Fit + Blogging = #fitbloggin

So, there's this really amazing blogging conference that's I've had the pleasure of attending a couple times - Savannah in 2014 and Baltimore in 2011.  FitBloggin is more than just a conference - it's a community.  It's a community and tribe I have missed.

Like their tagline says, "using blogging, social media, and digital communication to motivate, inspire and foster a culture of health and wellness where everyone belongs."

My goal between now and July, when I *hopefully* attend my 3rd FitBloggin conference in Indianapolis, is to bring back some of that "fit" and "blogging" since both have been sporadic at best.

Here's the "fit" part:

 I am finally getting the scale to move back in the right direction.  (I weigh in at home on Wednesdays and at Weight Watchers on Saturdays - hopefully the 2 numbers match this week because I've been ON POINT for the past week since returning from Atlanta.

The "blogging" part will come.  As I have things to say, I'll say them.  If you want to read and comment, hopefully you will do that too :)  I used to be so consistent here, with a "schedule" and everything, but honestly, I got really burned out.  Maybe July and my tribe will motivate me to get my voice back out here.

Here's hoping 2016 has started off with a bang (in a good way) for you.  Are you planning to attend FitBloggin'16?  Please let me know if you are and if I actually make it (I'm registered but there's a lot that still needs to fall into place), we will definitely meet for hugs!

Weigh-In Wednesday: this sh*t is hard

For the past 5 weeks or so, I've been following Weight Watchers, going to the meetings, and trying to up my workout game.  It worked for awhile.  You can't even see the starting weight but from highest to lowest it was 11.8 pounds.  Before I started to screw up.

This is after my weigh-in on Saturday at WW (yes, I covered the weights because I hate the numbers).  I gained .6 pounds last week and I weigh in at home on Wednesdays so I know I'm up another pound from here.  It pisses me off because no matter how perfect I am in the next 3 days, I will not be able to show a loss.  What's the point of going if you are going to show you failed?  For 2 weeks in a row.

This worked for about 4 weeks.  Then I started sabotaging myself by going into the teacher's lounge, eating treats, and being frustrated by the changes to the points system this past week.  Before I felt like I could go out, have a beer, eat a cookie, etc because I had enough flex points each week to do that.  Now? Not even close.  It's stupid because for the first 4 weeks, I was allowed 26 points and only one week did I go into the 49 flex points.  Now I get 30 points and every day I'm into the flex points and I'm gaining weight.

It makes me want to give up because it's too hard.  It's hard being around all the tempting holiday treats and it's hard to re-figure everything I was eating before.  Obviously, the first 4 weeks I did fantastic, losing almost 12 pounds.  Now the scale is going back up again.  I feel like I've blown 4 weeks of hard work.  I can't even eat the exact same meals as I did the past 4 weeks because the point values changed on some of them.  My "allowed" points only went up by 4 a day but my weekly flex points dropped from 49 to 28.  That's almost cut in half.  I'm now being penalized because I don't want to use fake shit - like margarine, gross fat free dressings, fake cheese, or "diet" bread.  Before the values of the foods I was eating were low enough that I could still stay within my points and I had enough flex points to put a little real butter on my decent tasting piece of toast in the morning if I wanted to but now I can't do that. My breakfast jumped from 9 points to 12 because of the changes.  My lunch went up too because my salad dressing changed. Today I used a tiny but of jam instead of butter but it wasn't the same.  I've also cut myself from 2 eggs to 1 egg plus those liquid egg white things to go from 4 points down to 2.  One day for breakfast I did just yogurt and fruit and I was starving by 11:00.  I don't know what to eat anymore.

I really don't know if I'm going to stick with this.  Someone in a FB group I belong to suggested I go back to using the Points+ tracking but since I track 100% through the app, I can't even do that because everything in the app is converted to Smart Points.  If I have to carry a paper tracker around with me and all the books, I know I won't track a single thing.  Another thing that's flawed with that suggestions.  What's the point of paying for all the e-tools if you can't even use them?

So yes, I've made progress since I decided to get back on track but the past week I feel like I've done nothing but screw up.  Someone even noticed last night that I looked thinner when I feel like it doesn't show at all.  That's cool but it's hard to be happy knowing it isn't going to last.  Sadly, I feel like I'm going to end up right back where I started because I can't seem to figure this out and I'm too much of a failure to have the self control to stay out of the lounge and away from the treats.

Weight Loss Over The Holidays?

How many of you saw some version of this image pop up in your FB or Twitter feeds over the past week?

