Running again

Day 2 of running.  I went slow and steady to finish 5 miles (yesterday I ran 3).  My GPS watch lost power in the middle of it :o(, but it was a good run.  I started to run the 3 mile loop and do it 2x if I had the energy but I knew I probably would not have the mental energy to do that so I just decided to run at least 20 minutes out.  It was a good way of tricking myself into finishing.  It's all mental.  I did eat a burrito kinda late last night and took 1/2 5 hr energy shot this morning before TRX Strength legs, but I feel like I can definitely handle running on strength days.  Just gotta stay committed and work later...  Last workout of 2011.  The journey continues!

140.4... sigh

Did not survive the weekend.  Really tough workout this morning.  In 16 days I'll be in Hawaii.  Not really worried about it like I was worried about Miami, but I'd generally like to get my weight down.  If I can gain 5 lbs over a given weekend, I think 120 is a very good goal.  I did not run today.  I have had a 5 week running hiatus so I really feel like I have to get back on it this week!  I'm thinking a good regimen would be:

Monday- TRX Strength, short run
Tuesday- Xtrain Tabata, Xtrain Core
Wednesday- TRX Strength, medium run
Thursday- Xtrain Tabata, Xtrain Core
Friday- TRX Strength, short run
Saturday- Rest day or cross train (Bike, swim)
Sunday- Long run

I've been at Xtrain for nearly a year.  I feel good about the consistency it has brought to my workouts.

135.2!!!

136.4

Doing good, doing good.  Today I ate before I worked out (1/2 grapefruit, green tea, and scrambled egg). I had a good workout.  I'm wondering if they're correlated.  Eating right wasn't hard yesterday, even though I was home all day.  I had the same breakfast after TRX Strength, a salad for lunch with my apple and yogurt concoction, and old bay-ed tilapia for dinner with a side salad.  I used Caesar on the second salad, and had nuts during the day but I figure those are negligible cheats.  Since I still dropped weight, I'm willing to accept that.

There's simply no way I can follow 17 day diet without deviating for 51 days.  Instead, I'm just doing my best to take advantage of the days I don't have to deviate.  Tomorrow I'm having lunch at Qdoba and dinner at the melting pot.  I'm going to do my best to make good choices at Qdoba so I can indulge a little more on my date with my boyfriend.

I'm happy.

Wednesday Post Holiday Party

Okay, so yesterday I was down to 138.something (I started writing the numbers on my dry erase calendar so I can keep track as I go- I think this is a good idea) and was a bit nervous about my department holiday party throwing me off.  I was told there would be fajitas which seemed like a relatively decent meal, healthwise.  I decided to eat well all day and then try to eat rationally at the party.  By the time I came home to get ready for the party I was hungry and craving something salty.  I stopped by the store to pick up some probiotics and carrots, and decided to get some almonds.  Btw, I have been stopping by the store WAY too much.  I like going frequently so that things don't spoil because I basically just buy what I need right then, but I think I've gone 3 times in 3 days!  Not only is this bad for the pocketbook, but it's also bad for temptations.  Every time I walk in the store I have an opportuninty to walk out with something unhealthy.  I did good though, and only bought the almonds.  I wanted salt but would have settled for roasted unsalted, but they only had roasted salted so I got that.  When I got home I portioned the container into 1-serving snack bags and told myself to eat no more than one bag each day.  Yesterday I failed, lol.  Well technically I guess I didn't because I had an unbagged few (a serving) before I went to the holiday party and a wine-induced bag after it.  Anyway, at the party I got a full plate of food, dessert, and two glasses of wine.  Here are the good choices I made:

1. Chicken on my fajita instead of steak
2. > 1/4 of my plate Salad (I looked for balsamic vinaigrette, but did not find it, so I just got the ranch)
3. I only ate one plate even though I wanted seconds, lol
4. Passed on the sour cream on my fajita (not very hard for me)

And the not so good:

1. Two glasses of wine vs. one or none
2. Couldn't pass up queso! (and I don't feel bad about it, lol)
3. Couldn't pass up cheese! On the fajita that is
4. Couldn't pass up tres leches! (and I don't feel bad about that either)

Overall, I am content with how things went.  And this morning I was down a pound from yesterday :o). This is encouraging.  I don't have to skip social outings.  I just need to make an effort to make the drinks and unhealthy eating an occasional thing.  This weekend my boyfriend is coming down for an indefinite amount of time.  That will be a true test!  Can I still lose with him here?

