Weekly Recap

While I haven't been doing AWESOME at my Summer Challenge, I've definitely been doing better than I would have if I wasn't doing the challenge...

-I logged 24 miles this week.
-I've yet to do a sugar-free Tuesday. Yesterday, I almost put myself in a sugar coma instead.
-I posted my weigh-in on Wednesday.
-I did strength training at least twice (maybe 3 times). I'm loving how this makes my feel!
-My weekly goal was to eat a DIFFERENT breakfast every day. I was successful at that!

I think my favorite breakfast was the blueberry pancakes. My least favorite was probably the oat frittata with cocoa + coconut butter (pictured in the center of the top row here). It was amazing in my head when I thought it up, but then when I put it together, it just wasn't very good.

I was STARVING shortly after I had the peanut butter toast. The bran flakes with blueberries made me feel full the longest. I learned that I definitely prefer unsweetened almond milk to unsweetened coconut milk (I tried the So Delicious coconut milk because it was on sale).

The breakfast thing was kind of a fun challenge. I REALLY need to try this with lunch. I'm notorious for eating the same thing for lunch every single day for months and months until I move on to something else. I don't think I'm ready to try this as a challenge yet however!

Tomorrow I'll weigh in and post my new weekly challenge.

What is your favorite breakfast?  Mine is definitely oatmeal when I allow myself enough calories to add stir-ins and toppings. Lately, I've been trying to keep breakfast calories down a bit though.

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Oh, hell.

I am never allowed to buy chocolate chips again.

Chocolate chips + almonds, chocolate chip cookies, plain handfuls of chocolate chips... The bag is empty now and I am full.

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A perfect run!

My kids went to church with my parents this morning, and I decided to use my alone time to go for a run outside. I was getting a little worried that with all the cross-training I've been doing lately, I would have forgotten how to run! Not really, but I thought maybe I would have lost the ability to run. That doesn't make sense either. Well whatever, I wanted to test out my running legs after all the incline walking I've been doing the past few weeks.

It was the PERFECT RUN. Seriously, the best run I've ever had. Not because of my speed or distance or anything like that. Just the way my body felt while I was running, and then the way my mind felt too.

I turned into one big ball of happiness as I was running today. I thought I'd end up going about 3 miles, but I was feeling so good that I decided to keep going... and I wound up doing 6 miles. That's the farthest I've run since the half-marathon over a month ago.

Hmmm... I don't have any good pictures for this post. So I'll show you an old running picture--this was during the Ragnar Relay in August 2010.

The most unflattering running picture of me that I have. While I was running today, I was feeling pretty much the OPPOSITE of how I look in this picture :)  FYI, I was sooo hot with bad stomach cramps during that leg of my run.

The weather was perfect for a run this morning. About 55 degrees and overcast, with a nice breeze. Everything was still and quiet with the exception of tons of rabbits and squirrels going about their business. I started counting rabbits and lost count at 15! My legs were feeling so strong (maybe all the incline walking, squats, and lunges are doing some good?) and I didn't even glance at my Garmin to check my pace. I didn't care how slow I was going--I just wanted to ENJOY my run. And I did!

The whole day turned out to be gorgeous. I went for a walk with the kids later, and then read a book outside for a little while. Then I cleaned out my Jeep, which was looking really dirty on the inside. Jerry's bringing home pizza for dinner--I know, not the greatest choice, but I'm in too good of a mood to care much right now :)  And I burned 670 calories on my run today!

What is the strangest thing you've come across while exercising outside? I once got a used condom stuck to my shoe. True story.

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Nerdy Weight Loss

It's amazing, the thoughts that run through my head while I'm exercising. It's like my brain has run out of things to think about and now I've gotten to the end--the bare bones of thoughts. Be forewarned, this entry will probably hurt your brain. It has a lot of numbers and math stuff.

A lot of people ask me questions about how many calories they should burn each day and about creating calorie deficits--I usually give them the simple advice to stop worrying about the numbers so much and just use common sense.

Eat smaller portions, healthy food, and move more and you'll lose weight.

Confession:  I *love* math. I love numbers and calculating all things weight loss. You should see my Excel files.

So while I was on the dreadmill, I was thinking about how doing it at an incline burns more calories than flat. And then I started thinking about how MANY more calories it burns, and how long it would take me to get to my goal weight if I just made that change alone. All the while, I was doing the math in my head. And this made me excited.

I figured that at 149.5 pounds (goal being 133), with 3500 calories in a pound of fat, I am 57,750 calories above my goal weight. So, with a combination of eating less than I need to maintain weight and exercising to burn calories, once I reach that number of 57,750, I should be at goal :)

Now, I KNOW that weight loss never works out nicely in the numbers games. Sometimes you do everything right and you gain weight or maintain. BUT, I just think it would be a fun little mind game for myself to reach for that number of 57,750.