How about we just focus on healthy eating and making good choices?  You know, it is possible to experience weight loss over the holidays.  I'm not saying it will be easy but it IS possible.

How do I know?  I lost 1.2 pounds last week, weighing in the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the day after I was out of town and eating every meal out.  I think if I hadn't been stuck eating fast food (hello, sodium), the loss may have been even better.

Last week I wrote about how success breeds motivation and that's definitely the case now.  I want to keep seeing those numbers drop and don't plan to blow it between now and New Years.  I mean, seriously, how awesome would it be to be back in the 140s by New Years Day and then maybe even the 130s by Valentines?  I only need 5 more pounds gone to make that first goal happen.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and if Black Friday shopping was your thing that you got some great deals.

Motivation Monday: progress IS motivating

First off - a little bit of business to take care of!  Thank you to everyone who entered my JournalMenu giveaway last week.  I love being the bearer of good news so CONGRATULATIONS to Kay Lynn A! I hope you love your workout journal!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming....

I don't think I've talked much about my decision to re-join Weight Watchers - at least not here on this blog probably because I rarely blog anymore.  Long story short, I got very fed up at my clothes not fitting and the awful numbers I was seeing on the scale and measuring tape.  I've tried going it on my own and it really wasn't working.  On November 7th, I hung my head in shame and walked into a Weight Watchers meeting and handed them my Visa card.  Admitting I'd gained about 25 pounds over my "happy" weight was very defeating.  So was needing to pay for meetings again (I had thankfully acheived Lifetime status back in the early 90s so I will never have to pay a joining fee.) Hopefully, I thought, the structure of WW would get me back on track.

Turns out it has.  Move ahead 2 weeks and I'm down 9 pounds and some of my clothes are starting to fit better.  I think the leader was really shocked that I wasn't more excited about getting my 5% loss charm on Saturday or the big losses I posted in my first 2 weeks, but the bottom line is I still have so far to go that it's hard to celebrate yet.

As we go into the Thanksgiving week and knowing all the travel and meals that will be included, I'm just striving to continue forward progress this week.  I won't be perfect.  I know I will not be able to stay within 26 points a day when I'm eating out while out of town or going to my MIL's for 2nd Thanksgiving (her foods will most definitely NOT be WW compliant in any way shape or form).  As for the Thanksgiving dinner I'm making, I can have a bit more control there.  All I can do is my best.

Seeing results over the past two weeks has been very motivating for me.  I've even had a couple short runs that give me hope that my running ability may be returning.  Again, I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much because I don't want to be disappointed, but a little hope is better than none.

Are you staying close to home for Thanksgiving or traveling?  What are your best tips for dealing with events such as this while trying to reduce your calorie intake?

Not liking this trend

So I followed the advice of a few friends and put the scale away for a bit.  I went on vacation and while I was gone, I got in a few runs and ate whatever I felt like eating.  No low carb. No tracking. No counting calories.  I came back from vacation and waited a few days before I weighed in. Shockingly, I only gained about 1/2 a pound while I was gone.  

Flash forward another week where I've been more on track food-wise and exercising more, and now I'm up 2 more pounds.  What the actual fuck???

I decided to go back in MFP and see a graph for the last year.  11 pounds gained is NOT what I had in mind.  I can only imagine what my doctor is going to say when I'm in for my annual physical next month.

Because I'm some kind of masochist, I took a few pictures.  Because pictures don't lie.  I look as bad as I feel.  I am resembling a stuffed sausage in my clothes and that's really not a good look for me.

Yikes.

There once was a time I really liked my back.  Now? All I see is fat spilling over the sides of my way too tight sports bra and tank top.  There are no muscles left.

I was *thisclose* to joining Weight Watchers again this morning.  Why didn't I?  Because as a "Lifetime Member" I would have to pay again until I reached my previous goal weight - which was 141 from probably over 10 years ago.  There is no way that is a realistic goal anymore when I can't even get to 150.  

I'm kind of stuck.  I started tracking again today but that really hasn't worked for me.  I should probably go back to very low carb.  Honestly, I did lose a few pounds (it's that recent dip on the graph).  I need to get back to the gym and start lifting again.  I bought a 1-month unlimited yoga membership with my daughter to support her going (doctor's orders for her to see if they help her migraines).  We went on Monday and Tuesday's run was very painful and this morning's run turned into a walk because my Achilles and calves were so sore.  I thought yoga was supposed to help, not make you worse.  Going again today so we shall see.

