Should I Eat Activity Points? Weekly Points? And Other Weight Watcher Questions...

[PSA: "like" my blog's Facebook page to get tips and updates on my blog posts in your news feed. I'm on Instagram and Twitter too!]

Some of my most popular blog posts of all time are the ones in which I answer these basic questions about Weight Watchers. Of course the answers are nothing more than my opinion but I had a lot of success on WW so it makes sense people would want to know my thoughts on things. Rather than put all this in a comment I'm answering here for a potentially wider audience that might be interested.

To that end, I'm sharing WW related questions posted in a comment from MtngirlinCali.

what's your official take on eating activity points? And if you are wearing a heart rate monitor that is calculating calories during your training, do you just do a conversion to get to activity points? I'm doing Orange Theory Fitness 3 times a week right now -- have lost 20 lbs over the past year and gained some great muscle definition, but after my first few weeks back on WW, I have stalled out. I was maybe eating 2-3 of the activity points I earned. (And I earn 12 for an hour session) I never touch my flex points. Wondering if maybe I need to eat a little bit more (maybe take a protein shake after my workout) and see how that works? But would love to know how you've cracked the code.....

Ok, I'll break these down into numbered questions...

1. What's your official take on eating activity points?
   Eat them. I used to eat almost all of my APs. Of course, if you're not hungry and don't feel like eating them, don't force yourself, but I never really had that issue. You might know that I'm currently counting calories (as a temporary support to myself, not as a lifelong maintenance plan). I add in my exercise calories and eat those on the days I exercise.
   
2. And if you are wearing a heart rate monitor that is calculating calories during your training, do you just do a conversion to get to activity points?
   The way I handled this was unofficial (of course I'm no WW spokesperson so this is all unofficial) but here's how I figured it. I took the calories my Polar heart rate monitor told me I'd burned (NOT the machine or my Garmin, I only felt my Polar was reliable enough to count on those numbers) and for every 100 calories I gave myself 1 activity points. Why? I can't exactly recall but I think I read somewhere that this was roughly how WW calculates APs. Don't quote me on that.
   
   
3. I never touch my flex points
   This isn't a question but I can't help but comment on it anyway. Why not eat them? Have you tried eating them and not lost weight? You mentioned you've stalled, not sure what you mean by that but if you mean you're losing motivation and going off track, maybe giving yourself more wiggle room by eating your weeklies would be something to try? If you can maintain not eating those extras for the rest of your life I say ok, but if you're doing this only to lose weight but plan on eating a bit more during maintenance, reconsider. Maintenance is hard so it's good to get used to eating the way you plan to eat for the rest of your life starting now.
   
   
4. Wondering if maybe I need to eat a little bit more (maybe take a protein shake after my workout) and see how that works?
   Maybe. How do you feel? How's your energy level? Are you satisfied with the way you're eating? I think the greatest thing to do in these cases is to experiment. But one week is not enough, you have to give it around a month. Start adding in that protein shake after the workout and see what happens over your next four weigh-ins. And incorporate how you're feeling in terms of hunger and satisfaction, those are important for maintenance. Hunger is tricky because in the beginning you have to tolerate it while your appetite goes down. But after a couple months I only expect to be feeling hunger in the hour or so before my next planned meal/snack. I'm not happy being hungry all the time and don't know many people that are.

Ok, that's it from me. I'll post my workout/eating/weight update in my next post. Happy day all!

When Your Legs Give Out, Run with Your Glutes

[PSA: "like" my blog's Facebook page to get tips and updates on my blog posts in your news feed. I'm on Instagram and Twitter too!]

Yep, I said it. It's one of the crazy thoughts I had during my run today. But before I get to that, since it's now Sunday and I haven't blogged since Tuesday, maybe a small update is in order.

You might recall that this past week was a "recovery" week, in which I toned everything down. Mostly. Wednesday was a planned day off from the gym. Thursday I had just an awful day at work. A lot of stress. I did not want to go to the gym after. What I wanted to do was go to the store, buy a quart of ice cream, and sit my ass on the couch until it was time to pick the kids up from pre-school. But no, I knew that would turn one problem into two.

So I did what I do and went to the gym. But I took it way easy, 15 minutes on the upright bike, level 5 and then chest/triceps/core. I really scaled things back, doing light weights and only one or two sets of everything. It wasn't one of those days where the exercise cured all that ailed me but I know I felt better than I would have after a quart of ice cream.

Yummy!

I had the "what's for dinner" thing to do deal with too. And I decided that making a fun dinner with the kids might help my mood. So I stopped at the store and picked up all the ingredients for personal pizzas to make with the younglings.

