Tuesday, April 20, 2010
There's guilt, and then there's GUILT
For those of you that say unspeakable things to yourself after you've strayed from your eating/exercise/whatever plan - read this, and cut yourself some slack: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/wellness_articles.asp?id=692
Monday, April 19, 2010
Back in Control
Ahhhh - after yet another day of eating with reckless abandon (dinner out last night easily exceeded 2000 calories, possibly more, including 4 glasses of wine) - I am back in control today and feeling more like myself.
Breakfast this morning consisted of whole grain bread with almond butter, and a cup of coffee with non-fat milk. This is the breakfast that has carried me through the past few months and seems to be the fuel that gets my day started off right. No more sugary breakfasts for me! Half of a mango made up my morning snack, followed by a lunch of tuna salad on whole grain bread, a cup of brussels sprouts and cauliflower, a cup of raspberries and a small piece of a Lindor chocolate bar for dessert. Dinner was a yummy sandwich of french bread, fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, pesto and one slice of bacon. A scant quarter cup of vanilla ice cream with a tablespoon of chocolate sauce for dessert along with a handful of walnuts for crunch. A nice well-balanced day including some treats and lots of good food. Can't even begin to tell you how much less toxic I feel today!
Breakfast this morning consisted of whole grain bread with almond butter, and a cup of coffee with non-fat milk. This is the breakfast that has carried me through the past few months and seems to be the fuel that gets my day started off right. No more sugary breakfasts for me! Half of a mango made up my morning snack, followed by a lunch of tuna salad on whole grain bread, a cup of brussels sprouts and cauliflower, a cup of raspberries and a small piece of a Lindor chocolate bar for dessert. Dinner was a yummy sandwich of french bread, fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, pesto and one slice of bacon. A scant quarter cup of vanilla ice cream with a tablespoon of chocolate sauce for dessert along with a handful of walnuts for crunch. A nice well-balanced day including some treats and lots of good food. Can't even begin to tell you how much less toxic I feel today!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Lost a battle - but not the war
Last weekend I was feeling pretty smug. So smug, in fact, that I had a blog post half-written in my head describing how I'd finally conquered my food demons and adopted a healthy lifestyle. How I had made this lifestyle a habit, and that I couldn't picture going back to binging and watching TV every night. How I was no longer addicted to sugar.
Yeah, right.
On Wednesday I received a package at work - a stack of documents from a coworker in the UK - and she put at least five pounds of chocolate in the package as a thank-you. Five pounds of British chocolate - several varieties of Cadbury, to be exact. The package came at the end of the day Wednesday and I ate about 200 calories worth. Yum! Then I rode my bike to Rena's and did my usual training & yoga session and rode home. No problem, right?
Unfortunately the chocolate was still there on Thursday. And I didn't bother packing food before work because we were having a group pizza lunch. So off I went to work, empty stomach, nothing healthy on the horizon. I stopped at Starbucks for my coffee and thought "oh, I need breakfast - I'll just treat myself to a package of Madeleines." That was my first mistake - it's been months since I started my morning with a sugary breakfast and I think that has been key to my success so far! When I got to work and saw the pile of chocolate, everything just fell apart. The pull of the sugar was reignited within me and I couldn't stop nibbling. Three pieces of pizza, two garlic knots and two brownies at lunch...pizza for dinner...now it is Sunday morning and I've been in a free-fall of pizza, sugar, salt & fat for three days. And I haven't exercised once during that time.
I'm not really worried about getting myself back on track - I feel so crappy, tired, sluggish, sick and foggy right now that I'm actually craving fruits and vegetables. But I learned an important lesson this week - the time when you think you've conquered a problem is the precise time you need to be most vigilant! I stopped paying attention to my fledgling healthy habits and they weren't strong enough to survive on their own. I have been humbled yet again on this journey.
PS - On Friday I turned the chocolate over to a coworker with a much stronger constitution. And an office with a door that locks.
Yeah, right.
On Wednesday I received a package at work - a stack of documents from a coworker in the UK - and she put at least five pounds of chocolate in the package as a thank-you. Five pounds of British chocolate - several varieties of Cadbury, to be exact. The package came at the end of the day Wednesday and I ate about 200 calories worth. Yum! Then I rode my bike to Rena's and did my usual training & yoga session and rode home. No problem, right?
Unfortunately the chocolate was still there on Thursday. And I didn't bother packing food before work because we were having a group pizza lunch. So off I went to work, empty stomach, nothing healthy on the horizon. I stopped at Starbucks for my coffee and thought "oh, I need breakfast - I'll just treat myself to a package of Madeleines." That was my first mistake - it's been months since I started my morning with a sugary breakfast and I think that has been key to my success so far! When I got to work and saw the pile of chocolate, everything just fell apart. The pull of the sugar was reignited within me and I couldn't stop nibbling. Three pieces of pizza, two garlic knots and two brownies at lunch...pizza for dinner...now it is Sunday morning and I've been in a free-fall of pizza, sugar, salt & fat for three days. And I haven't exercised once during that time.
