Thursday & Friday

I had two really good days. Nothing really exciting to report. I am still staying at about 1300 calories. I didn't workout either day. That is the one negative thing. I am going to start a running program. It is called "Couch to 5K". Sounds like what I need. It eases you in and it doesn't require you to run every single day. Here it is if anyone is intested:
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

I had a small victory that I thought was noteworthy. I went to a birthday party for my nephew. They had pizza and breadsticks and cake. I didn't eat ANY of it! I had a snack in my car so I knew I was not going to starve. It got a little intense at the end because I was really hungry and it all smelled so good. I felt so much better after I left...even though I felt a little angry and deprived when I was turning it down. It helped me to stay focused the rest of the day, too.

I was talking to my friend, Suzy, who is also in the diet battle. She had some excellent thoughts that have helped me. She struggles with going "on" a diet and then "off". It is the whole yo-yo dieting thing. We lost weight together the first time so we know each other and are very similar in some of our struggles. She said that she is now going to try to go for a healthy lifestyle instead of a diet.

To me, a healthy lifestyle includes a lot of deprivation and missing out on things that everyone else gets to eat. Well, her approach is a little different. She is trying to stop the cycle of "this is my last day before the diet so I need to eat as much as possible because I will never eat this again". Then you start your diet, have a few good days, and "fall off the wagon". She is going to approach it like, "this is not the last cookie I will ever eat...I don't need to eat 5 of them." If you aren't "on" a diet, you can't go "off" your diet. So if you have 1/2 of a cookie, you can be satisfied in knowing that it is not the last cookie you are going to eat.

This is a good way for the weight to come off slowly and steadily. I really needed a good detox from my very unhealthy choices so the 2 weeks of "dieting" works for me. But as I move forward, I know I am not going to keep this up for a long time. I am going to try this. I have always thought of myself as an "all or nothing" kind of person. I am going to experiment with this next week. If I go overboard and allow it to be permission to eat whatever I want, then I will know. But I think this is something I can do. We'll see. I will still try to maintain my daily calories, though. Sorry about all the rambling. I don't even know if this made sense.

Wednesday

Today was good. Woke up sooooo sore from all the exercise yesterday. Even though I was in pain, I kind of liked it. It made me feel like I accomplished something. I got 30 minutes on the treadmill and stayed within my calories. I can feel myself slipping on the strictness of meals. I have been eating a smaller breakfast and more snacks (healthy ones). I don't know if this is good or bad. But my calories are staying around 1300. I made cookies yesterday and I ate a little of the dough but no cookies.

I need opinions on this one. I heard Jillian say on the Biggest Loser, that it is best to eat 3 meals and one small snack between lunch and dinner. I thought it was best to have 5 or 6 small "meals" throughout the day to keep your metabolism going. What does everyone think about this one?

Tuesday

Today went pretty good. I got tons of exercise. I walked on the treadmill in the morning, then discovered that Dane took my keys to work with him...so I had to walk Hailee to school. Then I wanted to see if I remembered the Turbo Kickboxing workout that I used to do...so I did that for 40 minutes. Then I had to pick Hailee back up from school. My body is a little sore but I feel good. And the food has been easier today.

I DID have a little slip tonight. One thing I know....it is NOT okay to bake cinnamon rolls and try to resist them. You CANNOT fill your house with the smell of cinnamon gooeyness and just ignore it. I ate a small cinnamon roll. But I stayed within my calories so I am not beating myself up too much about it. The real challenge is going to be tomorrow when I have to make cookies to take to Braden's school...not so sure about that one.

After working out that much, I had to add an extra snack into my day. I was truly hungry and running out of energy. I forget that if I work out a lot, I need to increase my calories just a little. I can't function if I am only eating 1300 calories and burning 500 of them. My menu was pretty boring. I want to change it up a little but I am still trying to figure out how to budget for extra food I am not used to buying. I don't care what anyone says, it costs more money to eat healthy...especially when you have kids at home who still eat normally. I guess I have to just deal with a boring menu. That's okay...I fell so much better this week than I have in a long time. My body is starting to feel less sluggish and more healthy.

Weekend and Today

The weekend went okay. I ate at Cafe Rio on Saturday on a date with my sweetie. I am happy to say I did not pig out like I wanted to. I didn't even finish my small tostada. I just stopped when I felt full. It also helped that I was talking the whole time (poor Dane) so I felt full before I stuffed my face. I felt good enough to go to Spoon Me and try out a yogurt with fruit. I felt really good after because it is not sugary frozen yogurt...it is actual yogurt and good for you. If I would have been going for ice cream, I would have been disappointed but after not eating any treats for a week, it tasted like heaven.

