Crabapple

So, I answered in two posts because, after I replied, it was like wait. I've done that!

I've done intermittent fasting where I don't have breakfast until noon or later and stop eating about 7 or 8 p.m. I haven't done it much lately, but it seemed to be about the only thing that helped me lose weight. I need to get back to it. What you're doing seems to be similar, except you are choosing a different part of the day to go without food.

I understand that it does help. It sounds like intermittent fasting, where you go for a greater portion of the day without food than you normally would. For example if you don't eat between 3 p.m. and 7 a.m., that would be intermittent fasting and a lot of people swear that it works.

I don't own a treadmill but I wonder if the dry air has something to do with it? I know that winter heaters/furnaces usually dry out the air.

All right, soldier. Drop that rubbish food, get your butt off that couch, and move! Get in shape! Move!

Mine was good (my run days are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays). I need to walk on at least two of my off days though and I keep forgetting to do it. Saturday (the day you started this thread), I decided to try a run that included back roads. It had been raining and snowing a lot in the last week or two, but I thought the ground was dried out enough. It turns out there were several spots that were not quite dried out enough.

I got the c25k app so I could run a 5k near the end of April. I repeated weeks 1 and 2, but I'm determined to stay with week 3 all this week. I don't know that I will repeat any weeks from here on, but I will only run as long as I can, even if that means on the last day of the last week I am running 2 minutes and walking 2 minutes. Saturday, I decided to do a long "run" that was at least half dirt road. I used the Nike app to track my distance because it seems to be way more accurate. The route was nearly 5K. Obviously, the c25k app stopped before I was done. Today, I missed the dirt road that leads to Main Street, and I ran/walked several minutes before I realized my mistake. I ended up going almost 6 k. It took me over an hour. I will probably not make that mistake again, but it was nice to know I could go that far. At this point, most of my runs consist of walking more than running. In any case, I'm really glad to have the c25k app, and the Nike app. I think they complement each other.

Kyder, it might be a good idea to have your knees checked, to rule out any health problems. If they don't normally hurt, you might just need a mineral or collagen supplement (or need to drink water instead of soda, if you do drink sodas).

Ever since I posted, it has concerned me that you might feel like I'm judging you, Kamille. I assure you that I'm very supportive of you using an elliptical. I think it's great that you're doing this!

That's great!

Wow! Your experience is so encouraging. Keep up the great work.

Truly, it is. And a successful one for us, I hope.

When I am absolutely craving sweets but want to avoid them, I eat fruit (frozen unsweetened fruit and some kind of milk, put in a blender is delicious). Also, I discovered that really good snacks are things like sunflower seeds, almonds, and other nuts and seeds. You can put some in a snack bag and carry them in a pocket. Then you've got something to snack on so you won't get so hungry that you ravenously eat all the donuts and candy bars and sodas you can.

Technically, I'm near the end of week 5, but I've repeated weeks 1 and 2, so the app says I'm near the end of week 2. From what I read on these forms it's very common to repeat weeks when you need to. I hope that also give you encouragement.

Go for it! Even if you cannot do that initially, I'm sure that you'll get there.

Welcome. It sounds like you have a great plan. One thing that has helped me ease out of eating too much sugary foods when they seem to have overtaken me, is to eat fruit (fresh or frozen; no sweetener added). It is still sweet, which helps curb the cravings, but it has nutrients and such in it and seems to wean me away from candy and all the other junk.

I'm not using one, but I have used an elliptical before and I think it's great for someone who has knee problems. I have a knee that likes to give me problems and I've discovered that running is actually strengthening it. The great thing about "running" on an elliptical (or treadmill) is that if you get tired and want to stop, you don't have to walk all the way back home.

Good for you, JaneX, for doing it. I concur that you may need to warm up better. The c25k app has us walking for 5 minutes as a warm-up. If you've been doing that, perhaps you need to walk a little longer (and/or slower) or do some mild stretches, as stretching cold muscles is not necessarily a good thing. (I'm not disagreeing with the previous poster, by the way. I think they are right.) I have also heard that more supportive shoes can help. I don't have experience with that, though, because I wear minimalist shoes, which is essentially like going barefoot except you're protected from the heat and the cold of the ground. This may or may not be a factor, but perhaps you could use calcium or magnesium supplements? I know they help muscle cramps, but I don't know about shin splints. Also, one thing I've noticed for me is that I'm more liable to get shin splints if I'm walking uphill, even if the grade is very low. In other words it may not look like I'm going uphill but I am a little. Totally flat terrain or going downhill doesn't ever seem to do that with me.

You've got a good point, CleBkPkr. I researched before I started running with the c25k app, and it seems like it's really important to never run on two consecutive days . (But I think if someone had been running for years they would know what their body could do. I am obviously not in that category. )

Most people don't cut out an entire group of macros though. A true keto diet is low carb, though some people have extremely low carbs and others are more moderate. My experience with keto is that it seemed to help, but I had a difficult time eating all the fat and protein that it was calculated I should have. I still try to do low-carb; and not eat carbs and fat at the same time because that seems to put pounds on me. I am beginning the body ecology diet now, because it seems like my body needs help digesting food. I think once I get those microbes in my gut that need to be there, then I might be able to get rid of that last 15-18 pounds that I keep fighting with.

Just so it is clear, this is the post I am asking the question to.

Are you doing a keto diet?

I would say it's probably just a workout tracker. I have c25k and that's all that it does.

It doesn't snow here very much, but this morning it was snowing. Some of the posts here from people who live in cold areas gave me encouragement to go out without hesitation. My feet got very wet but it was a great run! That's a palm tree in the foreground. Palm trees don't grow here naturally. It's a little bit too cold for them in the winter at night, but they don't seem to die very often from the cold.

Between sets I stand up to rest. I'm not using the app, though. I'm doing push-ups on my own and do three sets of however many reps I'm capable of.