Monday, December 22, 2008

Ok, so I've been doing some soul searching here at work today, probably because it's slow, and partially because I feel like crap and haven't eaten anything of nutritious value today, yes, that's right, I've had a steady diet of cookies. While this is an exceptionally tasty diet, I've learned, one, it makes me feel like crap, including a headache, and just overall yucky feeling. The bad thing is, this has been the story of my life for much to long. My body is in serious serious need of good food.

My days always start out with great intentions, a healthy breakfast, nutritious lunch and snacks planned for the day, and a good menu for the evening, but for some reason, my usually exceptional willpower of turning down the goodies that are brought in hasn't been there, and I start with one, and it's a downhill spiral.

So it stops right now. RIGHT NOW. I know that the holidays are coming up, and I can't expect to track on those days, I can try to eat sensibly, and enjoy small portions.

So here we have it, in the next 10 days (December 23rd to January 1st) I plan to track 8 of those days. I am going to track using 21 points a day, and using weight watchers online.

The house has been, and will remain cleared of junk food, I've been great at home, and at the boyfriends really, it's just the crap at work that's killing me, I have no willpower.

Also, I haven't been running, first I was sick, and now it's like in the subzeros outside with windchill, I can't run in that, even as tough as I've been running through about all conditions. A goal is to get back to running as soon as the weather permits.

Also, I've made a commitment to doing something kind of crazy come the first of the year. As I've always been about overall health, and nutrition, and making my body feel better, I've committed to doing a "Master Cleanse" come January 2nd. Has anyone else tried this? I hear it's not an easy thing to do, but it intrigues me, and from the hundreds of reviews I've read, you feel great, and gain a new relationship with food (learn to appreciate it more). Now generally, they say anywhere from 10 to 40 days on it safe, I'm shooting for between 5 and 10 days for my first shot. Does anyone have any experience with this, tried a cleanse? Known anyone who has?

Alright, well there is my game plan for the next couple weeks. I'm going to try to stick to primarily core foods, and try to track as many day as humanly possible for the next 10 days, and then I will be moving onto hopefully 10 days of a detox and then onto some more weight watchers and tracking!

So there be it! I will be posting everyday, the good, the bad, the ugly!
Ok so getting back on track with tracking hasn't been going so well, my days have been a disaster...

Seriously, I feel gross, I'm overeating, yet I can't get control of it, and I have no idea why...I so hate when I feel like this...

Thursday, December 18, 2008

"The world of achievement has always belonged to the optimist."
-- J. Harold Wilkins

Hey everyone! I hope the holidays are being good to everyone so far! As I said in my post last week, I'm totally ready for it to be over! Although I did finally get my tree up on Monday night, so I'm feeling a bit more festive!

So I've decided I am going to go back to posting my menu's for you all to look at! I know, I know, your on the edge of your seat, and you absolutely cannot wait!

I've just felt like I've been totally off track lately, luckily the scale isn't showing much of a gain right now (and it is the holidays), but I don't know how long I'm gonna get away with it without a huge gain, so time to get back on track, start posting what I'm eating at least until I feel I've gotten control back, and hopefully have gotten through the holidays. But for me Christmas and Christmas Eve and New Years and New Years Eve are off limits for tracking lol!

I'm finally getting to feeling better, but I still haven't been able to run, but I'm not pushing it, because I know that I will get even sicker, and that's not a good thing!

Anyways, I will update with a menu post later, wish me luck with my first tracking day!

Friday, December 12, 2008

" You see things and say, 'Why?", but I dream things and say, 'Why not?"
~George Bernard Shaw

Wow, mark it on the calender, twice in one week, it's hard to believe.

Just a short little update. I was doing real well this week, sticking to plan, running and all that good stuff, and then Wednesday I came down with being real sick (somewhere to the tune of about 103* fever), so yesterday I was laid up all day, and today, while I'm at work and I feel a bit better, I'm still fighting it. And I'll admit, I'm not the best about staying on plan when I'm sick. Yesterday the only thing that tasted good was sherbet on my sore throat or hostess 100 calorie packs (who knows why!). But I figure first priority should be getting better, then we'll be back to the grind of weight watchers.

Anyone else ready for the holiday season to be over with? I love the holidays, and I love the time spent with family, but I'm really ready for all the treats to disappear, and for my normal schedule to return.

Even being sick this week I managed to get in 12 miles...not too bad, this winter my goal has been 15-20 miles a week, so 12 isn't bad being my week was cut short.

Speaking of Hostess 100-calorie packs, I'm a little late on these I'm sure, but they have strawberry ones now! They are great, picked some up when I was shopping last night, yum! A good treat once in awhile!

Nothing terribly exciting planned for the weekend here, probably just recovering a bit from this cold so I can get back to normal running and eating schedule!

Oh and I did weigh in this morning at 142.2lbs, so still at maintenance weight, I'm happy with that!

Alright until next time, take care everyone. Happy Holidays!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

"Mental attitude is more important than mental capacity."
~Walter Dill Scott

Well geez, It's been forever, do you guys even remember me? That is the few readers that I even have left? I'm so sorry that life has gotten the best of me the last couple months, and I have been less than attentive to my blog.

First of all, Happy Holidays to everyone. I hope everyone had wonderful Thanksgivings and are looking forward to, and getting ready for the Christmas Holiday.

This is one of my favorite times of year, I love spending time with the family, baking and more importantly, eating all the yummy food that comes around with Christmas time!

I've been doing ok sticking to plan, I have good days, and I have bad days, but more importantly, the weight in doing ok. I was not home this Sunday for my official weigh in, but I checked the scale last night to "check in" on myself, and I'm showing to still be right in the area of 142. It's hard to tell exactly, since I'm always up a little during the day. I'm taking it as I'm doing ok though, and even if I was actually up a little bit, it is the holidays.

I'm actually trying to following weight watchers again during the holidays. That way on the days I'm not busy with social events, ect that comes with Christmas time, I'm doing very well, it makes the days that aren't so hot have less of an impact on my weight. Although I have to admit I was a little put off by the changes they made with the new momentum plan, but I'm getting used to it.

As far as personal life is going, everything is going decent. Mom, Dad and all my brothers are all doing well. And the guy that I've been seeing and I are doing well.

Running is still going good. I am now on my 22nd week of running, and I have to admit I love it. I go through cycles it seems, where I'll love it, and then I'll despise going out and running. The weeks where I love it, I get out as much as I can, and the weeks where I loath it, I just try to get out once or twice. It all works out, and I'm still doing it on a regular basis, which in my eyes is great. I'm also still running outside, even though it's cold. Everyone thinks I'm crazy, and you should see the looks I get when I'm out running at its 20* and snowing out, but I just love it. That's one of the great things about Michigan, you'll never get bored with the weather! On the other hand, it does get awful expensive making sure you have all the right clothes to go fight the weather, ha ha.

Eating as a whole has been good. I'm learning maintenance isn't about "being good" all the time. It's about enjoying Pizza and Broiled Chicken on the weekend, and then cutting back during the week to make up for it. It's about having the piece of cheesecake at dinner, but only eating half. And don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of times I still want to (and have) broke down and eaten for comfort, but I suppose you can't kill all your old habits right off the bat.

Anyways, that's the update for now, I'm off to catch up on some of your blogs since I've been such a bad blog friend! Hope all is well with everyone!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

I'm still here

Well, I really apologize for falling off of keeping up on the blog as of lately, life has been terribly busy!

As far as maintaining weight, I'm doing ok. I weighed in this week for my maintenance weigh in #4, and I weighed in at 142.2lbs. Not too shabby being 142 is my goal. But I do know that If I don't reel things in a little bit, it will be going up with the holidays and the way I've been eating.

The candy bowl here at work has been calling my name lately, and unfortunately I've been indulging in it a bit more than I should be. I remember last year around this time, it was doing the same thing, I don't know if it's just this time of year, and the comfort food aspect of it or what.

But I'm working on reeling it back in, and getting back to my normal controlled eating patterns, and I know I can do it.

As far as running is going, I've been doing well getting out there, even though it's getting cold out, and it's getting to the point where its basically dark when I'm leaving work. During the summer I was running 4 days a week, but I've cut it to three now that it's getting a little more inclement out. But I'm still getting out there, and thats what really matters. Right now I'm nursing a bit of a knee injury, so I don't know when I'm going to be able to get back out there, which kinda bums me out. But I know if I don't give it time to rest, I'll end up hurt and laid up for even longer.

But I love that I'm now bummed out when I can't run, it's become an addiction for me, it's habit, and I love that is now a part of my life.

I'm gonna try to be posting more, as I know it will help me stay more on track during the holiday, which all of us have a hard time with! And also I'll try to start stopping by your blogs again, I love you guys!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

"Pain is temporary, Pride is forever"
- Anonymous

Well, I guess this is getting to be a once a week thing, instead of a once a day type thing, it's not intentional, I swear.

I don't know about you guys, but I love the fall time. I love the changing colors, I love the cooler weather.

Lets see a little bit of a quick update. Running has been almost non-existent for about the last three weeks. I guess I wouldn't say non-existent, but very limited. I've been fighting with being sick for about three weeks now. It started as a sinus infection, but just remained hanging around as a cold with congestion and being tired all the time, so needless to say, running took a back seat for a bit. I've still managed to get at minimum one run a week in, and this week, I'll be back to a full schedule. I ran 6 miles this morning, and it went great, so I'm looking forward to getting back into that groove.

As far as eating goes, it's been alright, I won't lie and say it's been phenomenal, because it hasn't, but it could be a whole LOT worse. With not feeling real well, I can tell you that usually the last thing on my mind is eating great, and the candy dish at work has been calling my name lately, perhaps a little too much. But this week, being I'm finally starting to feel on this side of the living, I'll be getting back to my very good ways.

