Major Bummer

The past couple days, the knee that prompted me to visit a physical therapist a couple weeks ago really started bothering me. My PT poked around it a little bit at my visit this morning, and said that I had two choices: I could keep running with my knee feeling like this, and probably aggravate the situation and making it worse, OR stop running for a while, and work on it for a few weeks with the strengthening exercises I've been building on (so many now!) and come out a stronger runner.

My immediate response was, "Well, I know what my answer is!"

Of course, the latter choice. Although I am very sad about having to stop running after having made so much progress, I am grateful that I can still walk for exercise and look forward to getting stronger and better in the end. It takes patience, right? I'm willing.

In the meantime, I am going to follow my running schedule but doing walking for the workouts instead. This Saturday I was going to run 6 miles... well, now I will walk them. I want to keep my endurance up and I want to prepare for that 10K trail race I am signed up for; fortunately there is a walking option and so that is what I am going to do. There is a 10K road race in November that Amy F. is doing and hopefully I will be in shape by then to join her. So nothing is lost. I will still get to do the cool 10K trail race (though no longer racing, per se), and I will still get to achieve my goal of running a 10K this fall.

Win, win, I'd say.

In eating news, some days are so easy and effortless, and others just aren't. I had a couple good ones this week, but today has definitely been in the latter category. I'm chalking it up to emotional eating and leaving it at that with no juicy detail for you, my dear reader. It probably doesn't help that I am in full PMS mode, either.

All that said, I still haven't moved beyond the low 270s. It's a bit discouraging, as it has been about two months now without any new weight loss – just losing the same few pounds over and over, and touching down on 270 once. I mean, part of me is like, it's OK, it's good – I'm maintaining, more or less, but on the other hand, well, you know. On the other it just feels like I'm maybe not taking things as seriously as I could or perhaps should.

I'm being totally honest here, with myself and with you. Let me repeat that last line.

I'm maybe not taking things as seriously as I could or perhaps should. 

OK, I still want this. Very much. I still want to lose another 100 pounds. What do I need to do?

• Meal planning and prep so that I don't have room to worry about what to eat (sometimes that is what totally screws me up on any given day)

• Exercise – this hiatus from running (oh, and tennis, too – no tennis for a while) is a good opportunity for me to try something else. Back to walking, back to some gym workouts which I feel like I need anyway? Hiking, something I have been missing a LOT. Cycling.

Tomorrow morning I am meeting with a friend to try out her gym and have a nice workout together. My PT said that I can do any standing exercises and cardio (except running, of course).

• Mindset needs adjusting. I need to get serious again, at least for a while. Have been thinking about seeing the nutritionist I know through the running group to get some help with stuff in general, to get myself in a good direction again – maybe just trying something new to jog things up a bit?

• Remind myself how far I have come. I can almost fit into some XL shirts I've had tucked away! If that isn't motivation, I don't know what is.

Photos from the other day in my favorite striped shirt, again. Not bad. Hang in there, kid.