Stolen

We had a bit of a dramatic evening yesterday. My kids were taking their showers and getting ready for bed when my parents stopped over on their bikes and asked if the boys wanted to go for a bike ride with them. I told the kids they could after they got their pajamas on. Eli said he couldn't find his bike all day.

Eli is ALWAYS losing things, so I didn't think anything of it. I walked into the backyard, and saw a bike--but it wasn't Eli's. Noah said it belonged to the boy that lives behind us, so I returned it and asked if they knew where Eli's bike was... they didn't know. I went back home and circled the house, thinking he just left it in the yard somewhere, but it was nowhere to be seen.

My dad and Noah rode their bikes to a couple of the kids' friends houses, to see if it wound up there, but no luck. We finally realized someone had actually stolen Eli's bike. He just got this bike in July, when we went to my sister's house. Remember how the other kids had bikes to ride, and Eli didn't, so my sister took him to Wal-Mart to buy a bike? It wasn't a super fancy bike or anything, but it was brand new, so I was bummed.

I put the kids in the Jeep and we drove around the neighborhood, looking in all the yards to see if we could find it. We didn't. Whenever I saw kids outside playing, I stopped and asked them if they'd seen the bike, and said that we would give a $5 reward to them if they brought it back. ;)

Eli was feeling really bad, and when it was time for bed, he said, "Mama, I feel weird. My stomach feels weird, like I did something wrong." (Basically, he was feeling guilty). Of course, I told him that it wasn't his fault that his bike was stolen. I had a hard time falling asleep because I was just pissed that someone would do that. Our neighborhood is very safe and we've never had problems like this before. At midnight, Eli came into my room and said that his stomach was hurting because he feels bad that someone stole his bike, so I let him sleep in my bed.

This morning before school, Jerry said he would take Eli out for a drive again to look for the bike. About 15 minutes later, Eli came in, boasting, "We found it!" It was in the neighborhood next to ours, in somebody's yard. The seat had been jacked up as high as it would go, so it was probably a teenager that took it. I was so relieved!

Eli asked if he could wear a tie to school today... doesn't he look adorable?!

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After the boys got on the bus, I did my run. On the schedule was 60 minutes easy running with 8 pick-ups (30 seconds fast). I don't know if I mentioned this on Friday, but my left knee started hurting during my 20-miler. My "bad" knee is my right one, and it finally seems to be fine--but it was my right knee that started hurting on Friday :(  I took it easy all weekend, and it felt okay.

I didn't want to run outside today, since the treadmill really does seem to help with knee pain; so I planned to do my run on the treadmill. I decided that the very second my knee started hurting, I was going to stop--I wasn't going to run through the pain, like I did in the spring (and wound up with a bad injury). I started out at 6.0 mph, which is actually starting to feel a little too easy now--I think I need to change it to 6.1 or 6.2 for my "easy" pace. But today, I really wanted to take it easy, so that was good.

I even did my pick-ups at an easier pace of 7.0 (I "should" be doing more like 10.0 for the sprints). I felt totally fine until mile four, when I felt a small twinge of pain in my knee. Just like I'd promised myself, I called it quits. My next run is on Wednesday, and I'll do the same thing if I have to. Thankfully, as soon as I stopped running, my knee felt totally fine and it hasn't bothered me the rest of the day. Hopefully I can avoid injury this way. I used the foam roller when I was done.

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Some of you were asking about muesli, and if it tastes like granola. It doesn't taste like granola because it's not sweetened. Granola has a ton of sugar in it, which is what makes it crunchy. It's kind of like "candied" oatmeal. Muesli is just unsweetened raw oats with dried fruit, seeds, and nuts. It has a chewy texture, rather than crunchy like granola. But as far as health food, muesli trumps granola.

If you like oatmeal, and dried fruits and nuts, then I'm sure you will like the muesli. If the muesli isn't sweet enough for you, then you could try adding some maple syrup or honey to the liquid that you soak or cook it in. Muesli is really easy on my stomach, so if I eat before a run, muesli is a good choice (that's what I had before my 20-miler on Friday). I also have it for dinner sometimes when I don't feel like cooking. The only drawback is the tiny portion size! It stays with you for a while though--I don't get hungry for at least a few hours after eating it.

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I am SO ready for my favorite fall TV shows to start! Hopefully next week? Parenthood started last week, but that's the only one (that I watch) that has been on so far.

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Muesli Fusion Review & Giveaway

It's been a fun week, because I have another giveaway for you!

If you've never tried muesli before, let me fill you in: it's basically a combination of all of my favorite healthy foods! Oats, dried fruit, nuts, and seeds. Does it get any better? (Well, maybe if you add peanut butter...)

I was recently contacted by a company called Muesli Fusion to try out a few of their different varieties, so naturally, I jumped on board right away. I think I actually squealed with delight when I opened the box.

Here are the individual labels:

Classic Swiss

Athlete Fuel

An-Ox (Anti-Oxidant)

See how simple the ingredients are? "No junk. Just food."

