Redo????

Can I have a redo???

I made it......I tracked my food through Thursday.....I was on track calorie budget wise through Thursday....and then I went to the beach......

It was bad......ohhh so very tastily bad!  

So this week I'm going to redo that challenge!

So I will leave you with a few photos from my weekend!

Raise your Hands High!

Raise your hands high but I managed to track everything I ate this week. One night I slipped up and didn't get it into my tracker until the following morning...and there was that one day that I ate at a buffet and kinda struggled with my flagging memory.   Lots of days were OVER.  Yeah, way over.

So, I made it a week.  Yup.  And it didn't kill me.   It didn't kill me at all.  It was pretty easy actually.  I didn't like what I saw some days but you know what?  It's life.

So, next up is calories........I will continue to track my food.   The addition this week?  Calorie count....stay within it!

This will be a really difficult thing...maybe.  You see, I'm going away next weekend for a quick get-a-way to the ocean.  Yup...so eating out and good food.  MMMMMM   There may be a dessert or two involved.

Now....don't think it hasn't escaped me that just like there was a loophole last week that there is a loophole this week.      You see, I didn't say I was going to keep my calories at a certain number.  I'm not saying that I will eat between 1200 to 1300 calories.   I am simply going to keep it within my calorie count.  So therefore, if I go out for pizza one night.....I better run the heck off of my legs to 'pay the price'.  And there my friends is the loophole.......I may have to run every morning, walk every lunch break and hit up zumba each night, but if that's what it takes to keep my calories 'in line...then so be it.    Now the nice part?  I SHOULD be more active at the beach......so it should help with the calories....and I was already planning on taking my running clothes to maybe slip in one or two runs.

I've got this...

Loopholes and Queso

Monday I started this tracking stuff hard core.  I was all over that tracker, like white on rice.  I had this down!  No food was getting past my lips that wasn't going to be tracked.  After all, it's just a week......who can't do something for a week.  And then as I stood waiting for my zumba class to start it hit me.  I vowed to track every bite of my food......I did NOT vow to keep my food under a certain calorie count.  LOOPHOLE!!   Hot dog!  (pun intended!) I laughed to myself but I was fully confident that my calories would be spot on.  I knew what I was having for dinner and I also knew that zumba would net me a nice amount of calories that I could 'eat' if I needed.   I'm telling you.  I was all over this, nothing was going to derail me!

Class started......of rather the instructor greeted us....and then her music wouldn't play.  Luckily for her, it was a VERY light class (only three of us had showed up) and it was all regulars and friends that understand these things.  So we sent her home with a "no not worry" we are all good.    BUT the problem?  As soon as class was declared cancelled, Paula (my trusty side kick) threw up her hands and yelled "Margarita Monday!!!!"  

Now seriously?   What kind of friend would I be if I didn't offer to go with her to the local Mexican Restaurant to avail ourselves of the $1.99 margarita special?    We departed and change our clothes (yeah yeah, in the parking lot...what of it?) and headed off to El Ranchero.  Now let me make it clear.....I still had a small bit of control and I ordered a diet Pepsi and said no to the $1.99 margaritas to save my calories.  Yeah, ok so I don't drink much at all and it wasn't because of the caloric content for this one night...but STILL....I didn't drink, that had to count for something right?   Ok, now that I have bragged upon my alcohol-less night, let me say that when the waiter came over and the first words from our lips was "cheese/queso please"   I knew that it was going to go downhill from that moment.  ha ha ha.  I was WAAAAAAY over my calorie goal for Monday.  But you know what???  The goal wasn't to stay within my calories....the goal was to COUNT my calories, right????.  So a victory???  Maybe????

Tuesday!  I have this.  I can do it!   I woke up determined to beat the numbers game...I was going to stay within my calories while tracking everything.   And then my friend let me know that he was playing hookey from work....and well if he was doing it.....who was I to not join him.   So we went to the movies (once again, don't be a hater...Tuesday movies are only $5!!!)  And we went to lunch. Not bad right?   Uhhhh, a buffet style lunch?   I realized what I had done later in the afternoon/evening when I picked up my phone to actually track my food.  Uhhhhhhhh  yeah, I had a small spoon o corn.  And two hushpuppies....yeah, I had a small brownie, and a chicken wing....some mac and cheese......mashed potatoes.....a piece of pizza.....one nibble of the rice (which I didn't like)....and what else?   Hmmmm I've wracked my brain and I think I have everything.    I put it all in there.   Nope, no need to remind me of the salad that I SURELY ate...I didn't eat one!!!!  When all was said and done   I was 200 calories over for the day...and no exercise but I tracked.   A victory again?   Why yes, I'm going to say it is!

