorter and steeper, 4 miles round-trip, 1800 feet gain. I ate lightly on Saturday (the first hike) but chowed down at the Cottage Cafe in Cle Elum after Sunday's hike. Chowing down, for me, means splitting an omelet with someone else, just eating "half rations" of something like a breakfast or a hamburger (no fries). And I find that as I eat less my appetite decreases too. Half of an omelet felt like a banquet, no kidding. I weigh myself about 5 days a week. And again, I'm not a fast runner. I'm a "slow burner". Karen

[Karen]

A minor setback ..... gained back a pound despite dieting, running and hiking. No big deal -- just means I have to keep it up and not despair. Today I mixed in some ups and downs with the run. A nice one for that is Jack Block park in West Seattle. Jack Block Park is a small park managed by the Port of Seattle with good views of Seattle, a choice of a wheelchair accessible ramp or stairs (for the ups). I don't how far I ran today but I ran for about a half hour (including Jack Block park) and a stretch along Alki. It felt good to run today. I'm thinking now I might set an intermediate goal of running up California Ave from Alki (Harbor Ave) but stopping when my body tells me it's time to stop running and walk instead. The other thing I'm adding is a fartlek at the end of the run (isn't that a hilarious word?). It means a burst of speed. Karen

[Karen]

I'm giving myself a pat on the back for having now lost 16 pounds. Running is still going well -- ran 4.6 miles today and getting in a couple hikes a week too. Most importantly, though, I am still watching my calorie intake. Karen For those of you who have pm'd me, don't give up!! It does work!!

[JimK]

What??? No fad diet??? Lose weight through eating less calories and exercising more??? What is this world coming to... Good going Karen!

[greg]

Karen, you better use a plug on the shower drain, you're going to wash down the pipe you're getting so skinny and thin. Can't believe you had 16 pounds to lose.

[Karen]

I like being thin! Karen

[l]

Amazing how a little shift in routine can change the whole complexion of one's state of mind .

[TokyoTessie]

Good job, Karen! When your weight loss starts plateauing, try weight training your upper body, especially the larger muscles like back, pecs, and abs. That will keep the burn going all day to use more calories even when you are sleeping. It really helps melt off the excess fat. Plus if you are a cold sleeper, you will stay a lot warmer because they really put out some therms.