One Month

WooHoo! I knew that the scale would do it one of these days. I was down almost 2# when I stepped on the scale. I didn't actually 'lose' 2# in one day, but I have been plateaued for about a week now. I think my body was adapting to things and making sure, before it 'released' this weight. I've seen it happen this way before, so I was just waiting on it.

The best part is that I have been doing this now for one month - started tracking on 5/29. I am down just over 10# in that window. That means that I am well on target of reaching my interim goal of being down 17# by my birthday. I would love to be ahead of that, but recognizing that the first few pounds are easier to lose, I am not yet ready to accelerate the timeline.

No run today - it is raining. We are going to spend our day with swimming lessons, soccer, and t-ball - so I'm guessing there won't be a work out today, but I am okay with that. I was able to run all five days last week, so I can afford a break in my routine. A chance for my body to recover and re-energize.

Another Mile and then some!

When I went out for my run this morning, despite it being before 6 am it was already mid-70s and 80% humidity. I was immediately struck by the heaviness of the air. It was very evident to me with how slowly I made the walk up to the track. I started to question whether I would be able to run very well in this weather. My 'friends' were there when I got there and another gentleman, who I learned grew up in Virginia, joined us. I walked the first lap and then started into my run. As I was in my second lap of running, I passed my friends and they asked if I ran yesterday. I told them I had and said that I missed them. They told me that they had left because two strange guys had showed up and just seemed to be hanging out. They were still there when I got there, but by then they were doing sprints and steps and shuttle runs, but there were other runners too. They were glad to hear that I wasn't alone at the track with the other guys. It made me happy to think that they were looking out for me. Needless to say, our conversation slowed down that second lap, but I was able to complete it and then the third one and then I figured I would do what I could. I was able to complete the fourth lap and started into the fifth. I think I could have gone a little further, but didn't want to push too much, so I settled for 4 1/4 laps. I walked out the balance and followed it up with 3 + laps of running. I was very pleased with myself - I overcame the heavy, stagnant air and ran over a mile and then followed it with 3/4 of a mile more.

Eating was good yesterday. I had a couscous stuffed tomato for lunch. It was couscous, grape tomatoes, zucchini, squash and feta cheese inside a tomato, sprinkled with some bread crumb and bit of Parmesan. I also had a side of steamed broccoli and red peppers. It was very tasty and satisfying. I was a little worried there wasn't enough 'meat' to it. Dinner was pork tenderloin, but I skipped the bun, making it a better option for me. I finished my day with a nice cup of milk. Milk is a favorite treat of mine. I find that when I am watching calorie intake, I tend to drink a little less than normal, so when I can find the 100 calories at the end of the day, I am very happy.

I was a little bummed that the scale didn't respond at all today. Maybe it was by design....I had said that if I was down, I might skip the run and do the laundry and dishes. Turns out, I did it all.

I Ran A Straight Mile!

So, my title might be cheesy, but I am excited. I mentioned yesterday that my goal was to be able to run a straight mile, 4 laps and that I hoped to do it by the end of the week. On Monday I was at doing 3 laps in a row and did that twice. So, stretching to a full 4 laps may not sound like much, but trust me, for me it was quite a stretch. I essentially added about 1/4 lap each day. I wasn't convinced that I could finish the 4 laps today, but I was determined and I did. I even allowed myself to walk a full lap since I ran the 4. Then, I wrapped up with 2 laps of running. So, I actually ran 4+ and 2+ of 8+ laps. My plus is equal to about 11 strides (or the distance from the start line to the first big arrow on my track). Continuing my recent practice of running home instead of walking, I was able to complete my journey today in just 37 minutes. Not bad for a 3.2 mile journey. Now, I think I will stay at the run 1 mile thing for a while, but will try to get going earlier so that I can increase the second run interval from 2 towards 4. That would really only need about 10 more minutes, I just need to get moving faster in the morning. Well, that and the fact that it was really a challenge to finish the 2 after running the 4. Then, I want to get back to the point where I am at the track for the equivalent of a 5K. By the end of summer, I want to be able to run a 5K. I have a ways to go.

Eating was good yesterday. I was so proud of myself. I was in a meeting and the cookie tray was sitting beside me. I picked at the fruit and after about 2 hours, I had a small piece of a brownie, but that was it. Hours of staring at cookies and brownies and only having a nibble is a great stride in self-control. I just need to keep that up. Ate within my target calories, even with having bread and olive oil dip at dinner. This bread that my husband buys is just airy enough that I can have 3 decent slices for only 120 calories. It makes me feel like I am really splurging and yet, am not.