I decided to try out the Athlete Fuel first. It was the cashews that hooked me ;)  When you look at the serving size, 1/3 of a cup seems so tiny for 160 calories. But compared to my regular oatmeal, it's only a smidge higher. And it does bulk up (just like oatmeal) when you soak it or cook it. You can eat muesli cold or hot. I like to eat it cold, soaked in milk.

Right out of the bag

Equal parts milk and muesli

After 2 hours in the refrigerator

If my bananas weren't black and mushy, I bet they would have tasted great sliced on top of the muesli! But as it was, I really loved this combo. Because of all the nuts and seeds, it had some good crunch; and the dried fruit gives it a nice sweetness. I didn't add any sweetener, but I bet maple syrup would be great in it as well.

The next day, I tried the An-Ox muesli, prepared the same way. Unfortunately, I found it kind of bland. It was the first time I'd tried goji berries, and I didn't think they had much flavor. I definitely liked the Athlete Fuel better.

On the back of the Classic Swiss muesli, there is a recipe for Hearty Muesli Bars. I actually had all the ingredients on hand, so I made the bars. The directions said to allow to cool completely before cutting, but I was too impatient to wait, so my bar fell apart a little. Thankfully, I love messy food ;)

I was surprised that they were kind of salty--but I loved them! The flavor reminded me of those almond cookies you get at Chinese restaurants, and the texture was just how you would imagine it to be--chewy oats with crunchy nuts and sweet bits of dried fruit. There were only two tablespoons of honey in the recipe, and I didn't think they would taste very good because of the lack of sweetness, but I didn't feel that way at all when I ate the bar. I actually had to urge Jerry to take the rest to work, so I wouldn't keep picking at them all day.

There are many ways to eat muesli, so I'm going to keep experimenting. You can soak it in juice instead of milk, top it with fresh fruit, stir it into yogurt (I won't be trying that, since you know I hate yogurt!), cook it like you would oatmeal for a hot cereal, bake it into cookies or bars, like above... the possibilities are endless, really.

Muesli Fusion has very generously offered to give three bags of muesli to one lucky Runs for Cookies reader! To enter the random drawing, just leave a comment on this post telling me how you like to eat muesli, or, if you've never tried it, which variety sounds the best to you (you can see all the varieties here). I will choose a winner on Tuesday, 9/18 at 8:00 a.m. (winner will be announced that evening), and the winner will have 24 hours to e-mail me with their info. Good luck!  (DRAWING HAS NOW ENDED)

(In full disclosure, I was given three bags of Muesli Fusion to sample for free, but all opinions are my own).

You can check out Muesli Fusion on their website, Facebook, or Twitter.

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A week without peanut butter

After yesterday's rainy 20-mile run, I spent most of the afternoon in the recliner with my beloved Teavana Youthberry tea. The rain eventually stopped and it ended up being a pretty nice day, but I was still glad to have run in the rain. I will take rain over sun and heat any day!

Yesterday was Jerry's birthday, so I made his favorite dinner before he went to work. The day seemed like it went by so fast, probably because I spent the entire morning running. The kids wanted to watch a movie and have popcorn before bed, so I put on the movie Tremors (which was on TV and I recorded it). I used to love that movie when I was a kid! I was surprised that the boys didn't fall asleep during the movie.

Usually on my long run days, I'm not very hungry; but yesterday, I was famished! I snacked all afternoon, and ended up using 20 of my activity points for the day. I followed Pete's advice and had lower-calorie, filling foods, and I felt great. Typically, I would have gotten very high-calorie junk food and justified eating it because "I ran 20 miles today"; but I would still be hungry all day. I had wine and dark chocolate for my treat last night, and savored every sip and bite.

Today, I didn't have anything going on except to drive Eli to his friend's house for a play date. When Eli was at his friend's house, Noah went out to lunch with my mom, and Jerry went to my parents' house to fix the minivan (it's been overheating). So I had the house to myself! Instead of doing something fun, I ended up mopping the kitchen floor. (Sounds simple, but it was a big production of moving everything out of the kitchen, sweeping, and mopping scrubbing the floor).

Today is actually Day 7 of no peanut butter! I'm still going strong without it. I never really realized just how much of a problem peanut butter was for me until this week. When I am stressed out and want to binge, the first thing I think of is peanut butter--by itself, spread on something, peanut butter candy, in ice cream, cookies, whatever.

But this week, when I've had the urge to binge, I can't think of anything without peanut butter that sounds like it's worth bingeing on. So my problem hasn't been cookies or ice cream or doughnuts--it's been the peanut butter that's in all those things! There is no way I'd want to give up peanut butter forever, but this six-week challenge is just what I needed to stop the binge eating (hopefully I'm not jinxing myself by saying that).

I have absolutely no pictures for today's short post, so here is a picture of Estelle:

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A very rainy 20-miler

Earlier this week, when I checked my marathon schedule, it said 20 miles this Friday (today). I was surprised, because I could have sworn it was 18! So I spent all week nervous about my long (long, long) run today. Last night, I got a text from Renee, and low and behold, she was running 20 miles today too!