Working out is going.  I still haven't run :o(.  Yesterday Tabata was ridiculously hard (25 lb kettlebells).  I feel like 20 lb is too light but maybe I will ask the trainer about it because I don't think I have good form with the 25 lb weights.  Back and tri's were good today.  Hard because I'm doing the exercises right (I think?).

And a friend of mine sent me this link.  Excited to check it out.

Amazing!!!

Workout:
TRX Strength

Diet:

Well I am 141.4 :o(.  It was a fun weekend, lol.  But more exciting news, today in TRX Strength I did 2/3 sets using 30 lb. weights!!!  And it felt good.  I don't know if it was the late night beer I had yesterday (ha ha) or the green tea I drank this morning, but that is for sure the heaviest I've gone on chest.  YAY!!!

No gain, no pain!

Workout:
X-Train Tabata

Diet:

Ok, so yesterday I weighed in at 136.4 after a model 17-day-diet day.  This made me happy.  Then I ate breakfast.  According to myfitnesspal.com, it was <200 cals.  I needed to go to the office and thought about cookies before I even walked in the door.  I allowed myself to indulge in one, very good gingerbread(?) cookie.  (Having an iPhone is going to be great because I can look up cals on the go.  I have a feeling that might influence some of my choices, lol).  Anyway, I went to school and ate my tuna salad, but my chaise had come in and my friend suggested we go get it.  He saved me $100 by helping me get the chaise vs. having it delivered, so I had told him I would buy him lunch.  He wanted Mexican.  So... we went to Gloria's.  I ate too many chips (with queso) and half of my meal (Gloria's super special, oh yeah!!!).  Normally I would have eaten the other half later in the day (we went before 5:00) but I instead I drank some tea and stayed out of the kitchen.  It actually did not require much thought.  So this morning I am happy to say I am still 136.4.  I'm going to eat the other half of my meal for lunch, so hopefully I can hold steady tomorrow :o).

Now, I am beginning to think about Hawaii.  A friend of mine took some photos at a baby shower I went to this weekend (pre rededication to healthy eating), and I look a bit ginormous.  Some of that is due to the fact that I was sitting down and slouching a bit, but still.  It's good to see these things; there is no better motivation.  Anyway, in less than a month I will be laying in some beach in Hawaii, so my goal is to feel good doing it.  My boyfriend wants to take me out this weekend, so I'm going to try to make some decent choices.  Portion control if nothing else.  I am to the point where I feel good on the inside AFTER I eat right, so hopefully I can think of that beforehand without a lot of effort.  I also got some information on the Paleo diet, so I may check that out as well.

140.2 to 138.2

So I have been debating whether I should count calories or follow 17 Day Diet.  Counting calories gives me much more flexibility and provides a sort of buffer, but I know that 17 Day works, and works fast.  For now I think I will try to do both.

Yesterday I followed the diet to the T (<800 cals :-/).  I was tempted by the junk food at Office Depot but refrained.  When I got home I ate carrots until dinner was ready.  But late last night I had 5 M&M's which turned into the rest of them (party favor from baby shower).  Regardless, this morning I weigh 138.2, two pounds less than yesterday, so hopefully today will be better.

.......

Today was better!  I stuck to the diet.  I packed some carrots for an emergency snack and eating them on the bus helped me not be starving by the time i made it home.  The higher calorie breakfast kept me from being hungry throughout the day, too.  I tracked my calories and again I am under 1000.  It's just hard to eat 1200 calories worth of lean protein and vegetables.  I'm going to try to stick with the first cycle through Friday, and count cals this weekend.  If I do go to Dallas, that could prove difficult, but I don't know, we'll see.  Next week I may move to the second cycle depending where my weight is. (I'm recording less of what I've eaten.  The details are on myfitnesspal.com)

Workout:
X-train Tabata

Diet:

Back to Tabata

Workout:
X-train Tabata

Diet:


Tabata was HARD!!!  I felt so out of shape!  I can't wait to get back in gear.  I am looking forward to tomorrow's leg workout.