Scale is still holding steady in the morning, but the night time is coming down. Hoping that means I am ready for the morning to start moving again. Plateaus are discouraging.

Wednesday

I was feeling very sluggish this morning. I got up a little late and by the time I was ready to go out for my walk, I was already really late. I was feeling a little bit stiff, but I decided that a quick stretch and getting moving was the best remedy. I headed up to the track, which seems to be becoming progressively more crowded. There were the same two women walking when I arrived, but while we were doing our thing, another pair arrived to run and then another pair to walk. Suddenly, there were 7 of us at the track. I think that I might need to get back to arriving early, I find it more relaxing to be there with just the two others, versus a huge crowd. I was able to 'best' myself on the first run sequence, by going several strides past the 3 1/2 lap mark. With time limited, the second sequence was just 1 lap plus a few strides. I was happy that I completed over a mile run on a morning that I was contemplating not going, and recognize that I need to get moving in the morning to allow myself to continue to improve. My goal is to get to running a full four laps, I would like to get there this week. I was stretching towards that today, getting a good distance towards 3 3/4 laps, but I think the crowd left me conscientious, as the one pair passed me just as I was completing 3 1/2 laps. It was the first time I was passed while running. It was a little disheartening.

Eating was good yesterday. Forgot my packed lunch, so I enjoyed my goat cheese and veggie sandwich. Today, I will remember to pack. I hate to waste leftovers and I still have some turkey soup, plus I have a big bag of cherries.

The scale seems to be stuck. It was up big unexpectedly the other day and though I have nearly recovered from that up, I seem to be hanging. My guess is that this will be like other plateaus and one day, I will step on the scale and find myself suddenly down 2 - 3 pounds overnight. I just hope it comes soon. I get discouraged when I am plateaued. I need to move past this and continue to progress to my goal. I have an engagement party to attend this weekend and was hoping to be down another pound, in hopes that my dress will look better.

Tuesday

I did it! I 'bested' myself again today. I know that at some point I will not be able to make much improvement, but now, while I can, I want to celebrate. Today, I was able to run 3 1/2 laps and then after only 1/2 lap of walking, ran another 3 laps. I did the same distance as yesterday and finished one minute quicker. It was awesome.

Yesterday, we had friends over for dinner and grilled out. I am not sure what I expected, but the hamburgers that we have are chock full of calories. I exceeded my daily target for yesterday. I was a little bummed with myself for not thinking ahead. Not that a hot dog is healthy by any means, but it would have been a better fit in my daily target. Oh well, you live and you learn.

The good news is that I was down from yesterday, but not back where I should be on the scale. I tend to have more faith in today's number than yesterday's seemingly inflated number. Hopefully, tomorrow all will return to normal.

Monday - a new week

Wow! What an invigorating workout! I think sometimes that I have my best workouts when I feel least like I am going to. I had a few obstacles today, but I worked through them and came out on top. I wasn't sure on the walk up that I would run much at all. I wasn't quite through the first lap of my run and was wondering why my legs hurt so much and my breathing was so heavy. I have to thank the two women at the track for helping to keep me going. They don't know that they did anything, they were simply walking and talking, but it became my goal to lap them, while I was running. This got me through the 2nd lap of running and by then, I was able to go for the run until the next 5 minute update goal. Then, I walked nearly a full lap before starting into my run again. Again, a target of lapping the other women became my goal again. It took me two running laps to do it and by then, I decided that in order to improve on what I had done last week, I would need to do one more lap and wanted to run as much as possible. Needing at least 1/4 lap to best my total run from last week. Well, I did it! I was at the track for 2 miles/8 laps and I ran 3+ and 3+, with a 1 lap walk before each. It felt so awesome. Best part - my pace for the whole outing was 12:21. A full :38 better than last time on a longer distance. I ran a full 1/3 mile more in only 1 minute longer than I did last Monday.

Eating was good yesterday. We went out for lunch after taking the kids for pictures. I planned ahead and printed off the pdf of the calorie information, so that I was able to make the best choices for me. Dinner was turkey soup, which I just find very simple and satisfying. I topped my day with a cheese and cracker snack, as I was light on protein for the day. I finished within my calorie target.

Which, is why, I am a little confounded today. The scale was right where it was supposed to be yesterday and yet this morning it was up 3#! Now, I get that things fluctuate and don't consider anything up or down 1/2# to really mean much, but 3#. Especially after a day where I was right on target with my eating. My body is doing something strange. I will do my best to 'ignore' it and hope that things correct for tomorrow.