Moving on to today, Wednesday.  Here it is in the morning.  My breakfast is logged into myfitnesspal and here I sit at work.  I have grand plans to mow this afternoon (about an hour of push mowing...so activity) and then I plan to go to zumba tonight.  (more activity).   Maybe today I will conquer this tracking AND caloric goal thing. (even though the caloric goal wasn't part of the challenge....ha ha ha)

One week

I weighed myself this morning.  I was back up toward where I was the other week...not that wonderfully low number on the scales. That's ok.  No worries.  I don't know what happened then or now on the scales.  I'm just going to roll with whatever happens and do my best.  

I'm still struggling with tracking.  I am hitting it about 50% and I know that this deficit is a huge part of my weight issues at this time.  Yes, I accept full responsibility!!!  

So, my goal for this upcoming week.  Track EVERY BITE of food that enters my mouth!   Even as I type that, I'm groaning about this task.  It seems insurmountable.  I know it's not...but it sure does feel like it from where I'm sitting right now.  So that is what I am going to try to achieve. One week of tracking EVERYTHING...every meal.   And why it's going to work?    ANYONE can do something for a week.  A measly 7 days, that's nothing!  Piece of cake.  I'm not vowing to do anything past one week....because that's when things get difficult.....longevity is hard.  I'm only saying one week.  Easy Peasy!!!!!!

But in the meantime...my new mantra.....

Mixed bag of emotions race

I ran in the fourth annual Paws on the Pavement run in Hagerstown today.   It is a 5k and this run holds the distinction of being the race where I have managed to run a PR and that record still holds two years later.   So this run holds a special place in my heart.  It is my third time running this. (yeah, I wish I would have run the first one too...so I could say that I've run each and every one...but alas, I'll have to settle for saying I've run three of the four).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Running has proven to be very difficult for me late.  VERY difficult.  My legs just ache....my body just doesn't want to cooperate.  It's brutal.  So I went into the run today KNOWING that I would be lucky to complete it while running a snails pace and that instead I would probably be walking a good portion of it.  Oh well.....such is life.  

I ran a good bit.  Ok, so it was more of a shuffling walk.....but hey, I was moving.    I know what my pace has been of late (lots of walking breaks) and I wasn't expecting much.  I actually was expecting it to be about the same as my slowest 5K.   I just went to do it.    I also told Paula to run like the wind and not worry about me....to set her PR today!  

We met up with our running buddy Kristen and we were ready to roll.  (As a side note....Kristen and I almost always seem to run consistently the same pace.   Before I even met her in person..I would pace and leapfrog with her in local events.  It wasn't until after we met last year at a race that we started looking at the stats of previous runs and saw that we were almost always only a few people apart crossing the finish line.  She laughs and remembers a run where Paula ran by me and whacked my butt and I chuckle about how I ran behind the girl with pink headphones on a previous race.....turns out it was her...ha ha ha)

We gathered at the start line.  I was shocked.....the race had TOTALLY diminished in size over the three years I'd been running it.  Wow....SPARSE attendance....that doesn't bode well for year 5.  Hmmm    We listened to the normal pre-race chatter and then we were off.

Drat...I forgot to turn on my music.  I spent the first half mile trying to get my music working.  I spent the next mile running in silence before I realized the issue and FINALLY got music pumping through my headphones.  

I'd like to say that I sprouted wings and ran like the wind. I would like to say that I flew over that course and finished with a magical mystical time.   I didn't. I ran.  I am happy with my performance.  I ran quite a bit of it. (ok, my shuffle walk/jog combination...but I'm calling it a run).   I did have to stop and walk a few times..but I kept moving.   I am happy that I got out there and did it.  I am happy that I chose to not back out simpy because I knew I wasn't going to post great numbers.  I did it...and I am happy with myself for that.

You see. I finished it in 45:29. This now takes the place as my very worst ever time in any 5k I have run.  Why yes....the worst ever!   I'm ok with it though.   I have not been running consistently (two or three weeks of runs doesn't really count as consistent does it???). I have allowed myself to gain weight.  Finishing this run in any place other than last place is a victory!  (ok, so last place would still be a victory!!)

What I'm NOT ok with is the fact that I let myself fall backwards in weight loss......in running accomplishments......in my healthy lifestyle.  I'm disgusted with myself for allowing it.  

Next up Donut Alley Rally in early August.......I'm gonna smash my time ...or die trying!

Little bit of nothing

I am kinda sorta staying away from the scales.  I don't know what happened the other day and quite honestly I don't think I want to know.  I don't want to let the scales rule me. I don't want to ruin the good feeling.  I don't want to..... oh well....I'll weigh again in a few days.  Maybe I need to stay away from the scales.

So Tuesday night I skipped zumba.  My legs felt like DEAD WEIGHT....before zumba.   Monday night my legs were horrible....they ached the whole previous night. Just laying in bed they hurt.  So I took off on Tuesday night.  Today I felt much better so I hit up zumba.  So far so good....my legs feel like they worked out but not that terrible heavy painy feel.