I wish I ran at her pace, because I would have LOVED some company on a 3 1/2 hour run, but she's much faster than me. So I knew I'd be running alone this time. I've only run this far twice before, so I was super nervous about it. Last night, I plugged in my Garmin to charge, plugged in my iPod, laid out my running clothes, filled my water bottle and stuck it in the fridge--got everything ready so the morning wouldn't be hectic.

When I woke up, I could hear the patter of rain on the windows. Bummer.

It certainly didn't look like it was going to let up, either. But because I had such a hard time getting in my long run on Monday (and therefore, didn't end up doing it), I had to get it done today. It wasn't an option to put it off any longer.

I mapped out a different route today, because I was hoping I'd run into Renee a couple of times, and the new scenery would hopefully make it go by faster. I grabbed an extra shirt and pair of socks to throw in the car, in case the rain really didn't let up. I drove to the public parking lot where I was going to do three out-and-backs from my car--six miles, then eight miles in the opposite direction, then six miles.

I sat in the car for a couple of minutes, really not wanting to get out. The rain wasn't just a drizzle; it was coming down pretty hard. Finally, I got out and started running. The first two miles was along a busy road (I was on the sidewalk). Then I cut across to go two miles around a large park. It was completely empty, which was unusual (and totally creepy). The path is gravel, and it goes right up against the woods, and then cuts across by some soccer fields, and then goes around a pond, and then goes back out to the busy road.

I was really nervous to be there all alone, because if a creeper pulled into the park, I would be trapped in the back near the woods, basically. Thankfully, all the creepers were hiding from the rain this morning, and I didn't run into anyone. The rain was a total downpour the entire time I was at the park. Renee sent me a text when I was 3.5 miles in and said she was just heading out.

My iPod headphones were soaking wet and they stopped working, so I put them in my pocket. Normally, I don't use my iPod unless I'm doing a really long run, and usually then I only use it for the first half or so. But today, I was looking forward to listening to a podcast, and the headphones quit working. I stopped at the car at mile six in order to throw my iPod in there, and also to see if I had a plastic bag to wrap my phone with. Thankfully, there was a plastic grocery bag in the car, so I tore off a big chunk of it and wrapped my phone before putting it back in my little belt pouch.

I started the eight-mile out-and-back from the car, which went in the opposite direction, through the State Park, and back. At mile nine, I ate my first GU. I was starting to feel kind of sluggish, so I hoped it would pick me up a little. The State Park is extremely boring to run (the entire trail looks the same), so I wanted to get it done. I worked on drinking my Gatorade so that I could refill when I got back to the car.

I didn't run into a single soul in the park, which is unusual. But it was still raining, of course, so naturally everyone was inside! When I got back to the car, I HAD to change my socks. My feet were totally soaked, and I could even hear a "squish" noise with each step I took. So I refilled my water bottle, and took of my sopping wet socks. My feet were all wrinkled from being so wet:

I put on my dry socks, and tried to wipe out the inside of my shoes with a towel--I wished I had brought a change of shoes, too, but I had to make-do with the wet ones. I felt MUCH better once I changed socks. My hips and knees were starting to feel a little achy, and I really wanted to call it quits. Renee sent me a text then, saying she was done with 10 miles. I ate my other GU and headed out for the final six-mile leg of my 20-miler, which was the same route as the first leg.

A mile and a half later, I ran into Renee. I could see her pink Women Rock MN jacket coming toward me. She was all perky and feeling great at that point--she asked how far I'd gone, and I said 15.6. She said she had gone 15.3... so she was CRUISING. She said her pace was 8:48/mi. That's super fast for doing a 20-mile run. We chatted for a minute, then headed off in opposite directions.

When I got to the park, I was relieved to be running on the gravel--it was much softer than the concrete sidewalks and the asphalt trail through the State Park. My legs didn't feel so achy when I was running on the gravel, but I still had to stop and stretch my legs a couple of times.

Finally... FINALLY... the car was in sight! I picked up the pace the last mile a little, even though my legs were super tired, and was so relieved to make it back to the car.

I was really happy with my 10:26/mi overall pace! My pace has stayed consistent for all of my long runs--I expected to get slower and slower as the mileage picked up. But, despite the rain, I am loving the cooler weather! I was actually a little cold today! My splits:

I was very excited to plug my run into Weight Watchers when I got home, to see how many activity points I earned:

I earned 38 PointsPlus for that! Which is good, because I had already gone through 25 by lunch time--I had to count the PP in the GU and Gatorade, and I ate a bigger breakfast to prepare for my run. ALSO--can you believe that wine is 4 frickin' points for a 5 oz glass?! That's just not fair!

Speaking of WW, I'm actually kind of liking the program this time around. It's nice to do something different. And I hate to admit it, but I think paying the money for the online program has kept me on track ;)  I so badly wanted to binge yesterday, but I kept thinking about the money I paid to try this program, so I didn't do it. If there is one thing I can't stand, it's wasting perfectly good money! ;)

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The winner of the giveaway for Pete Thomas's book, "Lose It Fast, Lose It Forever" is:

Congrats Karen!! Please send me an e-mail at SlimKatie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com within 24 hours with your full name and shipping address, so I can pass it along to the publisher. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did!