I really don't want advice.  I don't want people suggesting this diet or that diet.  Chances are, I've already tried and failed at them.  If  Whole 30 or Paleo or 21 Day Fix or works for you, that's great.  I'm done thinking they will work for me.  I'm just putting this out there for some accountability to myself.

Back on the wagon I guess.  

Weigh-In Wednesday: I failed

Yep.  That would be a gain this week.  Did you know it's possible to gain weight on a very low carb diet?  Well, it really isn't, at least not this early into the plan.  The fact that I gained means I fucked up.

This past weekend included two graduation parties and a grown-ups party.  I thought I could handle it and make good choices, but obviously I was wrong.

It sucks to have undone over half of what I managed to accomplish (for the record, I was 157 two days ago).  Yes, I know that the majority of this is water, as evidenced by my loss of two of these pounds yesterday, but it still sucks.  I failed and now I'm starting over again.  I know this is why I won't ever commit to strict Whole30 or something like that.  I know I can't do it and then every slip-up will send me into a self-hate spiral.  Proof positive this weekend.

I don't totally hate myself but I'm definitely not happy.

Back to square one.

Weigh In Wednesday: downward trend

Whoa...I got so busy at work today that I totally forgot to post this.  Yep, I've managed to lose just over 5 pounds in the first week of low-carb.  I know it's all water at this point, but it's nice to see the downward trend and to be below 155 again.  Maybe eventually I'll even see the low 140s (although at this point I don't have a goal weight in mind).


I have to admit, what I've been eating the past week or so has been pretty boring.  I've made 2 different quiches to alternate for breakfasts because eating the same one every day last week got really old, and I'm having the same basic BLAT salad for lunch every day (bacon, lettuce, avocado, turkey, a tiny bit of tomato, and ranch dressing).  If I've had a few carbs and calories left at the end of the day, I've treated myself to a glass of red wine (3.5 carbs vs close to 20 in a beer).

Weigh In Wednesday: back on track

It's been 2 weeks since my little rant here about having gained back so much weight that I was basically back to 2009 when I started blogging.  I saw a number on the scale that I REALLY didn't like and maybe that was the kick in the ass I needed to get back on track.

I've been logging most days and keeping my calories around 1200 (more on days with heavier workouts) and trying to eat more protein and veggies than carbs.

It seems to be working because I'm down 6 pounds.  This is definitely a step in the right direction.

Because I have a race this weekend, I'm making sure to still eat and drink enough and not really limiting my carbs (yet) because I know my body needs fuel for the 25k.  After the race, I'm tightening up  my eating even more.  Some conglomeration between paleo, whole 30 and low carb is my goal because it seems that's what works for me.  I know carbs affect me negatively - I ate too many over the weekend and my weight shot back up and I felt like crap.  My body needs quality protein, healthy veggies, and a limited number of fruits and grains.  I'm going to be taking a sort of sabbatical from distance running so I'm not worried about needing massive amounts of carbs to fuel 2+ hour runs.

Anyhoo...just wanted to give those of you who commented after my rant (thank you, by the way) a little update.  Hopefully the positivity will continue.

Weigh In Wednesday Riddle

Warning: whiny post ahead.

Riddle me this:

I stayed within my calories 6/7 days this past week (and the one day I went over was a 14 mile run day so technically I was way under because I'm sure I didn't eat enough the rest of the day).

I exercised 5/7 days.

I'm drinking my water (excuse me while I run to the bathroom to pee, again).

I'm down a whopping .4 pounds (that's POINT 4, as in less than half a pound).  I should really re-weigh myself when I go home for lunch though because I've had major GI issues all morning and I must be down another 2 pounds. TMI - you're welcome.

My measurements are the same.

Why am I making zero progress?

Awful. I really don't remember when my waist size was as big as it is now. Seriously, even at my heaviest I always had a smaller waist. And that number I said I'd never weigh again? I'm almost into the decade above that.

I really think I'm stuck here and "here" is a really crappy place to be. I'm pissed and I don't understand why this is now impossible for me.  This is why it is so hard to stay motivated. I do everything right and I still fail.

Weigh-In Wednesday: sigh

I know it's only been 2 days since I've been tracking, but I've kept my calories to within the range I set on MFP (1500 for those of you wondering) so I guess I was expecting the scale to at least be the same, not up again.  Maybe 1500 calories are too much and I need to drop it back down to 1200.  Kind of scary when I've eaten  a healthy breakfast and lunch today totaling about 850 so far.  Doesn't leave much for dinner besides some lettuce.

