Day 242-31

Ran today. Needed to since I ate popcorn last night…I’m so weak! But ended the 30/5 minutes with 2.75 miles and 320 calories. Felt good though. I ran the first 17 minutes straight through, walked for 3, ran for 5, walked for 1, ran for 4, cool-down for 5. Lots of sweat. :)

I’m really enjoying getting up in the morning like this. Of course I yawned as I typed that, but seriously. It’s great to get up and get going in the morning, and often I get to see the sunrise since I’m up so early. I think this exercise thing is helping me too. I’m feeling a bit more organized. ~ okay so scratch that last one. ~

Day 241-30

What a day. It’s raining. I love the rain. But still tired today – trying to catch up on sleep from these shorter nights I’ve had lately. So, I ellipticated (maybe that’s the better verb tense) this morning instead of running. 30 min, 357 cal, 1.91 mil, 60 avg rpm.

Then I read this this morning:

You must burn 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound, according to the United States Tennis Association.
Top Burners in 30 minutes:

(1) Running (450 calories @ 6 mph)
(2) Stair Climber (400 calories)
(3) Step Aerobics (380 calories)
(4) Bicycling/Tennis/Swimming (370 calories)
(5) Rowing (320 calories)

Eating 500 fewer calories per day will result in a weight loss of 1 pound per week. Eating 250 fewer calories per day combined with a 250-calorie burning type exercise will also result in a weight loss of 1 pound per week. Combining diet with exercise is a healthier, more balanced, and more successful way of losing weight than by dieting alone.

I wonder if this is over a day or over a week, or just in general. If I’m burning 350 cal a day, 5 days a week that’s only 1750. I’m only half way there. I wish I could gage how many calories I burn throughout the day – but that’s hard since I’m eating, too. Maybe I just need to also ellipticate at night.

Day 240-29

Whoa. Yesterday was such a long day. Got up and ran, as I stated, then was at work early to help set up for a conference. Worked all day then at 4:15 started helping to set up for another event and was on my feet til 9:15. crashed hard last night, being dehydrated (hardly drank at all yesterday) and hungry (kind of missed supper, save a few crackers with cheese and ham).

BUT still got my BUTT out of bed this morning and ellipticaled (is that a word? Can it be made into a verb like we do with missional? Well, I’m going to.) for 30 minutes, Level 4, 1.90 miles, 330 calories. Nice burn in the muscles this morning. I took a long hot shower to try to loosen things up but I think I just used up all the hot water instead. I need a hot tub.

Day 239-28

Whew…ran this morning, and it felt good to a point. I learned, again, this morning why I prefer running alone. First, if you’re not running in sync with the person next to you, the off rhythm thump-thump-thump of their feet can really throw you off. Second, if the guy next to you is an avid marathoner, it can be quite daunting to try to keep your flabbing butt moving when he looks like a swizzle stick. And third, when the guy next to you not only listens and SINGS to his music, but also proceeds to hold a LOUD conversation with the walking woman next to him (so much so that she would comment and he would yell “what?” so she would have to yell her answer or comment back) the thought of running alone around the lake in the morning becomes SO much more appealing. Guh.

So I ran/jogged/walked for 30/5, 2.56 miles, burned 309 calories (if you can trust the machines), then went home and showered and napped. I really needed the nap today since I woke up at 12:15 this morning having only slept for 3 hours and then tossed and turned for the next 4. I hate that…it just makes the day hard. I’m guessing I’ll be crashing around 8:30 again this week like I did last. But onward through the fog…

Day 235-24, 236-25, 237-26, 238-27

Uffda – weekend was okay, I didn’t eat super great but I wasn’t awful either, until last night that is, when I ate popcorn for supper. man. But I did make a Guinness Cake so that’s a good thing.

Didn’t work out all weekend, but did make it in this morning and did the elliptical for 30 minutes. Can you trust those calorie counters? If so, then I burned quite a few and went over 4 miles. It’s a nice burn at least with mild sweating. I tried to keep my heartrate (if you can trust that sensor too) in the target zone instead of going over like I usually do. Hopefully it was beneficial all around.

Day 234-23

Okay…so peer pressure and stress sucks. Ate ice cream yesterday – way more than I wanted or needed or should have even thought about, and surprisingly it tasted pretty gross (yet, I ate it all). So not good. And then I had a jelly donut today! UGH! And it also tasted gross! What am I going to do with myself… just shoot me, shoot me now.