Saturday

Well, Friday was a good day. I headed out to lunch as planned. I ordered the chicken fajitas with no rice, no beans, no tortillas, no oil. So, pretty much chicken, peppers, tomatoes and onions. It was still very tasty. I had a few chips, but not too many. Dinner, we had pasta arrabiata and bread. The arrabiata sauce is mostly tomato, so it was reasonably low in calories, I had 1/2 serving of bread and a serving of pasta. Again, yummy!

I started my day out with a Zumba class. It was a lot of fun and I felt really energized after the class was over. So much so, that I did a lot of errand running. Lunch was simple and mostly leftover clean-up. I had open faced grilled cheese, an ear of corn and some fruit. Dinner is a picnic, it could be a challenge, but I will persevere.

We have a busy day ahead of us.

It's finally Friday!!!

Of course, last week, Friday was even better because I was off! But, I am still very glad that it is Friday. I feel like I have so much stuff to do - nothing big, but still lots of stuff to do and it will be good to have a weekend to catch up on some things. It is a busy weekend, but perhaps a little less busy than the past few.

I started today with my run. On my walk up to the track, I wondered to myself, what if I don't do as well as yesterday, what would I say. I mean, being honest, eventually I won't 'best' myself everyday. Eventually to do it in less time or do more distance is going to get harder and harder. Eventually, sleeping in will not work because to continue to press, I will need to add time to my run. But, the good news is, despite my concern, I did do better today. I ran 3 1/4 laps and 2 1/4 laps of the total of 7 laps. The first lap is always a walk, so really, I have about 1/2 lap improvement before I need time! I actually even ran part of the way home too! I was about 1/4 of the distance home and when I got my update from RunKeeper, I was at 12:00 min/mile for my pace. I was so excited, I wanted to see if I could keep it, so I decided that despite my exhaustion, I would try to run most of the rest of the way home. When I got home, it said the pace was 11:59, but after it 'adjusted' down the .01 distance that it sometimes does on transmission, it moved to 12:01. Still pretty darn good! When I was running my pace ranged from 8:59 - 9:57 min/mile. And...I did the same distance that I have over the past couple of outings and did it in 2 1/2 minutes less time.

Eating was reasonable yesterday. I didn't do so well with tracking dinner. I had chicken bruschetta, but I completely failed to weigh my portion and then, I went with a user entered option, so I am not quite sure that what I ate was a serving of what they entered. Today, I have a lunch out, so I am sure that I will be more challenged than usual. I will just have to find something that is satisfying and not too high in calories.

Tomorrow, if the schedule permits, I would like to go to Zumba class. It is the first Saturday in a while with no soccer. We will see when baseball is - won't know for sure until the teams that play tonight finish because it is a tournament game and the game time depends on your seed.

Thursday

It was a really warm morning for a run/walk. I was a little bit surprised, to fine it 70 and 90% humidity. I was just glad that I don't walk in the afternoon or evening. It is supposed to get up to 92 again today. I did really well. I think that although not ideal, taking the break yesterday was probably a good thing. I wound up running 3++ laps and 2+ laps, out of a total of 7. It was a little strange to walk almost a full lap between the two stretches of running. I only was planning to do 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 laps the first time, like I normally do, but I had started a bit late and I thought to myself, if I run 2 laps then I will be done sooner. Then, as I was completing the second lap, I thought, if I push a little harder, I can get a little further. Then, as I rounded the 2 1/2 lap point, I thought I really should see if I can finish this lap. As I approached the 3 lap point, I thought my app should tell me I've completed 5 more minutes, I can run until it does. So, I wound up several strides past the 3rd lap. It felt great. I took the rest of the lap to walk, although I had debated running at the 3/4 point. It really felt good. I actually spent the same amount of time as Tuesday, but since I ran 1/4 lap less, meant I must have moved a little faster this time.

Eating has been well. I don't have bananas, as they were all over-ripe and I turned them into chocolate banana bread, which I have been eating every morning. Awesome! I have been getting my workout protein from bars lately. I used up all of my shakes. After I use up the bars, I have some powder that I will use for some smoothies and then I will need to buy more. I just want to make sure that I use up what I have on hand. For lunch yesterday, I had this really yummy Rainbow Trout Oscar with a side of string beans. I just wish that there was an option for the asparagus on the side too! It was really flavorful and left me wanting more. Dinner was eggs over easy, toast, pierogie and sausage. It was a very satisfying meal and one that we haven't done in a while.

The scale responded favorably today. I have been back in the groove for under a month and pacing well. It is so motivating when your efforts pay off.

Wednesday

I got up on time this morning, but had a 'quick' thing to do for work. Next thing I knew, I was running late. I had used up all of my run time and my post run time and no longer could get out and run...and was rushing around to get to work on time. Not ideal!

