The 80's Want Their Chips Back

This week is going pretty good so far.  Two days down, five to go.  Yesterday I hit the gym after work and rode 25 minutes on the upright bike, level 8.  It was a challenge, my legs were burning at times.  I thought I had legs/shoulders/core afterward but when I finished I opened my workout log to see it was back/biceps/core - Yay!  My legs were happy to be mostly done with their part.

I was a bit pressed for time but it felt like happy hour at the gym.  It wasn't too crowded but there were a lot of regulars there that I've gotten to know some and everyone seemed chatty.  Or maybe it was me.  Anyway, I spent a few minutes trying to talk a new-ish runner into the Kaiser half-marathon.  I don't think he was going for it but maybe in the future.  Later he was chatting with this super-fit woman I'm always trying not to stare at.  So I introduced myself to her and told her how much I admire how fit she is, "You made my day" she tells me...nice!  She's a mom of two and her muscles are all, "Bam!".  Lisa, don't want to forget her name.  And then another guy (a more hard core lifter type guy) commented on my workout log, "those are good for the beginning."  I explained how this has been a post-baby comeback but that I was strength training before too, not so much a newbie anymore as I am neurotic.  That and I can't remember all my exercises having three different body routines and two core routines. 

Then he asked if I switch things up regularly.  Busted.  No, not nearly enough.  I do the same exercises week after week, month after month, until I'm sick of them.  Then I meet with a trainer, or find something online, to mix things up.  Since we were talking I asked him if he had any idea why my quads are not getting stronger.  I've been lifting 35 pounds on the leg extension machine since I re-started back in July 2011.  After some trouble-shooting he concluded I need to strengthen my hamstrings more. 

He showed me an exercise which is basically like using a  leg curl machine but with a dumbbell.  You lie face down on a bench and then lift up a dumbbell between your feet and curl your legs up.  Straighten your legs and that's one rep.  I liked it, especially because I feel really cool while I'm doing it, which always helps the mojo.  So I'm going to add this to my leg routine.  At first I thought I should drop the Swiss ball hamstring roll I do but I don't want to lose the gains I've made so I think I'll drop that down to 2 sets and then add 2 sets of these.  That's an overall increase of 1 set so maybe I'll drop something else - like the Plie squats or the side lunges - because my leg/shoulder day is already too packed.

So I wrapped up my exercise with some good stretching before rushing home.  Ate a quick dinner and then back out the door for grocery shopping. Somewhere along the way I started craving ice cream and potato chips.  I decided to get one of those single serving ice creams (thank you to whoever decided to start selling those!) and picked a Skinny Cow chocolate fudge.  But that didn't address the chip craving.  At the checkout I ended up grabbing some Funyuns - yep, the onion flavored chips that I associate with the 80's for some reason.  It's been years since I've had them and was feeling curious.  I started eating them on the way home and thought, "yep, should have left these in the 80's" and made a plan to dump the rest when I got home.  But after eating my ice cream (which had a "diet food" flavor and was disappointing) I went back to the chips and ate them all.  Ugh.  Should have dumped them, I actually didn't enjoy them all that much.  Nothing worse than wasting calories on mediocre food.  What I should have done was get a full calorie ice cream and skipped the chips altogether.  Next time. 

By the way, I blame this whole fiasco on my super low weight of yesterday morning.  I hopped on the scale and for some unexplained reason I was 140.8 pounds.  Huh?  Eat too much, skimp on exercise and lose weight?  Whatever.  Just goes to show that the scale doesn't know the whole story.  But I think that low number made me feel entitled to indulge.  Which is not generally the way I like to operate.  Besides, I "indulged" on crappy food I didn't enjoy, double whammy. 

Today will be better.  No chips, no ice cream, just a good clean eating day with a little running thrown in for good measure.  I think the training plan calls for a 4-miler.  Yes sir, I'm on it!

Holiday Indulgence

This whole Holidays thing is hard on the healthy eating!  This past week has been lackluster in both the eating and the exercise department, but not in the fun department!  At least something is going right.  The week started off well enough with my run last Sunday.  But then life got hectic and I didn't exercise on Monday or Tuesday!  Can you imagine?!  Monday was because I left work late and then spent the evening Christmas tree hunting.  I figured my cold wasn't really going away so maybe it was for the best.  Tuesday conspired against me as well but I rolled with it.  I rarely miss workouts and maybe my body will be happy to have some rest. 

