Food, Drink and Fun

Has it only been four days since my last post?  Seems like that was weeks ago.  I think that's because I've packed quite a bit of activity into these last few days.  On Friday evening my mom came over and helped me make an English trifle for a welcome baby party I was co-hosting the next day.  I was perfect and didn't take one bite while making the trifles.  I had my fair share of tastes.  I did my best to guess how to track it.  By the way, I had to skip the color run for this party, which was fine. The color run seemed more fun than run for my taste anyway.

On Saturday morning my trifles and I went to the party.  It was a brunch and there were all sorts of yummy stuff, including a french toast casserole.  Have you ever heard of such a thing?  Oh my, seriously good stuff.  In addition to that we had quiche, fruit salad, yogurt and granola, pastries...and the trifle of course.  Oh, and bacon!  How could I forget the bacon.  I definitely indulged.  If I don't lose the whole 3 pounds I gained last week then I will probably blame the brunch.  That and the alcohol, but that comes later in the weekend.  Want to see my trifle?  It's a crappy cell phone pic but you get the idea.

Layers of yummy goodness.  And hey, there's some fruit in there so it's not all bad.

After the shower I went shopping.  Trying on clothes was a definite boost that helped alleviate any negative feelings I had about the brunch food.  I don't feel guilty/shameful/bad/etc after I indulge but I don't feel that extra good feeling that comes from eating on plan.  And by plan, I mean my own plan.  If I'd not gone back for that extra piece of bacon (or two) and some other nibbles I would have kept that extra good feeling.  I'll have to try to remember that for next time.  That's something the Beck book reinforces a lot, "remember, you'll feel better if you follow your plan."  The good thing is, I didn't go crazy with the food, just a tad more than I needed.  And I ate pretty light for the rest of the day to balance things out, which was helpful.  Sheesh, we're still on Saturday?!

On Sunday I spent the morning at home with the kids before heading to the gym in the afternoon.  I did a run from the gym around that neighborhood and I really pushed myself to run fast.  That 4th of July run convinced me that I'm capable of more than I thought.  I didn't have my garmin with me so I had to map the mileage later.  I ran just over 2.8 miles in 25 minutes.  That means a pace of 9:10 per mile, which is 6.5mph.  Damn girl!  When I stopped running I felt sick, like I might throw up.  Guess that means I was pushing pretty hard out there.  I have to be careful not to set this as the new standard though, I don't have the mental energy to run that hard all the time.   After the run I did chest/triceps/core for strength training.  I threw in a few extras to mix things up - held the plank for longer, did a side plank twist thing.  I've been feeling like I need to make some changes with my strength training routine, I've been doing the same thing for a while now.  More on that in a bit.

After the gym I had to get ready quick for a concert. Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney!!!  You might not find this sad but I was bummed I didn't have any tight jeans to wear.  Too big and saggy.  But hey, at least I was comfortable.  I brought a healthy burrito to take with since vendor food was not on the agenda.  The concert was awesome!  We left town a tad later than we'd planned and then there was a ton of traffic so we missed the opening acts but Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney didn't disappoint.  And Steve Miller joined in on the fun too!  I went from Phoenix, Arizona all the way to Tacoma, Philadelphia, Atlanta, LA.  Oh my gosh, we had so much fun dancing and singing the night away.  Tim didn't sing my favorite song though - Don't Take the Girl - which is probably good because it's not exactly an upbeat song and I was in an upbeat mood!  And I have the pictures to prove it ;)

Pre-concert. Erica, me, the other Michelle and Monique.  Don't we look harmless?

Still looking civilized.  Thanks for a SUPER fun time ladies!

Look at that body!  My friend said he's been working out 3x a day on tour.

Starting to unwind a bit.  And...this is the last picture I'm posting.

What fun!  I had a few drinks but stopped a couple hours before we left since I was driving.  It was perfect - enough alcohol to cut loose but not so much that I had a hangover.  I tracked as best I could between the alcohol and the tailgate snacks I ate on the way home (tortilla chips and cheddar cheese).  After the three pound gain last week I'm trying my darndest to stay within my points.  It's just hard when there's all this food, drink and fun to be had!  And don't tell me food and drink aren't all wrapped up in the fun, sometimes, it's a package deal, right?

Monday morning came bright and early after the late night.  A while back I purchased a groupon for a one month pass and a free training session at another gym.  After work I went to that gym and did 25 minutes on the upright bike before meeting the trainer, Bridgett Sullivan, for the session.  Best training session ever.  I told her what I wanted and she delivered.  I told her I was getting bored with my routine and that I wanted to learn some new moves I could mix in with what I'm already doing.  It was a whirlwind of activity as she taught me probably 10-15 new exercises.  And they were almost all free weight/body weight exercises, which is, again, what I asked for.  The only "machine" we used were the cable weights.  The only bummer was that my left hamstring tightened up early on in the session so I was kind of limited in what I could do after that.  Still, I learned a lot.  I'd love to walk you through each new exercise she gave me but it's getting late.

Today, Tuesday, I was home with the kids (my daycare provider is closed).  Thankfully my mom came over to see the kids so I was able to go to the gym.  I did a 25 minute run on the treadmill.  My hamstring is still a bit tight so I didn't push myself too hard.  I did 6.0mph with 6.5mph at every 5 minute interval.  Then I did 6.5 for four of the last five minutes.  My glutes were sore from the training session the day before but it was the good kind of sore.  After the run I did back/biceps/core.  I did a few new things Bridgett taught me including bent over rows while standing on one leg with the other leg straight out behind me (video example), Bicep curls/shoulder press done with a step up to a bench on each rep (video example), Swiss Ball exchange (video), and some other stuff I couldn't find YouTube examples for and can't explain.  It was great to be doing some new stuff and I'm looking forward to trying out the other stuff she taught me.  Tomorrow is a rest day and I'm sure my body needs it.  I'm supposed to do legs and shoulders on Thursday.  We'll see if my hamstring is up for the task by then, it's still a bit tight.

Oh geez, it's almost midnight.  You know these kids won't let me sleep in past 7am (6:30 if they're bad, 7:30 if they're angels) so I'd better call it a day.