March 01, 2013

A true run for cookies

Early this week, someone tagged me in a photo on Instagram (for the life of me, I can't find it now--I tried!) It was a photo of a cookie sandwich (two cookies with buttercream frosting sandwiched in-between), and she said that she had saved up 20 PP all week to eat that cookie.

I love that people think of me when they eat well-earned cookies! ;)  Anyway, it looked SO good, and I decided right then and there that I was going to get a cookie sandwich after my long run this week. Yes, I could have just used my weekly PointsPlus to get it on any old day, but for some reason, indulgences like that taste so much better after I've worked hard for them.

I thought about that cookie all week, and that is the only reason I was looking forward to my long run today. It's actually kind of pathetic how much food motivates me, hahaha. Anyway, I had it in my mind to run 12 miles. I don't know why I've been picking 12 lately for a long run.

I debated whether I should do the treadmill again, so I could watch Sons of Anarchy; or if I should run outside. Running outside is always preferable--it's better practice for racing, I feel like it's harder so I get a better workout, and it's not nearly as boring. So, despite the fact that Jax was calling me to watch SoA, I decided to run outside. The temperature was great for running, there was no slush or snow or rain, or anything like that, so I had no other excuses.
As soon as I headed out, I realized, "Oh--it's pretty windy outside!" But I felt like I was running at a decent pace (my Garmin was under my sleeve, so I couldn't see my pace without some effort). A few miles in, I felt like I was running too fast--I was getting tired, so I figured I'd better slow down. But first, I checked out my pace to see how fast I was actually going.

9:10/mile. What the heck?! I hardly ever see miles in the 9's anymore. And I felt like I was running so hard. The wind was ridiculous, and even though I was putting in a lot of effort, I felt like I was running in place at times. I wanted to get my overall average pace below 9:00/mi, so I pushed harder. After a couple minutes, I looked down again--9:03.

Then it was a challenge to get my pace under 9:00. But it seemed like no matter how hard I ran, the pace wouldn't drop below 9:01. I was so tempted to turn around early and make it a shorter run today, but I kept thinking of that damn cookie sandwich!

After running out for five miles, I made a right turn and the wind was now coming sideways instead of right in my face. That helped a little. I ran one more mile and turned around to head home. It was a relief to have a tail wind for most of the run home! You can definitely see from my mile splits when I had a head wind and when I had a tail wind:
I'm just hoping that I have a nice, calm day when I run my half-marathon next month. I was so glad to be done:
See the little white spots on my headband? Those are ice crystals from where my sweat froze! I compared this run to last week's 12 miles on the treadmill, and saw that I finished four seconds faster today than on the treadmill, but my heart rate was much higher today. Usually, for a long run outside, my heart rate is about 145. Today it was 157, which shows how hard this run was today.

As soon as I went in the house, before I showered or anything, I wanted to see how many Activity PP I earned from my run. I plugged the ActiveLink in, and was shocked at what I saw:
I'd earned 19 PP and it wasn't even 10:00 in the morning! I think I actually did a happy dance when I saw that. Surely those 19 PP would cover my cookie sandwich, right?

First, I showered and then headed to Weight Watchers before going to Mrs. Fields. Hahaha, two opposite ends of the weight loss spectrum, no doubt. I was terrified to go into Weight Watchers--the last time I went in there was when I left really upset at being treated rudely by the receptionists.

I kept praying that there would be different receptionists there today--normally, I go on Thursdays, so I figured going on Friday, maybe I wouldn't have to deal with it. I walked in, and the ONLY two people in there were the two receptionists that I had an issue with a couple of weeks ago. From the moment I walked in, however, they were super nice and friendly. I don't know if they read my blog, or maybe they were just having bad days all the other times I saw them, but they were super nice today.

Also, when I weighed in, I didn't get any comment on my weight--which I was grateful for. Later, I looked at it and saw that my WW weight was down over 4 pounds from two weeks ago. Whoops! I forgot to rehydrate after my run today before weighing in, so I'll probably be up next time. Anyway, I got my weekly materials, and a new code for the e-tools, and was on my way. I'm going to plan on going to my meeting on Thursday, and hopefully I have the same (good) experience.

Next, I stopped at the mall and went straight to Mrs. Fields. I already knew what I wanted--a chocolate chip cookie sandwich--and went home after that. I was so tempted to start eating it in the car, but I wanted to sit down at home and really enjoy it, so I tried to have a little patience ;)

I also needed to calculate the PointsPlus in it before eating any of it. It was roughly the size of my palm, and I figured it probably wouldn't even add up to the 19 PP that I'd earned. I took the top off, and weighed just the cookie (63 grams). Then I weighed the other cookie with all the frosting on it (114 grams). Since there were two cookies, that meant there were 126 grams of cookie, and 51 grams of frosting.

The WW website lists a Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookie as being 48 grams in weight for 6 PP. Since my cookies were 126 grams, I was having 16 PP worth of cookie. Then I looked up butter cream frosting, and the 51 grams of that came to 7 PP. So 16+7=23 PP for the cookie sandwich.

I was surprised it was so high! I know cookies and frosting are pure junk food, but it honestly wasn't ginormous. Regardless, I'd earned every bite of that cookie, so I savored it. It was heavenly! And I didn't feel any guilt for spending that many PP on junk, because I worked really hard for it.