Wednesday evening I had a mother's club party at my house, a holiday cookie exchange.  I spent the day getting ready for the party and then the evening enjoying my mom friends.  On Monday evening I'd made some mint chocolate squares for the exchange and I couldn't stop eating them so I was glad to be giving them out.  At the party I had a glass of champagne and maybe two glasses of wine.  And I munched on the party food, which wasn't too unhealthy but wasn't exactly low calorie either.  Fortunately all the cookies were claimed so I wasn't left with a pile of cookies to resist. 

The big news in relation to me is, I wore a sleeveless dress!  I was going to put a cardigan on over it but my friend Michelle said, "It looks good like it is but I understand your issue with your arms."  Something about her saying that made me figure, what the heck, I'm going to drop this "issue" with my arms and wear it without the sweater.  I wish I had a picture of myself in the dress, it's so fun!  Next time I wear it I'll try to remember to snap a picture.

Ok, I just decided to take a few minutes to put the dress back on and take a picture.  You do have to have more than a grain of narcissism to be a blogger!  You can't tell from the picture but the dress is a black/white houndstooth pattern.  The dress was a clearance find, down to $25 from $118.  Even better!

Took my bare arms out in public (sort of, the party was at my own house)

Thursday was back in the gym but it was rushed.  I only had time to run 2 miles on the treadmill.  I ran at 6.2 for five minutes, then upped it to 7.2 for one mile, then back to 6.2 for the last few minutes.  Then I did chest/triceps/core.  Just as I was leaving Miguel texted me that he could pick up the kids.  So I went back to the treadmill for a quick half-mile at 7.2mph and then took a few minutes to stretch.  Good stuff!

Friday was a day off with Miguel.  The kids were in daycare and we enjoyed a day of hanging out.  We eventually made it to a diner for lunch and I ate a pretty big meal of an omelet, hash browns, toast, and pancake with butter and syrup.  Sometimes you just eat. After our lunch I stopped in to a WW center to weigh in.  My official/personal morning weight was 142.2 pounds but I was worried that with that huge lunch and wearing jeans my WW weight might be pushing 147.  Nope, 145.2.  And I got the materials on the new WW360 program (though I've barely glanced at them).  Good enough for another week of maintenance.  And I found out I don't have to weigh-in for 6 weeks to get to lifetime, you only have to weigh-in 2-3 times (the woman wasn't sure which) during that 6 week window.  Nice!  That means the one week I missed won't mean a 7 week wait to get lifetime (and free meetings!)

Anyway, I was still full come dinnertime and planned to skip it altogether but then I ended up taking the kids with a friend out to the mall for a free ice skating show.  The kids had to eat so we went to Panera and I ended up having dinner despite barely being hungry.  I had a half turkey, bacon and avocado sandwich (260 calories) and a cup of chicken noodle soup (80 calories).  And some of the kids' cookie.  Not too bad.  I loved that all the menu options had the calories posted.  Makes it so much easier to make a decent decision.  Wish ALL menus in the world had this. 

Yesterday was a day off from exercise.  I was hoping to make it to an 8am WW meeting to hear the deal on the new WW360 program.  But it didn't happen, so good thing I got the materials.  As I understand it the Points/tracking are not changing but they are emphasizing routines, places, habits, etc that are related to a healthy lifestyle.  I love it!  There's more to maintaining a healthy weight than what you put in your mouth. 

Anyway, Saturday morning was my mother's club Holiday Party.  I went early to help setup.  My food intake was super snacky at the party and all day, it was one of those days where I felt like I couldn't stop eating!  Crackers, cheese, cookies, crackers, cookies, etc, etc, etc.  You get the idea.  I'm going to need to eat clean this week to keep my weight in check.  I feel like I've been off track for over a week with the food intake. 

Last night I went out dancing with my girlfriend Michelle.  We hit up the local pub that was having a 90's dance party/toy drive.  It was so much fun to put on our jeans and make-up and hit the town.  Once we'd had a couple shots of tequila the dancing was non-stop until we left at midnight.  All in all I'd had two shots of tequila and one light margarita.  Oh and we also had a small order of jalapeno poppers to keep our stomachs happy.  

