The last day of 2012

Well it's the last day of the year.  A lot of people are recommitting to their health and fitness which is great.  I am more successful if I make short term goals so I'm going to try to prepare all/most of my food in January.  I guess the real goal is to avoid (over) processed food and eat three meals a day (dinner).  Should be a fun attempt.  I have a food processor, a blender, a juicer, a nu wave oven, a nu wave cooktop, a George Foreman grill, a crock pot...  I can make anything.  I should be catering not eating out lol.  It is also partly a financial decision.  Ideally I'd like to spend $300 a month on food max.  It is completely doable when I cook.  Much harder when I don't.  I am usually really tired when I get home in the evenings, mentally if not also physically.  This is what makes cooking dinner hard.  I'll have to experiment with ways to get over that hurdle.

So resolutions are daunting for many, but even if you can't accomplish all your goals I still think there is growth in setting them.  Here are some things I've learned about achieving fitness goals:

1. Set a small, reasonable goal.  If you want to lose 50 lbs that's a great goal but set something small that you can accomplish on the way so you can have a sense of achievement at some point.  Then use the momentum to keep it going.
2. Make your goal about the journey, not the destination.  It's easy to fall into the numbers trap ("I wanna get back to 150 lbs"), but if you focus your energy on the path to get there ("I'm going to work out three times each week"), the goal feels much more tangible and the numbers will follow.
3. Don't try to make too many changes at once.  The keys to healthy living are a good diet and exercise.  Consistently.  It's easier to be consistent with small changes.  Despite my addiction I can give up sugar for weeks at a time because I don't give up salt or processed food at the same time.  When I am craving a donut I just eat Cheetos Puffs lol (true story though).
4. Moments do not have to define days or months or years.  If you are not any closer to your goals on July 1 than you were on January 1, don't be discouraged!  The year is not lost!  You don't have to be miserable about it until 2014!  Recommit and get going :o).
5. Always remember success is not final, failure is not fatal, it's the courage to continue that counts. It's ok to fail.  Adjust your goals and continue the journey.

Wishing you health and happiness in 2013!

3 day reboot pt. 6

Yesterday morning I woke up feeling pretty damn fabulous.  I did not opt to go on my long run but chilled at the house instead.  I was down a pound from the day before (more water weight).  I drank my fifth juice and hit the road for NYE.  I decided I would call it a fast for dinner and decided on Chipotle. But it was closed :o(.  So I my friend suggested TGI Fridays.  I think it's probably wise to reintroduce food sensibly (e.g. a salad or some other veggie-filled food), but everything looked fabulous and I opted for a burger (it was partly a financial decision, partly an alcoholic choice since I knew I'd be drinking in excess soon).  I ate half of it and all of my fries.  And an ice cream sandwich.  And a couple beers.  Then I had to go to the bathroom.  It hit me a fast but no lingering effects.  I didn't feel sick or anything either which I thought I might.

Anyway I consider the 3 day juice fast a success.  My impressions: I think it was a great experience.  I like eating.  And I like balanced meals.  But I never felt like I was starving myself and I never felt bad/sick.  I felt good.  I'm not sure I would want to do it for more than 3 days but I enjoyed it.  It did give me a chance to try some new juice recipes and learn more about my new juicer.  I might do it again... in like 6 months.  I'm a happy lady.

3 day reboot pt. 5

Well it's 7:18 and I'm feeling just fine.  I don't have the hatred for juice that I had last night at this time but I'm not feeling too fond of the veggie smell in my kitchen.  My friend invited me to see a movie and I was nervous about how difficult it would be to resist popcorn and junk food.  I drank my second juice of the day on my way to the movie theatre to make sure I wouldn't be starving during my outing.  I actually did not feel a strong desire for popcorn or anything else while there.  It probably helped that the people I was with were not eating either.  I shopped around for a NYE dress for about an hour and the smell of food was in the air but it wasn't torturous.  I started daydreaming of tacos and french fries on my way home but I knew I was dehydrated.  I got home, had some water, and it helped. I am not really sure I'm up for making/drinking more juice tonight though I could go for some.  Right now I'm sipping on tea and feeling pretty content.  Again it really helps that I am home, in a controlled environment.  If I was out and about surrounded by rich foods (even corn sounds pretty rich at this point), I'm sure this would be much harder.  In Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead a lady goes to a steakhouse with her family and just drinks her juice.  That sounds like pure torture.  It's definitely easier at home.

Physically, I have not really felt weak or tired.  More than anything, I am a bit worrisome about the effects of not eating food (e.g. wondering if I'm dizzy; obviously if I had to wonder I was not lol).  I didn't work out today minus walking all over the mall.  I would love to get a long run in in the morning but I don't think I wanna play with it.  I may consider doing a run by myself (so that I can stop if I get tired), but I will probably just save the long run for Monday.  I did get in a bit of a mental funk as the night wore on.  I was a little mentally tired after the movie (it was loooong) and by the time I got home I just wanted to sit and chill for a while.  I can't really say whether the mental funk is due to the juice or being alone most of the past two days.  If I had to guess it'd be the latter.  Ironic since I credit the discipline I've been able to maintain to being alone.  A resurfacing of the reality that social outings are centered around (unhealthy) food.