I'm trying to figure out a way to fit in running and X-train classes...

I know, I know...

Workout:
TRX Strength

Diet:


I know, I know... It's been a while.  Well I am 138ish, a 2x marathoner, and eager to tackle 18 pounds for good.  I started yesterday by doing 25 sit-ups in the morning and night.  I had a lot of energy last night, possibly because I didn't workout for 2.5 weeks, but I hope I can find that same feeling more often than not.  I am looking (again) to add more structure to my days, as it is time to get moving on my dissertation and I would like to do so gracefully.  Today is my first day back to the gym since the marathon.

The gym was awesome.  I wanted to go a bit lighter since it's been so long, but refrained and actually went a bit heavier.  35 lbs for upright row, 25 on midrow, 20 on highrow.  I kinda lost my gusto on the pressdowns.  They are hard when you do them right, lol.  I think I'm getting it though.  Anyway, it was a good first day back.

I'm back!

Workout:

TRX Strength

Walk/Run

Diet:

Ok so I have been having major issues with marathon training so far. I'm thinking I need to 1. get more carbs in me and 2. stop going to X-train on leg days :o(. I also want to join a running group. My mind and body just aren't cutting it...

Saved by the Kitty

Workout:

3 mile run

Diet:

Kitty got me out of bed this morning! So glad she did :o). I ran sub 9:30 miles!

Workout:
Run (3 miles)

Diet:

Workout:

TRX Strength

Diet:

Workout:
X-train 360

Diet:

Workout:
X-train 360

Diet:

Workout:
Run (4 miles)

Diet:

Workout:

X-train 360

Diet:

making today better than yesterday

Workout:

Run (3 miles)

Diet:

back to it!

Workout:

Run (4 miles)

Diet:

Workout:

Run (3 miles)

Diet:

Workout:

TRX Strength

Diet:

Social networking for runners?

Workout:

Run (5 miles)

Diet:

eat and run... but how?

Workout:

TRX Strength

Run (3 miles)

Diet:

So I am at a bit of a loss regarding how to eat right now. Yesterday I was a walking zombie and craving pizza (I don't even really like pizza). After I ate the pizza my energy levels skyrocketed. I remember this same thing happened with m&ms when I started this blog. I feel like with the amount of exercise I'm getting and the energy required to do the work I do everyday, I may need some more carbs. Now yesterday I had that black hole phenomenon, where pizza led to rice crispy treat led to sandwich, cake, etc. so maybe if I focus less on eating perfect meals and more on eating balanced meals I would be better off. I need to put some thought into this. I think I can deal with the restricted cals/carbs now, while my weekly running mileage is still fairly low. Obviously when I start running >10 miles I'll have to make another adjustment. I'm thinking I may want to turn to the 3rd cycle of 17 day diet for guidance.

Workout:

Run (3.9 miles)

Diet:

134.something

Workout:

TRX Strength

Diet:

Today I'm not even sore from yesterday's run. That's encouraging. I did take time to really stretch out yesterday so that may be the difference. Yesterday I really wanted to stray from the eating plan, but one thing that I did to really combat that was coming home and cooking rather than stopping by the beauty store. I realize the longer I go without eating, the more likely I am to succumb to the junk at the register. I know they say don't go grocery shopping on an empty stomach, but thanks to the chips and candy bars at every type of store (clothing, drugstore, etc.) I really set myself up for failure by going any-kind-of-shopping on an empty stomach. I was also up late working and found myself craving junk. I have ice cream in my fridge from the weekend (I should have bought less) but I was able to bypass it. Another good reason to go to sleep at a decent hour :o).

1 down, 71ish to go

Workout:
Run (3 miles)

Diet:

Today was my first day of marathon training. It was a good run.

recommitting

Workout:
TRX Strength

Diet:


Dr. Mike says to recommit to your healthy eating every Monday. I love that idea. I wish I had the discipline to go a full uninterrupted 17 days eating right, but at least I haven't let it go completely.

Also, this weekend I bought Planter's antioxidant mix which I used to love. When I got home I remember thinking that I didn't love it quite as much as I remembered, lol, but this morning I felt compelled to eat some anyway. This reminds me of what I already know. You can't eat what's not there. Though I would love to have the discipline to not eat food I don't really want to even if it's in my house, I clearly don't and need to take advantage of a house filled with only the food I've put in it...