I wonder how much this will set me back in the calorie bank?

I've been enjoying tracking my miles, and moving my ticker up every day--closer and closer to my goal of 270. So I think it would be fun to track calories expended too. I think it would give me something to strive for; a reason NOT to pig out on cookies; and especially, when I binge, a reason to get right back on track. If I binge, I'd just have to set my ticker back a little.

After consulting waaay too many BMR calculators, I've decided to use 1700 as my baseline for calories per day. If my total calories for the day are less than that, I get to add the extra to my "bank" on my ticker. Also, any intentional exercise that I do will get added to the bank. For example, if I eat 1350 calories today and burn 300 calories on the dreadmill--my bank balance at the end of the day would be 650 (1700-1350=350; plus 300 from exercise... so 650 total). It'll take a while, but eventually I'll reach 57,750 ;)

So anyway, if the future, if you hear me reference my "calorie bank", THIS is what I'm talking about. Now go eat a cookie. You deserve it after reading this entry.

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Video: Journey of 125 Pounds

This is a video I made of my 125-pound weight loss transformation... enjoy! :)

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Cross-Training is Refreshing!

I think I've said this like 897 times now, but the cross-training I've been doing the past few weeks has been SO REFRESHING! I spent over a year doing nothing but running for exercise. Which was fine and all, but I really was feeling more like it was a chore.

So after the race on Memorial Day, I had no other races lined up--not a single one! And I decided to take this summer to take a break from my usual running routines and do something else (while maintaining my running fitness level).

You know I've always referred to my treadmill as a "dreadmill" because running in place is AWFUL--the most boring exercise imaginable. Since I became a runner back in March 2010, I could count on one hand the number of times I ran on a treadmill. I would much rather run in 10 degree snowy weather or 100 degree humidity than log miles on the dreadmill.

However, now that I decided to try cross-training, I discovered the pre-set programs for the dreadmill. Most of them are more walking than running, but they include some serious inclines. Have you ever walked briskly at a 10% incline? That shit is HARD.

I printed out some intermediate, advanced, and ELITE programs to do on the dreadmill, and I promise that a 15-minute elite workout (walking!) will feel even harder than 60 minutes of straight running at 7.0 mph. I did a 50-minute pre-set workout a couple of days ago, and I don't think my husband has ever heard me say the word "fuck" so many times in less than an hour.

I also started making an attempt at doing strength training via Jillian Michaels' Ripped in 30 and 30 Day Shred DVD's. The first time I did Ripped in 30, I was SO SORE for about 4-5 days afterward. I still have to modify a couple of things on it--namely the push-ups and one of the ab exercises.

One thing I've noticed since doing all this is that my measurements are getting smaller again--finally. My diet is far from perfect, but I lost an inch in my waist after just a week of the cross training. I was a little worried about not being able to run after the summer is over (in the fall, I plan on training again), but a lot of the workouts include some running (usually at an incline, so it's tough) and I might go for a run outside once in a while just to make sure I still can ;)

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So, for the first week of my Summer Challenge, I actually gained 3.5 pounds. It was a terrible week. I chose to count calories, because I had a bachelorette party, a wedding shower, and get-together with friends. I ate (and drank) a lot of things I normally don't. 

I'm actually really surprised I didn't gain more, but maybe it was because I exercised a lot this week. Although, my body tends to retain water when I do a lot more exercise than usual, so maybe that contributed to the gain as well--but I'd bet it was more about chips and liquor and ice cream than pounding it out on the dreadmill ;)

My new goal for this week is to eat a different breakfast every day. Sounds strange, I know--but I always get into ruts where I eat the same thing day after day, for weeks and sometimes MONTHS at a time. FYI, my "weeks" are going from Wednesday to Tuesday, because I weigh in on Wednesdays.

Sprouted grain toast with peanut butter, and coffee

Thursday breakfast: blueberry pancakes with butter and syrup

Today I am supposed to go out to dinner with Sarah and her fiancé. I'm thinking Middle Eastern food... which is healthy, but SO GOOD that I tend to have a problem with portion control. 

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In the kitchen

Today was the first official day of summer vacation for my kids. Instead of sleeping in, like I'd hoped, I was awakened at 6:00 to the sound of Noah screaming that he was bleeding--which, upon inspection, was a tiny little dot of blood from a hangnail. By the time my kids finally start sleeping past 7 or so, it'll be time for school again!

As I was making my breakfast this morning (oatmeal with coconut milk and banana), all of the bananas fell from their hanger because they were SO ripe. The stems were still hanging there, but the bananas all fell off. I decided that I needed to bake something with overripe bananas.

I chose Breakfast Worthy Banana Bread, because it's sugarless (the only sweetener is the bananas themselves!) and because it uses a fuckload of bananas (I used 500 grams, which was 5 1/2 overripe bananas). When it was done, I actually stayed away from it until lunchtime, which is a shocker.