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Modification, not starvation

I didn't think it was possible to be any more sore than I was yesterday. I was wrong. I don't think there is a single muscle in my body that doesn't feel Tuesday's workout with Pete!

As I mentioned, I had a long conversation with Pete after his boot camp class, and I learned a few new tips for maintenance that I think will really help me. It's no secret that maintenance is HARD for me, mainly because of stress eating.

The questions I had prepared to ask Pete weren't necessarily about ME, but questions that I thought everyone might find helpful (after reading his book, "Lose It Fast, Lose It Forever"). But as we talked, I found myself asking for advice on the issues I face with maintenance. Some of these things may seem very obvious, but the way Pete talked about it put it all into perspective for me, and it made so much sense!

One of the things Pete learned to do during his weight loss was what he calls "modification, not starvation". He took his favorite foods and modified them to be fewer calories so they would fit in with his weight loss plan. He said the key is to pick foods that still satisfy the craving (so, for example, if you're craving ice cream, eating some yogurt isn't going to cut it). He used the example of popcorn--he used to love the large, buttered movie theater popcorn; now, he'll have the same amount of air-popped popcorn with a little butter spray.

He admits that you may not love the substitutions at first, because you're not used to them, but you're saving roughly 1300 calories by choosing the latter (in the popcorn example)! I told him that I'm an ice cream girl, and he suggested the 40-calorie fudgesicles; because even if I ate the entire box, I would still only eat about 1/4 of the calories that are in a pint of premium ice cream. Here is the example Pete used in his book about modifying his breakfast (notice that he's eating the same amount of food):

Pete's "before" breakfast

Pete's "after" breakfast

I talked to Pete about my binge eating, and while he agrees that bingeing is not okay, he knows that it happens sometimes. And he suggested choosing foods that are lower in calories (like the fudgesicles) to minimize the damage done during a binge. Basically the lesser of two evils ;)

When I first saw some of the examples of foods in Pete's book, I was surprised by the processed foods. I pictured The Biggest Loser Ranch to be void of all things processed. To quote from Pete's book, "At first, we modify only to form that Forever Habit and lose that next pound. Truthfully, we are only 'eating for weight loss.' After we see success in that area, we start modifying because we're 'eating for health,' or you might call it 'eating for life,' which will involve many more natural, whole, and unprocessed foods."

When I talked with Pete about this, he said that when he was over 400 pounds, he was going to die from obesity quickly; so his top priority was to cut calories and lose weight, even if that meant using processed foods. Gradually, he turned toward more unprocessed foods. He used the example of soda pop. For someone who drinks soda on a regular basis, cutting it out cold turkey is really difficult; so he believes it's okay to switch to diet soda, and then maybe flavored water, and then, eventually, just water instead of soda.

That is exactly what I did during my weight loss--I used fat-free sour cream, Crystal Light, Fiber One bars, and other processed foods because they helped me to lower my calories and stay on my plan. Eventually, as I lost the weight, I started to buy less processed foods. I eat fairly healthy, for the most part, but eating all unprocessed organic food just isn't realistic for me on a day-to-day basis.

I asked Pete if he still counts calories every single day, and he said no--that he knows what his limits are. He monitors his weight, and if it goes up a little over the course of a week, then he'll count calories again to get it back down, but he can usually look back on what he was eating and figure out what caused the gain. He said by keeping a log, you can usually see what went wrong, and then you can make a plan to fix it.

For example, I asked him about marathon training. I said that I'm always ravenous the day after a long run, and I eat everything in sight. Pete suggested that I eat a large volume of lower calorie foods; I should plan on having a lot of foods with a high water and fiber content (fruits, veggies) to really fill up the day after my long run without doing a ton of caloric damage. It seems so obvious, but I never thought to do that before!

I also mentioned how I tend to gain weight in the summer, typically from the stress of my kids being home and constantly fighting with each other. He said that I should make a plan for next summer, so that I know ahead of time how I will handle things without the stress eating. Since I know the stress is coming, I can plan ahead exactly what I will do.

I wish I had a whole manuscript of our conversation, because I learned so much, and it's hard to convey it here (I believe everything we talked about can be found in his book, though). But I've started to look at some of my regular foods differently, thinking about how I can modify them to be less caloric and still stay satisfying. And I'm definitely going to come up with a plan for the day after my long runs, as well as summertime next year.

Pete said I really need to start thinking more positively, because I told him that I worry every single day, "Is this the day that I start gaining all this weight back?" He's at the point that he doesn't worry about that anymore, and I really hope to get to that place someday! But I'm grateful that he took the time to talk with me :)

Make sure you enter the giveaway for Pete's book, if you haven't already! (Giveaway is over now)

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Book review and giveaway

Sore doesn't even begin to describe how my body is feeling right now!