It was pretty rich, and after eating the whole thing, I felt a little nauseous. Not horribly, but I probably should have split it in half and ate half of it after dinner or something. I can't believe I used to eat two of those (at least) when I was obese. And I honestly didn't even enjoy them as much as I did this one. It's funny how that works!

19 comments:

  1. Yay! Go cookies! I don't blame you for wanting it the whole way home, I'd be taking nibbles the whole time!

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  2. You've gotten quite speedy and should destroy that 2 hour half marathon goal! Just relax on race day and it'll be all good. :)

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  3. I was surprised when I read your post today! Just yesterday, I was looking up Wendy's fish filet sandwich nutrition facts so I could figure out how many points one would be! I don't know why I like those things, but I do - alot! Fortunately, they are only available during Lent and I usually have one each year. Next week I'm going to make sure I earn enough activity points to have one!! I don't know yet which day but I am so looking forward to it!!
    When you are a Lifetime member at goal weight do you get the e-tools free? I would like to get the points plus calculator app on my phone but I can't because I don't subscribe to e-tools. I'm a Lifetime member but I haven't been in a few months; I've just been doing it on my own after I went to a meeting and got all the program materials. I might be under the top number of my goal range (I am without clothes!) so I should probably go to a meeting again and find out. I've been trying to find out on the WW website but there really isn't much info for Lifetimers, as has been discussed on your blog lately.

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    Replies
    1. I would like the answer to this question too, I am also lifetime and would like to use e-tools but don't want to have to pay for it.

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    2. Yes, e-tools is free for Lifetime members who weigh in at or under goal every month. They give you a code to enter, which lasts for two months. An awesome benefit to reaching Lifetime! (We still have to pay for the Active Link subscription, however, which is $5/month)

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    3. This is great info--Thanks Katie! I LOVE your site. It is on of the few that I make sure to read every day. I am doing WW online right now trying to get off the rest of my baby weight. (I've done meetings in the past, but it works better for me now to just do it all online.) It is going soooo slow...I need to get back to running more. I workout to videos at home, but want to get back out running too. Thanks for all the motivation!

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    4. Thank you! It seems like that info would be easy to find on their website but I sure couldn't find it!
      Without clothes (TMI!), I am 3 lbs below the top number in my range so maybe I will see if I can come in under fully dressed this week.

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  4. I love seeing your stories about the treats you earn and use activity points on. It shows you don't have to cut all those goodies out completely as long as you account for it. I just need to get to the point where I can splurge on one treat and not crave it for the rest of the week.

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  5. You make me laugh with the "the weather was great for running" comment...I'm like "Oh, no, it's 60 and windy I better run inside"...LOL. That's crazy that your sweat froze! I can't even imagine that here in TX!

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  6. Stuff like that DOES taste so much better when you know you earned it and it is on plan. I use to eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it and never enjoyed food like I do now!

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  7. Yeah on the run! Uck on that cookie though. To much sugar for me (now) not 3 months ago though. I would have eaten that one in a flash. LOL

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  8. I am so curious about this whole Mrs. Fields -thing. I haven't ever visited there (I am from Europe), so when I come to NYC for a week in April, I make sure to go to get a cookie from there. Haha. I will be thinking about you then!

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  9. I made cookies for the people I work with yesterday - and barely ANY of them got eaten. And now they are sitting here staring at me. I guess this is a good lesson in will power, even though I did have a weak moment yesterday. Today they are going in the trash. You are right; they are PURE junk.

    I guess my experience was a little backwards. I ate the cookie first and then made myself go to the gym to work it off, almost like a punishment. I think earning it would feel better!

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    Here is my page ... at home workout programs

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  11. I know what you mean about food that used to be an every day thing but is now an indulgence. There is a lot of food I can't eat anymore because it makes me feel bloated and nauseated, and I can't eat as much as I used to (nor do I want to). I also feel like it's more of a treat now if I eat something junky, whereas it was just an every day thing in the past.

    I'm so grateful my relationship with food has changed. It took a while, but it's so much easier now that I've passed through that transition. I still want to binge sometimes, but it's nothing near what I used to do every day before I started losing weight. Now, a binge is more like a pint of berries, two Hershey kisses, and a bowl of cereal... random stuff like that instead of tacos, a pint of ice cream, and mac & cheese.

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  12. Wow, it was 30 and windy here yesterday but I was afraid to go outside so I did my seven miles (longest run yet) on the treadmill... but now I wonder if I could have braved it! Do you have any recommendations on cold weather gear? I only have capris for running - no pants, and I only have a Nike "therma fit" hoodie that is 100% polyester.. no other cold weather gear... and the wind felt so cutting. Any suggestions would be awesome!

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  13. The cookie looks fantastic! I've never seen a Mrs.Fields so I'm going to have to look for one next time I'm in a bigger city!

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  14. Wow. It really makes me reconsider some of the crap I eat. A 12 mile run didn't actually cover what looks like an innocent Little Debbie's snack, unless it's maybe bigger? Please say yes! Palm-sized?

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  15. That cookie doesn't even look good right now but I also didn't just run 12 miles lol. I'm on a bit of junk overload from the weekend anyways. ;)

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