Eating was good yesterday. Actually, because I had cereal for dinner, it was light on protein, but otherwise was on target. We had a community parade and we didn't get home until after 8. It was hot and no one was interested in much for dinner, so cereal seemed like a nice choice.

I got in a bonus couple of miles yesterday because of the parade. I parked at the end of the route and walked towards the middle, then after the parade, I walked back. Not a workout pace, but still a little extra activity that is not part of a normal day.

Weight was at 'recover' point, before my eating out day. Now, hopefully, it continues to move in the right direction.

Tuesday

I got up on time today, but I wound up logging on to my work computer to disable my out of office, which I got a reminder that I failed to do yesterday. One thing led to another and suddenly it was 5:50. I wasn't going to let that discourage me, so I headed out for my run. I am glad that I did. It was a great run. I did the same 7 laps at the track that I have for the past few days, in less time! Of course, I know that the real reason for that is that I ran more than I did but it still sounds great to me. Also, today I took the paved walkway into and out of the track. Evidently, this adds a few hundredths of a mile to my journey. You see Friday, the paved path was closed and I had to enter and leave through the grass. Yesterday, I entered on the grass and left on the path, as the grass was squishy. There was 0.06 miles different between the all grass and all paved paths. Today, starting on the second lap and ending on the 7th, I ran 1 1/2 laps, 1 3/4 laps and 2 laps, for a total of 5 1/4 laps, just over 1.25 miles. Not bad, considering I was only at the track for 1.75 miles and I ran that great of a majority. Even with my approximately 1.15 miles of walking up and back, I was still able to have a total pace under 13 minutes/mile. I am glad about that.

Eating was good yesterday. A change in evening sports plans left dinner a little strange. I had a small piece of turkey loaf that the family ate without me in anticipation of soccer and baseball. Then, after the kids were in bed my husband needed something to complete the 'Florida' dinner that he had at 4 pm, so he heated a frozen pizza and I had a slice of that. After burning my mouth, I switched to my evening snack of Wheat Thins and string cheese. I was on target for the day with my calories, but came in just shy (2g) of the target range for protein. Everything else was well within range.

I feel so good about myself. I am proud that I continue to get up and go for a run/walk. I recognize that getting healthy and losing weight is hard work, but it is work that I am willing to complete in order to achieve my goals.

Monday - what a wonderful weekend it was!

I guess I have been a bit absent lately. I had a wonderful, crazy weekend. Lucky for me, my weekend started early. I took Friday off of work to host a garage sale. I would like to say it was good, but it really was a rather average sale. I wish we had sold more, but we didn't.

I had a good run/walk on Friday morning before the garage sale. I was very proud of myself for still getting up early and making the effort. I did 1.75 miles on the track and of course, the walk there and back. The rest of the weekend activity was just completed during the course of my days. We parked at the far end for soccer and walked to my son's game and then to my daughter's. We spent the afternoon and evening walking around Cedar Point. Sunday, I changed all the beds and did several loads of laundry, traversing the stairs multiple times. We had a baseball game and made several trips up and down the hill to the bathroom. Today, I started my week out with another run/walk. I went the same distance as Friday, but took a full minute longer. My guess is that I had more distance running on Friday and that it was less sticky and oppressive.

If the heavy, wet air this morning is an indication of what is to come, being able to extend the length of my run segments is about to become a real challenge. Hopefully, it is worse than normal because it rained most of the night.

Eating was good. Despite garage sale-ing and spending the day at the amusement park, I was able to keep my food balanced and pretty well in the target range. I was slightly over target on Saturday and then on Sunday, a bit again because we went out to dinner for Father's Day.

The scale was down on Saturday morning and Sunday morning, with a slight uptick today - which I expect to only be temporary and a result of going slightly over target with a meal out that was likely higher in sodium. I won't worry about it and hope that tomorrow it has 'gone' away.

Off to a wonderful week!

Two Days...

So, yesterday morning, the internet was down at my house. It sort of surprised me how much I use the internet in the morning. I missed posting about my daily results, I missed being able to go online and check things out at SparkPeople. I had to 'turn off' WiFi on my phone so that I could at least get online through my phone to be able to read e-mails and play games.

So, yesterday started out really good and then, well I wasn't as good as I should have been. I started my day with a run/walk. It was great! I went further than I had the other day, in total laps and in continuous laps. I started with a 1 lap walk, 1 lap run, like I normally do. After the next walk lap, I decided that I wanted to beat Tuesday, so I decided that I would try to get in 3 full laps. And, I did! Then, 1 lap of walk and 2 more laps of running. It was invigorating, as I walked home, I thought to myself, I think I could really enjoy becoming a runner.