Today I officially started my training for the Kaiser Half Marathon on 2/3/13, which is 8 weeks away.  I did a 6 mile run from my house, actually a bit over 6 because I made a route where I ended at my car I left at the pub last night.  6.29 miles in one hour, 9:36 pace.  I felt good during the run and used some of the time for positive mental reinforcements, "I want this, this is what feels good, I want this healthy body and I'm willing to work for it."  I can't tell you enough how much difference I think it makes to force the positive thoughts.  Hopefully this will help with the eating this coming week.  I have no social plans so nothing to tempt me. 

So the Kaiser plan is much like the Livermore plan.  The only thing is I might (and that's a BIG might) do a midnight 5k on New Years Eve.  Just sounds like a good way to start the year.  Only I'm not sure I can stay up until midnight!  Anyway, here's the plan:

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
1 (12/10 – 12/16)	Bike + strength	4 m run	Rest	3 m run + strength	Bike + strength	Rest	7 m run
2 (12/17 – 12/21)	Bike + strength	4 m run	Rest	3 m run + strength	Bike + strength	Rest	8 m run
3 (12/22 – 12/30)	Bike + strength	4.5 m run	Rest	3 m run + strength	Bike + strength	Rest	9 m run
4 (12/31 – 1/6)	Bike + strength	4.5 m run	Rest	3 m run + strength	Bike + strength	Rest	8 m run
5 (1/7 – 1/13)	Bike + strength	5 m run	Rest	3 m run + strength	Bike + strength	Rest	10 m run
6 (1/14 – 1/20)	Bike + strength	5 m run	Rest	3 m run + strength	Bike + strength	Rest	11 m run
7 (1/21 – 1/27)	Bike + strength	5 m run	Rest	3 m run + strength	Bike + strength	Rest	10 m run
8 (1/28 – 2/3)	Bike + strength	4 m run	Rest	2 m run	Bike + strength	Rest	Half Marathon

When I was training for Livermore those Tuesday runs stayed at 4 miles for almost the whole time.  We'll see if I actually up it to 5 miles this time.  I'm starting to formulate my pace goals for the half.  More on that next time.  Hope you are getting out there and working toward the body, and life, you want!

No Time for a Cold

Almost a week since my last post?  I guess being home with sick Myra threw me off my game.  I stayed home with her Tuesday and had another quick gym visit after dinner.  I ran two miles on the treadmill and then did a modified chest/triceps/core routine (remember, rest/recovery week).  I did ok with the eating that day but in general I feel like I've been a little too carefree in the eating department this week.  It didn't show in my weight on Friday but I think it will catch up with me by next Friday.  At least I have a little wiggle room in that department.

Wednesday I was home with both kids and the weather was funky.  And I started to get sick myself.  By the time we were done with dinner I was exhausted. Too many days cooped up in the house.  Thursday I popped some cold medicine and hit the gym early in the morning because I had a super busy day ahead of me at work.  I did 20 minutes on the bike followed by back/biceps/core for strength training.  It was a nice little workout, despite the slight cold symptoms. 

Friday was another busy day at work but I managed to get to the gym before heading home.  I ran two miles in 18:27 and then did legs/shoulders/core.  That wrapped up my rest/recovery week.  Oh, and I lost weight again this week. I'm down to 141.8 pounds.  I'm not trying to lose weight, I'm just eating the way I've been eating (and then some this week) and seeing where my weight wants to settle.  I haven't been "dieting" in months so I see no reason to change the way I eat.

Saturday was a busy day.  The whole family slept until 9:30am, something that has possibly never happened.  Bunch of early risers around here.  Anyway, I took the kids to playgroup. After playgroup I brought the kids home for lunch.  I made a really good chicken soup with leftover chicken.  Homemade food is always better than processed, and you get more bang for your nutritional buck. 

After lunch I went back out with Marek for some grocery shopping while Myra napped.  It's so easy taking him out by himself.  I marveled at how he actually did almost everything I asked of him.  That's not usually the case when we're at home but at the store he was an angel.  I think it's a treat for him too to be out-and-about with just he and I. 

After the grocery store I took him home and then went out for a couple hours by myself shopping.  It was a day off for exercise.  While I was out Miguel hung Christmas lights, when I got home it was dark and the house looked so sweet.

