Post-Holiday Challenge!

OK, my friends! I've been an absentee blogger for multiple reasons. You can get up to speed on my shenanigans over here on my other blog.

But as for THIS blog, we've got some work to do! I am on a hiatus from working out because of my surgery, but hopefully that will just be another week or so. I felt convinced I'd want to work out just a few days after my surgery, but not even close. I'm going to wring the maximum out of my recovery time even though I have angst over the combination of holiday indulgence and no exercise.

So, what's on the horizon? A challenge! A challenge, I tell you!

I'm going to be e-mailing people about it first. If I don't e-mail you and you want details, please let me know.

But, it will involve Beachbody because I love them and I love their products and I think they're the bomb. I feel I have Beachbody programs and Shakeology to thank for my fitness and I like sharing the love. It will involve doing a Beachbody program and drinking Shakeology, so yes, there will be an expense for those of you who have not yet tried their products.

The start date will be January 2, 2012. The challenge will be 30 days long.

Why am I doing a challenge that involves you buying something? Because I believe in it, people. I think I've told you before about Oprah's quote on a Favorite Things show once. She said, "You know if I'd found the magic bullet to weight loss, I'd have put it on the Favorite Things and given it to all of you." But honestly, I feel that strongly about the Beachbody products--they are the magic bullet Oprah and the rest of us are looking for. It worked for me--I am living proof that you can be in the best shape of your life at the age of 4......forty-something. Ugh. Regardless, if you're 30-something, 50-something, or 60-something, you can do this. Will it be a challenge? Yes, that's why we call it a challenge. Can you do it? Of course you can. I'll tell you how it works, you follow along. It's that easy.

So for those of you not wanting to spend the money, not wanting to do it, not wanting to commit, not wanting to work hard, I say WAH! No more excuses. No more whining that you don't have time or money or whatever. You do. If it means enough to you, you'll do it. And you'll see results. I guaran--fricking--tee it that if you follow the plan, you will get the results you want.

Again, more details to follow, but this is a heads up. It's time to invest in yourself and get this done.

You can thank me later by nominating me for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The end.

Pardon Me While I Undo My Top Button

Truly, I feel like Halloween is the start of a slippery slope to New Year's. I think I said that in a recent post. I cling to the slippery slope for awhile and then I slide down a bit.

I was hoping that I wouldn't have enough weight to lose to participate in my friend's annual weight loss challenge this year. If I don't get my act together, I think the outlook could be grim and I could be right up there in the running for the contest this year! Ack!

When I find myself struggling, I realize that I need to get back to eating more raw. Cooked food tends to trigger overeating with me, so this week I will be focusing on my eating habits. You know, like always.

For now, I'm reclinging and trying to digest a piece of apple pie the size of Rhode Island.

At least it wasn't Texas.

The Goal

I just used that as a title because it's the title of a book that I read when I was in grad school and I saw it on the bookshelf this morning when I was working out. It's good. You should read it. If you feel moved to read about transportation and logistics, that is.

Anyway, goals are on my mind lately because...I don't really have any. And when I don't have specific goals, it usually means trouble.

There have been some good milestones lately. I tried on some pants in a store the other day and they were in a size that I never envisioned I would wear. Ever. Never ever. Ultimately, I didn't buy them so I WON'T be wearing them--they were snug (but the fact that I could even put them on and button them is cause for a NEWS ALERT) and I didn't feel they were an appropriate expenditure of money heading into the holiday season where I need all of my funds to buy Christmas gifts and all of my calories for Christmas cookies. Bottom line: they probably wouldn't fit my bottom after a few Christmas cookies anyway so that size will wait for another time of year.

(FYI: I'm going to write about "vanity sizing" on my other blog because I feel certain it's why I could pull up and button pants of "that size.")

Anyway, last week I was all motivated and gung ho and then I totally hit the wall. Don't know what my deal was. I did make it through the week with my workouts, but my eating wasn't the greatest and I think that's probably contributing to fatigue. In the end, I had to take this past Tuesday off.

A day off! Right at the start of the week! I know! Crazy.

And then yesterday, I wanted to take the day off again, because sometimes I get lazy. I told myself to just get the DVD in the player and start and it would all work out. Which it did. I'm guessing I gave about 40% effort, but some days, 40% is better than 0%.

That's what I tell myself.

So a few points/lessons for myself today and maybe they will help you, too:
-I need a specific goal. Always. If I don't, I start floundering and a skipped workout here, a cheese stick there--and it all starts to come unglued. That may sound obsessive to some people, but I have definitely learned over the years how my mind and body operate. And I know that for me, it's a slippery slope that I'll descend very quickly if I don't keep things in check. Yes, I certainly loosen up and enjoy food and skip workouts, but it can't be more than a day or two in a row or then I struggle with my motivation and getting back on track.

I'm really writing this to wrap my own head around it, not to lecture to you, by the way.

Anyway, because my weight had popped up two pounds or so in late October/early November, I had a really agressive goal to lose 5 lbs. by the end of this month. I've decided to scrap that. It's just not realistic for this time of year when I do, indeed, want to indulge in some cookie eating. Instead, tomorrow I'm revamping my Bodybugg program to reflect maintenance until after the holidays. Whatever I weigh tomorrow, that will be my goal to weigh on January 2 or 3 or whenever the Christmas cake and cookies are gone (somehow those actions and my goal seem to be divergent, don't they???).

I am going to do as many Christmas treats as possible gluten free this year. That's another goal. Clearly not a goal that will contribute to weight loss, but one that will make me feel better, nonetheless.

-Another point for today is learning to listen to myself. Something else I've learned is there's a big difference between being so tired/exhausted/sick that you NEED and SHOULD take a day off and just being tired and not getting your butt out of bed day after day and skipping workouts. We're all tired, but that doesn't give us license not to workout. Tuesday? I needed to skip. I traveled for work on Monday and then stayed up very late trying to get caught up on all of the work that didn't get finished while I was traveling. My body told me I needed to rest on Tuesday. I didn't like it, but I did it. I hate getting off my WOWY schedule. Now that is something I'm OCD about, and I readily admit it.

Unfortunately, I felt like I was getting the same message on Wednesday. Hmmm. But after a little more soul searching, I realized it wasn't my body telling me not to get up, it was my brain and THAT is the voice that we all need to overcome--the one that tells you you're too tired, too sore, that bed feels more comfortable than your workout clothes. It was unpleasant to overcome that mental hurdle, but I did it and I'm glad. I did compromise--I did my workout a little later in the morning versus 5:30am, but talking over that voice in my head was key. My body was fine, my mind just wasn't in the right place. That's what I needed to fix.

And that is a key point when you're sore from a prior workout. One of the worst things you can do is to then skip a workout. Do something different when you're sore--stretch, walk, something lighter and more forgiving, but your muscles need to warm up and move a little to get through that soreness/stiffness.

That's my opinion.

So to recap in a slightly shorter format: I will be trying to maintain my current weight for the next 6 weeks.

The end.

A Reprieve

A short story tonight because I am Sooper Tired.

Didn't get the melamona excision today. Long story for another time. I have a reprieve until early December.

As for today:
Workout: Fire 55EZ
Breakfast: Shakeology, almond milk, maca
Snack: Apple
Lunch: Sushi (our local store now makes it on site. The dude rolling it made up a custom roll for me--1/2 spicy tuna, 1/2 spicy salmon. Yum!)
Snack: 1/2 of Declan's McDonald's french fries. Yes, I know. I took my kids to McDonald's. Emergency dinner run in between school and band concert.
Dinner: Other than the fries, I didn't partake in McDonald's. I came home and ate two bowls of cereal and a banana.

Total calories: 1565
Calories Burned: 2046 as of 10pm

And now, I'm falling asleep...

Best Laid Plans

Today I was all jazzed up to get my eating back on track. And I did. I love it when my eating and workouts sync up and I'm feeling all noble and smug. I can go for weeks and months staying on track and rocking it.

And then it's like I need a little break where I still workout, I just don't eat as well. I'm just coming out of a period like that so it was good to really eat well today and feel good about it.

This is what today looked like:
Workouts: HIIT 15, Tone 30

Breakfast: buckwheat groats, chia seeds, raisins, almond milk
Snack: Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, Craisins
Lunch: Shakeology, almond milk, almond butter
Snack: Apple, Nut-Thins
Dinner: Cooking Light Frittata, roasted potato wedges

Calories eaten: 1446 or maybe 1466. I can no longer remember.
Calories burned: 1672 as of 8:30pm. I won't get to a 500 calorie deficit--too much sitting today.

Here's the bummer. Tomorrow I have to go have about a 3cm patch of skin "excised" off my arm. Skin cancer, don't you know. It's a drag and I don't know how long I'll have to take off working out, but really, in the big picture of things, I need to let it go. It is what it is. I'm sure I'll be able to substitute in other types of workouts, but I probably won't be able to do TurboFire while the stitches are still in. I just had a small spot removed a few weeks ago (which is when I found out the spot was a melanoma) and the doc didn't want me throwing any TurboFire punches for a week. Again, trying to keep it in perspective.

And today's public service announcement: see your dermatologist once a year. I almost let this one get away from me and it was borderline very bad. That is all.

Getting Back on Track

I still work out.

Sort of.

You'd never know it by this blog.

I did OK on my water challenge. I was on track for the first two weeks and then I had a little trip where I didn't drink enough for about five days. I find when I travel that I don't want to drink as much. Who wants to be hopping up and down every 20 minutes on an airplane? Definitely not your seatmate.

So now I'm pondering what my goals are right now, especially with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas in quick succession. I can feel my waistline expanding in anticipation.

My goal is to end the holidays in such a state that I do NOT need to participate in my friend's weight loss challenge in January! I'd love to be able to say, "No, sorry, I don't have 10 pounds to lose this year!" I wonder if that's even possible.

I definitely need to get more specific. This past week I've struggled with PMS eating, without really realizing I was doing it. Now there's some work to be done.

