Eating out too much

I ate out probably a half a dozen times last week, including twice a day on a couple of days.

Big mistake.

I just don't have as much control when I'm eating out, even though I'm not eating sugar, wheat or flour.

There's undoubtedly more fat. And bigger portions, and I hate taking out my little scale and measuring cups. So I don't.

Plus, then I get used to that "full" feeling, which I love so much but that I really shouldn't be experiencing.

It's easy to forget as my weight loss has slowed down -- but I like being thinner much more than I like that "full" feeling.

Weird physical advantages to losing weight

Before I lost weight, I was starting to feel old. Not that that's not (ideally!) going to happen anyway, but it turns out, I was feeling older than I needed to, simply because of the excess weight.

Here are some positive effects of the weight loss that I didn't expect:

1) No more cracked heels! My circulation was apparently getting poor, as I had hard, dry heels. At the time, I attributed it to wearing sandals without socks. I still wear a lot of sandals without socks, but my heels don't crack and bleed anymore.

2) I can do things, like bicycling my legs up in the air, that I thought I was too old to do. Because when I tried, I failed miserably. It turns out, though, that I was just too heavy because I can do them again.

Soreness! Wednesday's exercise class still has me sore. I'm going to have to be more careful, as not being able to move messes up my running. I'm trying a group run tomorrow.

Disadvantages of losing weight

When I was heavier, there were some things that were easier to deal with ...

1) Clothes. I didn't need to try them on. I didn't really care what they looked like.

2) Clothes, Part II. I didn't have to go to special underwear stores to find my size. Bras were cheaper and more easily available to me.

3) Clothes, Part III. There were always Size XL workout clothes on the clearance rack. Mediums are harder to find.

4) Social issues. I made other women less nervous. Oh, it's not every woman who worries about me. Most don't. But it really should be none of them, as I'm no threat. My short-lived running partner (another married mom) has also lost some weight -- and she's noticed it, too. We've decided it's because single women's weights tend to go down when they're "on the prowl." I lost weight to have more healthy time with my husband, not to find another.

5) Food. The whole getting to eat anything I wanted was certainly fun! (What's odd is that I don't really miss things at this point.)

Workout class: I'm already a little sore this morning from last night's exercise class. It was much more hard-core than the first one. Which was appreciated.

Barefoot running

The problem with reading Christopher McDougall's Born to Run is that it makes you want to run barefoot. The whole theory is that shoes actually cause injuries because of all their support, which the body then gets used to and then runs in an unnatural way, an unnatural way that alters the stride.

I tried a little barefoot running on Monday, although today I did a half-hour with my shoes.

The barefoot running was fine. I am a careful about it, though, because I'm still weirdly proportioned. I've got the legs of a 5'10" 140-pound person on my 5'6" 160-pound body.

I'm guessing I have less trouble with injuries in general because I go so slowly and I pretty much shuffle along. The knee was fine today.

Clothes issue: My 11-year-old has become a great resource for shopping. I tried on some things (which I really don't need at this point -- I have lots of clothes that fit right now), and she looked with a critic's eye, honed from "What Not to Wear."

"You look too big in that," she said about a shirt. "Fat?" I asked. "No, just too big."

"That's too short," she said about a skirt, even when I went up a size to get a little more length.

Latest music

Yesterday, Paul gave me a few hours "off." In addition to cleaning, watching trashy TV and doing weight work, I discovered some fun new music: Fefe Dobson. I'm predicting she'll be everywhere soon to the point I'm sick of her.

Here's the video to her two current singles.

Both songs are simple and catchy. And pretty mindless lyrically. But not everything has to be profound.

Growing my own running partners

The problem with outside running partners is logistical. It's a scheduling challenge. Other moms, like me, just like to squeeze their runs in when they can. But, if my running partner is In My House, it's that much easier.

Here are my options:

Option #1
My 11-year-old wants a pair of these, the Vibram Five Fingers running shoe. They cost about $80, but she just thinks they look cool.

So I'm bribing her.

If she runs with me, I will buy them for her.

She told me she knows she'd have to run slowly and look silly at first. But she's in good shape already.

Option #2
My 13-year-old. Let's face it, he'd be indulging me, as he's fast and trim and in shape. But we could talk during our runs, and I'd be indulging him with that.

Option #3
Paul. The husband. He took a day off today, so he went with us to the homeschool activity/movement class.

There was running involved. He did great.

Unlike for me, where running goes slowly, Paul is a natural. He was born to run. I was born to give birth. He's naturally slim and long-legged. And fast.

But, of course, I worry about him.

So we'll see.

Psychological plateaus

I sometimes feel as though I'm not a great representative for the ElementalYou Diet because, even though I've lost a bunch of weight, I go slowly.

I'm convinced that some of it is psychological. My brain needs time to catch up with my body.

Oh, sure, I want it to be over quickly -- at the same time, it sometimes seems as though it has happened too fast.

Getting into a Size 8 (albeit with the benefit of some vanity sizing) has blown my mind to a certain extent. I could lose more, but it's good to get used to where I am now.

Clothes news: I found a 2-piece swimsuit that fit. And -- get this -- it was only $5. The size was weird enough that they were having trouble selling it.

Running: I ran for 30 minutes last night in a section of Santa Monica I don't know very well.