Yes, I am still here, and I do weigh less. . .but there has been a lot of unpleasantries going on -- and I would be lying If I said I haven't let them become hurdles.
So here we are again.
I won't go into the details-- it really doesn't matter. The reality is we all have our stressors. And we all choose to let them derail us or not.
So here is a recap of my path for those who haven't been privy:
Lost and gain and lost again. Detoxed, veganized, evaluated and now recognize that I feel better when I don't eat animal products than when I do, but don't feel the need to be obsessive about it. I feel better when I am not letting added sugars rule me. And I still love coffee to the point of obsession.
I am in the middle of a C25K-- but we have been in the middle of a heat wave and I do not make an attractive puddle on the pavement.
So here we are again. Together. Are you ready?
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
. . . In which I survive Day 1 of my Sugar Detox
Okay. Truth time. It is 10:06 pm Eastern--and I have not had any sugar except that which is found in bananas and grapes (my snacks for today). And I have to admit--I feel pretty darn good!
We went out to eat for breakfast today at a local diner. I had my coffee without sugar, one piece of wheat toast with my omelet (3 egg, fresh mushrooms, broccoli, tomato, no cheese), and I didn't miss the sugar. We went to Dunkin' Donuts for dessert (it was one of the boys' birthdays today) and I passed on the donut AND on my favorite toasted almond iced coffee.
One of the most notable changes was that I didn't feel sluggish after breakfast! I felt . . .ALERT! Clear-headed even. I am not a morning person--It usually takes my brain a couple of hours to catch up with my body. But not today!
Okay. Reality check. I DID get 2 pretty nasty headaches before lunchtime had even hit. I was expecting some sort of withdrawal symptoms so I was able to just drink lots of water to flush my system and remind myself that this is just my body's way of begging for something that right now it thinks it needs. OF course you and I know that it doesn't really need it. But I have spent the last several years (okay 38) convincing it that it did need the sugar. My bad. And now apparently it is going to take some time to convince my body otherwise.
Lunch hit and still no sugar: cheese stick, tabouleh salad, oh--fruit. So some sugar. But my body threw a full out temper tantrum at this point. Migraine. Apparently fruit is not my body's idea of sugar.
I still was able to recognize this for what it was: withdrawal. I laid down with my napping baby and was able to take a nap.
I woke up feeling pretty good. Not groggy at all like I usually am after an afternoon nap. Had a banana and a cheese stick and a couple of nibbles of whole wheat pasta and got ready to hit the gym with my trainer.
Ran almost 1.5 miles (12 laps is a mile--I ran 12, walked 1, ran 4, power walked the last one). Then an hour of weight, resistance, and endurance training. My trainer kicked my ass today!
And while it wasn't easy (she never makes it easy!) it wasn't hard--you know what I mean? I never felt that I couldn't do it. It felt awesome all the way through.
Back home for dinner: light tuna wrap and soup. Still no sugar in any of the ingredients.
I gotta say, I am feeling Great! There were some points of agitation and lack of patience through the day--and a few headaches (literally and figuratively). But overall--just one day without sugar and I can feel a difference! There is a clarity there that I didn't know was missing before.
Huh.
13 more days sugar free. . . .
We went out to eat for breakfast today at a local diner. I had my coffee without sugar, one piece of wheat toast with my omelet (3 egg, fresh mushrooms, broccoli, tomato, no cheese), and I didn't miss the sugar. We went to Dunkin' Donuts for dessert (it was one of the boys' birthdays today) and I passed on the donut AND on my favorite toasted almond iced coffee.
One of the most notable changes was that I didn't feel sluggish after breakfast! I felt . . .ALERT! Clear-headed even. I am not a morning person--It usually takes my brain a couple of hours to catch up with my body. But not today!
Okay. Reality check. I DID get 2 pretty nasty headaches before lunchtime had even hit. I was expecting some sort of withdrawal symptoms so I was able to just drink lots of water to flush my system and remind myself that this is just my body's way of begging for something that right now it thinks it needs. OF course you and I know that it doesn't really need it. But I have spent the last several years (okay 38) convincing it that it did need the sugar. My bad. And now apparently it is going to take some time to convince my body otherwise.
Lunch hit and still no sugar: cheese stick, tabouleh salad, oh--fruit. So some sugar. But my body threw a full out temper tantrum at this point. Migraine. Apparently fruit is not my body's idea of sugar.
I still was able to recognize this for what it was: withdrawal. I laid down with my napping baby and was able to take a nap.
I woke up feeling pretty good. Not groggy at all like I usually am after an afternoon nap. Had a banana and a cheese stick and a couple of nibbles of whole wheat pasta and got ready to hit the gym with my trainer.