Here's my plan for next week:
1. Get back to gluten free. I haven't been adhering and I can feel it. Ugh.
2. 6x workouts a week.
3. Track food (have been really bad about this lately and it shows).
4. 64 oz. of water a day. I felt really good when I was doing it, I've just been too lazy to follow through.

So there's nothing revolutionary there. It's what I normally do, but I've been a slacker lately.

I just need to have a plan and stick to it. I'm a plan follower. I've had a few weeks of less than stellar behavior, now it's time to dial it back. And not chow through a bar of dark chocolate, almonds and sea salt every few days. Not that it wasn't good.

H2O

I know I've written on here before about how water is probably my biggest hurdle in terms of fitness. Isn't that hilarious? Not eating clean, not working out, but water. Simple, plain water.

I just forget to drink. And then sometimes I don't want to drink because I'm going to be driving somewhere or doing something and I don't want to have to stop and go to the bathroom. And that will surely happen if I drink.

I basically walk around in a state of semi-deyhydration all of the time.

So a group of my fitness friends are doing a challenge where for 20 days, each of us choose the number one "trouble" issue we face and address it.

I knew I had to go with water. It sounds like madness, but I knew I'd struggle to drink 64 oz. of water a day. There are people who drink a gallon, no problem! Eamonn is one of those people who drinks tons.

So the challenge started a week ago today and some days have been tougher than others. I do find that the more I drink, the more I want to drink. Weird. I was dashing to the bathroom the first two days, but since then my body seems to have adjusted.

And I have to say, it's a good thing that I picked water vs. food for the challenge. I just had three days in a row, not of crazy bingeing, but weight-loss inappropriate foods. Fritos and chili dog anyone? Mmmm.

I'm feeling the need to cleanse and am trying to get motivated to do it. I've got to make it through this week and then I think I'm going to do a 6 - 7 day cleanse (need to check my supply of materials). I'll let you know what I decide to do, but if you're considering any sort of cleanse, the fall and spring seasonal changes are supposedly ideal times to do it. I'm a few days behind, but I'm going to be a nut and do it anyway.

That's just the way I am.

Inching Along

I'm still here! I'm still working out! I'm...something.

This school year I've had to get up even earlier to get my workouts in! Ugh! I know for me it's important to get up and get my workouts out of the way first thing in the morning, but this is beyond the pale, people! The 5:15am wake up call is really kicking my ass.

But, it is what it is. With Declan up at 6:30am for school now, it's just necessary. I am a little bummed right now because I wanted to do two programs simultaneously, TurboFire and Brazil Butt Lift (makes me laugh every time), but BBL is probably on hold until I get through September's crunch time for work.

So I did start TurboFire again and am on Day 8. I think. I love those workouts. If you've never done a Chalene Johnson workout, search her on YouTube or something. I find her so inspiring and the workouts are great.

And that would be my tip of the day. Which I think I've used before. Do what inspires you. For me, it's leaping around (not that I leap very high) to Chalene. It may be something different for you. But do try and push your boundaries a little. Step outside that comfort zone. I will say that on all of the high intensity interval training days, I'm WAY outside my comfort zone for a little while. But I do notice changes--things like definition in my calves that I've never seen before, some signs of abdominal muscles, a bump in my biceps. It's what keep sme going!

Hotel Room Carpet

Despite eating at Smash Burger today--and loving it--I have to pat myself on the back for victories in other areas:

First, the boys and I were in Denver all day Monday and part of Tuesday. Got up early on Monday and did a workout. Yay!

Took the kids to Krispy Kreme. They ate doughnuts. I did not. Yay! (for me, anyway)

Ate the world's biggest and most expensive salad from Whole Foods for dinner last night. Yay! Sort of.

Got up this morning and did a workout in the hotel room. Yay!

Then it went downhill from here because we went to Smash Burger, but the good news is that they have added a "Small Smash" to their menu--a smaller burger! What does this mean? I can save calories there and eat more Haystack Onions! OK, maybe that's not a yay. So my meal was a Classic Small Smash, no cheese, no bun. Yum, I'm telling you. I'm still thinking about it 12 hours later. Sad.

Back to today's workout in the hotel. It was just me and the boys so I couldn't really leave them in the room and go to the fitness center. Besides, I wanted to do a DVD anyway. Our room had a little living area, so I did Core 20 and Lower 20 from TurboFire.

And then I realized I had to get down on the floor for parts of each workout. And I looked at the hotel carpet and threw up in my mouth a little. Ick.

And that's where Today's Tip of the Day comes in: Under no circumstances should any of your body parts touch hotel room carpet. Get a towel out of the bathroom before you proceed.

FYI: I also checked the bed for bed bugs. Didn't see any, but was sure things were crawling on me all night. Happy thought.

Streaming Netflix is Distracting Me

We have a Netflix account. And I confess, I love it beyond all that is rational. Why? Well, let's face it, with the death of every DVD rental place (I almost wrote "video rental place" but that makes me look way old. Why don't I just start writing about the BetaMax now and seal my fate?) there's no place to rent. And I was a little behind the curve on finding out about RedBox. I know, I know. I'm a late adopter, remember.

Anyway, the beauty of Netflix is that they have all of those crazy English shows I love to watch. Ad nauseum. Shows that no one else will watch with me. I can stream them right to my computer or iPad and it's a beautiful thing.

So why am I writing about Netflix on my fitness blog? Here's the thing--you can also stream Netflix through your Wii. Or other gaming console thingy, which we don't have. We have a Wii. Not that I know how to work it, but we have one.

Now, awhile ago, a year? More? Heck, I don't know. But awhile ago, I made the boys move the Wii to the basement because I couldn't stand the competitive arguments they would get into while playing. Plus, it interfered with my Oprah watching while I was making dinner, but I digress. But after the Wii moved to the basement, we received a disk in the mail from Netflix. You could use it to set up Netflix to stream to your gamey thingy.

We tried it. It didn't work. I didn't pursue it further. I figured it had to do with having the gamey thingy in the basement.

So a few weeks ago, Declan discovered that it has nothing to do with the gamey thingy being in the basement. No, it apparently had something to do with the fact that I had no idea what I was doing. Imagine that.

Now, the streaming works. In the basement. Which cracks me up because now the kids sit down there for movie night, which is kind of weird. But I'm liking it, too, because I can watch all of my crazy English drama down there.

This is good and bad. It's bad because that makes me want to work out on the elliptical so I can watch TV at the same time. I think the elliptical is lame for burning calories. I find it boring and I don't push myself on it. Bad. Not pushing is bad.

But it's good because I've started doing something a little different. Today I did a high intensity workout DVD first, burned a bunch of calories, then hopped on the elliptical, kept my heart rate up and trotted along while I watched my current English show of choice--Mi5, or Spooks if you're in the UK. It was a win-win all the way around.

Dear Rupert Penry-Jones, I love you.

Tip of the Day: Watching Rupert Penry-Jones will boost your heart rate and you will burn more calories. Try it and see.

Goals, Schmoals

I haven't done crap on my goal achievement this week, people.

Yes, I've worked out, but my eating has been marginal at best and I haven't been recording my food past about breakfast each day. And how about that goal to blog here 3 times a week? Not happening.

When does school start????? Two weeks? Two weeks = eternity in my world right now.

I'm just hanging on by a thread. I know I'll be sad (well, maybe not really sad, but just sort of sad in a "oh my word the fact that they're back at school means time is passing quickly and I'm getting old" type of sad. It's always all about me.) when they go back. Declan will start middle school and we'll enter a whole new era.

Blah blah blah, I know. Whatever.

I'm just sort of flapping along and trying to stay afloat until I can get my work finished during the day again. And then maybe go to bed before midnight.

So my goal report is really kind of lame. My goal for August should really just have been: not have a nervous breakdown. That was my goal for July and I achieved it, but just barely.

Anyway, my tip of the day: Don't have a nervous breakdown. I'd be sad if you did.

I do confess I'm also looking forward to September and starting a real workout schedule again. I will be setting some pretty aggressive fitness goals for myself this fall and I'm excited to get rolling on them.

Wake me up when September comes. Even though that's not how the song goes.

I Ate Pie. And It's Not My Cheat Day.

And that about sums up today.

Yesterday was my cheat day. It involved tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream and popcorn.

My ankles are a little puffy today.

Today I ate super clean all day, and low on calories, so that I could afford a piece of pie and some ice cream tonight for my nephew's birthday.

That right there is the tip of the day: If you know you have some sort of celebration, plan for it earlier in the day (or even earlier in the week). That way you can enjoy a small treat without blowing your calorie budget out the window.

Now we're watching 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, or as Finn calls it 40,000 Legs Under the Sea. We challenged him to count how many legs he sees during the course of the movie.

Groovy Music

Most of the music on my iPod is from the 80s or before. Sad, I know. But I confess, I love 80s music. And now that I think about it, there is a good bit of 90s music on there as well. But as for anything in the 21st century? Really not much.

So now I have children. Children who have iPods and friends who listen to music that sometimes makes me raise my eyebrows.

But look who's talking. How about some of the stuff we listened to growing up and never thought twice? "Mama's got a squeezebox, Daddy never sleeps at night?" What's that all about? And "gonna find my baby, gonna hold her tight, gonna grab some afternoon delight." Excuse me? I clearly remember belting out those lyrics when I was younger than Declan is now. Afternoon delight? I had no clue what that was until someone explained it to me. When I was about 32.

I've lived a sheltered life.

I had a point here. Ah, I know what it was.

My point was that lately, I've been downloading some music. I'm going to tell you what it is, but you can't laugh. One of my favorite new downloads is from...wait for it...the Disney TV movie, Lemonade Mouth.

Cannot believe I just confessed that. I will also admit that for several years now I've sometimes been seen trotting around the neighborhood and listening to High School Musical 2. I hope you still respect me.

In my defense, I have also downloaded some Bruno Mars, Pink, Jessie J, and some other stuff the boys wanted. I don't even know who they are, but I feel like I need to listen to them just in case they're learning about afternoon delight or something.