Once at home I focused on them and making the pizza and just tried to put the workday behind me. For myself I did a chicken breast on the Foreman grill and had that with some marinara sauce on it (sort of made me feel like I was having pizza too). I ate the chicken with a half-of avocado. And a slice of the kids' pizza, and all of the crusts they rejected. BTW, the topping on their pizzas is cut up canadian bacon. A healthier option than pepperoni.

Friday came and I could have, if I really wanted to force it, made it to the gym. But I reasoned that since it was a recovery week, it's ok if I do one less day than normal. Plus I was ready to get the hell out of dodge and the gym would only have slowed my roll. So I had a lovely weekend, complete with a dinner out on Friday night (during which I had two cocktails but skipped dessert) and sleeping in on Saturday morning.

I lounged all day on Saturday, barely doing more than moving myself from one cozy spot to another. And I had a couple beers even. It was just what the doctor ordered. And I took a break from counting my calories. I needed a mental break from all things taxing so I took it. Today, Sunday, was a bit more normal in that I went for a run. But before that I met a couple of dear friends for brunch (which we ate at lunchtime). I had a sausage and mushroom omelet, with country potatoes and a small salad. And two pieces of bread. With butter on them. It was good but I could have eaten a bit more mindfully. I was so busy catching up with my friends I didn't notice my meal as much as I would have liked. And darnit, I forgot to take a picture of it.

A few hours after lunch I went out for a run. And dear me, was it hot out there! I convinced myself to go on said run with my old, "just run easy" line. But this time I did. I started out slow and got slower (by my baseline, of course). Check out these splits.

And notice the 90 degrees. It felt like everything conspired to make a "hard" run - the alcohol and probable dehydration, the heat, not having water with me (don't usually think I'll need it for a 6 miler but in 90 degree heat, yes, I needed it). So that last mile was touch-and-go. And my legs felt like they were done so I decided to mentally engage my glutes a bit more to help out. And that's when I had the brilliant thought, "my legs are giving out, I'll run with my ass."

I dragged myself to the 6-mile mark and then stopped. I was so shaky, hot and just all around done that it took a few moments of rest in the shade before I could muster the energy to open my car to look for water. Thank God I had some or I might have fainted outright. A nice guy was out walking and he happened by on the way to his car. He said he could tell I was dragging and wanted to make sure I had water. We chatted for a bit and I heard about his annual birthday run, which is now a run/walk given that he's getting up there in age, "beats the alternative". Yep, I'm grateful I can run, even on days like this.

For comparison, check out when I did this same run last week. In the morning when it was NOT 90 degrees.

The other lesson is I started out slower last week, running the first mile in 11:40. Even though I felt like I was running "easy" today, given the temp and my condition, I obviously should have started out slower. It feels so much better to pick up the pace as the run moves along. Anyway, the point is, I did it. I pulled out my, "when I can't run anymore, I'll stop, but that moment is not now" mantra and it really helped me close out the mileage. Another reminder...I'm not ready for that half-marathon I signed up for. Gotta think about when I'll start training.

Last thing, I didn't count calories all weekend. I'll start again tomorrow. It's been really helpful and I'm not ready to give it up. I'm super curious to see my weight tomorrow. It's been unreliable given I've been on my period but I think that's pretty much gone now so we'll see.

Ok, it's late, night all!

Recovery Week Revisited

[PSA: "like" my blog's Facebook page to get tips and updates on my blog posts in your news feed. I'm on Instagram and Twitter too!]

Ok, what day is it? Yeah, I'm that tired. I've been staying up way too late these past few nights. So tonight, 11pm curfew. It's 10:40 now. Yikes!

Quick workout rundown... I recently looked at My Current Workout page and noticed I said I do a recovery week every four weeks. Uhh...right. I haven't done one of those in quite a while. No time like the present! So starting yesterday I did less cardio and fewer reps/less weight for strength training. Yesterday was the bike, I did 15 minutes on level 5. Easy stuff, though I did break a sweat. Then I did legs/shoulders/core, recovery style. I was in a cranky, cranky mood (which I now know was due, in part, to TTOTM starting up) so doing less was good.

My mood was better by today's gym visit. At least I wasn't hostile about being there. Today I ran outside, had a plan to run 15 minutes but once I got going, this loop around my gym seemed like a good idea. Except it was 80+ degrees out and the loop includes a giant (but short) hill. So to make the run easier I walked the steepest portion of the hill. I was out there for about 25 minutes, 10:30-something pace. After the run I did back/biceps/core, light.

One of the "big" weight lifter guys was there so I asked him about this recovery week concept. We chatted for a bit and in the end he recommended I take a week off, no weight lifting at all for 7 days, every six weeks. Whoa. That's deep. I don't know about that, "read up on it," he tells me. Ok, I will. He acknowledged he's sore when he comes back after the week off, "but it's the good kind of sore." Hmm, we'll see. The good thing is, you can up your cardio during that week if you need the buzz of a good workout, though he said really you should take it easy, give your body a break.