Eating was good, until it wasn't. We decided to try this pizza place for dinner, that we had heard of and driven past, but never had. My friend and I went there to order it, since the owner told me the menu was too hard to explain on the phone. They only sell pizza we learned when we got there. We ordered one plain pizza and one that had tomatoes, green olives and banana peppers on it. While we waited, I had a glass of wine and she had a beer. When we came home, we ate the pizza with my family. The pizza was pretty average, but those toppings made for an awesome piece of pizza and I ate 3! Needless to say, three pieces of a 16" pizza are a good number of calories.

Today, my run was good, not quite as successful as yesterday, but I was at the track for one less lap and still ran 1 1/4, 2 1/2, and 2 laps or only 1/4 lap less than yesterday. It felt great. There were points where I felt so light on my feet and pace tells me that I ran stronger than I have so far. My average pace for the day was under 13 minutes/mile. That is great!

Hopefully, today will be a better day of eating. Thankfully, the scale is 'stuck' and whereas I didn't see the expected improvement on Wednesday, I was glad not to see the resultant penalty from yesterday.

Tuesday

WooHooo! What a run/walk. I am so glad that I went out for my morning activity today. I was so tempted to not go or cut it short or just walk. It was a little bit late when I got up. I actually was up when my alarm went off and then, decided, I really just want to lie here for 5 more minutes - 30 minutes later I got up. Then, by the time I had my shoes on and ready to go, it was already 45 minutes later than I normally start. I got outside and it was muggy, but fortunately not warm. I decided to head up to the track. I figured that I could still do 1 mile at the track at least, most likely walking I thought. Then, after I did my first lap, I decided, I'm at the track I may as well at least run part of a lap, even if I don't complete it. Well, I completed that lap and even ran about 10 paces beyond. Then, after the next walking lap, I decided I would run another lap. As I started, I thought, I might as well try to run 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 laps. The extra few minutes won't be that much of a problem. Then, I got my five minute update. I completed the lap, passed the 1/4 turn and then the 1/2. Then, I thought, I wonder if I could actually run the full time between updates, knowing I had started running before the start of the first one. I completed lap 2 and then passed the 1/4 turn and then as I approached the 1/2 turn, I got my update. I finished running at the 1/2. So, I went from maybe not going, to walking, to running 3 1/2 laps with 2 1/2 of the laps being continuous. It felt so good. Then, I was walking home and about 1/2 way up my street, it began to sprinkle. As I entered my garage, it began to rain. Talk about timing!

Eating was good yesterday. I was back on track with a normal breakfast, a reasonable lunch and a good dinner. I even had an evening snack and stayed near the lower portion of my target. It was good to eat normal - to not feel stuffed, to feel satisfied (ie not empty calories).

The scale took two days, but this morning, I did return to where I was Saturday morning before my very social day. That is not too bad. Two days to recover, tells me that I can have days where I enjoy myself and not get off track, as long as I don't make them too frequent.

#s to Go: 28.6#

Monday

It is so much so a Monday today. I awoke, late, with a splitting headache. Knowing that I had two loads of laundry to fold, one to dry (and fold) and one to wash and hang to dry, I decided that I would take an extra 15 minutes of sleep and do housework for my morning activity today. Oh, I so prefer walking and running to housework, but the thought of moving my head with each stride sounded like it would make my head explode. Speaking of explosions, when I did come downstairs with my load of laundry, our lights flashed and I heard two big booms - like something may have happened at the distribution center. I'm actually glad I wasn't outside, I think that the explosion sound would have sent me into a panic.

The weekend was a busy one. Unfortunately, the net result was that I went over on Saturday - there was cake and ice cream and one too many meals. We started our day with a normal breakfast. Then, it was off to soccer for my son. Then home, for a quick lunch before heading to my daughter's preschool graduation. Graduation was followed by a cake and ice cream social, complete with toppings. Then, it was home for a bit of a break and then an early dinner (3:45) before heading out to my son's baseball game. At the game, we nibbled on grapes - it was close to 90 and we needed something cool and wet for snacking. When we got home, we needed something because dinner was a bit early. We went with cheese, pepperoni and crackers. Of course, cheese and crackers need wine. In the end, I probably could have better managed the day. I should have had the presence of mind to skip at least the cake or the ice cream. I would have enjoyed either fully and really didn't need the second one. I probably could have sliced some apples to enjoy with the cheese. I love an apple paired with a good sharp cheddar, and it would have been both filled me and been lower in calories than the equivalent crackers.

