WI

11/8/09: 152.8
Change: -0.2
Total: -98.2

Woohoo...-0.2 may not seem like much but it's going in the right direcion! Plus, when I got back from my week away, I saw 159.8 on the scale last Sunday so I really can't complain.

I felt like I was back to my self last week. I tracked every bite, counted calories, and worked out pretty hard.

Now I am off on a business trip again this week (leaving this afternoon!) so it will be a challenge. I am prepared though. The Residence Inn was full so I am staying at the Westin instead; which while it may be a bit nicer, I won't have a full kitchen. I'll manage.

I am bringing some granola bars and Trader Joes Fiberful fruit strips; I will grab some fruit and maybe oatmeal from Starbucks in the morning along with my coffee; I'll find a Subway for lunch; and dinner I will watch portions but eat what I want! Oh and of course I've worked out both days this weekend already and am bringing 4 pairs of gym clothes with me!

Work it out

Monday- 10 min treadmill (0.60 miles); 30 min squats/lunges/dumbells/abs/push-ups

Tuesday- 45 min treadmill intervals (4.50 miles)

Wednesday- 20 min stepmill; 20 min dumbells/push-ups/abs

Thursday- 3.5 mile run (35 min)

I used a kettlebell while doing squats and lunges on Monday and after a week and a half of no strength training, Tuesday morning I was sore! I don't know how I managed to do my intervals but I did. It hurt to move the rest of the day though!

Sugar Coma Detox...

So how many times do I write about my love of chips and salty foods on here? Well I don't know what came over me on vacation but I turned into a sweets girl!

Over the week I literally had:
7 cupcakes
40% of a Key Lime Pie
3 dishes of ice cream

1 of the cupcakes was mini at least, LOL! The Ghiradelli ice cream should count as two servings though!

I enjoyed every bite, but now I am ready to go back to normal! Today has been perfect, I will hit 1,600 calories straight on, and had a good strength training workout this morning.

I certainly got in my cardio on vacation though:

10/25- 3.5 mile run
10/26- 60 min walk on the beach
10/27- 6 mile run
10/28- 45 min walk on the beach

Oh and then in San Francisco, my friend and I walked EVERYWHERE. OK so we took a couple cabs, but I mapped out our walks and each day (for 3 days!) we walked anywhere from 6-8 miles! No wonder my feet are still killing me!

If anything, after all those sweets and some other great restaurants/bars, I have lots of new (fun) places to write Yelp reviews for!

6 miles

I cannot even tell you how good it has felt to run outside this week!

There is a 2.5 - 3.5 mile loop (depending on if you run down the dead end street in the middle) right behind my grandpa's condo complex that is perfect for running! It's residential so there isn't too much traffic and it's flat as can be.

I did 3.5 miles on Sunday and almost died. I worked out in the afternoon because by the time I got up and had breakfast in the morning it was too hot. Well I didn't make the best food choices for lunch and dessert (yes, dessert after lunch...ice cream from the BEST PLACE if you must know!) so I am sure that's partly what led to the stitch in my side.

I was a little discouraged but determined to do 5+ miles on Tuesday. I hadn't done more than 3.5 since the half marathon and felt like it was time. 5+ miles on a treadmill is pretty boring so I thought I'd use my time in FL to get that run in.

I did the whole loop once (3.5) then cut out the middle section on the 2nd loop which added another 2.5 for 6 total! I finished in just over an hour...not bad! I left an extra water bottle at the start so on my 2nd loop I ditched the first one and grabbed the second one. Thank goodness I did that because even with my early start it was in the 80's and sunny by the time I finished and I needed all that water!

I really like the treadmill for intervals and working on speed, but for longer runs I much prefer the outdoors.

Do you prefer running outside or inside?

Confession Time...

I'm complacent.

There, I said it. Maybe some of you have seen it coming for awhile, but I didn't want to admit it until recently.

I like where I am right now. 98 lbs (give or take) down, in the best shape of my life, and in the smallest clothing sizes of my life.

Why should I want to lose any more weight?

If I've learned anything the past few months it's that I can maintain. That is a huge relief because I've never maintained my weight before. I've either been in major upswing or downswing modes.

But I know I can do better. I have about 10 more pounds to lose to be in a "healthy" weight range and have a "normal" BMI.

(I was *almost* there back in June when I briefly hit 144 before bouncing back to 155, where I've hovered since.)

While in the best shape of my life, I know I can be stronger. I've done a good job strengthening and toning my arms and legs, but my core could still use a lot of work.

I did well last holiday season (185 around Halloween to 175 by New Years) and am committed to having another successful one this year. Now I just need to come up with a plan of attack to do so...stay tuned!