I wrote the check-in post for The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans today.  The irony isn't lost on me that I'm now weighing within a few pounds of what I weighed when I started blogging in 2009, writing for a fitness/weight loss site, and not being able to practice what I preach.  To be honest, that makes me really sick.  That post could be written today with the only exception being that I am much more active now.  Back then I'd done a few really slow 5ks and now I've done 15 half marathons, and 2 full marathons.

But I'm still overweight.  I could say the last almost 6 years were all for nothing, but I know they weren't.  I'm definitely healthier than back then.  More active for sure. But I feel like I've learned nothing about what to put in my body to keep me a size I can tolerate and feel good about. Sigh.

Because I'm having a bit of a pity party here's some timely Shel Silverstein instead.  Kinda wishing it was still Christmas time.

Meal Monday: still trying to figure it all out

I've been following the meal plan for 21 Day Fix for 2 weeks now - well, at least Monday thru Friday.  I have a plan for the weekends, but then I run long on Saturday morning and proceed to eat everything in sight the rest of the weekend.

Like I told one of my friends, I don't exactly crave salads after running 12 miles.  I'm sitting here writing this at 8pm on Sunday night after eating 4 cookies (granted, made with only banana, eggs and oatmeal plus a few chocolate chips, but still cookies).

Am I just destined to fail?  I posted in a Facebook group the struggle I'm having.  Full disclosure - I'm not doing the workout DVDs that go with the program, didn't even buy them, because I already workout 5-6 days a week for at least an hour a day and I'm training for 3 upcoming races.  I need to get in my runs.  I already strength train.  I also do not drink the shakes because I've tried them and they're gross to me and I refuse to spend a shitload of money on something I'd have to gag down.  You want to know what a bunch of the people suggested?  They told me to stop running.  Just do the DVDs they said.  Buy the shakes, they are so awesome. Gee, thanks. So helpful.

I understand about the need to mix up your workouts and I think I do that.  My runs are different each day, I do intervals on the bike to burn more calories, I do 4 different lifting workouts during the week.

Maybe they are all right.  Maybe I'll never get smaller doing what I'm doing.  I guess if I haven't bought into the entire program, shakes, diet and DVDs I can't really expect to see any results.  It's hard to see people posting progress pictures saying they've lost XX number of pounds and inches when I know I've had zero success.  Do I just need to accept I'm always going to look like I do now unless I stop being a runner and start workout out in front of my TV?

One other suggestion was to eat more, because maybe 1500 calories before exercise isn't enough.  So this week, I'm trying the 1500-1800 calorie bracket.  I really don't think it will work and when I weigh in and measure next week Monday, I'm going to be just as fat as I am now or worse from eating too much.  I already know I haven't lost any weight or inches in the first 2 weeks.

I'm not frustrated at all.

WIAW: an apparently all the things weigh-in

And just like that, I'm up 4.4 pounds and the heaviest I've been in over 6 months.  Great freaking way to finish up 2014, don't you think?

I don't even think I went all that nuts over Thanksgiving either.  I had a very small serving of stuffing and stuck to my paleo dessert.  Filled my plate with lean turkey and sweet potatoes. My veggie dishes were paleo (although the carrots did have a ton of butter and bourbon so maybe not quite paleo).  Other than the stupid zucchini and banana breads that were made this weekend, I've stayed away from wheat.  Since the weekend, I'm back to paleo-ish except for that damn bread.  It needs to be removed from the house.  I've even been drinking water like it's my JOB to try to get rid of any of the crap from the weekend.

The bottom line?  I obviously still ate too much and too much of the wrong things.  One of my friends suggested it's the amoxicilan and high calorie stupid yogurt I'm eating (because the antibiotics hate me) causing me to puff up or something, but that doesn't seem right either.  I know I haven't worked out enough because of whatever stupid bug I contracted, although the past 3 days I've done pretty well.  I got on the scale this morning and wondered why the fuck I even bother to work out because it's obviously not doing anything.

It really sucks and I'm pissed at myself for blowing any bit of progress I ever made.  I can barely remember anymore what it's like to be in the 140s, much less how great it felt and looked to be in the 130s. At this rate, I should be well up over 160 by the new year.  Happy 2015 to me.

