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PastaQueen

You'll laugh you ass off. (I did.)

Bit of a slump

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I’ve had to fight the urge to overeat a lot more lately. It’s like overeating is the school bully who used to pummel me for my lunch money once a week, but now he’s ganged up with two of his friends and they’re beating me up before school every day. I don’t really know why. I haven’t felt so well lately, with my headache and my foot injury and the winter that never ends. I certainly haven’t felt like my upbeat, motivated self that so many of you find inspirational. I’ve been keeping up with my marathon training, but the Pilates and weight training have taken a hit as a result. I just don’t quite feel like myself lately and I miss being myself. That PastaQueen chick, she’s kind of cool, I wish I was more like her.

Anyway, there are highs and lows in life and I’m in a bit of a slump lately. I just have to remind myself that there is a high coming up somewhere. Hopefully I won’t have to run up a big hill to get there.

Y’all remember Sarah, right? Of course you do. She’s got another chance to make the Evotri triathlon team. So send an email to vote@evotri.com with ‘pbj.typepad.com’ as the subject line or visit her blog (http://pbj.typepad.com) and vote by clicking the Evote link.

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  1. You might be suffering from over training–the recent injuries are one clue. Try sleeping with your heart rate monitor on for a few nights (because it’s SO comfortable!) An elevated resting heart rate, before you put your feet on the floor, would be another strong indication of over training.

  2. Whenever I have trained for anything (half or full marathon) I have a VERY hard time controlling my eating. It seems as if I want to eat all of the time. Hungry or not. I also noticed the last few times I trained that I was eating HUGE meals (about double what my 6’4″ husband would eat). I think that the urge to overeat has something to do with the training and the nutrients your body needs. It is a very hard thing to control, which is probably why every time I train, I gain weight. Usually it comes off when the intense training stops, but if you figure out how to control the urges without locking yourself in the bathroom, let me know.

  3. PastaQueen! It sounds like you’re suffering from I-want-winter-to-be-over-and-the-sun-to-come-out slump. Which you’ve probably heard of under the name Seasonal Affective Disorder, something I found myself very susceptible to when I was living in the great white north. Just depressed icky blah all the time. You can actually buy full-spectrum lamps (usually ugly things but they actually do help) to combat it. Or step up the vitamin D.

  5. Without the valleys, you wouldn’t appreciated the peaks… I don’t know who said that…

    I am feeling similarly slumpy and looked to you for inspiration, only to find that it’s not always sunny in the Kingdom of the PastaQueen. In a sick way, it’s motivational. It tells me to get a grip and keep on keepin on… SPRING can’t hold out forever…

    And, not for nothing, when I trained for my marathon, I predictably gained weight — no matter how much I told myself that I wouldn’t. My body thought it was STARVING all the time!

  7. PQ, you’ve stepped your exercise way up. I’m really excited for you and I always enjoy reading about your marathon training, but maybe that’s also causing you to eat more. I know I tend to do that whenever I have one of my sporadic fits of running.

  8. Slumps suck, indeed, indeed. I hope your turn the corner soon, nevertheless, you are still the cool PastaQueen Chick whom we find inspirational.

  9. Cardio usually makes you hungry.. and considering you’re training for the mother of all cardio events.. its only natural. Once you’re done with the marathon .. switch to doing more weights and voila.. the weight disappears and you barely feel hungry. You might even have to remind yourself to eat so your muscles can grow.

    It worked that way for me anyway!

  10. PQ,

    Sorry that you are feeling slumpily these days. It does happen, unfortunately. Just keep doing what you can – and if you figure out how to push back the overeating bully, please, please let us all in on the secret.

    RS

  11. Yeah, I’ve been eatingeatingeating. It’s been going around, like a flu! I think for me:

    -sleep deprivation

    -SAD (am interested in the full spectrum light and vitamin D)–like Cathleen said

    -need more fun excitingness in all this cold grey dreariness.

    Cause when you’re sleep-deprived and it’s ugly out, it seems like the only thing to do (that isn’t too hard) is to eat.

  12. SAD blows for sure. I suffer from it EVERY YEAR and it doesn’t go away until about March. I’m feeling much better now.

    For the longest time I thought I was in a slump and then I’d pull out of it, then slump, then ok… Then I got into a really bad, really long slump. I finally told my parents and they were like, “HELLO! You’re suffering from depression! Go to the doctor!” So I did (this was in late spring so I know it wasn’t SAD). I got a prescription for Wellbutrin, and from the first day I started taking it I felt normal again. It was awesome! I’m not saying you’re clinically depressed, but if it keeps up, maybe something to look into?

    Or maybe you’re just tired of watching what you eat and working out. Been there, too. :)

    Best of luck! I find you inspirational no matter what!

  13. I hate hitting those mental walls. I have been there many times and just came out of one.

    Here’s to feeling like good old pasta queen again soon!!

    **Hugs**

  14. PQ ~ Your post could have been written by me. I can’t figure out why I am in such a funk lately, but I am rolling with it and hoping that it ends with the month of March. I have no motivation to go to the gym. My eating isn’t THAT bad, although I teeter 2-3 pounds I am not happy with it.