At the gym again this morning – rough morning getting out of bed since it was a later night last night with church and choir. So I jogged for 5 minutes to warm up, but I was trying to read FEN’s new short-story so I moved to the elliptical for 20 minutes. A smoother ride and intense. I didn’t sweat as much but I got a nice burn in my legs and actually burned more calories faster (if you can believe the computer program on the machine). I’ll have to mix up my cardio I think and add that to the mix on occasion though. It was a nice change.

Day 233-22

WOOHOO! 3 days in a row. Though I almost didn't make it. I had to encourage me to get up but once I did I felt good. Went to bed last night at 8:30 though I was so tempted to go to bed when I got home from Lo-To with JB at 7:30. I forced myself to stay up another hour – did dishes, watched DH from the 12^th…then I couldn’t keep my eyes open so I crashed. I’m blaming it on the lesser amounts of sleep, the martini, and the massage.

But this morning was good. Ran my 1.5 mile without stopping – not the best time but it is going down at least. Then walked for 2 minutes and ran the rest of the time. This is an improvement even on the last two days. Then I went home and slept for 20 minutes. I love morning naps. They’re so inspiring. :)

Day 232-21

Day two in the gym at 5am…uffda. Tired today and I even went to bed at 0930. it feels good to run right away in the am though. I did get my fake mp3 player working (a special a few months ago from avon, no less) so I don’t have to worry about the cd skipping and I picked up new headphones that go over the ears so I didn’t have to mess with those. Ah, the little pleasures in life. I do find it funny that I get up at 4:45, get to the gym by 5:15, run/walk for 30-35 minutes, drive home and then I take a 15 minute nap before getting ready for work. I’m so weird.

Food is okay – I am packing my own food for lunch and such, which is a big step. The jelly donuts keep calling out to me though. Hopefully they won’t be too detrimental in the end.

Day 231-20

Starting the week out well. Got up at 4:45 this morning and dressed and went to the gym. Ran for 30 minutes – good but a little rough since I haven’t actually ran since last Sunday – just been lifting and tossing snow. Hopefully this AM running routine will help. At least I won’t feel guilty at night when I don’t go, but if I am able to go again at night, I’ll feel doubly good! Plus I was able to eat breakfast and down 32 oz of CL before I left for work…a good start to the day. Of course, I just had 6 donut holes…but with the stress of the job this morning…that seems mild. Plus Keith had said to eat more carbs in the AM hours instead of PM. But here I go...on the road to a new and hopefully improved self! woohoo!

Day 228-17, 229-18, 230-19

Uffda. Weekend was pretty pathetic. I eat like crap on the weekends. Case in point: Sunday AM I got up for church, had 2 hard boiled eggs (sans yolk) and then at 10, btwn services, I had 6 cookies. I got home and read the paper, had 2 more cookies and felt so tired that I took a 2 hour nap. I got up at 3:30 and realized I hadn’t eaten really that day, so I had my chicken salad. Then off to the movies where I had popcorn :( and a DC.

On a good note I did get my food put together for the week – I made my spinach/egg casserole and had my salad all put together for this morning. Someday I’ll figure this all out.

Day 227-16

FINALLY! I got home Thursday night, and though I should have shoveled I opted to veg a little instead. So I did a load of laundry, marinated my chicken in a tasty mix*, and had a bubble bath. AH…I should have gone to the gym, or spent a couple hours scraping off more of the snow from the sidewalks since apparently I don’t get them clean enough (ahem, Charlie).

*The chicken marinade was good (2Tbsp honey, ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce, 1 clove garlic minced and a Tbsp of something else – I can’t remember) but I don’t have a broiler pan so I just baked it instead. That didn’t do much to the chicken so I’ll probably wait to make this again til I can grill them.

But at least I can have my salad Friday with my chicken instead of walking to Speedy for a sandwich or eating cookies and DC like yesterday. (oops)

Day 226-15

Maybe I should be thankful for the snow – at least it’s getting me out shoveling… I’m doing something by ways of exercise. But yuck…enough already! Oh wait, it’s snowing again…nevermind. So another small smiley – 45 minutes Wed. AM for shoveling out the garbage area. Of course then I get home Wed. night from choir and see that the city had plowed the streets so my approach was full again. ugh. Food sucking again today – soon and very soon I’ll be back on track with my eating plan.

