February 12, 2013

Running it off

Yesterday was day 155 of being binge-free, but it was extremely difficult. I'd been doing so well with having nut butters in the house and not overeating them, but the past few days have been extra hard. Then yesterday, well, I almost ruined my binge-free streak.

I had some fun with InstaCollage, so I made a storyline of what happened... ;)
When I first tried Trader Joe's Cocoa Almond Spread, it was love at first bite. I did great spreading a teaspoon on an English muffin here and there. Then yesterday, I was putting away dishes, when I impulsively grabbed a spoon, went to the pantry, and took a spoonful of it (one serving, 2 Tbsp--which is 6 PP).

Then I thought, "Well, I know I have some extra activity PP, so I'm going to have another." I grabbed another spoon, and took another serving. I planned to be done, but I impulsively took a third spoonful. When I put it all into my tracker, I saw that it totaled 17 PP for 3 servings, and that I'd actually gone OVER on my total PP for the week. I was so mad at myself for doing that!

I texted Andrea (from my Ragnar team) and basically asked her to talk me out of bingeing. Even though I'd only gone 5 PP over, in my mindset, it felt like 100. I had that brief moment of, "Well, I already screwed up, might as well keep eating!" Thankfully, Andrea talked me out of it, and told me to get rid of the almond spread. I knew throwing it away wouldn't work, so I put dish soap in it and then threw it away.

I was still feeling mad about having my PP be in the negative, though. At around 7:00 pm, I decided to earn my 5 activity PP by running on the treadmill. It could have waited until today, but I just wanted to be able to go to sleep last night NOT having my PP in the negative. So I hopped on the treadmill and ran until I'd earned 5 PP--enough to take me back to 0. It was a rough run, so I definitely learned a lesson (and as a bonus, I got to take a rest day today since I got the run done last night instead).

And because of my issue with the nut butters, I've decided to give up sweetened nut butters for Lent. I'm not Catholic, but I do like to challenge myself to give something up if it's a problem for me. I've been getting too "spoon happy" with the White Chocolate Wonderful peanut butter, the Biscoff Spread (not technically a "nut" butter), and the Nutella-like spreads, so I'm going to stick to unsweetened spreads at least until after Lent!


Today, I got a very exciting package in the mail. A jacket that I ordered from Ragnar--I wanted one SO badly in Florida, but they were sold out by the time we got to the finish line :(  So when I got an e-mail saying that they were offering free shipping, I took advantage of it and ordered the jacket.


I'm so glad I did--It's SUPER cozy and perfect for running!


Jessica told me about a recipe a couple of days ago, and I was very skeptical to try it, but I'm so glad I did. It is this recipe for Two-Ingredient Cookies. The two ingredients are just quick-cooking oats and bananas!

I'm not a huge banana fan (I like them, but I don't love them, and I really have to be in the mood for them). People always tell me to try making "banana ice cream", and I've tried it, but I don't care for it. Banana has this overpowering flavor, so when you use it as an ingredient, it makes everything taste like bananas.

I made the cookies into a single serving, and here is what I used:

3/4 of a medium banana (roughly 80 grams)
1/3 cup (33 grams) dry quick-cooking oats
1.5 tsp. mini chocolate chips
1.5 tsp. shredded coconut
1 packet of stevia (the recipe doesn't call for sweetener, so you could certainly leave it out, but I wanted my cookies to be as cookie-like as possible, so I threw it in).

I just mashed the banana, and added the rest of the ingredients, stirring until it came together. I formed 2 cookie shaped patties and put them on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. I baked them for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees, and to my surprise, they turned out like actual cookies! I guess I expected them to be mushy and not hold together, but that wasn't the case at all.

Even though I'm not a huge banana-person, I really liked them! They definitely tasted very banana-y, but in a good way. Kind of like mini loaves of banana bread. Today, I tried them with Craisins instead of the chocolate chips, and I liked that even better! If you read the comments on the original recipe post, there are tons of ideas for mix-ins to change it up. (I didn't calculate the calories, because it totally varies by what you mix in to the cookies).
With coconut and Craisins... so good!


If you haven't entered the Special K giveaway, make sure you check out yesterday's post. I'll be randomly picking a winner tomorrow. A quick update--I just learned that the gift card is going to be a $100 Visa gift card (not Wal-Mart card, as I wrote yesterday). Good luck!

23 comments:

  1. There must be something in the air that is making us want to binge. I've been battling it something fierce the past two days. I'm glad you called a friend. I prayed and prayed and went to a neighbor's to see their new puppy. It's so hard when those urges hit. Seems like nothing but stuffing your face will make them go away. :(

    I just tried those cookies a few days ago (saw them on Pinterest). I added some PB2 and shaved dark chocolate. They were alright.

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  2. I know what I'm eating for breakfast tomorrow!
    Awesome job not bingeing! That "ah screw it, might as well keep going" thought process has been getting the best of me lately, but I will try and overcome it too! Thanks!

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  3. I love all nut butters, too! I've actually been documenting my quest to find the perfect nut butter and intend to add it to my blog soon. I would have a hard time controlling myself around chocolate-flavored nut butter, too.

    And super cute jacket! I'm doing Ragnar Chicago this summer and can't wait!

