Where'd the Wagon Go?

I haven't posted in a while because to be honest, I want to preach what I practice, and this last week I've been far from a saint. I started making excuses to not eat healthy...and they kept growing and growing!  Here are my top 3 excuses and the reasons I felt justified in breaking away from my diet:


1. A Going Away Party - I wouldn't see my friend for 3 months as he traveled for work, and since we took him out to a nice restaurant, I decided to get what everyone was raving about - the baked mac and cheese, topping over 1,000 calories...  I don't go out to fancy places much, so I wanted to treat myself (and I admit, peer pressure played a part...sigh).


2. Eating Dinner at the Mall Food Court - My hubby and I had just bought a couple new games. We knew that the rest of the night we'd be glued to our controllers and wouldn't take the time to make dinner, so we decided to eat at the mall. While looking at a BBQ place, McDonalds, Sbarro, etc, we went with Panda Express and ordered the steamed rice...but we cancelled out that healthy choice with the other options they offered...and that meal went over 1,000 calories as well.


3. Ordering Buttered Popcorn at the Movies - I only see movies in the theatre about 3-4 times a year at best, so I once again gave in to peer-pressure and ate a medium buttered popcorn while watching the Hunger Games.


So those are my three biggest sins for this past week.  These all tied in to not working out as well.  I didn't make the time to go to the gym on those days, especially since I was feeling stuffed and just wanted to chill on the couch instead. 

I'm surprised looking back to notice how past actions can have a domino effect.  It's easy to keep going down that familiar road, and keep stacking up the bad habits...and live with the consequences of weight gain and poor health.  But instead, I'm starting again today, full force!  I had my Fiber Once cereal for breakfast, and 0% fat Greek yogurt and granola for a mid-morning snack.  I have a spinach, mushroom and carrot salad packed for lunch with raspberry vinaigrette, and I think for dinner I'll do a grilled chicken breast on the George Foreman grill with some steamed broccoli and a glass of ovaltine for dessert.  I'll get back on the wagon that I fell off of, and stay on it this time around!

Don't flirt with me - I'm workin' out!

When do you feel the sexiest?  Possibly when you're wearing a cute little black dress with strappy heels?  Or riding a bull at the western bar?  Maybe just waiting for the bus, turning your head so that the slight breeze blows your hair like you're in a shampoo commercial.  But not at the gym...unless you're already in shape, which I am not.

But there I was, stepping off my elliptical after 20 minutes and wiping the sweat off my forehead, uppper lip, everything! My face looked like a 3-day long sunburn was pasted on it, and my mouth was hanging half-way open.  Oh baby. Oh baby.  I grabbed my water bottle to head over to the weights when the guy who was on the  elliptical next to me told me he liked my shirt.  What?  Did I hear that right?  And he said, yeah, that the shirt looked really good on me.  He stopped and leaned closer to read what it said....

The logo on my shirt - just not as dirty!

"Average Joe gym, huh?  Well, you're anything but average!" I smiled and said thanks, and promptly turned to get over to the weights as soon as possible!  Why would he be hitting on me at a time like this, with a shirt like that, AND a ring on my hand!?  There's definitely something that he's seeing that is absent when I look in the mirror.

I head over to the weights and start on the one at the end that works your triceps when you push the handles forward (example below).  I'm on my last rep of 10 when sweaty creeper guy comes over to the machine next to me and starts to tell me how I'm wasting my time going from one machine to the next when I could just focus on the machine that he's on.  I let him know that I'm fine doing my machine migration, but he insists that once I try his machine, I'll be hooked.  He even offered to show me how to do the exercises! 

Apparently this machine has sex appeal.

I finally pry myself away from the conversation and keep going down the row of weight machines, farther and farther from the wanna-be-boyfriend.  I end up only doing a few machines before being ready to go home.  It threw off my groove for the night, and I couldn't get back into "the zone" of working out.

My husband found the whole thing pretty amusing, and said that I held my own fairly well.  I know that I should find it flattering, but instead I was annoyed the whole time.  The gym is my zen place of sorts, and I don't like distractions.  I get home from work after 10 hours and all I want to do is focus on my body and how far I can push it.  I don't want to worry about keeping advances at bay.  Plus, there's the sexy factor.  There isn't one, and if I don't feel sexy while I'm doing an activity, any sort of attempted flirting is baffling to me!

