Weekly Update

In two weeks I've lost less than half a pound.  I'm 99.37% sure this has something to do with the massive quantities of cheese and margaritas I have consumed since the last time I checked in.  I know, I know.  I'm terrible.  I feel, though, that I've turned a corner and am on my way out of my diet/exercise regressions into a renewed sense of determination.  Maybe it's my milestone birthday looming, or maybe it's my quickly-approaching wedding date, but I feel a sense of urgency once again to make progress... and fast!

Yesterday I ran six and a half miles, and today I forced myself to tackle another four miles during my lunch break.  I was sore the entire way and TW was unaffected by my whining and begging to run more slowly - that was decidedly out of the question.  I love me my T-dub, but oh, the pain!  It's all in my glutes and hamstrings. Oy.  Tomorrow is definitely NOT a running day.  I'll find a different way to make myself sore.

Weekly Update

So, I gained 0.4 pounds this week, which is a minor miracle, considering this was probably my unhealthiest week since the first of the year.  I partook in another chili cook-off where I ate too much and had about 5 beers, skipped 2 days of workouts, went out to a very rich happy hour, and went out to dinner last night where I had far more pasta saltimboca than I needed.

Luckily, nothing else on my body changed, except I really haven't been feeling up to par recently, but that's no surprise.  I'm back on track with minor damage done.  Still, it's not great.

I was talking to Trainer Wade about my projected progress today and he said he thinks I'm probably at the point now where if I want to see significant change in my weight I'm going to have to start making more significant lifestyle changes - decisions about bread and cocktails.  I haven't had a plateau problem just yet, so I'm going to stick a pin in that idea and come back to it later if I am hovering for too long at 153.

I ran six miles yesterday and another four today so I feel good about getting ten miles in the first half of the week.  Let's hope I can keep this momentum going.

Confession: Chili and Other Setbacks

image source

I fell off the horse.  I've not been monitoring my calories, and waaaay over eating.  I know this, because I feel like crap right now.  My tummy is screaming at me.  Here are the things I let derail me:

1) Andrew's birthday was Feb 6 and we celebrated all week with multiple special birthday dinners with friends, family members, and the customary romantic dinner at a steakhouse on my dime.  I took this opportunity to treat the week as though it were my birthday.  Not good.

2) This past weekend Abby and I took our moms with us on a weekend away in the San Juan Islands where Abby made fresh-baked bread, her mom made scones topped with her own freezer jam, and my mom kept the wine flowing.  Despite the 13 miles I covered over the weekend, it was not enough to come out ahead calorie-wise.  Also not good.

3) Most recently, our office threw its second annual chili cook-off.  Eight competitors, including myself, entered their best recipes.  First prize is not much more than bragging rights, but we get a great turn-out because we have many accomplished home cooks who know their stuff and like to go toe to toe.  It's a peer-voted blind taste test, so each "judge" must taste all chili versions in order to really make a fair choice.  I am very thorough in my research prior to casting my vote.  Granted, I had maybe only 3 tablespoons of each kind, but it really adds up when you think of how rich a chili can be.  And one word: beans.  Needless to say I'm hurtin' right now.

So with all of those confessions out on the table, I'm kind of relieved that I won't be able to give you a stats update tomorrow.  Instead of weighing myself tomorrow morning, I'm getting up super early to run from my house into work.  It is a long story, but come March 1 I will no longer have my wonderful garage parking spot in my office building and so I'm testing out different commute options.  I do have a bike, and I know the bus route, but I think running the 3.9 miles from home to work is my top choice.  When all is said and done, it will be 7.8 miles total.   I know I can do this, because I did an 8-mile loop on Guemes Island on Sunday after taking a wrong turn on one of the island's four roads and ended up halfway up the length of the island instead of running along the south shore like I'd planned.

Wish me luck as I'm trudging up the east side of Capitol Hill tomorrow.

Weekly Update

I am not happy to give today's update.  As you can see, I gained almost an entire pound and it all went straight to my ass.  I used to say I am lucky because I'm an all-over weight gainer without some unfortunate localized telltale area.  No, folks, I was wrong.  I apparently do have one and it's my ass.

I made some bad decisions over the weekend, drinking a lot of wine, eating sweets, and generally eating too much, resulting in feeling bloated and over-salted.  So despite my best efforts to get out and be active every day, my poor diet choices came back to bite me in the... well... ass.

