A Bunch of Bull

So I just read an article that really chaps my hide. "Diet" items from Taco Bell, meals from Chilis, and many other restaurants have way more calories and fat than advertised. I'm bummed :(

From the article:

"TV stations all over the country recently got together and tested a bunch of dishes from chain restaurants and fast food places to see if the nutritional information they were advertising actually matched the food. The report targeted menu options from chains such as Applebee's, Macaroni Grill, Taco Bell and Chili's that were marketed as healthy. So did the calories in the food match the calories on the menu? Nope. Of the items tested, all but one were way over on calories, or fat content... or both.

For example, the Pollo Magro Skinny Chicken from Macaroni Grill was supposed to have 500 calories and 6 g of fat. It actually had 1022 calories and 49 g of fat. (This total includes the bread and huge vat of cheese that comes on the side) Chili's Guiltless Grill Salmon claimed to have 480 calories and 14 g of fat when it actually contained 664 calories and 35.5 g of fat. Taco Bell's Fresco Grilled Steak Soft Taco is billed as having 160 calories and 4.5 g of fat. Watch out if you plan on eating a few of these, because the sample they tested contained 297 calories and 19.6 g of fat."

Click here to go to the site.

On to other not so happy news. I weigh-in today. I hopped on the doctor's scale at work yesterday afternoon and it looks like I'm up 2 pounds. I never allow a full on melt-down until the real weigh-in but I'm prepared for a gain. I hope it's less than 2 pounds though. And I know what's caused it. No exercise, not tracking, poor food choices. This past week I ate a pint of Häagen-Dazs dulce de leche light ice cream (you gotta admit, that ice cream looks good), a huge bowl of Kettle Corn popcorn, and other stuff I can't remember. So, I am going to start tracking today. I think I said that last week but it didn't stick. This time it will.

Buuut, I'll admit I'm not feeling 100% on my ability to do that because we're going camping this weekend! Woo-hoo! I love camping. The food choices I make while we're camping might be kinda iffy though. It's obvious already I'm giving myself permission to make questionable choices. I need to think about that tonight while I make up the menu.

So, I'm off to my meeting. I'll post an addendum when I get back.

Update: I gained 1.2 pounds. Not bad, right? Hopefully it will be gone by next Thursday. AND, when I went to the gym yesterday I was able to jog for 15 straight minutes, so I'm getting there! Tonight I'm running errands with Miguel preparing for our camping trip. Super Excited, that's me!

Slowly...But Surely, right?

Good Morning Party People!! How's everyone in the blogosphere today? Anyone notice what's missing in my picture? Yep, my glasses. Forgot 'em and didn't realize it until I was in my car. Good thing my vision's not that bad. But I guess if it were I wouldn't be forgetting them.

Anyway, on to more important things. Thank you to all of you for your words of encouragement and support. You know when you are overweight and out of shape you get this false fantasy in your head that when you lose weight and get in shape things will be perfect, and they aren't. They are better though. But we still face struggles and get down in the dumps and it's so nice to have support.

Kristy - you are the best cheerleader in the world! thank you.
Flo - thanks for keeping tabs on me and wishing me luck.
Amy - I appreciate the confidence you have in me, I need it while mine is low.
Misty - you are a serious inspiration to me and thank you for visiting my blog! If you ever want to talk about your new career I'm available.
Jesse - you're right, I think those endorphins are like my Prozac, thank you for pointing that out. Oh, and I ended up making chicken kabobs and they were goooood.

Ok, here's the update. I went to the gym on Monday after work (without Miguel, he was running late and I just had to get there). I did 15 minutes on the elliptical and other than a slightly higher than usual heart rate it went fine. I went to do the jog with the idea to jog for 15 minutes (I was up to 25 before). About 3 minutes in it started to feel really hard. Here was my thought process.

minute 3: you can do this! you will jog for 15 minutes. think of Irene who can't jog right now, do it for her!
minute 4 (when I start dying): ok, Irene would tell you to stop. no point pushing yourself right out of the gate and then not being able to walk tomorrow. just go for 5 minutes.

So I jogged for 5 minutes, walked for 2 and then jogged for 5 minutes again. Honestly I was disheartened but I'm hopeful I can come back. The thing is my tri is in 4 weeks! That means I have three weeks to train. And I haven't even been on a bike ride yet. So I went to do weight training and instead of doing 3 sets of everything I did 1 set. Core work and stretching and I headed home to make my kabobs (they were so yummy by the way). I felt really good about having been back to the gym.

Last night I went to the Terra Linda Pool, a city rec center pool. You can see the lap pool in the background. They have adult lap swim from 7:30pm - 8:30pm. When I first started swimming it was hard and I felt scared I'd lost so much endurance and strength. It got a little easier and I felt a bit better. Still, after 45 minutes I was done and I used to swim for 1.5 hours. Don't panic, Michelle. Calm down. It felt good to be back in the water but I felt a little lost without Jean. Also, the pool was deeper and I'd gotten used to swimming in a shallow pool, made me realize the lake swim is going to be a whole different ball of wax.

I have REALLY GOOD NEWS! I don't know if I mentioned it before but we had some problems during our Mother's Day spa weekend at the hotel. It was basically a lot of small issues (hot water problems in our room, reservation problem with our brunch, etc) that added up. We didn't let it ruin our weekend but it was enough that I wrote a letter to the hotel and expressed my dissatisfaction. Well, guess what?! The director of operations called me this morning and they are giving us a FREE SUITE! Yay! We are getting a Saturday night stay in a suite for mom and I, two free brunches, and use of the Spa on Saturday and Sunday. Woo-Hoo! I'm so friggin' excited!!!! This time I'll be able to use the fitness center and swim in the pool and and and...super yippee yay!!!

Alright, I really need to get to work. Shhhh, don't tell my boss I'm writing this at work. Not that he'd care, he leaves us to get our work done and doesn't bother us unless we don't, which I looooove. I'm going to the gym after work today and plan to do a similar routine as I did on Monday. Hopefully by next week I can do my full routine.

What Works?

Warning: whiny, self pitying, unmotivated post ahead.

That really made you excited to read this I bet. Damn, I feel like crap. I feel big, fat, aimless, out-of-shape, and in-a-funk.

So I got up this morning for work and my whole body just said, "Whoa, what is all this movement? Why are we not going downstairs to lay on the couch?" My body feels like I haven't moved in months, my lower back hurts, my legs feel heavy and I'm tired. Just tired. Is this how I used to feel all the time? No wonder I sat my ass on the couch for so many years. Anyway, I'm just down, my spirit is down, my umph is not there. As they say, My get up and go got up and went. Isn't this a pitiful state of affairs? Don't say I didn't warn you.

I keep reminding myself that I've been in this situation before. I've been sick before and had to come back, I've been unmotivated before and had to wait it out. Ok, what's worked in the past? Miguel going to the gym with me. So, call Miguel and ask him to meet you at the gym after work. Done. He and I have a date. What else? Read blog entries from when I felt strong and motivated. Will do this tonight after the gym. Eat clean. Hmm, what can I make for dinner? What can I eat that will make me feel healthy and strong? Shrimp or Chicken Kabobs with Quinoa and steamed vegetables. That's what I'm going to make.

Alright, I think I justed posted a plan to get my Umph back. If I follow that, I will come back. It's hard to fathom right now but the past tells me this will work. Thank you for listening.