I'm so disappointed with myself this morning. I felt heavy waking up, so I weighed myself and sure enough, I'm 183.6. Late last week I actually saw 181 on the scale and I felt slim. I had been eating meals from the Flat Belly Diet - about 400 calories 4 times a day with one monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) food at each meal. It felt really good and I was never hungry.
Well, the weekend came and payday came and I decided that my husband and I hadn't been out in a while. We called one of my friends and went to a favorite neighborhood of ours for dinner and drinks. The place we ate dinner at has saloon in the name yet there are healthy menu choices, but no I choose the bacon cheeseburger with tator tots. My friend had insisted getting a cab so we could drink even though I told her I had no problem with driving and keeping it to 2 drinks. But since we had the cab we had more than a few drinks. The rest of the weekend, my husband and I ate meals that weren't very bad. But I took a break from counting the calories and I knew I was having more than I should. Also I decided to give my body a rest from running.
So that brings us to today. I know that I can get rid of 2.6 pounds pretty quickly, but I was hoping to get down into the 170s this week. So lesson learned. I think I can skip the calorie counting for one day over the weekend, but not Friday night, Saturday and Sunday.
Now I'm going to try to brush off my foul mood and start my Monday - with a healthy breakfast of course.
It's been a while since I've written, but I have pretty much staying on track. My friend and I have been running 3 times a week consistently. The consistency has always been a challenge for me, but having a friend that is also committed helps so much! Mostly we've been running at the gym. Since its dark after work now and often raining, running at the gym helps us stay on track.
Today I had a tough workout! I got in the car ready to drive to the gym, but at the last minute I decided to run outside instead. It's such a nice fall day, it would have been a shame not to take advantage of that. A few months ago, I mapped out on mapmyrun.com the perfect 3.1 mile loop near my house. I decided to do the whole thing even though I know I still can't run it all. At the gym, I've worked my way up to 2 miles of solid running, but running outside is much more difficult. The other thing that made this run/walk tough is the fact that my husband and I did a total pig-out last night. I made a ragu sauce and had it with spaghetti and garlic bread and - oh yeah - 3 beers. That sort of thing used to be a typical Saturday night for us. But I've been counting calories on CalorieCountPlus.com and I just can't handle that much food anymore! Boy, do I hate waking up full. It sure makes for a difficult run. My time was 36 minutes 33 seconds. That's not bad for me, and a good bar to set for an outdoor 5k run.
Besides running, I've counting calories. The site that I mentioned above is excellent. Check out the Account page with the eat meter vs burn meter. And this weekend, I picked up the Flat Belly Diet book. I have mixed feelings about this book. It seems to be based very solidly on research, mostly research related to diabetes. My reservations have to do with the way the diet is presented. It's clearly aimed at women and is a bit gimmicky in its marketing (eg. "Not a single crunch required"). The reason I bought the book is because its filled with meal ideas and easy recipes. All meals are 400 calories. I have a gazillion cookbooks, but when I sit down to plan meals its overwhelming and time-consuming. So I'm glad to have some easy options on hand. Also, the diet emphasizes eating healthy fats, which I'm behind all the way. The goal behind getting this book is actually to help me with meal options and help my husband with his weight loss goals. He doesn't want to think too hard about what he needs to eat, and I want to make sure he doesn't get type 2 diabetes. So we'll see if the book helps.
and I'm not sure what to pick. I'm not sure if I'll do another triathlon again next summer. Even so, that's a long ways off. Right now I'm enjoying learning how to run. I have a friend joining me in this challenge and together we've been pretty good about sticking to a schedule.
One goal is certainly to complete a 5k without walking. Within the next few months, I'm thinking about adding some activities to strengthen my core, which should help with the running. I do have one oddball idea for a goal. I took yoga last winter. The instructor would often have us practice headstands. I could only do it against the wall, but even that was fun. Maybe I'll try for a headstand without the help of the wall.
Tonight I did 2 miles on the treadmill for the first time! I was aiming to beat my top time of 25 minutes of straight running and when I hit 26 minutes I only had to run a few more seconds to hit 2 miles. I'm not certain that I could do the same outdoors, but I'll try that soon. For now, I'm enjoying my 2 miles!
I actually don't consider myself an emotional eater. But I'm so stressed right now with work and then my husband called me with a problem and I started walking to the kitchen to grab a bag of Cheetos! At my job they just have little bags of chips sitting in the kitchen to take. Along with Twizzlers and Easy Mac and cookies..... How convenient!?!?
But I turned around and went back to my desk. I reminded myself that I feel so good right now physically. I stayed within my calorie range yesterday and I ran last night instead of going to happy hour. No need to ruin it now with stupid Cheetos. (but they're so salty and cheesy!) Can't you just see the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other?
Now that I got that off my chest, I will be ok. This site rules!
On other note, did anyone watch The Biggest Loser last night? I love that show! I can't believe how good that guy looks now (the one who left on last night's episode). It's so inspiring.
I'm going to make this short, because I have to watch The Hills (my guilty pleasure) tonight. Anyway, I ran 25 minutes tonight on the treadmill! I forgot to check the distance, but I think it was about 1.8 miles. I haven't been to the gym in so long. I've mostly been running small amounts outside. The longest I've run outside is still 17 minutes. I was trying for 20 minutes on the treadmill tonight, but when I got there I felt like I could keep going! So I pushed to 25, and it felt awesome.