The real opportunity here is for me to show myself how quickly I can recover from a day like that. Let's face it, in the course of life, there are going to be celebrations, busy days, and times where I want to relax with a glass of wine and cheese. I need to realize that one bad day doesn't mean I've thrown in the towel. The scale was up a couple of pounds the next day, I know that isn't real weight and that returning to normal will help.

Sunday, I ate at the high end of my calorie target. It was a better day than Saturday, but having a meal out made it more of a challenge. Now that we are back to a regular old day, it should be easier.

Unlike last weekend, I really didn't find the chance to fit in a workout mid-day. It was a little bit too warm to walk up to the baseball game with my daughter on Saturday and Sunday, we simply ran out of time.

It's Monday, time to get back on track!

The Weekend

Off to another busy weekend.

Yesterday was a good day. Ate well. Went out with friends for some night time music and saw the fireworks from the baseball.

Not sure, again, when I will find time for some extra activity, but if there is a chance, I will take it. I am definitely realizing the benefit of fitting in even 1/2 hour of extra activity and I want to keep my momentum going.

Finally Friday

I am glad that it is finally Friday. The week wasn't really that long or that hard, it just was.

My head hurt this morning when I got up from over sleeping. As such, I did not run. After a few minutes, I did convince myself that at least going for a walk would be a good idea. I fit in 1.75 mile walk. I am glad that I went. I think I would have been disappointed in myself if I had just skipped everything altogether this morning.

Eating was good yesterday, even though it started out bad. I had a breakfast meeting and a lunch meeting. I had had my normal protein shake and banana and then allowed myself to have a breakfast in addition. Lunch wasn't too bad, I skipped the bread and ate the sandwich insides on their own. Dinner were some yummy crabcakes. Yum! I even found room for a small dessert before bed.

The scale continues to move, be it slowly, in the right direction.

WoooHooo!

I have a lot that I am happy about today.

1. This morning, I went for my regular run walk. I didn't sleep in, well maybe just a little, so I got up to the track with time to do some more distance than I have the past two days. I decided that I was ready to go beyond just alternating laps of walking and running. I decided that on the first run lap, I was going to run to the first arrow after the line (about 10 paces). Then, on the next one, I thought I would double it and went about 20 paces beyond the lap. On the third time, I had just got my five minute update, so I thought can I run for 5 minutes - I didn't but I did run 1 1/2 laps. Then, the fourth one, I wanted to run out the workout so I ran 1 1/4 laps. I hadn't gotten the five minute update and I wanted to complete at least 35 minutes before heading home, so I walked 1/4 lap, got my 35 minute update and decided to run out the last 1/2 lap. So, all told, I was at the track for 2 1/4 miles and I ran about 1 3/8+ miles of it. At my 35 minute update, my average pace including walking was under 13 minutes. My pace when I am running the full minute is 9:40 / mile. That felt great!

2. Last night, I went out to dinner with my family for Mexican. I nibbled at chips and ate a meal. This morning, the scale was flat. Awesome. That is what I am looking for. I need to know that by being active and making good choices - I had a chicken taco and a spinach enchilada for dinner - that I can still go out and enjoy myself without issues at the scale.


Overall, yesterday was a reasonable day with eating. I started my day with a protein shake and banana. I got a chocolate espresso - I need to figure out the calories for that one, as I haven't accounted for it yet. Lunch was a grilled chicken breast with barbecue sauce for dipping. I had apple slices and the Feta variety of those Smartfoods Popped Chips. I must say that they were yummy. I also noticed a brown sugar cinnamon variety - sounds like I have another flavor to try. Dinner was a chicken taco and a spinach enchilada. The hardest thing there was trying to decide how many calories. On SparkPeople, there are a number of entries for Spinach Enchilada - they range from 150 calories to over 500 calories. Problem is, there is no way of knowing what size, what ingredients or if it was for a full meal. Since mine had no cheese and enchilada sauce is relatively low in calories, I figured that the 150 calorie estimate was closer than the 500 calorie estimate. For the chicken taco, I selected Pollo Loco's Chicken Taco - I reasoned that it was an eating out taco, so they should be similar. For chips, I checked my bag at home and 1 oz is about 12 chips. This allowed me to use an eating out tortilla as a gauge - for all the entries on SparkPeople the serving sizes were in ounces, which struck me as funny because I have no way of measuring ounces of chips when I am eating out.