Pistol Squats

Workout:

TRX Strength

Diet:

Kefir Smoothie

Green tea

Super salad (egg, tomato, spinach, carrots)
Apple
Biokefir

Cashews

Hideout burger with cheddar, fries

2 Dos Equis

Snickers Ice Cream Bar

Starburst

Crown Royal

Feeling strong this morning. I need to get more sleeveless tops for my workouts. And pistol squats are hard, hard, hard! I think next week I'll go back to MWF Xtrain workouts since I plan to start marathon training.

Static

Workout:
Xtrain Tabata

Diet:

I woke up and was kinda sad to see that I was still 134.6... I really wanted hideout for dinner because I was so hungry by the time I got home, but lucky for my waistline Brian had a friend over who was watching Nip/Tuck and couldn't go for 45 min, which I DEFINITELY could not make myself wait. So Oven BBQ chicken it was. I don't really like how chili powder tastes. The chicken had hints of that same taste that the chili recipe had. I need to take some time to build a repertoire of healthy recipes I like :o). Day 3: success!

1 day in, 3.4 lbs down

Workout:

TRX Strength

Diet:

I followed "Accelerate" yesterday and am already down to 134.6 (I was 138.0 on my own scale yesterday). Clearly this is water weight but I just love the nearly instantaneous results of this eating plan. I will start marathon training soon and I am excited about the possibility of shattering my weight loss goals.

5th of July

Workout:

Xtrain Tabata

Diet:

I got measured at Xtrain this morning. I have 28.5% body fat (I think) which is considered 'acceptable.' That makes me happy. I also weighed in at 138.6 courtesy of the 4th of July weekend. Xtrain is having a weight loss challenge for a month. I'm excited to have the extra motivation.

Scheduling workouts like meetings

Workout:

TRX Strength

Diet:

I didn't eat the best yesterday, but I am loving that I ate 3 meals. Additionally, I didn't eat when I wasn't hungry.

sweating like a...

Workout:
X-Train Tabata

Diet:

Blog Rededication

Workout:

TRX Strength

Diet:

I crossed the 135 threshold. I like Dr. Mikes idea: everytime I cross my number I will follow 17 day until I'm back down. Eventually I'm aiming to be 125 so my number will decrease as my weight loss increases. I'm also going to log my diet even on my "non-17-day" days. Not being able to log what I've eaten is a sign of mindless eating as well as too much snacking, two things I really want to get away from. I'm very happy with what I accomplished before going to Florida, but this is where the real work comes in: staying committed.

muscle fatigue

Workout:

TRX Strength

Diet:

Rededication, take II

Workout:

X-train Tabata

Diet:

Yikes I was really craving sweets tonight. The good thing is there are no sweets in the house besides fruit so I just ate that. I was 135.0 this morning. I went to the grocery store yesterday and bought just enough food for these four days since I'll be in Dallas for the 4th. 17 day diet makes meal planning easy and inexpensive; it seemed like a good excuse to do it for 4 days. It was hard getting my butt to X-train this morning too. I felt great once I was there/done though. That's some motivation to stick with diet and exercise: the longer you stay off the wagon, the harder it is to get back on.

Workout:
X-Train Tabata

Diet:

I love this picture! It is the only picture from Miami that I feel really shows definition. I'm almost reassured by this as I was a bit worried that I was getting too bulky too fast.

X-train was good today. Tough but good. I don't feel like jello but I have a feeling I'll be sore tomorrow. Running was actually the hardest part, lol. It's good to be back though.

Back to reality

132.6. I ate whatever I wanted last week but I found myself only eating 'til I was full and eating less throughout the day to make up for the alcoholic calories. It felt good to take some time off and it helped me realize that eating right isn't punishment; most of what I eat I really like to eat. Anyway, my hard work paid off. I didn't have to 'suck in' on pics and I felt comfortable wearing all my clothes.

I missed TRX this morning (overslept), but I'll be back on it tomorrow. I'm also using this week to clear out my cabinets by eating what I want in the form of 3 meals.

SERIOUSLY??