I feel so much better and have so much more energy when I'm eating right and exercising, when you get thrown off by sickness you can learn to appreciate it even more!

I'm still seeing the guy that I mentioned a couple posts ago, I'm always afraid to go into details about new guys, as it seems like when I do, something blows up and it ends ha ha. But needless to say, I'm still seeing him :)

Anyways, I think that is the longest update that I've done in awhile, but I promise I'm going to catch up on your guys blogs next week, and I will post again this coming week!

Happy Fall everyone!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Month #3 Weigh In

Well I weighed in this morning, and while the scale didn't show down as much as it did early in the week, it showed me to be 140.0lbs, which is damn near amazing. I didn't think I'd ever see that number on a scale. Still my goal weight in 142, but heck, I'll take the 140.

I ran 5.5 miles this morning, it wasn't a stellar run, I had to walk a few times, and it was a little slow, but nonetheless, I got it done, hopefully tomorrows run will be a bit better.

Anyways, I keep promising real updates, and I'll do it again, hopefully tomorrow. But I'm alive and doing well, I swear!

Hope everyone is doing wonderful!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Interesting

Hopefully a real blog post tomorrow again.

But had to share. I've been avoiding the scale, because I knew the digital devil would not be nice to me, I have been sick, and stressed, and while not eating bad, I've been eating more than I should have.

So tonight I decided to buck up and get on the digital devil, I knew I would be a little up, because I always am at night, but I was very very surprised when I read the number 138 on the scale.

Where the heck did that come from? 4lbs under goal weight? What the heck?

Anyways, that's my interesting news.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

" Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many--not
on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."
- Charles Dickens

I'm alive, I swear.

This cold has been kicking my butt for about the past two weeks, it started off mild, and I could function, and then it got bad, and I got some meds, and now it's being back to mild where I can function, but I'm still just wore down.

Being I'm wore down and been fighting this running has been miserable, and that makes me feel lazy and fat. I finished all but one run last week, and this week I've ran once, and I'm hoping to run another one or two times. Then I'm hoping to be back to normal schedule next week. Kinda a downer when you get so used to something being such a part of your life.

Eating has been fair. I'll be honest, you know how it is when your sick, you just want the food you want, and you don't want to think about anything food related, or at least in the healthy aspect. Have I been doing terrible? Not in the least, but could I be doing better? Most certainly. I'm sure between the lack of running and eating not-so-great, I've probably gained a bit, but I know when things get back to scheduled programming I'll be back down, so I'm ok with that.

Other than that, I've been seeing someone, and seeing alot of them. I'm very happy, and I'll fill you guys in on some details on that at a later date. But the dating front is looking good.

I've decided I won't be weighing in this month, just for said reasons, I don't need a scale to tell me I'm up a bit, i can tell by my clothes. I'm really very content basing my weight on my clothes and not a number, It's becoming a nice "freedom" to have.

Other than that, nothing to new and exciting. Baseball is in Divisional Series, and I'm looking forward to watching those. My long shot that I'm rooting for this year is the Brew Crew! Go Milwaukee!

Anyways, promise the updates won't be so far in between next time, I'm off to catch up on you guys!


Monday, September 29, 2008

I'm alive

I swear I haven't fallen off any wagons or anything like that, I've just been WAY under the weather with a cold, and I've been really busy on top of that, so it's been crazy.

Promise an update this week!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

"Courage is the greatest of all the virtues. Because if you haven't
courage, you may not have an opportunity to use any of the others."
-- Samuel Johnson

Good Afternoon Everyone!

I hope your having great and on-plan weekends.

I wanted to pop in real quick to tell you guys about my run this morning. It was my longest run yet, 7.5 miles! I've been fighting a cold the last couple days too, so even getting out at all was a bit of an accomplishment. But I finished 7.5 miles, and it was at an average pace that was less than my 7 miler before, quite an accomplishment.

Eating has been good this weekend. I've started doing a few new things that seem to be working well for "portion control".

First, on ice cream, I bought a bunch of these 1/2 cup glad ware containers, and as I buy ice cream, when I bring it home from the store, I put it in individual 1/2 cup containers. Keeps me from eating out of the container and controls portions, it works wonders.

On the same front, I've been doing it with pretzels, wheat thins and things like that too. I just put them in individual snack baggies.

I think it helps a lot, I am one of those people who mindless grabs a handful here and there, and this prevents that.

Other than that, nothing to new and exciting around here. Just fighting this cold and trying to rest up!

Hope everyone is doing good!


Wednesday, September 17, 2008

"He who finds diamonds must grapple in mud and mire because diamonds
are not found in polished stones. They are made."
-- Henry B. Wilson

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I really intended to post again on Sunday, although I got busy and didn't have time, and Monday, I was off work, so I didn't get around to it, then yesterday, I was busy catching up! So now, here I am!

To answer some questions;

One, I started moderating comments because I was getting spam, and I hated it, but then it kinda got to be a pain to publish all the comments, so I just put word verification on now, hopefully that helps.

As for Tech, I think things are on their way out on that one. It's kind of shame, but I'm not upset. He just doesn't seem that into me, and truthfully, I don't think I'm that into him. Plus he's got a few flaws that I don't know whether or not I'm willing to deal with, since they are personality flaws (like being overly critical). But on a high note, I met another guy, he's an electrician, so I will just refer to him as that! He seems nice enough, we'll see where it goes, and I will keep you guys posted.

Eating has been pretty successful. Sunday was a challenging day for me, but I think I handled it well. My parents have this all you can eat brunch that they go to sometimes on Sundays, and it used to be my most favorite place to go before losing weight. And honestly, while I was trying to lose, I wouldn't even dare go near it, because it would tick me off that I couldn't eat more than like one thing. But I had a couple bites of everything I wanted when I went. And when I left, I wasn't stuffed, I felt satisfied and comfortable. Later in the day my mom made my favorite homemade meal, BBQ Meatballs and Mashed potatoes. I wasn't terribly hungry since I had a big breakfast/lunch, so I had a small (very small) helping of mashed potatoes, and 4 meatballs, and some sweet corn. I left there feeling full, but not sickly stuffed. I opted out of eating the rest of the day. I think I did well.

I think it's the big thing with maintaining, is to learn days like my Sunday are ok, once in awhile. Are they ok every sunday, or every day? Nope! But food isn't the enemy, food is good, and I enjoyed what I ate!

For some reason this week, pretzels have been calling my name. I don't have any idea why. There is a large (like sam club sized) jar of pretzel sticks on the table here at work, and they have been calling to me. I've had some, but I'm eating them plain, and I've been limiting them, so I think I'm doing ok.

I'm reading Intuitive Eating right now, and I'm really enjoying the book, and I'm trying to put into practice the stuff in it. So far, I really do think it's a great way to become a "normal" eater.

One thing that really hit home with this book was the talk of how when you restrict yourself from certain foods, you want them even more, and are more likely to binge on them. Lets look at example.

My friend Peanut Butter. Me and Peanut Butter had a good relationship before WW. I was fond of it, but it was one of those things that I could take or leave, and if I did eat it, it was rarely something I over ate. Now enter WW's, where PB was high point, and I avoided it, because to me it wasn't worth the points. All of a sudden, it became a forbidden, and it was something that if I started on, I usually ended up overeating. I just ended up not keeping it in the house anymore, because quite frankly, I couldn't deal with it.

Now that I'm maintaining, I've been allowing myself a small amount of PB on a regular basis. Usually this small amount is about 1/2 Tablespoon with some pita bread. If I feel like it everyday, I have it, if not I don't. And you know what? PB has lost it's Binge potential for me, it no longer has that "hold" over me. I can have it whenever I want, so therefore I don't have to eat it like I will never eat again.

This is a common theme of intuitive eating. Now that someone is pointing it out, it's making sense. I promise to update more about the book as I learn more.

In other news, running has been going good. I got in a 5.5 mile run on Sunday, 4.5 on Monday and tonight I'm planning on doing another 5. It's been so nice out, and I'm so enjoying running this time of year! I can't wait til it cools off even a little more!

I DVR'd Biggest Loser last night, and I can't wait to watch it! Although it's been ruined by a few blogs I've read today :( Oh Well, I still like watchin it!

Anyways, I think I've been chatty today, but I hope everyone is having a healthy and happy Wednesday!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Maintenance Weigh in #2

Well just a quick little update right now, hopefully I can post a little more of a "quality" one later while I'm watching some football :)

Weighed in this morning for the 2nd time on maintenance, and I weighed in at 142.2. Perfect! Only .2lbs up from the last one a month ago, and honestly, .2 absolutely nothing! So month 2 was a success!

And this morning, I got in a run of 5.5 miles, it's been pouring here since yesterday morning, but luckily, I woke up this morning to a break in the rain, which looks to be temporary. But I got the run in so I was happy!

Anyways, Happy Sunday everyone!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

"Babe Ruth hit more home runs than anyone; he also struck out more
often than anyone."
- Anonymous

Just a quick little Tuesday check in!

Things are going good here. I'm still fighting a cold/bad allergies (which I really think is a cold that was caused by bad allergies, but not sure!), but still doing well.

As far as exercise goes, I took Monday off from running, as I typically do after a long run, and today I plan to do a short 2.5 miles. I have 2 more runs schedules for the other days this week, and plan to get those in hopefully Wednesday and Friday, although the days might change.

