ThinspoThinspo

Me, finishing sprint triathlon 2 years ago

Traveling to Italy

Monday morning I leave for Italy for 2 weeks. Traveling solo, meeting a friend at the end of the trip to be in her wedding before flying back home. Very excited!! Very excited to travel alone--both because it's intimidating, and also because I won't have to worry about people being around and needing to fake eating. I can do what I want. Chew/spit what I want in privacy of my hotel or apartment and then go about the day. I'm always nervous before traveling not knowing just how my workouts will work out. I've found public gyms in Rome and Florence, hopefully not too far from where I'm staying. I need to know I'll have that security so I can stay thin and keep off the weight I've lost. I'm very nervous about that. Ultimately do you stay thin and get thinner by not eating, or is it from working out too? When I got to my lowest at 89lbs with full-blown ana, I wasn't working out. I didn't have the strength. I just wasn't eating and getting through the days, one day at a time. And I got my weight very low. When I work out, I feel like I have to consume a wee bit of cals in order to have the energy to power through my work outs. But are they really what makes me get thinner, or is it the lack of food? I can analyze this shit for days. I seem to be on a plateau right now. I want to get off 3 more lbs in 2 weeks. Not impossible. But is the main issue to simply stay on as low of cals as possible, or is it also keeping up daily hard workouts? Do you think you lose weight from not eating a lot, or from working out really hard?
Curious.

Look forward to checking in as I travel and keeping you posted...so comforting to have a support group via the internet even if I don't know y'all in person.

Which Burns More Calories: More Incline or Faster Speed?

Running on the treadmill in the mornings, doing intervals at higher speeds but keeping the same incline or even reducing the incline in order to maintain a higher speed, I get to wondering. Wonder which burns more calories, running at a decent pace at a high incline or keeping a moderate or lower incline but running at a high sprint?

What do you guys think?

Mid-Week Thinspo

Benefits of Chewing Gum

Chewing gum can be a great appetite suppressant, and very low cal when you chew sugar free. There's a plethora of sugar-free gums on the market. Sugar-free mints work well, too, for suppressing appetite: Breathsavers, SugarFree LifeSavers, SF Altoids, SF Ice Breakers, etc. I chew through packs a day; as soon as it loses its flavor or I am hungry, I spit out the piece and go for another. Anyway, there's an article just out that says it may also help with memory function, too. Even better, even if the supporting research is rather shaky.

Side Effects of ED?

I've recently started having my ankles and feet swell up in the later part of the day into the evening. I've changed up my workout routine in the past 6 weeks and feel great about it; losing weight, getting down to thinness again...I count my lucky stars that I'm able to be grabbing onto my ana ways from about 6 years ago and it's working. But I'm curious why, in the past week or two, my ankles keep swelling up. Circulation problems? It's weird, 'cause I have a nice, lean top but then elephant legs, ankles and feet! Anyone else have this problem after losing weight or increasing workouts or anything? Is bad circulation an ana thing? Just curious. Thanks, guys!

Preparing Meals When You Have to Eat With Others

When I'm in a situation where I have to eat with others, like on a date, with family or with a friend, I like to handle part or all of the meal preparation so I know what's in stuff (as many of us do). One dish I like to make that keeps the others satisfied and full--and let's me squeak by with as little cals as possible--is my "Protein Power Salad". I've made this for guys--brawny, football-type guys--and they love it, saying how amazed they are at how full it makes them. I love it because I can stuff their salad bowls with all the goodies and then have a layer of lettuce, raw mushrooms, and some slivers of veggies on both bowls. My bowl, however, is full of mostly just lettuce. So the bowls look the same--but one is full of lettuce and one is full of nuts, seeds, croutons, raisins, tomatoes, peppers, etc. to make a solid dish. By putting a lettuce layer on top and then sprinkling slivers of vegetables and seasonings, the bowlfuls look colorful and fancy. Keep all the "calories" on top of your bowl--i.e. slivers of tomatoes, onions, peppers, whatever--so it looks like they're in the whole salad (but really, they're just on the top). You can sprinkle cheese on the other person's salad for more flavor for them, as well as seasonings. You can stick to just seasonings for yours to avoid the fat and cals but keep it looking very colorful.


"Power Salad" Recipe:
Both Bowls:
- Lettuce (particularly different kinds, because looks better)

Other Person's Bowl:
- Tomatoes
- Croutons
- Walnuts
- Peanuts
- Raisins
- Red & Green Peppers
- Mushrooms
- Parmesean Cheese
- Snap Peas
- Seaseme Seeds
- broccoli

All tossed together with some lettuce. Fill your bowl with lettuce and a few bits of raw mushrooms and broccoli florets. On top, layer lettuce with slices of mushrooms, one or two tomato chunks, and seasonings. Sprinkle other person's with cheese and seasonings on top of their top layer. Now, they'll be full and have a crunchy, satisfying salad and you'll slip by with little calories and still be able to enjoy a meal with them.