Random pre-workout picture from yesterday. Note the cranky smile.

Ok, exercise is going well. On to food. I'd give myself a solid B+ if I had to grade myself. It was be an A if not for last night. I blame my menstrual cycle. I started snacking - first I polished off the chips, then a protein bar, a string cheese...maybe more that I can't remember. I was hungry when I started eating the chips but not after that. I intervened on myself, sort of, but not really.

Even with that, I still get a high B because #1, I'm still tracking. That is a victory in-and-of-itself. Tracking can be a pain in the ass. And #2, it's the first time since I started that I totally blew away my calorie goal (4th of July doesn't count because it was intentional). Oh, and the biggest thing, #3, I'm feeling better about everything. The scale hasn't changed but I my clothes are a tad more comfortable and I feel better just knowing I'm taking back a little of the control that I'd lost, or given up really.

Uh oh, it's 11:01pm. Signing off...

I Can't Stop Eating These Chips

[PSA: "like" my blog's Facebook page to get tips and updates on my blog posts in your news feed. I'm on Instagram and Twitter too!]

My last post was so chock full of weekend goodness that I forgot to tell you about the yummy lentils I made for dinner last night. I modified a recipe, Simples of Simple Yellow Lentils in The Indian Slow Cooker by Anupy Singla.

1 lb lentils (I didn't get yellow ones)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
3 small vine red tomatoes
1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and diced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1/2 green chile, seeded and diced
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons turmeric powder
dash of cayenne pepper
8 cups water

I put the water and lentils on to boil. Once they were boiling I dropped in the tomatoes for easy peeling. Meanwhile I diced up the onions, garlic, ginger, chile, and sauteed them for a few minutes in a little olive oil. Once they were fragrant and a bit soft I added them to the lentils. I removed the tomatoes, peeled them, diced and added them back in. I dry toasted the cumin seeds for a few minutes (don't ask me why, just seemed like a good idea) and then added that along with the rest of the spices. Let the whole thing cook for 20-30 minutes in total (from when the lentils started boiling).

Served myself 1 cup of lentils over a 1/2 cup of white rice. Oh my yumminess. So good. Ok, that's my recipe share for the year, on to other things.

I went for a run this morning, as planned. I met up with Amber and Anne, a couple Marin Tri Club ladies. We ran along a levee that has some beautiful scenery. We were all together at the start and then I drifted off on my own, made a wrong turn and ended up having to backtrack. I had my Garmin but didn't look at it much. At around mile three I glanced and saw my overall time was close to 33 minutes, averaging around 11 minute miles. Oh come on, I can do better than that. So I picked up the pace.

And I kept picking up the pace. Mile five came in at 9:27 even! Fortunately the path is almost completely flat, running along the water and all. I was so happy with my final time, 1:02:09 for an average pace of 10:21 per mile. I'm inching my way back.

post-run smile

Speaking of inching my way back...I registered for a half-marathon, the US Half Marathon San Francisco in November. Finally got something on the books. While this will be my first time running this particular half-marathon, I've run in this area many times now, both in races and for fun.

It's hard to go wrong with a route that includes running over the bridge. So I have plenty of time to train, November 2nd is still 17 weeks away. But I'm also thinking about doing the Santa Cruz Triathlon again. Such a great race. That's in September. We'll see.

Back to the present. After the run I came home and we packed up the kids to take them to breakfast with my mom.

I'd already had my morning cereal before the run so this was pretty much my second breakfast, being it was still too early for lunch. I had a 2-egg scramble with onions and mushrooms, a slice of dry sourdough with jam and a bowl of fruit.

After breakfast #2 we took them to the pool. It's been a pretty warm weekend and they're starting swim lessons tomorrow so I thought it would be good to get them in the water in preparation for the lessons. We all had a great time, me especially because during one of the adult swim sessions I swam laps for 15 minutes., probably my first time swimming since Santa Cruz. My arms were aching at first but they settled into a rhythm before too long. I really do love swimming, so relaxing, especially the way I do it, like a casual Sunday stroll, but in the pool.

After the pool both the kids and I were sort of burnt out. We really packed a lot into this weekend. We basically vegged out for the rest of the day. I did household stuff, laundry and whatnot, while the kids fried brain cells watching cartoons between short bursts of outdoor activity. It was a cranky evening for all of us but we survived.

The tracking continues to go well. The biggest thing is that I'm still doing it. Tonight was a little touch-and-go for a moment when I was on the couch with a bag of potato chips (leftover for our 4th party). I had some, put the clip back on, took it off, had some more - you know the routine. And then I had the thought, "I can't stop eating these." I recognized this as a sabotaging thought that basically gives me permission to keep eating them. So I responded with, "Hey, maybe put them back in the cupboard, that would probably help you to stop eating them." So I did, and then I made myself a cup of tea. So far, so good. I logged the chips and that put me 16 calories over for the day. I'll take it.