Eating has been going ok. Sunday I decided I needed a scheduled day, and a day to put portions back in check, so I weighed things and sort of counted points. Upon weighing things, I found I'm still doing good keeping my portions in check, which is great! Yesterday I got home from work, and I was ravenous, I think it probably was the result of not eating enough on sunday after the long run. So I ate alot. BUT, I kept it in check, and I wrote down what I ate, and by the end of the day, it was still a successful day. Today eating has been fine. Tonight I'm meeting Tech for dinner at a steakhouse, and I've already looked at the menu and decided on a 6 ounce sirloin with a side of steamed broccoli and brown rice. Very calorie friendly, especially if I don't eat all the rice (which normally I don't like rice at restaurants, so I don't eat it anyways), and just eat 1/2 or 3/4 of the steak.

Weight wise, I think I'm doing ok. It's really hard to tell, because I'm trying to avoid stepping on the scale. Last time I checked, i was up a hair. But I'm not really going to get upset about it. I know that 95% of the time I'm eating properly, and I'm exercising enough, so as long as I'm doing the right thing, and my clothes are fitting, I need not be concerned with the number on the scale. I'm trying to grasp this concept.

Speaking of clothes fitting. My size 8's I bought as my goal weight present to myself are falling off of me. In fact, I'm down a loop on my belt So even if the scale shows a bit up, I'm thinking maybe it's muscle from running?

As far as my books I posted about last weekend, I'm reading intuitive eating right now. I really really like this approach. It makes many very valid points, and I will touch on them all when I'm done reading it in my review. But if your looking for good reading, and are looking to get past the "diet mentality", you might want to check it out.

Things with Tech, I really don't know about. I'm very on the fence about him. I'm beginning to think he's in it for the "thrill of the chase" not a relationship, which isn't what I'm after. But we'll see how it works out. I'm trying not to count my chickens before they hatch. Regardless, we're going out tonight.

Anyways, I hope everyone is happy, healthy and staying on track, and I'll catch up soon!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

My Long Run!

I just wanted to report in for inquiring minds! My long run this morning went fantastic! I ran 7.04 miles!

Now, I think it was a NSV (or just shows I'm addicted to running, one or the other!), I work up this morning about 730, and I heard it raining outside, it was raining hard, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. I finally got out of bed around 830, and it was still raining. I've been fighting a cold and bad allergies the last couple days too, so I didn't feel real hot.

Well I checked the radar, and it looked like the rain would be out of here in an hour or so, so I ate my oatmeal and hung out, and about 1030a I left for the run, instead of scrapping it.

Now in the good ol' days, I would've used any excuse possible to get out of exercise, allergies and not feeling well would've been good enough, let alone rain.

But, I went out, and I had a great run, the roads were muddy, so I got a bit wet and dirty, but it was part of the fun, dodging the mud puddles. The sun came out about half way through the run, and it started to get very gorgeous. I made sure to pace myself, and started off very slow, so I could be sure I had enough energy to get through the 7 miles. And I did, I finished and I felt great!

I hope you guys have great Sundays, I'm off to finish watching my Lions get their butts handed to them.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Books to Review

So, as always in a process to continuously improve myself, and better understand the emotional implications behind my eating, I've picked up a couple of books today which I'm going to read and offer reviews on in the next couple of weeks/months.

These books include:

Mindless Eating: Why we eat more than we think by Brian Wansink

Eating Mindfully
by Susan Albers

The Rules of Normal Eating
by Karen Koenig

Intuitive Eating
by Evelyn Tribole

I'm excited about all of them. I scanned through them all, but the one I chose first is Mindless Eating, be looking forward to tell you guys about it. Already it's incredibly interesting the studies they've done, and how they can give people stale popcorn at the movie theater and they eat it it just because it's there. That's amazing to me.

Anyways, hope you guys are having fantastic weekends, will report tomorrow how my first ever 7 mile run goes!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

"Too many people overvalue what they are not
and undervalue what they are."
-- Malcolm Forbes

Happy Thursday Everyone.

I just realized it's been a long time since I posted last. Wow! I guess I've been pretty busy, so let me recap on things that have been happening, both weight loss/eating related and not.

Well lets see, I finished off Monday as a relaxing day. I did go over to my parents and we had a great summertime mean of bacon tomato sandwiches and sweet corn yum! I think overall the meal was a success, although I did eat some powdered donut holes (what the heck?) and I picked a little too much at the apple crisp I made for my dad. But on the other hand, I passed on having bacon on my sandwiches, and I bought my own bread over, instead of eating the high calorie oversized stuff they had. And I stopped eating the apple crisp before it got bad. Then I went home, and I didn't eat the rest of the day, so you know what? The day ended up being not too shabby.

Eating the rest of the week has been fine.

As far as exercise goes, I'm still running. I've gotten in 3 of my 4 runs this week, with my 4th planned for tonight. My 3rd run was even in the rain. I actually kinda liked it...I know I'm insane.

In as vague of terms as possible, things with Tech are going good. I had gotten the feeling he wasn't interested anymore as of late last week, but finally just asked him yesterday night and turns out there was something bothering him, but we talked about, and things are back to being good.

Today would've been 4 years with the ex. Of course he had to send me an email to remind me. Thanks...I remembered.

I've found a new person who makes me proud to be a woman in S-arah Pal!n, I don't want to type her name, because I don't want my blog getting 400,000 hits because her name is on it. This isn't a political blog, and I don't impart my political views on people, but seriously, I love her. And yes, I despised Hellary Cl!nton.

As far as what my weekend holds, I'm not really sure yet. Tonight I plan to get in a 2.5 mile run, and then make some tuna dish for dinner, yum! Then one night this weekend I'm seeing Tech, although he wasn't sure which night was free yet, but I'm totally excited about it, since we got what was bothering him out of the way, it should be a great time. Then Sunday I have a 7 mile long run planned, it will be the longest I've ever run, I'm excited about it, but nervous also!

Anyways, you guys have great rest of the weeks, and great weekends, and I'll be catching up soon!

Sunday, August 31, 2008

"The most absurd and reckless aspirations have sometimes led to
extraordinary success."
- Vauvenargues

Good Afternoon everyone. Typically I don't post on Sundays, unless it's a weigh in day, but I figured what the heck, I'd put in a short update.

Emotionally, I've been doing ok. I still have some rough spots, but overall, I'm beginning to get back to normal, and becoming the old me again, that makes me happy.

Exercise, has been good. I finished up 15 miles this week, which is what I had planned, and I mark that as an accomplishment, because I certainly could have used a wide variety of excuses that would have been great excuses not to run, but I didn't. And this morning, I started another week of running, with a run of 4 miles. It was a perfect morning, it was about 60 when I headed out, without a cloud in the sky, and the wind was calm. I had a good run.

Food wise, I think I've been doing well. I have been writing down what I eat, just not keeping track of calories or points, and I like this approach. I try to pick something I did good at the end of the day and write it down, and I also try to pick something I could improve on. I think it keeps me honest.

Other than that, I haven't done much for the long weekend. I needed some downtime, and I've taken it. Tech is gone to the north, dirt biking, so that left me without a man for the weekend, which, with my man hating attitude, perhaps that was a good thing. I do plan on taking duke and heading to one of my girlfriends tonight for a fire with her and her dog. It should be fun. Then tomorrow, when the parents get home, we are doing the classic summer meal, bacon and tomato sandwiches and sweet corn. Yum. Of course I will be buying turkey bacon for me :)

I've been eating the heck out of sweet corn this year, I've been stopping and getting a couple ears on my way home from work at least 2 or 3 nights a week. I'm so going to miss it when I can't do that anymore. Just a seasonal delicacy around here ;)

Anyone else love sweet corn?

Anyways, I hope you guys have fantastic rest of the long weekends, and I'll be touching base with ya'll next week :) Happy Labor Day!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

"The most absurd and reckless aspirations have sometimes led to
extraordinary success."
-- Vauvenargues

Well I won't talk much about what I wrote yesterday other than this;

- Thank you for all your kind comments. They truly help more than you know.
- I never received an email back from him, I don't know that I expected to.
- I renamed him, he doesn't have a real name, his name will from now on only be lying cheating man whore. Fits him better.
- It's in the past, it's done and over. I'm moving on.


That being said. I'm putting on a happy face today. Do I feel better? A little. But I'm trying!

I did have a decent end to yesterday though. I had done a lot of crying earlier in the day, but was able to avoid it most of the afternoon. When I got off work, I pretty much felt like crap. I had only slept a couple hours the night before, and I cried a lot, so my sinuses were all screwy.

BUT! This is where I surprised myself. I actually went out for a run. I didn't feel like it, I had 4 miles on the schedule, but I promised myself just to get out the door, and if it was bad, just turn around. I also promised myself I could switch my 3 miles from tonight to yesterday if I wanted to only do 3. But I did the whole 4. Granted it was slower than normal, but it was a good run, and when I got home, I felt much better. When I got home I made myself a yummy dinner (pork chop and barley bake, yum!), watched some tv, had a beer and hit the sack.

I'm glad to say the last couple days my eating has been fine. Probably a little on the light side, but after the brownie incident on monday, I probably could use a couple days of light anyways. But I've been eating, and at a time like this, that's an accomplishment, as I have to force myself to eat.

Tonight I think I'm going to stop and get some sweet corn on the way home, and have that with a tuna meal that I have planned for tonight, it should be most yummy. And this will be after I get my last 3 miles in for the week. Which will make my total mileage for the week 15 miles...which was what I planned.

Other than that, nothing too new and exciting around here, but once again guys, thank you. You mean the world to me.

Monday, August 25, 2008

The person who removes a mountain
begins by carrying away small
stones.
-Chinese proverb

Well greetings fellow bloggers. I didn't realize that It had been almost a week since I visited. It's kinda crazy how fast time is flying by these days!