Banana bread with coconut butter... yum!

Instead of using a loaf pan, I used an 8x8 pan. The first time I made this bread I used a loaf pan and I could NOT get it to cook all the way through--the outside was burned and the inside was still raw. So this time, with the 8x8 pan, it cooked through very evenly. The recipe says 30 minutes for a loaf pan, but I'd say 30-40 for an 8x8 pan.

It was much easier to cut into even pieces in this pan than in a loaf pan.

For lunch, I decided to make Lemon Lentil Soup. I haven't made it in a long time, and I forgot just how good it is! My recipe is just 4 simple ingredients, and it is as easy as opening a can of soup, but SO MUCH TASTIER! Not to mention HEALTHIER.

Ingredients for Lemon Lentil Soup... so easy!

Lemon Lentil Soup

1 cup of red lentils (sort and rinse)
1 quart of vegetable broth (I've tried this with chicken broth, and it wasn't very good--it had a metallic taste)
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (this amount gives a small kick--if you like it spicy, use 1/2 tsp.)
juice of one lemon (plus the zest, if you like!)

Combine the lentils, broth, and pepper flakes in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes, until lentils are soft and the soup has thickened. Add the lemon juice (and zest, if you're using it), stir, and heat through. Makes 4 small servings (about 1 cup) or 2 main-dish servings. For 1 small serving: 162 calories, 0 grams fat, 7 grams fiber, 30 grams carbs, 11 grams protein.

I counted calories (successfully) today. And I knocked 3.25 more miles off the Summer Challenge. I did three back-to-back treadmill workouts that were 15 minutes each. The 15-minute workouts are HARD--the incline goes up as high as the treadmill goes (mine goes up to 12%).

I saw Renee today and she mentioned doing a half-marathon on October 2nd this year, since I won't be able to do the Detroit Free Press Half-Marathon on October 15th (I'll be in Arizona for Sarah's wedding). I'm pretty sure I'll register for the one she was talking about. It'd be nice to do a half in the fall and again in the spring when I do Indy.

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Wedding Shower

Today was Sarah's wedding shower. Remember how I always complain about that size 4 dress that's been sitting in my closet unworn because it was too big in December and then about a month ago was too small to zip? Well, that's the dress I wore today. It fit nicely, I think--not TOO small, but definitely not big. Sarah actually gave it to me as a gift, so I was excited to be able to wear it at her shower.

Sarah (the bride-to-be) and me

Sarah and I have been best friends for about 28 years. She was born 3 days before me in 1982 and we lived 2 houses apart from each other for 14 years before my family and I moved about 20 minutes away. Then we were roommates in college (Eastern Michigan University). She ended up moving to Arizona in 2005(?) and she's a teacher there now.

Anyway, the shower was nice. I did really well with the food--it was a buffet, and I took very tiny portions. I had a chicken thigh, a tiny scoop of mashed potatoes, some green beans, half a roll, and half a salad. I was excited to eat cake until I realized that it was the kind of frosting I don't like.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE buttercream frosting--the kind that makes your teeth feel like they are rotting as you eat, because it's loaded with sugar crystals. Anyway, this was that whipped stuff that tastes kind of like whipped cream, and not very sweet. So I actually passed up the cake! But I totally made up for that with a handful of chocolate chips when I got home, haha.

I worked out this morning before I got ready for the shower. I did 3 miles on the dreadmill. I found some treadmill programs online and printed them out, then posted them next to the treadmill.
The one I did today varied from 4.0 mph to 7.5 mph, incline 0% to 4%. It was pretty tough at the end, and I felt like I got a good workout.

Someone asked about the drink mix I was talking about yesterday... here is what it looks like:

I bought it at Target, and I believe it's their own brand. It was with the Crystal Light products. I also found this website where you can order something similar, but you pay a small fortune. These things at Target were $1.84 for 10 packets. Easy to tuck in your purse! Like I said, I ordered a Tequila & water on ice, and then I just dumped a packet in the drink.

I've been doing well with my Summer Challenge, with the exception of my weekly goal. I picked a terrible week to count calories every day. I had the bachelorette party Friday, the shower today, and Sarah and her fiancé are coming over tonight, and then we're going out to dinner with them early next week. But I've been working out a lot and definitely eating as well as I can!

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Bachelorette Party

As expected, I am feeling a little hung over today. But it was worth it! I had so much fun last night. Sarah came over at 4:30 to pick me up and then her other bridesmaids met us and we all rode together.

We went to a martini bar & grille for dinner first. I had shrimp fajitas, which were SO yummy. I had a margarita and then for the rest of the evening, I was ordering tequila and water. Sounds gross, right? Yeah, it was. BUT, I brought along these little packets that you stir into the tequila and water--they are flavored like margaritas and only have 5 calories (you know those Crystal Light packets? It's just like those). So each drink was roughly 105 calories--a shot of tequila and the flavor packet. I (think) I had about 9 drinks total.