Not much to say today......just trucking on.

What in the world???

The last seven to ten days haven't been easy.  I lost my cat and I lost a promotion at work. (one I desperately needed to survive and not have to rely on the generosity of my family).  It was rough.  I tried to maintain my eating and tracking.  I tried to maintain the no soda thing.  I failed...miserably.

Tracking?  Well, I think there was only one or two day that I tracked EVERYTHING.  I also did end up eating out a LOT.  One night we went to the Waffle House after zumba and noticed that they had added the calories to the menu.  Paula and I both cringed to see the actual calorie count of our meals.  But we still indulged in our 1300 calorie meals (ok, wait, we split a waffle so 1100 calories).  We called it a funeral wake for Lucy.  Yeah, I know that's wrong to use my newly departed fur-baby as an excuse to eat....but we did it.  (and honestly, my emotions were whacked out...it was just what it is.)  I went out with a friend on Wednesday....large pepperoni pizza, an appetizer and a shared dessert at Uno's.   Yeah, that couldn't have been healthy. (ok, let me calculate it....heaven help us....2920 calories...one meal.  Yup!)   Lets see, I went out on Saturday night to TGIF and had a salad...along with ..... oh wait lets just talk about the calories.  that meal was 1430 calories.    Sunday night I had pizza and crazy bread from Little Caesars.   It wasn't a stellar eating week. 

Soda?   Uhhhh   Yeah, some meals I managed to drink water.....not with my Little Caesars....nor with TGIF.....or waffle house......but definitely friday night dinner out with my parents...I definitely drank water then!!!!  

The last time I weighed myself I was 253.8.  That weight makes me heartsick.  My clothes are all tight.  If I don't do something soon I'm going to have to leave the 16/18's and move into size 20's.  Something I do NOT want to do....at all.    16's and 18's (ok, mostly 18's right now) is bad enough.    I have been very lax about weighing myself.  It's no fun to see my weight sitting the same.  I will vow to do good and I don't see my weight budge.  It makes no sense....and it kills my motivation.  Something possessed me this morning to step on the scales.  So early early early when I woke up I went to the bathroom and stepped onto the scales.  I looked down.  Really?   Hmmm  245.6   That's interesting.  I did a double take because i've been in the 250's recently...so I'm not quite sure about that.  But I went back to bed.  A while later my friend texted kinda out of the blue and asked what I weighed.   I wrote back. "It has to be wrong...because there is no way I lost 8 pounds in a week."  Seriously, I must have been half whacked when I weighed myself in the wee early hours of the morning.   Sooooo  when I finally got up and got moving I went back to the scales.  I stepped on and waited.  I looked down.  243.6   LOWER (hey, had an extra two or three hours and a bathroom trip).   REALLY??   There is no way!   Something has to be off.  People just don't lose 10 pounds in a week.

The only thing I'll say is when i was in Florida back in October I was stress free and I lost 5 in 5 days.....and I was eating out and eating bad foods the whole time.....maybe I was having a rough week but maybe somehow the underlying stress that has overtaken me in the last few months has seeped away...to wherever it is hiding.   I don't know.   

Either way...I'm MOTIVATED NOW!

Grrrr

Running this trip around is not proving to be easy.  I don't know what's up.   Back in March I did the fast track training plan to be prepared to run that 10k and I was actually prepared...ok maybe not prepared but I could run 6 miles!   My body accepted the added miles and all was good.

So fast forward to now.   My body is just not accepting the miles.  I'm struggling to get two measly miles done.   I can't even run those two measly miles.  Seriously!    My legs ache and it's just not pretty!  

Weight...this is probably the absolute highest weight that I have been while attempting to run.

Food....my food is still not under control, while I may be eating at least closer to my caloric goal, it's not healthy nutritious food much of the time. (smarties are nutritious right???)

Ankle.....my ankle still aches a bit....nuff said.

So somehow, someway I will power/struggle through the 5k next weekend. (Walk it??). And I have got to fix these known issues.

Rough week

Yes, I had to put my Lucy to sleep. 

I also got passed over for a job....again.

I did however go to Zumba 2 times and get three runs in.   My runs are brutal right now...the lack of consistent running and this extra weight is really doing a number on me!!!!!!

Ok....I can change this!!!  Consistency in running and lose the weight.

And surprise surprise. I find myself one week away from a 5k race and I am sooo not ready.  I'll be lucky at this point if I can do this run in less time than my longest 5k.   Why do I do this to myself? The plan right now is to get into 5k running shape. Because on the week of August 9 I have to start my 12 week training for my half marathon (which I need to register for....the Philadelphia rock and roll half!).   I have to be consistently doing 3-4 miles at the beginning of my training.    (And yes I may start slowly upping my mileage before hand if I can get there!!!!