Just a little update. The end of last week went well. I was suppose to go to bike night with Tech on Thursday night, but ended up feeling under the weather (whether than be allergies, or beginning of a cold, I'm not certain), so I begrudgingly canceled plans and spent the night at home on the couch. Friday night I got a quick run in (in the heat, yuck!). Then hit the grocery store and came home to watch the tigers.

Saturday proved to be terribly hot, which found me spending most of the day indoors. I got alot of running around done, but I wasn't feeling real hot again, so I spent the evening watching some tv and hitting the sack kinda on the early side.

Sunday I got up in the morning, and ran 6 miles. When I set out it was about 830a, and it was on the cooler side, about 70*, but it was very humid...about 93% when I left. So needless to say it was a very sweaty run! But it was a good run, and I got home and felt accomplished. Then I made some brownies and Apple Cheesecake bars for work (and didn't taste test hardly at all!), as well as getting a new kielbasa recipe ready in the crockpot for today too. I felt good about the kielbasa recipe, as I used turkey kielbasa and splenda brown sugar blend in it, and you know what? The guys never knew the difference...and they ate much healthier. Then I watched the tigers, finished up some chores, hit Mongolian BBQ with the parents and then a movie with Tech. So it was a full weekend!

How did eating go? I think it went pretty well. I didn't have any situations that were bad, no times where I really ate too much ice cream, or too much of this or that. Weekends are always a little harder for me, I have a tendency to eat a little more than normal, but I just make sure they are fruits and veggies, and I figure I'm safe. But I think overall the weekend went well food wise. I'm still struggling with not eating when I get home late from a date with tech. But I'm working on it. One day, one thing at a time!

Today has been a little more of a challenge. I started this morning off with my normal oatmeal, which today was "pumpkin pie" oatmeal, and I sprinkled some splenda brown sugar on it, and a few walnuts, and it really was quite tasty. Then I followed it with my normal mid morning cottage cheese.

Now this is where it got a little sticky. We were having a BBQ for my dad's birthday here at work, which is why I made the yumminess I was making yesterday. So of course I had to try the kielbasa, which was very yummy! Very much so! I stopped at a couple slices of kielbasa, no big deal. Then they made me cut the brownies and cheesecake bars. I got through that with minimal picking. But over the course of time, I picked more than I should have. I probably (over time) ate one or two brownies, plus I had a couple bites of the cheesecake bars and a couple bites of the apple cake someone made dad (can you tell he loves apple?). Did I eat more of things than I probably should have? yes! Did I stop before it got too out of hand? yes! So even though I went a little off my plan, lets look at the things I did that were a victory to me.

I stayed away from the grilled hamburgers, sausage and hot dogs.
I stayed away from the baked beans and little smokies.
I stayed out of the potato salad (a favorite of mine!).
I stopped before I dug my hole too deep!

Also, in the old days, I would've eaten like that, and then I still would've eaten my lunch and snacks I bought with me. But at this point, I have eaten anything else, because I haven't been hungry. I'm thinking maybe I'll have my grapes in a bit.

So even though I had a less than stellar day, I did a lot of things right, and that is what matters my friends, and it's part of this maintenance game I'm now playing.

What did you do right today?

A little yummy treat I tried this weekend (and a tip!), The guy I work with (who is also health conscious, because of me!), suggested taking some cinnamon toast crunch and coarsely crunching it up and putting it over ice cream, and oh my god it's the best! I found a new favorite once weekly treat!

Also, I don't really like to keep sugared cereals in the house, mainly just because I'm a cereal person, and cereals like trix, capn crunch and honeycombs are dangerous, I can eat out of the bag like chips! So I recently started buying the variety packs of individual boxes and just having the cereal as a treat every so often, it works great, controls the serving and prevents you from eating the whole bag!

Anyways, back to work for me!




Wednesday, August 20, 2008

"If you have made mistakes...there is always another chance for
you...you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this
thing we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down."
-- Mary Pickford


Well I lied in my last post. I said I would update Monday. That didn't happen, as today is Wednesday and I'm just not getting around to it, sorry about that!

Things have been going well.

Monday night Tech came over for dinner. I made him a healthy (yet yummy!) dinner of Marinated Honey Pineapple Chicken, Brown Rice and fresh corn on the cob. Then for dessert I made individual trifles, with sugar free pudding, cool whip and fresh blueberries, strawberries and some small chunks of angel food cake. He seemed to enjoy it, so I was happy. He's not picky with food (which is great...the ex was!) and he even cleaned up after dinner! I was impressed :) Tomorrow night we're going out again, this time to a "bike night" in a local city. He has a motorcycle, and I've never been to a bike night, so it should be a good time.

The other good thing about Mr. Tech? He's lost some weight himself. So he enjoys eating healthy, so he doesn't question my sometime weird eating habits, since I've been upfront with him that I lost weight. That's a relief for me.

As far as the family situation, thanks for all your well wishes. I can't get into major detail, but the brother and his wife are going through a rough patch, and there was a talk of the big "D", but they've decided to try and work on it. I was the only family member he confided in about it, and I was relied on for advice, and help, and that stressed me out a bit. But I did manage to control my food during this time, which really makes me believe that this is a "lifestyle" now for me.

I'm three days sober from my scale-addiction. It's hard, it really is. I'm so used to stepping on it all the time, I'm paranoid that I'm gaining weight, and constantly analyzing how my clothes are fitting. I've been tempted to grab it from hiding a few time, but I've left it put away. It will get easier, I know it will.

Running is going. I had a really crappy run on Monday, but I think it was just because it was so hot. It was 90 when I ran, and needless to say, that took it out of me. Plus I ran 4 miles, which was the day after I did 4.5. I'm not quite up to that many miles on back to back days yet. So needless to say, the last mile was a run/walk combo. But I finished it. Took last night off, and tonight I'm looking forward to 3.5 miles. Plus the weather is only suppose to be upper 70s, so it will be nice!

Eating has been going good. I've been a little into the "late night" snacking lately, and I know this is because since I'm now seeing someone, I have a tendency to get home late, and I'm hungry again. Usually at the hour I get home, I'm in bed fast asleep, so this hungry again feeling isn't noticed. So I'm really going to try to focus on not eating when I get home. It's my goal for the week. But other than that, I think things are going good. I'm really on a path to stay away from the processed foods, and I've been trying to choose snacks (even when I have the munchies) that are fruits and veggies. Choose an apple over the triscuits, that type of thing. It's going good so far, but it's still and effort on my part, and one I will continue to make!

Also, Jodi recently talked on her blog about the new Yoplait light flavors, which were Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Strawberry Shortcake and Raspberry Cheesecake. I have tried all three flavors, and my favorite was the Raspberry Cheesecake and then the Strawberry Shortcake. The Pineapple Upside Down Cake wasn't bad, it just tasted like a Pina Coloada to me, which isn't my favorite of flavors, if that is your cup of tea you would love it.

Other than that, I can't think of anything else! So I will get back to work, but talk to you guys soon!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

one month down, a lifetime to go!

Well I weighed in this morning, one month on maintenance, at 142.0 lbs. Which means, my first month was totally a success, and I'm happy about that!

Just a quick bullet point update:

- Date with Tech last night went really well....I like this one.
- Ran 4.5 miles this morning, went well!
- NSV's this weekend, I've been dealing with some pretty emotional family issues, and I've managed to not find comfort in food, which is a pretty big deal for me. Did I eat a little more than normal? Yes, but it was good stuff, and it involved no binges. Go Me. Hopefully I can tell you guys about this situation a little further into the week (involves older brother and new wife).
- Ate out twice this weekend (which is ALOT for me), and made great choices both times.
- Today I'm making Brownies and Blondies for work in the morning. Yum! I will stay out of the batter, I promise.
- Michael Phelps, 8 gold medals, remarkable.
- More detailed update tomorrow.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Friday, August 15, 2008

"When nothing is sure, everything is possible."
-- Margaret Drabble

TGIF everyone!

I don't know about you guys, but I'm a seriously glad it's Friday! It's been a long week! If you have ever worked in a customer service related industry, you know what I'm talking about. Yesterday was one of those days, everyone I talked to was cranky and being an idiot. I swear, it wasn't just my customers either, every salesman here was about to kill their customers. I was so glad the day was over. And today is looking like it might be quiet, which is good!

Has anyone not been following Michael Phelps? Seriously, that kid is half human, half fish! Did you guys see this article about how much he eats? Honestly, a breakfast that consists of three fried egg sandwiches, a five egg omelet, a bowl of grits, coffee, three slices of french toast and three chocolate chip pancakes? I couldn't eat all that food in one day, let alone one sitting. And he struggles to gain weight, in fact most of the time, he is losing it. I wonder if at that point, eating becomes a chore? I can't imagine it ever being a chore, but it seems like at that point, it might become that way.

Everything is going good for me right now. Eating has been good, and under control. I would say I'm probably eating a little more, but it's primarily fruits and vegetables, so I don't really see that being a problem. I start eating more ice cream and chips, that would be a problem. I've just taken the approach that I don't keep the stuff in the house. I have one bag of crackers which I finished (wheat thin multigrains...yum!), and I keep cereal, those are my snack foods. I have ice cream, but I've learned to keep it in the freezer in the basement, that way if I'm grazing, I don't "stumble" across it. One of my favorite snacks as of lately has been frozen bananas, terribly yummy, and taste like ice cream!

Running has been going good, I planned for a total of 13 miles this week, and I got them in, so that's great. Next week is 14 miles, and I'm looking forward to it. Although next week is suppose to be alot warmer, so it won't be quite as pleasant as my 75-80* running weather this week!