Anyway, I'll consider day 2 a success.  Again I'm not hungry despite only having had two juices (about 2.5 glasses, maybe a bit more), and I like that.

I do plan on going out of town for NYE tomorrow afternoon so I'm not sure what my plan is, but I should probably figure one out.  I can either consider the reboot over before dinner and eat tomorrow night or keep going until Monday morning.  The former is probably better for the long run.  Yes, tomorrow will be interesting...

Juice recipe reviews II

I decided to start with the breakfast drink of day 2 today.  It had grapes, blackberries, apple, and what I think is waaaaaaaay too much ginger.  The recipe called for 2 2x2" pieces.  I knew from yesterday that that was probably too much but as I've said I like to follow recipes exactly, especially if it's a new recipe.  Anyway I was right, too much ginger, but good besides that.  I haven't been pouring the juices over ice, but this one I did to dilute the ginger a bit.  I think it's also very sweet, so the ice helps that too.  I would make this one again using just an inch of the ginger root.

The gazpacho juice was actually pretty good.  I packed it to go and drank it down in a hurry without issue.  I think it was refreshing not to have ginger lol.  It wasn't sweet at all, the first drink without apple.  I've never had gazpacho so I'm not sure if it lives up to expectations but it was easy to make and pretty good.  I did get pretty self conscious about my breath because of the red onion.  Maybe the parsley canceled it out but I wouldn't drink this one before a hot date lol.Will probably try this one again (or some variant).

3 day reboot pt. 4

Well last night I didn't force myself to drink the last three juices.  I think the very LARGE portion of the second juice was to blame for my preference for drinking bleach over another glass of juice.  Perhaps the run didn't help either.  The good thing is I definitely was not hungry.  I imagine there can't be that many calories in the juice.  I am a big proponent of eating enough calories, especially when trying to drop lbs and when living an active lifestyle.  The typical advisory is >1200 cals and I'm sure I ate less than that yesterday.  But since I wasn't hungry I decided to skip the additional juices anyway.  I do think this is an important reason to only juice for limited time periods.

I read a lot about the adverse effects of juicing.  These included bad breath, body odor, and bathroom issues.  I spent most of yesterday by myself so I'm not sure if I smell terrible but I don't think I do (ha ha).  I don't really care to discuss bathroom issues ever, but I will say that nothing happened worth mentioning.  At no point did I feel it was crucial to be near a bathroom.  No big deal.

I woke up this morning feeling pretty good.  I'm a little tired in the way you feel tired early on a Saturday morning.  I don't feel full but I am not staving either.  The 3 day reboot suggests you drink a glass of hot water (lemon or ginger optional) first thing in the morning followed by a large glass of water.  The 17 day diet suggests something similar.  I like it when my health resources agree.  So I'm having my water, and I will try to get some juice down in the next hour.  I don't hate juice right now lol.  Ready to get back to it, so it's probably good I didn't force the other juices.   My plan is to just continue down the list of drinks so today I will start with "Lunch" from day 1.

 I am shedding some water weight.  Yesterday I was 137.2 and today I am 134.8.  I tend to hang out around 135 when I eat right and exercise (I have put on quite a bit of muscle since my earlier blogging days.  I have ~22% body fat at my best, prob a bit more right now).  I actually do not like to drop weight via diet and cardio alone because I worry about losing muscle mass.  I think protein does a body good.  I've read that there is some protein in veggies, however if I were weight training I would be very uncomfortable just juicing.  I will have to read up more on this.

My takeaway I have from day 1 was to buy the fruits and veggies as you go.  Had I bought the entire list for 3 days versus 1 I would prob end up with way too much food since I drank less than half of what the plan called for.  Something I didn't think about is serving size.  I am smaller than the average person (5'0, medium frame), so the amount of food listed is an overestimate for me.  I'm sure there are larger people who find that the amounts are two small.  I'd suggest buying the foods as you go so you can adjust accordingly.  My $30 of food will probably last me the entire 3 days.

3 day reboot pt. 3

I do not want any more effing juice lol.  Seriously.  I'm not hungry but I am tired of drinking.  I am supposed to drink 3 more juices today.  It's 6:47.  Arg.

I just finished a 6 mile run.  Running (if you do it right) suppresses your appetite so I hope that is part of it.  My run was fine.  I had a few short intense side stitches a couple times in the second mile and again in the fifth(?).  But besides that I felt pretty good.

Ok, off to make the third drink.  Large sigh.

3 day reboot pt. 2

Ok so I'm on my second juice and I'm already tired of washing the Breville lol.  I am hopeful since I won't be making this much juice this close together once I incorporate juicing into my diet and thus won't have to clean it this much.  Cleaning all the parts is what makes it a pain in the ass; the only thing that's really hard to clean is the mesh basket.  I'm also nearly out of dish soap which isn't helping my annoyance lol.

My second juice included kale.  I've read that there's more to juicing leafy greens than other things.  You have to put it in with/in the middle of other juicier foods to get the most out of it.  I put in some apples then stuffed in the kale.  Then I turned the juicer on.  If you recall there were basically three rules to using the juicer but one of them is to turn the juicer on BEFORE you add food.  Oops.  I see why that matters; it took a minute to get the juice flowing.  Luckily no major damage done but lesson learned.



