Today is National Almond Day! I didn’t even realize until after my morning snack (blubes and almonds) so I celebrated double-y with almonds on my Peanut Dressing and Turkey salad. Oh, and some mustard pretzels from the bulk bins – I’m not normally a salty snacks kinda person, but I can make those disappear.
Vegas kept me company during a conference call. And by “kept me company” I mean jumped on my desk right in front of the camera and made me look like a crazy cat lady. He has 2 weeks to straighten up his act or he’ll be fired as RER Intern. He doesn’t seem to care, but I don’t think he realizes what a tough job market it is out there…
I was still hungry after lunch so I grabbed an apple. It was just okay, I need a fancy organic Honeycrisp up in here.
What do you eat for a snack on National Almond Day?
Well, if you’re Ben you eat a this almond bar from a the Flying Goat in Healdsburg. Ben LOVES anything with almond or marzipan. (Seriously, if he had to choose between being married to me or never eating almond pastries again I’d be fighting for custody of that darn cat real fast.)
If you’re me you have cereal with Blue Diamond almond milk and chia seeds.
Ask a Monican #29
Monica from Run Eat Repeat talks about:
1. Any weight loss tips for someone on medication that makes it difficult to lose?
2. Do you think there is a set point weight you body likes?
3. Strength training makes my pants tight.
4. Are you worried you’ll never reach goal weight if you get pregnant?
Email me your questions at runeatrepeat at gmail dot com or leave them in the comments below.
That bit about the set point weight and strength training weight gain was great. It is totally something I’m struggling with right now as I incorporate more strength training. It’s like, “Do I want to be fast or do I want to be skinny and weigh xxx?”.
I love the honesty. I have a similar body shape too and have always been happy about my tiny waist. As the baby clock ticks for me too (I think we’re of similar age), I am enjoying being selfish and trying to whittle down PRs until I’m ready for a baby.
I always say “blubes” instead of blueberries and people give me the strangest looks. Glad to know I’m not the only crazy out there!
Did you know my drive home involves driving on the Monican Highway? (Except it’s spelled Monacan, I think). I always think of you!
Great advice! I love how you keep it real in these vlogs. They are very helpful and informative. Thanks for sharing!
Oh my gosh I love the vlogs! You are halarious, so real. It totally does not make you a bad person to say that pregnancy will likely mess with the midsection, it did for me and now I feel a bit selfish to wait till I meet my fitness goals to have baby #3. I’ve just worked so hard to get back to a good place and I feel if I’m a little on top then recovering it will be easier. Thanks for being a good example of healthy not crazy weight loss and especially more of a life style change not dieting. Thanks! You’re awesome!
Nothing like national almond day to make me miss almonds even more! I mean, I’m glad it forced me to branch out and try coconut milk (which is awesome), but I miss almonds and almond butter!
I definitely feel like I have a higher set point that other people my same height. I’m just barely 5’5” and if I’m not actually trying my set point weight seems to be about 150-152ish. If I’m more diligent I can get down to 145, but it takes a ton of work!
Being someone who carries all of her weight in her stomach, I have to admit (if we’re all being honest!) that I’ve always been jealous of you pear-shaped women. I have to buy incredibly large pant sizes in order to fit them around my stomach and then the pant legs are always huge! Plus it stinks to be “rare” in that way. I actually am hoping and praying that if I get pregnant my hips and butt will expand! 😉
Awwww I love your furry intern, what a cutie!
I had no idea it was national almond day! Ironically enough, I bought a tin of almonds to keep in my desk at work as a healthy snack this morning. Good timing!
I’d never thought of putting almond milk in cereal (I usually just drink it on its own and LOVE it, or put it in smoothies). I can’t wait to try it!
Your comments about your concerns with your body changing during/after pregnancy helped me realize that I am NOT the only person thinking these thoughts. I am feeling the pressure to have a baby after 3 years of marriage and I have seriously considered getting some counseling to get over my fear of pregnancy weight gain and post baby body issues. I am also a little bottom heavy with a tiny waist and worked and worked and worked to trim down in the last 2 years and hope to not lose too much of my progress.
You really helped sort it out for me, thank you!!
I’ll try to eat almonds at least once today to celebrate!
I don’t even know what my healthy weight is because I can’t stop eating candy!
I think that wanting to lose weight before getting pregnant is fine. If you start at a lower weight than you’ll still weigh less when you get pregnant than you would have – if that makes sense!
Happy national almond day (late)! I celebrated (unknowingly) with a pear and almond butter. 🙂
I also love your honesty and your blog in general. Like you, I am proud of my stomach and have, let’s put it that way, a round bum. But let’s try to be positive: if our belly is great now, it might bouce back quicker than the rest because it’s our strong point? Who knows…
I love Ask a Monican! You’re even cooler and funnier in person. 🙂
Also, I can’t wait to see your “bridal-friend-bootcamp” sesh(es) on the blog! I’ve been running boot camps in Oz, and I’d love to get (steal) some great, new ideas from you.