Ran almost 1.5 miles (12 laps is a mile--I ran 12, walked 1, ran 4, power walked the last one). Then an hour of weight, resistance, and endurance training. My trainer kicked my ass today!
And while it wasn't easy (she never makes it easy!) it wasn't hard--you know what I mean? I never felt that I couldn't do it. It felt awesome all the way through.
Back home for dinner: light tuna wrap and soup. Still no sugar in any of the ingredients.
I gotta say, I am feeling Great! There were some points of agitation and lack of patience through the day--and a few headaches (literally and figuratively). But overall--just one day without sugar and I can feel a difference! There is a clarity there that I didn't know was missing before.
Huh.
13 more days sugar free. . . .
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
The Four Letter Word
S U G A R
Yes. I KNOW that's 5 letters. But so is bitch. And Sugar is my own personal bitch. Nope. Strike that. Sugar continues to make ME it's personal bitch. And I just am not going to take it anymore.
I weighed in today (figuring with all the birthday celebrating and such, I wanted to make sure I got a good weigh in). Scale says +.2 lbs. Ugh. Not horrible--but still not the direction I want to be going in. Granted--most of my workouts at this end of this week were not 1 hour--they were 30 minutes. But I have been focusing on my runs--and so I stretch for 5-10, run for about 15, walk out my cool down and stretch.
Clearly that isn't enough. (But I am still proud of myself for running as much as I have and for continuing to conquer that mile).
So this is what brought me to my bitch about sugar. I planned to have a small small piece of cake after dinner to celebrate my 12 year old's birthday. I didn't have a small small piece of cake. I had an average piece of cake. And within 20 minutes I had a screaming headache. Inflamed sinuses. And agitated--without being able to put my finger on why. The only thing that I could point my finger to: sugar. I felt FINE until that damn cake (yes, btw--it WAS delicious--I make a kick ass cake!--but it totally wasn't worth the ensuing pain and agitation. Not one bit.)
I did a little research. I knew sugar was in everything. I knew sugar was addictive. I didn't know that most of us exhibit signs of sugar addiction. I didn't know that excess sugar in the body goes to the liver and is turned into triglycerides (fat--cholesterol--BAD cholesterol). The tests from my last schedule showed high triglyceride levels. Sugar was making me its bitch.
No more.
As of tomorrow (tonight) I am starting a 2 week sugar detox. No refined sugars. No sweetened drinks. No honey. No white bread, rice, pasta, or sugar (no brown sugar either). No processed foods with fructose as an ingredient. No foods with sugars in the ingredients. My only sugars will come from fruits. That's it.
For 2 weeks.
Yes. I KNOW that's 5 letters. But so is bitch. And Sugar is my own personal bitch. Nope. Strike that. Sugar continues to make ME it's personal bitch. And I just am not going to take it anymore.
I weighed in today (figuring with all the birthday celebrating and such, I wanted to make sure I got a good weigh in). Scale says +.2 lbs. Ugh. Not horrible--but still not the direction I want to be going in. Granted--most of my workouts at this end of this week were not 1 hour--they were 30 minutes. But I have been focusing on my runs--and so I stretch for 5-10, run for about 15, walk out my cool down and stretch.
Clearly that isn't enough. (But I am still proud of myself for running as much as I have and for continuing to conquer that mile).
So this is what brought me to my bitch about sugar. I planned to have a small small piece of cake after dinner to celebrate my 12 year old's birthday. I didn't have a small small piece of cake. I had an average piece of cake. And within 20 minutes I had a screaming headache. Inflamed sinuses. And agitated--without being able to put my finger on why. The only thing that I could point my finger to: sugar. I felt FINE until that damn cake (yes, btw--it WAS delicious--I make a kick ass cake!--but it totally wasn't worth the ensuing pain and agitation. Not one bit.)
I did a little research. I knew sugar was in everything. I knew sugar was addictive. I didn't know that most of us exhibit signs of sugar addiction. I didn't know that excess sugar in the body goes to the liver and is turned into triglycerides (fat--cholesterol--BAD cholesterol). The tests from my last schedule showed high triglyceride levels. Sugar was making me its bitch.
No more.
As of tomorrow (tonight) I am starting a 2 week sugar detox. No refined sugars. No sweetened drinks. No honey. No white bread, rice, pasta, or sugar (no brown sugar either). No processed foods with fructose as an ingredient. No foods with sugars in the ingredients. My only sugars will come from fruits. That's it.
For 2 weeks.
Monday, April 26, 2010
. . . and Real Life Seeps In!
