#107 We Now Return to Our Regularly Scheduled Normalcy (208.6)

A loss this week of .4, an undeserved .4 but I guess I'm lucky like that. I really tested the boundaries with my metabolism this week and I could sort of tell that I was in the back of my mind. I guess you want to see how bad you can be and still get away with it. Lesson learned. Unfortunately, this makes my 200lbs by Spain goal a little far fetched. But, crazier things have happened.

Reasons I only lost .4 pounds this week:

I'm on my period

I had a good sized loss last week

I had a doughnut on Friday (It was delicious)

Drank way too much Saturday night

Buffalo Chicken Salad with REAL Ranch Dressing

I didn't track my calories as closely as I had been

I drank basically no water

I skipped one of my workouts to watch movies on my couch

So! I know what went wrong and I know what I can do to fix it and I'll be doing that all week. Things got off to a great start this morning as I woke up a little earlier then normal and went to the gym. Started Week 4 of Cto5K and had my first set of 5 minute runs this morning. I still can't believe that I was able to do the whole workout without passing out. I couldn't run for more than 30 seconds 4 weeks ago and now I'm busting out 5 minute runs like it's nothing. Well, not nothing, the last one was a little rough but I powered through.

I think I'm going to invest in a stability ball this week. I've been wanting one for quite awhile now but didn't buy one because I doubted my commitment and really didn't want a huge ball mocking me in my teeny tiny apartment. But I think at this point it's safe to say I'm in this for the long haul and would definitely benefit from having one. Via Dietgirl I've been perusing some of the exercises over at trainwithmeonline.com and am itching to try out a few. You know when you're sitting on the couch watching American Idol for like 5 hours a week (seriously, I think it's on for 5 hours this week. It's like a part time job, watching American Idol) and you feel like the time would be better spent if you were doing crunches or something? I think the ball would be a good motivator in that way.

I noticed a disturbing trend in the last week when I sort of loosened up the reins on the diet. I found that I was eating a small breakfast, a small lunch, no snacks, and then a huge lumberjack style dinner. Being that I am a young person I like to go out and now that I'm 21 the prospect of drinking a few Margaritas is always an available option and I noticed that I was squirreling away my calories "just in case" something came up. That ends today. This morning I returned to a normal sized breakfast, am eating plenty for lunch, and will have a nice, normal sized dinner.

What's funny about my unbalanced eating is that now that I've realized what I was doing I feel like I've just dropped 5 pounds of stress from my life. I didn't realize until now that I was really starting to worry about how to have fun and keep my calories down. I kept thinking how can I make it look like I'm not dieting without an explosive amount of calories? When really what I should have been doing was focusing on the fun and not the food/drinks that came with the fun. I'm having such a "Duh." moment. Excellent, glad I've sorted that out for myself.

#106 The Doomed Run

The cosmos were working against me today as I tried to run my last workout of week three of Cto5K. The magazine I was distracting myself with went flying down the treadmill and I had to hop to avoid slipping on it as I ran. Then my jacket, which I was using to cover the clock, slipped off and revealed the seconds ticking away, begging me to count them when I knew it would only make the run harder. And then My headphones kept popping out of my ears and swinging all over the place, whacking me in the face while I'm trying to do work.

I was furious when I finished my run, huffing and puffing, pissed that so much had gone wrong. Then I gained some perspective and thought about how I'd finished another week of the program and maybe these instances were just meant to be obstacles to challenge my will. You know, or something less deep and introspective. Regardless, I was annoyed, but finished the workout and am pumped to start week four.

But! On a much happier note, I received my January Challenge surprise from Jeannie. A power water bottle and a couple of mix CDs, one for working hard and one for cooling down afterwards. I gave them a little test run yesterday and kept cracking up when certain songs came on. So, thank you so much to Jeannie! I love them and the water bottle definitely rocks! (I have your gift but the weather kept me from mailing it so it's going out on Monday! I know I'm wicked late...I'm so sorry!)

Tonight I'm going out for a drink with my sister and then meeting up with a friend for wine and movies. Layin' low and enjoying the weekend. I think that after this weekend I'm going to dig my heels in and throw everything into the next three weeks before my trip. I think the vacation will be that much more relazing if I know I worked hard to get there.

Hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend!

Daily Post #90

Calories in: 1208
Calories out: 3227
Difference: 2019

Way back when I first got going The Sister and I would go to the local high school's track and walk around it a few time and even jog once in awhile. We probably did about a mile and a half to two miles on good days, and I was always a sore, sweaty mess afterwards. After awhile I got better at it, and learned to enjoy the jogging part, and was even able to jog half a mile without stopping. Then I messed up my knee somehow and decided to give jogging a rest and pursue other forms of fitness.

Yesterday I did the first workout of the Couch to 5K program after I posted. I couldn't believe how much I'd missed jogging. While I was working out I felt amazing and for the first time ever I didn't feel like a fool when I was running. Usually a feel a little like Kermit the Frog, flailing around. But yesterday I felt contained and in control, and I can only assume that I looked that way too.

When I was looking at the program I though the first week workouts looked a little too easy for me, but decided to give it a shot and see if I should start there. I'm glad I did because my legs are so sore today it hurts to move. And I love it! I've never been so excited about a workout in my entire life. I'm really looking forward to working through the program and becoming one of those people at the gym who seem to run forever.

My only other encounter with running was sprinting in field hockey, and I was never very good at it. I realize now that it was probably because it was all too much too soon. I was going from doing no running to intense running without any chance to adjust in between. I'm really looking forward to progressing and doing this now. It was embarrassing when I couldn't keep up with the team, and being able to run now would be like getting some kind of closure on what I consider some of the worst times in high school. I'm going to do this, and I'm doing it for me.

Here's my new schedule for working out:

Monday: Weights/Couch to 5K
Tuesday: Cardio
Wednesday: Weights/Couch to 5K
Thursday: Cardio
FRiday: Weights/Couch to 5K
Saturday: Light Cardio @ Home
Sunday: The Day of Rest

What do you think?

Daily Post #85-89 (213.6)

Calories in: 5980
Calories out: 16068
Difference: 10088

(Numbers above are for the last 5 days.)

I can't believe it's been five days since I last wrote here. I never realize how busy school makes me until I start missing my vacation habits, like writing in here. Luckily I've been exercising consistently, and still eating pretty well. This last week I ate a lot of foods that I consider okay once in awhile (cheeseburgers, french fries, fast food salads, candy, spaghetti & sausage, bacon, orange juice) so it doesn't surprise me that I only lost 1.2 pounds this week, putting me .8 pounds from 40 pounds lost. My portions were all responsible, but the quality of the food, and the benefits of eating those foods, are far less then when I had been eating.

This week it's back to eating like a nutrition conscious being. Salads and grilled chickens, fish, yogurt, low-cal soups, lots of veggies and fruit. And water! I've been slacking hardcore on water as I've apparently re-discovered my love for diet Dr.Pepper. Not awful, but not good.

I'm thinking of re-vamping my gym program to avoid the touch of boredom I've been feeling. The most recent post at angryfatgirls got me thinking that I've been doing the same old same old for awhile now and it may be time to step it up a notch. I'm not much of a runner, but I was thinking about trying The Couch to 5K Program. I definitely feel the need for a challenge as I did 40 minutes on my home elliptical on Saturday and was bored and disappointed (and thrilled, all at once) with how easy it had become.