Checkin In (Ugh)

I'm so annoyed with myself.

On Friday I was eating great.  Oatmeal with blueberries and honey for breakfast, a wannabe burrito bowl with brown rice, shredded chicken, black beans, and hot sauce with an apple.  And then I had my first shift at my new job (which I love!) as a host/server at one of my favorite restaurants in town.  It's a really laid back kind of place and the people that work there are great.  The customers even aren't that annoying.  So I worked for a couple hours and by the time I got off I was really hungry.  I was determined to be healthy, even turning down some free food (this is the place with those delicious falafels - yeah, I got a job there.  Let's talk about how great a decision that might turn out to be).  And then I walk in the door to find my boyfriend had ordered pepperoni pizza, breadsticks, and cookies from my favorite pizza place!  Ugh.

At first I decided to just have one slice of pizza.  I even let my boyfriend eat my cookie.  I was okay, until the leftover pizza continued to sit on the coffee table.  Then I started to eat it just because it was there.  That's one of my worst habits - eating food just because it happens to be in front of me.  So I had two more slices and two breadsticks with cheese sauce.  Ugh. 

I went to bed without having exercised.  Sigh.  So Friday was a bust.

Yesterday I wanted to do better.  My boyfriend made farina for breakfast (cream of wheat, I think), which I love, so I had some.  He made it with skim milk though, that was nice of him.  : )  Later I was kind of panicking about what I was going to eat.  We're low on fresh veggies and the only fruit we had was a little cubed pineapple and some apples.  I realized I definitely need to do more meal planning so I have enough stuff around to make meals with. 

So then I remembered that we had a ton of frozen vegetables, leftover queso fresco from burrito bowls a couple days ago and some leftover tortillas.  I made a veggie quesadilla and did half an hour of yoga (burned 125 calories).  I had to go to CVS to get something, and ended up getting a candy bar, one of those king size Twix with the four little bars inside.  I ate it almost without even tasting it.  I had such a bad chocolate craving, and when I left for work and parked downtown, I looked through my purse and found a kit kat bar!  I have no idea where it came from.  But I ate it, too.  (I was wondering why, then remembered it's TOM time)  Then I went to work.  I think my shift last night could definitely have qualified as a workout.  Half the restaurant is upstairs, so of course I was running around all night seating people and cleaning tables.  My heart rate was definitely elevated, haha.

After work I went home.  I was in a good mood.  I had put a lot of cheese on my quesadilla earlier (definitely a little too much) and wanted something else cheesy.  I really just love cheese.  But, I remembered I hadn't had any fruit yet and that there was pineapple in the fridge.  So I ate that, and then a friend called and invited me to a shindig at their place.  I was super excited to go, because I pretty much never go out and I haven't gotten to see those particular friends in a while.  Of course I had a few drinks, stayed the night, and came home this morning to farina, bacon, and eggs.  Can you tell my boyfriend likes to cook breakfast?  :D

So Saturday was still pretty bad, what with the chocolate and booze calories and obvious lack of nutrients.  I've already had a full, fatty breakfast today but I am planning a healthy dinner of salmon, roasted broccoli, and baked french fries.

Aside from the drinks last night, I've been doing good about drinking just water.  And just in case you're interested, Thursday night I did jogging intervals around the track by my house for 40 minutes (including a warm up and cool down) and burned 472 calories according to my heart rate monitor.  So I've burned about 600 calories in the last four days.  Definitely need to be moving more.  And need to be doing more meal planning, too.

The end of the semester is so close.  Just a few short weeks away, and I'll be a graduate.  It's kind of weird to think about.  I'm almost sad - I really love learning and there are so many interesting new classes being offered next semester.  I have to start making some serious decision about my career path, and I'm feeling extremely uncertain about everything.  I'm glad I have this challenge to keep me focused on something.

Until we meet again, here's a link to an article about how a nutrition professor lost weight eating little more than Little Debbie cakes.  Very interesting.

The "Twinkie Diet"

Days 1 and 2 of Summer Lovin' Goodness

Good evening, sexy ladies!  I have TEN followers now.  Oh my god, wow.  You guys are so awesome!  Thank you so much for reading my blog!  I hope you go and join the Summer Lovin' Challenge.  Better late than never, right?  Time to start loving yourself and getting ready to love summertime this year.