My point--finally--is that I love walking to music I really like, regardless of whether or not it makes me look like a huge geek. I like to bop along. Sometimes I play the air guitar, sing or even do a little dance step. If I think no one is looking. Then there was that time not too long ago I was singing and not realizing someone was running up behind me. Oh well.

Exercise doesn't have to be a hugely strenuous thing (although I'll do a post about intensity). Strap on your sneakers/tennis shoes/running shoes/trainers--whatever you call them in your corner of the planet--and get out there.

And do a little groovy step in my honor.

Checking in
I'm on target for this week except that we've been out and about so I haven't logged my food. And I notice it in the little nibbling I've done here and there. Those little nibbles add up, so take my advice. Log your food and be consistent about it.

In fact, that's my tip of the day. Again.

Going Through the Motions

Hey, how about me not posting on the very first day of the Wellness Challenge? I realize that I said one of my goals was to post 3x a week, but really, I figured I'd at least post on the first day!

It wasn't meant to be. And that happens. And that's the point of this post.

Life happens. And you need to work to accomodate life as best you can. Have I mentioned that Mondays are hell days, but they are particularly hellish in the summer? It's just because of deadlines, but with the boys home, Mondays are just tough. I stayed up really late on Sunday night trying to get my ducks in a row, but that made me super tired Monday morning. And I woke up to the added bonus of my period. TMI. Yes, indeed. But my period wipes me out in my old age. I think I'm ready for menopause. Not really. Or maybe. Not sure.

Anway, my point is when the alarm went off at 5:25am, I made no move to get up and walk. I finally rolled out of bed at about 6:30am and I did a really lame cardio workout for about 40 minutes and then did some stretching. I did the whole workout low impact. My feet never left the ground. I didn't burn a whole heck of a lot of calories--maybe 250 total. But I was OK with it.

Eamonn has said for years that when you don't feel like working out, just start and go through the motions. Usually when that happens, once I'm up, dressed in my workout gear and in the basement and started moving, endorphins start to kick in and away I go. I'm always glad when I make like Nike and Just Do It.

Now, with that said, yesterday the endorphins never kicked in. I just went through the motions, but I'm glad I at least did that. I didn't want to say I skipped my workout on Day One.

And today, I did hop out of bed right at 5:25am and went for a great walk.

So there.

Food on Monday was good and typical. Shakeology for breakfast, leftover salmon, rice, and carrots for lunch, fruit and crackers for a snack, a Cooking Light recipe for vegetable enchiladas for dinner that no one like but me. Came in around 1386 calories, which seems low. I also had two squares of dark chocolate. Just because.

Today's food:
Breakfast: Shakeology, almond milk, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup cantaloupe.
Lunch: Salad w/ last of leftover salmon, feta, tomatoes, cukes, yellow pepper, olive oil, avocado...some tortilla chips.
Snack: two squares of dark chocolate (is this a trend?)
Dinner: Baked potato with sauteed mushrooms, onions

So I feel on track for the week even though I didn't at first. It all comes out in the wash. I'm also realizing that with all of my walking, when I transition back to some hardcore high impact aerobics in 4 - 5 weeks, it's going to be a sufferfest.

I'm telling myself that a little suffering is good for oneself. I'll let you know how that works out.

Tip of the Day: Even when you don't want to workout, Just Do It. Start and you may find yourself getting a great workout. Or maybe you'll just go through the motions that day, but either way, you'll be glad you did! Trust me on this one.

Wellness Challenge

OK, so here's the scoop. One of my oldest and dearest friends is about to embark on a huge effort to change the course of her health. I'm really, really excited for her so the two of us have hatched a plan to work together and support each other.

She's working on updating her blog and when she does, I'll post the address here. If you get a chance to go and give her a boost, it would mean a lot to both of us!

Now, as for the challenge, I'm not doing prizes or anything, and really, it's whatever you want it to be. It's not weight loss specific, eating a certain way, or working out a certain number of times a week. It's about setting some goals around what you want to accomplish for your own health.

Here are the goals I set for myself for August:

1. Weigh in and record weight in Bodybugg on Monday, Aug. 1
2. Clean eating 6x/week, one cheat day (usually Friday)
3. Workouts 6 days/week, one rest day (usually Sunday)
4. Log food in Bodybugg each day
5. Report in on Get Fit, Have Fun at least 3x/week

I know for a fact that my goals will be different for September. The kids will go back to school, I'll want to start a full-fledged Beachbody program again. This summer I've been doing a lot of walking while the weather is nice and I plan to keep that up for awhile longer.

So that's what my personal challenge looks like for the month of August. What goals will you set?

Tip of the Day: Make a plan. Decide which days you’ll workout and stick to it. Exercise is a non-negotiable appointment with yourself. Period. Nothing interferes with your workout time.

Homemade Energy Bars and a Challenge

I'm alive! Made it to my high school reunion at my goal weight--SWEET! And very exciting.

I'll be back later to blog more about what I'm up to fitness-wise these days, but a few quick things.

First, this morning I made these homemade energy bars. They are v v v v awesome. Why, why did I feel compelled to make my own energy bars? Well, not to be gross, but Eamonn cannot eat oats. Well, he can, but the consumtion of oats comes with dire intestinal consequences. Actually, I'm the same way. TMI, I know. Anyway, he needed an alternative for when he's out on his bike. These are tasty, but we'll see if they stand the rigor test in the pocket of his cycling jersey or his Camelbak. Or the heat. Always have to think about the heat, even out here.

Energy Bars with peanut butter and sunflower seeds
1 cup peanut butter (or experiment with almond butter, too)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
2/3 cup dried cherries or dried cranberries or raisins (or a combination)
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/3 cup shredded coconut
3 cups puffed brown rice cereal

Grease an 8×8 pan with a cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract until well-combined.

Add the sunflower seeds, dried fruit, sesame seeds and coconut and combine thoroughly with the peanut butter mixture.

Gradually add the puffed brown rice cereal to this.

Firmly press the mixture into the prepared 8×8 pan; you’ll need to wet your hands slightly, otherwise the mixture just sticks to them. (I used wax paper to press in the mixture and it worked great)

Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours, then cut and go biking, hiking, skiing, snowshoeing or whatever floats your boat!

You can also change up the fruit or add some chocolate to this mix to change it up a bit.

And a final note about energy bars. I don't usually eat them in conjunction with a regular workout because they tend to be high in calories (get a load of all that peanut butter!). I tend to consume them as a snack or even a meal replacement when I'm out doing a long hike or skiing. It's different for Eamonn who is out on his bike for rides of 2, 3, 4 or even 5 or more hours. My guess is he's earning those calories far more than me.

And as for the "challenge" part of this post, a friend and I are kicking off a commitment to wellness starting Monday. Not a challenge, per se, just focusing on our health and wellness. We're talking today to map out the details about how each of us will achieve our goals. I'm going to try and convince her to put her progress on her own blog. I'll keep you updated, but if you want to join in, the more the merrier!

More later...

Scheduling My Workouts is Saving Me

I am crazy, crazy busy--and yet, I am getting nearly 2 hours of exercise in each day, and then some.

I know, what the heck? Why am I doing this? Two hours? Am I a glutton for punishment?

Not really, but I'm finding I really actually like and need it. As I get fitter, I feel like I want and need the challenge. Plus, in a small town, we're able to walk and ride bikes to a lot of places which gives my calorie burn a little extra boost each day. I feel lucky in that regard. Our old neighborhood in Ohio was waaaaay out away from anything and that wouldn't have happened at all.

Anyway, I wrote about how Eamonn is also working out to Insanity (he is already developing a 6 pack after just two weeks--UNFAIR!!!) in the mornings now and that is creating a great demand for basement space. So I've been getting up and walking while he is working out and then I take my turn with the DVD player when I get back.

I've discovered a few things:
1. The 60 minute walk is a great warm up for TurboFire. I've always struggled with getting up at 5:30 or 6:00am and diving right into a high intensity workout. It's hard to jump and bop around when you've just rolled out of bed. I feel like my DVD workouts are better for the walking warm up.

2. It's really quiet and pretty outside at 5:45am or so. I enjoy the time to listen to my favorite music and enjoy the scenery. Sometimes I think about work or what I need to do that day and I text myself notes as reminders.

3. My reward at the end is picking up a newspaper that I'll read when I sit down and eat my Shakeology after my DVD workouts.

4. It's a great calorie burn/jump start to the day. Adding that walk in before the DVD workout usually puts me at burning 700 calories via exercise BEFORE I even eat breakfast. I am a person who does not like to eat before they exercise. That doesn't work for everyone; do what's right for you. But I love seeing those calories tick away and put me in a deficit right from the start.

5. Scheduling my workouts is keeping me on track so far this summer. I don't want to get all cocky and out of control though because summer has traditionally been a downfall. The boys are sleeping in--I'd like to, too!

But my whole point of this post before I started yammering about walking every morning is that I've really made an effort to follow the advice of my favorite expert, Chalene Johnson. At the end of many of her DVDs she gives tips of the day, and one of the most common one she talks about it scheduling your workouts and making them non-negotiable.

I've tried to do this for a long time and know how hard it is. It was especially hard when the boys were younger, but I just remind myself that getting my workout in is going to make me a nicer person and better mother all day.

Plus, we deserve it. We deserve some time to ourselves.

So, if the kids need to get up and sit in front of the TV for an hour while you workout, I think that's just fine. When they were younger, I used to set out little bowls of dried cereal for them. I'd even put the TV on their favorite channel so all they had to do if they woke up was get their dried cereal and sit down until I finished.

It is OK, and necessary, to make time for yourself, AND to explain to the kids what you're doing. "This is Mommy's time to exercise and be healthy." When he was 3, 4 and 5 years old and still getting up at 6am (UGH!), Finn used to hang in the basement and play trains while I exercise. Some days he could play and be quiet. Other times he kept asking me questions and I'd have him go upstairs so I could concentrate!