I think I've decided to step away from the scale again, and just weigh once a month. It's getting a little insane, I'm weighing myself like 5 times a day, and this isn't a good thing. I am up about 1lb, averaging about 143.....but get this my clothes are feeling even bigger. My 29 pants I bought just a month ago, are getting a little big on me. So I'm assuming with running I'm gaining muscle, losing fat. So that's a good thing. So I can't fixated on that number on the scale so much. So My official one month weigh in will be Sunday, and then I will put the scale away for the month..

This weekend should be a good one. Tonight is my normal Friday night (I'm totally a routine person!), Grocery Shopping, and then the Tigers are on, and I will watch them. Tomorrow I'm going to be doing something with Tech, although I'm not sure what yet. And Sunday a run, and then normal chores, and I think I might meet a girlfriend at the park with the dogs. So should be good, plus I have to do a little baking! Fun!

What's your guys plans for the weekend?

Have great weekend guys, and I will catch up with ya soon!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

"The aim of life is self-development. To realize one's nature perfectly-
that is what each of us is here for."
~Oscar Wilde

I was bored this afternoon, so I thought I would stop in for a quick little update.

Yesterday went well, eating wise I had no problems. Running went good, I got two miles in real quick when I got home, and got showered, and had something to eat before heading off to meet Tech to play some mini golf.

The date went well. I had made chocolate chip cookies the day before as I had mentioned, and I saved a few to take to him. So we played some mini golf, and hit some balls in the batting cages and went to part our separate ways, and I gave him the cookies, which he loved...but he had made cookies the night before and brought me some. So it was cute, it was like a little cookie exchange. Of course being a man, his were from the dough you buy at funraisers, and mine were homemade, but still it was totally the thought that counts.

And I was good, I really was tempted just to toss the cookies, being I don't normally even eat stuff like that anymore. But I had small bites of each (peanut butter and choc chip) and then tossed the rest. So it's kinda another NSV for me too. Just proof that the health thing is just a way of life now, For along time it was all or nothing for me. I couldn't just have a bite and stop. And somedays are still like that. But yesterday I had my small piece, and even though I wanted more, I was done.

And yes, they were good!

So Date #5 is in the works, probably towards the end of the week!

Other than that, nothing new and exciting on this front. Planning a 2.5 mile run tonight, even though I'm tired as heck (I had to go back to work after the date last night..computer problems, didn't get home till almost 11, yuck!). Then I'm making some tuna salad for dinner, and going to chop up a cantaloupe that I got on Friday that should be so yummy!

Anyways, I hope everyone is having great days, catch up with you soon!


Monday, August 11, 2008

"Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach
them, but I can look up and see the beauty, believe in them and try
to follow where they lead."

-- Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888) American Writer

I hope everyone had good weekends!

I had a pretty good weekend, both eating wise and just in general.

Lets see, Friday was my normal laid back night. I went for a run, grocery shopped, and came home and flicked back and fourth between the Olympics and the Tigers baseball game. It amazes me how many small countries there are throughout the world that participate in the Olympics, I honestly had no idea that some of them even existed. Boggles my mind.

Saturday was good too. I didn't do anything too exciting, I got up and had breakfast, watched the Olympics for a bit and did some running around. Later in the day I went with Tech to a Baseball Game, and I'm glad to report Date number 3 went remarkably well, and there will be more in the near future, in fact date 4 will be tonight (more on this later!).

Sunday was uneventful, but good. I woke up, and went for a run. Did 5.5 miles, and it went great. When I set out it was actually a bit cold out. I almost had to go back inside and put on more clothes, but remembered they always say to dress like it's 10 degrees warmer than it actually is when running. I'm glad I stayed in just shorts and a tank, cause I still sweat'd pretty good! After that did crunches and pushups and had breakfast and hung out most of the day. I did make myself some yummy (and healthy!) french toast yesterday. I just made it with milk and egg beaters and light bread, and it was fantastic! It's been A LONG time since I had french toast, yum! I also had a bit of an NSV, made some chocolate chip cookies for the guys at work, and I had one! Just one! Wasn't even tempted. Which is pretty good for me, normally I avoid making cookies, or trying to have just one, because I can't.

So otherwise, a great weekend on my part.

I did weigh in yesterday at 142.8lbs, which is the same I weighed last week, which is good! I was up this morning, but it seems I usually am on Mondays...I'm thinking it's because I don't drink enough water on Sundays so I retain a bit more!

Food Choices were pretty good all weekend. Friday was fine. Saturday I was faced with eating "ballpark" food for dinner, but we went to a coney island that is in the ballpark, and I had a greek salad with dressing on the side. I picked off a majority of the feta cheese, and didn't use alot of dressing, so I was pretty happy with that choice.

Sunday, I did well, I did have a bit of an incident sunday night. I had some ice cream with a vitatop for dessert, and for some reason, I started eating some sherbert out of the container in the freezer. I have no idea why! I did stop, and I probably only ate a 1/2 cup, maybe a cup, but still, kicked myself. Didn't need it, but that mindless eating took over.

Other than that maintenance has been going pretty good. Last Year when I went off weight watchers, I don't think I was quite ready for it. I remember eating alot. Alot more than I should have been. This time is different, I'm making healthy choices, and I'm fitting things into a healthy lifestyle. Sure there are days where I eat a bit too much, but then there are days where I don't quite eat enough to balance it. I'm sure there will be times when I have to really watch it to drop a pound or two, but I realize now, that's all part of the game. Maintenance isn't about being perfect all the time, and never gaining a pound, it's about staying within a range. I feel more prepared this time.

Anybody been watching the Olympics? Any favorite events?

As far as tonight, I'm gonna go for a short run when I get home, and then eat a quick dinner, and I'm meeting Tech to play some mini golf. It should be fun, and it's a 4th date...I haven't made it this far in quite sometime!

My new addiction food-wise? Hummus! I've been loving it lately, and it's such a healthy snack. I've been making Hummus and turkey sandwiches for lunch everyday, just using the hummus in place of something less healthy...say mayo? Very yummy, very filling. It's been my lunch for awhile now!

I'm really looking forward to my runs this week, they are all relatively short, and the weather is suppose to be gorgeous (and cool!). It's really getting a hint of "fall in the air". I love it.

Anyways, I'm being chatty-kate again, so I will get back to work, but I will be updating on said date tomorrow :)

Thursday, August 7, 2008

"It is never too late to be what you might have been."
~George Eliot

So this morning, while browsing through the abundance of news, I came across two rather shocking things. The first of these things, was that our mayor has been thrown in jail. Very nice huh? I'm glad I don't actually live in Detroit, what an embarrassment.

The second really disturbed me even more, because I care so much about my healthy lifestyle. Check out this article. It says, that in 40 years, if the current trend continues, everyone in the United States will be obese. Now I don't know about you, but something like that baffles me. I understand that they are giving an "if situation" basically saying if we see the same increase in the next 40 years as we do in the previous 40 years it will happen. But I don't think it's possible, I think people are much more aware of the epidemic, and there are many more people who are eating healthy and taking charge of their health. I think we will see a decrease in the trend over the next 40 years, in my opinion. What do you think?

Also along that lines, I've been meaning to share this article with you also. Kinda goes hand in hand with the above said epidemic. Look at the pictures of those hamburgers. Just looking at them, and thinking about how much calories and fat are in them make me sick. Whew.

Ok, onto other things. I've been tinkering with the idea of going back to school. I'm one of those rare people who actual enjoy school (I know, I know, very odd!), I enjoy the challenge, enjoy learning new things.

I've been tinkering with going back to become a registered dietitian so I can become a nutritionist. It's just a field that interests me so much, I feel like I would be such a help to people who were in desperate need (but who didn't always want help). Just something I was thinking about, nothing I've committed to, but wanted to throw it out there.

As far as the weight front things are going good. I'm having another day where I'm feeling like a balloon today, and I have no idea why. I'm thinking my cycle is all out of whack because of my new running schedule, that's the only thing I can attribute it to. The scale showed 144 this morning, after a couple days of high 142-low 143. So it's echoing my feeling of being bloated. I'm ok with that.

My maintenance plan is going good. The only thing I haven't quite gotten down yet is the eating after 9p thing. I was so good about this for so long, but as I've gotten into running (and with summer being here), I seem to not be able to sit down to eat dinner til 730 or 800. So by the time I want a snack it's after 9p. Do I honestly need a snack? Probably not, I guess I just need to get over the mentality that I do. I think alot of it is mental.

But I have been doing good listening to my body and only eating when I'm hungry, and I've been doing well not eating out of the container. Yesterday I had some frosted mini wheats, and instead of eating out of the bag, I put a handful in a bowl and took it to the couch. Sometimes it's hard, and it's a hard habit to break, but I'm working with it.

But other than that, nothing terribly exciting here. I plan to run 3.5 miles tonight, and I'm looking forward to it, since the weather is finally cooling off a little bit. It's only a high of 80 today, and no humidity. Can't wait.

One fruit that I am just loving right now are Bananas. They are a fruit that when I was counting points, and especially when I was trying to lose I did not eat, because I refused to spend 2-3 points on a banana. I love Bananas! If you've never tried it, try slicing them, and freezing them for 1-2 hours. They taste just like ice cream. Very yummy!

So I think that is it from the peanut gallery today, but talk to you guys soon!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.
If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."
~Herman Cain

Thank you for all the nice, encouraging and helpful hints in your comments yesterday, they mean the world to me.