WI

9/26: 153.0
Change: -0.8
Total: -98.0

Wow just realized I hadn't posted a WI since 9/26! That's almost a month! There were definately a few swings up and down within that time but I'm happy to say it looks like I am headed back in the right direction!

I am going on vacation to Florida and California this week so there will be lots of eating out, but I am going to do my best. The friend I am going to Cali with is the one I visit in Boston all the time and while we enjoy our meals out we never really snack and do lots of walking so I am sure Cali will be similar! In Florida I plan to do some running outside since the weather will be nice and also do some walks on the beach!

Work it out

Sunday- 30 min treadmill intervals (2.90 miles)

Monday- 20 min stepmill, 30 min squats/lunges/dumbells/push-ups/abs

Tuesday- 40 min treadmill intervals (3.55 miles)

Thursday- 10 min treadmill; 20 min stepmill; 15 min push-ups/dumbells

Friday- 55 min spin class

What is the strangest thing you've witnessed at the gym?

Coffee while working out?

I don't get it. I've seen a handful of people doing this at the gym. I can't imagine drinking anything but water or a sports drink while working out.

Thoughts? And what strange things have you witnessed at the gym?

Work it out

Saturday- 13.1 mile run (2h 20m 22s)

Monday- 30 min treadmill walk (1.6 miles); 20 min push-ups/abs/dumbells

Tuesday- 55 min pilates reformer

I actually didn't rest much after the race on Saturday. My family headed up to Providence, RI and spent the afternoon walking around Federal Hill and the Providence Place Mall. Needless to say I slept in (for me!) until 8 AM on Sunday!

As I said, I took "rest week" to heart after Tuesday! Possibly going to a spin class tonight though, which would be great!

Hanging in there

I can't believe it's already Thursday...this week has flown by! I've been working late (10PM) the last 2 nights so I haven't had much free time.

I've been coming to work prepared with my meals/snacks for the day and sticking to those for the most part. Last night I ordered dinner with the team and it was a nice splurge, but definately not something I'll do all the time through busy season.

I am happy to report no binges for the week...I've also been tracking my food again, something I hadn't done for awhile.

I've been hovering around 155 this week without much change despite renewed focus on my eating, but I am not going to get discouraged. I've been taking my "rest week" to heart and have only done light exercise two days. It's been nice but I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym!

ING Hartford Half Marathon Recap

Well I am alive to tell the tale of my first half marathon!

I was up at 6AM and in the hotel lobby at 6:30 to sit down and eat my usual breakfast - a whole wheat english muffin with peanut butter. I should have also had some juice or something; I drank some Powerade Zero when I got up but other than that I didn't drink anything other than a couple sips of water before the race started at 8.

I got my timing chip and bib # the day before, so I wasn't in a huge rush to get over to the start. The race started at the state capital in Bushnell Park where they had all sorts of tents and things set up so I wandered around there with my dad for a bit before heading up to the start.

I was lucky the weather held out and I could ditch my rain jacket before the start!

There were pacers for the marathoners, for every 15 mins or so (ie if you wanted to run the marathon in 3 hrs, 3 hrs 15 min etc all the way up to 6 hrs you stayed with that group), so I decided to start behind all of them.

As expected, once the race started it took me awhile to cross the start line. I later found out that time was about 6 minutes. The first mile was through downtown Hartford which was pretty neat, albeit very crowded as 12,000+ 5k, half marathon, and marathoners got out on the course.

We actually got to run on the highway which I also thought was kinda neat. The first 3 miles went by fairly quickly (I thought), but I was a little discouraged to see 38 mins on the clock when I got to mile 3. At the time I didn't know exactly how long it took me to get to the start line so I guess 32 mins to run 3 miles isn't bad, considering I had another 10.1 to go!

I saw my family at mile 5 and again at mile 8 when the course once again took us through downtown Hartford and along the river.

When mile 10 came I got energized by the fact I only had a 5k left to finish but by mile 11 I could really feel myself losing steam. It didn't help that I could desperately have used some more gatorade/water at that point and it seemed like the hydration stations were so far apart. I had water left in my bottle but wanted to save it because I knew I would need it for the last mile.

By mile 11.5/12 I was just telling myself I had to get through this and finish and that I could rest later.

Mile 12 came and there were more spectators cheering everyone on so that really helped. By the time I got back to downtown Hartford I picked it up the last few hundred yards and finished strong.

