Fast Approaching "Normal"

I'm coming up quick on a very busy few weeks, I feel tired just thinking about it.  First up is Myra's 2nd birthday party over Labor Day weekend.  Fortunately we're just having a casual backyard party without the bells and whistles.  Last year we did a big thing at the local pool but we're taking it a bit easier this go 'round.  That's quickly followed by the first real board meeting of the year for our mothers club.  That will be relatively easy, it's just a matter of getting organized ahead of time mostly.  Then, that evening I'm driving most of the way to Yosemite for my girls backpacking trip.  I'll get up Thursday morning and drive the rest of the way.  I'll have to be crafty and organized to keep everything rolling until I get to Yosemite, then I can drop all the mental stuff and just put one foot in front of the other on the trail.  Add to that I'm behind at work so I'm going in next Wednesday (my day off) to do some catching up.  It's my own fault, not being as efficient lately as I should be.  Anyway, if my blogging trails off over the next few weeks you'll know why. 

To get back to the topic of the day (food and exercise, what else is there?), things have been going great.  And if I can hang on tonight and resist the incredibly powerful urge I'm feeling to eat a bowl of cereal (that I don't need), I'll be doing even better.  Monday I went to the gym and rode the bike for 25 minutes.  It's the first time since getting sick that I did my "normal" plan, 25 minutes on level 8.  Whew, it was tough!  I was sweating like crazy.  After that I did chest/triceps/core.  I'd forgotten my workout book and had to try and remember my routine.  I remembered everything but dips.  And I did too many pushups.  Three sets, 12, 10 and 8 reps.  Normally I do 10, 9, 8.  Guess I need to do 12, 10, 8 from now on since I know I can.  Overall my workout was good.

My eating (until this afternoon/evening) was very good.  I've been especially motivated and tracking 100% of my food intake.  Take a look at the dinner I made myself Tuesday evening. 

Black beans, quinoa, zucchini, avocado and pico de gallo...Yum!

I really enjoyed that meal, very comfort foody and satisfying.  I've started cooking my quinoa in chicken broth and it's super yummy!  After work I'd gone to the gym and did a 25 minute run on the treadmill.  I gotta admit, it was a challenge.  I found myself watching the clock.  I probably should have done an outdoor run.  I did my normal 6mph but every 5 minutes I did a 7mph interval for one minute.  After the run I did legs/shoulders/core.  I decided to drop curtsy lunges, I felt just the tiniest twinge in my right knee when I did them.  But that was enough to scare me off them, knees garner a lot of respect with me.  So I'm doing side lunges instead (even though they feel really easy so I'm not convinced they are working anything in particular). 

I've been on this roll of motivation until I made a tactical error with lunch today.  Instead of my normal protein heavy lunch I had a relatively small amount of fried rice.  Point heavy but protein light.  I've learned that my body needs a good amount of protein to stay satisfied.  That left me feeling like eating the rest of the afternoon.  Well, that and being home.  It's SO much easier to stay on track at work.  I did my best to avoid food overload but I managed to tip myself into the red with Points.  Even if I stay within my points tomorrow and do my normal workout I'll still finish the week -2.   I honestly don't care about a measly two points, but I really don't want to make matters worse by eating a bowl of cereal tonight.  I had a very satisfying dinner (chicken breast marinated in curry spices, quinoa, green beans and a bit of Miguel's white rice and avocado) but sometimes once the "eat, eat, eat" feeling gets going no amount of food seems to end it.  I'm not eating the cereal.  There.  It's done, I've decided.

On a more positive note I am on the brink of "normal".  My blog's tagline is "Follow along as I strive to be normal...on the BMI scale anyway".  Well, all that striving is going to be a reality soon.  Could be this week, maybe next, maybe the following...all I know is, it's close.  And I'm feeling a sense of excited anticipation.  When was the last time I was in the normal category for weight?  Probably 15 years ago, maybe more.  And that was a relatively short-lived time in my life.  I've spent almost my entire life being overweight ("obese", actually) and have been on this current journey 5 years, 6 months and 8 days.  Talk about sticking with it.  And I'm being taunted by cereal?  Sometimes I forget how determined I can be.