Workout:

TRX Strength

Diet:

130.0... smh

Workout:
X-train Tabata
X-train Core

Diet:

Class was kinda rough this morning. I credit last night's run. I could take a day off but I will have a full week (probably more) off starting Saturday, so I don't want to! 130.4 this morning. What is it about that number? I'm not going to cheat today. I just want to see the 120s before I ruin it. I'm not where I wanted to be by this time (low-mid 120s) but I'm really happy with how I look :o). Regardless of the scale, I definitely feel that I'm in the best shape of my life.

Get your run on!

Workout:

TRX Strength

Run (3 miles)

Diet:

132.something. Gonna try to go another day without deviating. Hopefully I'll be motivated by the scale to go two more in the morning.

Well I've been shopping all freakin day and I'm exhausted. I didn't realize it would take so long and decided to have a late lunch. It's almost 6:00 and I'm just now eating... I made it through the day with the help of gum and green tea. I love that I am able to get green tea at any coffee shop. I went to The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and whatever I had (some kinda cherry grean tea) was really really unique and good. I was close to succumbing twice, once at the frozen yogurt place in the Domain, and again at HEB in the checkout line. Somehow I was able to dig into my willpower once again. I want to go on a run tonight. There are group runs at The Running Company at 6:30 on Wednesday nights, but I really just want to sit for a bit.

.......

I got my run in! Psychologically 3 miles is really not hard to make myself do. It was 93 degrees when I left. I guess I have acclimated to the TX heat pretty well. I've been holding plank for 1 minute since... Saturday maybe. I can see definition in my middle, and shopping is definitely more fun because I am smaller. I'm happy about the changes I've made. I hope they are permanent!

3 more days

Workout:

X-Train Tabata

X-Train Core

Diet:

133.something this morning. This diet is amazing. I'm eager to see what I'll be in the morning. Last day with company, and I survived. It actually wasn't too hard. I think I was more motivated to work out actually. So yeah, praying for additional weight loss in the morning.

Back on it!

Workout:

TRX Strength

Bike (7.8 miles)

Run (3 miles)

Diet:

I'm back! I had a fun yummy weekend, but it feels good to know that tomorrow I will wake up feeling light and energized. I think I kinda thrive on amazing people, lol. When I went to my friend's pool last week I had planned on eating something (cheating) eventually but it's like the more I felt like my friends expected me to eat, the more I wanted to prove I could make it. With my dad and his friend here, I feel like I am the person I want to be seen as when I run and that makes me want to. Maybe I need a roommate to keep me on my toes.

Even though I cheated this weekend (without regret), I found that I had more restraint than normal. I think that sometimes I feel like this is my only chance to eat *insert bad food here* and I go a little crazy. I notice I'll be thinking about the second serving of ** before I'm even halfway through with the first. Last night I was eating a Snickers ice cream bar and I decided that I would have 2 since I plan to eat like a 17 day diet spokeswoman for the next 5 days, but I caught myself and really savored all of the one I was eating. By the time I was done I didn't even want the second. Also I didn't finish all of my potato salad or fries yesterday. It's like I value calories much more now and don't want to waste them on just anything.

The candy bowl is back, lol. I survived today. I'm 136.something so I gotta get that down. I think I can be 130 by Friday. And my friend asked me to get her from the airport at 9:30 so that's a good excuse to go a full 5 days without cheating :o).

focus on form

Workout:

Run (5 miles)

Diet:

Today is off to a good start. I wanted to run 5 miles but knew that 3 was probably more realistic. I tried for 5 anyway. The other day in class Jeremy said when you get tired to focus on form. So I did. It was a good run.

Daddy's home!

Well my dad is here and his gf likes to eat so I have officially given myself permission to take two cheat days. I plan to get some good running in and then eat based on the activate plan M-F. I made whole wheat blueberry pancakes this morning. They actually weren't bad. I will need to measure out my syrup tomorrow though to make sure I didn't over do it.

Friday!

Workout:

TRX Strength

Diet:

3-a-days?

Workout:

Xtrain Tabata

Xtrain Core

Yoga (60 min. fire)

Bike (7.6 miles)

Diet:

So today has been awesome, lol. I definitely have lots of energy/motivation. I woke up for Tabata this morning and went ahead and stayed for the core class. And then I went to hot yoga. And then I biked. The core class is hard. I can't do those pikes on the ball, but I'm glad I was shown a way to do pikes without TRX bands so I can practice at home :o). I don't really consider yoga a workout. I don't know why. Do workouts have to be hard? I don't really consider biking a workout either. I just enjoy it, especially now that the route to bus stop has bike lanes.