Sunday was a little sketchy. I just didn't keep very good track of my meals and snacking. Since our church is out at noon, we tend to come home and just snack the whole day. I was DYING to bake treats...that is what normally happens on Sunday. I didn't bake anything but I DID have some chocolate. Our family plays a little game sometimes. We shake dice and if you get a 7 or 11, you have to dress up in winter coat, hat, boots, and gloves and eat a piece of candy before someone else rolls a 7 or 11. I ate about 4 pieces but if that is the only treat I had all week, I feel okay about it.

Today was a lot easier. I got up an ran on the treadmill. That seems to make all the difference in the world. If I can just get my butt into gear, I feel so much better the rest of the day. I didn't have any strong cravings today. I followed pretty much the same meal plans as last week except we went to Subway for dinner tonight. I feel like I am detoxing. I am not in a fog and the choices are getting a little easier. Hopefully I will just feel better and better each day! Good luck to all my blogging buddies! Love ya!

Day Five - I'm Alive

Thought I'd spruce up my title. Sorry for the lameness. I couldn't get out of bed this morning because I had a NyQuil hangover. I am starting to get a cold and my head was pounding from being congested. I went to bed at 9:30 but I always struggle the next day after I take NyQuil. At least I slept well. Still fighting the urge to pig out - happy to say the worst thing I've done is I had a Fiber One bar with my snack this morning. But overall I have been proud of myself. Here is the day so far:

Breakfast:

• 1/2 c. cereal 80
  
• 1/2 c. milk 40
• egg white veggie omelet w/ cheese 130
• 1/2 banana 35

Snack:

• 1/2 c. cottage cheese 90
• Wheat Thins 120
• Fiber One Bar 140

Lunch:

• Soup 180

TOTAL SO FAR: 815

Glad the eating is over. No more choices to make. I went a little over today but it could have been disastrous if I would have eaten everything I wanted. The rest of the day went as follows:

Snack:

• Wheat thins 120

Dinner

• Salad 100
• 1 slice homemade pizza w/ spinach, mushrooms, & Canadian bacon 300

TOTAL: 1335

Day Four

This morning I didn't wake up to go running but I knew I was going to be home all day. So I decided to try out the Fitness channel. It was okay. I discovered that the strengthening and toning exercises are better than the cardio ones. I tried a cardo kick boxing and didn't even get out of breath one time...waste! So the videos are good for every once in a while but I want to try to stay on the treadmill for the most part.

I wanted to get a count of my calories so far. It's been really hard this afternoon to stay focused. My body is craving sweets so bad.

Breakfast:

• oatmeal 150
  
• 1/2 c. milk 40
  
• 1/2 c. blueberries 35
  
• 2 scrambled egg whites 50

Lunch:

• grilled chicken sandwich 320
• fruit smoothie 120

Snack:

• Fiber One Bar 140

So Far: 855
I hope I can make it through the rest of the day...it seems like 2-5 is the hardest time of the day for me. I think I am in the habit of just eating to eat at that time...so it's way hard. Especially when my kids are pounding down snacks. I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.

Finished the day off with:

• 1 hamburger patty 250
  
• slice of cheese 80
  
• tomato, lettuce, pickle 30
• 1/2 apple 40

TOTAL: 1255

Day Three...Blah.

That's how I'm feeling about dieting today....blah. I knew today would probably be the hardest day, and it was. My body is in serious withdrawal from not eating sugar. I am craving anything with sugar in it or white bread. I am happy to say that I didn't give in. But it was sheer will power. Hopefully it gets a little easier. I don't know if I can be so strong day after day. Here is the report:

Breakfast:

• 1/2 c. cereal 80
• 1/2 c. milk 50
• 2 scrambled egg whites 50
• 1/2 apple 50

Snack:

• wheat thins 120
• 1/2 c. cottage cheese 90

Lunch:

• 1 c. minestrone soup 80
• clementine 50
• yogurt 60

Snack:

• 1 c. cereal 100
  
• clementine 50
  

Dinner

• Grilled chicken sandwich 400
• yogurt 60

TOTAL: 1240

I was off on my calories yesterday so I looked up all of the food on my menu today. I also got up and walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes this morning. Next week I am going to try to do a training program - from couch to 5K in 8 weeks. I think it will be good for me to follow a plan instead of just winging it.