I hope that he got the hint that I'm not interested and I don't have to play keep-away at the gym tonight!  But, I will give him props for giving it a try.  Maybe the next chic that he says hi to will be a little more receptive that I was.

Eating Healthy - Mexican Style

Is there really such a thing as a healthy item on a Mexican restaurant's menu?  This is a dilemma to me, because living in Colorado gives me access to numerous Mexican cuisines on a daily basis!  In fact, the building I work in has a burrito place, and a Chipotle and Qdoba are each  within two blocks of this building!

I know there is healthy Mexican food - in fact, I could simply throw some rice, tomatoes and black beans into a tortilla and call that a healthy burrito!  But that's in the comfort of my own home.  When I eat out, I'm faced with a menu filled with items that are fried, smothered with cheese and chili, and topped with sour cream - AND all served in larger portions than we should ever encounter!  There is no option to have steamed veggies on the side, nor is there a salad menu (yeah, a taco salad is NOT healthy...).  I feel doomed every time!

I cannot find it in me to recommend cutting back on the tequila though....

So I did a little research online and created a list to share with you guys!  Here's some tips for finding healthier options at a Mexican restaurant:

- NO queso/cheese dip for an appetizer
- No more that about 10-12 chips dipped in salsa (that is one serving size that equals around 200 calories).
- Nothing deep fried (taquitos, chimichanga, etc)
- Black Beans instead of Pinto or Refried
- Brown instead of White Rice
- Grilled Chicken instead of Beef
- Soft Shells instead of Hard (hard=fried)
- Corn instead of Flour Tortillas (less calories)
- Or even better, go naked!  No Toritlla at all!
- Hold the cheese, sour cream and avocado/guac (avocados are healthy, but are high in calories which you won't want with a meal that's already bursting at the seams!)
- And, of course, only order water with your meal instead of a soda:)

I'm hoping this will help for the next time you go out for Mexican!  My next time is in about 50 minutes with some co-workers...wish me luck!

Hollz 2, Treadmill 0

While I haven't quite conquered my nemesis the Treadmill yet, I'm getting pretty darn close!  Last time I could barely lift a hand to wipe the sweat off my brow, and was so tense that I might as well have been standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon!  Today though, I took both hands off the bar!  Woot! It first happened during the walking phase, but still, I consider that improvement!  

After a bit of walking with my arms swinging like a pro, I increased the speed to the point where I could start running and grasped the bar again without hesitation. The digital display began 'recommending' that I take my hands off of the heart-rate monitor bar.  Ha, fat chance mister Treadmill, I know you're secretly planning on my demise!  So I held on for dear life for about a quarter of a mile - when suddenly some little daredevil inside me made me take off my hands!  It was only for a few seconds, but for those few seconds I was actually running on the treadmill like a normal gym rat!  I quickly realized what I was doing and grabbed the bar again.  But that sense of pride, of taking another step to dominating the treadmill, was mine for the night!

I can't wait to see what I accomplish on my next round! Thou shalt not win, oh Treadmill of Annihilation!

Couch to 5K madness!

I know that I was supposed to provide an update with my treadmill journey, but since the hubby was replacing the breaks on our car today, I figured I'd try something new.

I'll be running my first ever 5K in a couple months, so what better way to train than to download the Couch to 5K app!  It's a fairly simple app - once you open it all I had to do is click the very first icon on the top titled "Start My Run."  This is my kind of technology!

Leaping off the couch to run a 5K can be hazardous to your health...start with the app first!

Instead of just timing how long it took me to run a full mile like I used to do, I felt like I was actually going through a training routine.  Day 1 of Week 1 consisted of a 5 minute warm up, followed by 8 running intervals (about .10 miles a piece) that are separated by a fast paced walk.  After completing the 8 intervals in about 18 minutes, I ended with a 5 minute cool-down walk.  It wasn't too much too fast. I definitely got my heart pounding and sweat pouring, but my knee started hurting during the last running interval.  I made it through without stopping, but I'm a bit worried if it starts acting up again...hmmm, we'll have to see what the future holds.

