Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Working hard

I have been very consious today of what I was eating. I was really proud of myself at lunch especially. I kept in mind my goal of not overeating and I was able to eat until I was full and not stuff myself, even with a huge plate of food in front of me!! I did good for dinner too, even though I wanted a snack a little bit later. I figured that it would be better to eat less for dinner and need a small snack than to overeat and be miserable. I also am thinking of checking out a book that a friend mentioned called Women, Food, and God. She said that it would help with my overeating tendencies, so I really hope to have time to read it soon.

I also went for a run today with a friend, J. We have been running several times a week, usually about 2 - 2 1/2 miles. It was taking us about 30-35 minutes, but I timed us yesterday and we did it in 25 minutes! I am so proud of us :-) It is really great to run with somebody, because we push each other and challenge each other more than we would by ourselves. We plan to run tomorrow as well, and maybe we can get our time even better so we can start adding more distance! (She may kill me for saying that when she reads it, lol!!)

I hope everyone is having a great week! Until next time...Stay fit!

Monday, May 24, 2010

Overeating

Overeating is one of my biggest struggles. I don't know what it is that makes me continue eating even though I know I don't need it or I'm already full. It's like this compulsion. I just get so frustrated with myself for letting the compulsion win. I think that some of my problem is emotional eating, but not all of it. I definitely eat more when I'm upset or stressed, but I also eat when I'm bored or if food is there tempting me. I always feel horrible afterwards also. Like today. I went to Arby's and got a sandwich and fries. I lovelovelove Arby's. But I didn't need ALL of that food I ate. I felt so stuffed and lethargic after I ate, and I knew as I was eating that I should stop, but I didn't. I'm not sure how to conquer this struggle, but for now I think I'm going to try to just think about how bad I feel after overeating while I'm eating so that maybe that will stop me. If anybody has any ideas or suggestions, I am open to trying just about anything. I know that there are appetite suppressants out there, but most of them are expensive and possibly won't work or are even dangerous. I am trying to live healthier and keep mostly natural things in my diet, so additives like appetite suppressants are not really something I want to try. I am going to work on this issue, and I will post later on how it's going!

Friday, May 21, 2010

I Heart Running

I am having a great, healthy week this week! I don't think I have lost any wieght yet, but I have been making really good food choices, and I have exercised several times.

Making healthy food choices has come a lot easier for me this week. I am starting to really enjoy eating food that is better for me. Notice that I say "better" and not "good". This is because I have replaced foods that are bad for me with foods that are better for me. I do eat a lot of good-for-me foods, but not all of them are. I would like to eventually be eating nothing but good-for-me foods, but for now I am trying to not make HUGE changes all at once. I have found a new cereal that I really like. It is called Honey Sunshine and it is made by Kashi. That plus Almond Breeze vanilla milk makes for a great breakfast that keeps me full for most of the morning. I have cheated a few times in the morning and had a Dr. Pepper, but I got some new teas last night at the grocery store so I am set now to keep soda cut out. For lunch I have been having Lean Cuisines (which are part of the "better" category), although I need to start eating more natural foods (less processed) like veggies and such. I have done pretty good this week at dinner. Last night I made subs with fresh turkey from the deli counter at the grocery store. I discovered how much better that meat is than the prepackaged meat last year, and I can't imagine having to go back. The only other night I cooked this week, I made tacos with lean beef (can you tell we love those around here!). My nephew was born this week, so we have not been home several nights for me to cook dinner. One night we ate in the hospital cafeteria, which is surprisingly decent, and I ate part of a stromboli that came to about 450 calories. I am trying to stay within a 1200 calorie range for calorie intake. I have found that 1200 calories is a good and attainable target for me when I am trying to lose weight. This is especially easy to do when I am eating fresh and healthy foods. I feel better when I eat that way and I have more energy and I feel better about my body. So that is several incentives to eat right!