Half Way through the Week

I need a serious shot of energy. Okay, maybe not energy. I overslept again today. I'm thinking that the biggest culprit is that I have allowed bed time to sneak later on me. I have good intentions of getting to bed by 10, but sometimes the schedule just doesn't allow for that. Like last night, our baseball game went to 8:30, then there was a child's birthday that the kids shared cupcakes with and then it was home and shower. So, they didn't both get to bed until after 9:30. That is when I come down and try to get things done. So, suddenly, making it to my room by 10 is a challenge, let alone in bed by 10.

On the upside, even though I have overslept the past two days, I still have headed to the track to get in a shortened walk. I figure it is better that I walk/ran 1.25 miles at the track (plus walked a nearly equal distance there and back), than just skipped it because I overslept. I'm hopeful that reflects on the formation of a habit and my dedication to success.

Eating was good yesterday. I actually ate dinner after the game though, so that was a drawback to go to bed on such a full stomach. I'm still eating the same combination at lunch, which is good for now because I find it flavorful and satisfying. I hope that the ever changing dinner menu allows me to not get bored.

Things are going well. Now that I am started down this path, I need to focus on not getting derailed. If I have an off night or a bad couple of days, I can't let it make me forget my overall goal. I can't let one bump in the road cause me to lose momentum.

It's Tuesday!

I overslept today. It was only by 30 minutes and it won't make me late for work, but it did mean that I didn't have as much work out time as normal. Yesterday, when I went up to the track, I found a padlock on the gate and wound up walking in the neighborhood. I was so worried that maybe the city schools had changed their mind on allowing it to be open to the public, so I was glad to see the gate open when I arrived at the track this morning. It was especially good since I had less time available. I knew that the time at the track splitting my team between running and walking would be more effective than the same time walking in the neighborhood. It felt good, but for some reason, after my second 1/4 mile run, I felt a little nauseous. I took time, caught my breath and was able to complete my work out. I think I must just have been pushing myself. My overall pace was 10 seconds per mile better than it was on Thursday (last time I ran). That may not sound that great, but I ran half the distance that I normally do and had the same walk up and back, meaning that if I had doubled up on my run, I would have expected it to be even better. I wound up with just over 2.5 miles of workout today, in just about 35 minutes.

I finally learned how to effectively edit my route on RunKeeper. When I walk in the neighborhood, I sometimes have serious noise in the route. I learned how to delete data points to smooth the route. It worked great and I wish I had known how to get rid of the ghost marks long ago. It makes me more confident in the numbers - if it is out of whack, I can realign and get it much closer to reality.

Eating was pretty good yesterday. I splurged on a cup of onion soup yesterday. I should have skipped the croutons and cheese, but the soup was so yummy and only 140 calories (I didn't look closely enough to know if that was with or without the toppings). I have a new favorite chip. I mentioned last week about the Smartfood Selects, they are just such a tasty snack and meet that need for crunch without being too much. The 100 calories fit perfectly in my day.

I also have discovered two favorite evening snacks that I seem to alternate between - except last night, where I had both! I have some Wheat Thins Sundried Tomato Basil crackers and a string cheese - this is a 220 calorie snack. I like to have it on days where I feel like my protein is low for the day. It's only 8g in total, but it can be the bump I need to meet the target level of daily protein. The second is the Weight Watchers Giant Cookies & Cream Bars. At only 130 calories, this is a great sweet treat to end my day.

Time to start the rest of my day.

a new week

Well, I suppose that technically, it is not the start of a new week just yet, since I began this new journey on a Tuesday, but since I like standard structure and it is Monday, we will call this a new week.

I am very pleased with my accomplishments from this first week.

I was able to do cardio (walk/run) every day this week with the exception of Friday when it rained. I even included my 5 year old on two of days - once on foot, once on scooter. I was disappointed to not do strength training, but feel that risking injury while I was trying to mend from a kinked neck was not worth trying to strength train. I bought a Groupon for Zumba, in the hopes that I can do that a couple of evenings a week, in addition to my morning routine.

I was able to stay within my calorie target most days. There were a couple that I was out, but not by much. I felt good with what I was eating. I learned a bit about choices. Like yesterday, the Mac'n Cheese at lunch was yummy, but at almost 500 calories, it was close to 1/3 of what I should eat all day. As yummy as it was, it wasn't worth this much to me - it wasn't satisfying enough to make me rush to have it again.

The scale smiled kindly upon me as a result of my effort in both activity and food.

#s to Go: 30.6, down 3.4#

the busy weekend

Saturday was an incredibly busy day for us. We had soccer and baseball and an 'unplanned' visit from friends. All of which had a net impact on my overall day of eating and exercising.