Last night I ran after work.The entire walk home from work I spent debating:Run?Swim?Just run tomorrow instead?But when I finally did get home, I changed and went to just do it.I want to make this post short today, so let me just say that it was a little difficult, but I was glad I did it.I felt my form improving at the end of the run.I need to try maintain a schedule and I need to not eat so much.Lately whenI run, I feel like I’m running with a full gut.
I have a song in my head and I'm going to send out this dedication to TryingNTriing:
I have gained weight this week. l haven't had trouble sticking to my diet during work, but has been falling apart after work. I need to work on planning dinners that fall within my calorie range.
I only went running once this week. It was the morning after eating way too many potato chips at a coworker's open house. My stomach felt pretty terrible during the run. It's difficult to hold your core solid while potato chips are rolling around in your gut.
My next big push needs to be to see 7s on the scale. 187 won't do. I need to see 179, which is something I haven't seen since...oh.... 1996? I can do it. I have 5 weeks until we go to San Francisco to visit friends. Today I'm 185.8 (up from my recent norm of 184). So it's about 6 pounds in 5 weeks. That sound totally do-able. Here I go!!
I'm so happy that its the weekend. Now all I have to do is get my friend's courthouse wedding out of the way this morning. It's an interesting situation that I don't even want to waste more time thinking about. Fortunately I've made the good decision to skip the all-you-can-eat brunch at Salty's on Alki after the ceremony.
So my goals for the weekend: 1. Run 2. Figure out my typical nightly calorie range and plan meals within the range. 3. Finish the puzzle on my coffee table. 4. Process the UAT cube for work. 5. Enjoy myself!
Hmm, where to start... It's been a while since I wrote anything. Two weekends ago, I went home to Wisconsin for a long weekend. I had a fantastic time, and I'm so happy I had the chance to visit my friends and family. Health-wise, I ate quite a bit but also stayed active. While visiting my friends, my friend Beth and I went for a mile run with a mile walk back. My friends Karyn and Meg walked behind us along Lake Michigan. It felt so good, and I was proud of the two of us for doing it. It would have been so easy to just continue relaxing in the apartment. I showed Beth my past blog entries about the triathlon we did together in 2004. Of course, my friend Meg (her sister) was like 'Hey! Where's the blog about me?!' :) Meg also deserves some blog time. We laughed about how we used to complain about our BodyPump class and say that we were going to go out for a beer instead. But we never ever did that. Meg is too dedicated. I probably would have done it.
At my parents house, we all did a 3 mile walk around their country block one day and then a 4 mile walk around the other block the next day. The weather was beautiful, and it gave us all a chance to chat. My brother was there both days, and I rarely get to talk to him. My mom and I did a jigsaw puzzle together. My Dad drove us all over the place in his 39 Chevy. We ate so many wonderful vegetables from my Mom's garden. I sampled 38-year old cheddar (yes, there's a story behind that), and I ate the best 2 plums off my life from a tree in their yard. I can't say enough what a great visit it was.
The week after getting back from Seattle I did watch my diet very well and also didn't exercise much. To my surprise, I didn't gain anything! This is where I really have to be careful. I don't want to let my guard down. And I'm afraid that happened tonight. My friend Laina and I tried to go kayaking, but they closed early. She hadn't eaten, so we went out for a couple drinks and dinner. I had already had dinner, but worked on a hummus plate. I guess the choice of food wasn't so bad, but I really wasn't even hungry. And I didn't get a workout in! I will certainly have to do something tomorrow. I really was looking forward to kayaking.
Tonight I watched the first episode of The Biggest Loser. I love that show! Already, I'm so happy for the couple that got kicked off because of the progress they've made since. So inspiring.
One more thing I want to mention. My grandma died on Sunday. I won't be able to fly home for her funeral. It's tomorrow. I feel bad about not making it to her funeral. My grandma was 85. Her father named her Leora (a name she didn't care for) after seeing the name in a letter written to Santa in the newspaper. She had her flaws, they're the kind you overlook when remembering someone who is now gone. She literally loved us to tears. My grandma was known for her stories. Of course, they were the same stories, over and over.... In her later years, the story about the cat suddenly turned into a story about a dog. When I was a kid, she used to fall asleep while babysitting my brother and I. (We didn't know what to do about that!) And when she was young, she would sometimes travel from her small town to the next by rollerskate. I will be thinking about her tomorrow and also about my Dad and his brothers and sister.
I just had to make "WI" my title today. Everytime I see that in someone else's post, I don't think weigh-in. In my mind, WI = Wisconsin! And that's where I'm headed today.
Today is one of my intermediate goal dates. Although I didn't reach my goal, I'm not disappointed. Today is the day I fly home to see my family and closest friends. About 4 weeks ago, I decided to that I wanted to be down to 175 by the time I went home. Then 2 weeks ago, it didn't look like that was going to happen and I settled on 180. Today I am 183.6. The great news is that I've been hanging around 183 for the past 10 days. That's progress. It means my body is getting used to this weight. This isn't just a temporary drop, and that makes me very happy.
This diet is so much about the journey. This site really reinforces that idea. I've been learning and growing as a person even if that sounds incredibly cheezy. On Monday and Wednesday, I went on a long walk and short run with my friend Laina. We ran for 5 minutes at a time. I felt like I could have run much longer. I wasn't even winded. I can feel my body changing. I'm tempted to run today before leaving, but my friend and former tri partner Beth said she wants to run with me during my visit. Fun! I'm bought the Chirunning DVD and I'm bringing it along. Now I better go pack!