So clearly I cheated a bit today. My colleague had some chips left over from the boat cruise on his desk and I couldn't (i.e. didn't want to) resist. And then when I was cooking dinner I decided I really wanted the last Snickers bar, lol. In both cases, I did a good job of eating slowly and savoring the flavors. I don't really feel bad about the extra treats though; I think I earned them today (see workouts, he he). Last night when I was eating the Snickers bars I found myself anticipating the next one before I even finished the one I was eating. I think knowing that I only had 1 of what I was eating today really helped me slow down. I guess the moral of the story is that I can't yet have a lot of junk without eating a lot of junk.

I continue to be very happy and encouraged with what I'm seeing in the mirror. I'm going to have to go on vacation every 3 months to keep the good work going, lol.

Rockin' and Rollin'

Workout:

TRX Strength

Diet:

I registered for the San Antoino marathon. Registration fees were almost half off today only and I just couldn't pass it up. I'm pretty excited about it.

I also tried my friend's advice and ate half a grapefruit before class. I'm not exactly sure how much it helped but i definitely have a lot of energy right now. Class was good. Upper body, back and arms. I don't know why shoulder presses are so freaking hard, goodness, lol. Good workout though.

Boat cruise today! I will probably skip the alcohol and try to enjoy everything else without losing control. We'll be on a boat surrounded by food for 4 hours so I think drinking plenty of water will be key. Anyway I'm excited and think it'll be a good time.

Snickers

Workout:

X-train Tabata

X-train Core

Bike (9.3 miles courtesy of forgotten lunch)

Diet:

My X-train friend talked me into trying the core class. It was short and hard. I enjoyed it though. Not sure if it's worth the extra 45 min. I can do planks and what not on my own, but of course it's good to feel the pressure of not looking whimpy :o). I again had the urge to go running when I got home, but went ahead and came in for breakfast. My friend mentioned that she eats before class. I'm wondering if having a little something would give me some extra energy, i.e. a better workout. May need to play around with that.

So last night I bought some Snickers Ice Cream Bars. I know that it's not a good idea to bring junk food in the house. I am able to resist temptation but I'd prefer not to create the temptation in first place. I rationalized that instead of buying the king sized Snickers and eating 300 calories, it'd be better to buy the box of regular Snickers and eat 160 calories. My dad is coming on Saturday, so my goal is to refrain from eating (more than one) Snickers until then. I would like to get to a place where I can have junk food in sight without it wreaking havoc on my restraint.

Oh, by the way, that yogurt was terrible. Incredibly sour, even with the apple added in. And might I add that that chicken was even better as leftovers!!

My friend took some pictures at her apartment the other day and I seriously barely recognized myself when I saw them. Now I can't stop looking at them, lol #admittedlyVain. Have a look:

130.4

Well good morning! So today I woke up 8 hours after eating that salad and wasn't exactly looking forward to getting on the scale. But I did and to my delight I'm 130.4! Eating right has me feeling great. I don't wake up full from the day before, I wake up light and energized. So today is Memorial Day and I haven't cheated big (i.e. ate anything that wasn't listed somewhere in my book) since Tuesday because I was saving it for today. And now I'm on the right path and truly don't want to stop the momentum. I think a compromise is to avoid alcohol today. Tomorrow is Tuesday and I'm not going to start my 'week' off dehydrated and crappy feeling. I'm also going to do my best not to go crazy this evening :o). Maybe I should write 130.4 on my hand, lol.

Workout:

Bike (7.6 miles)

Yoga (90 min. water class at sunstone)

Diet:

Ok so on my way home I considered not listing the things I ate tonight since I imagined it would look pretty terrible in writing, but that's not the point of this... I don't feel overly guilty about my food choices tonight. I did a good job anticipating the kind of night this might have been and so I can at least take comfort in the fact that this was really the first time I ate bad in 6 days. I do think I could have made some better choices as far as food selection and portion control, but this is how we learn/grow.