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  4. It's awesome how long you've been! Today is day 7 for me, and just making it through a weekend is hard! Thanks for the banana recipe I'll try it soon.

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  5. Did you calculate the PP for the cookies you made?

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  6. Katie,
    Could you discuss how you planned what you ate when you first starting losing weight? If I read correctly you didn't exercise (or run) until you lost 60 pounds. I'm very interested in the 'how' and the struggles when you were first starting out to lose weight and weren't the running machine you are now. My journey is just beginning and I'm very interested in how you survived and thrived in the beginning. thanks!

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    1. Honestly, I just ate the same things I was eating before, only I counted the Points/calories in them. I found that the trick to sticking with it was eating things that I enjoyed--if I tried to force myself to eat salads and grilled chicken every day, I wouldn't have lasted very long! The hard part for me was not binge eating--learning to be satisfied with a smaller portion than what I was used to.

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  7. Good for you for getting out of the negative! Those cookies look yummy...I might have to try them :)

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  8. Good Job on getting rid of the nut butter! I know it sucks to have to throw money away but your health is worth it! After I saw your recipe on facebook yesterday I asked hubby to make me some (i had just got off a 12 hr shift) and he did, so delish! today I was too lazy to make the cookies so I made it into oatmeal instead. I cooked the bananas in the oats to soften them then added the chocolate chips and coconut afterwards, super yum!

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  9. Yum! those cookies look awesome. :)

    http://therealfoodrunner.blogspot.com

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  10. That cocoa almond spread is soooo good! We have two nut allergies in the house so I can't really have it around but I did have some last year because my daughter was away at college and I kept it in the garage during the winter and could have it when I was home alone. (daughter's allergy is the worst, husband's allergy isn't as bad) My daughter is studying abroad until April so I was seriously thinking about getting a jar of it again but I haven't been able to get over there yet so I guess I won't be! I applaud you for filling it with soap, I don't know if I could have done that!! Single serve treat recipes are the best!

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  11. Love it all...the cookie recipe, Ragnar Jacket, and you detailing how you made it through a binge! Good job!
    I've never made a single serve treat recipe before but I'm definitely going to try this one!

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  12. Love your honesty. Makes me feel a little better about all the times I slip. Dish soap in the nut butter? Genius! Love your new RAGNAR jacket, glad you finally got it. I'm going to make those oatmeal/banana cookies for breakfast. They look amazing.
    Now I want to think of something to give up for Lent just to see if I can do it since I'm not Catholic either. Seems like it would be a good test. I've really been struggling lately and regained a few pounds. I thought about you tonight. You and your binge free streak. I had a GOOD day today but I was worried I would ruin it tonight by snacking too much yet again. But I didn't want to ruin my first really good day in quite a while. And then I thought to myself. "This is how Katie feels about her binge free streak. It's really important to her to keep it going." You inspire me all the time. Just thought you should know.

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  13. Loved this whole entry, start to finish. Great job running it off! Great jacket! Great recipe I can't wait to try!

    Also not Catholic, I'm giving up the snooze button for Lent. It makes the challenge seem like there's an end point, even knowing that the goal is to modify a habit.

    Your journey has had such a positive influence on my whole life- just the inspiration I needed. I'm so glad I found your story. Thank you!

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  14. Great job coming out of that binge! It's so hard sometimes. I'm glad you had a friend to talk you down.

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  15. Good idea, with the dish soap. That was what the Biggest Loser team did when they were stuck in the room with all the food, they poured orange juice all over everything. Genius.

    I have not been great OP this week and have a trip this weekend.

    The Kidless Kronicles

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  16. I don't know if I could throw it away, especially since Chelsea eats those things, too. It would take as much strength to throw it away as it would not to eat it! I'm giving up chocolate candy. I have a bag of kisses in the house that were SCREAMING at me yesterday when I was so stressed out about several things. For the first time in a long time I didn't buckle.

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  17. Good job reaching out for help with the potential binge! For Lent, I decided instead of giving something up, I'm going to aim for working out at least 3 times each week.

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  18. Those cookies look delicious!! I'll have to bookmark this post and try them - after Lent. Until them I'm living vicariously through you.

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  19. Also, before I clicked on the post, I thought your little blue guys were Cookie Monsters. :)

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  20. Your insta collage made me laugh right out loud! I knew right away what the jar with the soap in it was!

    I LOVE the Ragnar jacket - WELL earned Katie - and you look SMOKIN in it!

    As for Lent - I gave up Diet Coke. Diet coke is my frosted cookie. I'm already feeling the withdrawl effects. I think the hard part for me right now is getting out of the mind game that "I've give up so much this past year already". I KNOW I have - but look how much I've earned. Why do I always go back to that? wonder if I will always have the fat chick mentality? I know I'm still a fat chick - but I'm a much healthier fat chick! :-P Oh - and by the way - it's official! I am registered for the running clinic and I WILL be starting the slower paced running group! I"M SO EXCITED! (and nervous) BUT MOSTLY EXCITED!

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  21. I have these in the oven right now! Psyched to try them. I added PB2 to the batter, and made the chocolate chip variety

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  22. Thank you so much for posting this - I can totally relate. Cheese is my downfall, good, grass-fed, raw dairy cheese. I can (and have) eat a whole block without blinking, then wonder how that was possible!

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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