Whatever works.

So MY tip of the day is stolen from Chalene: Schedule time for you and stick to it. Period. Work doesn't interfere. Kids don't interfere. Husbands don't interfere. If you want to hang with a friend, strap on yours shoes and hang while you're walking. Just make it work.

I've said before that I use Beachbody's WOWY scheduler and I still love it. I'm such a competitive person that I even love competing against myself. I preschedule my workouts, which appear in blue, and live for turning them green when the workout is completed. When I have a completely green month, I feel so smug.

With that said, I've cobbled together a schedule to get me to July 12 when the boys and I leave for Ohio, but then I figure my schedule will be pretty blank until we return.

Ah well, I can look forward to turning August blue instead.

TurboFire is History

And I have to say, I'm a little sad about it. It has been my favorite Beachbody workout, bar none. I love Chalene Johnson, she's my idol. I think I might be a groupie. I love the music on TurboFire and I love the moves.

When I finished TurboFire last week, I found myself with a little gap though and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. Historically, in the summer, when I'm not officially doing a full-on scheduled BB routine, like not following anything, I don't do well. I need structure. I'm like a preschooler that way. Except without the nap. But I would like the nap if anyone could please make that happen.

Anyway, I knew I had missed a few workouts here and there when I was sick or when I didn't want to do one of the yoga workouts during the weight loss challenge because I wanted to crank on the cardio routine to burn more calories. Plus, I'd shuffled some things around when we traveled. I made those up, but there were "blue spots" in my WOWY schedule and I could see exactly what I had/hadn't done.

I admit I've become freakishly obsessive about the WOWY calendar. I love making the whole month green, which means completed workouts, except for the rest days. Obviously, I can't go back and fix those specific days, so I constructed a schedule of all of those "blue spots" and it was exactly 12 days--the amount of time before we left for Ohio.

Pefect. Except that I realized about three of the days were HIIT (high intensity interval training) days. Ick. I thought I was done with those. But I'm doing it.

And an interesting aside: Eamonn is doing Insanity. And get this: he can actually do it. Unlike me when I did Insanity and spent most of my time just standing there watching in horror.

It does create a bit of a logjam in the basement in the mornings, but since the weather has been so great, I do a walk while Eamonn is Insane and then when he's finished I do my TurboFire schtick.

So far, so good.

And in further news, on Friday, I hit my revised weight loss goal. Very exciting! Then, because Friday was my cheat day, I ate guacamole and chips in wretched excess and that number bounced back up. It will be back, I know it. It was fun to see it for a fleeting moment though.

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Feet

Several months before we moved from Ohio to Colorado, I purchased two identical pairs of workout shoes. They were Nike and I really liked them a lot. They were good cross trainers so I used them for my aerobic workouts in the basement and for walking outside.

They lasted a long time--probably longer than they should have. I never wear the aerobic ones outside--I'm really strict about that. Indoor shoes are indoor, outdoor shoes are outdoor. Nerd.

Anyway, last May or June, when I was starting Insanity (that's a workout program, not a description of my general state of mind. Maybe.) my Beachbody pals who had done Insanity before me said, "Get new shoes." I didn't do it. My shoes were fine.

Except that they weren't. It took me about two high intensity workouts to figure that out. So I went and bought new shoes and I was happy with them at the time. And they've been OK, but not great. It stinks to be stuck with not great shoes, by the way, especially if you figure you'll be wearing them for five years, like I did the last two pairs. This is also a good lesson to spend a little more and buy from someone who actually knows what they're talking about. I just pulled mine off the shelf at Famous Footwear. I should have spent more and talked to someone who knows about sports and exercise, not fashion. Ah well, lesson learned.

Anyway, over the course of this last year, I kept using the unsatisfactory shoes. I finished Insanity, did most of P90X again, and then started TurboFire in January. A few weeks ago, I could really start feeling in my joints that my shoes were starting to break down. So now they just weren't sort of unsatisfactory, they were really unsatisfactory. In addition, even my shoes that I was using for walking, the Ohio Nikes, weren't feeling so great. I had worn out the soles on the outdoor pair and so a year ago I had moved the aerobic ones to outdoor since I had the unsatisfactory ones.

Are you following all of this?

A few weeks ago, I went into a sports store and they were having a sale. AND I had a $20 discount coupon. A very nice man talked to me about my workouts and goals and recommended several pairs of shoes.

I tried two different ones on. And it was then that I realized I must no longer have any cushioning at all left in both of my old pairs of shoes because it felt like I was wearing stilettos. I bought the lower pair becuase the more padded ones felt like I was going to fall off of them.

Here is what I bought:

These are Asics Phoenix. They were on sale for $59.99 and I had the $20 off coupon. Very exciting. I also purchased "athletic" insoles for $20 (so essentially I got the insoles free, I guess) and that made another huge difference. I think I'll buy insoles for all of my workout shoes from now on.

So that's what I started using for my high impact aerobic workouts. But really, I needed to replace my walking shoes, too. I am considering the Couch to 5K program and while I am not a runner, I do know that if you try to run in inappropriate shoes, it's misery. Plus, the Ohio Nikes weren't cutting for walking anymore.

The sports store's sale was still going on. I went back. I had another coupon. I bought these:

I think they're the Asics Cumulus 12. Think. And guess which ones they are? The ones that felt like stilettos. Turns out, they only feel like stilettos when you have nerve damage from having shoes with no padding for so long.

Bottom line: the shoes have made a huge difference. My calf soreness is gone, my knees aren't hurting and I can consistently do the high impact moves (before I could only do them sometimes without feeling soreness).

Now I'm trying to decide which ones I want to use indoors and which ones I want to use outdoors. I've done high impact in both and walked outside in the Phoenix pair. Clearly, I'll have to wash the soles if I decide on the other ones for outside.

This is a very big decision.

Well, Now What?

So I've had this goal/deadline in my head for over a year now--get to my goal weight for my 25th high school reunion this summer.

A few funny things happened on the way to the reunion.

First, I met my goal and went past it.

Then I set another goal in my head. And now I'm sort of sitting there. I've hovered really close to it for about two months now, but I'm not really putting in the Big Push that I know I need to do to wipe away those last 4.2 pounds that would put me at this next number.

The second thing that happened: the reunion was cancelled.

GAH!

I got an e-mail about it today. I immediately ate four chocolate chip cookies. Something tells me that won't help me get any closer to my mark, but I could be wrong. I hope I'm wrong.

I have been kicking ass on my workouts, even with the kids home for the summer. I'm still not back to my super-early workout time, I think I'll be rallying here shortly (when I have PMS I get super tired and I'm just passing through that lovely phase). My eating has been lackluster though and that's what I need to ramp up to really succeed. I know this intellectually, but I definitely go in cycles where I can be super strict for awhile, but I also know when I need to lighten up so that I don't go nuts. That's where I am right now: in this nether world of about to clamp back down, but suddenly finding myself without my key motivation--the reunion--to push me through the homestretch.

If anyone has any big ideas, let me know. It has to come from within, I know, but if you've got any wise words or threats, now is the time to throw them at me!

On a more fun note, I got a SECOND pair of new workout shoes. Crazy! I know! It's all very exciting. My next post will be about the shoes because believe it or not, those new shoes are motivating me to hop out of bed and get to my workouts in the morning.

Nachos That Won't Blow Your Daily Calorie Count

I love tortilla chips. I think we've established that over time. They are a trigger food for me so I usually hide them away and save them for a cheat day.

So last week when I was planning meals, I had this madcap idea that I wanted to do a fun nacho dinner on the last day of school. But could I make a nacho dinner that wouldn't blow my whole day? It remained to be seen.

In the end, we didn't eat the nachos last night. Declan was invited to a friend's for a sleepover--they've had a sleepover on the last day of school for the last 3 years, and Eamonn had a bike race, so it was just me and Finn. I didn't feel like cooking and then galloping out the door to the bike race, so I...took Finn to Wendy's, oh yes I did, and saved the nachos for tonight.

The nachos were an overwhelming score for all parties involved.

-15 Garden of Eatin tortilla chips = 140 calories
-1.5 oz. cooked ground turkey (I browned the meat, added the beans and sprinkled in some organic taco seasoning) = 100 calories
-3 tbls. pinto beans = 39 calories
-jalepeno slices = 3 calories
-10 cherry tomatoes = 29 calories
-1 oz. shredded cheese = 110 calories
-1 tbls. sour cream = 26 calories

Total calories = 445 (or thereabouts after the Bodybugg rounds the numbers)

These were yummy and I'm really full--too full, but I feel OK with my calories overall today (1366).

My workouts this week have been good. This last month of TurboFire is a HIIT month so I actually laid in bed this morning, sort of hiding and afraid to get up and do HIIT 30. It's hard, people. 30 minutes of fire drills--plyometrics over and over.

I did finally get up and slog my way through HIIT 30. I think these HIIT workouts are actually made more tolerable by the fact that I got new shoes. I'll talk about them in another post because I heart them very much.

Had a cheat day yesterday. The day started just fine, but when we went to Declan's school for his continuation ceremony, they served cake. I didn't actually eat cake. What I did was much worse. When the party was breaking up, I looked over and the cake was gone. Which was good. What was still there was a ring of piped icing. Another mom was standing there. She looked at me. I looked at her. We each picked up a fork and scraped off the icing and ate it, each confessing that it was our favorite part. After school, some friends and I all took our kids to the diner for ice cream. I had a junior malt.

So the icing started my downward spiral and the malt continued the disaster. I have trouble recovering from stuff like that.

I'd do it again though...

Traveling with Dietary Restrictions

One of my many legions of fans (OK, it was my cousin Jean) posed a reader question:

"Since you have discovered your food intolerances, how do you handle them while you're traveling? Do you take special foods with you or just eat whatever is available and suffer the consequences?"

A very good question given that we were just on the road for three weeks in two different foreign countries.