What I did well:

I planned and 'saved up' for this. I knew it was coming and I knew it wouldn't be good for my diet so I tried to eat well in the days leading up to it. I also worked out this morning and ate light all day. Additionally, I only had one Dos Equis and that one did not lead to any others. I enjoyed my well deserved beer :o).

Room to grow:

Portion control! My first plate had really good portion sizes. But then I got another plate. And then another hot dog. I would like to have stopped with one plate, maybe a total of two hot dogs. Cupcakes get me every time, and they weren't even my favorite kind! I would like to have only had two of the mini ones as my dessert. And the chips became a snacking thing instead of part of the meal. I think in the future if it's not on my dinner plate, I want to wait until it is.

Healthier choices. There were actually turkey burgers! And wheat hot dog buns! And chicken. Of course I love hot dogs so I wanted that, but maybe a better plan of attack would have been to have a piece of chicken and then have one hot dog on a wheat bun. Also it may have been a better idea to just have the pasta salads rather than the chips since the chips are hard to eat in moderation. This was much harder than the Flying Saucer last week because I didn't/couldn't have the same sort of plan going in. I also should have drank more water throughout the night. This may have kept me too full to eat mindlessly.

Ok that's it. I weigh 134.6 right now so at least I know it shouldn't be worse than that tomorrow morning. But tomorrow's a new day and a new chance to recommit to my health.

Lessons learned:

• Even if you don't know what will be served away from home and can't form a concrete plan as far as what to eat, try to make some educated guesses as to what might be there and sketch a plan based on that. Then you can modify the plan when you see what's actually on the menu. Better to have a general plan than no plan.
• Don't forget to hydrate. Try to let water keep you too full to overeat.

Willpower

Diet:

Kefir Smoothie

Green tea

1/2 (because I couldn't finish it all) Chicken breast fillet (soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, garlic, lime)

Collard greens

Apple

Greek yogurt

Green tea

Green tea

Salad (yesterday's + carrots)

Still hanging tight at 132. Aaahhh 3 lbs away! Come on body!! I may have lunch with my friends today. I told them I would bring my own, but I'm thinking I may just eat before I go for convenience. I would like to strictly stick to the eating plan today as I deviated yesterday. I'm glad that the deviation didn't register on the scale and recall that I generally weigh a bit more the day after running. I would like to get another run in today.

So yesterday I went to Sprouts for my shopping and after comparing labels for quite some time I bought Greek God's Greek Yogurt. Well just now as I was making my apple yogurt snack to take to my friend's house I happened to compare the label with Yoplait's Greek yogurt and boy was I surprised! Greek God's has 60 calories compared to the 120 in Yoplait! Tomorrow we'll see if that's reflected in the taste...

.....

Now that's willpower! I told my friend I would bring my own food to her house today and when I couldn't make it to two o'clock, I went ahead and ate lunch at home. I took my snack (apple/yogurt) and green tea over there. I love hot dogs, and I love potato chips. They had both, lol. I normally would be willing to sacrifice my diet for a couple of hot dogs, but because I know that two hot dogs leads to three leads to chips leads to too much pasta salad leads to cake leads to liquor and repeat (all of these things were there), I just decided to abstain for as long as possible. And apparently not eating is an appetite suppressant so I made it through the night, lol. By the time I got home I didn't even want dinner, but I am forcing myself to eat a salad before bed. I should have taken one with me, note to self. So yeah, good job today team healthy eating. Also, I'm glad I didn't let healthy eating stop me from having fun. It actually wasn't even awkward until other people make it awkward by making a big deal about me not eating there. But still, that passed and I was fine.

Lessons learned:

• If you make a conscious decision to eat right when going to a social event, bring enough food to sustain you through the time you'll be there. If you'll be there 'til 10:00 but you normally eat between 6:00 and 8:00, bring dinner.
• If someone comes to the social event you're at and chooses not to partake in the consumption of unhealthy foods, accept that and don't make a big fuss over it. In trying to make them more comfortable you'll probably just make them uncomfortable :o).

