Monday, August 30, 2010

Week Six Results

So I have realized no matter how much water I drink or healthy food I eat, if I don't exercise this weight is not going to come off. I went up this week and I'm a little disappointed in myself for not trying harder. But at the same time I feel that since I have started 6 weeks ago I have made great strides in learning about my body and becoming more healthy.

I was chatting with a family friend yesterday and she helped me understand that as long as I am doing this for me and enjoying it then that is all that matters. It was also mentioned that you could measure portions by handful, if it is bigger then your hand it is probably to big of a portion. Now of course not everything should be measured in that way but the delicious unhealthy food that you should not over consume could be measured in this way. It is a way to keep you thinking about portion control, something I struggle with most of the time.

Now on to week seven, I think I'm going to set goals at the beginning of the week and work on achieving them. So this week my goal is to drink at least 64oz of water a day and exercise 5 times in the next 7 days. What is your weekly goal and how do you accomplish it?

Have a great Monday! :)

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Motivation wagon ...come back!

Almost the end of week six and looking back it seems I have fallen off the motivation wagon. At the end of week five I was excited and ready to move forward in my weight loss experience, but that wasn't the case as the week progressed. Between the long days at work and the long nights awake trying to catch up with my home life, I did not make time for exercise. :(

Looking back at my menu this week I did well sticking to the plan and eating healthier foods. So I had a successful week in that aspect. As for my water intake, it started out well and slowly decreased as the days went by. But I think I just thought of one solution to my water drinking problem while I was just typing. I need more nalgene bottles just like a co worker suggested. If I have a water bottle ALWAYS filled and ready to go then there should be NO excuse. P.S. I LOVE the nalgene water bottle that my brother bought for me. It is dishwasher safe, it holds 32 oz. of water and I have had it for a while and it is still like new!

Now on to the exercise issue. Well the ONLY issue is that I'm NOT exercising! Even though I don't want to be a scheduled exerciser I think that might help stick to my goal. For example if I write on my calendar "exercise" on the days I need to get to the gym or run outside then I think I would be more apt to do it because I don't want to let myself down. I have also noticed that I was very excited to run the 5k but because I was always concentrating on how far or how fast I was running I stopped using the other machines at the gym. I know many studies say running is the best exercise and burns probably the most calories but my new running body can't seem to run everyday of the week, which means on those off days I should probably use the elliptical or the bicycle at a low intensity. Do you have concerns about keeping up the motivation or ways that you try to keep up your excitement? I would love to share new thoughts and ideas.

So here is to a great weekend of water, exercise and healthy food!
CHEERS! :)

Monday, August 23, 2010

Week Five Results

There is good news and bad news...

The good news is the weight god was listening to me last night as I was praying to him. "Please, please let me stay the same on the scale or go down. I do not want to gain weight, I have been doing so well." So when I stood on the scale this morning I took a big breath and prayed again and I looked down to see that my weight was EXACTLY the same from last week. YES!

Now for the bad news, my weight is EXACTLY the same from the week before. Which means I need to be more cautious of my crazy food intake and make smarter choices. I also need to move more on the non running days. I am trying to think of less intense exercises like taking a bike ride or using the bike at the gym, playing Wii, going swimming or just taking the dogs for a walk.

Working harder for a better weigh in next Monday. :)

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Weekends are Tough

I had an enjoyable weekend and did many family activities. Throughout the weekend I ate out often and also had some high calorie desserts. I have learned that it is difficult to limit myself when the food is convenient. I definitely believe in the phrase "out of sight out of mind" because that also means for me "off my plate and off my hips". My eyes have always been bigger then my stomach and I think that has been my problem for years. For example I bought cookies at the grocery store today and they were sitting on the counter all afternoon and I couldn't get them out of my head. I was constantly craving one but then I put them in the cabinet and haven't thought about them until just this second. To keep myself accountable every few days I step on the scale to see where I am for the week. On Saturday morning I found out that I was on track and I was psyched!

Saturday afternoon I went to the Milford Oyster Festival and did really well or so I thought. I had a light breakfast and brought my 32oz. water bottle with intentions to drink it during the day. While at the festival I bought a small bag of fresh popped kettle corn and shared it with my Mom. Then we stopped at Subway and I got a 6 inch sub for lunch. On the way home we were both in the mood for something sweet and decided to get some ice cream. Well not just any ice cream, Rich's ice cream. Neither of us have had it in a long time and it was delicious. Again I thought I did well because I had enough to feel satisfied and then threw away the rest. I NEVER usually throw ice cream away especially Rich's Farm ice cream. Then for dinner my boyfriend and I went out. Instead of getting a smaller portion or healthier option I chose a big fat cheeseburger with a few fries. Wow! What was I thinking? Obviously I wasn't.