First, let me say that Jean is one of my idols in the food label reading departments. She was way ahead of me in getting heavily processed food out of her diet. When I used to do Jenny Craig, I suggested it to her one time. She had discovered through her doctor (I think) that she had all sorts of food intolerances. So when I was talking about Jenny Craig, Jean said she couldn't eat all of that processed stuff.

Hmmm. Here I was, eating Jenny Craig food and losing weight and not AT ALL paying attention as to what was in the food.

Thus ended my love affair with Jenny.

Anyway, that was a huge wakeup call for me. I still get tripped up--buying something marked "natural" only to discover the FDA lets you label stuff natural and you can STILL put crap in it.

Go figure. I won't waste any air space on the FDA today. I'll just go on to talk about what I do when I travel.

My "system" for travel has kind of evolved over the years. Now, remember that I have never been diagnosed with Celiac or gluten intolerance or anything like that. In fact, when I did my witch doctory stuff many years ago, the biggest intolerance I had was to...wait for it...chocolate. No lie. That was a bummer and I had it reversed immediately. I had always wondered why I had a stuffy nose when I ate chocolate. All is revealed.

Anyway, I do tend to take a lot of my own snacks with me whether I'm just heading to Denver for a soccer tournament or wandering further afield. And since I started drinking Shakeology about a year ago, I take that along with me. It keeps me in a happy place. Plus, if I let myself get hungry and I don't have something with me, I'll make bad choices--like a candy bar instead of nuts and dried fruit--and that will just start a whole cycle of bad eating. Best to just avoid it altogether.

The key is to remember that I don't have to worry about miniscule traces of gluten or stuff like that. I've read articles about people who if they have even an exposure to gluten, they get sick. I'm lucky--I don't have a situation like that. I just have noticed that I feel better without dairy and wheat, and frankly, most grains, so I work to avoid them.

I have watched friends who do have more severe food intolerance and I've stolen ideas some of their ideas so I can eat at a regular restaurant and not have to worry--like ordering a hamburger or sandwich and then not eating the bun. It's a really easy switch--just use two lettuce leaves instead. The bun has a zillion calories anyway and I'd rather waste it on fries or something! Smashburger has a burger you can actually order without the bun, all wrapped up in lettuce for you. Another reason to love Smashburger.

When we're going someplace where we're taking our own food--picnic, camping, skiing, etc.--I make my own sandwich on gluten free bread, or make whatever I want to accomodate no wheat, no dairy.

When we were just at my sister's house for Memorial Day weekend, it was pretty easy--she also avoids gluten, so there were plenty of choices. A great sandwich option is to make a rollup/sandwich taco in a corn tortilla. Do they sometimes break apart? Yes. And it's a little messy. But it's worth it. The change in taste and texture does take a little getting used to.

As for England/Germany in April, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to avoid gluten. We ate many, many lunches that we just picked up at a grocery store and ate picnic style. There were always really yummy pre-packaged salads to choose from. My favorite was one I ate the very first day: watercress, salmon and new potatoes. My stomach just growled.

If I wanted something and it had gluten in it, did I eat it? Sometimes. Did I notice it? Sometimes. It kind of depended on what it was and how much I ate.

As an interesting aside, Eamonn and I had a date night last night and we ate at an Italian restaurant. Linguine with clams is one of my most favorite Italian meals ever. However, I don't think I'll be doing that again anytime soon. Bloated, gassy. Ick.

So, overall, I try to avoid gluten when I travel, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how well I could do it.

If any of my other zillion fans has a question, feel free to let me know! I hope all of the requests don't crash my e-mail...

Getting Back on Track Update
So that date night last night screwed me up. I only ate half my dinner, saving the rest for lunch today, but I did come home and eat popcorn while we were watching a movie. I burned said popcorn so badly that I only had a partial batch and felt deprived (as if), and so I ate ice cream. Yes. You read that right. Popcorn followed by ice cream after I had told myself I would be getting back on the bandwagon.

Sigh.

Today was better. Much, much better. Despite having wicked bad gas after the linguine last night and for lunch.

Workout: None, rest day

Breakfast: Shakeology, almond milk
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Leftover linguine, cherry tomatoes, pear
Snack: 2 figs
Dinner: 3.5 oz. steak, grilled veggies...1/4 cup ice cream

Came in at about 1694 calories, which would be fine if it had been an exercise day AND if I hadn't been sitting on the couch working all day. I do suspect that count is a little high. BodyBugg assigned a huge amount of calories to the leftover linguine, but I'd rather it show me too high rather than too low.

I'm having trouble getting back through that detox phase--the one day of suffering that I always feel goes with getting back on track. It's like I'm not really achieving that "mental reset." But, it was better today. Progress, not perfection. I love that saying. It's the one thing I retain from Jenny Craig.

Need to Get Serious

My 25th high school reunion is in approximately 6 weeks. Why couldn't the reunion have been about three weeks ago when I was at a great weight? Angst. I continue to flounder around. I need some sort of weight loss challenge to get my rear in gear.

What happened? My workouts have been great, but PMS came around and I always let myself indulge a little in the last day or so prior. But then, there was some sort of, um, delay and the PMS just kept going. Then we went to Erin's for Memorial Day and I'm telling you, people, that girl is the WORST influence! How is someone supposed to resist Chex Mix, Mochi (or whatever that Japanese ice cream in rice paper is called), popcorn,s'mores... See! Do you see what I'm up against?

Well, in all seriousness, it's my own lack of prior planning that has been doing me in. Work is busy. The end of school is madness. Blah blah blah. I just haven't planned and the results are showing. Last night I ate pizza and potato chips at the 5th grade party. Because I'm a sadist and because it was Friday, I hopped on the scale this morning. UP 6 POUNDS from a few weeks ago!

Now, Eamonn would say not to freak out. Sodium is everyone's enemy and it doesn't get much worst than pizza and potato chips. Except maybe for popcorn.

Combine the bad eating with the fact that I'm not even logging my bad eating and nothing good can come of it.

Anyway, tomorrow, I'll be back to business: keeping up with the workouts, planning meals, logging food, making better choices overall.

Because the 25th reunion is not a time to let things fall apart. I don't know when it is I can let things fall apart, but it sure as heck isn't now.

So, tomorrow--daily reports once again. And maybe for some incentive I'll tell Eamonn I would like to have a new pair of shoes if I get back to my goal. I'm sure that will go down well.

Floundering Around

I'm not really sure what to do with myself these days. As I mentioned in a past post, I'm below the goal I thought I needed to get to. I got there, went a little below, and lo and behold, I've wondered, "Should I keep going?"

Here's the thing: I feel good, I look pretty good (that's pretty much in my opinion!), I like the size of clothes I'm wearing (I've bought some new ones much to the strain of our credit card bill), and I feel like I'm in a good place.

However, as any woman does, I still notice all of those annoying jiggly bits, as they like to say in England. Pre-kids, at this weight, there would have been no fat on my belly. And yet, some remains. Can it be got rid of without completely eliminating my boobs? I'm curious.

And my thighs. Sigh. I'm a pear shape. I will always be a pear shape. I'm a smaller pear, and that makes me happy, but I do wonder if anything short of liposuction would actually make my thighs go away?

My bottom--well, it's smaller, I can tell because I took measurements when I started TurboFire, but it remains in its jiggly glory.

The thing is, I've worked really hard this winter. Darn hard. How long do I want to keep working like that?

I remember Oprah once saying on her show that there was no magic bullet for weight loss becuase if there had been, it would have been, she would have given it to everyone on her Favorite Things show ages ago!

Well, there is a "magic bullet" per se, but maybe not the one we all want. It's freaking hard work! That magic bullet is what we've been told all along: eat less, exercise more.

So how long do I want to eat less and exercise more? That's kind of where I'm at right now. Lose a little more? Maintain and continue to firm up? Trying to decide.

I know that I will always be someone who needs to track calories. I think that's just a fact of life for me. I do feel like over the course of the last year I've mastered portion control and listening to my body, especially when I'm in a situation where I can't weigh and measure my food. That has been a long time in the making. I'm OK with keeping an eye on that.

I need to avoid certain foods, probably for the longterm. Grains seem to be one of those. And, sadly, beans, which I love. Both of those foods apparently contain something that isn't so great for my digestive system, and my family who are in close proximity as a result.

I also know that I'll continue to need to get my workouts in first thing in the morning. That may be a forever thing. Maybe one day I won't have to get up at 5:30am though. One can dream.

So I'm just trying to figure it all out right now. It bugs me that I don't have a concrete goal in place because for years I've had a goal and I feel like I need one to be moving forward.

Run a 5k? Do a triathlon? Get some sort of nutrition or fitness certification? These are all things I've mulled, but come to no conclusion on. Until then I'm just keeping up with TurboFire, adding in some weight training, and eating clean.

I'll keep you updated.

I Made it Through the Cleanse!

Isn't that a song by Barry Manilow? Just kidding.

I finished my Shakeology cleanse yesterday and weighed in this morning. I knew I felt pretty good, but I had this grand plan that I wouldn't eat one single thing that wasn't on the cleanse over the course of the 3 days. That, of course, is always the plan. But it's hard when I'm making dinner, touching all sorts of food that I'm not supposed to be eating.

This time though, I was a rock. Until last night. In the last hours of the cleanse, I ate a little biscuit. WTF? Totally annoyed with myself.

The first day of cleansing is hard. I'm usually hungry and going through withdrawl and also trying to break that habit of popping stuff in my mouth here and there. The second day I'm usually in good shape. I was actually traveling for work on the second day (Wednesday), but I stayed on track. I took my Shakeology and my shaker cup and just drank it in my car before my meeting. Then after my meeting, I went to Whole Foods and made my required salad for dinner.

Did great all day yesterday, but then there was the biscuit. Ah well, progress, not perfection. I keep telling myself that.