Ok, so I stayed up ridiculously late last night, don't want to repeat that, gotta go to bed. Thanks for reading.

Four on the 4th + Tons of Fun!

[PSA: "like" my blog's Facebook page to get tips and updates on my blog posts in your news feed. I'm on Instagram and Twitter too!]

Oh wow, what a weekend so far. I think I packed more into yesterday than in the rest of the week combined. The day started with my talking myself out of bed to do the annual 4th of July Firecracker Run. I've done this run the past few years so for me it's become something a 4th of July tradition I guess.

I told myself I could run easy and that I'd feel better about all the holiday eating if I started the day with this run. I met up with a few fellow runners from Marin Tri Club and my friend Jackie (who's guest blogged here before). Here we are, pre-race. That's a pretty weird face I'm making.

Vince, me, Jennifer, Nancy and Jackie

For some reason they didn't have us sing the national anthem like they usually do. So the race got underway with a little less fanfair than usual but the point is, we got our butts moving. The route starts out following where the town parade will start in a couple hours so there's people out and we get a few cheers here and there, which are nice.

I didn't have my Garmin on, only my heart rate monitor, so I couldn't give a quick glance to check my pace. Jackie and I ran together for a little while, which was nice. But the hills, ugh. I still don't understand why they route a holiday fun run up all those damn hills. At mile one I checked my time, 9:08, or somewhere around there. Holy crap, I'm running fast! I decided not to check my watch at future mile markers, it would just mess with my head.

If I were still running fast, I'd use that as a warning sign for being too tired and slow down. If I were running slow, I'd figure I might as well take it easy and run even slower. Either way, I guessed it would slow me down to look. And since this race was so short I didn't really need to worry about bonking. I remember in past years really working hard during that last 1/2 mile and this was no different.

I ran toward the finish line (which they moved and I swear the course must have been a bit over 4 miles because they moved it like a half block away) and saw the time, 39-something. Yes! Under 10-minute miles!! I was happy. My watch said 39:22, my official time was 39:26.5 for a 9:52 pace. Awe-some. I was 14/23 in my age group and 82/130 overall. Not in the top 50% in either category. Damn these local runners are fast!

Got my finisher's cup!

After the race I hustled home to get the kids ready for the parade. Our other annual tradition is walking in the parade with my local mother's club. I've been doing it since Marek was just 4 months old. I think I might have missed one year.

We're ready for the parade!

This year Marek really got into it, he was handing out candy like he was the mayor! And what's with that pose? Isn't he a little young to be "cool"??

Marek (and a buddy in the wagon), Me, my buddy Michelle (waving) and Ms Myra

After the parade we had to hustle home because we were hosting a little 4th of July shindig. Nothing fancy, just a few friends over for a little bbq and kiddie pool action. Oh my goodness, I had the most wonderful day. The kids are at an age where they played all afternoon with their buddies. A hot dog, a few chips, an assist with the swim clothes and my job was done.

I spent almost the entire remainder of the day sitting on my rumpus drinking and eating and catching up with friends. Perfection. Oh, and I wore a bikini (top anyway, I wore shorts on the bottom). I felt naked for a little while, I mean, it's not like I was at a beach. But it was hot and we had the kiddie pool out so, why not, right?

That night after the kids were in bed I started thinking about snacking. I had the old, "Well, you've already eaten a ton of calories, might as well do what you want" f-ed up line of thinking. But did I fall for that? No. "Go to bed, it's true you indulged a lot today, which is fine, it's a holiday, and if you go to bed, you'll feel fine about how much and what you ate. But if you sit up eating a bunch of crap right now, when you're not the slightest bit hungry, that you will not feel good about. And you want to wake up feeling good, because you had a great day." It worked. I went to bed.

And I was right, I woke up feeling fine about my choices. The bbq chicken, the chips, the cookies, the wine, the sugary vodka drinks, all of it. But had I sat up eating goldfish crackers or kid granola bars or whatever other crap I would've eaten, no, not good. And this morning, I got up, started my day, and posted this to my FB page.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Wait, I did say it. Ha!

So today we hung around the house, enjoying absolutely no plans. I organized toys, went through the massive pile of mail, and I logged another great day. And when Myra came up and asked me to dance, I danced. I almost went to the gym this afternoon but I decided my body probably needed rest. So I'm all ready to go on a run in the morning. Oh crap, it's already morning. It's closing in on 1am. That's what happens when you start blogging while watching a Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy, you lose track of time. Ugh, I'm off to bed. Oh, and guess what? No evening snacking tonight! Winning!!