So after freaking out a little bit yesterday (ok, so I freaked out ALOT), I went home from work (after drinking over a gallon of water, and eating my food for the day) and weighed in .4lbs above what I did that morning. So totally water weight. But I finished out yesterday on 21 points, and I packed myself lightly for a 21 point day today.

The digital devil showed 143.2 this morning. Much more of a reasonable number. See with weighing everyday, I see alot of fluctuation, and I've been averaging my daily weigh in's over 7 days as my "weigh in" for the week. Well my normal average is right around 143, and I'm ok with that. I realize that averaging a weigh in of 142 would many many days below that number, and I don't want to shoot for that. 143 average is fine with me.

So, when I went on maintenance, and then subsequently decided to stop counting points, I never actually had a set in stone plan to deal with gaining a few pounds and how to handle it. I basically just get 145 as the upper limit, I hit that, ever, and I go into emergency weight loss mode. That was my plan. Well I have a new one now, that is a little more detailed, and should prevent further freak outs. Plus, honestly, why would I freak over 2lbs? Getting back on plan, I could easily lose that within a couple week, no reason to freak out. So here is the new plan.

Maintain a weight of between 142-145. Average of daily weigh ins for the week should remain around 143.

An average weigh in of over 144lbs mean, raised awareness to what I'm eating. Start writing it down, don't worry about points/calories yet. Just journal it.

Average weigh in over 144.5, start journaling with points.

Any two consecutive weigh ins (daily at or over the 145 mark OR more than two consecutive weekly weigh in averages over 144lbs, go back into full weight loss mode, which will be 21 points, 8GHG's, counting zero point foods, until the scale returns back to averages of below 143. Much easier to get rid of that pound, than it is to get rid of it, and five of it's little buddies!

Also, I'm setting up some guidelines for my pointless maintenance:

1. maintain between 142-145 (sick of hearing this yet?)
2. Continue running 4 days per week
3. Try to avoid eating after 9p at night, and try to limit after dinner snacks.
4. Limit "processed foods", aka granola bars, vitatops, chips
5. Limit ice cream to two servings per week. Also on the same note, only buy the pint containers of ice cream, how much trouble can I get into with only 1 pint in the house. It's only 4 servings!
6. Eat primarily fruits and veggies.
7. NEVER, I repeat NEVER eat from the container (even if it is standing in the kitchen, that doesn't make it alright!), or take the box/container of ANY food to the couch...NEVER. Your allowed to take a bag of veggies or fruit, or a bag of popcorn to the sofa...but nothing else.

I'm taking a list of these to the fridge door when I get home tonight. All great reminders to myself, and all things that I follow pretty much on a regular basis.

So there you have it, a little more in detail maintenance plan, hopefully it will prevent future "flip outs" Anything you guys have in the way of suggestions?

I also wanted to thank you guys for the Peanut Butter suggestions last week, I have been doing well with peanut butter so far. I have only been buying the natural type for about the last year, I love it. Plus now on maintenance I've been allowing myself just a smidgen everyday, and that seems to help immensely in having a problem with it. If it ever becomes a problem I'll throw it out again, simple as that.

On a food find note. Have you guys seen all the flavors of frosted mini wheats they now have? Holy smokes, back when I used to eat these things, they just had the original one kind. I like frosted mini wheats because they aren't a cereal which I can tolerate a ton of it dry (unlike say cap'n crunch or honeycombs), so the binge potential isn't there. But I got the cinnamon stresuel ones on Sunday, and they are pretty darn tasty!

Other than that, last night the date went well, and we have tentatively planned on going down to the tigers game on Saturday and spending some time in Detroit beforehand, so I have that to look forward to. We met for coffee this past Saturday, and we had dinner last night at Max and Erma's where I had the hula bowl, YUM! We will call him "the tech" for now. He's a prototype technician for a big company in the area. He's 28 and he doesn't live terribly far from me. He seems smart, cute and outgoing thus far :) Plus he's interested in spending more time with me, who am I complain? But I will keep you posted, a third date would be a record for me in quite sometime, lol.

Running is going good. Yesterday was a rest day, and today I'm planning an easy 2.5 miles tonight after work in the nasty humidity, but I'm still looking forward to it. I'm debating on what I will make for dinner. My options are a cajun stir fry, turkey enchilada casserole or egg salad. Leaning towards the turkey enchilada right now!

Alright, back to your regularly scheduled programming now! Thanks for listening :)


Monday, August 4, 2008

"We mustn't run away from our battles,
because sooner or later we will have to face them,
if that's the case, why not now?"
~Jasper Tong

So this should be an interesting blog post.

On Friday night, I made an executive decision to stop counting points. I finished my Friday off, but made the decision starting Saturday I was just going to start listening to my body, afterall, I know what I should be eating.

Why did I decide this? Because I honestly felt some nights like I was eating points just for the sake of eating points, not because I was actually hungry. I felt like somedays I needed 27 points, or 30 points, and other days, I was fine with only 21 or 22, but I was eating 25-30 everyday, because that's what I was given, and afterall, weight watchers always told ya "eat your points!".

So I decided to stop counting.

Overall the first two days went good. Saturday I ate a bit more than necessary during the day, but basically didn't eat anything in the evening, because I was busy, and I wasn't hungry.

Sunday also went good, I think I grazed a little more than necessary, but overall, no big incidents. I made cookies and lemon bars and managed to not lick spoons or taste test. AND! I had lunch of a sandwich with a Banana and some carrots, and I was full after half the sandwich and half the banana, so I wrapped the rest and put it in the fridge! I was happy about that, maybe I'm learning something? We then went out to dinner at Red Robin and had this awesome Asian Chicken Salad (we will come back to this), and I came home, I had a Fiber one bar I probably didn't need, and then I had a small serving of ice cream, with a vitatop of dessert later in the evening, so overall...pretty darn successful for a couple days sans points. Enjoyed having the freedom, and just not obsessing over it, because really it had gotten to that.

So how did the scale look over the weekend...not bad...until this morning 145lbs...where the hell did that come from. I heard the term "digital devil" used this week on another blog, and I would say the digital devil was not kind to me this morning.

So what do I do? I flip out! Of course, that's true Kate fashion right there, act and then think about it later. So I re packed my lunch for today to account for only eating 21 points throughout the day, as that is my weight loss points. So I'm on 21 points today.

Now of course everyone I talk to (and I know this in the back of my head), says you can't gain 2.2lbs overnight. And yes, I know this. I had plenty of good weigh in's recently, so I know I didn't actually gain and that I don't actually weigh 145, but that number was on the scale, and it flipped me out.

I promised myself anything over 144, would put me back in to Emergency Weight loss mode...so here I am. Necessary? It might not be, but I'm not taking chances.

What do I honestly think caused this? Bloating of course. I feel like a balloon today. So I think I should see it disappear, but until I do. "Hi 21 points a day, my name is Kate".

So about this Red Robin Salad, being the good and healthy person I am, my parents decide they want to go to Red Robin last night, so I look through their customizer feature, and figure out what I want. I pick the Asian Chicken Salad, with nutritional content of 338 cals, 3g of fat and 6g fiber for the salad without the side of bread, I knew it was a good choice (since I know points by heart, i was like 6 points, fantabulous!). I go, I eat the salad, dressing on the side, yum!

Well I come home, and being OCD, I want to check the info again, well I go to look at it, and I realize it doesn't account for the rice noodles or almonds that were in the salad, as I don't see them listed anywhere. So I finally find them in the "add an ingredient" section. So I add them, and pull off mandrian oranges which weren't on the salad I find I've eaten quite a few more points, completely unintentionally.

So what do you guys think? Whats up with that? Should they have to state that certain ingredients aren't included in the calculation? I mean, I would have asked for no almonds or rice noodles had I known they weren't included in the provided NI, but no where did it say that. PLUS, it said it was included in the salad on the menu. I was a bit peeved.

So I think this might have had a bit to so with the scale being unhappy this morning as well. I mean I'm sure the thing was chocked full of sodium, making me retain more water too.

So what does this week hold for me:

I plan to run 12 miles this week. Did 4 yesterday. Tonight I'm taking off, I have a date...a second date (stay tuned for updates!).

Stay in "weight loss mode" until the digital devil tells me otherwise, after which point, i will make another executive decision on how to proceed.

Start the push up challenge again. I wasn't able to handle week 3, so I'm going to drop down to week two this week.

not let the scale rule my life and moods. I was ticked off this morning, even though I know I shouldn't be, since I commonly can fluctuate a couple pounds.

Alright, so there you have it, lots of information! Sorry to have babbled on so long. I'll be stopping in to a blog near you soon!

Friday, August 1, 2008

"Through action, our potential becomes our identity;
our dreams become our life."
- David Jaing

Good afternoon everyone!

Welcome to August, goodbye July! How many of you had good July's?

I had a pretty good July, I think for the most part it was a month full of change, which there is nothing wrong with that. Change is good right? I would review the goals I set for July, but most of them are irrelevant at this point, since I shifted focus. Although my goal was to get to my goal weight this month, and I did! So I'm very happy to report July was successful.

Looking back on July, I had a good month. Eating was good, I did have a couple days at the beginning of the month where I was off program, and I ate alot, and alot of stuff that wasn't that healthy. But such is life, the world goes on, and the rest of the month was on plan, and as I said, I reached goal, so I suppose that weekend indiscretion in the midst of things seems irrelevant now right? Just goes to show, don't beat yourself up, just move on and get back on plan.

Activity this month was great. My goal was to log over 20 AP's a week, and I handled that with no problem. I also started running outside this month, and it went well, and I'm throughly addicted to it now.

So what's August to bring for me?

