What I Wish I Knew Before (Regarding Running and Weight Loss)

Happy National Running Day!

While I continue to delay writing a recap of our trip home, I wanted to write a little piece on what I wish people talked about before and during my running and weight-loss adventures. I am not an expert, I'm just sharing my own experience, advice or heads up I would have given myself, specifically. Obviously, I'm still working on myself - I've only been losing weight since February and running for under 2 years - so this is ever evolving. I don't have any answers. I hope this provides some support and love to those of you who are struggling out there and are feeling shame or hopelessness. 

1. Sports Bras
This it two part and mostly relevant to heavy chested women:

- It's not about how good it makes your boobs look. I have actually seen women review bras poorly based on how 'smushed' they made their breasts look. They worried it wasn't flattering or that not having their breasts look good made their tummies look larger. Granted, I made jokes about having a sports bra uni-boob in high school, but now that I'm actually running? Having a bra that made your breasts look good would be ridiculous. For me that would be like running with a heavy shelf in front. You want those things tamped down and stabilized. And you know what, who cares if it makes your belly look bigger! You're running to workout not to seduce someone. That's a popular quotation on the fitness boards on Pinterest: "If you still look good at the end of a workout, you're doing it wrong."

- They make a huge difference. I started out running in basic champion bras from Target and when I finally switched over to UnderArmour it was a life changer. Imagine going from having all the air knocked out of you with every stride, to being able to breathe normally AND even swing my arms by my sides instead of underneath my chest holding things in place! Sports bras matter.

Not good enough.

Doesn't look that different, but seriously, so much relief.

2. You can be in denial even when it is STARING YOU IN THE FACE. I kept a food diary for ages before I actually started losing weight using the MyFitnessPal app. No joke, I would write down that I ate ice cream nearly every day. Did it register with me that that was part of the problem? Not in the slightest. So, writing things down doesn't equal immediate weight loss. It finally clicked for me when I had an actual number that I needed to hit and not go over. Counting calories sucks, but once you get the hang of it, it's hard to shake. Who knows what will make it click for you, but all I can say is keep it at it until something does.

Yeah, 2 1/2 glasses of wine, all that cheese, a haagen daaz mini and chocolate bars? That surely can't add up to or anywhere near to a 1200 calorie day - I still eat ice cream, just not every day.

3. Going slow is hard, but sometimes it's the one thing you really must do. I was so sick and tired of seeing the same number on the scale so many days in a row, but eventually it I knew it would change. I just had to learn how to be patient and keep trying. Same for my runs. I'm a huge slow poke. It can be embarrassing when everyone is passing me, and when I post my workouts and my time just isn't changing but... I would rather post a slow time than no time at all. That's really the only thing that matters.

4. There's wiggle room for types of food. Quality matters, but not when it comes to just getting the weight off. This goes back to the calorie counting. You can eat ice cream every day... if it fits in your calorie budget. You won't be healthy, but sure, you'll still lose weight. People who say the key is merely cutting out carbs or dairy or sweets may not be helping you and in my case I just found it more frustrating. There's nothing magical here, no secret food that makes it all better or all worse, it's all just food. Except McDonalds and Twinkies. That's not food.

5. Cooking a lot or being wealthy really helps. I had to plan out our meals, factor in leftovers, see how far I could stretch that broccoli or brown rice. But if you can afford pre-made fancy meals, salads, shakes or sushi from Whole Foods or another company, you go for it.

6. Going out is really hard. and scary. I wanted to eat everything and also eat nothing. I was so sure one meal out would put back on all the weight I'd worked so hard to lose. Same goes for drinking. I can't think of the last time I was drunk, entirely because of the caloric intake. You have to keep working at it until you can trust yourself to not go crazy and lose all awareness of what you're putting in your body.

7. People do (unintentionally?) shame you, and you have to keep going. Whether it's out of jealousy or lack of awareness or whatever, people can say some mean things. And sometimes they'll say nothing at all which can be just as hurtful - we all want to be recognized for our effort. But it's not about other people. They are on their own journey. They may have way more important things going on than keeping track of your waist line, or they may be hurting from their own struggles and lashing out at you as an innocent bystander. Try to remember your own goals and that other silly Pinterest-popular quotation about not comparing your beginning to someone else's middle or something like that. (Edit: It also occurred to me after reading an article on body shaming that congratulating someone on their weight loss can be complicated in itself... what if they have been sick and lost weight due to illness? Is that a good thing? So, yes, it can be complicated but you just keep trying to be healthy whatever way you can no matter what outside influence says or does.)

8. It's ok to get upset as long as you keep going the next day. I won't lie and say this process has been pretty. There have been, and will still be, many days where I am feeling low about my progress or my diet or my lack of enthusiasm for working out. I'll beat up on myself or just be a huge grump (sorry Ed!) and mope around. I'll skip a workout. Or half-ass one. The day will be a wash. But as long as I get up the next day and get back to it... it's all ok. One day will not ruin everything you've done if you refuse to let it.

9. Have I mentioned it's super hard? I don't care what anyone says, I wish all of those magazine articles in Self and Women's Health that talked about how people lost the weight, discussed how hard it really is. Those articles seem to focus on women that 'just stopped drinking soda' or 'ate healthier snacks' and 'just started walking.' There was no magical moment where I ate the right crown of broccoli or stopped eating ice cream and then it all fell into place. You can make it easier by surrounding yourself with good foods and workout equipment, but I won't lie and say that makes it all easy. You still have to choose to not overeat. To break a sweat every day. To keep making that choice day after day. It's just not easy, and we shouldn't feel bad when we struggle. It's tough. And if you have a job and/or a family to juggle on top of that? It's a lot.

10. You'll get funny tan lines. Unless you work out inside, and then you'll have less of an issue here, but I've got goofy running capri tan lines on my legs and my jacket/t-shirt/tank-top rotation of shirts has also left a silly gradation on my arms.

11. Running is not better than walking. Pilates is not better than yoga. Weight-lifting is not better than cardio. Nothing is better than.What you get out there and do that is the BEST thing for you. Yes, each thing helps in different ways with pros and cons, but seriously, if it makes you sweat and it's challenging, then you're on the right track. Keep at it.

12. 'Runner's High' will not be the reason you keep running. A couple people asked me why I'm still running now and if it was because of runner's high. I'm about 99% sure I've never felt anything that I would describe as a runner's high. I'm not sure why running suddenly clicked. I think it has something to do with being unable to ignore how easy it is to go out, where ever I am, with my running shoes on and just go for 20, 30, 40 minutes at a time. I feel like I'm getting the most bang for my buck and it's nearly impossible to make excuses for such a simple task.

13. Finally, no one else knows what will work for you, so just ignore all the noise until you hear something that makes sense to you. Take that one thing and trash the rest.