Tuesday, February 28, 2012

More Notes on Last Week

CLEAN EATING
I pretty much cooked or ate leftovers every night last week. I started with an ambitious Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese (which is not terribly WW friendly, but in small portions it's alright - and it's definitely one of the tastiest things I've made in a while). Then I tried a clean eating Loaded Bowl. I messed up both recipes by forgetting ingredients, but I think they turned out alright. Then last night I made a Lasagna Soup which was absolutely delicious, WW friendly, and probably my new favorite comfort food.

Eric has been really supportive of my clean eating efforts. We went grocery shopping together and he didn't balk at the price of organic meats and cheeses. Neither of us thinks it's realistic to eat clean foods 100% of the time, but we both agree that there can't be a negative side effect of doing it as often as possible.

YOGA
I went to yoga for the first time in months on Tuesday. It felt wonderful, and I was surprised at how well I did. I haven't lost all of my "flexibility" (like I ever had any), but there is and has always been room for improvement. The class itself was perfect and I left smiling. I was sore for a good two days afterward, but the good kind of sore where you can feel your body changing.

RUNNING
Lastly, I did a C25K workout on the road Sunday afternoon. I've always done my workouts on the treadmill because a) it makes me feel faster, b) it's easier to track stats like mileage and c) I'm not sure why but I feel more confident in the gym than in public. BUT. I think I'm going to make running on the road a weekly habit. Firstly, there are hills, which should be incorporated into my running anyway. And secondly, I really felt like my workout went by so much faster. It didn't, and in fact I was a good 30 seconds slower per mile, but the weather was perfect, the neighborhood is gorgeous, and it was just one of the most pleasant experiences I've ever had while working out. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to do days 1 and 2 of the week in the gym, and make a habit of doing day 3 on the road over the weekend. I'll plan it and look forward to it like distance runners do with their long runs.

ALSO! I've talked Eric into running with me. I don't think I'm ready for him quite yet, but in about 2 or 3 weeks I'll be at a point where I should be able to run 10 minutes at a time. As a couple, we've had a love/hate relationship with exercising together. Two years ago, when we first started dating, we used to hike together a lot. We never timed ourselves or worried about improving. We would just spend 2 hours on the trail at Stone Mountain talking. It was GREAT. And studies show that couples who exercise together form better bonds. Plus sides all around. But then I got the genius idea to start training for a 5K, and having never run before, I was really hard on myself. Like, REALLY negative. And it wasn't much fun for Eric to be around anymore. I was embarrassed about how out of shape I was, and I would get frustrated at the slightest misstep. God forbid my earphones fell out, or I accidentally hit stop on the treadmill resetting the stats.

I'm not training for anything now. I'm just losing weight, trying to get healthy, and I think that's something Eric can help me with, be supportive of, and reap the benefits at the same time. And he's already proven to be super amazing, telling my how proud he is every time I finish a workout (and especially if it's on a weekend and I did NOT want to get out of my PJs). He even said he'd run with my in NC over the weekend, just to help motivate me to do it.

So pretty much, even though I totally sabotaged my weight loss efforts with wine, I had a pretty positive week. And that's what I wanted to share.

Monday, February 27, 2012

PLAN: 2/27 - 3/4

Monday 2/27: C25K W3D1
Tuesday 2/28: Yoga & Optional 30 minute walk
Wednesday 2/29: C25K W3D2
Thursday 3/1 - Sunday 3/4: Hike/Interval Running/Walk, weather permitting

Goals:
1. Complete scheduled workouts for Monday-Wednesday
2. Track all food and drink
3. No alcohol Monday-Wednesday
4. Maintain weight

As you can see, this week is a little different. We're going to North Carolina on Thursday. The weather forecast looks awful, but sometimes that kind of terrain is able to thwart bad weather. We'll see how it goes. I'm trying to keep my goals realistic for the weekend. I'll still track everything I eat and drink as a way to motivate me to not go too crazy, but the fact of the matter is, weekends like this are usually full of delicious food and massive quantities of alcohol. And bad weather in the past has lead to boredom eating and drinking. I just want to make sure I don't set myself too far back and that I am back in the gym on Monday afternoon.

Update: 2/19-2/26

Sunday 2/19: Walk 30-60 mins or 3 miles, Rest if it rains Rest
Monday 2/20: C25K W2D1 Complete
Tuesday 2/21: Yoga Complete
Wednesday 2/22: Walk 30-45 mins or 2.5 miles C25K W2D2 Complete
Thursday 2/23: C25K W2D2 Walk
Friday 2/24: Walk 30-60 mins or 3 miles, or rest if needed Rest
Saturday 2/25: C25K W2D3 Rest
Sunday 2/26: Not scheduled - C25K W2D3 Complete

Goals:
1. Complete all C25K workouts Achieved
2. Complete at least two add'l workouts Achieved, Yoga and Walk
3. Track all food and drink Achieved
4. Stay within WW allowance Failed
5. Lose 1 lb Failed, gained 2.8 lbs

Total Miles: 7.76
Total Fitness Minutes: 206

So, firstly, I've decided to do updates on Mondays since that is my WW weigh in day. Secondly, I'm pretty proud of the numbers I put up this week considering how busy and stressed I've been. I can feel my body trying to make changes, too.

