Time to get creative

I've decided that I will not run for the next week.

For the past 22 days I've been consistently and almost religiously using the Lose It! app to log all my caloric intakes, and with the help of my Fitbit, track how many calories I burn. The result has been spectacular: I lost almost 7 pounds in the past 2 weeks, and if I keep watching my intake and make sure I at least walk around a bit every day it would not fluctuate that wildly (like my weight does in the past).

Not that I've reached my goal weight yet, not by a long shot.  I'm projected to lose a total of 20 pounds by the end of August, and after that I plan to lose another 20 pounds or so before focusing more on muscle building than a number weight.  But that's way too far ahead and in the main time I need to focus on the smaller goals.

Because of the way Fitbit tracts my activities the most effective way of burning calories that I can mostly closely account for is by running.  So for the past 3 weeks I've been running almost daily, each time for about 2 miles, or at least 30 minutes.  But despite my getting stronger with my HIIT classes, and that I've recently been more courageous with experimenting with dumbbells and abs exercise, all this running has taken its toll.  My plantar fasciitis has come back with full force, not quite crippling me but I can now feel it constantly when I'm just walking. My right ankle also feels funny; I now often get this sharp acute pain surging on the inside of my ankle, and I hope it will not develop into a stress fracture or something.  I may also be developing shin splint on my left leg, which is never a good sign.

So I took a day off yesterday from gym (didn't gain or lose any weight when I measured this morning), and now I'm rethinking about my exercise regimen.  I knew it was only a matter of time before I have to stop running every day.  I tried doing elliptical the other day and for some reason it was way harder than I thought and not quite as comfortable.  Also it didn't really do anything to relieve the stress I think I'm putting on my feet and ankle.  I've since signed up for a kickboxing class for the summer to spice up my aerobics, but the class doesn't really start until the end of June.  I think in the main time I will try the exercise bikes in the gym.  I did take a spinning class last summer so I'm no longer a stranger to these machines. I will probably get a more localized workout to some of my leg muscles that way but I wouldn't be surprised if I don't use these muscles when I run. I've also been more rigorous with my post-aerobic exercises.  Previously I just stretched after running and sometimes add a few abs moves like doing a quick minute of plank or some crunches.  But now I'm trying to work in at least 5 minutes of Abs workout, doing a certain number of reps for any moves I can tolerate (the leg raises, for example, that works on you lower ab, I've since scratched because it hurts my back more than working on my lower abs). Hopefully whether my Fitbit will record my effort or not I'll still be burning calories and every time I get on the scale my weight will keep dropping.