1. Maintain my healthy weight of 142-145.

I have been weighing everday lately, just while I get the hang of maintenance, and I will continue to do so, I've been using an average of the 7 days weight as my "weigh in" for the week. Anywhere in the 142's or low 143's for average, I'm golden. If it starts to creep into the upper 143's...time to take notice. So there is the weight goal.

2. Keep Running!

This is a broad goal, but heck, I just want to keep running and having fun.

3. Enjoy myself, and my vacations, but keep eating healthy, and tracking. Vacations= leeway, but that doesn't mean go on a stuff my face fest.

Ok, so there is the goals for the month. I think they can be done!

So what's been going on with me this week?

Well I ran 4 miles on Tuesday, and it was just about the most miserable 4 miles I ever ran! Not good! It was terribly hot and humid, and then to boot I got 2 miles from home, my garmin died and I had to use the facilities. BUT! I didn't let this deter me, I got out yesterday for an awesome 3 mile run!

I did decide to change my training plan a bit. My body was telling me I was doing too much, too soon. How was it telling me this? I was having joint problems, my muscles felt lethargic, and I was so freaking tired. Perhaps I should've taken into consideration increasing from 9 miles on a treadmill to 17 miles outside in a matter of a couple weeks wasn't wise.

So what's the new plan? I'm stepping my mileage back by 20% next week, and then I will steadily increase it from there. I probably should've started lower, but we live and learn. I just want to remain running and uninjured!

Got another set of bad news on the Mom situation the other day. She now told me she's been having problems with high blood pressure. So she went to the doctor and got on some meds. I hate to see people use meds to control something which could be controlled by lifestyle changes.

BUT! She is trying. I know everything comes in stages. I told her awhile back I would print her the information WW's had on Diabetes if she wants me to, but never said another word. So she asked for it the other day, and this morning I printed it for her. I've also offered help several times, by telling I would help her with Weight Watchers if she wanted to go that route. So I think she is coming around, slow process, but we're trying.

Other than that, nothing to exciting. Grocery Shopping and a run tonight. A Date a some point this weekend (let you guys know how it goes!). I have to make some cookies for a guy at works birthday, and then just other stuff around the house. Plus I think I am going to go see the new Batman movie, looks cool!

Anyways, have great weekends and I will talk to you guys soon!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

"To go forward, you have to leave something behind."
-Steve Jobs

Hey Everyone, I hope your all having good weeks.

My week is off to a good start, the scale has been showing up in the past week, but with TOM around the corner, those pesky few pounds should be dropping off in the next couple days. But on a high note, my clothes are still fitting nice a lose, and I'm feeling skinny, despite those couple pounds.

I've had two non-scale victories in the last couple days, yes, two! The first one was, the jeans I bought last summer (mid way through my weight loss journey), had become too big, I mean I like my clothes on the looser side, but they were getting a little ridiculous, so I went and bought new jeans, and I'm pretty sure I could've bought 28's, although I bought 29's because I'm not one of those girl who likes their clothes to fit like spandex. So I was very excited, I think it's the only time (I can remember anyways), ever buying pants under the 30 waist size. In fact I found an old pair in my closet not long ago that were 33's!

My second NSV came last night. I was incredibly munchy when I got home from work, and I pretty much had to do everything possible to keep from eating everything in my refrigerator. I've been keep whole bagged carrots in my fridge, and when I'm feeling like I need to eat something, I peel a carrot and eat it. My theory behind this is that since it takes work, I'll be less likely to just "grab a handful of carrots", and I think it works. But regardless, I had a couple carrots, popped a stick of gum in my mouth and called it a day. So this is where the NSV came.

Later, by this time dinner was done, I actually left some of my portion of dinner on my plate. I just wasn't hungry for it. I ate what I wanted, and then stopped, but the rest back. I think it's the first time especially since being on WW's I've put food back. Usually if I've counted the points for it, I'm gonna eat it. So a major bonus for me.

I think I've been trying to "enjoy" my food more, and eat slowly, and I think that is helping, and perhaps that's the reason why I put the food back. But I also just don't feel like I need to eat a certain amount everyday with maintenance. I know some days I will want to eat a bit more than others, and that's fine. I'm no longer trying to lose. I think it takes alot of pressure off the situation.

But I have a confession! yesterday was also the first day in quite sometime I didn't get both of my oils in...opps! I forgot about the second one, and then even though I had the points left, I didn't feel like adding it to something else to eat it, just solely to get that in, so I skipped it. I think I will probably live.

Running has been going good. The run on Sunday went good as I said before, and yesterday was a rest day, which was much much needed! It's amazing how this running stuff takes it out of ya. Tonight I have 4.25 miles scheduled in the heat. Not overly looking forward to it, but I know I will feel great when I get it done.

New little feature I'm going to starting doing a "Question of the Week" feature. You guys can even suggest a question for the future ones. But every Tuesday I will compile the answers, and hopefully we can get some new ideas based on what everyone else is doing. I love to get new ideas. So brings me to the question of the week;

What are your guys favorite cereals?

The ones I eat the most are Kashi Go Lean and Go Lean Crunch along with All Bran Extra Fiber and Fiber One Original. But I love (and can't keep from eating straight out of the bag) Capt Crunch and Honeycombs (yes, I know, I'm like a 2 year old!).

Alright, back to work I go. Have great evenings, can't wait to hear your answers.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

"Think Beyond, and you will go beyond"
-Marion Licchiello

Well I think my first "maintenance" weigh in went well, I was up 1.8lbs, but that's a pretty standard TOM gain for me, so I should be back down by next week. Plus with weighing daily right now, I know it's not a real gain as I seen 141 a couple times this week. I'm good with it!

I ran 6.5 miles this morning! I was so excited, once again, it's a milestone because it's farther than I've gone previously! Plus, I had good times too, I had several miles that were in the 12's! That's awesome for me! And, I surpassed 50 miles run for the month! Plus, I picked a route today (unintentionally) that had some pretty big hills in it, so I was bustin my butt! The first three miles were into the wind, and that was a little hard, but overall a great run. I'm exhausted!

No huge plans today, I have to clean a bit, do some laundry, you know, that normal fun sunday stuff...yay!

I hope your all having great weekends, and I'll talk to you soon!


Saturday, July 26, 2008

"A person is only as big as the dream they dare to live."
-- Unknown

I typically don't post on Saturday's, but I had to post about a great run that I had yesterday on my day off!

My day started off not so great, my phone rang at 7a on my day off, it was work, telling me they were having computer problems, which I had to come in and handle. So I was not a happy camper. So it threw my schedule all off, I was suppose to get up when I wanted, mosey around, and then go out on a run. Wasn't turning out that way.

Well I got home from work about 10a, and I decided to go out on a run, even though I totally didn't feel like, and my allergies were miserable. The first mile or so of my run was hard, I wanted to turn around, but I kept telling myself it would get better, and it did!

I ended up running the 4 miles I had planned, and two of those miles were at a pace almost a minute faster than I normally run! I was so happy!

So I got home, and I was totally wiped out, but felt so energized, I actually wanted to go out and run more! After that "high" wore off though, I was just bushed, I think it was probably the combination of allergies, being a little stressed this week, and not sleeping well. So I spent alot of the day off just kinda lounging on the couch.

Food-wise things are going great, I haven't had any problems with maintenance so far, I'm sure I'll hit a bump in the road eventually, but so far, so good.

Weight-wise, those 2lbs I was up earlier in the week have seemed to disappear, yesterday I was actually my lowest weight ever at 141.6, and this morning I was just a tad over 142. So I don't know what this means, I thought I should see a TOM gain this Sunday, which would actually mean that I'm about 2lbs less than that, which isn't good, because that would mean I'm still losing. So we will see how this plays out, might have to make some adjustments to eat more. Suppose with all the running it's still possible I'm losing. We'll see what it looks like over time.

The rest of the weekend, no real plans. My truck needs a bath and cleaning, the dog needs a walk (or at least thinks he does!), zucchini is sitting on the counter begging to be baked into something, and chores around the house screaming my name. Plus I have a 6.5 mile run tomorrow that I can't wait for!

Anyways, have great weekends bloggers, and I'll be catching up soon!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

"What ought one to say then as each hardship comes?
I was practicing for this, I was training for this."
- Epictetus

Happy Thursday Everyone! This is actually my Friday, as I felt I needed a day off, so I took tomorrow off! I'm very excited, it will be nice to have a day to "catch up".

Things have been going good over in this neck of the woods.

My Running has been ok. I've been getting out there and doing it, but the runs have been a bit harder this week. I think it's the fact that one day, I started off to fast and tuckered out, and then yesterday my allergies were bothering me pretty bad. My long run will be 6.5 miles this week, that will be a new record for me, and I can't wait.

I have learned though, that I need to just focus on getting the miles in, and not worry so much about the time it's taking me to complete them. I get a little wrapped up in that aspect of it, so I'm trying not to focus so much on that. I'm slow, but I'm running, and that's all that matters!

Eating has been good, it's taking some getting used to to be eating more, I guess I'm still in that mindset that I should be losing, even though I'm not anymore. So I think it's more mental than anything, and I'm sure I will eventually feel like this is the norm for me.

I have decided that I will be counting points until my subscription ( I buy three months at a time) to WW's online comes up at the very end of September, and after that, as long as I haven't gained, and I am doing well, I will not renew it.

Weight-wise, I'm doing ok, I'm up 2lbs for the last two days, but, I believe TOM is right around the corner, and this is a normal gain for that. Plus I totally forgot how inconsistent my body is! I looked back at the sheets from when I weighed everyday last year (around this time), and it's not abnormal for my body to be up and down as much as two pounds on any given day, does anyone else who weighs everyday see this?