The juice is green so I guess I got enough juice out of the kale... I guess?

The pulp was a bit wetter than that of the first juice.  So I decided I would try juicing the pulp (which I had read about someone doing).  Yeah... that just made a mess lol.  I'm sure the amount of additional juice I gained wasn't worth it.  I don't think I'll be doing that again ha ha.

It's 2:30 pm and I am not hungry (I'm sipping on juice now).  A friend of mine started texting me about gumbo and I had to make a point not to think too hard about it lol.  Besides that doing ok.  I'm not a huge foodie anyway but as I said before I tend to crave cheese and sugar.  So far so good.  I've also been sipping on water (another thing I try to do regularly but don't), so that's probably keeping me full too.  It was my intention to run today.  I should do that soon so we will see how I'm feeling after that if I actually get out and do it.  Anyway no adverse effects so far.

Oh.  It does help that I'm at home.  I have just run a few misc. errands and I'm already behind schedule; I still haven't had "lunch."  Not sure how you could do this if you were working.  The juice is supposed to be made fresh according to the resources I've consulted.  After this weekend I envision myself drinking it in the morning and/or evening, before/after work.

Juice recipe reviews I

So my awesome neighbor bought me a book on juicing with tons of recipes so I will be trying a lot of miscellaneous combinations after this weekend.  For now I am trying to exactly follow what's listed in the 3 day reboot.  This morning I really enjoyed the carrot/apple/ginger concoction.  It was a nearly perfect yield amount (a little over one glass) and was a surprisingly complex taste (in a good way) despite few ingredients.  That one is the first one added to my repertoire.

The Mean Green juice however...  First of all it yielded nearly an entire pitcher.  My cucumber and apples were admittedly large but goodness!  The ginger gives it a nice kick but it needs to be a bit sweeter.  And this is coming from a person who doesn't like sweet drinks.  I don't like sugar in my alcohol (I drink vodka with water) and I rarely drink soda at all.  But this... this is a bit much.  I thought I would really like it but it tastes like grass.  Grass with ginger lol.  It's going to take me an hour just to finish it.  I'll try this one again with larger apples and a smaller cucumber/celery stalk but first impression is not impressed.  It might be good if there was something else on my palate.

it's a journey not a destination: 3 day reboot pt. 1

Ok so I am the worst blogger ever ha ha.  But it's a journey not a destination so I'm ok with that.

So for Christmas I got a Breville juicer.  I had waaaaay too much to drink the other week and the "day after" I was craving nutrients.  My neighbor has a juicer and hooked me up.  Then he suggested I watch "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead", a documentary about juicing so I did (so I can now accept that Netflix wasn't a total waste; before I wasn't so sure).  Anyway the documentary added to my already growing desire to own a juicer and lucky for me Christmas was near so I put it on my list and voila!

In general I am very much against "diets."  I think healthy is a journey not a destination (I see many things this way) and too many people want a quick fix to drop weight but don't want to eliminate the habits that caused them to put on weight in the first place... but I digress.  Anyway nutrients are good; I like that I will be full of them and preservative-free for a bit.  I do strongly believe in eating and balanced meals but it's only 3 days so I can live with that (I think).  And if I'm craving food tomorrow at this time I'll just eat lol.  But I think I can do it so 3 days is the goal.

I'm following the 3-day plan on the reboot your life website/blog.  The plan is to drink 5 juices a day.  I made a grocery list for today last night and woke up ready to get started.  I love love love cheese and sugar (I am sure there is scientific evidence somewhere that they are addicting and I am definitely addicted to both), but I ate both yesterday (#winning!!) so it wasn't hard to stay in the produce section this morning.  Anyway everything was surprisingly easy to find, nothing too exotic which I like about this plan so far.  I like trying different eating plans because it usually makes me try new veggies.  Today I bought ginger, beets, and swiss chard for the first time.  Again I most appreciated that they were easy to find.  The ginger was in the first juice, which I've already had, and though I've had ginger before, I really appreciated the spice it added.  My first thought was, wow it doesn't take much.  I only used an inch of it in a full glass of juice and could definitely taste it.


My total was $27.18.  I think my grocery store, HEB is an averaged price store.  It may be a bit toward the low cost end of the spectrum.  There are a few mistakes on the receipt, e.g. he didn't charge me for clementines, he rung up the beets as kiwi, etc. but I'm guessing it costs about $30 to make 6 glasses of juice or about $5 a glass.  In my mind I'll be making juice out of leftovers (I buy parsley to make pasta, use 3 sprigs and throw out the rest), so I'm not too concerned about the cost.  Plus I plan to drink a glass or two at most in one day so I think it'll balance out.  And you can't put a cost on health :o).

The Breville was super easy to use.  I was worried I should read more of the manual but just kinda went for it and it was straightforward.  Turn it on before adding food, push through with the machine not your fingers, turn it off.  This seemed to work lol.  I took the stems off my apples but I don't think I needed to.  Other than that I just washed the food and put it in whole.  Easy peasy.