As I mentioned yesterday, I was a little surprised by how many more calories I consume at breakfast on the weekend, when I have milk, cereal and banana instead of oatmeal made with water and a banana. Well, we were on the move enough that much of the rest of the day, I didn't have the chance to eat much. Lunch we had sandwiches, to save a few calories, I ate it on a single slice of bread. It was still very satisfying. For dinner, I went with homemade pizza, which was reasonably okay with only 450 calories for the serving I enjoyed. My biggest challenge was sharing a bottle of wine with friends. It was a large bottle of wine and the three of us shared it, but it still added 350 calories to my day. One less glass and I would have been right within my daily target, but I finished my day up about 55 calories beyond my target.

Despite my concern that I wouldn't find time to fit in exercise, I found time for two walks. The pace was slower than normal for the first one (17 min/mile), and extremely slower for the second one (21 min/mile). My daughter and I walked up to the All Star baseball game in town for my son's age group. He wasn't playing, but my husband was coaching and some of my son's teammates and other friends were playing. After about 5 innings, she was ready to go and we walked home. Each direction was about 2 miles, although on the return trip we actually had a leave and return interval of just about 1/4 mile. On the way home, she was goofing around and fell down and scraped her knee. At that point, she walked so SLOW! It was still good. I am happy to have gotten in over 4 miles of walking on a day that I expected to get in none.

Overall, the scale inched down...better than the other way, but certainly a motivator to be more measured in what I eat.

Today, I'm hoping to fit in some gardening as my exercise. It certainly is late, but I need to get in my garden before it is too late for the season.

The Weekend is Here!

I am so glad that it is finally the weekend. I'm not sure what it is about short work weeks, but they seem somehow longer than a regular week. Is it because we just got back from an extended time off or is it that we all try to get a full five days of work into the four days - whatever it is, it makes them the most crazy, tiring weeks I know of.

Yesterday, eating was really good. I was a little rushed in the morning with meetings and only had my banana. Let me tell you, without my oatmeal, I was HUNGRY. I tried a new chip (at least new to me) at lunch. It was Smartfoods Selects Popped Chips. They are hummus based! I tried the Garlic Basil Tomato flavor. They were yummy and the small bag that I got was only 100 calories. I had been eating the Cheddar Baked Lays lately, but they are 140 calories. I'm thinking that if I make this trade, I can have one of those 35 calorie chocolates as a treat later!

I wound up not fitting in a walk or other workout yesterday. I feel bummed about it, but life happens. I can't control the rain or my neck. Speaking of which, the neck seems to be better, in that I can turn my head without pain in the neck, but there still is tendon/muscle strain of some sort, because where I don't feel the pain in my neck, I still get some in the 'scalp' area when I move or stretch in a certain way (yawning and sneezing are the two that catch me off guard and I can't avoid).

I have noticed that I eat more on Saturday. I think it is because I love to take the time to have a bowl of cereal and milk with my banana chopped into it for breakfast. I had almost 200 calories more at breakfast today than I normally do. I guess I will have to see how that balances out through the rest of the day. Not sure how I will fit in a workout today...lots of stuff on the calendar with two kids with two sports each, plus tryouts and all-star games on the calendar. On a positive, they did remove the rain from the forecast, so maybe we can find time to fit in a walk.

The scale continued to move in the right direction - and that is a good thing!

Hope you have a wonderful Saturday.

Rain, Rain...Go away

Well, it is a rainy day this morning, so no walk/run for me. Perhaps it is good to give my body a break, I just hope I can jump back in tomorrow. I know that my plan was to use days like this to do some strength training. Well, a few days back I slept funny (yeah, yeah - laughed all night) and woke up with a sore neck. I have been trying to baby it all week (after my walk/run of course). Finally, it seems to be feeling a little better, but when I woke up this morning, I evidently was so careful of how I slept to allow the least stress on my existing strain, that I cause a different one in my neck. I figured it probably was best if I not try to lift weights. I'd rather not cause some serious damage. If it clears up a little later, a quick lunch time walk will be my activity for the day.

Yesterday was a good day of eating. No eating out was a major plus!

I have found a new lunch time addiction. I have been getting a Wheat Deli Thin with Goat Cheese, toasted, and topping it with banana peppers, spinach, cucumber and tomato. Packed with flavor and only about 200 calories. I usually have this with some grapes and apples on the side. Fresh vegetables on a sandwich have long been a favorite of mine. When I got to Subway, I almost always get the veggies and cheese sandwich and overstuff it with all of the vegetables. I will have to balance it so as not to get burnt out on having the same lunch every day.

I actually finished my day right at the lower end of the daily target. And, finally, the scale responded. I was glad to have a day where I felt satisfied and the scale responded. Now, to make sure that more of my days are like yesterday.