We were going to get a Christmas tree this morning (Sunday) but instead we spent the morning cleaning up the yard after a big storm last night.  We had a nice day hanging around the house.  In the afternoon I went out for a run.  The weather had cleared and it was just a beautiful time for a run.  I'm not sure how far I ran but I ran for about 35 minutes.  And I ran hard.  I wish I'd had my Garmin on because now I'm really curious how fast/far I went.  Oh well, not super important I guess.  After the run I did some pushups and dips and held a plank for one minute.  That was all I could come up with to do on concrete.

That's all I got.  It's Sunday and I'm ready to get out of the house and away from all this food!  I hope my cold clears up soon, I have another busy week ahead!  No rest for the wicked.  I hope you had a fun weekend and kept yourself busy doing things you enjoy. 

Cheese Puffs, Ice Cream and Bakasana

Last night was rough.  Myra got sick on Sunday and was up four times last night with a fever.  I stayed home with her today and we both muddled through the day.  Being home all day is hard when it comes to food!  I just wanted to munch, munch, munch.  I had my normal breakfast (Kashi Go Lean) but a couple hours later, after an apple and string cheese, I had a bowl of Miguel's cereal (Frosted Flakes).  I also snacked on all of Myra's snacks (crackers, cookies, etc), although I kept it to one or two.

We had to run out for more children's Tylenol and I resisted all the junk I wanted to buy in the drugstore.  But I didn't resist fast food and picked up a 2 piece meal at KFC for lunch.  While I was ordering I noticed the calorie range on that meal went all the way up to over 1400.  Wow!  I can't imagine which choices for the two piece meal could be that many calories.  I got it home and they got the order wrong, instead of extra crispy they gave me original recipe.  So I ate the thigh and decided that since it wasn't my favorite I'd leave the rest of the meal for Miguel.  Plus I was still a bit freaked out by that calorie count.  I just checked and the thigh had 250 calories (extra crispy would have been 340).  But since I've never counted calories those numbers don't have a ton of meaning to me. 

Not too long after that I had another bowl of cereal.  This time it was Nature's Path Optimum Power (whatever that means) Blueberry Cinnamon Flax.  I got a sample at the Marin Triathlon and I actually liked it.  I bought it to use as my weekend cereal.  Let's see...I'm pretty sure I ate some other stuff but I can't remember.

Myra was crying more and more so I finally decided to take her to the doctor, despite knowing they were probably going to say it's a virus.  And it was, a type that includes mouth sores.  So I stopped at a drugstore on the way home to pick up ice cream for her and was still feeling munchy myself so I bought a bag of cheese puffs.  Yes, cheese puffs.  I think I was just tired and cranky myself after being home all day with a sick baby.  I ate most of the puffs on the way home but when I got home I read the bag and noticed the whole thing was four servings!  What happened to the good old days of double serving bags? (let alone single serving).  One serving had 160 calories, that x4 seemed like a lot.  So I dumped what was left, hopefully about one serving, in the garbage disposal.  It's never too late to make a new decision.

But...moving on.  I ended up eating a 1/2 of an avocado and a bowl of Myra's ice cream (rainbow sherbet) for dinner.  Oh dear.  Things just went from bad to bad to bad when it came to my eating today.  I was hoping to get to the gym, though by the time Miguel gave me the green light to go I wasn't feeling a lot of pep in my step.  But I changed clothes and went anyway.

And good thing because I had a great workout!  This is Week 4 - a rest/recovery week.  I started with 25 minutes on the upright bike followed by legs/shoulders/core.  I did a lower level on the bike and fewer sets of my normal stuff.  But when I was done I still felt an energy buzz and decided to run.  I hopped on the treadmill with a plan to run for 5 minutes at 7.2mph.  But as the minutes ticked off I decided, "why not make it a mile?"  I wasn't sure if I could do it but I did.  One mile in 8 minutes, 27 seconds.  Whew!  I went to stretch and somehow started messing around with the crane pose.  I've never been able to hold it before but today, voila!

Bakasana (Crane Pose)

I've only taken a handful of Yoga classes over the years but this pose has always seemed so cool to me.  I'm sure my form is terrible, I think my knees are supposed to be in my armpits, but I was sure able to hold myself up there!  This stuff never gets old.