Normally here is where I would first post my goal and actual calories and goal and actual exercise--but after a little over a week of hard core calorie counting and timing of workouts, I have fallen into a routine--and into Life.
I eat about the same every day--and no, it isn't boring. I have found some delicious and low calorie/low fat favorites and I love them so much, I eat them everyday! I love my Strawberry Fields from Kashi (or more recently Special K Berry). I love my turkey burgers--these are easily changed up by changing the toppings (I love lots of veggie toppings!), and I love my yogurt protein smoothies--although my little blade for my blender has run away from home so I haven't had those in awhile. =(
My exercise goals have changed a bit. I have finally gotten over the (mental) hump of not being able to run for any substantial distance or any substantial length of time and I have run over a mile every day since last Thursday. I was actually disappointed when the weather forecast for yesterday AND today was for rain--but we found a dry pocket yesterday and ran! Today, I will either find another dry pocket or go to the gym and run the track. Actually I will probably go to the gym anyway--I want to hit the weight machines.
Tomorrow--I would normally go to my trainer's boot camp (and I DO have a training session with her on Wednesday), but here is where real life comes in: our oldest son's birthday is Wednesday and we are taking him to dinner on Tuesday night and then out to breakfast on Wednesday morning. AND I am baking him a chocolate cake. Okay. And Wednesday is weigh in day. O---Kay.
So, per request, we are going to Uno's for dinner. I like Uno's because they have a computer in their foyer that you can look up anything on their menu and see all of the nutritional facts--including how many servings are in their servings (I will warn you--this can be a bit of a shocker the first time you try it!). But I will have complete control and knowledge of my calorie intake (and sodium). The cake I am baking is in no way low cal or low fat. But I have control over the piece I cut for myself--and knowing the next day is a weigh in day is a good motivator!
Breakfast on Wednesday will be AFTER my weigh in. The birthday boy wants to go to a diner that he likes to go to while at his other home, so we are going there. I am hoping for a light menu--or the ability to create a light breakfast (fruit, oatmeal, english muffin w/ jam, no butter, etc.). I feel like I am doing a Biggest Loser challenge!
It is real life, though. Events come up, and celebrations . . .and like most Americans--we do celebrate with food. It is just a matter of not letting food celebrate with us!
I eat about the same every day--and no, it isn't boring. I have found some delicious and low calorie/low fat favorites and I love them so much, I eat them everyday! I love my Strawberry Fields from Kashi (or more recently Special K Berry). I love my turkey burgers--these are easily changed up by changing the toppings (I love lots of veggie toppings!), and I love my yogurt protein smoothies--although my little blade for my blender has run away from home so I haven't had those in awhile. =(
My exercise goals have changed a bit. I have finally gotten over the (mental) hump of not being able to run for any substantial distance or any substantial length of time and I have run over a mile every day since last Thursday. I was actually disappointed when the weather forecast for yesterday AND today was for rain--but we found a dry pocket yesterday and ran! Today, I will either find another dry pocket or go to the gym and run the track. Actually I will probably go to the gym anyway--I want to hit the weight machines.
Tomorrow--I would normally go to my trainer's boot camp (and I DO have a training session with her on Wednesday), but here is where real life comes in: our oldest son's birthday is Wednesday and we are taking him to dinner on Tuesday night and then out to breakfast on Wednesday morning. AND I am baking him a chocolate cake. Okay. And Wednesday is weigh in day. O---Kay.
So, per request, we are going to Uno's for dinner. I like Uno's because they have a computer in their foyer that you can look up anything on their menu and see all of the nutritional facts--including how many servings are in their servings (I will warn you--this can be a bit of a shocker the first time you try it!). But I will have complete control and knowledge of my calorie intake (and sodium). The cake I am baking is in no way low cal or low fat. But I have control over the piece I cut for myself--and knowing the next day is a weigh in day is a good motivator!
Breakfast on Wednesday will be AFTER my weigh in. The birthday boy wants to go to a diner that he likes to go to while at his other home, so we are going there. I am hoping for a light menu--or the ability to create a light breakfast (fruit, oatmeal, english muffin w/ jam, no butter, etc.). I feel like I am doing a Biggest Loser challenge!
It is real life, though. Events come up, and celebrations . . .and like most Americans--we do celebrate with food. It is just a matter of not letting food celebrate with us!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Run, Forrest, Run
Yesterday's Goals: Calories: 1400, Exercise: 60 minute
Yesterday Actual: Calories: 1400, Exercise: 45 minutes running and walking, and 2 hours of serious cleaning of the little ones' room. LOL.
Last night I went to one of my favorite woodsy-lakey-nature trail places and ran. I completed a session of my C25K app (couch to 5k) and then walked the rest of the 3 mile trail.
