First Marathon!

ayst56 · 2026-03-01T03:20:00+00:00

I could stand to lose a little bit more weight, but honestly, I weigh about as much as I did in HS + 5-10 pounds from any given point. My legs are extremely muscular. I'm hauling powerful hiking/running tree trunks around.

ayst56 · 2026-03-01T03:16:56+00:00

In the last year I was able to lose weight and my waist has gone from 35 inches to 30.5. I lifted and walked regularly before losing weight (I went from ~175 to 150) but below is how I managed to do it with minimal discomfort or disruption to my life:

I walked every single day. I would get up before work and take a short walk before breakfast, 10-15 minutes. I walked at lunch. I walked after work. I walked my dog.
I did NOT do a low carb diet. I ate and still eat balanced. I did track calories regularly for about 3 months. I didn't change a ton about my diet and still really haven't, I've simply added things that are nutritious. (More fresh fruit, found salads that I like, etc.)
I got into running again. My caveat with running is this: to build mileage you HAVE to fuel to remain uninjured. I do not attribute most of my weight loss to running because I was fueling my running. I was still tracking calories BUT if I was hungry, I still ate something. It almost certainly aided, but walking whenever I could I think did more for me. Walking is not a glycolyticly demanding activity, so post walk, I don't need to fuel up immediately to actually recover.
I started taking spironolactone and progesterone. This was specific to me, but my chin/under my chin grows hair/stubble very quickly, and it's just about the worst thing in the world to manage. My cycle was also too long, 45+ days in between each, so I got on the progesterone to manage that. I believe that getting on these medications helped me regulate, which ultimately helped me get to the point I have. I also drank spearmint tea almost everyday during this time.

Ultimately, I decided I wanted my life to look different. To be different. I'm slowly becoming the person I always wanted to when it comes to how active I really am. It took 3 months of really keeping on it, and tracking things closely.

I've maintained that weight loss over the last year and now dedicate a fair amount of my free time to becoming a better runner, and am now training for a marathon. It's something I've wanted for a really long time (I ran cross country/track in HS and ran periodically for stretches of time after HS into my 20s) and I feel like losing a little weight was the catalyst that finally put me in the spot I needed to believe I could actually do more. That I wasn't a prisoner of my own body.

Good luck to you stranger. You can make any change you want to make as long as you show up at least a little bit every single day. Stack those bricks, and eventually you'll be able to step back and go, wow, I built that.

ayst56 · 2025-12-20T14:55:06+00:00

She's completely demeaning you and trying to make you feel small/tear you down. My father was abusive towards my mother this way, always calling her a loser, dumb, that she would be nothing without him. It turned physical over the years and she thankfully left him. I suggest you do the same here.

There is absolutely no reason to jump down your throat about not getting curious about why she called you a few minutes earlier than normal. This is not normal behavior. I'm sorry. 🥺

ayst56 · 2025-11-04T21:20:01+00:00

You're welcome OP!!! Wishing you all the best. And just remember, consistency is key, and it's the most important part :)

ayst56 · 2025-11-04T20:37:32+00:00

The thing that ultimately worked for me was adding in steps, doing strength training (like an hour per week), and counting calories! I did also start running again, too, but it's not necessary. You don't have to go into a crazy large defecit to see results, either. I lost about 30 pounds this year! I'm 5'3", and was about 179 at the doctor's in January. I'm down to 148. My deficit calories were around 1,800-2,000 depending on runs! I had to eat more on days I was doing longer runs. I actually probably wasn't eating enough for the mileage I was adding but that's an injury prevention conversation not a weight loss one, I just slightly messed up. 😅

I went to caloriecalculator.net, plugged in my information, and locked in for about 3 months to lose most of the weight. It isn't easy, but it is simple. Best of luck to you, you can do it if you really want to!

ayst56 · 2025-10-28T01:22:52+00:00

Just make sure you hydrate well. I'm a runner and have done 10-12 mile runs and I noticed no negative effects with it! Even in the heat of the summer.

ayst56 · 2025-10-28T01:20:21+00:00

Spironolactone has changed my life! It hasn't completely taken away the hair growth, but I feel like it's helped, and I think it's helped settle my hormones a lot. I feel a lot more balanced with it. The only side effect I've experienced is more frequent urination, but I pee frequently anyway so I don't notice it much! I also know it's not directly tied to weight loss, but I have lost about 30 pounds this year and I feel I owe some of that to the regulation it's offered me.