So overall, I lost 7 pounds on the cleanse. That's pretty exciting because that takes me to yet another record low weight--post-babily speaking that is. We're getting in the range of grad school era weight now. But the 7 pounds off is a little deceiving because I had eaten a bowl of popcorn the night before. Water retention anyone? So if I go from the weight I was when we got back from England, I'm down 3.5 lbs. Still very pleased with the results.

Here is the cleanse that I followed:

Pre-breakfast: a cup of green tea
Breakfast: Shakeology with water/ice only. May add 1/2 fruit if needed.
Snack: piece of fruit
Lunch: Shakeology with water/ice only. Follow with a cup of green tea.
Snack: Shakeology with water/ice only.
Dinner: salad greens with 3 servings of veggies, 2 Tbsp salad dressing, 4oz. white meat

Drink 2-4 liters of water per day.

The hardest part for me is drinking that much water a day. But I'm always bad at that.

I woke up this morning and had...Shakeology for breakfast. I usually only drink the chocolate, but this morning I had the Greenberry flavor with almond milk and half a banana.

I'm crazy that way.

Workout of Fire 30 and Upper 20 is already in the bag. Now I'm going to go to Costco and try not to eat any samples. Hopefully all of the sample people aren't out yet!

Trigger Happy

On Monday I started a 3-day Shakeology Cleanse. It's not hard. Except when you're on Day Three and there are a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts sitting on the counter. I wrapped the box in multiple layers of Saran Wrap. I did this to keep them fresh and to keep the smell of them from making me faint.

Why are there a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts in my house? Every once in awhile when I go to Denver for meetings, like yesterday, I pick them up as a treat for Eamonn and the boys. We don't have a donut shop in the valley and if we want donuts, we have to eat nasty grocery store donuts. Needless to say, they don't even really appeal to the boys--that's saying something--so Krispy Kreme donuts are a special treat a few times a year.

Donuts are one of my trigger foods--all that sugar and fat wrapped up in a delicious little package of dough. Mmmmmm. I'm feeling woozy. My favorite donut is the sour cream cake. When I buy the boys' dozen, I usually buy just one of my favorites for me and eat in the car on the way home. Heaven on I-70.

Other trigger foods for me are tortilla chips, cheese and cookie dough. I try to only bake cookies on a cheat day or else I'm in trouble. And then of course, there's popcorn. Again, I save it for a cheat day. Surprisingly, chocolate is usually not a trigger food for me. I have noticed that if I eat milk chocolate, it seems to make me want more, but if I eat a really good quality dark chocolate, I can eat a square or two and call it good.

I'm curious. What are your trigger foods? How do you "manage" them?

Anyway, so far so good. I'm having great results with the cleanse--feeling good, lighter (mentally if not physically), and more disciplined, which is always my goal for a cleanse. I just needed to get my head back in the game.

And as a side note, I stopped into Kohl's in Denver yesterday with the intent to only buy underwear (in addition to not having a donut shop, the valley doesn't have any place to buy underwear except WalMart and I struck out there). I didn't get home until 10pm last night because I was reminded that trying on clothes and having them fit in a smaller size is very, very fun. However, I won't be wearing any of the new shorts I bought as it is snowing today. Sigh.

Post Vacation Withdrawl

I'm back. Clearly, I was gone, but as I said on my other blog, I'm becoming a little more cautious about saying on the Internet that our house is empty and all burglars in a 50 mile radius should try to break in and steal our 20 year TV or one of our cars with 200,000 miles it. They'd come flocking, I just know it.

Anyway, it's that horrid first day after vacation. You know, that one where you wonder if you even dare to get on the scale. Because let me tell you, people, although I only ate fish and chips once on this trip, I was a chocolate and ice cream eating machine. I ate one or the other, and sometimes both, every single day.

No lie.

It was gross. And good.

AND I ate a full English breakfast at least five times. Possibly more. What is a full English, you ask? It usually includes 2 eggs cooked how you like, 2 pieces of bacon (back bacon, mmmmm), 2 sausages, toast. That's the minimum. Depending on what part of the country you're in, you might also get a grilled tomato, baked beans, grilled mushrooms and fried bread.

You can go all day on that.

Not that I tried it. I never missed a meal. It's just not in my nature.

So combine the excessive eating and total lack of exercise and I was a little worried. Seriously, people, I haven't worked out since the Saturday before we left. That was April 9 to be exact. I'm dreading re-entry.

This morning, I looked at the scale. It looked at me. Did I dare get on it or was that just asking for a reason to feel suicidal all day?

I got on.

And.....

I had not gained a single pound. WTF? Why can't I be like that in real life?

Here are my thoughts though as I ponder this happy freak occurance.

First, although I wasn't exercising, I also was rarely sitting down. At home, I'm sitting on my rear working all day. On the trip, I was sitting in the car, but once we got to our destination, I was walking. Just on the go all the time.

Second, we rarely ate out for lunch. We usually picked up sandwiches and fruit (and chips!!) at a grocery store. This made for lighter eating. And I rarely got myself a bag of chips. I just mooched off everyone else, likely totalling the amount of a full bag of chips. But whatever.

Third, I took my Shakeology with me. I drank it about half of the time in the mornings that we are at Eamonn's sister's. When we were on the road and staying at hotels, I didn't drink it, but maybe that helped?

At any rate, I used this morning's success to binge on tortilla chips today.

My plan. Get back to clean eating. Start some light workouts this week and then get back on my TurboFire routine starting Sunday.

It's going to be painful. I feel nervous.

Post Challenge Status

So I'm suffering a tiny bit from that post-challenge lack of accountability. I haven't gaineds, but I haven't lost any either, and I did have a few indulgences last week. I'm trying to tell myself that's fine, there will be time to pick up and keep going after vacation. In fact, in my pre-trip frenzy, I completely skipped my workout yesterday. Haven't done that in ages. But it's OK. Big picture. Big picture.

In fact, I may not get workouts in today or tomorrow. The horror!

So I think I've talked about how the boys like to watch the Biggest Loser. They're pretty amazed by how big the people are on there because frankly, we don't really see many overweight people around here (which frankly, can produce a lot of pressure on me personally, because seriously, you're 10 lbs. overweight and you feel like a Biggest Loser contestant). I don't think everyone has eating disorders or anything, this area just attracts people who like the outdoors so they're really fit and strong.

Anyway, in recent episodes, one of the Biggest Loser contestants has been caught on camera binging in his room at night. One of the boys, I can't remember which one, asked us if we ever ate at night after they went to bed.

Hmmm, interesting question.

Eamonn 'fessed right up. "Totally. I'm really bad about eating chocolate chips at night." It's true. It's a longstanding vice of his.

I thought for a second. "Popcorn on Friday nights is really the only thing I eat at night after you go to bed." I have to be careful because when we watch a movie or a TV show at night, I love to munch popcorn. But I have to keep it to once a week or else.

I pondered all of this while I ate about a dozen cookies after everyone was in bed last Friday night. That happens about once a year, but I thought it was hilarious timing since they had just asked us that question.

I haven't admitted it to anyone yet.

And the Verdict is...

...I made it! With .3 pounds to spare. I was actually more than a pound under on Friday and Saturday, so I was really excited. BUT, I also ate some tortilla chips on Friday evening and I could suddenly feel I was a little puffier.

I was worried.

With good reason.

Keep in mind I hadn't eaten anything salty except for a little bit of microwave popcorn in the last 3 weeks or so. That's kind of like torture for me. So my little tortilla chip binge (and we're actually talking about one serving of tortilla chips here) really made a difference.

So I wasn't overly surprised on Sunday morning, the day I was supposed to weigh, when I jumped on the scale at 6am, that I was up not one, but two pounds. I was over!

GAH!

I did remember that Gillian's scale, the official one we were using for the contest, was lighter than mine. So I trekked over to her house at 8am on Sunday and...I was .8 of a pound OVER! I didn't panic because I didn't officially have to weigh until Monday, so I had another day. However, Gillian asked me if I wanted to take off my clothes. Not in a creepy way, but in a "I bet your clothes are adding to that weight" way.

So given that her husband and kids were in the house and I didn't want to traumatize anyone in my underwear (except Gillian apparently), we headed down to her basement, I stripped to my skivvies and...VOILA! I was .3 under.

Whew is all I can say.

So I was all ready to report my results by 8:05am Sunday morning, BUT I didn't know how everyone else had done or if I'd won any money. In total, 13 people took part, so there was $1300 in the pot! Each person who made it could pull their original $100 back out. Then, the people who did make the goal would share the money from the people who didn't make it.

I was hoping I'd win the remaining $1200. But I did not. In all, four people made the goal, so we split the $900 four ways for $225 each. I'll still take it.

So what's next? I'm going to keep pushing on. I have a new number in my head, one that I never planned on shooting for, but I think it's realistic given my height and the time I have remaining to my 25th (ACK!) high school reunion this summer. I think I can get there without driving myself into an eating disorder, although I will confess to becoming a little obsessive.

What did I do to get here? At first, 6x a week workouts and somewhat careful eating. But as we got down to the last month and I hit a plateau, I got really serious. I was doing workouts 2x a day several times a week and I cut out all of the extras: no popcorn (except for a little microwave the kids made), no popcorn, basically no grains (I'll write more about why I'm doing that later because I'm going to eliminate those for the long term), no wheat, very little dairy, no chocolate. Occasionally I drank two Shakeology shakes a day and I ate my "big" meal at noon. And other than the popcorn, I really didn't feel deprived. I could see and feel the results and that was very rewarding and motivated me to keep going.

Something that surprised me--I began to crave exercise. Weird, I know. And I never thought I'd say that.

Because I wear the BodyBugg, I could easily control what was happening. I knew in these last weeks that I had to create a deficit of 900 calories a day to meet my goal. But I also had to remind myself that the quality of what I was eating played a huge role. Hence, the elimination of sodium, and I will tell you that I haven't been at all careful about sodium since the weigh in and I can feel it in my hands and feet. So, more reminders to watch that overall (except on popcorn days, which I will resume).