What was less easy peasy?  The cleaning.  I see people complain about cleaning these things a lot.  The wire basket was a bit tricky but that's why it comes with a little brush to help.  I washed the juicer parts right away and I can see that being a really good idea lol.  I'll try to keep that up, though I definitely use my food processor less cause I hate cleaning it.

Finally, I'm really interested in using the pulp that the juicer leaves over.  I talked with my neighbor about this a bit.  He throws his away.  I took a bite of mine.  Then I also threw it away lol.  It was good but very dry (the juicer works!!), and a weird texture overall.  The carrot/ginger/apple pulp seems like it would be good in bread or muffins.  I'm gonna have to step my cooking game up to deal with it (I like to follow recipes EXACTLY and I'm sure not many are calling for carrot/ginger/apple pulp).  I did read that the veggie pulp is good for broths.  And compost.  I'll have to get creative.

To summarize: I'm one drink in and I'm a happy lady :o).

food logging

I am interested in giving up sweets (maybe most/all junk) for a while.  I also am aiming to drink more water.  The most important thing is that I eat meals and portion out snacking.  Marathon training is about to begin so I'm going to see the impact of good nutrition.

1 more day :o)

Hello there! We will weigh in for the 60 day challenge on Friday.  I wreaked havoc on my body the first weekend of Spring Break and came back 140 lbs :o(.  Of course it was mostly water (I was 135ish before that weekend) and it came off within a few days of eating well.  I have basically been loosely following the 17 Day Diet.  Spring break got me off track in that way, but I think that's ok.  I haven't been over eating, I have just been eating occasional junk food.  Until this last week that is.  I have followed the first cycle religiously.  I got the tip to drink distilled water for a couple of days. In doing more research I have cut out dairy.  And today I avoided salt completely.  I was working really hard so I actually didn't eat a lot, but for dinner I had a whole roasted eggplant.  I seasoned it with lemon juice and it was actually really really good.  I don't know that I could eat meat without salt.  Today I was too afraid to try, lol.  I did buy low sodium tuna for my lunch tomorrow.  Salt salt everywhere!  I really don't know how vegetarians get enough calories though.  I guess they eat a lot of carbs.  Anyway, I am not necessarily trying to cut weight, but I definitely don't want to retain it.

I was down to 130.6 this morning!! That's 10 lbs in 8 days!!  Will I see the 120s in the morning?  Let's hope so.

I have thought about what I will eat on Friday, lol.  That is the one good thing about weighing in a day earlier than I expected (although today wasn't as hard as yesterday wasn't as hard as Monday).  I already feel the effects of clean eating and know it's quite possible I'm not going to want to mess it up.  So I would say the challenge has been a success.  I never would have let this week be THE week when I eat right were it not for the weigh in.  And how lovely that it comes before my birthday :o).  So I can't do too much damage before next Friday, lol.

Oh!  I have had a crazy amount of energy in the evenings this week.  Not sure if it's from the reduced running (only one slow 6 miler) or the food but I love it.

I have been getting in really good workouts at X-train, yesterday in particular.  Feeling good.  120-something.  Come on!

lifestyle changes #progress

I am making progress.  Granted this contest is still going on which forces me to at least think about exhibiting some self control, but I hope some of these changes are lasting.

Sunday upon discovering there is one right by my house, I did decide to grab Tacodeli :o).  Again I ordered two tacos with no sides.  This time I allowed myself lemonade and a cookie as well (the cookie was f-ing fabulous, btw).  It was a beautiful day so I came home, opened the back door, and fell asleep.  That morning I had failed to go on my 'extra workout' run, and though I knew I still had the rest of the day for it, I doubted I would actually go.  When I woke up from my nap, I had just enough daylight to get in a run if I left right away.  I did :o).  It was a great run, 6 miles.  When I came home I didn't feel like cooking, but I did anyway.  I opted for the fresh salmon rather than the frozen tilapia.  It's my second frozen tilapia fillet that's gone to waste.  I don't think I'll try frozen again.  Good workout, good meal.

Yesterday I ate four mini Snickers.  Not bad except I was trying to go another three days without sweets.  I decided I could have a cupcake and start over today... but then I talked myself out of it... but then someone fb'd me an announcement for FREE cupcakes at Hey Cupcake.  Turns out the cupcakes were B.O.G.O.  I B.O.'ed lol.  The free cupcake is a new flavor, John Lemon, and it was also fabulous.  I did not substitute the cupcake for dinner, and finished my leftover salmon from the night before (before I ate the cupcake, in fact).  Now unfortunately because I B.O. I also G.O. leaving me with an extra cupcake.  I opted not to eat it yesterday, but ate it for 'breakfast pt. I' this morning.  Then I went to X-train Tabata and did another 6 mile run :o).  Bye bye cupcake!  Actually when I ate it I remembered that I do not really like how rich Hey Cupcake's cupcakes are, the Sweetberry in particular.  I didn't notice the texture while eating the John Lemon, but I'm glad I'm not especially eager to get more.  So today (minus breakfast pt. I) was day one of no sweets.  It wasn't hard at all, but I guess I was pretty busy.