The run was not good. I had difficulty getting my breath to regulate--I was huffing and puffing and struggling like nobody's business! The session yesterday was a 5 minute brisk walk, followed by 2 repetitions of running for 1.5 minutes, walking for 1.5 minutes, running for 3 minutes, walking for 3 minutes. The 90 second runs were not a problem. But I was really struggling with the 3 minutes blocks. It was really frustrating and I really got down on myself on the walk back.
Then 4 deer crossed my path--not 10 feet from me! Beautiful. Just beautiful. I stopped to watch them and in those moments reset my self talk. Did I have a good solid run? No. But did I run? YES!! I ran. I got through it. I moved. I pushed through and persevered! Hooray for me!
This morning I met with my trainer (who wanted me to start our session by running a mile--A MILE!). She reminded me that anyone can (and everyone does) have a bad run from time to time. No biggie. Nothing to worry about. Move on!
So we ran. A Mile. Yep. I ran a full mile without stopping--and then I ran a little more (at a sprint!). Previously she has timed my 1/2 miles and it had put me at a 12 minute mile, and more recently at 11.40. Today: 11.11! Not only did I run a mile, but I beat my time! AND I ran for 11 minutes strait with no huffing and puffing--just solid clean breaths. YAY! I was so pumped she put me through power sets of weights--rotating through with only break enough to take a drink from my water bottle. . .It was awesome. I was Awesome!
I AM Awesome!
Today's goals: Calories: 1400, Exercise: 90 minutes (I already got 60 minutes in, I want to get 30 more of yoga in tonight--like dessert!)
Yesterday Actual: Calories: 1400, Exercise: 45 minutes running and walking, and 2 hours of serious cleaning of the little ones' room. LOL.
Last night I went to one of my favorite woodsy-lakey-nature trail places and ran. I completed a session of my C25K app (couch to 5k) and then walked the rest of the 3 mile trail.
The run was not good. I had difficulty getting my breath to regulate--I was huffing and puffing and struggling like nobody's business! The session yesterday was a 5 minute brisk walk, followed by 2 repetitions of running for 1.5 minutes, walking for 1.5 minutes, running for 3 minutes, walking for 3 minutes. The 90 second runs were not a problem. But I was really struggling with the 3 minutes blocks. It was really frustrating and I really got down on myself on the walk back.
Then 4 deer crossed my path--not 10 feet from me! Beautiful. Just beautiful. I stopped to watch them and in those moments reset my self talk. Did I have a good solid run? No. But did I run? YES!! I ran. I got through it. I moved. I pushed through and persevered! Hooray for me!
This morning I met with my trainer (who wanted me to start our session by running a mile--A MILE!). She reminded me that anyone can (and everyone does) have a bad run from time to time. No biggie. Nothing to worry about. Move on!
So we ran. A Mile. Yep. I ran a full mile without stopping--and then I ran a little more (at a sprint!). Previously she has timed my 1/2 miles and it had put me at a 12 minute mile, and more recently at 11.40. Today: 11.11! Not only did I run a mile, but I beat my time! AND I ran for 11 minutes strait with no huffing and puffing--just solid clean breaths. YAY! I was so pumped she put me through power sets of weights--rotating through with only break enough to take a drink from my water bottle. . .It was awesome. I was Awesome!
I AM Awesome!
Today's goals: Calories: 1400, Exercise: 90 minutes (I already got 60 minutes in, I want to get 30 more of yoga in tonight--like dessert!)
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Weigh In Wednesday!!
Previous weight: 213.8
Current weight: 211.4
Pounds lost: 2.4
Success!!! This is serious success!! Like I mentioned in previous posts, since starting with my personal trainer I HAVE seen the inches go down considerably. I HAVE seen my body fat % go down considerably. But I have seen very little change to the number on the scale from week to week.
My water intake has increased--hurray! That was a big one for me. I am now getting on average six 8 ounce glasses a day. I would like to bump that up more. Popular knowledge says 8-10 eight ounce glasses is what your body needs, but I recently I read an article that talked about the amount of water a body needs is connected to weight. There was a formula to figure out how much you need given your body weight, and I think I can get an app for that. LOL.
This week's goals:
1) to drink 14 eight ounce glasses of water a day (it turns out I already did have an app for that!)
2) work out 6 days this week--and average of 1 hour each day.
3) eat 1400 calories per day
4) get my bike in to get tuned and start riding!
5) get running 4 days a week
Tally Ho!
Current weight: 211.4
Pounds lost: 2.4
Success!!! This is serious success!! Like I mentioned in previous posts, since starting with my personal trainer I HAVE seen the inches go down considerably. I HAVE seen my body fat % go down considerably. But I have seen very little change to the number on the scale from week to week.