 

Here's the details of my run below - you can see that half way through I ran at the pace of a 9 minute mile - woot!  

miles/yards km/metres

Stage Distance Time Pace WU 474 yards 5:00 18:32 1 153 yards 1:00 11:27 1R 164 yards 1:30 16:01 2 158 yards 1:00 11:04 2R 122 yards 1:30 21:27 3 182 yards 1:00 9:37 3R 130 yards 1:30 20:10 4 175 yards 1:00 10:00 4R 148 yards 1:30 17:45 5 196 yards 1:00 8:58 5R 202 yards 1:30 13:03 6 167 yards 1:00 10:31 6R 146 yards 1:30 18:03 7 152 yards 1:00 11:31 7R 131 yards 1:30 20:05 8 171 yards 1:00 10:16 CD 476 yards 5:00 18:27 Total 1.37 miles 18:30 13:31 inc WU/CD 1.91 miles 28:30 14:55

Even though this is my first day using this app, it comes with my full recommendation!  This will be a nice supplement to my gym visits and occasional work out videos.  I'm still going to tackle that treadmill from my nightmares this week, but ideally I'll do more outdoor running when I can!

Tackling my fear - the Treadmill edition

My hubby ended up reading my blog post about the Treadmill of Doom.  And since all men want to be the hero, he offered to help me overcome my fear this morning.  Not one to turn down a challenge (well, skydiving doesn't count), I accepted and we went over to the row of treadmills at the gym.

They stalk their prey in a semi-circle...beware the ambush!

He stood to the side while I pressed the Quick Start button.  The track beneath me started moving at a snails pace.  Now, this may have been my problem in the past - I found it embarrassing to be taking a leisurely stroll on a treadmill, so I would always speed it up quickly so I at least got to a speed-walk/jogging pace.  And then I'd freak out, yank the stop button, and hold back the tears of shame as I stepped on an elliptical instead.  But here I was, slowly walking on the treadmill, and my husband telling me that it was OK to be starting off slow.  And that encouragement really helped.

I started to relax more, and got to the point where I told him to up the speed.  Eventually I got to that awkward point on the treadmill where it's a bit too fast to walk, and too slow to jog.  You know what I'm talking about.  Most people just up the speed right past that point, but my fear started creeping up on me again, and I was forced to remain in that awkward stage for at least a minute.  Finally I pried my hand loose from the bar and pushed the speed up to a comfortable jog - speed 4.  

My husband, in between speaking words of encouragement, was definitely was holding in the laughter at how tense I looked.  When I asked what was so funny, he replied that it looked like I was running with a puckered butt-hole.  Thanks, love.  That's my dream man, right there.

As if my red face wasn't embarrassing enough...

I made it to the half mile mark before stopping - I could have kept going, but my hands were sweating from my anxiety so much that they kept slipping off the heartbeat monitor bar!  I felt good that I was able to stay on the dreaded machine more than 10 seconds, but I'm far from my goal of going 3 miles without stopping before my first 5K.  I'm pretty sure that I'll still have my hubby-coach by my side next time I tackle this though...which will be tomorrow morning, yikes!

I'll update you on how session two of the Treadmill of Doom goes.

Cravin' the Cheese!

I recently posted on Twitter about how I am substituting Cholua sauce for cheese on my eggs in the morning. Cholua has 0 calories, and we all know how bad cheese can be for you! So, @MissLegallyFit had asked if I have a problem with cheese cravings, and I realized that I really do! It's not just my craving for queso/salsa dip (which, by the way, I haven't eaten since before Lent started!), but it's a craving for cheese in every meal! Extra cheesy eggs in the morning, extra cheese on my sandwich at lunch, mac and cheese for dinner, and cheese and crackers for a snack used to be a normal day. @MissLegallyFit suggested that I possibly wasn't getting enough calcium in my diet - but I'm not sure this is the case. My daily vitamin gives me some calcium, and I usually have at least 1 8oz glass of soy milk a day. So I went researching on the net!