Sunday I woke up and checked the scale again and did not like what I saw. So I ate a nectarine and headed right for the gym. I ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes and walked 5 minutes before and after running. Staying on track was my goal for today. Breakfast was a bowl of Cinnamon Life cereal with skim milk, yummy! Then I had a salad for lunch with light dressing. For dinner we had company. I made chili and homemade biscuits. I probably had one to many biscuits but I made them with skim milk, hopefully that will help a little. Dessert was cake like brownies with chocolate frosting provided by our guests and of course I had one.

As for my exercise and 5K training, both Saturday and Sunday I ran 2 miles and for approximately 30 minutes each day. Saturday my run was outside on the road but due to the rain my workout was inside this morning.

Now looking back I will understand if I went up or stayed the same on the scale tomorrow morning. But if my whole week was on track with no dessert or high calorie food except for the weekend then hopefully everything will even out. Overall I am curious to see how everything works out on the scale in the morning. No matter what the results are I will not beat myself up over it. I will learn from my mistakes and move on with out feeling guilty. I did not feel bad as those delightful foods were being consumed so I will not get upset now. Try to stay positive and think positive thoughts! :)
Good Night

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

The "Perfect" Sneaker

After work I followed through and went to Dick's Sporting Goods Store to find the "perfect" pair of running sneakers. I tried on approximately four different brands and decided on Nike. I chose Nike Air Span +7 sneakers. They offer stability support, cushioning, arch support and in the future I could purchase the Nike plus i pod system. I also learned that the Dick's Sporting Goods Store offers a one year sneaker warranty program that is a small extra fee. For one year if the rubber on my shoes start to separate or the mesh tears etc. I could call the phone number and they will send me a gift card for the full price of the sneakers. Overall a great bargain. I bought a pair of Nike's normally priced at $90 on sale for $75 and then used a $15 off coupon and bought a warranty for a final total of $69.

Now to see if they work, the next challenge of the "perfect" running sneaker. So tomorrow is the big test, I plan on going to the gym and using the treadmill to break in the new shoes. Since I have been home tonight I have worn them around the house to get used to the feel. I love them so far, but if my love fades I'll keep you posted.

Running Shoe Guru or Exercise Slacker?

I definitely NEED to get my new sneakers today! I have been obsessing over which brand to buy, how much to spend and talking to EVERYONE more then once about which sneakers they prefer. It's getting old, now I just need to take the plunge. I talked to the running specialist at one shoe store and he was extremely helpful. He showed me how to find a stability shoe versus a non stability shoe. The stability shoe will have a grayish area between the arch and the heal on one side of each shoe. This gray area is suppose to offer better support in your arch and heel so my ankle won't roll in. Also did you know you can stand in a full length mirror and if you put your feet close together, bend your knees and then watch your ankles, if they roll inward that means you over pronate. You learn something new each day and this new running hobby has me learning more then I expected. The world of running is a lot more detailed then I ever imagined. Also a friend said she loves Nike id, so I went on their website. YOU CAN DESIGN YOUR OWN SHOE! It was totally awesome except they don't offer stability control :( bummer! I also learned that Brooks is a running sneaker company that has been around for years and makes awesome shoes but they are small and don't advertise as much as the well known brands.

With all of that being said, I am going to the store after work to find the right sneakers. Since I had to return my other pair I haven't been running or even exercising these last few days. But there is no excuses if I want to keep up with my challenge I need to keep up with my exercise. I will keep you posted on which sneakers I picked and finally stop obsessing over the "perfect" running sneaker.
Have a great Wednesday!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Week Four Results

Hi everyone! ... running a little late this morning but I did weigh in and I am up .5 a pound. I'm OK with it though because I'm still ahead. Have a great day!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Something New