As I mentioned yesterday, I had an opportunity come up that made me extremely anxious. I was a nervous wreck all day, and was thisclose to canceling, but I realized I would really regret it if I did.

I was recently asked if I would like to review a book called Lose It Fast, Lose It Forever by Pete Thomas, who is the at-home winner of The Biggest Loser Season 2. He lost 185 pounds and has kept it off for 7 years! As you know, I am a huge Biggest Loser fan. I remembered Pete very well, and was really excited to have the opportunity to read and review his book. (The book will be on shelves Sept. 17th)

While I was waiting for the book to arrive, I even re-watched his season of the show, to refresh my memory. Pete was the kind of BL contestant that I like--quiet, not super dramatic, and did what he was told by the trainers. He started on the ranch at 418 pounds; went home after week 7, weighing 318 pounds; and at the finale, he weighed in at 216 pounds (he's 6'5"--very tall!).

Lose It Fast, Lose It Forever is marketed as "A 4-Step Permanent Weight-Loss Plan". Normally, I despise diet books, but because Pete has kept the weight off for so long, I really wanted to see if I could learn something new. In a nutshell, the book is about how Pete lost the weight, including some insider tips from the ranch; and more importantly, how he changed his whole lifestyle to keep the weight off. He details the diet and exercise changes we can use to lose weight "fast and forever".

Rather than give a detailed account of the book itself, I thought I'd share some points in the book that I found really interesting because they are strategies I used myself. I found that Pete and I had very similar strategies and ideas during our weight loss, which helped me feel like maybe I'm on the right track after all ;)

First, he stresses throughout the book that you need to tailor a plan just for you. You should make it fit with your goals and your situation, and he walks you through that. I am always stressing that same point--what works for me, might not work for you. What worked for Pete may not work for me... and so on. We are all individuals, so we have to find what works for us.

Pete wrote, "I was willing to give my all to get healthy again."  Pete had that determination that I always stress is more important than motivation. He was willing to do whatever it took to lose the weight.

Pete lost the weight by counting calories and exercise. That's exactly what I did. He lost it much faster because he was working out, oh, about ten times more than I was ;)

My very favorite similarity in our journeys? Pete writes: "My number one principle of nutrition is: Never, ever, EVER start a diet that you can't maintain for the rest of your life." I am ALWAYS saying that my best advice is to only make changes that you are willing to live with forever. He states, "You have to be able to stick with the diet in any and all circumstances for it to be long-term."

There are many more similarities, but I won't be redundant by listing all of them. Overall, I was really impressed with Lose It Fast, Lose It Forever. I love that it stresses tailoring the diet to your own life. Pete gives some great tips that even I was able to learn from. Pete doesn't say to give up any of your favorite foods, or cut out whole food groups. I think his plan is a very do-able way to lose weight.

I found it very interesting how he discusses in the exercise section about how often you should work out. He gives examples of how much you can expect to lose based on how often you work out. To achieve Biggest Loser Ranch-type results, you'd have to work out for 4 hours a day!

I really enjoyed the book, and I'm definitely going to give the workouts a try (more details about the workouts are below). And lucky for one of you, you can win a copy of Pete's book as well!! Just leave a comment on this post, and I will enter you in a random drawing. I will select a winner on Friday, Sept. 14th at 10:00 a.m. EST.--GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED.

I was really surprised to see that Pete actually lives in Ann Arbor, MI--which is where I go to Whole Foods! When I finished reading the book, I decided to send him an e-mail and see if he might meet me for coffee or something to ask him a couple of interview questions for the blog.

He wrote me back, and actually suggested that I go to his boot camp class. *Cue anxiety*. I knew it was a great opportunity, but I have only done a class ONCE (something with Jessica at the YMCA), and it did not go well. I'm terrible at stuff like that! Also, the "fat girl" inside of me kept saying, "You can't do that class! You won't be able to keep up. Everyone will stare at you. That's too hard for you." Etc, etc. I know that's a terrible way to think, but that's honestly what goes through my mind.

I invited my friend Adam to come with me, and he said that he's seen Pete lots of times working out at the gym in Ann Arbor, and that he's super friendly. Adam didn't want to go with me (I couldn't sucker ANY of my friends into doing it with me!). I spent all day yesterday thinking of excuses I could come up with to not go. But I decided that I needed to do it, to at least say I tried it.

I had to bring a mat, towel, "lots of water", and dumbbells. I chose my 8-lb dumbbells to bring. There were about 20-25 people that showed up, and about 8 of us were "newbies". The "veterans" had gone through his boot camps before. At first, all the newbies stayed in the gym while the veterans went outside with Pete's trainers. Pete stayed in the gym with us for the warm-up.

The warm-up was tough! I actually was pouring sweat. Most of the exercises were ones that I did on the Wii Active challenge--and thank God for that, because if I hadn't done that challenge I would have had a MUCH harder time during the workout. We did lots of lunges, squats, squat holds, butt kicks, push-ups, etc.

