It has been a little over a month since I started my new
regimen of exercise and controlled eating. Let me re-emphasize that I am not really
on a diet (you saw my Easter menu!) since I want this to be a slight lifestyle adjustment rather than a temporary state to reach a goal. I’m just not eating
everything in sight anymore and not everything at once, and I’m spending one
hour a day on myself, exercising.
The results so far? I’ve lost 10 Lbs, and I
can run three miles in 35 minutes without ever stopping. I still have to walk a
bit to make it all the way to four and five miles, but I’m working on that. OR;
if I run slower, about 5 miles/hour, I can make it to four miles without
stopping, and then if I walk half a mile, I can run the last half mile a little faster, making
it to five miles in just about an hour. I’m pretty sure all this is completely unimportant, but I’m
having fun pushing myself and trying to run faster and longer. I was thinking
that if I can keep this up, maybe I can run the Beirut marathon next year, at
least the 10K.
My clothes are a little less tight, but most of all, I feel
stronger and healthier. The weight loss is not without physical complications
though: I’ve got acne, which I haven’t had since junior high, and I don’t smell
very good. Apparently it’s normal. Burning protein releases ammonia (which is
why my sports brah smells like a chemical vat after each workout), and most
important, during weight loss,
“…you enter a chemical state called ketosis. In this state,
your cells make chemicals called "ketone bodies" from fats. […]
Ketone bodies have an odd odor to them […]. Once you enter ketosis, it's common
for others to smell ketone bodies on your breath and in your sweat, which can
give you a foul, sickly-sweet odor.”
Nice, huh? Most impacted are of course my dear, very
understanding and forgiving husband, and the Lebanese soap and deodorant
manufacturers, not to mention the Listerine importer and redistributors (who
must be having a ball, since Listerine costs a fortune here).
But oh well. What is it they say? There’s no silver lining
without a cloud? And a bird in the hand is better than killing two with one
stone, as my dad used to say.
No comments:
Post a Comment