OK so something happened with my computer and I have to re type my entire post. Very Frustrating! ... Anyway...
Over the weekend I tried some new foods. The first item I tried was a CranBran Vita Top from the Vitalicious company. Vita Tops are delicious muffin tops that only have 100 calories and a lot of fiber and protein. They are a great breakfast, snack or dessert depending on the flavor that you like. I usually have the deep chocolate and it really fills my chocolate craving during the day. On Saturday I wanted a light breakfast so I decided to have half a grapefruit with a CranBran Vita Top and I was happily surprised to find out that the muffin was very tasty. You can purchase Vitalicious products online at Vitalicious.com or in the health food freezer aisle in the grocery store.
The other new food was a yummy fruit smoothie that I found while perusing the grocery store health food section. Another girl was stocking up on her weekly supply of fruit smoothies and it caught my interest. She was buying Bolthouse Farms Berry Boost fruit smoothies and they looked delicious. The women at the market said she loved them and enjoyed the smoothie for breakfast, so I decided to buy it and try it. When I got home I was very curious and needed to taste the smoothie, so I poured this thick 100% fruit juice smoothie into a glass and took a sip. It was very good and I am excited to have something new to drink besides water, sparkling water and skim milk. :)
I have also been running in the morning on the weekend and noticed during my run that the outside of my right foot is sore. So while running my errands today I stopped at the New Balance store because I recently bought new 600 series New Balance running shoes at DSW because I had a coupon. This store also has a pressure pad that helps choose the right shoes for your body. The results of this pressure test were informative but frustrating at the same time. Come to find out my feet over pronate which causes pain in the outside of my right foot. Pronation is the pressure that your feet make when your heel touches the ground to when your toes push off the ground. A normal person will pronate or roll in a small percentage but to much of a roll causes problems. Once the salesman new this, he pointed me to a sneaker that is suppose to support my heel and ankle so it doesn't move while running. He also informed me that my 600 series shoes aren't going to help my feet. A little frustrated I looked at the sneakers he offered (not planning on purchasing another pair of shoes) and then I looked at the price. Wow! $129.99! I think I will stick with the sneakers I bought and deal with a little bit of pain, especially considering this is my first experience running.
To end my post I must add that I'm a little nervous about weigh in tomorrow morning, I don't think I lost weight this week and I am ready to accept that as an outcome, but I am staying positive until I see the results tomorrow. Have a great night!

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Your Playlist

So since I have started running I have been taking my ipod with me, but recently realized I can't stand listening to the same songs over and over. My songs are a little dated too because I wasn't exercising daily before this challenge. While running I got so tired of my music that I actually turned my ipod off and finished with just the noise of the road. So right now I am in the process of adding songs to my ipod that help motivate me while running. But the purpose of writing is to ask what songs do you think would be great for my ipod? I have a clean slate except for a few Lady Gaga songs that I just added a few minutes ago. PLEASE help me! I'm not the greatest when it comes to song names and the artist that sings a particular song so all help is greatly appreciated. I'm trying to think of up beat music that will keep me moving even when I just want to fall over. OK so I'm falling asleep at the computer ... any suggestions would be helpful. Thank You!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

First 5K

I just registered for my first 5K race in Glastonbury,CT on September 19th. I can't believe I'm really following through with this idea. Like I said before, I have NEVER been a runner but I am excited give it a try. On Monday I went out and bought new running sneakers and I have been shopping around for fun running gear. So in 39 days I will be standing amongst other runners getting ready to complete my first road race. I am definitely nervous and excited all at the same time and I can imagine that on race day these feelings will intensify.
The race is organized by Free to Breath which is an organization that raises funds and awareness for Lung Cancer. To help this organization I set a personal fundraising goal of $100 and I'm looking for help to reach this goal. The Free to Breath blog post has my personal fundraising website as a link. Also if anyone is interested in running with me I would LOVE company and it is also a walk if running isn't for you. Do you have any tips for a novice runner? I am very curious about what I should expect for that day and how the actual race will work any insight would be great.

Free to Breathe:

Free to Breathe:

Monday, August 9, 2010

You Are What You Eat! - Week Three Results

I guess the saying "you are what you eat" really is true! Even though it was hard at that moment to walk away from the table full of Dunkin' Doughnuts, doughnuts and muffins at the work CPR training, it was well worth it in the end. I have realized this morning that even though I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE food, food only gives us satisfaction for that short time that you are consuming it. But feeling healthy and proud of yourself for accomplishing something gives your body and mind an extended feeling of satisfaction. It is definitely tough to give up yummy foods that you love, so it is also about evaluating your day and if you truly want it, eat it, just know that you might have to work a little bit hard the rest of the week. I also know what most of these delicious items taste like and know that this isn't the last time I would get the chance to eat it, knowing this helps me walk on by. :) Have you had any food accomplishments lately, or ever? I would love to know about them! I believe by writing we can help each other accomplish our goals. HAPPY MONDAY! :)

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Love is...

Love is...when my boyfriend refused cheesecake this weekend because he knew it would be mean to eat it in front of me when I'm trying to lose weight. By the way he LOVES cheesecake and doesn't have the opportunity to have it often, so that meant a lot! Anyway after thinking about my week I realized that I passed up many unhealthy options which will hopefully help me on the scale tomorrow. Cheesecake, doughnuts, muffins, french fries and chocolate chip cookies are some of the foods I walked passed instead of indulging in them. My exercise routine on the other hand was not as successful this week. I wanted to work out Friday, Saturday and Sunday but my weekend was so busy and I was a little cranky and tired so I didn't make it to the pool or the gym like I had planned. But tomorrow is a new day and the start of a new week. I am very interested in the numbers on the scale.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Weekend Goal

The goal for this weekend is to exercise, exercise, exercise and not to indulge in food just because it's the weekend. The weekend is busy but I want to run, swim and go to the gym for an inside workout. I'll keep you posted on my progress! Have a great weekend.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Grocery Shopping