And lastly, a very funny story.  Today I came home wanting some of the almonds I knew I had.  I ate a serving, chewing slowly, and enjoying them.  Then I ate half of another serving (total: 255 cals).  I knew I might be tempted to get more so I threw the package on top of the (very tall) cabinet.  It worked, lol.  A little while later I had forgotten that I did that, and decided I might as well have the full 2nd serving.  I went in the kitchen only to find there were no almonds in the cabinet.  It only took me a second to remember where they were, but as I chuckled to myself I decided my hour earlier self knew best and I would not climb on top of the counter to get them.  I ate an egg instead.  Similar in caloric content, yes, but not the same mental food abuse.  (Fresh) tilapia for dinner.

minimizing the damage

So today I caught a movie with my friend.  I had a good breakfast and though I would have liked to have Tacodeli again, I settled for Chipotle due to time constraints.  I got a burrito for the sake of portability and I got cheese because, well, I love cheese.  This made me realize that I did not have cheese on my fish tacos yesterday :o). Anyway, the burrito was not very good and I ate it too fast, but I did make an effort to savor and chew (it just wasn't very good as I said).  I drank a large grapefruit Izze, but I don't think it has it doesn't have added sugar.  I skipped the movie stand concessions (even though the popcorn smelled SO good) since I was full.  And when we finished the movie, my friend and I grabbed food/dessert, and I opted for ice cream rather than a cupcake (or both, ha ha).  I came home and finished off my snacks (I don't think I am the kind of person that can keep snacks around the house), but I think I did good today!  I didn't get a workout in, but I'm going to try for 6 miles tomorrow.

3 weeks away!!

So my resolution challenge ends in 3 weeks!!  Discipline is easier for me when there is a clear end in sight.  My plan is to alternate lower calorie days (cycle 1) with higher calorie days (cycle2/3).  My friend also mentioned that drinking distilled water right (3 days) before the final weigh ins will help me shed that last minute weight.

Today was my higher calorie day.  I ate breakfast (though I snacked a bit more than I would have liked to) and met my friend at Tacodeli for lunch.  The tacos were really good (tilapia) and relatively healthy.  (Also, I passed on the beans and rice, ordering two tacos instead- progress!).  However by dinner time I was pretty hungry again (as I should have been), and there was pizza at a meeting I had that I decided to indulge in.  I wanted some water but there was none offered, so I ended up drinking about a cup of Dr. Pepper.  It was disgusting.  And then afterwards I let my friend talk me into getting a cupcake (which she didn't even end up getting one).

So first of all, I feel ok about what I ate.  Good breakfast, good lunch, moderate dinner, and snacks throughout the day.  The only things that were less than ideal were two slices of pizza, the soda, and a cupcake.  I'm happy that those things make up a meal (vs. a list of random junk foods).  I'm happy that two slices of pizza didn't turn into more.  I'm happy that the soda was too syrupy and not good to me.  I'm happy that I passed on cookies earlier today so that the cupcake didn't feel so bad.

And now a couple things that could have made 'ok' be 'good.'  I should always have a water bottle with me.  I don't even like soda.  Why waste calories on it just because I'm thirsty?  Obviously I could have just found a water fountain, but I didn't.  I think know a water bottle would have solved my problem.  Also, I need to consider packing a (light) dinner for my long days.  Had I been a bit fuller, I may have made the decision to skip the pizza all together.  I don't do a good job of meal planning on my long days.  I eat breakfast ~8:00 and lunch ~1:00 but don't rarely plan dinner for the days I get home after 8:00.  And finally, I didn't really even want a cupcake that much, but I kinda just went with the inertia.  I want to make a conscious effort to skip junk unless I really really want it.

Overall today was a good day.  Eating right during the week makes the damage done on the weekends minimal.  I will try to keep this in mind when I find myself desiring junk on a Wednesday :o).

Blog #FAIL

Well hello there.  Utah was pretty much a disaster.  I at lots of carbs and desserts and loved every minute of it.  I did exercise everyday (FUCK FUCK FUCK the elliptical!!!) and I exhibited some self control when it came to the amount of junk I ate (i.e. splitting desserts, passing on cookies with the expectation of having dessert later, etc).  Anyway no real regrets; I was less than 138 when I got back...

My sister's bday party.  I didn't eat a lot, but I drank a lot #kanyeshrug.  Sunday night when I got back in town I was craving falafel chips so I bought some, which is fine... except then on Monday I still had falafel chips and I finished them off.  Sigh.  I think, though not very cost effective, it is best for me to buy single servings of things I shouldn't eat a lot of... So basically I took yesterday off of my diet.  Now, one good thing is I went to a concert last night and when I got home I was famished and had decided to get a burger.  However, when I got close to home I decided I would rather have something from the grocery store deli.  I ate a small tub of macaroni salad which was about 300 cals and (part of) a sandwich, so the calories may have been about the same, but I'm glad that I am at the point where I am not desiring fast food.  I honestly can't remember the last time I had a burger and fries (Mighty Fine maybe?).  Ok so a bit of progress there.