The clock read 2:26:42 when I crossed the finish line. That time includes the time waiting to cross the start line. I later found out my chip time (from when I crossed the start to when I crossed the finish) was 2:20:22 so I accomplished my goal of finishing under 2:25:00! My average pace was 10:43/mile which is pretty good considering the distance!

I can honestly say I never wanted anything to be over as much as when I finished this race. I was exhausted. I am proud of finishing and accomplishing my goal, and I would even do another half marathon (next year!), but I am really not sure if I would ever want to train for a full one!

(I had in my head that I wanted to eventually train for a full one but didn't want to commit before running a half - so I am a little disappointed)

If I did things again, next time I would:

-Drink more water or sports drink before the race

-Drink more water or sports drink during the race

-Listen to music during the race (this would have so helped from miles 11-13!

The hydration part is really key because after the race while walking back to the hotel I got the worst calf cramps that I've ever gotten. 2 days later and my legs are still sore. I did a light walk on the treadmill this morning along with some arm strength training. Not planning on running at all this week but will probably do spin once or twice.

Work it out

Sunday- 25 min treadmill (2.60 miles); 5 min planks/push-ups

Monday- 15 min stepmill; 30 min squats/lunges/dumbells/kettlebell

Tuesday- 40 min treadmill (4 miles)

Wednesday- 55 min spin class

Now I'm all rested up for the big day tomorrow!

Goals

2 more days to get through until race day!

I am surprisingly not that nervous, and mostly excited. I feel very well prepared.

I've been thinking about how I want to do - the race is using d-tag timing chips, which I had the chance to use during my first 5k earlier this year. They are pretty neat - they record your total time (from the race start) and also your chip time (from the moment you cross the start line). I am imagining since this is a huge race, and I am not going to be starting up front, I could have a few minutes differential between the two.

Kinda random but I follow Biggest Loser pretty closely, since the beginning, and well, I have a confession. I have a total girl crush on Tara from season 7.

They ran half marathons on the show last year and she finished in about 2 hrs 25 minutes. That's just under 11 min miles.

My training runs have been about that so I am thinking for my chip time goal, I would like to beat her time from the half marathon on Biggest Loser.

Historically my races have been faster than my training runs, but I don't want to get *too* ambitious!

Change of Pace

I am proud to say I am a new member of Equinox!

I had been with New York Sports Club (NYSC) for about 2 years - mostly happy, but lately just wasn't feeling the place as much.

-They closed the Norwalk (most convenient) location,
-the locker room at the Stamford one I was going to was going a little down hill and getting too crowded in the morning.
-Loved kettlebells but not worth an extra $200 for 8 classes

I just didn't feel like I was getting my money's worth.

I started doing some research, and to my surprise, found out there was an Equinox right down the road in Darien!

I had NO CLUE it was there. Although more $$$ (about double NYSC), they:

-have a better class schedule, (spin 3x a week @ 6AM, kettlebell classes included, mat pilates on the weekend, etc)
-leave kettlebells out on the floor for anyone to use (keep them locked up and for the small group training classes only @ NYSC)
-the locker room is AMAZING and spotless, (like a spa)
-they provide nice towels that actually fit around you and have good products in the shower,(my gym bag just shrunk in half now that I don't have to lug a towel and shampoo/conditioner/body wash around with me)

As a gym rat, I have no doubt I'll be getting my moneys worth at Equinox, while feeling pampered in the process!

(ok, so maybe I'm a gym snob!)

WI?

Soooo maybe you noticed I didn't post a WI yesterday...that's because I woke up in the middle of the night and ate most of a bag of Cheetos puffs and then fell back asleep until 8AM and was out the door to my parent's house by 8:20 so I could go up to MA and visit family.

Needless to say, my eating has been completely out of control for the past few weeks. I'll go a few days fine and then lose it and buy a few bags of chips and dip and candy and/or get chinese or pizza and go way overboard.

I don't know how to explain binge eating to people who don't understand it. In the time I gained about 80 lbs (Spring 2006 through Fall 2007), most of it can be attributed to binge eating. I would eat "normally" around other people but sneak food into the house and eat junk late at night locked in my room by myself.

I hate that these habits have been slowly making their way back into my life. I have worked so hard to lose the weight these past almost 2 years.

I am happy to say the last two days, despite being on the road, have been better. No binges. I've eaten more than necessary, but there hasn't been any "secret" eating of junk.

I am also happy to say that I think I have gotten it out of my system. I've been alone most of the afternoon today since I got home and instead of buying junk and eating I went to the gym and grocery store, and just cooked an amazing dinner...