Hey Monica! I love the vlog, and I just wanted to say I really appreciate your openness and honesty. It’s hard putting yourself out there but you make me feel soooo much better that I have the same thoughts as you! (I am “hippy” and worry about the stomach when I am gonna be pregnant, and I’m not even thinking about pregnancy!) So I just love your blog and your humor and your honesty. You’re awesome. Simple as that. :0)
Ugh me and my set point are driving me nutso whacko. I was always MUCH smaller than I am now and then I had an emotional eating disaster for several years and gained a bunch of weight. Then I lost a bunch and then gained back about 8 lbs. And I MISS being those 8 lbs less. Lame. I hate set point. I wish set point would suck it. 🙂
Hi I’m a reader from Australian and fellow red head! Just wanted to say I’ve had two babies and gained 11kg with the first and 18kg with second and both times have lost all the weight and more. You can lose the weight if you are motivated but you don’t need to go crazy to lose it either. Just by breastfeeding, walking, and generally being busy with your baby the weight will come off. Sure your body changes but the first time your baby smiles or looks at you and says mum mum having some stretch marks or still having 10 pounds to lose is the last thing on your mind! Love your blog and your honesty, Michaela x
First off, I think you look amazing! I don’t think your hips/butt are large, but of course i haven’t seen you in person.
So as you know I am a mom. This was an unexpected adventure (thankyouverymuchtwoformsofbc). I will be honest. I started out about 10 pounds less than now. I ended up losing 22 pounds and then gained back the 22 plus 7. Making the amount I gained 7 pounds. He was almost 7 pounds, and I walked out of the hospital weighing less than my prepregnancy weight. Now, I am LARGE. So this isn’t true for everyone. But I ate healthy, I worked out EVERY SINGLE DAY. I rarely ate ice cream, but I did eat pizza daily. It was my craving food. If you want, I can find some old pictures when I was pretty pregnant..you would be amazed.
So my point is, every pregnancy is different for everyone. If you really make an effort to continue eating healty, and getting exercise, the gain doesn’t have to be bad. I know a few people who felt it was an opportunity to let it all go to hell. They gained 70+ pounds. I think you just need to keep things in mind.
So please don’t think you can’t lose baby weight. I can’t seem to lose my post baby weight. It has been a tough winter sickness wise, and getting my workouts in haven’t been easy. (<-excuses excuses)
I love you and your blog. Thanks for always being so hilarious and honest. Come run a race in PA with me! Or I’ll come there, since its all warm/beautiful/gorgeous and shit. Regardless of weight, remember you’re going to be an awesome mom someday and that’s what matters! Weight is just a number AND, the best curve on a woman’s body is her SMILE 🙂
The body is an amazing machine, and this may or may not encourage you, but two of my best girlfriends are both smaller now after having 2 and 3 children than they every were pre-pregnancy. One was a size 8 when she got married, and now is a size 0-2 (she is very petite) by means of healthy eating and exercise. The other was always ‘bootylicious’ as we joked and through diet and exercise is now smaller than she even was in high school! I think you can achieve anything with a little motivation 😉
I LOVE almonds. I have to have a handful to celebrate! 😉
Good thing I ate some almonds earlier, celebrating by accident! Jonagold apples have really been doing it for me lately, I highly recommend them!
I drink the hell out of flavored seltzer water too! I think I drink like 24 oz a day. I swear the bubbles keep me full, but none of the nasty stuff soda brings to the table!
Love your blog and your honesty! I don’t think you will have a problem losing the baby weight, especially if you workout throughout your pregnancy and eat healthy food. Your body will remember and bounce back pretty quick. At least that’s how I was. But that belly pooch is another story! If someone knows how to get rid of that, let me know! haha
Ah, this last question resonated with me SOO much! Thanks for sharing as always hun.
I’ve been reading your blog for a while now. I love it. I love your sense of humor. I also never comment on blogs…..unless I’m trying to win something. It’s bad blog etiquette, I know.
But I wanted to comment today on the pregnancy question. I also thought that I would get HUGE when I got pregnant. I always had a hard time losing weight, obesity runs in my family, etc. What I learned now that I have a 14 month old daughter is that you never know how your body will respond to pregnancy. I gained less than the average amount of weight during my pregnancy, and it came off quickly. I was surprised. Pleasantly surprised, but surprised all the same. Don’t be so quick to assume that you will gain large amounts of weight and have a hard time shedding the pounds. You never know. My body now is very different than it was before I was pregnant, but different in a good way.