Today I made sure I got out and pounded the pavement for five miles at lunch.  I took a coworker with me and she had me sprint the last two blocks, which I hate doing but it feels awesome as soon as I stop.  Plus I don't want to look like a sissy.  Overall, it felt really good and I didn't feel sluggish, so maybe I'm on the mend.  Here's to a better update next week.

Warm Fuzzies

Today I overheard someone at my office saying I was her inspiration for getting fit.  Another co-worker agreed I was doing an awesome job.  I don't think they knew I was right around the corner, and it totally made my day.  Yay!

Monday Update

I ate a lot and drank a lot this weekend.  I also played outside a lot.  I think it all evened out.  This morning I got up and ran 3.5 miles before work.  Tomorrow I'll be back at the gym for an early morning step 'n' sculpt class.  10-year reunion, here I come!

Balancing Indulgences

Sometimes it's ok to drink 4 glasses of wine in an evening.  Sometimes it's ok to have little extra snacks outside of meals.  Probably best not to do both in one evening.

The Elephant in the Room

I know I am super late posting my update.  I have a million excuses, but this blog is about not hiding behind excuses, and so I dug a picture out of my recent adventures to tack onto my stats.  Here's the ugly truth:  I fluctuated in weight a lot this month.  I had many glasses of wine and late dinners.  I was putting off weighing in as long as possible.

This morning I stepped on the scale and got the exact weight I brought to you last month.  I did, however, lose an inch of my chest, waist, and hips.  This caused my body fat percentage to read higher than last time.  Curious.  I'm beginning to question the accuracy of those calculators.

May will be a better month.

Regrets and Regressions

The past week has been one long over-indulgence and disregard for what I know is good for me.  in addition to enjoying the culinary side of life in excess, I ignored my promise to my body to stop eating wheat products.  When I stepped on the scale a few days ago I confirmed what I already knew: much of my hard work was undone.  I was even chided by my wii fit, not that I didn't deserve it.  You can see how puffy I am in the picture; most of it is due to wheat consumption.  I regret my absence of will-power and lack of determination to stay on track, and the way my body felt as a result, but we're here to admit our mistakes and move on to focus on positive progress, so let's look ahead.

Sunday evening I paid for what I've done with a long walk in my neighborhood, and then vowed to do better the next day.  I did.  I got some brisk, low-impact exercise in at lunch, skipped snacks and sweets, drank no empty calories, and had a lovely (gluten-free, thankfully) sushi dinner.  I feel a whole lot better today.

Yesterday:

Total Calories: 1627

Net Calories: 1424 (45 under)

H2O Intake: 40 oz

Total Exercise: 45 min

Cardio: 0 min

shame

 image source

I must shamefully admit, I haven't been that nice to my body this week.  In addition to skipping my workouts all week, my dinner last night was a collection of passed appetizers from Seastar (so delicious!!), and I had an undocumented number of glasses of white wine, followed by two double-shots of espresso in Bailey's.  I feel awful, both in spirit and physically.

In about an hour I'm going to run across the street to the gym in an attempt to try to redeem myself in some way.

quick and dirty

I'm embarrassed about how bad I was to my body over the weekend.  I ate fast food twice, drank A LOT, and sat around snacking.  I don't regret it, but I'm well aware of how my body is affected.  I felt ill.

Just out of curiosity I estimated what I ate on Friday night, and it ended up being more than double my calorie allowance.  Ugh. When I think about how often I did something like that over the past couple years, I cringe.  No wonder I gained back 15 lbs.  Sheesh.

I don't have the stats for yesterday, but I did jog for 40 minutes, so at least I'm redeemed a little in that way.

a delicious nemesis

Yesterday I had a great day, workout-wise and eating-wise.  Mid-day Wednesday was gloriously sunny and crisp so I took the opportunity at my lunch hour to go out and run.  It was fantastic.  Plus, I'm still sore from my work-out the day before.  In that sense, I feel really good.

After work yesterday, in an effort to stay away as long as possible while my man hosted the fellas for poker night, I went out with some folks to belltown for a light dinner... and drinks.  The whole evening I thought to myself, "edamame, curried cauliflower, and sushi aren't so bad but these cocktails are gonna get me!"

Even with that in mind, I enjoyed three gin and ginger ales during the course of the evening.  They were fantastic.  When I 'fessed up to all of last night's indulgences on the Daily Plate this morning, I noticed I was 600 calories over my recommended intake - about 3 gin and ginger ales, I'd say.  I knew it.

This is just further confirmation that I need to cut down those cocktails that go down so easily and stick to wine, which is under 100 calories a glass and would have cut the impact of my "oops" in half.