Today I ate like an angel (I'm 137 with 24 days to go for the weight loss challenge), except I skipped dinner (mostly out of sleepiness/laziness).  So tomorrow I will aim for three balanced meals.  I read that a good way to lose fat is to do the 'alternate day fasting,' high calorie days alternated with low calorie days so your body doesn't start hanging on to fat, so I think it will be good to stick with the second cycle.  I missed my workout this morning (due to being up late last night), but I want to try to get some good runs in regularly (T, Th, F, S/Su) along with my X-train workouts.  I know I lost a lot of weight in 2009 when I was half marathon training and counting cals (<1500 a day) so maybe I should think about moving in that direction.  Also I ran with my friend after class yesterday.  It's not really feasible with my class (UT) schedule but her pace is a bit faster and I felt a bit sore today which is good.

That's it for now.  The journey continues!

Strategizing

Wow, where did the time go??  Today is the first day of the second cycle but I have been cheating all over the place :o(.  My boyfriend's visit and Valentine's day just sent me spiraling out of control.  Last Friday, I ate well and then had tacos and a beer.  I felt good about that.  1 cheat meal and drinking in moderation.  Saturday wasn't so bad either.  We went to the movies so I got a small popcorn, and went to lunch where I got a 'healthier' option (relative to what else was offered).  I didn't eat all my rice and picked around the butter infused green beans.  But then we went to Whole Foods for dessert.  Dessert = disaster.  I had a cupcake and part of my boyfriend's brownie and a bite of his cake.  And I had one beer.  This wasn't terrible, but I think it got me back on my sweets.  Sunday we went to The Egg and I.  I looked at the menu ahead of time but decided to give myself freedom to eat whatever.  What I ordered was ~650 cals.  But the bread and potatoes that came with it brought that number up to ~1250!!  Still under 1500... but that evening I wanted dessert.  I settle for a slice of apple pie with a small tub (like 1/2 cup) of ice cream.  I think this was good because my bad choices for one day weren't rolling over into the next day in the form of leftovers.

So Monday I should have recommitted.  I think I did.  I will have to go look at my food log, but I think I did.  And then Valentines Day came.  I bought Valentines for my department as usual but as a result I ate a lot of them.  I could NEVER have a candy bowl.   Then someone gave me a cupcake.  It was fucking delicious, but I've been craving sweets ever since.  Yesterday I did ok (I talked myself out of eating out for dinner) but today I had another cupcake (also delicious).  So today, at 10:48 pm, I recommit.  My sister's birthday party is on Saturday, so I will try to eat well until then.  My goal is not to eat anything sweet until Monday.  Hopefully by then I won't want sweets anymore.  I will be out of town next week, so I'm really going to have to make a concerted effort to eat right.  I know I can do it!  A friend of mine has given up sweets and alcohol for the semester.  I asked him how he does it and he said he weighs his long term goals against the short term benefits and that helps him.  Yesterday it helped me eat in for dinner, so I need to really think about what my long term goals are.  That and why I want to eat right...

To start, I want to weight 120-something because I want to lose fat, gain definition, and get the body I've dreamed of having for years.

I have conquered my working out goals.  I exercise 5x a week, and I have gotten significantly stronger over the last year.  That feels really good.  I am starting to see more definition in my legs.  That feels good too.  If I can reduce my body fat I know I will feel great.  I got some of that this summer even though I wasn't where I wanted to be.  So yeah, I want to eat right, pass on the candy, pass on the booze, and follow 17 Day Diet as closely as possible so I can lose that fat more quickly and focus on maintaining my new weight.  Short term I want to get in the high 120s.  Long term I want to get in the low 120s and stay there.

One week away!

Ok I am slipping on my posting, it's been a busy week!  I did, in fact, run an extra couple of miles on Tuesday to negate (some of) my cookies :o).  Unfortunately I was so exhausted from my double workout (825 cals) when I got home that I couldn't muster up the energy to move, much less cook dinner that night...  Running definitely is an energy sap for me.

Today I only drank half of my energy shot before Tabata.  I don't think it was a good idea.  I was definitely tired, thought I looked and felt strong.  I am seeing some great definition in my arms and 25 lb. weights on chest feel right.  Challenging but not too much.  Jump-roping has gotten easier too.  A fast 150 is completely doable now.  Not easy, but not mentally daunting either.

My boyfriend came by last night on his way to another city (conference) and I don't know what it is about our fellowship, but neither of us wanted anything boneless or skinless, lol.  We went to Wingstop.  I skipped the fries and ate 6 wings (~316 cals according to the web, though the pool of grease in the bottom of the carton leaves me a bit skeptical).  I think I don't have to forgo eating out with my buddies, the important thing is to do it sparingly and smartly.  I feel way better about Wingstop than I did about the cookies, that's for sure.

Down to 134 :o), almost where I was last summer (130)- but chest pressing 25s with ease now!

Cheating... No, really

Ok so one might argue that peppermints, York peppermint patties, and Kind bars are not terrible cheats.  But no one could say the same for cookies.  Real, sugary cookies topped with sugary frosting.  Today (yesterday) I had four.  I did good at first.  I had one.  And then I had another.  And, well, you can count.  I skipped dinner in hopes of at least keeping my calorie count down for the day.  This probably isn't the healthiest way to manage my weight, but it's not the worst...