Cause that's what I'm looking forward to.  Loving summer.  Going out in shorts and not hating myself.  Not feeling embarrassed about the way my stomach and backfat look in tank tops.  Refusing to go outside and enjoy the beautiful weather because being overweight makes me sweat so bad and it's just too damn hot to move a body with this much extra fat on it.  I'm tired of that.  I want this summer to be different.

Also, I'm looking forward to a SUPER HOT SWIMSUIT.

Granted, it may take me until next summer to get into that thing.  But I do not care.  It will happen.

Also, I'm moving to Texas in a couple of months, so maybe by Christmas!  Ooh, what an awesome gift to myself that would be, huh?

Well I'm sure you're all dyyyying to know how I've been doing with the challenge.  And I'm happy to report that I've been doing not so badly!

Yesterday, day 1, was a total bust on the nutrition front.  I ate my breakfast smoothie (had to use sugary fruit juice in it...grrr) and was satisfied.  But in my photo class we had decided to do a picnic-themed group photo for a poster contest.  As with any picnic, there was food everywhere.  EVERYWHERE.  We were literally throwing it at each other.  And I was doing okay resisting until I was offered a cookie.  It was a chocolate chip cookie made with whole wheat flour, nutella, and the minimum butter and sugar needed to have it come out as a cookie.  And it was amazingly good (I gotta get the recipe) but I ate it because I thought to myself "Huh.  Whole wheat flour?  Minimum sugar?  Sounds fairly healthy!"  And then I proceeded to eat three more, a few bites of cake, a brownie, and about five handfuls of those gross cheesy puffs with the neon orange cheese powder that looks like clown cocaine.

But, I did not give up!  If it hadn't been for the fat-fest I just described, I would have had a perfect day.  I snacked on fruit, meeting my 3 fruit servings.  I made burrito bowls with shredded chicken, sauteed peppers and onions, black beans, brown rice, cabbage, and Mexican queso fresco (which I think is similar to string cheese nutrition-wise).  It was a veggie fest, at least 3 of my 4 servings.  Of course the carbs, fat, and sweets were all out the window.  Had too much dairy/protein, too.  Lumping them in together, as my Mayo Clinic food pyramid does, is really hard for me to deal with because I'm such a cheese addict.  It is was my favorite snack. 

However, I am perfectly on track today!  Had oatmeal made with milk and topped with honey and blueberries.  (1 fruit, sweet allowance, 1 carb, 1 dairy/protein).  For lunch, I had a nice big salad with balsamic vinaigrette and eggs, plus two triangles of pita bread with red pepper hummus (2 fats, 2 dairy/protein, 2 veggie).  I had an apple for a snack (1 fruit) and a burrito bowl with extra brown rice and sauteed veggies for dinner(2 carb, 1 fat - cooked with olive oil, 2 veggie).  So, what do I have left?  A fruit and a carb!  So I'll be snacking on pita chips and pineapple later tonight.  :D


Okay, so when I got my Mayo Clinic food pyramid thingy, it came with this great list of foods that go into each category and what the servings size is for a certain amount of calories (for instance, a list of servings sizes of sweet things that are 75 calories).  I just noticed that corn is on the carbohydrates list.  Have any of you ever considered corn a carb and not a veggie?  In my mind, carbs are just bready things.  Hmm. 


Anywho, I'm excited to get some exercise tonight because I found my heart rate monitor!  A few months ago I bought one of these bad boys on amazon for 80 bucks:

Except mine is silver and not red.  Sad day.  BUT, I'm excited because I thought I had lost the little bean-shaped computer thing on the bottom that connects to the strap, but this morning I found it hiding under the runner on top of my dresser!  Yaaaay!  I'm not crazy about counting calories in, but I do like to see what workouts get me the best bang for my buck, so to speak.  I'm excited to use this to compare jogging, jogging intervals, and cardio/strength circuits to see what the differences are (and of course to share them with you!)

I think I'll get changed for that exercise right now.  I shall report tomorrow with another perfect day (hopefully)!