I'm not really worried about getting myself back on track - I feel so crappy, tired, sluggish, sick and foggy right now that I'm actually craving fruits and vegetables. But I learned an important lesson this week - the time when you think you've conquered a problem is the precise time you need to be most vigilant! I stopped paying attention to my fledgling healthy habits and they weren't strong enough to survive on their own. I have been humbled yet again on this journey.
PS - On Friday I turned the chocolate over to a coworker with a much stronger constitution. And an office with a door that locks.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Good News/Bad News
The good news is...my hip feels a lot better after a week of not running. And last night I rode my bike to and from Rena's studio, where I did a 45 minute workout with weights followed by an hour of yoga - 2.5 hours of exercise in one shot!
After I came home I puttered around the house, took a shower and went to bed. During this time I noticed a twinge on the outside of my left knee. Hmmm. Fast forward to the middle of the night, when I got up to pee....bigger twinge. Borderline pain. This morning? Not good. I'm writing this now with an ice pack wrapped around it after taking 3 ibuprofen.
Here we go again!
After I came home I puttered around the house, took a shower and went to bed. During this time I noticed a twinge on the outside of my left knee. Hmmm. Fast forward to the middle of the night, when I got up to pee....bigger twinge. Borderline pain. This morning? Not good. I'm writing this now with an ice pack wrapped around it after taking 3 ibuprofen.
Here we go again!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Wednesday Weigh In!
Very happy with the scale this morning - 237.4! That's a pound down from last week and after two meals out last week I couldn't be happier!
No time to write more now, have to leave for work in five minutes. Have a great Wednesday!
No time to write more now, have to leave for work in five minutes. Have a great Wednesday!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Awesome Training Ride!
Such a great training ride today - 11 miles in 55 minutes, a vast improvement over last week's ride. I was pretty pleased, as this is only my second ride outside this year and really my first outdoor training ride because last week was more experimental than anything else. I attribute the improvement to having fully inflated tires and using my cycling shoes with clipless pedals instead of my usual sneakers. The shoes really make a difference, especially when going uphill - I get more power out of each stroke. Riding outdoors is also less abusive to my butt - my bike seat is nice and soft, and my bike has good shocks so I don't feel the bumps. Far preferable to the pain after spin class!
After today's ride I'm starting to think of goal times for the SheRox Tri in August - previously I was just hoping to finish but now I'm hoping for more - I want to not finish last!
I looked up race times for my age group from previous years, and it looks like finish times range from 1.5-3 hours. I'd be OVERJOYED with a finish time of 2.5 hours. I think this is possible - if I do the swim in 25 minutes, the bike in 75 and the run in 40, plus 5 minutes each for T1 and T2 (since this is my first tri I'm assuming I'll be a total spaz in transition) that's a total of 2.5 hours. Right now I can swim 900 yards in the pool in 25, and today's ride time was a 12 mph pace, which puts me at 75 min. At this point I could probably manage 45 minutes for the 5K so I definitely need some work there. And of course I need to account for being tired after each leg of the race! But that's what training is for, right?
After a calorie-heavy lunch of whole wheat rotini, pesto, pine nuts and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, I'm off to do some yard work to burn off some energy. Today Ken and I are assembling our compost bins, cutting the lawn, cleaning up the yard and planning out the garden. Hoping to grill some buffalo burgers later today, YUM!
After today's ride I'm starting to think of goal times for the SheRox Tri in August - previously I was just hoping to finish but now I'm hoping for more - I want to not finish last!
I looked up race times for my age group from previous years, and it looks like finish times range from 1.5-3 hours. I'd be OVERJOYED with a finish time of 2.5 hours. I think this is possible - if I do the swim in 25 minutes, the bike in 75 and the run in 40, plus 5 minutes each for T1 and T2 (since this is my first tri I'm assuming I'll be a total spaz in transition) that's a total of 2.5 hours. Right now I can swim 900 yards in the pool in 25, and today's ride time was a 12 mph pace, which puts me at 75 min. At this point I could probably manage 45 minutes for the 5K so I definitely need some work there. And of course I need to account for being tired after each leg of the race! But that's what training is for, right?
After a calorie-heavy lunch of whole wheat rotini, pesto, pine nuts and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, I'm off to do some yard work to burn off some energy. Today Ken and I are assembling our compost bins, cutting the lawn, cleaning up the yard and planning out the garden. Hoping to grill some buffalo burgers later today, YUM!
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Post-Workout Update
I guess there's a silver lining to my hip issues, because it means I'm spending more time in the pool. This morning I swam really well - covered 1100 yards in....wait for it...less time than it took me to swim 1000 yards on Tuesday! Woohoo!
And here's another exciting bit of news - this week I noticed that my bathing suit is getting too big. TOO BIG! TOO FREAKING BIG! Life is good :)
And here's another exciting bit of news - this week I noticed that my bathing suit is getting too big. TOO BIG! TOO FREAKING BIG! Life is good :)
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