Losing and Improving

Weight Report I officially dropped a pound. I am now consistently weighing in at 121.0. Rock on.

Running
Milestone: arrived home from airport. unpacked running shoes. went running.

Milestone: ran 3.3 miles and finished 4 miles with a brisk walk at a 7% grade incline.

Diet The husband and I made a pact to stop eating out for the purpose of convenience. I have been making or preparing breakfast every morning, packing lunches and cooking well balanced meals every day since we got back. our new motto: "as close to the ground as possible" We have decided to revamp our diet to be clean. Example: we made homemade applesauce instead of mott's all natural. We include the skin in our processing so we get ALL the nutrients from the apple. We add a little cinnamon but no sugar (it doesn't need any). Blended with a small portion of water during processing.

My current cheat food: small portion of super low sugar vanilla yogurt (O-organics) with 2 med strawberries and pinch of fresh coconut.

My I-can't-take-it-anymore food: a tsp of Nutella on a half slice of dark rye toast.

Current personal goal: Weaning myself away from energy drinks and coffee. switching to tea. (no special reason, just a personal decision...I do this sometimes.) I love green tea and various black tea grades.

Flying the Coup!

Wow...I didn't lose any weight. That's ok. I am proud of myself that I didn't gain any in the midst of the 3 birthday celebrations. That means my workouts are solid. My diet is pretty clean and I make a few exceptions here and there. I am totally loving life and not feeling restricted by diet goals at all!

I missed last night's workout because I was carless. My husband took my car to work (to work again after dinner) and he took both cars' keys with him! haha! I couldn't even run outside because you need a key fob to get back in the building! I tried to do the house work with lots of squatting, deadlift style bending to pick things up, oblique rotations to reach things and all with quick movements to make an almost-cardio out of it. Gotta get it in SOMEhow!!!

I was up till midnight doing laundry and trying to get the place ready for us to leave. I don't want anything growing in my sink or fridge while I'm gone.

My diet will change while I'm in the Philippines just because of what is available (and NOT available). So, starting today, I am going to start prepping my body for the diet change. I am drinking tons of water and eating mostly fruits and fiber with protein here and there. Why prep? My body will be doing a lot of adjusting when we get there - time zone, bad water, weather, dust, humidity... Even though I know the body can handle it, I want to give my body an easy transition, so that I can stay strong and avoid getting sick!

With one day left before we leave I am FINALLY getting excited.

Weight Report: 122.2

RAWRRR!!!

Even with all the birthday parties and the sugar that comes with the celebrations, I have managed to keep a focus. I have hit the 3 mile mark every day with the exception of my rest day. Even last night! Yesterday I left my house at 8:30 to practice on the church piano (I was filling in for the pianist); after church I went to my parent's house for a birthday celebration for my dad; after lunch I took a couple of my younger cousins and one of our family friends out for some hangout time; after bringing them back I helped with the after-party clean up - DISHES!! Then I perused through my parent's luggage to find one I could use for our trip this Thursday. I finally got home around at 8:50. Without letting my brain think about it, I donned my running shoes and went down to our super awesome apartment fitness center. I put in that 3 miles and patted my self on the back for a run well done. I made excellent time. I am looking forward to tonight's run.

Feeling a little overwhelmed trying to wrap my mind around all that needs to be done before I leave the country (at work and home) *sigh*, but God is in control, I just need to trust that. [prov 3:5-6]

I Haven't Reached My Goals

Phase 1: Motivated and going gangbusters
Phase 2: Slippery Slope
Phase 3: Making up for lost time
Phase 4: Lost sight of goals
Phase 5: Back to Square 1

I think I am in Phase 3, but I FEEL like I am in phase 5. I need to revamp my goals. I have been really bad about reassessing my goals every few weeks. I let life get in the way. There is always something that will fill your schedule unexpectedly, so you have to learn to work with what you've got and make it work WELL.

I have been keeping a log of my diet, workouts, days I miss, etc. and I have discovered this: On average I workout out 4 days a week, I eat well for about 5 of 7 days. Every week something comes up - birthday, family get together, wedding out of town, paintball rally....SOMETHING.