Weigh In Wednesday: up down up

By all accounts, this shows a 0.4 pound loss this week, but if you were to expand that out to show the last year, you'd see I've basically maintained with a hell of a lot of up-down-up-down.  A year ago, I was 150, so over the past year, I've made no progress whatsoever. What frustrates me is that I stepped on the scale yesterday and was 148 even - so I "gained" .8 pounds overnight.  Now, I know I didn't eat enough to gain almost a pound in 24 hours so it's water or maybe my coffee hadn't fully kicked in yet.  Whatever.  It's still frustrating.  I know I shouldn't care and 148.8 is a weight that many people would probably celebrate, but I do care and it frustrates me.  Have I mentioned I'm frustrated?

Maybe I'm just not working hard enough.  I've definitely been more "ish" than paleo lately.  Damn you, Udi's, for making such good gluten-free bread and Bell's brewing for making such good beer.  Maybe adding lifting nearly every day to my cardio isn't doing what it's supposed to be doing.  Again, maybe I'm just not working hard enough.

It's ironic that 2 of my friends posted yesterday about ditching the scale.  I wish I felt like I could step away from the scale like Mindy and Katy have.  I know I'm much more than that number, but right now I'm not seeing progress in any other way either, so it's all I've got.

Weigh In Wednesday: progress-ish

I am down 1.8 pounds this week, which is about what I gained last week.  It could be worse I guess.  I've been trying to stick with the 2-a-day workouts (strength plus cardio) and most days I've done that.  I haven't gone so far as to start tracking my food again since that only makes me stabby and I have enough shit going on as it is.

We are hosting Thanksgiving in a few weeks so I can have a bit of control over the menu.  I'm trying to find some paleo/healthified versions of some of our standard Turkey-day fare and if I come across anything great, I'll make sure to share it.

What I haven't found is a good paleo pie recipe that doesn't have a bazilionty ingredients and take 2 weeks to make.  If anyone has a good dessert suggestion, I'm all ears.

#WIAW and a better weigh-in

First off, I finally found a paleo-ish Chicken Parm recipe that tastes almost as good as regular Chicken Parm.  You can find it here but basically, it's just chicken breasts dunked in egg, then seasoned (oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper) almond flour and baked on a parchment-lined cookie sheet at 375 until done (about 30 min).  I served it over zoodles with my favorite Rao's sauce and a little bit of mozzarella.  

I lost nearly all of the weight I gained last week, which is shocking since not pictured in the WIAW picture is all the candy and GF brownies with ice cream I've had this week.  Taper...the struggle is real, people!

If there's one benefit to needing to get up extra early to present an inservice to staff at 7:15 in the morning, it's being awake to see the Bloodmoon.  Pretty cool stuff that my iPhone camera can't really do justice.  Even better than the moon was the number of stars I saw.  Very pretty sky.

Did you see the lunar eclipse this morning?

Weigh In and #WIAW: bad sign or wake-up call?

So, it would appear stress plus THIS

equals THIS

Yes, that would be a 3.2 pound gain this week.  Add that to the 1.4 pound gain last week and I've managed to pack on 4.6 pounds in 2 weeks.  Just the other day I was watching the Biggest Loser and commented to a friend how I couldn't believe the 18 year old (Blake is her name I think) could gain so much weight in one year.  Then, this morning, it hit me.  4.6 pounds every two weeks would result in about a 120 pound gain over the course of the year.

Now, do I really believe that this time next year I'll weigh 270 pounds? Absolutely not.  But it's scary how fast weight comes back on.

It doesn't matter if you bike for an hour, do 100 squats and lunges, or spend 4 hours running on the weekend.  What you put in your mouth counts more than the exercise.

If you treat every day like long run day, you WILL gain weight.  Even a 20 mile run doesn't entitle you to to eat all the things.  I ate and drank entirely too much this weekend and last weekend.  That was very clear.  I'm terrified that this trend will continue after race day.  I was so proud of myself for getting back into my "skinny" jeans and now I'm disappointed for blowing it all so quickly.

I wasn't even sure if I should post this today but I'm just trying to keep it real.  And right now, reality sucks.

Weigh-In Wednesday : blerg

I should have expected this 1.4 pound gain due to fun girls weekend & the pulled pork I made for dinner the other night.

I'm sure some is water but not all of it.

I hate how much the number on that little machine can affect me. I know I'm relatively healthy, my labs are all perfect, my "skinny" jeans fit again, but the thought of being that close to 150 when I really feel I should be in the 130s is do effing frustrating.

Look at the picture. Other than the drop right away when I started eating paleo-ish, I've really made no real change in the past 3-4 months. Blerg.

#WIAW and a Weigh In

It's that time of the week again where I say I'm not going to stress about the scale. Usually I'm lying to myself & I hate the number I see. Today wasn't so bad.