After the "warm-up", which left me exhausted, we went outside with the veterans. We started the circuits (the specifics about the circuit training is all in Pete's book). He does what he calls ABC circuits--A is for "above the waist", things like bicep curls, lateral raises, and push-ups; B is for "below (or at) the waist, things like squats, squat jumps, and sit-ups; C is for "cardio", things like jumping jacks, sprints, mountain climbers, etc.

You do an ABC (each exercise for one minute) and then go through those three exercises three times. Then you switch up the exercises and do it all over again. We went through four sets of exercises, and I felt like I was going to DIE by the end. The workout was two hours in total, and my arms and legs were so tired they were shaking. My least favorite exercise was the mountain climbers. I wanted to scream when I saw we had to do them yet AGAIN. I can totally see how people get pissed and just lose it when they are working out on The Biggest Loser ;)

My strengths were actually squats and lunges (yay, Wii Active!) but I really sucked at push-ups and sit-ups. When it was finally over, I got a chance to chat with Pete. I asked him to sign my book, of course, which he did:

Pete was SO nice, and answered all of my questions. He actually stayed after class for an hour to talk with me, and I learned so much from him. He is very genuine in wanting to help people lose weight. He said that the reason he waited so long to write a book is to make sure that he "got it" and had some accountability to help others lose the weight and keep it off. He doesn't even doubt anymore that he will keep the weight off, which is a place I am hoping to get to someday!

I cannot believe I forgot to do this, but I didn't take a single picture while I was there!! I at least wanted to get a picture with Pete, but I didn't think about it until after I'd left. What kind of blogger forgets to take a picture in that situation?!

This post is long enough, so tomorrow I will write all about my conversation with Pete and some refreshing info I learned from him. I'm so happy that I didn't chicken out about going, and I really wish that I lived closer to Ann Arbor so I could do his entire series of classes! By the way, the classes are for people of all abilities--it was tough, but Pete helps to modify exercises if needed.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

(In full disclosure, I was sent a copy of Pete's book for free to review, but all opinions are my own.)

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Dill Triscuits

Today marks day three of Weight Watchers, and so far, everything is going well. I'm shocked at how little I can eat for the allotted number of points I'm given! I'm allowed to have 26 PointsPlus daily, but I've had to use a lot of my weekly points just to get by, because I was really hungry. Thankfully, I also earn points for exercise, so I plan on using those, too.

A couple friends on Facebook were talking about the Dill, Sea Salt, and Olive Oil Triscuits, so I decided to buy some and give them a try. Oh WOW, are they ever good! Today I made tuna salad and ate it with the Triscuits for lunch. I love the dill + tuna combo.

I've also made a snack by mixing a little bit of Italian dressing seasoning mix into some cream cheese, then spreading it on the Dill Triscuits, and topping with a cucumber slice. It's a delicious snack!

[Someone recently mentioned that I do "product placement" on my blog, so I just want to be clear that this is not product placement. I bought the Triscuits, really like them, and wanted to share my find. That's all :)  If I am given samples of something to review on the blog, or am paid for a post, I always write that in the post. Otherwise, when I write about products like this, it's just because I like them.]

Jerry's birthday is on Friday--he'll be 32. I went shopping for his presents today, but I obviously can't write what I got him until after he opens them. Jerry is pretty easy to buy for, fortunately. Jerry is off on Thursday, but he's working Friday, so I think we'll celebrate his birthday on Thursday. The kids will have school during the day, so it'll just be me and Jerry--I'm trying to think of something fun we can do that doesn't involve food!

Maybe we'll go for a bike ride in the Metropark like we did for my mom's birthday. Or maybe go to the batting cages (Jerry loves the batting cages). Or maybe we'll even go see a matinee, because we've been wanting to see the new Bourne movie and just haven't had a chance.

Well, I have to cut this short because yesterday's post was waaay too long by the time this post goes live, I will be driving home from doing something that is WAY out of my comfort zone. I spent all day trying to come up with excuses not to go, but I knew I should just do it. Will definitely write about it tomorrow! Hopefully all goes well... ;)

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Six weeks

Yesterday marked six weeks until my marathon, and there is something about that number that screams "do a challenge!" or "make some six-week goals!" Six weeks just seems like the perfect amount of time to focus on a goal. After thinking all week what type of "six weeks until my marathon" challenge I wanted to do, I actually came up with two things.

The first, as I mentioned a couple of days ago, is to give up peanut butter for six weeks--not forever, but six weeks. I've been eating way too much of it, and when I binge, I always binge on peanut butter or something with peanut butter in it. So I am actually kind of excited to explore new snack foods. So far, there have been no withdrawal symptoms ;)

The second, is something I never thought I would ever do--I actually signed up for Weight Watchers Online. I've written before that I had bad experiences with WW, and that I did their program on my own when I first started losing weight. Eventually, I found all kinds of flaws with the (old) program and decided to switch over to counting calories. I did try the new PointsPlus program for a couple of weeks when it first came out, but I didn't have luck with it, and I never tried it again.

Recently, Mary gave the new program a try, and it planted the little seed in my brain that had me thinking, "Maybe I should give it another chance, I have all the materials..." Another reason I decided to try it is because of marathon training--my appetite is all over the place. Sometimes I'm starving, even after eating all of my calories for the day, and sometimes I feel just fine eating the low end of my calorie range.