 

 

Everything I found online suggests that I crave cheese because I'm actually addicted to it! I used to think that a food addiction is a poor excuse for not having self control. "Oh, I can't stop drinking Pepsi because I'm addicted - oh well!" I hated those excuses. I wanted the person just to admit that they won't stop drinking soda for a specific reason, or because they simply like it too much. Don't blame it on addiction.

 

 Beware of signs of addiction in your own children

 

 

But here I am, debating if I had/have an addiction to cheese. Dangle all the chocolate in the world in front of me, and I can easily walk away - but one slice of cheese, and I can't say no! So, after cutting out queso a couple weeks ago, I've been slowly finding reasons to NOT eat cheese. Adding extra veggies on a sandwich instead of cheese, or creating a breakfast burrito with only eggs, black beans and salsa. It's been slowly cutting back the cravings, that's for sure...which means that maybe the addiction was for real. Regardless, I've been cutting back which is what matters.

 

Check out these sites if you're interested, and do some research on your own to understand your own cravings and find a way to beat it:

 

Stop Craving Cheese

 

Conquer Your Cravings

 

Cheese Addiction

 

 

Did I mention that I also dream of cheese and rainbows?

 

I've got 99 problems...

Maybe instead of saying problems, I should label them excuses.  99 excuses to not go to the gym, not eat veggies for a snack, not go for a walk during lunch...on and on.  And I would argue that most of my excuses are valid.  They don't consist of TV-watching, video-game-playing silliness.  The excuses I find are the valid kind, of having to work through lunch, or needing to write a blog post (thanks social media!).  

Crunches can wait - it's blogging time!

But are these excuses worth it?  I was planning on doing a side-by-side comparison or some sort of graphic to show the instances that choosing an excuse over health is more beneficial.  But the same result would come up in every situation.  The excuse was always worth it for instant gratification and satisfaction.  But when I looked any long term goals, including living past my 60's with minimal health issues, no excuse could compare.  I am planning for my future with a 401K, but that won't do me any good if I have multiple heart attacks before age 65 like my father-in-law.  I need to plan for a long, healthy life today and stop procrastinating.


So, it's time for a new list of rules for myself:
- I have to track every thing I eat in My Fitness Pal - no skipping because I know I ate a bad meal!
- I am not allowed to write a new blog post until after I've already worked out for the day - I cannot use this as an excuse to skip the gym!
- If I'm busy at work, then I will take at least 15 minutes in the afternoon to go for a quick walk - this also will help me de-stress to make it through the rest of the day!
- I will go grocery shopping for fresh fruits, veggies and lunch items once a week - this means I prepare my lunch at home and won't spend extra money (and calories!) eating out during the week!


That's a good start - once those rules become habits, then I can add some additional ones.

More Exercise = Less Beer

I used to drink almost every day. Not heavily, but usually a beer or two when I got home from work, plus a few extra drinks on either Friday or Saturday night. It wasn't a problem at all, but when you think about the calories from not only the beer, but from the bar food as well, and it's not a surprise that I was rapidly expanding my mid-section. I always said that if I just cut the beer out of my life, I'd drop a good 10 pounds. But how can you say no to a cold one after a stressful day at work? It was my vice, and I was fine with that because of the stress relief that came with it.

 

 

When I started hitting the gym 5 days a week, I noticed a change almost immediately. I didn't have time to have a beer when I got home from work, because I was leaving again within 15 minutes to go to the gym. Then coming home afterwards, I was high from the endorphins that the workout released, and no longer needed a beer to relax me for the night. I basically killed the cravings for alcohol during the week, either by working out or eating healthier.

 

  Vodka in a water bottle helps kill the beer cravings as well

 

The interesting thing is that this isn't in line with what the most recent scientific studies show. This link from the New York Times sums up a couple of these studies. It seems that most people drink more  with an active lifestyle. So, technically I should be maintaining my pre-healthy-lifestyle-change levels of drinking at the very least, if not drinking more. But hey, I'm not going to complain. Thanks to cutting back on the beer-a-night lifestyle, I'm now a cheap date for the hubby! 

 

 

That's my kind of workout!