Cheat Day

Well I realized that giving myself 'cheat days' was making it easier for me to get through the week without epic eating failures, so I decided to go back to that. All day yesterday I was craving everything but decided I'd try to wait until today (Saturday). I made a deal with myself to eat dinner first and then if I still had my cravings I would succumb. Of course I didn't want anything after I ate. But today I got on the scale and was 132.0 and now I don't even want to cheat! I want so badly to get to the (mid) 120s. I know I have gained some muscle weight so I'm content if I stay the same weight since I know I've lost fat. However, if I lose a significant amount I just know I'll feel/look amazing. In addition, Monday is Memorial Day, so there might be some inevitable cheating if I hang with people from school. I hate that so many social events are centered around eating; I feel like if I want to eat right I have to limit my social interaction. It is a potluck however, so I could easily just bring something to grill that I want to eat. Next Wednesday is the department boat cruise. I'm not too thrilled at the prospect of hanging around drunk math people in the hot sun for 4 hours sober. In fact it sounds like pure torture. I feel like alcohol does quite a bit of damage as far as (water) weight gain, but I do want to go. It's going to be hot as hell... Ehhh I need to think about this. I can always of course get a run in to make up for any damage I do, but I don't know; it just feels so good to be putting good things in my body. Also, next weekend my dad and his fiance are coming to visit for 3.5 days. When they leave I will only be able to eat well for 2 days before the frat reunion weekend. So yes, the point is I would like to take advantage of the opportunity to eat right while it's easy, i.e. when there is not all kinds of (yummy) junk food sitting in front of me.

Lessons learned:

• For me, it's easier to eat right when there is a cheat day in sight. Instead of trying to eat like a fitness angel for 2 weeks, I'll try to do it for 3-5 days. By the 4th-6th day, the benefits of eating good have started to show and I won't even want to cheat.
• Cravings are mental. When craving *insert yummy fatty salty empty-caloric food here,* if I eat something good/planned first I usually will no longer want **. Knowing this can help me defeat that desire to eat unhealthy.

PS- Did you know a Chili's Oldtimer w/ cheese (what I was tempted to have for dinner yesterday) has 800 calories??? Sigh, it's like they just pour lard into foods at restaurants.

Workout:

run (3 miles)

Diet:

So I hit the pavement for the first time in over a month. It felt really really good. I was actually kind of impressed with my speed/endurance. I definitely don't feel out of shape. Feels good to be back!

Day 3

Workout:

TRX Strength

Bike (7.5 miles)

Walk (1.2 miles)

Diet:

132.6ish today! Not sure if I worked hard enough at workout this morning (legs). I guess my soreness will tell me tomorrow. Today is Friday so in my head I can take this evening/tomorrow off, but I don't really want to! That scale can be really encouraging. Protein shakes definitely helped with the 5 days of workouts this week!

Day 2

Workout:

X-train Tabata

Diet:

Yesterday was an awesome eating day but it hasn't yet registered on the scale. I tried on my swimsuits yesterday and while there's still work to be done, I'm pleased.

I actually wasn't too hungry for dinner after snacking on carrots but I ate anyway. I was worried the strawberries (vs. apple) would have me starving by the time I got home, but that wasn't the case. And as a bonus I defeated the candy bowl today! Oh, and I did have time for a run AND hot yoga but didn't do either. That's the beauty of doing my workouts in the morning; I can take my evenings off if I want to!

Day 1, take 73

Workout:

TRX Strength
Bike (9.5 miles)

Diet:

Today was a good day. I really enjoyed my bike ride(s), and the extra workout didn't make me hungry. Gum and tea were helpful. Tomorrow I'll take the Tabata class but maybe I'll have time to squeeze a run in as well. That or hot yoga...

All or Nothing

I tend to take kind of an all or nothing approach to healthy eating. Last night I managed to overcome that, but failed miserably today. It's my hope that this blog will help me with that.

Today I started off good (this is typical). And then I had 3 m&m's. And then 5. And so on... So then I had a pack of powdered doughnuts. And a $.99 bag of Salsa Verde Doritos. I finished off with some leftover popcorn.

Where did I fail? After I ate the first few m&m's I felt good. Satisfied and happy that I was satisfied off so little. But then it spiraled out of control. In theory 100 extra calories is tolerable. But it always leads to more. Therefore, I think my best bet is to delegate either a time of day or day of week when I can have whatever. That was working for me at first. Today is Tuesday. I'm going to work to defeat the candy bowl the rest of the week and I will treat myself to whatever I want on Saturday.

Workout:

X-train Tabata

Diet: