Run, Eat, Love, Play

It's been a while...

2009-10-29T12:14:00.000-07:00

Since the last post. But, that's ok. I've actually been feeling much more on top of things since the disaster of the GRE's that took place on Monday. I'm going to try a bit of an experiement. I've actually been tracking my food for a while now and I'm about +100 calories above what I should be, daily. I want to reign in that last 100. It won't be easy because they happen in small bites here and there. But the goal is NO more eating without a plate and a plan. So, to that end, no noshing whilst cooking, but COOK! I haven't been cooking much, just grilling sandwiches and such, so I need to step back from that, make some stews, and chickpea dishes that will stick around for a while, but I'll handle that later. For now, no noshing without a purpose. Last night's massive amount of food was pretty intense and I still had a huge lunch today. Onwards and upwards.

3 weeks to go!

2009-10-09T08:55:00.001-07:00

And, I'm down a few pounds! I'm not going to go crazy and say I've definitely LOST those pounds for good, but 122 is much nicer than 125 and my belly (which shows softness VERY easily) looks a little leaner. So, I'm feeling much better.

I've been eating pretty clean all week, but possibly a little low on veggies, for me anyway. I'm big into veggies normally. But allowing myself carbs in the form of whole wheat breads has been an interesting experience. It has DEFINITELY cut DOWN on my desire for sweet stuffs, which I was having a hard time with. I love starting my day with some carbs that are not endless bowls of cereal! Instead, I simply have 2 pieces of whole wheat toast with Laughing Cow Cheese and Turkey. And I am FULL until lunch! It's been great. I've been able to say NO to more sweets simply by allowing myself whole, real foods. And, weight has come off too. Not as easily as when I had 2 apples and some cheese for an entire day (I've done that a number of times...) but it's coming off much more sustainably. And hey, I'm all about sustainability.

So, I have 4 weeks until my half marathon and I am hoping to be down to 118 by then. I'm shooting for about 1200-1400 calories per day with exercise on most days, as well. Hopefully that kind of consistency will show in a few weeks!

Today was half a LUNA bar before a 10!! mile run with Jess.
Then, 1 english muffin toasted with Laughing Cow and DELISH deli turkey from WF. Yum! No snack required! Ready for lunch in an hour or so :)

22 days left!

2009-10-08T06:19:00.000-07:00

My 30 day challenge is going well. I haven't had any binges! I've gotten the sweet count down... some. I could use more work though, did NOT say no to Apple Crisp in the office yesterday! Grrrr. Have to work on that. But feeling good and strong today, hills this morning and a swim tonight! need to get back to GRE studying too!

Eating for today:
Apple and yogurt
Soup and Cheese
Broccoli + 1 slice pizza + ice cream (little too much sugar here...)

Seems to add up to about 1400 calories according to daily plate, which I like for a counting mechanism.

Working out:
Morning hills!
PM Swim!

Getting into bed at 10, probably asleep by 11?
Wahoo! Pretty good day.

Day 27

2009-10-03T06:11:00.001-07:00

Recap: Yesterday was ... ok. I hate a little too much because I was craving the carbs I wasn't "eating." Except I did eat some. I had chocolate.. twice. That might have to be part of this plan... it's just hard for me to totally relinquish it. So I ended up eating:
Egg and cheese wrap (egg whites, 200 cal)
Chocolate covered pretzels (i know... really? 100 cal)
Soup 160 cal (and bite of chili, 40 cal)
500 cal

Then got weirdly hungry after a stgressful day at work. Not great. Had a bit of LUNA cookie thing... and bite of banana.

Dinner was awesome though, salmon, 2 cups of broccoli and pineapple.

De-lish. Also red wine.. not a stellar day, but hit the gym and got in a 1.5 hr workout, so that was a good balance too.

Today's plan:
3 slices of mango
10 mile run
brunch smoothie
Goodwill/Target run
Party time...

We'll see how this goes!

28-day Challenge

2009-10-02T05:02:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a 4 week challenge. I want to be a little lighter on my feet for my half marathon and so I'm going to try a lower-carb plan for 4 weeks. This does NOT mean no carb, not even a tiny bit close.

Foods allowed:
Fruit (not usually included tons of carbs.. but necessary for a healthy diet of running)
Veggies
Beans
Meat
Dairy
Low-carb wraps

Not:
Cereal
Oats
Granola
crackers
bread

I've just noticed that it's predominantly sugar that is my weakness, my trigger I might call it and I need to reign it in. So that's my plan. Cut out my processed and unprocessed sugar intake and cut down my binges.
Hopefully this helps!

Day 1 (27 days to go) Stats
Wt: 123.4
Pics (taken weekly)
Menu plan:
b: egg whites, cheese on half wrap
l: soup
s: jello cup
d: salad with beans, chicken, avocado and ginger dressing
d: jello cup

Hopefully I can hang with this one. Just 4 weeks! There will be some ups and down, but the point is that I'm not doing some low carb plan that cuts everything out, just a plan that cuts out my triggers.

Counting is funny

2009-09-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

I keep these "day 1" blog pieces. Which are just very funny... because there is rarely anything beyond 4-5 days. But it's a process. I am trying to do 40-1.5hrs of working out 5 days per week. And just trying to eat healthily... fewer binges, more real food, and few desserts-- but I am going to purchase some much needed pumpkin ice cream to keep my sanity :)

Today has been a random mix of food. Lunch was a salad, snack of dried fruit, hard boiled egg and 100 calorie pack of honey grahams... hmmm. Too much perhaps :)

Day 1, again, for real.

2009-09-17T05:45:00.000-07:00

Let's see if I can keep this up for a week straight finally.

Breakfast: Clif Kids bar, 130cal.
Coffee black, 10 cal.

Lunch:
Veggie Chili: 300 cal (ish)
Banana: 100 cal

540 cal. pre dinner. let's just get through the afternoon!

Crackers x 1000! Oops! 200 cal.
Broccoli and cheese- 200 cal.
Yogurt: 100 cal
500 cal minimum.

1200 at least, I'm sure...

BACK, maybe for real.

2009-09-16T19:22:00.000-07:00

Ok. Do you ever have those days when you see some pictures and you realize you just HAVE NOT been on your game and it actually shows? That's what happened to me today. It's time to get back on the healthy wagon. My face is very puffy and the LITTLE changes will help a ton! I am excited to start this trek. I'm also probably going to do the Triathlon anyway... we shall see how it goes. It will be just for fun!

Here we go. LOW sugar, lower carb, lower volume. Salad, veggies, beans and fruit. Starting a new. Losing 10 pounds by Thanksgiving. Let's do it! That is about 12 weeks away. 1 pound per week beginning at 125 lbs for 9/16.

Boo tri, hooray recovery!

2009-09-02T05:48:00.000-07:00

So, it turns out the triathlon is probably not going to happen after all. After running about 3 times last week, my hip is back to an unstable state-- helping me to fall off my bike in fact! Blerg. So it's back to a different kind of workout setup that will include cycling, the Shred, swimming, treadmilling, stair climbing and running twice a week at most. Boo hiss silly hip. But I do need the recovery.

So, food! September is a month of GOALS! I am very excited. Here they are:
1. Shred- 6 out of 7 days per week, still keeping the cardio up!
2. 1 dessert per day-- pudding, chocolate chips, whatever but ONLY 1.
3. GRE words- 20 minutes EVERY day! (can be combined with cardio!!)
4. Clean my apartment! This will take some time, but 1 room thoroughly cleaned per week!
5. Track food!

These are exciting goals for me. I also would like to make it a goal to NOT binge for the month. We will see how that goes. I am going to aim for 1300 calories/day.

So far- diet coke. But I'm going to the store to bring Rice Krispies. Milk and bananas into the office for a month of breakfasts.

Riding and Eating!

2009-08-23T04:53:00.000-07:00

SIGNED up for a tri!! I should probably mention that for a little context. It's a mini!! 1/3 mi. swim, 11 mi. bikes, 3 mi run.

So, yesterday Powderhouse and I got up at 7am to prep for our ride. We had a little apple and pb, and blueberries fresh picked! It was delightful. We headed out with another friend around 7:30. As soon as we got on the path I kicked it up and notch and rode the 11 miles in around 50 minutes. Not bad for tired legs... I need to stretch more!! We swam the mile in pieces- 15 mins/half. So, I think I'm looking around around 10 minutes for 1/3 but hopefully faster. My goal is to finish the run and swim in my triathlon in an hour.

I came home and was totally pooped. I ate half my huge wrap from Dave's Fresh Pasta, then a bunch of candy, then passed out. Luckily my breakfast was my 100% all healthy meal of the day. Later, frisbee and I went out to one of my favorite Mexican places where I got a huge chopped salad with cheese and hotsauce. It was SO good! Happy Sunday morning.

Oops... and back on wagon

2009-08-21T04:54:00.000-07:00

Did NOT take my advice and had some cereal for breakfast. However, dinner was healthy and delish! Salad with steamed brocc. SO good. So, 300 cals of cereal and I'm ready to go to work. Bringing little snacks to work instead fo a big meal.. I think that might help curb the crazy carb cravings... CCCs.

Breakfast: 300 (cereal)
Snack: 200 (fruit and yogurt)
Lunch: 120 (fiber bar)
-620, a little high...

It probably ended up much closer to 700, which was fine. Especially because I busted out 5 miles at the gym today... outside was UNbearable.

So, next up- dinner! SUSHI! in fact. I haven't had sushi in forever. And it's going to be the FIRST of my new goal series. I know these restarts are silly, and it means I don't stick through with much, but this one I can do. It's 100% healthy, once a day. That's no extra, no dessert, nothing unnecessary. And it's ONLY once a day and can be more if I CHOOSE. That means, the extra HELPING of cereal in the morning would not count, that half (whole) piece lemon cake after lunch! would not count! (that was yesterday.... ). But tonight will be all healthy and I'm excited. I'm excited to do this once a day. Make it count! I want to be ready to fly on my bike ride tomorrow!

A different kind of day

2009-08-20T13:51:00.001-07:00

So far so good. I've eaten a bit too much cereal in the past few days, but I've been balancing out in other ways-- upping my fruit for example. However, I'm learning that I am on a serious sugar binge right now and I need to re-moderate my intake. So that is what I am doing today-the weekend.
Breakfasts: eggs, veggies and cheese! Not cereal (just a little too much refined carbs)
Lunch: Create better salads and I will actually eat them!
Dinners: Mahi Mahi burgers, veggie burgers on whole wheat bread!

I know that my workout schedule is getting better and including more runs so I am going to need to fuel with carbs, I just have to be better about choosing the right ones. Dinner last night = pb & j, milk and chocolate cookies from Trader Joes. Not great, but not terrible.

Today's eats:
Coffee Cake (what ?? stupid office breakfast)
Cereal (so it hasn't been a great day...)
Dinner?

Gotta get back on the veggie track!

Exercise: Swam a good workout for 1.5 hours this morning-- 3300 yards

New Leaf!

2009-08-19T09:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, here I go! Turning a new leaf. It's been about 2 weeks of CRAPTASTIC eating! I have just allowed myself to seep into binging and I don't like it. And starting this morning, I refuse to give into another binge.

Breakfast:
1 peach: 80 cal.
1 granola bar: 130 cal.
Nibbles of cheese and turkey: 60 cal.
= 260 cal.

Snack:
1/2 bag of ricecakes: 45 cal.

Lunch:
Lettuce wraps: 3 @ 80-100 cal. each = 300 cal.

Afternoon snack:
Peach = 80 cal.

Total before dinner: about 650 cal.

Counting and Changing

2009-08-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lately, as I've noted before, sugars have been getting the best of me. Around this time last year I did a low-carb 2 weeks and I've decided to try that again... starting today. That would be NOT yesterday wherein I had cake, ice cream and more... So starting today I'm just going to shoot for the things I allowed myself in those 2 weeks, namely: cheese, meat, eggs, VEGGIES galore! and... no sweets except FRUIT (I'm not going super low carb). I will allow a dark chocolate kiss at night. I'm going to actively try to get this done... we will see. I have a meeting tonight and I'm sure there will be snacks, so I need to just steer clear if I can. Otherwise, life is great. I am excited for the weekend-- Friday might bring a viewing of Julia and Julie or a trip to NH or a party!? Then Saturday is hiking in NH and GRE study and Sunday is a bike ride and hopefully a swim, too. This morning practice kicked my butt but I went a 1:02 in my 100 free time trial! Craziness!

Food so far today:
Blueberries: 150 cals
Lil bite of swiss cheese: 30 cal
Bit of turkey: 20 cal
= 200 cal breakfast, perfecto.

Day "4"

2009-07-29T06:37:00.000-07:00

Probably should be Day 6 or 7 but I "forgot" to check in over the weekend. Going to try to keep on track even through the weekend this time! So here goes:

Exercise: Stair climber for 30 mins, bike for 10 mins, abs/squats for 15 mins: 500 cals?

Eating- Breakfast:
3/4 c. 0% Fage yogurt: 100 cal
1/2 c. all bran flakes: 100 cal
1/2 c. blueberries/strawberries: 50 cal
=250 cal.

Lunch:
Veggie burger: 100 cal
Half pita: 50 cal
Cereal: 100 cal
Milk: 100 cal

=350 cal, 600 cal pre dinner...

Maybe a run after work?

Counting Day...3?

2009-07-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

Well, I skipped a few days, but I'm going to get back on it today. I've decided that while I can't run much for the time being, I have a good opportunity to improve my diet. Up my lean protein, decrease my sugar intake... the whole shebang. This is a perfect time to do it, so I'm going to just do it! Would really like to be 5 lbs less by my time trial for swimming and that is August 2oth. This means STOP eating dessert at night!! (seriously, it's been... less than healthy)

So far:
Breakfast-
1 peach: 60
1/2 c. dry cereal: 90
Piece of ww wrap: 30
=180 cals

Lunch:
Veggie burger: 100 cal
Salad on top: 50
Pita: 60 cal
Chocolate: 30

Snack:
Cereal: 60
Cherries: 50 cal

=350 cal, 530 total

Big eating day. It wrapped up with veggies, cheese, a cracker, and some ice cream. Easily 500+ calories worth and to be honest, probably more like 700. I felt pretty awful and I've decided I need to get my night time eating (overeating) on track. Yowza!

Not hungry... Day 3

2009-07-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

So today was odd for me. Couldn't find an appetite after swim practices:

Breakfast:
5 cherries: 30
Snacked on a piece of bread: 60
=90 cal

Lunch:
1/2 c. cereal: 75
2 c. black Coffee: 10?

Before dinner calories = 145

Day 2!

2009-07-22T11:53:00.001-07:00

Delicious things!
Special K Bar Chocoalte and Pretzel: 90
Water with Crystal light: 20 cal
=110

Lunch!!
1/2 veggie wrap, no cheese: 150 cal.
1 c. pasta salad: 170
1 c. Cherries: 90
Big lunch! = 410

520 calories @ 3pm.... not bad.

Edit!
Dinner: Hahaha... didn't really do "dinner" per se. Instead I munched my way through cookie dough as I baked... so probably about 500 calories minimum. Then a bite of watermelon, couple of cherries.

1000-1200 calories I'm sure.

Seriously Considering...

2009-07-21T07:22:00.000-07:00

Some counting! I notice it helps when I really track my food. And lately... I haven't been blogging enough. So, I'm going to give it a try on a more daily basis. I am aiming to eat around 1200 calories, with most of them occurring before dinner. (300 cal bf, 300 cal lunch, 400 cal dinner, 100 cal afternoon snack)

Exercise calories: ~560 swimming (6-7:30am)

Breakfast:
3/4 c. watermelon: 46 cals
1/2 c. cherries: 40 cals
2/3 c. greek yogurt: 100 cals
1/4 c. oats cereal: 60 cals.
=246 cals

Lunch:
1c. greens:
1/2 c. chick peas
3 slices deli turkey
1/4 c. tomatoes
1/2 oz. cheddar cheese
1/2 c. grapes
=350 calories (does that seem right?)

Snack:
1/2 c. cereal: 70
1/2 plum: 30
=100

Dinner (didn't really track per se...)
2 glasses of wine: 200 cal
Leftover pieces of chicken: 150 cal
Pudding: 100 cal
Chocolate chips: 50 cal

=500 (probably at least...)

Total before dinner: 695 calories
Total= about 1200 cal

I heart Thursdays

2009-07-16T05:38:00.000-07:00

So, today has been off to a good start. I began with an AM swim practice: 3350 yards. Came into ano ffice full of bagels. While I love bagels, I tend to munch through them somewhat mindlessly. So I managed to have just 1/4 of a bagel with cream cheese and a plum for breakfast. I've got some fruit for lunch, but I'll probably need a bit more so I'll figure it out then. But in general, as part of my "whole foods" endeavor, I am cutting down on my snacking significantly. It helps when I eat fewer carbs and as I said yesterday, fewer fruits (because they're so easy to over-eat), but one step at a time. I'll need to leave room for a snack at 3pm to get ready for my bike ride after work! Very exciting.

Food Inc.

2009-07-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

Warning: this is a public service announcement. I don't know what you know about it, but Food Inc. is a tremendously good film that anyone living and eating in the US should see. It is one of the most important social, political, environmental films made thus far. I'm not sure how their team legally producedthe film, as the industries in question have more rights than the government (thanks to veggie libel laws).
I'm not sure any movie has had a more significant impact on me. But this is more effective and better formed than Michael Moore, Thank you for smoking, better than Columbine, better than an Inconvenient Truth (so long as everyone SEES it). It reveals some of the most fundamental facts that we aren't aware we're not aware of. Read that again. For example, what did you have for dinner? Did it include meat, industrial cheese, soy, hydrogenated oil? Then it quite likely contained products patented by Monsanto Corp. A corporation that owns 90% of the soybeans in the country and has a say in how, where, and who grows soybeans.

This is a process of eliminating diversification, leaving us more susceptible to infections brought on by thing that shouldn't be in our food in the first place. Food Inc., questions the very HOW and WHY of our entire food system. Most importantly perhaps is that it highlights WHY we know nothing about the detrimental nature of the industries. The veggie libel laws allow complete anonymity and opaqueness throughout the large industries controlling our food.

Off the charts. For a very thorough review of the whole movie, you can see my friend's review here: http://kissing--frogs.blogspot.com/

Orderly Eating

2009-07-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

Working on this idea: Ordered Eating. Currently it's very disordered. Not that I have some categorical thing... but that my approach to eating is full of anxiety and thus, really chaotic. Could be the other way around, too. In any event, today's lunch post on Carrots 'n' Cake, one of my favorite blogs, is really encouraging. I have done pretty well for the past 2 days and I am in fact down 3 pounds. I would like to keep this up! One thing that seriously bring me down are sweets, in general. If I can stick with mostly veggies, I tend to do much better. Even fruit can be overstimulating for my appetite. So one thing I am going to focus on is increasing my veggie and salad intake. That has to include lean protein! Tofu, edamame, yogurt, milk.. cheese on occasion.

Today is a new day. This minute is a new minute. So, post-bbq day (stuck with a veggie burger and Italian ice!!), it's onwards and upwards. Possibly seeing Food Inc. tonight. That should encourage even more good choices with food!

Breakfast Battle

2009-07-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

Training is going as well as it can for having an injury. I'm not going to "tri" the "tri" in August because I definitely won't be prepared, but I am not giving up on doing a sprint triathlon this summer. Hopefully I'll be recovered soon!
Training last week was:
M: 5-mile quick walk (with groceries at the end!)
T: AM Swim
W: 45 min elliptical (wowzer that's harder than I thought it was)
Th: AM swim
F: Nada!
S: 35 min elliptical, 25 min walk/"jog"
S: 40 min elliptical, 20 min bike

Not terrible but I can't log my eating here... it was a little rough again. I need to redefine some goals for myself, mostly in portion control. I am eating better things, but I'm letting my head do the talking rather than my stomach!
Today:
Breakfast (biggest portion control issue): Greek yogurt (2/3c), granola (1/4c), bran cereal (1/2c), strawberries (4)
Lunch: Whole wheat pita, 1 oz. cheddar cheese, 1/4 green pepper, 1/2 tomato, add. 1/2 whole wheat pita (glad these are only 70 cals!)
Snack: animal crackers

So, dinner needs to be my awesome salad I haven't touched yet but made on Friday! Can't wait. Should make me feel better. This weekend has a bathing suit involved so I'm going to try to be more slim-conscious!

Need to reign in my snacks and big meals... goal for this week! Pay attention and breathe while eating. Stop getting anxious while eating!

Inching along...

2009-07-11T06:02:00.000-07:00

Obviously I have not been writing as much because the updates are a little less fun these days without running. However, the hip is beginning to feel much better. In other news, I am trying very hard to get back down to where I was in March (120lbs). Though I have yet to check, I believe I'm sitting at 126 right now and my end goal of 116 is looking very far away. So, one day at a time, more fruit, more veggies-- less junk. Breakfast was: 1 c. bran cereal, soy milk, 1/4 c granola and 1/3 c blueberries. Should be plenty of energy for a long spurt at the gym with dad!

After a week...

2009-07-06T13:38:00.000-07:00

So, finally checking back in and getting back on top of it. I have decided the hip REALLY needs its break, so I am resting it and turning to some other forms of exercise besides running. The routine will be as follows (it kills me to write this.. makes it real that I honestly have to chill on the running front):
M: Walk/Abs/Shred/Burn and Firm, whatever combination I like for at least 1 hour
T: Morning SWIM!
W: Cycling or Swim
Th: Morning swim
F: Cycling or AM gym!
S: Yoga
Su: Walk/Hills/Cycling

So, at least this should help me train for the tri if I can run by then. HOPEFULLY HOPEFULLY HOPEFULLY!

Also, on the sugar front: 4 a week doesn't work for me. SO, I'm starting a little South Beach slim down. Nothing major, but I am seriously cutting back my carbs, for at least 1 week and I'm looking forward to the challenge. I will be updating.
Food today:
B: 1/3 whole wheat pita with low fat Swiss and turkey pepperoni
S: Cherries! (I eat fruit on low-carb... it's silly not to and it's not my problem area)
L: Whole Wheat pita, veggies, cheddar cheese (yum)
S: Cherries

Dinner will be a veggie burger salad I think...

Wahoo. Let's get it done!

WHOLE foods.

2009-06-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

I am nearing my "TAC" total allowable catch (usually used in fisheries...) for my sweets count. I had ice cream last night which was my last sweet for the week. I am not sure the tally is going to work well for me, but I'm going to keep it up and see how the next few days go. It would have been weird to turn down the ice cream as I was sharing 1 pint with 3 friends, so we were actually only having 1 serving-- go us. Still, I have been eating too much overall. I am going to actively begin to scale back, while eating more healthily in general-- by HEALTH I don't mean low fat, low cal, low this and that. I mean WHOLE foods. For example, last night's dinner was delish! I made pasta with a shrimp, tomato, spinach, garlic topping. I had one serving and really felt full! It was just about having the right amount of something GOOD to eat, not just getting by because I can get away with eating THIS much of that low-cal thing. So here is to whole foods at the right serving size. Teacher, Powderhouse and another friend and I played Apples to Apples and had a great time!

Power Yoga ROCKS

2009-06-24T04:25:00.001-07:00

Wow, what a great workout. Power Yoga is a Vinyasa (flow) yoga taught in a 90+ degree room. It is like Bikram, only the poses change and you keep moving all the time!! An assistant walks around to help tweak poses, too, so you get a much better sense of how you should be posed (in Bikram the teacher just tells you... loudly). I am so sore this morning but not my hip, more my abs:) (I think it burns about 600 cals/class!)

My dinner ended up being 1/2 ww wrap pizza with:
4 Tbs Lime and Habanero Salsa
3 Tbs Fat Free Cheddar
1/2 Jalapeno
1.5 oz. grilled chicken
1/4 c. broccoli.

It was so satisfying! Now I have to come up with a dinner for tonight! Powerderhouse, Teacher and another friend are coming over for dinner, wine and Apples to Apples!

Clean Eating

2009-06-23T13:13:00.001-07:00

Going to try to do this a little more regularly. It's about eating whole foods and not processed crap that doesn't fill you up. I am not planning to follow this plan rigidly by any means, but I am going to pay attention to it for ideas. I have a habit of eating things that are "supposed" to be good for me but they're not actually tasty enough to be filling, so I overeat. I think eating real, whole foods will be helpful for feeling really satisfied when I eat.

What a day...

2009-06-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

So, I'm definitely having a harder time at the moment. The hip is rather sore, so I haven't run in 2 days and don't plan to today either. I am, however, going to do some power yoga! I'll have to report back later. Today, foodwise, has not been terrible:
Breakfast = Kashi Chocolate Coconut bar, 3 oz. fat free vanilla yogurt
Lunch = Asparagus, Chicken, 3-4oz. of pasta. Yummy, but I am very full from the higher fat content than I'm used to in the middle of the workday. Definitely slows me down...

Dinner will be: delish spicy black bean burger, fat free cheddar, on whole wheat toast post-yoga. I am really looking forward to it! I find that helps a lot-- if I plan something to eat that I am genuinely excited about, I will be able to hold off on the useless snacks before the meal. In general, part of my plan to lose these 10 lbs is to cut down on my snacks. I know snacks are generally a good thing, but I have been really overdoing it lately, so I am making my meals a little more substantial and the snacks less often.

Here's to a good hip stretch at yoga and delish dinner!

Monday's Goals

2009-06-22T06:21:00.000-07:00

I like setting goals on Monday for the obvious reason that it's the beginning of a new week. This week brings interesting challenges especially at work. We have a pizza lunch today and a catered lunch tomorrow, as well. In general, I have a tough time avoiding sweets at catered lunches and pizza is certainly no good for my summer goal of losing these last 10 pounds. So... I'll have to get creative.
Goals:
1. Try to avoid pizza-- have salad, soup, diet coke and avoid the cookies/brownies! Have pudding if sugar is needed.
2. Finish edits on work spreadsheet and complete 2 other projects.
3. Run 8 with Liz
4. Hang out and be confident!! with Frisbee. (Cut down the fat talk, seriously!)

Monday Mantra: Would a fit me eat that?

Report:
Semi-fail, semi win.
Did not totally avoid pizza, but not bad.
Had some cake, 1 point! 2 desserts left this week. I CAN DO THIS.
Not going to run 8, hip is too sore. I am off to the gym for some abs and push ups!

By the way, Prevention published a good article for helpful, healthy eating tips today. My few favorites are:
3. Resolve never to supersize your food portions--unless you want to supersize your clothes.
6. Make sure your plate is half veggies and/or fruit at both lunch and dinner.
16. Follow the Chinese saying: "Eat until you are eight-tenths full."
39. "It's more stressful to continue being chubby than to stop overeating."
41. Don't "graze" yourself fat. You can easily munch 600 calories of pretzels or cereal without realizing it.

Delish Dinnah!

2009-06-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

I made a big pot of soup tonight in honor of the chilly Boston air! Here's what's in my
Chicken Jalapeno Sweet Potato Soup!
Chicken broth
Ground chicken
2 jalapenos
2 sweet potatoes
onion
garlic
carrots

So good! For dessert, I had chocolate milk:) Yum.

No run today and a huge brunch... So, this week has to be extra good. We'll see!

(By the way, Frisbee is a rockstar: coming to hang out with me tomorrow night!)

Official Sugar Challenge

2009-06-21T15:44:00.000-07:00

Pescatarian is doing a beer challenge-- only 9 beers per week. That is much harder than it might seem. In this conversation, I mentioned that I have been eating much too much sugar and he challenged me to keep sugar treats to a weekly maximum of 4.

Here is the tallied food list:
Ice Cream
Cookies
Brownies
Pudding
Peanut Butter
Hot Chocolate
Candy
Candy Bar
Chocolate Chex Mix (per serving!)
Anything fried (different kind of treat)
Chocolate Chips (per serving)

Suggestions welcome, of course. But so far, I had pudding today so: 1 down, only 3 left! Hopefully this will guide me in the right direction!

Sugar, and its evilness.

2009-06-20T04:19:00.000-07:00

So, the more we learn about sugar, the more it comes out that it should basically just be a special addition to a diet, very sparingly and certainly FAR from a staple. A recent Princeton Study has revealed even more about the serious nature of sugar's addictive qualities. Hoebel, one of the principal investigators has shown that rats eating large amounts of sugar when hungry, a phenomenon he describes as sugar-bingeing, undergo neurochemical changes in the brain that appear to mimic those produced by substances of abuse, including cocaine, morphine and nicotine. Sugar induces behavioral changes, too. "In certain models, sugar-bingeing causes long-lasting effects in the brain and increases the inclination to take other drugs of abuse, such as alcohol," Hoebel said.
Wow. So, if sugar just tastes and feels good, maybe the science behind its damage will be helpful in slowing down my intake. I think reading this article helps!

So, today my goals (with my general summer goals in mind!) are:
1. LESS sugar. No, not NO sugar, but certainly less. Eggwhite omelet lunch, for example, not the "light cake"(see below) I made last night.
2. Long run. My hip is feeling better, so it's back to running! Just a nice one around the Charles.
3. Laundry! Need to do it, and I actually enjoy getting my laundry done.
4. While laundry is going, finish cleaning my room.
5. Read Kite Runner, it's so good just need to make time for it!

Had a very nice evening last night, some of the details are as follows:
1. One glass of a new red wine: a purple labeled Shiraz which I won't get again...
2. One piece of "light cake":
1 mix Angel Food Cake (baked in 2 cake pans)
Icing:
1 container Cool Whip Free (sugar/fat free)
1 box chocolate pudding (sugar/far free)

Bake cakes, apply icing! Add fresh strawberries or bananas, if inclined. Totally delicious, but enough sweetness to make you want a little too much.
3. Ate too much in general, and felt it falling asleep and waking up... I need to work on this.

So, here's to a better day (eating wise!)!

*Afternoon update:
Half ww wrap with
2 oz. chicken
1 oz. fat free cheddar
Habanero salsa
1 small piece of cake :)

Nice run! About 5 miles total, with a little walking in the middle through Life is Good Fair, which was very fun. I went on the run with Nice Guy... (see cast of characters...). It was a good tempo and he's actually looking to do some races similar to mine, so we might be running buddies of sorts. I have been looking for a weekender and he might be it! He's a little faster than I am, so that's good. Luckily he knows Frisbee and lots of my other friends, so it's a good running match, I think. Drinking a glass of wine and preparing to shower and go out.

Goal Report:
1. Much less sugar! W00t!
2. Finished alll laundry!
3. Cleaned room a bit (more to do tomorrow)
4. Ran!
5. Might read to fall asleep tonight... we'll see how I'm faring then... having a glass of wine now :)

Training Schedule

2009-06-19T02:59:00.000-07:00

(Click to actually read...)
This is mostly to keep me on track, at the very minimum, but this is my training schedule for this summer up until Race day.

Workout: 40 minutes on the bike, abs, push ups (a few...)
Food: Disaster, as per usual for some reason. Having been up since 3:45am (ugh, bad sleeping patterns for the last few months...), I was rather hungry when I got back from the gym. So I gorged a little on a smoothie, cool whip and chocolate milk. Nothing particularly bad per se, but too much of all of it. I need to remind myself to slooooow down when I eat! Off to work!

**Afternoon update:
Food: Leftovers for lunch! Had a nice mix of whole wheat pasta, homemade spaghetti sauce with tomatoes, beans, broccoli and spices and a healthy dose of cottage cheese for some protein that really tided me over. Off to do laundry and read for the evening with some wine and hopefully a movie with my new DVD player! w00t!

Day 1: So this is new...

2009-06-19T01:10:00.001-07:00

I'm embarking on a little journey I'm calling Run, Eat, Love, Play. The goals of which are the following:
1. Prepare for my first half marathon: September 6th! Covered Bridges in NH.
2. Complete (yep, that's all!) my first triathlon August 9th. (Lowell YMCA Tri)
3. Eat in a way that is for a fit person... currently, it's just messy. (I'll explain)
4. Be super appreciative of my truly fantastic boyfriend and friends... (Background to follow)
5. Try to relax on the planning front and enjoy more about TODAY.

Those are the main goals for the summer of 2009. I'm excited to begin this little journey and in order to keep myself honest, I'll be posting on this as a food and exercise journal as well as my random thoughts about friends, love, and life.

Background:
I'm Julia. I live and work in Cambridge, MA. I run a bunch, but this is very very new for me. I've been running for less than a year and while I enjoy it, I have a lot of improvement to make! I am a shortie, but I'm also rather athletic, which makes weight a delicate issue. I'm currently about 10 pounds heavier than I would like to be so my other goal this summer is to lose those extra pesky pounds. Setting my mind to that goal will be helpful, as my diet is a little rough right now. I don't really restrict myself because I have pretty healthy tendencies, but I have unhealthy ones too... so the first thing I need to do is cut down my processed sugar count and buff up my protein, whole grain and healthier parts in my diet.

In other news, I live amongst a number of good friends. Cast of characters:
Midwest: is my roommate, good guy, but cleaning habits can drive me nuts. Luckily he's away on business a lot.
RunJess: is my running buddy who lives closeby. She's been a great addition to my life and keeps me doing more workouts than I ever would have done on my own.
CrazyLady: is actually another running buddy- an older friend at work who *can* be very intense, but is generally just a unique individual who adds to my life, she's also a fast runner and luckily tolerates my slowness.
Frisbee: though he could go by many names, this will be the tag for the boyfriend. He lives on the cape and he rocks my world. He runs, plays frisbee and works for an enviro non-prof.
Teacher: is a friend who just moved to town. Very good college friend/roommate with whom I have weekly dinners. She's honest and tells it like it is, not sure I've ever had a better friend.
Powdergirl: is another college friend with whom I spend a lot of time. She lives over near Powderhouse Blvd, hence the name. Another very good friend I'm lucky to have in the area.
Pescatarian: is a friend of Frisbee, the boyfriend. Pesc and I became friends pretty easily and the fact that we can actually piss each other off through chat conversation makes me think I might mention him on here. Genuinely good guy though...

I think I'll leave it at that. O