    I need an Ellipitical FIX. Maybe today, maybe not. It is comforting to know I am not alone.

  15. lately i have been feeling the same way.

    its like open mouth, un hinge jaw, empty entire fridge into it….go to store.

    repeat next day.

    *sigh*

  16. Oh, hang in there. It’s really hard to eat right when you’re training for longer distances. At least you have the new season of BSG to look forward to, right? We have cloudy weather here today as well and it’s fascinating how it affects my mood. Hope spring gets there soon.

  19. Slumps blow chunks. But one thing I love about you and connect with you is that you are human. I blog about being young with depression/weight issues and I got to a point where I felt like I was lying because I felt the pressure to be inspirational all the time.

    But people really want to see other people go through the same things. Your accomplishments are amazing. FEEL THAT!!!

    AG

    http://www.100daysinbed.blogspot.com

  21. Hey Pasta Queen…what you’ve got, the doldrums, seems to be going around…I’ve come across similar at several blogs…

    Experienced it myself…especially the increase in hunger…I really do believe it has something to do with the season and the lunar cycle because so many seem to be affected right now…

    We’ve had a few warm sunny days here in middle TN lately and I’m finding my appetite is tapering off…I’ve been sort of idling…not gaining, but not losing…

    The log jam seems to be breaking up though, so full steam ahead…since you’re further north your jam may last a tad longer…but soon, you’ll be back on your game….this is just a bump in the road.

  22. Nothing to add to what the others have said – except some more sympathy. Sometimes these things just have to be ridden out. Keeping up with the marathon training is pretty impressive, under the circumstances. It’s been a somewhat stressful winter for you, one way or another, hasn’t it?

    Hope you feel more like yourself soon.

  23. I’m having a similar down at the moment. Also accompanied by overeating (I thought I had him licked!).

    Anyway, I’m making a list of small, non-food things I can do to un-slump myself. Making the list is also kinda fun. Just little stuff that makes me feel good. Here’s the start of the list:

    – go find a new herbal tea to try

    – paint my toenails

    – read a new book

    – hang out in borders for a while

    – call my sisters

    – send my mum a card

    – go to bed really, really early one night and just read magazines

    – plan a week of really yummy healthy dinners

    – think of silly things I’d like to do on my birthday (which is months away)

    – leave encouraging comments I’ve never commented on before..

  24. Get thee to a tanning bed! Combines the best of the lighting and the Vit D3 advice, though you can still take some Vit D3, too. If you have low-grade depression, kelp tablets (iodine) can help. I believe soil in the Midwest is iodine-poor.

    Also, get more sleep. I love kazari’s suggestion to go to bed early and read magazines/books, listen to radio or tapes, make lists – things I love, what I’m grateful for, groceries, goals for next year, etc. Bed is better than couch/sofa/ divan – whatever you call it in Indiana – because you can’t eat in bed.

    Also, if you can afford it, get a massage. Your headache sounds as if it could be a tension headache.

    We’re all cheering/praying for you, PQ!

  26. Hi PQ,

    I have been in a slump myself. It makes me feel abnormal and undeserving…and ugly…and fat…and then I read your blog and I felt sympathy for you. Why do I allow you sympathy, when all I have for myself is loathing?! This business of being human is tough work. I thank my lucky stars every day that I found your web site, as it has been such a blessed addition to my world. You give me opportunities to think about things—sometimes ideas that are on the fringes of my mind and sometimes a whole new idea to consider.

    So here’s to the end of your slump! I hope your demons don’t haunt you the way mine haunt me. Let us know if you get any bright ideas…

  27. I get it. Boy do I get it.. in fact, I just wrote on my blog abut how weighing myself does that to me isntantaneously and so I’ve been avoiding it just to get on this high I *finally* am catching..

    (( hugs )) Listen you

    You’re stuck on awesome. Know that we’re rooting for you and yes- that high will come back

    In the meantime – damage control’s the way to go :)

  28. Feelings……….Behavior…..

    These are two separate things.

    This is a lesson I must re-learn every day

    in order to maintain my weight-loss.

  29. You just made me laugh out loud with the high school bully analogy. That was good!

    Overeating is a real big bad beeyotch, and you have to bring a big stick with you to whup it. You can’t just fight fair! You have to use sneaky tactics to knock her out!

    I go through it too, especially in the winter.

    What’s pulling me out of it now is drinking more water. I’ve been buying those little Crystal Light onesie packets and putting them in bottled water so I drink more of it. Kelloggs protein water (little packets of protein powder you put in your bottled water) is also good. I find I’m not hungry anymore after a bottle of one or the other.

    I’m a person who almost hates water, so those little additions are good enough to make me sip it all day. Then, there’s less room in the old stomach, see? It’s worked better than anything else for curbing my appetite. Give it a try.

    Good luck and keep on your trail. When you fall off the horse, just sit there for a minute, dust off, say “ow!”, and then get back on!

    You’ll get there soon enough!

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