Long term goal: [December 2009]
Reach goal weight of 115lbs
Sleep a consistent number of hours every night
Run in the morning 4 times a week
Learn to eat cottage cheese

Short term goal: [10 days - today through 9/5]
Lose 2 lbs before Philippine trip
Tactical Plan
Cut major starches and obvious carbs (Bagels, bread, pretzels)
Run 3 miles daily
Lessen emphasis on weight training

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I Don't Condone Alien Lifeforms in My Fridge

Tonight I plan on taking everything out of my fridge that I know will not be eaten or that is on the verge of death. Lately I have focusing on maintaining a well-kept refrigerator and pantry. We have been busy entertaining and going out of town lately so I feel the need to take a deeper peek just to make sure I am still on track. I anticipate being pleased.

I love keeping my house clean. I was not always life this. When we were moving out of our old place we spent MONTHS throwing things away, taking things to good-will, handing items down to family, giving stuff away, or selling on craig's list. Now we are in our new place and only have what we want and need. No excess! It feels great!! It is SOOO much easier to get organized!

I am so frugal, I love living out of plastic drawer bins that I got from Walmart, but my husband shakes his head and says we need a dresser. *sigh* I'll have to take a picture of my closets and fridge to post here ^_^.

Cheers and happy weigh-in day!

Weight report: 122.4

Diet and Traveling

This past weekend I went on a road trip with Luke and Steve. Being guys, I knew they would be eating a lot along the way, so I packed some healthy snacks to keep me away from their foods. I also brought some low cal, no-sugar munchies that are not too unhealthy for those moments when I would REALLY be tempted by their chex mix or bag of Cheezits.

My snack foods:
Sugar free wafers: Vanilla, Chocolate, Mocha
Quaker Rice Cakes
Smart Foods White Popcorn
Sugar free gum
Sugar free Red Bull

Their snack foods:
Traditional Chex Mix
Bold Chex Mix
Pretzels
Cheezits
Diet Dr Pepper

I did pretty good on my eating!! Stayed pretty true to my diet with a few minor exceptions - I had a waffle for breakfast with my cereal on Saturday, a waffle for breakfast with my oatmeal on Sunday, pizza for dinner on Sunday. The last one is NOT minor, but our options were too limited on the way home.

I did not workout the entire weekend, but did dance the night away on Saturday at the wedding. When I dance, I dance straight for hours and I dance HARD. I am a dancer so I LOVE to tear it up. I am usually grossly sweaty half way through the night.

I'm not going to lie to myself. I should get a big spanking for the way I handled the weekend as compared to my goals.

I leave for Asia in 10 days, so I only have 10 days of these modern luxuries. I will be utilizing treadmills like a wild woman.

Getting back in the game,
FK

5:00 am

NEW! Morning run. today,first day...LOVED IT!!! ...but no lie..5:00am is painful

Benefits of running in the morning: higher fat burn in AM vs. PM

Weight Report: 120.4

I'm Such a Rebel...(but a good rebel)

Yesterday was date night. We went to TGIF and I ordered the "Thai Chicken Wrap" with a dry salad as my side. I ate nearly the entire thing and dipped occasionally in the honey-lime dressing that normally is IN the wrap, but I requested it to be on the side. That was me eating unhealthy. I am so proud of myself because my "unhealthy standards" are on the "healthy eats" side of the menu haha.

I had a cup of coffee after the meal and a couple bites of my husbands cheesecake. Totally worth it.

Date Night. We bought a super awesome looking journal from Barnes & Noble and brought it with us to the restaurant. After dinner, we ordered our dessert and busted out the journal. The mission - to think of memories we have shared together and jot them down as we think of them. We thought about the first night we noticed each other and each wrote about what we remembered. We talked and laughed as we reminisced that night. We had so much fun reminiscing that one memory that we didnt have time for any others. It was getting late so we called it a night, but the journal is on our coffee table waiting for the next time one of us recalls another memory.

Yesterday was my off day and MUCH needed. my poor legs were killed last week. Today its back on. Cardio and legs. I will do sets of dips in between each leg exercise.