I skipped wearing my hrm today as I realized that the number doesn't really make a difference.  I don't do any more or any less because of it, at least I haven't been.  Anyway, hopefully I can get back on track for the rest of the week so my cookies can average out to one per day :o).  I'm also going to try to put in some extra miles on the pavement.  Just a few more days til I can have rice!  Lol, never thought I'd be so excited for complex carbs, ha ha.

One week down. 10!

Well today was good.  I had a light breakfast and then ran errands, leaving me unfed until after 3:00.  I picked up some fish from Whole Foods ($$$$) and a few things from Sprouts.  I was looking for a vegetable snack but came up with some fat free cheese and eggplant...  I did see the Kind bars at Sprouts so I know where to find them.

I figured I would eat some junk food at the Super Bowl watch location so I was happy to have only eaten 600 cals before I went over there.  It turns out there was nothing that was incredibly appealing to me (i.e. cupcakes, lol) so it wasn't really hard to drink my water and pass on the (dog-saliva-infested) chips and veggie trays.  As a side note, why do white non-black people REFUSE to eat off of plates.  There's this thing we do in the black community.  You grab a plate, pour some chips out of the chip bag onto it (you don't even have to touch the chips!!), and then spoon some salsa/dip onto the plate.  You do not dig into the chip bag and then dip your chip into the jar of sauce!!  Yes, I know you're not double dipping, but it doesn't matter.  STOP EATING OUT OF THE JAR!!!  I feel like if you are not sitting at a table with 3 of your closest friends/ partner, this is a no brainer.  On more than one occasion at social gatherings at my school I have been with complete strangers who insist on eating out of communal bowls.  I just find it... socially inconsiderate.  Ok, so I was not really interested in eating what was available, which is good.  I figured if anything, I would drink a beer.  A SINGLE beer, which I am now capable of :o).  The hostess asked if I would eat some queso and I said maybe.  She made it.  I didn't.  I thought of my friend from the movie theatre :oD.  And then my friend walked in with Girl Scout Cookies, lol.  By this point I had already decided to stop and pick up a snack from the store.  This is not the first time this has happened.  When I save up my calories for a social gathering, in a way I look forward to the junk food.  So if I don't get it, I feel like I have earned the right to go get something else.  The good thing is I only ate 4 cookies (2 servings).  It wasn't even really difficult.  Yes moderation!!  However I went to the store afterward and picked up some York Peppermint Patties, so now I have brought this stuff back in my house.  I would rather have gotten the fat free peppermints... I may have to hide these from myself.  I have eaten 7 (a serving size is 3), reasoning that as long as I stay under 1500 cals I'm ok.  However that's 350 calories I would otherwise not have had.  Sigh...

No workout today.  I have definitely earned my day off.  Glad that I went up in weight on Friday.  I'm definitely going to try to go heavy on legs from now on.  I was a tad sore yesterday but not noticeably.  I'm happy with the strength I've gained.  I may try to add in an extra mile on my runs this week.  We'll see if I can balance it with my busy work schedule.

Diet:
1390

Cheater :o(

Today I ran the Color Run 5k.  I would have had a blast but it was super muddy and I couldn't quite let go of my fear of falling.  I didn't run the whole thing (uphill, in the mud is a really good workout), but I didn't let myself walk more than I deemed acceptable.  I may need to get another workout in tomorrow...  Going in I felt pretty determined to stick to my diet.  I ate an egg and drank a Yakult before I got to the race.  I ate an apple afterwards.  But then I decided I should pick up some food from the amazing assortment of vendors, so I grabbed 3 Kind bars.  And then I ate them :o(.  Now it wasn't the worst cheat in the world.  The ingredients are whole and healthy, and not full of carbohydrates either (for the sake of Cycle 1).  The problem is I ate all 3, nearly 600 extra calories for the day.  What did I learn?  Just stay away.  I stayed away from the pizza yesterday and wasn't tempted by it.  I was not tempted by the vendors until I started grabbing product.  Anyway, to make up, I tried to eat pretty light the rest of the day.  I am still under 1500 cals, though at a fairly higher count than I have been in the past week.

This morning I found that not only had I failed to lose weight since yesterday, I had gained a little (136.something).  It has to be the soup (sodium).  The soup is now gone but I can't be discouraged by the scale.  I know weight loss has to be a slow process and even if I eat soup everyday, the low calories will result in weight loss if I am consistent and patient.  136 is still 2 lbs. less than I weighed at the beginning of the challenge.

Workout:

5K

Diet:

~1365

13... or 12, I guess

Well I have followed my diet to the letter (minus too many peppermints) for a full five days.  Today was the first day I really felt tired but I think it was mostly mental.  Physically I feel pretty good.  I had a great workout this morning.  I really pushed the weight since we were doing legs (2 35 lbs for hip carry squats, 2 30 lbs for depth squats on the last set).  I think a lot of that is mental too.  I think I was able to keep good form.  Hopefully I'll be super sore tomorrow.