The one thing that I liked about counting Points rather than calories in the past is that there are "free" foods--when I did the program, it was most vegetables that were free. But with the new program, all fruits and most veggies are free. So on those days during marathon training when I feel like I'm ravenously hungry, I can really bulk up my meals with fruits and veggies.

Also, as I've mentioned, I have been feeling kind of out-of-control lately with my eating, and I feel like I need some structure, at least for a while, to get back on track. When I mentioned WW to Jerry, he got really excited about it. He said that he really misses when we used to count Points together. He was bummed yesterday to see that his weight is up about 10 pounds as well, and he said he wants to count Points again to get it back down.

Now, I know there is nothing magical about counting Points (or PointsPlus, rather)--it really is just a glorified way of eating less. But sometimes I like to change things up and do things differently to make it fun for me. Enter the six-week challenge. I'm going to give the program six full weeks (last time, I only gave it about two weeks), sticking with it as carefully as I can, and just see what the results are. I would like to lose 5-10 pounds in that time, but most importantly, I just want to gain back a sense of control.

I always do best with my eating during the fall and winter, so hopefully I can get back into my goal range. And then I need to come up with a good plan to stay IN the range instead of going up and down with 10-15 pounds. But for right now, I'm going to try embracing the program and giving it a fair chance. My friend Stephanie does Weight Watchers, and I was super inspired when I saw her recent before and after pictures. She looks amazing!! She reached goal this year, but continues to count Points.

So anyway, today is Day 2 and everything is going well. I got off to a rocky start yesterday, because my friend Danielle was in town (she's moving from Minnesota to Washington D.C. and was passing through) and my mom made dinner. I ate there, and then had not one, but TWO pieces of dessert. I did look it up and count it, but I used up a lot of my weekly points already.

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I had an AWFUL morning as far as running goes.

Today, I had planned on doing an 18-mile run. Last night, I plugged in my Garmin to charge, plugged in my iPod for some new podcasts, laid out my running gear, mapped out my route, got everything ready so that the morning wouldn't be hectic. This morning, I woke up and got dressed in my running clothes, then got the kids ready for school. I left as soon as the bus picked them up, and drove the 20 minutes to park at the community center, where I start my run.

As soon as I pulled into the lot, I realized I forgot my Garmin at home. I was SO bummed. I thought about doing the run without the Garmin, but I really didn't want to. If it was just a six-miler or something, I would have run without it, but the Garmin gives me a whole timeline of my run, which is fun to have when I've run 18 miles. So I decided to go home and get it, and then go to the State Park instead (which is only 10 minutes away instead of 20).

So I drove home, grabbed my Garmin, and headed out to the State Park. I got almost all the way there when I realized that the heart rate monitor I put on wasn't working. I had put on an old heart rate strap because the new 910xt strap feels like razor blades under my boobs. Again, I could have just gone without it, but on a run as long as 18 miles, it's important for me to be able to monitor my heart. So I went back home AGAIN, switched out the strap, then went to the State Park.

As soon as I pulled into the lot, I saw this:

There was a sign next to it that said the trail was closed, and there were a bunch of trucks doing some sort of construction. At that point, I just screamed in frustration. It was already after 9:00, which is late to start a long run. In my pissed off state of mind, I just thought, "Fine--I'm just going to run 18 miles on the fucking treadmill!" Hahaha...

Got home, set up the treadmill and started running. I couldn't figure out why my pace was showing to be so slow even when I kept bumping up the speed on the treadmill. Then I realized that I had forgotten to turn off the GPS on my Garmin when I started running indoors, so it screwed up my pace. I didn't want to do all 18 miles like that, so I decided to just go outside, do a shorter run, and do my 18-miler on Friday.

I'm glad I at least got in a good run today, because I was just so frustrated and irritated by everything going wrong (made worse by PMS, I'm sure).

Screwed up treadmill splits

Outdoor splits

So I got in 66 minutes of running today. I'll run again on Wednesday, and then do 18 on Friday.

Wow, this post is way too long!

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Reader Questions & Answers #24

On Sundays, I will answer some readers' questions in a post. If you have a question that you would like me to answer here on the blog, just send me an e-mail with the subject "Q&A", and I may include them in a future Q&A post. They don't have to be about weight loss or running--anything is game!  (Remember, I'm not a doctor or dietician, or any sort of medical professional--I can only answer questions from my own experience).

It's been a few weeks since I've done a Q&A post!

Q. Did you have to re-size your wedding ring after losing weight?


A. My engagement/wedding rings have actually been the same size since we bought them in 2002! That's not to say they didn't NEED to be re-sized, however ;)  When Jerry and I first got engaged, I was about 180 pounds (after a short bout of dieting). I have no idea what size my ring is--I think 7.5? My weight went up and down, and sometime during my pregnancy with Noah (2003-2004), the rings stopped being able to slide off. 