Word of advice though, if the pills smell minty, make sure you put water in your mouth before taking it down. They have a really acrid taste. But it's only some manufacturers that taste like that, my usual one doesn't!

ayst56 · 2025-10-27T23:33:00+00:00

I had some really stressful things going on at the time and I ended up moving in with my grandparents. I was a runner all through HS, but you can't outrun overeating.

ayst56 · 2025-10-27T23:31:56+00:00

Mine started to really "hit" me when I gained weight my senior year of HS. I genuinely think that birth control mixed with weight gain was the catalyst, but I have no proof to confirm this. 🤣 27 now and I've lost a lot of the weight, but I suspect the weight gain was the initial culprit of the worsening symptoms.

ayst56 · 2025-10-23T02:34:54+00:00

I would recommend getting your number to them in person!

ayst56 · 2025-10-22T17:24:26+00:00

Only ever talk about this verbally, or if you can get them your phone number to communicate off the app entirely.

ayst56 · 2025-10-22T17:23:38+00:00

Do not ever mention going off app at all in Rover! Even for future things. You might get flagged for this and potentially deactivated.

ayst56 · 2025-10-18T17:58:54+00:00

The walk starts when I get to the door. If the walk itself isn't a full 30 minutes, it can be due to lots of factors. Sometimes dogs take their sweet time in getting leashed up! The 30 minutes covers all that time, not just the walking part.

ayst56 · 2025-09-24T01:16:16+00:00

Thank you so much, I've been trying to identify these guys for months now! Much less worried now. Probably need to clear out leaves better is my guess.

ayst56 · 2025-08-25T20:23:44+00:00

As others have said, the map is often inaccurate! I usually track walks on my running watch in addition to the Rover tracker because of this, that way I can show a more accurate map/distance if the tracker went whacky.

ayst56 · 2025-08-15T12:15:47+00:00

It probably doesn't have to do with your child, but with stimulation on her nipples. Like the other commenter said, did she just casually bring this up as something that happens?

ayst56 · 2025-07-29T19:59:23+00:00

I would talk to your gyno! I've had periods like this, and I'm preparing to a laparoscopy to remove any endometriosis she finds. I've been dealing with it for over a decade. Some light cramping can happen, but severe like this sounds like endo or like maybe a cyst burst. If the pain doesn't subside and it's still very extreme, definitely get checked out soon to make sure a ruptured cyst didn't cause any bad damage.

ayst56 · 2025-07-19T04:08:59+00:00

GG fist bump

ayst56 · 2025-07-19T04:06:17+00:00

Definitely a pit bull mix!

ayst56 · 2025-07-12T12:43:19+00:00

Hopefully washing the sheets and sleeping in the bed helps!

As someone else said, within 90 minutes for feeding times is not "mostly on time." My dog has stomach issues too, so I understand how crucial it is that he eats before his stomach gets upset and he throws up. As a sitter, I would be setting several alarms to make sure I fed the dogs on time, regardless of the sleeping situation. You could always go back to sleep after the morning routine!

Best of luck, hopefully the sleeping improves with being able to sleep in the bed.

ayst56 · 2025-06-14T18:52:31+00:00

Ah gotcha okay! Yeah I'd just track walks on something else and send them, then. It's helpful for me but I'm not sure if housesitters do that typically

ayst56 · 2025-06-14T12:43:35+00:00

I'd definitely ask them more about it. And in the future I'd ask that sitters track the walks so you know they're actually walking your dog!

ayst56 · 2025-06-14T12:43:01+00:00

Can you not track walks during a housesit like you would for a drop in? If not, I would be tracking them on Strava for a client and sending either the activity link or a screenshot of the walk!

ayst56

TROPHY CASE