Grilled honey mustard boneless pork chop
Mashed acorn squash with a smidgen of butter & brown sugar
Stuffing
1 slice cranberry sauce
Salad with grape tomatoes and light vinaigrette

Reminded me of Thanksgiving, sans turkey (not a huge fan of turkey!)...

I have my meals for tomorrow mostly planned out (in the city for work with a happy hour afterwards!) and my alarm set for 5:15 so I can hit the gym before hopping on the train.

Oh,that reminds me....I have some gym news, so stay tuned!

Work it out

Sunday- 4.75 mile run (50 min)

Monday- 15 min elliptical with arms; 35 min squats/lunges/dumbells/push-ups/abs

Tuesday- 45 min spin class

Wednesday- 12 mile run (130 min)

Thursday- 45 min spin class

Friday- 40 min treadmill intervals (4 miles); 5 min push-ups/planks

It was POURING out Sunday so I decided to hold off on my planned 12 miles. I just didn't think it was a good idea since I'd never run in the rain before...and 12 miles on a treadmill? No thanks! I figured it would be a good idea to get some experience in the rain though (you never know, it could be pouring the day of my half marathon!) so I headed out to do 4 or 5 miles. I won't lie, it wasn't my favorite run, but after a mile or two, you really can't get any more wet than you already are so it got a little better after that!

I hadn't done the elliptical in FOREVER so on Monday when I wanted to spend the majority of my work out on strength training, I warmed up on the elliptical. I tried to really push myself because I think of it as an "easy" machine and when I got off I was dripping with sweat! (not a pretty picture, lol) I kept the resistance around 8-10 and the ramp from 9-13.

Glad to say the 12 miles Weds went well! I hid a 2nd water bottle along my route and that was key!

My pledge

This year I pledge not to eat one piece of Halloween candy**.

I mean, really, it's no fun anyways. Not like Easter where there is "special" candy that only comes out at that time of year (Cadbury mini eggs anyone?)...I can eat a Snickers, Milky Way***, or Reeses Peanut Butter Cup any time I want to during the year.

And who decided that "Fun Size" meant miniature? I respectfully disagree.

So I will stay out of the Halloween aisle and keep enjoying my regular desserts for the month of October. There is nothing wrong with dessert, as long as you know what types of food are "safe"and what types are trigger foods. It's different for everyone!

Who's with me?

**It helps that on Halloween night I will be taking an 11PM red eye flight home from San Francisco!
***by the way, did you know a Milky Way bar is 280 calories!?! A Hershey bar is only 210!

Homemade pizza!

I have read about Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough but never tried it - so on my trip there this weekend I made sure to pick some up.

Tonight I made really yummy homemade pizzas for dinner and lunch tomorrow! Here is what you need:

1/2 package of Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough

2 tsp olive oil

1 shallot, minced

1 tsp minced garlic

1 c button mushrooms, sliced

1.5 oz pancetta

3/4 c crushed San Marzano tomatoes

2 oz fresh mozzarella cheese

Split up the 1/2 package of dough into half again and set aside for 20 mins in a bowl on the counter.

Preheat oven to 425F.

Heat olive oil on the stove with the pancetta, about 2 mins, until starting to brown.

Add garlic, mushrooms, and shallots and cook for another 2-3 mins.

On a floured surface, roll out 2 things of pizza dough. Once rolled, put on lightly oiled baking sheet.

Add crushed tomatoes, pancetta/shallot/garlic/mushroom mixture, and mozzarella cheese evenly across both things of pizza dough.

Bake for 7-10 mins until dough looks crispy and cheese is bubbly.

This was SO GOOD! I am a sauce purist, I don't like a lot of Italian seasonings (basil, oregano, etc) in my pizza sauce so the crushed tomatoes worked perfectly as sauce for me...and San Marzano are the best kind! I can only find them at Whole Foods and Costco near me.

Here was the end result:

Results

9/26: 153.8
Change: +4.4
Total: -97.2

2 steps forward, 1 step back. It's my eating that needs to get under control. Stress isn't helping...luckily I'll be making some changes over the next couple months to cut down on it.

For now I'm going to just keep working out strong and taking baby steps with the food. It's not a race; I'm always going to struggle with food and I can accept that! It's no reason to get more bent out of shape!

Work it out

Sunday- 11 mile run (120 mins)

Wednesday- 3 mile run (30 mins)

Thursday- 30 min kettlebell/dumbells

Friday- 3.5 mile run (35 min)

I can't believe I took two days in a row off! I am not concerned about Monday - the 11 miles really did me in on Sunday!

Tuesday though, I was just dragging and making excuses. I know myself well enough to know that I won't work out at night when I get home from work. If I don't work out in the morning, I won't work out!