Anyway, after dinner we went upstairs to see a comedy show. The headliner comedian was really good, but the other one was terrible. After the show, we went to the bar downstairs. It was kind of lame. I gave Sarah a book that listed things she had to do as a bachelorette, so she started working on those.

There were some soldiers there, and one of the guys was thrilled that we were even talking to him, haha. Per the book, Sarah asked him for a condom and then she had to blow it up like a balloon. One guy told us that the "happening" place to be was a bar down the road--that it was kind of wild and fun and it'd be a great place for a bachelorette party.

We went there (Maria, who is pregnant, drove us) and it was VERY fun. They handed us sticks when we walked in, that people used to clap together for fun. They told us we could dance on the chairs, but not the tables (lol) and then the DJ announced that it was Sarah's bachelorette party.

Krystal and I had a blast dancing on the chairs most of the evening. Sarah worked on her booklet tasks, and then the bartender had her sit while he straddled her and poured a shot into her mouth (the shot was called a 'blow job') and then squirted whipped cream in her mouth.

Krystal and I dancing on chairs

I'm not going to post the other pics I took, because I'm not sure Sarah would want them on the internet. We left at around 1:30 in the morning. Maria drove me home first, and I was wishing I hadn't drank so much, but I fell asleep quickly and didn't wake up again until 8:00.

I finally did the Ripped in 30 DVD again today. I was still sore, but not so bad that I couldn't do it. Then I walked on the dreadmill for 30 minutes (various inclines). Jerry and I went to some garage sales, and I found Jillian's 30 Day Shred for $1 and The Biggest Loser game for the Wii for $1. I'm loving the change from my usual running 3-4 times per week. Even the "dreadmill" isn't so dreadful when I keep changing up the incline and pace.

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Dress Shopping

Wednesday night, I went to David's Bridal with my friend Sarah and the rest of her bridesmaids to try on dresses. I was kind of dreading it, because I was afraid to see what size I was going to need. Sarah showed me the dresses she was interested in, and they were actually really cute.

The saleswoman who helped us said that all of their dresses run two sizes smaller than your typical jeans size. So, if you wear a size 10 jeans, then you'd wear a 14 dress. WTF kind of logic is that?! It's the opposite of vanity sizing. My jean size is between a 4 and 6 right now, so she told me to get an 8 and 10 to try on. Ugh. I grabbed a 6 too, just for my high hopes ;)

I planned on trying them on from smallest to biggest--hoping that I wouldn't have to get a 10. The first dress I tried on fit like a glove, and I was psyched--until I realized it was the 8 instead of the 6 like I thought, lol. But if their dresses really do run two sizes small, then I'm right on target, so that's fine. If I can somehow manage to lose about 10 pounds before I actually order the dress, I'll probably be able to get the 6 instead. Not that it even matters, as long as it fits me on October 15th!

I'm nervous about the whole thing--because what if I GAIN weight and the dress doesn't fit? The 8 won't fit me if I gain even 5 pounds. I wish I could put off ordering the damn thing until the last minute, but she said we have to order 12 weeks before the wedding!

Anyway, here is a pic of the dress--I didn't get a picture of me wearing it, but here is the photo from the website:

This the dress--same color. Black shoes.

The best part about the dress?? It has POCKETS!! After trying on dresses, we went to a shoe store across the street and bought black patent leather shoes. Two of the girls wanted short heels, but I reeeally wanted taller heels, so we bought the same shoes with different length heels. One of the other girls got the taller heels too. I just think heels make my legs look so much better and I FEEL a lot prettier in high heels.

Today is Day 3 of my Summer Challenge. I had planned on doing Jillian's Ripped in 30 yesterday, but I was still SOOOO SORE from doing it three days ago. Then this morning, I was going to do it--but I'm STILL sore. For sure tomorrow!

Or maybe not, as I'll probably be hung over (bachelorette party tonight!!) Thursday I decided to go easy and walk 3 miles on the dreadmill. I did do some incline on it, so it wasn't TOO easy. Speed was 3.0-4.8, Incline was 0%-5%. I walked for an hour, doing 3.6 miles. For some reason, the last part of the walk didn't show up on my total--I got fed up with messing with it, so I gave up trying to get the numbers right.

This morning, I knew I was going to be consuming lots of calories today, so I did some extra exercise. I ran 3.1 miles outside and then did an hour on the dreadmill (walking inclines).

336 calories

So that's a total of 787 calories burned this morning. Tonight, for Sarah's bachelorette party, we're going to a martini bar & grille for dinner, followed by a comedy club, and then the bar. One of the bridesmaids is pregnant, so she's driving... and that means I'm probably going to be drinking too much. ;)

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