The upside: I feel great! I think I look pretty good, and since I'm totally vain and my own harshest critic, that's nice to feel about myself.

The downside: Some of my favorite summer clothes that I was working to have fit again are now too big--I shot right past that size. I'm going to wear them anyway, but one of Eamonn's pet peeves is that I wear my clothes too big and that's only gotten worse. So I'm wondering if that's a free rein to go shopping?

Somehow I doubt it.

Anyway, I made it and I'm really proud about that! The $250 is just a little gravy. Or a little Shakeology if we're still cutting calories.

Weigh in Eve

D-Day is tomorrow, 8am. I think I'm there. Will update...

Three Days

So the herbal laxative tea was...interesting. It continues to be...interesting. I don't think I'll use it again unless I have some dire constipation issues. Enough said about that.

I did two workouts today and will barely make my 2400 calorie burn today. What the heck? Actually, I'm noticing as I get closer and closer to my goal, the fewer calories I burn during the workouts. For instance, one of the workouts I did this morning was CardioParty 3. It's 50 minutes and would normally burn over 300 calories. I was under 300 today. Why? Did I not try hard enough? Is my body more efficient? Don't know, but it's annoying. By 11am I had burned the number of calories I normally burn by 4pm. I was all excited because I figured I'd get close to burning 3,000 calories today. Apparently not.

My strategy for the next few days is to continue like today:

Breakfast: Chocolate Shakeology made with water and ice
Lunch: 5 oz. salmon, 4.5 oz. sweet potato, artichoke
Snack: Greek yogurt
Dinner: 1/2 banana, 1 tbs. almond butter, Chocolate Shakeology, coconut milk

Obviously, I won't eat the same thing every day, but the pattern of Shakeology, meal, Shakeology is my intention these next few days. We'll see. Sometimes you just need to crunch something.

In fact, now that I think about it, before dinner I ate 4 Ritz-like crackers.

But overall, I'm trying to really cut down on sodium, too.

I also found out today that Gillian, my friend who is running the challenge, is in some warm climat on spring break. I can't believe she abandoned me in my time of need! I was hoping to weigh on Sunday, hit my goal, and then...eat a big bowl of popcorn on Sunday night. I might have to rethink this. If my weigh in is going to be Monday morning instead, clearly I can't be consuming salty popcorn the night before (like I did for the weigh IN).

One more day between me and my popcorn. Sadness.

A few comments about this challenge:
-Even if I don't make the 10 lbs., and it's looking dicey, I'm pleased with my weight. While I'd still like a little less jiggle on the 'ol thighs, I never would have achieved these last pounds of weight loss without the challenge.

-I don't advocate two shakes a day for any sort of longterm plan. My calorie intake on this type of plan is only about 1200. That's pretty darn low and I don't want to stay here for long.

-When I finish the challenge, I want to eat popcorn. However, I strongly discourage rewarding youself with food. Do something else you like, but try not to use food as a reward since you've worked so hard to break yourself of that. But in this case, I'm going to eat popcorn to celebrate, dang it.

OK, to bed. Exercise, mountain work, skiing ahead of me tomorrow. Good grief, if I don't make my calorie burn after a day like that, I don't know what to think.

Three more days to burn!

No Change

Angst. No movement on the scale. I know it's to be expected in the middle of woman issues and, BONUS ROUND, I have a flipping cold. It doesn't seem to be too bad. Yet. Maybe it will just be a mild one, but it's definitely what the boys had last week/weekend.

Good thing this challenge is ending on April 4. It has me plotting all sorts of crazy ways to lose one more pound, including drinking a natural laxative tea, which I just did. Should be interesting...but good grief, I don't want to take a chance that anything random stops me up in the homestretch if it can be avoided.

I know. TMI.

Will report back later if you're not too scared.

Oh, and today was a perfect example of apparently not eating enough early on in the day and paying the price later. All winter I've followed the same plan when I worked at ski school: two eggs and gluten free toast for breakfast, granola bar (early in the season I ate a Trio bar, now I've switched to a no sugar cocoa cassava bar with chia seeds. They get stuck in my teeth. I know carry floss.) and a piece of fruit at break around 10am. Then I would be starving by about 11:30am again. When you let yourself get that hungry, it's bad news. You'd think that after 5 months of this pattern I'd have learned, but apparently not.

So when I got home at 2pm today, I started eating and didn't stop--just shoving stuff in my mouth. And frankly, if I'd stopped myself and had a huge glass of water, I probably would have been fine. But I didn't.

Can't wait to see how THAT turns out.

I did get up and do Fire 55 EZ at 5am.

As a result, I am now nearly unconscious.

Goodnight!

91% Complete

That's what it says on my weight loss tracker goal page on WOWY.

I should be really excited by that because the weight that has me at 91% of my goal is actually BELOW what my original goal was for myself, so that's really good. But I bumped it down by two pounds for the weight loss challenge to make sure I'd be "safe" when weigh in day comes, which is Monday, April 4.

Will I make it? Still not sure. I'm very, very close, but Mother Nature decided to throw me a nice little cruve ball a few days early. Dang her! I'm hoping I deflate by this weekend, but it's darn hard not to GAIN weight during your period, let alone lose it. Grrrrr.

Ah well, it is what it is. That saying is so annoying.

My body is trying to come down with the same cold the boys had last week. It's still lingering around. I've been taking extra Vitamin D and gargling with hydrogen peroxide. Have you ever done that? Totally cool if you want to look like a rabid dog and all foamy at the mouth.

I've been right on track with my workouts. Last week I repeated a week of TurboFire since I basically came apart at the seams during the week Daylight Savings occured. I missed three, THREE!, workouts that week and then when we were at the hotel for the state hockey tournament, there wasn't available space to do TurboFire. So I did the treadmill. I know I already told you all of this. Clearly I need to continue to rationalize those missed workouts to someone other than myself.

I've been able to squeeze in a few two-a-days, but they have been fewer and further between last week and this because of my work schedule. Hopefully I'll be able to get some in during the remainder of this week. I have several days of sitting a lot and working--that does wonders for a body. Not. So I'm working against the tide here, people.

Today was a rest day, which is weird because it's usually Wednesday, so that means I'll have to drag my body out of bed at 4:45am tomorrow to get a workout in before I work on the mountain. Ewww. I'm cringing just thinking about it. I should probably head to bed soon. It's 5pm.

I did ski for several hours, so at least I wasn't sitting and working.

So stay tuned to see if I hit my goal. I really want my $100 back. And I really want a share of the $1,100 that's in the pot! And I confess, I'm willing to take some drastic measures this week to make sure I squeak through. I don't know what those drastic measures are, but if I come up with some, I'll let you know.

Drastically yours,
Natalie

Is it Bedtime Yet?

I am writing this and then going to bed. We're going to do a bullet point summary because I'm just that tired.

First, Erin, the movie was When Harry Met Sally. Come on! I can't believe you missed that.

1. We were away for the state hockey finals over the weekend.
2. On Friday night, we ate at Smashburger. I ate a cheeseburger, oh yes I did!, but wrapped it in lettuce leaves. And I also ate shoestring onion rings and got kind of testy when Finn ate about half of them. I earned those, darn it.
3. Otherwise, my eating was pretty darn good all weekend. I took my Shakeology and chose wisely.
4. The boys were runners up in the state tourney. Many tears after a heartbreaking loss in the final.
5. No space at the hotel to do my TurboFire DVDs.
6. Instead, I used the hotel treadill for 60+ minutes each day.
7. I despise the treadmill.
8. I decided to redo last week of TurboFire to keep myself on track because I'd missed 3 workouts. Not that anyone is keeping track except me, but that's what counts.
9. Weighed yesterday and was down another 1.4 lbs.
10. I am astonished, but happy.
11. .6 lbs. from my goal for the contest, but I am at the goal weight I had set for myself through BodyBugg.
12. Yay me.
13. I figure I should try to crank off another two lbs. in the coming 10 days to be safe for the challenge.
14. Feeling very good, but tired.
15. Probably PMS. And for the first time ever, I want my period to get here early because right now it's due to start two, TWO, days before I weigh in for the challange. That could seriously mess up my weighing mojo, you know? Dang it.
16. My clothes are getting quite loose. Am having drooping issues, but I'll take it.
17. Despite my motivation to lose two more lbs., today was a rest day, I had to call in sick to work because Finn was home sick, and I picked at food here and there all day. Dang it.
18. I did weigh two days in a row, which I always do, including picking up the scale and shaking it violently several times before stepping on the scale and moving it around several times to either make sure it's accurate or to try and get it to be lower, and the weight came out the same both times. But after today, I wouldn't be surprised if I pop back up. Sodium is not my friend. Or yours.

19. Good night.
20. HIIT 25 tomorrow. That one always scares me.

Pseudo Rest Week

Well, this week has sort of turned into a partial rest week. I never planned it that way, but I'm feeling like my body is sending me a message. I set my alarm and when it went off this morning, I just didn't have it in me to get up. Time change? PMS? What is it? Did you read that on Saturday, the moon will be at its closest point to the Earth for 2011? Is it that?

I hate it when I get off schedule with a workout program though.

I've been pondering what I'll do, because let's face it, we're going away for nearly 3 weeks on vacation in April/May and I will not be taking Chalene with me. Sorry, girlfriend! I'll just push all of the remaining workouts back on my WOWY calendar and pick up where I left off when I get home.

I think I also need to count today as a cheat day--the horror! Just kidding. There is no horror in a cheat day. I've had conversations with both Anne and Erin about how when we have a rest day, everything sort of falls flat, especially eating. And that pretty much describes today.

I didn't exercise, didn't eat well. I feel pretty gross. Good motivation for getting back on track tomorrow.

And with that, I'm going to bed at 9:05pm.

"Well I went to bed at seven thirty last night. I haven't done that since third grade." Name that movie.

You can ponder that while I sleep.

Surprise!