I can't move...

...because I RAN A MILE yesterday!  In parts, admittedly, BUT HOLY CRAP A WHOLE MILE.  I did the first half a mile straight through before I had to stop and walk (remember that bra/breathing/knee problem thing?  yeah).  And then I would walk at a fast pace for a song or so then run two tenths of a mile, walk again, run again, walk again, run again.  I was on the treadmill for a total of 35 minutes.  I have no idea how many calories I burned, but to be honest I really don't care.  I'm just so damn proud of myself.  I can't wait until I'm able to do a mile straight through.  And then two miles!  And then maybe a 5K, *squee*!  I have never, ever been able to run a mile.  I remember being humiliated in middle school because they made us do it and I was the last kid off the track and walked most of it.  It took me over fifteen minutes or something ridiculous like that.  Now I obviously am much slower than that now (I was running at just under 5mph last night) but I can't wait to get stronger and faster and be able to run longer distances.  I'd say "HA, I TOLD you I'd be a runner", but you guys never doubted me.  I only ever doubted myself.  Well I am no longer giving power to my doubt, as Honore de Balzac would be thrilled to know.

I'm also proud of myself because of why I went running.  For some reason in the middle of the afternoon yesterday I just got really depressed.  I had accidentally eaten a lot of chocolate and candy yesterday without realizing it.  I was angry with myself, and then the weird sudden depression on top of it was really making me feel like crap.  I was tired, had to do laundry, and just wanted to crawl into bed and hide from knowing I'd have to post about it here.  But instead, I changed my attitude.  Remember how I said attitude is everything?  I thought to myself "You feel like crap. You want to go to bed.  Instead, go run a mile.  Don't let your mistaken preconceptions stop you.  The only thing stopping you is you.  Go run a mile. You can do it!"

And I did it.  And I feel great.  Today, I've been so pumped up by my success last night that I have eaten healthy all day because I wanted to, not because I thought I needed to.  I had a small bowl of cereal for breakfast, carrots with dressing and grapes as lunch, turkey and cheese roll-up as a snack, steamed salmon and broccoli with a cheesy baked potato for dinner, and two cookies for dessert.  I'll probably have a banana as a snack later.  By my count that's a serving of whole grains, three servings of dairy, two servings of protein, three servings of veggies, and three servings of fruit (I had two cups of grapes). 

I did yoga when I woke up this morning and if I wasn't so sore from running I'd go for a walk.  But today I'm going to take a short break from the exercise, plan out my day tomorrow, and relax knowing that I am awesome and capable of doing anything, making whatever changes I want to.

I feel so damn good.



PS:  Can anybody give me good suggestions for running socks?  Mine gave me blisters last night.  :(

I Like to Move It Move It

Hi friends!  I just wanted to post a quick little update about my super awesome day!  It was beautiful outside today, although a bit chilly for my taste, and I wanted to make sure I went out and enjoyed the lovely weather.  So, first I had a deeeelicious breakfast of half a Pink Lady apple (to which I have become addicted thanks to the fabulous miss Bitch Cakes), edamame hummus from Kroger on a piece of whole wheat toast, and a tasty egg fried in cooking spray. 

It was so good I might eat the same thing tomorrow!  I like to slice my apples up really, really thin for two reasons.  One, I have really sensitive teeth and I can't just bite into a whole apple.  We also keep our fruit in the fridge because we get fruit flies badly, so the thinner I slice an apple the faster it can warm up to room temperature and not hurt my teeth.  Second, I have to spend more time chewing, which makes me feel more full.  Since apples are already filling, it's like double bang for my buck - er, chew. 