My water intake has increased--hurray! That was a big one for me. I am now getting on average six 8 ounce glasses a day. I would like to bump that up more. Popular knowledge says 8-10 eight ounce glasses is what your body needs, but I recently I read an article that talked about the amount of water a body needs is connected to weight. There was a formula to figure out how much you need given your body weight, and I think I can get an app for that. LOL.
This week's goals:
1) to drink 14 eight ounce glasses of water a day (it turns out I already did have an app for that!)
2) work out 6 days this week--and average of 1 hour each day.
3) eat 1400 calories per day
4) get my bike in to get tuned and start riding!
5) get running 4 days a week
Tally Ho!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Day Off
Goal Calories: 1400, Actual Calories: I have no freaking idea! LOL
Goal Exercise: 2 hours, Actual Exercise: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Yesterday's workout kicked my ass. And hamstrings. And triceps. And abs. LOL Holy Cow!!! The plan was I would go to my personal trainer's Boot Camp class and then I would have an hour with her one on one. But because a lot of her regulars are on vacation this week, I was the only one at her Boot Camp and so we did 1 hour and 45 minutes of 1 on 1. Today: I rest. LOL. It was a GREAT workout. But today, my muscles are screaming! So today, I have no exercise planned.
Truthfully, when it comes to exercise days of rest are important. It is during the rest periods that the magic happens. Calories continue to burn at an accelerated rate AFTER an intense workout: 12-48 hours after and at a rate of about 15%. Not too shabby!
I didn't keep track of my calories at all yesterday. I knew that it would freak me out. LOL. I told my trainer about my 1400 daily calories, to which she told me that was fine if I wasn't doing any exercise but I need to add calories on the days I did exercise. Yeah, I know. Not that I have been. But I know that I am supposed to. Specifically, she said, that I needed to EAT a lot more after yesterday's 2 hours. She said this over and over and over. Okay okay, I get it.
When I came home I figured out my caloric burn for that workout (yep--iPhone app) and for 1 hour and 45 minutes of circuit training, at my weight, I burned over 1200 calories! Which means to have my goal of 1400, I actually needed to eat 2600!! That's a lot of calories for someone who's used to eating 1400. Plus, given (asyou know by now) my complete obsession with numbers (one of the "fats" I am trying to trim), I thought the best thing I could do for myself is to not count calories at all yesterday and just eat when I was hungry.
Today is my day of rest for exercise, yesterday was my day of rest from counting calories.
It did feel good to not be writing everything down knowing that I worked out enough to cover it. It was like a day off from the number obsession.
Okay--so here we go:
Calorie Goal: 1400
Exercise Goal: 0
Goal Exercise: 2 hours, Actual Exercise: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Yesterday's workout kicked my ass. And hamstrings. And triceps. And abs. LOL Holy Cow!!! The plan was I would go to my personal trainer's Boot Camp class and then I would have an hour with her one on one. But because a lot of her regulars are on vacation this week, I was the only one at her Boot Camp and so we did 1 hour and 45 minutes of 1 on 1. Today: I rest. LOL. It was a GREAT workout. But today, my muscles are screaming! So today, I have no exercise planned.
Truthfully, when it comes to exercise days of rest are important. It is during the rest periods that the magic happens. Calories continue to burn at an accelerated rate AFTER an intense workout: 12-48 hours after and at a rate of about 15%. Not too shabby!
I didn't keep track of my calories at all yesterday. I knew that it would freak me out. LOL. I told my trainer about my 1400 daily calories, to which she told me that was fine if I wasn't doing any exercise but I need to add calories on the days I did exercise. Yeah, I know. Not that I have been. But I know that I am supposed to. Specifically, she said, that I needed to EAT a lot more after yesterday's 2 hours. She said this over and over and over. Okay okay, I get it.
When I came home I figured out my caloric burn for that workout (yep--iPhone app) and for 1 hour and 45 minutes of circuit training, at my weight, I burned over 1200 calories! Which means to have my goal of 1400, I actually needed to eat 2600!! That's a lot of calories for someone who's used to eating 1400. Plus, given (asyou know by now) my complete obsession with numbers (one of the "fats" I am trying to trim), I thought the best thing I could do for myself is to not count calories at all yesterday and just eat when I was hungry.
Today is my day of rest for exercise, yesterday was my day of rest from counting calories.
It did feel good to not be writing everything down knowing that I worked out enough to cover it. It was like a day off from the number obsession.
Okay--so here we go:
Calorie Goal: 1400
Exercise Goal: 0