In fact, it was pretty darn good. I've tried to get back to a bit more paleo and a bit less "ish" this week. It seems to have helped because I'm down 3.4 pounds. Now, if I could just keep this going that would be great.

Now for the "what I ate" part of today's post.  I finally found something bread-like that's fast and makes great sandwiches.  While killing time searching on Pinterest, I stumbled upon this recipe for a 1 minute muffin. Now, I'm all about the 1 minute mug cake and cookie recipes because HELLO! A dessert in 1 minute - no brainer.  But, I'd never thought to try and make an individual bread.  These actually turned out really good.

This first one was made using the original recipe and almond flour.  I do not have "golden flax meal" so I used regular and my baking powder is not aluminum free (who knew there was such a thing???).  They turned out fine.  This one baked up very fluffy and I was able to slice it into 4 thin rounds and toast them in the toaster.  Incredible BLAT sandwich!  The one drawback to this recipe? One ramakin of bread is over 300 calories.  OUCH.  Yes, when it's paleo it's not supposed to matter, but still.  300 Freaking Calories!

I made pulled chicken in the crockpot for dinner and decided to try the bread again, this time using the alternate recipe with coconut flour.  These don't pack quite the calorie punch - "only" 195 calories but that still seemed really high to me.  Also, they didn't rise as much with the coconut flour and had a bit sweeter of a taste.  Still good but I think the almond flour ones tasted better.  I think in the future, I'll stick with the almond flour recipe and just save 1/2 the bun for another meal.  

So, is it worth it to make a bread that is going to add 300 calories to your day? I'm not sure, but actually eating a real sandwich was kind of a treat :)

Weigh-In Wednesday: pictures are louder than words

You know that old saying, "if you don't have anything nice to say, say nothing at all"? I'm going to let this picture say it all this week.

Obviously I fucked up this week. There's nothing else to say.

WIAW and a Weigh In #justtrollin

It would appear maybe I've been a bit to "ish" on the paleo-ish eating habits since vacation.  Why is it so difficult to get back on track?  I gave myself some leeway while in Savannah and was rewarded with a nearly 5 pound gain.  I've only managed to lose about 1/2 a pound of that since I got back (and this week I gained .2 pounds back).  To say I'm frustrated would be an understatement, but I also know it's totally my fault.  I didn't run much at all last week because I screwed up my hip.  It's better now, but not having those 600+ calorie runs a few times a week means that's 600 less calories I should be eating each day.

While I've done a good job making paleo meals this week, like this awesome Shrimp Scampi with Zoodles (just saute shrimp in a little olive oil and garlic, add baby spinach leaves and cherry tomatoes, then toss with zucchini noodles and fresh basil leaves)...

...I've also gone out to eat.  We've been to Red Robin (where I "splurged" on the 200 calorie gluten free bun with my burger and ate fries) and a local hot dog place (where I felt gypped because had my dogs without the best hot dog buns in town).

I also discovered the best gluten free beer - Omission Pale Ale.  I probably shouldn't have even tried it because even though it's gluten free, it's still 175 calories a bottle.

All of this - not exercising enough, adding some grains and potatoes back in, and splurging on foods that taste good but really aren't any good for me - has resulted in a complete halt in the weight loss department.

This graph should be continuing to move down, not up.  Yes, I'm still at a net loss (and there's a good chance that 144 at the end of June was a fluke) but I'm not where I should be or want to be.  

I need to do better this week.  I need to somehow figure out how to eat in Chicago this weekend while I'm there to run Rock n Roll Chicago (plus extra miles) as my 18 mile long run without blowing my progress even more.  Yep. Paleo in the land of deep dish pizza and the best popcorn on the planet should be fun.

I think I need to get back to no grains at all (this means no popcorn, tortilla chips or corn tortillas, or gluten free breads/pizza crusts), no regular potatoes, and no more beer - even if it's "fake" beer.  No cheat days. Is that realistic?  Probably not but what else can I do? Giving myself some #justtrollin #tribelove.

I'm not looking for advise.  Just trying to wrap my head around how I can successfully marathon train, lose weight, and eat paleo most of the time.  I'm extremely proud of myself for sticking with this as long as I have but I have to say, it hasn't been easy and now that the scale results aren't showing, the motivation to stick with it isn't really there.  It is what it is.

Before you leave, have you entered my giveaway for an entry to the Detroit Women's Half Marathon and 5k? Go here to enter - you can use the entry for either the actual or virtual race.