Tonight I'm hitting Red Lobster with a girlfriend and cannot wait! Yum!

Other than that, 4 mile run planned for tomorrow during the day at some point, and some relaxing on my day off (speckled with some chores of course!), and I was given some zucchini, so I think I will make some zucchini bread this weekend for other people of course! lol.

Anyways, if I don't chat with ya'll tomorrow, I hope you have great weekends!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it's
dressed in overalls and looks like work"
~ Thomas Edison

I'm a firm believer in the mantra "if it were easy, everyone would do it!", and I think the quote above kinda puts that into perspective. But then again, I don't think any of us are here because we think it's easy (we may have thought it might be at the beginning!), we all understand this weight loss thing takes hard work (heck, this running thing is the same way!). We all understand that there are days we are going to be in our groove, and then there are gonna be days when we feel like giving up, but the important part is, in the long run, looking at the overall picture, we stick with it.

So little bit of a confession, since hitting maintenance on Sunday I've been weighing on a daily basis. I would like to not weigh on a regular basis, but right now, I think it's kinda necessary. I have to know how my body is reacting to the amount of food I am feeding it. I want to find a good number of points that will let me maintain. The good news is, so far, I'm doing good, so I might be where I need to be! But truthfully only the results over the next couple weeks will tell the full story. But I don't want to not weigh for a month, and gain 5lbs over that month because I was eating too much, so that plan isn't feasible yet.

So I've been thinking alot about this running thing. I set a goal of running in a 5k, but I think I need to set some more tangible goals. Or something that working harder will produce results. So here are a few goals for the upcoming months, I think I will add a sidebar eventually.

1. Run in my first 5k, just finish it, but give it all I have.
2. On my long runs, get to where I am holding a steady pace of under 12 min/mile, right now I'm at about 13:25 on my long runs.
3. On my shorter runs, break into the 11 minute/mile range.
4. Run over 20 miles a week (this week I will be running 16).

So there are a few goals. I'm looking forward to trying to beat some of those!

Eating has been good, I do find that I'm not hungry for all the points I have now, lol. I just feel like I get so much, and it's only 4 points more some days! But I will get used to it. Right now, I'm eating alot of fruit because of the season of course, so that's more filling and lower point.

I have started to bring a few of the things back into the house that I didn't buy when I was trying to lose, mainly Peanut Butter. I have issues with Peanut Butter, anyone who's read my blog for while knows this. But Peanut Butter is an important part of a runner's diet, so I bought a small jar. And so far, it hasn't been calling to me. I'll keep you posted on that.

I have a four mile run planned tonight, really don't feel up to doing it, as my allergies have been bothering me, but I'm gonna go, because I know it will make me feel better. Then some crunches and a Jambalaya for dinner. YUM!

Anyways, I better get scootin, but have a great day guys!

Monday, July 21, 2008

"Seek respect mainly from thyself, for it comes first from within."
-- Steven H. Coogler


First of all, I wanted to thank all of you for your kind words on my post yesterday. It's so nice to have people who are supportive and proud. I don't know what I would do without my blogger buddies.

My first day on maintenance went off without a hitch. In fact, it was great!

After I posted yesterday, I went for a 6 mile run, and I'm proud to say I ran the whole thing without stopping to walk once! It was great! Mind you I'm slow, very slow, but at least I ran it all without stopping!

After that, I came home and was exhausted and sweaty, so I did some crunches, took a shower, ate my normal oatmeal for breakfast, and did some other stuff around the house.

In the afternoon I met my parents for dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. Normally I just get the salad bar, since I like to eat throughout the day, and by the time I get to dinner, I seldom have a ton of points left for a good dinner on the town, as everything adds up so quick. But last night, I had plenty of points. So I had a half of turkey burger, and half order of french fries (I may have sneaked an extra french fry or two!), and that was 13 points for dinner...I don't know that i've eaten that much for a meal while being on WW's....and I still had 2 points left for some sherbert when I got home. I was happy.

I did decide to add the 4 points they recommend, which brings me to 25 points a day. On top of that, my Garmin estimates calories burned running, and I'm eating 1 point for every 100 calories burned (I am rounding up). I'm not touching my weekly points....because I never really have. So yesterday I had 25 regular points, and then I burned 450 calories on my run, so I took 5 extra points. I'll probably weigh in on Sunday just to get a gauge on whether or not this is working.

Once I do figure out what is working, and what is not, I will be back to monthly weigh in's. I like that approach alot.

As far as the weight range I am going to set for myself, I'm not going to set a lower limit, because I'm not worried about losing "too much" weight, but my upper alarm limit is 145 (on a non-TOM weigh in). So if I hit 145, it's time to go back into loss mode and really buckle down.

I'm also not worrying so much about the zero points foods anymore, if I start to gain, I can reexamine that.

I already feel substantially less stressed over my food plan. Much more relaxed. I was micro-managing my food big time, and now I feel like I don't have to as much. Although it will take a bit to get into the schedule of eating that revolves around more points. It will take some adjustment and getting used to, but that's ok, I'm up for the challenge.

Anyways, that's about it, no run tonight, scheduled rest day, maybe a walk with the dog. 4 mile run scheduled for tomorrow.

Have a healthy happy day bloggers!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Well....

Well this morning, I stepped on the scale and he decided to be very nice (amazing huh?). I seen the lowest number I have ever seen (or at least since like Junior High). What was that number? 141.8 pounds. What does that mean?

I have reached GOAL!

Of course, I ran to get the camera, and take a picture of what the scale said, and somehow, I gained .4lbs doing that! But I did take a picture yesterday on several occasions when I seen 142....So I have a picture (yes, I'm a dork). So here it is ;) Excuse my ugly feet!



7.20.08

So there it is!

I removed my weight loss ticker from the top of the page, and smaller ticker in the sidebar, plus I changed the layout, figured it would be a good "new start". On the sidebar is still my current weigh in, and how much I've lost, etc.

I do plan on writing a quality post of "what I learned on my Weight Watchers Journey", but I have to actually put some thought into it, so that will come.

For those of you who have reached maintenance, or thought about it, how have you handled adding points? It adds 4 points to my daily total, that seems like alot, should I add the 4, or start with two and see if I lose still or what? what do you guys think?

Alright off to run now....6 miles, and I'm so freaking excited! Have great Sundays!

Friday, July 18, 2008

"Seek respect mainly from thyself, for it comes first from within."
-- Steven H. Coogler

Happy Friday Everyone!

Just a quick little update....

Took a day of "rest" yesterday from running, can't say that I enjoyed it, all I could think about was how I wanted to go out and run! But, it was crazy hot yesterday (hotter and more humid than the day before for my run), so I was very happy I had the night off. But today, I've not been feeling so hot, so I don't know that I will be able to handle a run, I'll go grocery shopping after work, and then we'll see how I feel, definately don't WANT to take the night off, but might NEED to. Usually exercise does make me feel better though.

No huge plans for the weekend, just grocery shopping tonight, maybe a run and the tigers game is on. Tomorrow I think I am going to golf with my brother in the morning, and then maybe just take it easy for the afternoon, maybe head down to the Ann Arbor Art Fair, and see what is going on down there if the weather holds up. Maybe a walk with the dog if I think he can tolerate the heat. Sunday, I have my long run planned....6 miler! Wowsers! It's scary because I've never ran that far, but exciting too, because I know I can do it! Then probably lunch or dinner with the parents and chores.

Oh, and weigh in on Sunday! I'm looking forward to it! It will be interesting to see what it holds after a month (yes I have peeked in that month, but only a time or two). Decided my next weigh in after this is going to be the same day as my First 5K....August 17th, so exciting day :)

Anyways, that's my weekend plans, what do you guys have planned?

Thursday, July 17, 2008

"Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through
which you must see the world."
-- George Bernard Shaw

Good Morning! I just thought I would swing by for a little update this morning.

The Running is going great! I guess I never believed that you could get "addicted" to running, like everyone said you could, but now, I totally see how you can. It's only been two weeks since I've been running, and It's all I think about!

I had a run last night, and it went well. I almost didn't go out, because it was just plain out nasty out yesterday, about 88 with high humidity that made it feel like it was mid 90's. But this is where that "addiction" comes in, I wanted to go, I wanted to go bad, so I did. Needless to say it was my "long run" for the week, the pace was very slow (heck it was hot out!), BUT I did run all 4.5 miles of it, and I didn't stop once! I was very proud of myself.

I'm not as worried about speed right now, just the distances that I'm doing. Today is a rest day, and I'm looking forward to it, plus the weather is suppose to be worse today than it was yesterday, so good thing I got the run in yesterday :)

Tonight I have to go get some compression shorts to where under the shorts I'm wearing while running, I am getting some "chaffing", and it should fix the problem hopefully.

I got some new running shoes, I picked up the Asics Gel-Nimbus 10's. I've only ran in them two days, but I'm in love. They have helped my knees soooo much!

As far as staying on WW's goes, I'm doing good, I haven't had any bad spots. I've been getting in my 8 GHG's and everything so that's no problem. I do realize I am a bit more hungry than I have been, but I'm sure the running has something to do with that. I've been basing the extra points I am eating on the calories my Garmin tells me I'm burning. I'm figuring an Activity Point for every 100 calories burned, and I'm eating half of those.

My monthly weigh in will be on Sunday, and I'm looking forward to it, I feel like my pants are falling off of me, and that's great! So I can't wait to step on and see what it's got to tell me after our long hiatus.

On that note, I am also thinking monthly weigh in's are good for me right now. It helps me to take the focus off of just that number on the scale.

Ok, well other than that, I don't have anything terribly exciting to update on, but I will be cruising by your blogs soon!