I'm sad to say I know exactly where I went off track this week. Wine and beer. I have this terrible, terrible habit of drinking a glass of wine or a beer while I cook, and then another while a eat. ...And then possibly another when Eric and I sit and watch TV before bed. I associate cooking with wine, and I always have. Unless it's taco night, and then it's a refreshing beer. It needs to stop. It's far too much alcohol for me anyway, but it's definitely throwing off my game. So this realization will be incorporated into my goals for this week. More on that in my next post.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.


I think this is my new mantra.

I lost weight this week. I don't know how, but I did.  I lost 4LBS! Holy balls, I lost 4 lbs. Let me explain why this had me running into the living room squealing like a little girl last night.

You see, I've tried a million times to get on the right track. I've started Couch to 5K probably 4 or 5 times. I've been on SparkPeople. I've tried yoga and cross training. I've set goals. I've tried portion control. Nothing worked. It was either too hard to stick to to begin with or I didn't see any results in the first few weeks (that's plural...weeks), and I'd give up.

So I joined Weight Watchers about a month ago. I did it for a week before a work trip and lost 2 lbs. When you're first starting out 2 lbs feels like a real achievement. Then I went out of town, and didn't bother to track anything for several weeks.

Then I realized that was a waste of money. I joined WW for 3 months, and I'm paying the fees. I'm also a member of a gym, and I'm paying for that as well. So last weekend I decided to go ahead and start following WW again, and try to head to the gym a few times. I want to be a person that can run 5 miles, no problem. I want to be a person who can train for a half marathon and feel that accomplishment when I cross the finish line. The only thing holding me back is my own lazy attitude.

"But wait!" you say. "Your update on Saturday said you failed miserably to stay within your allotted WW points. What gives? And side note, what does any of this have to do with your mantra?" I imagine you wondering. It's true, I spent my points and then some. BUT! I was spending them on mostly whole foods. Fruits, vegetables, yogurt, pasta and rice. I ate a few frozen meals for lunch, to be sure, but overall I ate fresh, unprocessed foods. I really think this fact has a lot to do with the reason I lost weight while exceeding my WW points (by a ridiculous amount, seriously).

So, my sentiments yesterday about wanting to eat more whole foods and less processed and pesticide riddled foods - definitely getting reinforced today.  And that minor victory - seeing the scale go down so quickly - actually makes me excited to get to the gym, to stay on track, to eat right. If I can see such a significant change in such a short amount of time by only barely following the guidelines, imagine what will happen when I hunker down and do it correctly.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Whole Foods?

I'm considering moving towards a whole food diet.  I've heard nothing but good things about about it, from the health benefits, to enjoying the taste of food better. The only negative I've heard is that it can be more expensive, but I imagine since it will involve cooking and eating at home more, it won't be a problem budget-wise.

I'm not the kind of person to go "all-in" on something. I've learned that about myself over the years. It takes time to gradually form a habit, but I'm the kind of person that has to seriously ease into it.

Here are a few resources I'm looking into.
Clean Eating Magazine
100 Days of Real Food Blog
100 Days Recipes
NHerShoes 100 Day Challenge

I'm also not a wasteful person (or at least, I try not to be). I have plenty of processed food in my refrigerator and pantry that I need to eat, but I'm going to slowly introduce more and more fresh fruits and vegetables, and hopefully make a transition over the next month or two. We'll see. It might be too hard. I'm a pretty lazy person, and if preparation becomes too much of a hassle, I can see myself caving and just ordering take out.

I also can't imagine doing this whole hog. There's family sushi nights, mom's steak and cheesy cauliflower, and Taco Tuesdays to consider. But even making a moderate change has to be a good idea, right?

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Plan: 2/19-2/25

Sunday 2/19: Walk 30-60 mins or 3 miles, Rest if it rains
Monday 2/20: C25K W2D1
Tuesday 2/21: Yoga
Wednesday 2/22: Walk 30-45 mins or 2.5 miles
Thursday 2/23: C25K W2D2
Friday 2/24: Walk 30-60 mins or 3 miles, or rest if needed
Saturday 2/25: C25K W2D3

Goals:
1. Complete all C25K workouts
2. Complete at least two add'l workouts
3. Track all food and drink
4. Stay within WW allowance
5. Lose 1 lb

UPDATE: 2/12-2/18

PLAN:

Wednesday 2/15: Gym - C25K W1D1
Thursday 2/16: Gym - C25K W1D2
Saturday 2/18: Gym - C25K W1D3

Goals:
1. Complete 3 workouts
2. Track all food and drink
3. Lose 1 lb

REALITY:

Wednesday 2/15: Gym - C25K W1D1 Completed
Thursday 2/16: Gym - C25K W1D2 Completed
Saturday 2/18: Gym - C25K W1D3 Completed

Goals:
1. Complete 3 workouts Achieved
2. Track all food and drink Achieved, but the results were horrendous
3. Lose 1 lb  Check back on Monday Lost 4 lbs, bitches!

Monday, February 13, 2012

PLAN: 2/12 - 2/18

Wednesday 2/15: Gym - C25K W1D1
Thursday 2/16: Gym - C25K W1D2
Saturday 2/18: Gym - C25K W1D3

Goals:
1. Complete 3 workouts
2. Track all food and drink
3. Lose 1 lb