Day 225-14

Shoveled Tuesday am…that was a small smiley, not a big one like Monday. Eating like crap. Haven’t had time to even cook at night. I can’t wait til this week from hell is done…then back on track.

day 224-13

Does shoveling my driveway for 3 hours count for a smiley? I think it does…a big-ass smiley. Just a little one for this morning since I was only out there an hour.

Ugh snow.

Day 222-11, 223-12

WOOHOO! Two smileys for me! I went to the gym Friday night, shocked at how many people were there at 7pm – I thought I was the only one without a life. Huh. But ran to the disc from keith…kick ass. Saturday I vegged – took the day off and made cookies instead. Plus I was a little sore from Friday – not surprising since I haven’t ran since January (uffda). Sunday AM I got up, skipping church since I was going at 7pm anyway, and ran again. Again, shocked at how many people were at the gym at 8:30 on a Sunday morn. No wonder our churches are in trouble – they’re all at the gym. Maybe there’s a ministry for someone to start: communion on the treadmill, preaching to the pavement pounders, whatever. My disc was again kicking butt but my disc player sucked. It kept stopping and then skipping. So I’ll have to get a new player I guess. Crappy. But I need to do it anyway, the ear plugs hurt my ears and kept falling out on Sunday. Need to save what little hearing I have left. But the running felt great. I’m hoping to go tonight but with all the shoveling I’ll have to do I probably won’t make it in. Tomorrow is the Guthrie and Wednesday is choir so I’m not back to the gym til Thursday if I don’t go tonight. We’ll see how I feel. I know Charlie was shoveling the front walk this morning but the driveway hasn’t been touched. I guess I should have gotten up at 5 and shoveled, but at the rate it was coming down it would have been back to that same level by 7 when I left anyway.

Days 218-7, 219-8, 220-9, 221-10

Ugh. I have been eating like crap. I chalk it up to ragweek but it just sucks. And I haven’t been in the gym in a month. (no smiley’s) :(

So I’m going to make a turn around – today, the 10^th, has already sucked for food – since I forgot breakfast in the container on the stove and ate blechy cafeteria breakfast and lunch instead. Ew…I just feel the fat growing on my body. Ew.

I know I keep saying this but I really need to take a stand for my body – I would like to lose 10 pounds by my birthday. I think this was part of my initial goal back when I started this whole SB thing 7 odd months ago, not that I ever stated it. I for sure what to be below 140 by Alaska time (April 18) so that gives me 3 weeks or so to my birthday, and over a month to Alaska. I should be able to do it, even with the cookies.

Chicken!

I miss you, K. I had my leftover chicken today at lunch and someone walked by and said, “What is that?” And I, of course, yelled out, “Chicken!”

Miss ya, girl. I need to come visit soon.

Day 215-3, 216-4, 217-5, 217-6

O! the weekend sucked. I felt like crap last weekend…maybe a touch of the flu Carol had or maybe just the sudden change in my eating plan again. I haven’t had a homemade cookie in over a week. I’m beginning to suffer from withdrawl and I’m supplementing with SF candy, jello and pudding. Not a good idea. So then to get my body back on track I ate ‘real’ food this weekend (i.e. krispy kreme donuts, BK, frozen yogurt). I think it actually helped. Yesterday I felt SO much better and was able to eat fairly normal. Last night I made up an egg/spinach bake thing – kind of like the spinach quiche cups in the SB book but not completely. I would have made my spinach/egg casserole but I forgot turkey to cut into it and it’s really bland without it. AND I made my spicy chicken again. mmmm. Good eats for the day.

The next step: getting my butt back to Bally’s.

day 213-1, 214-2

Okay so my Lenten journey of no cookies and starting Phase 1 has already been blown. So much for self control. Maybe that’s what I should have worked on. In my defense, guard weekend is coming up and it’s a paper weekend so I know it’ll be stressful (a good stressful though) so I’ll be munching a lot. Sunday I’m shopping again so Monday will be a true Phase 1, all with whoosh week and everything. One month to my goal date so I really need to get my ass in gear…literally. Monday also will bring Bally’s back into my life. I have to or I’m afraid I’ll balloon back up to that evil weight and I just can’t do that to myself again. I’m worth more than that.

oreos?

These people have sugar free chocolate sandwich cookies that seriously taste like Oreos. mmmm

day 212-28

Tuesday would have been a good day if I had been a good girl…but instead I had the jelly donut, then I went out to don pablo’s with a friend, which would have been fine but I had the chips and salsa and a rum & dc.

So today begins phase 1 all over again. it’s okay though…maybe better to start at the beginning of the month – clean slate and all that.