Myra will probably need to stay home again tomorrow so I'll have another chance to make better choices.  We'll see.  Today's choices weren't stellar but they weren't absolutely horrible either, just not very good nutrition-wise.  I was hungry when I came home from the gym (what, 1/2 an avocado and sherbet isn't satisfying?!) and in an effort to balance out all the crap I munched on green beans.  Like I said, it's never too late to make a new choice. 

p.s.  how do you like my new header?  I love it!!  Thanks to all my facebook peeps for approving!!

Wrapping up Thanksgiving

I worked on Friday, and to be honest, it was a nice break from all the holiday food.  After work I did a little shopping at a local second hand store that was having a sale.  I got a bunch more clothes in my current size.  I also got a winter jacket and a zip-up hoodie.  It's nice to have clothes that fit.  Especially when you've worked so hard to get smaller.  After that I went to the gym.  I didn't have much time at that point but I started with 25 minutes on the upright bike, which is my normal routine.  After that I did back/biceps/core for strength training.  I couldn't finish everything in time but I did most of it.  I was just happy to get there given the holiday weekend and all.

Saturday was a day off from the gym.  We lounged around the house all morning and then took the kids on a short hike to a little waterfall.  It was a gorgeous day. 

Boundless energy!

The area was so beautiful it reminded me of movies I've seen.  The trail had a gradual incline leading up to the waterfall but hardly any sections that you would call steep.  Perfect for the kids but also, it occurred to me, perfect for running.  I made a mental note to come back for a short trail run sometime. 

Taken with my camera phone but you still get the idea.  Gorgeous, right?

The kids made it the whole way with only being carried a little bit.  They played in the water for a while, we just let them get as wet as they wanted.  It's only water, right?

Free-for-all!

After the hike I was starving!  We took the kids to a local taqueria for a change of pace after all the Thanksgiving related food.  I ate A LOT.  I had a bunch of chips, salsa and guacamole while I waited for my nachos.  Not just nachos, super nachos.  At least I had them with black beans and shredded chicken.  But I'd eaten so many chips I could only eat about 1/2 of it.  It was good but I made a mental note to eat a light dinner.

In the afternoon I went to my friend Michelle's house to look at the official "After" photos.  I was SO happy with them!  So many beautiful pictures, it's going to be hard to choose the one I want for my blog header.  I might have to post them here and ask for opinions.  Here's one of my favorites that wouldn't work as a blog header.  By the time this blog makeover is done you're going to be sick of looking at me!

Yours truly

In the evening Miguel and I went out for a date night.  I'll admit, I was dragging a bit so our first stop was a coffee shop for a small latte.  We just lazed around there for a bit before going to Chipotle for a quick bite before the movie.  I had the kids taco plate, which is the perfect amount of food.  And then we saw Argo.  Interesting movie, I liked it.  Slept like a baby once I was finally in bed.

Today I was up and out early to shoot some photos.  Then off to the soccer field to meet Miguel and the kids.  We watched the first half of his game and then headed home for lunch.  I had my last Thanksgiving leftover meal, turkey, some mashed potatoes (no gravy) and brussels sprouts.  And I had a few bites of pumpkin pie with whipped cream. 

When Miguel got home I got ready to go for a run.  This is a recovery/rest week so I didn't want a long run.  I remembered the trail, the weather was still nice, so I went for it.  The trail was so short I parked down the street to add some mileage.  The run in that direction was all with a slight incline.  I was working hard!  Once I got on the trail, the slight incline continued almost the whole way to the waterfall.  I just reminded myself that the run back was going to be fun. And it was!  I felt like I was running so fast!  Here's all the news that's fit to print.

Mile 3 was the payoff!

The incline made for a nice challenge, I'll do this run again for sure.

After the run I debated going to the gym and in the end decided to go and do some core work for fun.  I got there and thought, "what can I do that will be fun and different?"  Burpees!  I did a set of 10, man they start off so easy but get hard pretty quick!  I ended up doing sets of burpees and sets of core work in between.  I stretched and then headed for home.  What a fun little workout!

I wish I could tell you I ate healthy the rest of the but the darned pumpkin pie kept calling to me!  Ah, I know I'll be ok as long as I get right back to my routine tomorrow.  And so far I'm still all good on the scale front so I'm not going to worry about it.  That's it...I'm off to bed.  It's 9pm and I hope to be asleep by 9:30.  Night all!