I read about a metabolic lab in D.C. that measures RMR. One thing the article mentioned: When you exercise, your RMR is lower the rest of the day. A related thing the article mentioned: Most our caloric output (70-85%, depending on who you are) is just what we already burn when resting, doing nothing, and fidgeting.
I’ll try cronometer. One of my stressors in life is that I have way too much going on and so I may back off if it’s complicated and stressing me out. I do like what Michael implied-- possibly this is a good weight gain that I can relax and embrace (and find a good tailor).
When I think of my health I always feel guilty about two things: I’ve never done yoga, and I’ve never done weight-lifting. I am intimidated by both because of the time involved and the learning curve.
I was running 40-60 FAST miles a week as a working mother, before my foot injury and surgery that I’m healing from. I’d do about 6:00 pace. No other exercise. The only other exercise I enjoy that much is skiing and long walks. Before I had my son, I ran for college on a scholarship and then trained with an Olympic coach and ran a lot more and a lot faster, ever since age 18.
Now, I’m starting off at 2-3 miles a few times a week, much slower-- 7:30-6:40 pace. That’s after 2 years of no exercise except squats. Not even walking. The pace sounds fast to people, but because of my running form and my background, it doesn’t feel fast and doesn’t cause me to sweat much or breathe too hard.
I gained all this weight a few months ago suddenly, right after I started running again. There were also a couple stressful things going on. But stress has not ballooned my weight before.
Moving forward, I think I’ll run only 3 days per week and keep the miles low. The other days I’ll try yoga and (gasp) weights. And long walks. Maybe I’ll finally get a dog. I believe in weight lifting; I just don’t like it because I’m very very bad at learning new physical skills.