I love your vlogs. They crack me up, and you are just so honest…great stuff!
I definitely feel you on the pregnancy and stomach issue… my stomach is the part of my body that I am proudest of, and I know that once I have kids that will not be quite the case anymore (probably ever again). So, needless to say, I am going to probably try to put it off as long as possible, haha.
I really loved that you addressed ‘set point’ today! It was great to note that even at the same height, our set points very well may be different. I have been fascinated with how our bodies actually establish that set point at an incredibly early age. Not only does genetics play a role, but also what we were fed as infants and how we ate as kids. Fat cells never go away, they just shrink. So say someone that was overweight as an adolescent due to overeating and little exercise which is common and incredibly unfortunate these days 🙁 they will have a much more difficult time maintaing a weight that is the ‘norm’. I LOVE the science of metabolism and nutrition and how outside influences plays with our inherent potential. Totally fascinating. I’m a dork.
That’s interesting about what your RD said about your 18 year old weight. I never made the connection before, but my 18 year old weight is actually my current goal weight! (sneaky subconscious…) I agree about having a set-point- our bodies are smarter than we give them credit for.
I recently was fitted for new running shoes. I wear an 8, 8 1/2 nonrunning shoe. I was fitted for a 10 running shoe. They feel HUGE! I was told that feet grow when running. Have you heard this too?
I’m a pretty new reader and I really enjoy your blog! I rarely take the time to comment but thought I’d let you know I enjoy your Q&A sessions. I’m working on the last 15 lbs that I need to lose from having 3 kids in 3 years. I’m sure you already know this, but I just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to get “fat” when you get pregnant…I know people call it that, but seriously, if you eat fairly well and continue to exercise, you’ll grow a baby and go back to normal pretty easily afterward. That was my experience with my first. With the last 2, I did the total opposite of that and was a fat pig, haha. And it has taken me 3 years to whine and moan and finally get the weight off. 40 lbs down so far and I’m at my pre-baby weight….15 more to go and I’ll be at my 18-year-old weight, which I’m pretty sure is my set point. Thanks for motivating me to get out and run when I don’t feel like it! 15 pounds, BE GONE!! 🙂
I want to offer Vegas a job as my intern. I think he has such a sweet face.
Set point is Science. I love Dr. Linda Bacon’s thoughts on this topic. We need to respect our bodies where they are at & take good care of them regardless of our size. I am the same height as you. At my lowest, I was still 5 pounds heavier than where you are now. I know you consider yourself a “big girl”, but with your photos & stats, I just don’t see it.
PS: I love your blog too. I just have been thinking about this for awhile, & decided to speak up. Everyone’s journey is different.
I wanted to leave a comment about the meds and weight gain. After I reached my goal weight, I started a medication that caused weight gain. I didn’t make the correlation until I packed on 15 pounds and thought “Hmm, why is this happening? I’m doing everything I did to LOSE the weight!” I was exercising 5x a week, I was counting my calories diligently. Yet I was adding 15 pounds. And it wasn’t muscle!
I stopped the medication and immediately lost 5 pounds. Losing the last 10 was slower, but it was clearly the medication. Now I ask my doctor if that’s a side effect whenever she wants to give me something.
My advice to people is this: is it an absolute crucial medication? Life or death? If not, try something more natural, holistic, or try a different kind of medication that might not have that side effect.
Thank you Lisa.
So… You want to get down to your “goal weight” of 145 pounds, even though it might be a number you only see once on the scale? Is it worth the effort? Why fight your body? I’ve been there, and done it, and I do have a number on the scale that body prefers to be at. And then theres the number I want to hit. And in order to hit that number I can’t eat carbs after lunch, for like, a month. What kind of life is that? Honestly, whats it worth? I think there should be a movement to stop the last ten pounds. Because let’s face it, if we were meant to be there, we’d be there. You run marathons, girl! End rant. Ps. I love your blog and sense of humor.
Nicole-I agree! My original goal weight was 150 pounds and then I changed it to 140. I’ve been 144 pounds for like a year or two now. No matter what I do, I can’t get to 140. I decided my body is telling me that it wants to be 144 and not 140. I’m okay with that.
The reality is though I haven’t been fighting at all, I haven’t been doing anything (except bitching about it). And I still have a bad night time eating habit that I’m working on. I think if I could conquer that I’d be able to come down a bit without starving myself. It’s like 400+ extra calories a night.
PS. Thank you. I really appreciate it 🙂
That’s how I am too. I eat a lot at night. I think it’s a boredom/habit thing. I think I conditoned myself to want more stuff at night while I’m reading food blogs and I will eat while reading food blogs at night so it has become a habit.
Night time eating is my downfall too. And it’s always sweets. Working out at night helps me!