I remember being in the hospital, and the nurse asked me to take off my rings because she was going to insert an IV and my hand might swell a little. I couldn't get it off! After that, my rings were actually stuck on my finger from 2004 until after I lost quite a bit of weight--I believe it was early 2010 when I was finally able to get the rings off. That was a big NSV (non-scale victory) for me. Now, the rings actually fit pretty good. I've always had big fingers, and they didn't shrink a whole lot when I lost the weight. The rings can come off easily, even on my puffiest days, but they never fall off.

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Q. After you finished your weight loss, how many calories did you (and do you now) eat? Did you ever feel deprived because of the restricted diet while losing weight, and if so did it lead to binges after your weight loss?

I reached my weight loss goal, but having been feeling deprived of food and I find myself eating a lot, and then realize I gained weight and then go back to calorie counting to loose it. This has been going on for a month. I just feel like it is an never ending battle, and am trying to find some kind of balance. Any advice?

A. I didn't have a smooth transition from weight loss to maintenance, like I'd hoped. I was just 10 pounds from my goal when I fainted and severely broke my jaw--I had to have two surgeries, resulting in my jaws being wired shut (and a liquid diet). I lost the last 10 pounds while I was recovering, and because of the liquid diet, I wasn't counting calories anymore. As soon as the wires came off, and I could eat solid food again, I ate a LOT to make up for the deprivation, and the 10 pounds came back right away.

I never really picked up counting calories again for more than a few days at a time. I've tried numerous times to get back to counting strictly so that I can get back down to my goal weight, but I never last very long. And quite honestly, I'd be happy to stay right where I am if it means I don't ever have to count calories again! But I'm always trying, because I'm afraid that I will just go up and up and up if I don't. 

So to answer your questions, I wasn't counting calories when I hit maintenance, so I can't tell you exactly how many I was eating. But I had formed so many healthier habits while I was losing weight, and I continued those habits after I hit maintenance, which is how I've managed to keep the weight off.

Ice cream at a farm with the family? Sure!
Ice cream on the couch by myself when I'm
feeling lonely? Nah, I shouldn't.

I think it's important to find a balance you can be happy with--you don't want to feel very deprived, but you can't go back to your old habits, either. The way I live now, I don't feel deprived very often, but I certainly do have to make sacrifices! 

I post often about junk that I eat, so it might seem like I give in whenever I want something. But the truth is, if I ate ice cream every time I had a craving, I would be 253 pounds again for sure. Sometimes I allow myself to have it, and sometimes I don't--so I don't feel deprived in the sense that I DO still eat ice cream; I just wish I could eat it for three meals a day ;)  Am I making sense? 

What I would suggest is eating foods that you really, truly love--then you won't feel deprived. You can count calories and plan to have a special snack or treat every day that you really enjoy. I did that throughout my entire weight loss, which is why I didn't feel deprived (most of the time; like I said, sometimes you have to say no to things you really want, and that's okay too). 

My binge eating definitely stems from emotional eating rather than deprivation, which is an entirely different issue. But if you think you're binge eating because of deprivation, then the solution would be to stop depriving yourself--just make sure you plan for it so it's not impulsive.

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And now a question for all of you...

What are you most looking forward to this fall? As you know, fall is my very favorite time of year. I love it ALL--jeans and hoodies, crisp air, colorful leaves, apple-everything, cozy blankets, cool running weather, all things pumpkin... 

And speaking of pumpkin, I made a Vanilla Pumpkin Protein Shake today that was reeeally good! You can find the recipe here: Vanilla Pumpkin Protein Shake

I even tried to get a pretty picture for you ;)

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RECIPE: Vanilla Pumpkin Protein Shake

This shake makes me super excited for my favorite time of year--fall! It turned out so yummy it actually deserves its own post ;)

One of my readers requested that I create a pumpkin protein shake. I tried a few recipes that I found online, but wasn't crazy about any of them. A lot of the shake recipes use bananas to sweeten them, and I just wasn't crazy about the combo of pumpkin and banana.

I used Torani Pumpkin Pie flavored syrup in this--if you really can't find it and/or don't want to buy it online, you could probably just use some sort of sweetener (1 Tbsp. of maple syrup would probably be good!) and extra pumpkin pie spice.


Here is the printer-friendly version of the recipe


Vanilla Pumpkin Protein Shake

Ingredients:

3/4 cup milk (I prefer whole milk, but use what you like)
1 serving vanilla protein powder
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 Tbsp. Torani Pumpkin Pie flavored syrup (you could substitute with 1 Tbsp. maple syrup and extra pumpkin pie spice if you don't want to buy the Torani syrup)
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
about 10 ice cubes
(optional) 1/4 tsp. each xanthan and guar gum* (see note below)

*I use the xanthan and guar gums in this shake, which are always optional (I like the thick, creamy texture they create). If you don't use them, I would cut back on the milk to about 1/2 cup, and freeze your pumpkin before using to get a thicker texture.

Directions:

Throw all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Top with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice, if you'd like! Makes 1 large serving (16-18 oz) or 2 small servings.

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