There is always pizza at one of the monthly meetings I attend.  They normally have Papa John's which I don't really like that much, but today they had Pizza Hut which I love.  However, I am definitely feeling the determination of a new eating plan.  It really wasn't hard for me to pass on it (I wasn't hungry- I never am, but normally I eat anyway), but I found myself a bit self conscious about NOT eating, oddly enough.  The other week my friend came to the movies with me and some others and she didn't eat a thing.  I kinda admired her willpower.  I guess I have it too, it's just not as natural, or at least it doesn't seem like it is.

This morning I was the same weight as yesterday :o(.  I think it was all the salt from the soup along with not enough water.  Today I had the soup twice, but I did try to drink more water...  This is why I am going to have to eventually reduce my weigh-ins...

Workout:
TRX Strength, 345 cals

Diet:
1103 cals

14!

Day 4 was a success.  I was so busy with work I really didn't think much about eating.  I was eager to get home to my leftover soup, though, ha ha.  I ate a lot of gum, but I still figure it's better than just about anything else I could be snacking on. My calorie counts are really low, but I feel like I'm eating enough.  I'm not super tired or anything like that so...  I suppose I could try eating more meals since the meals I am eating are so light (though filling).  I was 135.something this morning.  Still very encouraged by the daily decreases and determined to complete the entire 17 days.  I am once again out of peppermints.  I think they helped me get through this week but I am not going to buy anymore.

Workouts are going well.  I ran again today.  I'm going to take tomorrow off so I can make my friend's proposal and so that I'll be "rested" for the race on Saturday.  I think I can definitely handle 3 runs each week, T/Th/Fr and maybe even Su.

Workout:
X-train Tabata (wall drives were killer): 345 cals
3 mile run: 290 cals

Diet:
970 cals (300ish from peppermints :-/)

15...

These days are going by so slow, lol.  136.8 this morning!  Can't wait to see what I am on Saturday.  I was trying to weigh in just twice a week but it's so satisfying to see the numbers go down and down.

Today was not as hard as yesterday, probably because I didn't run.  However, I was pretty hungry this afternoon.  I got through it with the help of a lot of gum, ha ha.  One thing I do like is that temptations don't seem so tempting.  Yesterday I was in HEB, nearly 8 hours past my last meal, and being around all that food didn't tempt me.  Now had the samples been out I may not have been so successful at staying focused, but they weren't and I was.  17 days seems like forever, but I know I can do this!

I thawed out ground turkey for a change of pace (I have eaten a lot of fish fillets lately, lol) and decided to look up some recipes.  I came across one for taco soup.  It called for a few ingredients that aren't on the list of foods for the first cycle, but mostly had things that are.  I loosely made the recipe, omitting those things that aren't and adding in a few things that are.  It was really really good!  I worried it was a bit high in sodium (the broth and taco seasoning were low sodium, and the soup didn't taste too salty, but it definitely didn't taste not-salty), but it was definitely low calorie.  I keep recalculating and rounding up, but I think each serving was less than 200 cals.  I like the idea of using things on the list to make my own (modified) recipes.  Since spices are a freebie, there's so much I can make.  The possibilities are endless!

Taco Soup:
Brown 1/2 lb. of ground turkey.  Add in some onion.  Put turkey/onion mix into a large pot.  Add a can (small) of Rotel, 1/2 package of taco seasoning, 1/2 package of ranch dressing mix, half a package of frozen vegetables, and chicken broth.  (I will also probably add water next time).  Bring to a boil, then simmer for ~20 minutes.

Workout:
TRX Strength, -200 cals

Diet:
900 cals

16!

Day 2 was harder than Day 1, but I made it.  I had an intense workout this morning, so I made sure to eat the larger breakfast.  It didn't matter; I was definitely hungry today, even though I packed snacks.  I spent a lot more time in the bathroom yesterday so perhaps I wasn't as hydrated.  Someone gave me a pretzel this afternoon.  I threw it away.  I ate my snacks and willed myself to make it home, but an hour later when I got to my car I realized I had left my keys at my desk, adding another hour to my e.t.d. (estimated time of dinner).  I went in the grocery store and wasn't tempted to eat anything or buy unhealthy things.  I am determined to make it these 17 days!  This morning I was 138.8 (-2.8 lbs from yesterday) and that along with todays workout has me feeling like I'm in it to win it.  Dinner was fabulous once I finally got to it!

I figured out I can run on T/Th (and F/Su) right after the gym.  It's not ideal; I'd rather run on the strength training days but this is better than nothing.  Today was a good run.  I really tried to push it at the end.

Workout:

• Xtrain Tabata, -350 cals
• Xtrain Core
• 3 mile run, -290 cals

Diet:

• 1106 cals

17!

I am starting 17 day diet... again, lol.  I joined the weight loss challenge at my gym to motivate me to lose this weight and I am going with what I know.  After an amazing breakfast buffet with bottomless mimosas I weighed in at 141.6, 3+ lbs more than my initial weigh in at X-train.  If that's not motivation to eat right, I don't know what is.  Day 1 actually wasn't very hard.  I followed the eating plan to the t minus some peppermints late.  1 day down, 16 to go.

Workout:

• TRX Strength- felt strong, ripped through chest flys with 20 lb kettlebells, went up to 25, 45 for closed grip, -194 cals

Diet:

• +819 plus peppermints, seaweed (low but not on purpose; I was never hungry!)