I am really pumped about my exercise this week. I have run 3 times this week. On Tuesday, I ran and walked for 2 miles on my lunch break with a coworker (I'll refer to her as L). That felt really great and energized me for the rest of the day. L told me I am a fast runner, which surprised me. I had been able to run an 8 minute mile before I slacked off but now I can barely run a 12 min mile. I didn't think I was that fast, but it made me feel good that she said that. Then on Wednesday I went for a run by myself after work. I had to cut that one short, but I think I went about a mile and a half. Then my best run was on Thursday. I went about two and a half miles, but that wasn't the best part. The best part was that running finally clicked for me again. Before I slacked off, I LOVED to run. It was a great feeling, and I wanted to run, instead of feeling like I had to. When I started back again a few weeks ago, I had lost that love and I felt like it was soooooooo hard and I really didn't even want to do it. But it came back yesterday!! I don't know what made it click again, but while I was running, I got this feeling that it just felt so great to be running! If you don't run, I know that sounds silly, but if you love running, you know what I'm talking about. I've heard it called runner's high, but I'm not sure if that's what it is or not, I just know that I am so happy I finally have that feeling back and I actually want to exercise instead of just doing it because I feel like I have to. Also, exercising in general (not just running) is making me feel better and feel like I look better. It gives me confidence and energy that I didn't have when I wasn't exercising regularly enough. So that makes me want to continue also.

So, like I said, I haven't lost any weight yet, but the combo of these 2 things, eating right and exercising, will put me on that road and hopefully it will start showing soon :-)

TGIF! Hope everybody has a great weekend!!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Time for Truth

Happy Monday!

I have something I want to share today. I started this blog to be completely honest and open about my journey to a healthier me. In my last post, I said that I didn't want to tell my weight because I was upset about it. That is contrary to the point of my blog, so I will have to tell, no matter how upset I am about it. I will tell you first about my weight loss from last year. In April of 2009, I decided to lose 15 pounds. I had hit a high of 140 earlier in 2009 and had gotten down to about 135 last April. My goal weight was 120. Long story short, I worked really hard and finally hit a low of 118 about last September/October. Over the holiday and winter months, I slacked off and didn't watch myself and realized I was slowly but surely gaining it back. That was my motivation to start this blog. So, since I have been consciously working on being healthy, I have started weighing myself again. Last week when I was so upset about my weight, I clocked in at 129. I am very disappointed in myself for letting myself gain back 11 of the 17 pounds that I lost. Being under the weather and out of town like I have been lately hasn't helped, but I have also been just plain lazy. I think also that at a certain point, I got to where I felt like I had already gained back some weight so what would another pound hurt. I would go ahead and eat those unhealthy things or skip exercising for a week at a time, and I would think, oh I'll get back into it next week. But I never did. So like I said in my last post, that is all changed now. I want to get back to my "happy weight" and be able to feel good about my body and want to keep it that way. I have a renewed committment to eating healthy and exercising and I am really looking forward to gettting back into being a healthier me. So, that's the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Finally Friday!

I have not posted in way too long! There are various reasons for this, the main one being that I was in Boston for 6 days. My attempts at being healthy while there = FAIL! I took my workout clothes/shoes, but the hotel charged to use the cardio machines (which I was not about to pay for) and I didn't want to run outside when I wasn't familiar with the area. Also, the food we were fed was terrible. Half the time it was just hors d'ouevres or something that I had no idea what it was. So needless to say, I didn't eat very healthy from scavenging whatever else I could find. Other reasons for my being lax the last few weeks would be a combination of laziness and no time. I am paying for it now though, I have really put on the pounds in the last couple of months. I don't even want to post the number, I am so unhappy about it.
This week, however, I am getting back on the wagon. On Wednesday I went for a run with a friend. I find it so much easier to exercise with someone else. I particularly like doing so with this friend because we always challenge each other and we push each other to work harder than we would individually. I have even got her hooked on running! :-)
I have been eating much better this week as well. I have been eating a high fiber and high protein cereal with almond milk for breakfast. For snacks I have been eating carrots, string cheese, cantaloupe, honeydew melon,and rice cakes. I've had salad, grilled chicken, and shrimp for lunches. I also made whole wheat spaghetti one night, and tacos with lean meat another night.
Ok, I have to go get ready now to go out to eat for our anniversary, yay! I will try to eat something healthy, and I will update on how I do!
TGIF!! Have a great night <3