I weighed this morning and was down another pound. I won't officially believe that another pound is gone until I weigh again and see that it has stayed down. Again, I suspect that I was dehydrated. Because nothing can explain a loss of 3 lbs. in one week!

My two days off in a row ended up being a good thing. I had a really good workout this morning: Turbo Fire Fire 45 and Stretch 10. Fire 45 is my favorite workout, I think. I got up at 4:45am to do it!

I also worked at ski school for a few hours.

Calorie wise I came out at about 1529 so I'll have a 500 calorie deficit. And now, I'm going to have to go to bed because I am literally falling asleep...

Oops, I did it again!

I didn't get up for my workout AGAIN! This hasn't happened in months and months. Daylight Savings Time--I abhor you!

I just saw a news story about how on this particular day of the year, people need to take a nap. Well, I didn't do that, so I'm heading to bed (10:30pm, so early for me, sadly) so I can drag my carcass out of bed before I have to be on the mountain tomorrow morning. Ewww, it's going to be early, but clearly, if I don't do it early, I'm not strong enough to do an evening workout. Plus, I was looking at my evening schedule this week and frankly, it sucks. PTA, hockey practice, cooking for a local family in a bit of a health crisis, etc.

Bottom line: it's going to have to be a 5am situation.

Gross.

I only consumed about 1200 calories today, which I never go that low, but it was pretty much a necessity since I haven't worked out! GAH!

Workout: NONE. AGAIN.

Food
Breakfast: Chocolate Shakeology, almond milk
Snack: Brazil nuts, apple
Lunch: Amy's Palak Paneer
Snack: 2 oz. cheese, 2 oz. chicken
Dinner: Chocolate Shakeology, almond milk (not in my original plan, nothing else sounded good)

I will weigh in the morning. I doubt I'll be down again since I cheated and weighed on Friday and not what has become my official day. But I'm fine with seeing the same weight because it's still 2 lbs. down from last Tuesday overall.

Just need it to keep moving down. I have to get my $100 back. Shoes. The end.

Oops! Missed a Workout!

I despise Daylight Savings Time. It is nice for it to be light later, but I hate the time change. It totally whacks me out.

Today was the final day of hockey playoffs. With the time change, I suspected I wouldn't have the energy for an early AM workout. I was right. In my head, I had planned for a rest day. I have tons of work to do and felt like I didn't think I could spare an hour or so today.

In the end, I had hoped that we would be finished by about noon and MAYBE I could squeeze something in, but alas, it was not to be. We didn't get home until after 5pm. The boys won the league championship, so it was all worthwhile in the end!

This is going to be a hard week to get any workouts in, let alone doubles! Three days of mountain work, tons of client work, vacation planning, state hockey tournament this weekend. I'm determined to get at least the bare minimum in.

With that, I'll say good night. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be back on a normal eating schedule, not trapped at the rink with pizza and birthday cake (which I did not eat!) and subsisting on granola bars out of my tote bag!

I've just realized I'm hungry.

It's midnight. Sigh.

Something You'll Never Hear Me Say

"I forgot to eat."

Truly, I never forget to eat. I totally don't get those people who say things like, "I got so busy I forgot to eat." My body would never let me forget to eat. I become some sort of raging lunatic when I go without food for more than 3 hours. Like a lock-up-your-small-children-because-I'm-going-to-gnaw-on-their-plump-little-appendages lunatic when I don't eat on a regular basis.

I should probably be checked for hypoglycemia or something, but I don't need yet another red flag on my health insurance, thankyouverymuch. The thyroid, the abnormal pap smear, the heart palpitations. I figure I can get traditional insurance again when I'm about 110.

Anyway, today I did intentionally NOT eat (something you know I would totally chastise you for). And, happy news, I did not eat any small children. But there was a method to my madness. First, I weighed myself this morning and I don't know if I was totally dehydrated or what, but I am now three, 3, THREE!, pounds from hitting my 10 lb. weight loss goal for the challenge and getting my $100 back! And I'm telling you now, I really need that $100 back because I ordered some shoes for an upcoming trip and it earned me a set of raised eyebrows from my other half.

Dang it. Who knew he was going to be working from home on the day the shoes were delivered?

Back to today. I drank a shake before we left for the hockey playoffs. Between games, as the host team, we put on a barbeque for all of the other teams. So that meant burgers and hot dogs (and I knew this would be the case because I was responsible for buying all of the food at Costco and did you know you can fit 500 hot dog/hamburger buns in one cart? A little factoid for future reference in case you need to know that.).

So, I had consumed a Shakeology. At the barbeque, I did have a serving of a casserole someone made with quinoa and gnocchi and veggies. Sounds weird, but it was really good. I also ate 3 tortilla chips.

Then I forgot we'd be going to the St. Baldrick's Day fundraiser, so we headed out yet again.

I did slug down another shake right before, no lie, heading back to the rink to watch another hockey game (to see who we will play Sunday morning). I threw baked potatoes and frozen mini meatloves in the oven before we left. They were very done by the time we got home. The boys ate those. I picked at one and ate half of a potato skin with a little butter on it.

I should calculate my calories, but alas, I will not.

Workouts:
1. HIIT 20
2. Cardio Party

I'll have a nice deficit today. Or I think I will anyway.

And now, I am going to bed even though it is currently only 9:21pm. Hockey in the AM and we lose an hour of sleep. I frequently think how good it is that I am not actually on the team because I can barely have the stamina to get through being a spectator.

I need to go to Spectator Training.

I hope the class is in Hawaii.

3 lbs. 3 lbs. I can do it. Going to see if I can go without popcorn for awhile to push me over the edge. I know I said that last week, too. I haven't eaten any yet this weekend even though I desperately want it.

But I also want to keep those shoes.

Cereal. It's what's for dinner.

I have eaten cereal for dinner the last two nights.

And I liked it.

I love cereal, in fact. I am somewhat careful about which ones I eat now. Since I try to avoid gluten, I no longer eat my beloved Grape Nuts. Yesterday I did break down and eat some Frosted Mini Wheats though. I'm fairly certain that they are nowhere on Michi's Ladder.

Anyway, it has been a weird last two days, but I can't exactly explain why. What was I doing that I needed to eat cereal for dinner two nights in a row?

I think I did it last night because I didn't want to eat pizza. And tonight, we were at a hockey game until 9pm, so nothing screams "I am a healthy eater" like cornflakes and granola at that hour.

Good example of me not logging my food and forgetting what I ate. I'd better get my act together.

Workouts are good--on track. Today I only got one workout in and that's may very well be the trend for awhile--possibly until the end of the challenge because work is racheting into high gear for the next month.

I hate it when I have to work for a living. It totally messes with my plans.

Hope you are eating well and getting fit and not eating cereal for dinner.

Pancake Day

I was elated when I was reminded that today is Fat Tuesday. Nevermind that we are not Catholic. Well, Eamonn is, but he describes himself as a recovering Catholic. So I asked him if they ate pancakes on this day when he was growing up and still a Catholic. He said, "Of course!" He didn't know today by Fat Tuesday.

"Well," I asked, "Did you call it Shrove Tuesday?"

"Yes, it's Shrove Tuesday, but we just called it Pancake Day."

That's about all of the encouragement I needed to declare "Pancakes for dinner!" I ignored the fact that we had also eaten pancakes LAST Tuesday in honor of National Pancake Day. Next year they should probably combine Fat Tuesday and National Pancake Day.

Just my two cents. You know, if anyone from the Vatican or the national holiday society is looking for advice.

When I weighed this morning, I was happy to discover that I was down 1.6 lbs. from last week. The scale continues to move.

But perhaps I will have a rebound effect because yes, I did eat pancakes. How can you not eat pancakes today?

Two-a-days continue and I'm pleased with how I'm feeling. I've hit 2400 calories burned consistently as well. I may not get there today, but I have been sitting and working a lot today.

Tomorrow is a rest day and I am feeling happy about that.

As a side note for today, Anne and I had an e-mail conversation about contests and diets, etc. Here's something important to know: The way I eat and structure these challenges--this is what has worked for me and for other people on my BeachBody forums. BUT, that doesn't mean it's right for everyone. Anne is tweaking things and working to find what is right for her and that's really good and really important. There are plenty of ways people eat or structure their workouts that don't work for me. Take the ideas and mold them into what gets you into the groove.

When I really committed to getting fit two years ago, it still took me time to settle in. First I had to develop a routine that worked. It comes and goes at times, but I'd say this is the area where I feel really solid.

Next, I had to get the eating part down. I tried lots of different ways of eating: planned menus per different websites, vegan, higher protein, etc. To me, it's fun to experiment in this way. Ultimately, what I found out is that I need to eat the foods I like, just in a controlled way. I finally mastered portion control--my lifetime nemesis! Deprivation will never work for me. My eating 6 days clean (perhaps not on Fat Tuesday) and one day wild card works for me. I don't feel deprived at all. I like how I feel when I eat this way. Plus, as silly as it sounds, until someone tells me that I have to stop eating popcorn or else I'll die, I have to have it. Have to. Whatever your "Have To" is, make it a part of your plan.

Finally, I had to learn to pay attention to my body and that has been a very interesting process. After a lifetime, I feel like I can finally stop when I'm satisfied, before I'm full. I had to train my brain. If I crave something, I eat it and then factor it in. I've mentioned that for the most part, I don't eat cheese. For whatever reason, today I was craving cheese (salty, fatty protein) so badly. So I ate one ounce of cheese and I was happy.

Keep it simple.

Today
Workout 1: Fire 45 (I was also supposed to do Stretch 10, but forgot!)
Workout 2: 20 minutes on elliptical

Breakfast: Chocolate Shakeology, almond milk
Snack: Apple, Brazil nuts
Lunch: Banana, almond butter
Snack: Chocolate Shakeology, almond milk, cheese
Dinner: Pancakes, maple syrup, strawberries YUM!

I am full. I am Fat on Tuesday.

Total calories: 1643 (although I just realized I didn't put the strawberries in there, so it's higher)