After breakfast I went and took my new bike out (hope to get a good picture soon to show you guys), but it was so windy and still chilly that I was only out for fifteen minutes.  Also, I went to the gym yesterday like I said I would and rode the stationary bike for 40 minutes, so my quads were waaay more sore than I realized and more than fifteen minutes of bike time this morning just wasn't going to happen, haha.  Instead, I took my bike back home and went for a walk to enjoy the beautiful day.  I went without my iPod and walked around a track nearby my apartment.  Next time I think I might take my iPod.  The track and its park is located between two of the busiest streets in town (I'll have to snap a picture next time so you can see what I mean) and after awhile I got tired of just listening to cars whizz by.  It was nice to clear my head, though.  So I walked to the track, did three laps around it (each lap it .59 miles), and walked back for a total of around two miles.  I walk pretty slowly, though, so between my bike time and my walk I was moving for an hour and a half today!  I think that's pretty awesome.  : )

Another awesome thing is that my friend Katie has agreed to be my fitness buddy!  I really love the blogging community, but sometimes I miss having that real-life support and I've been hoping somebody would become my fitness buddy here in town.  Katie said that she wants to start working on her fitness again (she's a rugby player and used to be much stronger, but lately hasn't been playing much I guess), and since she has already graduated and can't use my university gym, we'll have to find creative non-gym ways to get exercise.  I think that's great because I'm graduating soon and will need to work out at home, and I want to get a good out-of-the-gym routine down that I can carry into summertime. 

Now that I'm finally not sick, I can't even tell you how great it feels to move and sweat again.  I'm actually looking forward to exercising every day, even if just a little bit.  I want to focus on moving for at least half an hour every day (not counting walking to and from class during the week) and finding things that I like to do.  I want to build a routine that allows my extra weight to come off while I'm enjoying myself, instead of focusing on losing X amount of pounds in Y time so that I can eventually enjoy myself in the future.  I know I'll be going on many more long walks - Katie and I have one planned for tomorrow, actually - and I want to build my set of fitness equipment at home.  I already have 5, 8, and 10 pound dumbbells.  I think my next additions will be a jump rope and some resistance bands. 

So, I'm off to bed hoping tomorrow will be another beautiful day filled with tasty food and happy exercise.  Hasta luego, amigos!  : )

In which I post pictures!

I just realized that I have yet to post a single picture on this blog!  How boring!  Well, let me tell you about my day.

Today is me and my boyfriend's 4-year anniversary.  We've been together since high school, through several stints of long-distance hell, and are currently happily sharing a lovely little one-bedroom apartment in our college town.  We're breaking up at the end of the summer because I'm moving to Texas and we just can't do the long distance again, but here we are!  This is us from last October when we went to Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Rally for Sanity and/or Fear (which was just...amazing):

Yes, we know we're adorable, haha. 

So yeah.  We haven't done much to celebrate because we're both pretty broke, but we did go out for Thai food.  Mmmm...I could eat curry all day every day and never get tired of it.

Earlier in the day, though, I consumed a pretty large amount of ice cream.  I probably shouldn't have, but can you really blame me?  I mean look at this stuff:

I felt pretty bad about wolfing down a good size portion of that container, though, so I hopped over to BodyRock and did this 'Hot Curves Challenge' exercise.  Let me tell you it kicked. my. ass.  I probably shouldn't have gone for a 10-minute high-intensity workout after six weeks of being sick, but it just felt so good to sweat again!  Afterward, I was like this:

Then I took one of the most refreshing showers I've ever had (second only perhaps to midday showers in Mexico or the shower I got after the 10-day wilderness & canoe trip in Canada I did in high school), after which I looked like this:

Or, if you prefer a more moody, brooding-type picture (and really, who doesn't?), then I looked like this:

Yeah, I'm incrediby pale and I looooove it.  I do everything I can in the summer to protect my paleness.  I do tan nicely, much to the jealousy of my pale friends who just sizzle and burn, but I just like being pale.  I dunno, I guess it's more true to my nature.  And yes, that's a real diamond sticking out my nose.  My grandparents actually bought it for me as a Christmas present a few years ago, which I think is pretty badass of 60+-year olds.

So after my shower I picked up my boyfriend, made him change his shirt, and we went to a reception for an exhibit opening at the museum where I'm a volunteer/practicum student and then we had that delicious Thai food I talked about earlier.  And now we're at home, relaxing.  : )

I'm looking foward to my time at the gym tomorrow, even though we're supposed to get three inches of snow tonight.  It was seventy degrees earlier this week.   As they say in Indiana:  if you don't like the weather, just wait a day.

Adios, amigos!