I can't wait to go to the grocery store this weekend and find some new healthy food options. Since I started my challenge I have been eating basically the same items throughout the day and I think I'm starting to get sick of it. :) Cereal, salad, yogurt, fruit over and over .... I need some other healthy alternatives. Sometimes I have eggs for breakfast and I was thinking of making tuna fish for lunch, even though I'm not a huge fan of tuna. I could bring healthy left overs but a lot of times I am eating lunch on the run and don't always have the time to warm something up when I am hungry. Hmm? This food thing is starting to get a little tricky. I enjoyed hummus when I bought it last time but realized 2 tablespoons of hummus and 16 whole grain wheat thins (approx.) are 5 Weight Watcher points. Now even though I am not counting points daily I still like to figure out the points for the food that I eat. A snack for 5 points is a little pricey when I look at the larger picture. So I am asking all of you for a little help, I need healthy and nutritious breakfast or lunch ideas. Looking forward to all of the great suggestions! :)
Also it looks like I'll be exercising inside tonight :( unless the rain decides to stop. Have a wonderful Thursday...wish it was Friday!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Walking Like a Duck :)

I was told today that I needed to take a break from running, even though I feel great. A friend said if I run everyday my knees won't be happy, then she imitated a duck walk and said that's what will happen to me. :) I don't want to walk like a duck, so I decided to take her advice and take a night off. Even though I do feel a little guilty and feel like I should do a low impact workout. But in the end I decided tonight will be a relaxing and restful Monday night.
Also thank you to everyone who has been sharing their encouraging words and words of wisdom. I truly appreciate the feed back. If anyone is experiencing the same challenges I would love to chat about them. Feel free to share your weekly weigh in, your food success or challenges and any other health related issue.

Week Two Results

Good Morning and Happy Monday!
I woke up and hopped on the scale, I went down .2 pounds from last week. I am proud of my achievements so far even though I didn't loose a pound this week. I still went down from last week and I am still ahead of my goal.
Anyway, I also had a restaurant accomplishment this weekend. Thinking back I ate dinner out both Saturday and Sunday but I also made careful choices. On both nights I passed over the bread basket and didn't indulge in bread and butter, usually one of my triggers. I also passed on the appetizer yesterday, Cheese Fries, I wasn't even interested in taking a bite. Oh and not to mention both times I drank ice water instead of another option. So even though I only went down .2 I am happy at the success that I had throughout the week. Not to mention the last 3 days I ran a mile or more. Happiness all around! Have a great day and drink water! :)

Sunday, August 1, 2010

I think I'm in LOVE ...with exercise! :)

OK so tomorrow is weigh in number two and I'm curious to see how I did. Eating has been basically the same all week with salad, yogurt and healthy fruit. Yesterday I did have some snacks, probably more then I should of but my eating schedule was all off. I started the morning with cereal and milk and then had a yogurt around 11:30am, after that everything went downhill til dinner. In the afternoon I snacked on a peach then went to the mall and was starving so I got Pretzel Bites because it was already 4ish and didn't want to spoil dinner. For dinner we ate out with friends at the Cheesecake Factory, the menu is like a catalog with few affordable healthy choices and some how they think a salad with 550 calories or less (I believe is the number they said) is a "Weight Management" salad. Overall I think I did well ordering, I order the "Renee Special", which included a cup of soup, half of a turkey sandwich and a salad, but of course at the end of the meal I ordered a piece of Pineapple Upside Down Cake Cheesecake. The good thing was I didn't finish the cheesecake and when I left the restaurant I didn't feel like I was going to explode. :)
As for exercise, I think I'm in love! :) Yesterday morning I went running again and completed one mile in 16 minutes and 40 seconds and I didn't walk at all. Then in the afternoon I went swimming. I swam back and for a few very short laps and could feel my body exerting itself! I noticed at dinner last night the front of my thighs were a little sore when I walked, I smiled. Even though I don't want to feel sore all the time, being sore reminded me of all the hard work I did in the morning. So this morning the Boxer woke me up at 7:20ish, I took the dogs out, fed them and got changed into running clothes. I ran the first mile and decided I was going to walk the second and third mile. When I finished mile one I began to walk probably a total of 2 minutes and then decided I felt good enough to run a little bit more. I couldn't believe it but I started running again and ran the second mile too! I completed both laps in 33 minutes and 40 seconds! I didn't continue to the third mile today, maybe tomorrow. I think I'm going to run the "Free to Breath" 5k in Glastonbury. If you would like to join me I think I'm going to register this week. This race is to help raise money and awareness for lung cancer. If you would like to donate towards the cause I will be taking donations as well, but I'll let you know about that at a later date :)
Oh, I also found a post that a friend made on facebook about healthy vegan black bean brownies, they sound good if anyone wants to try them the link is below.
HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE!!!