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)

The Scale Is Moving

Pardon that there was no post yesterday. I was still mentally at the spa.

Good news. My twice daily workouts this week have paid off. Nevermind that I'm exhausted and probably getting sick, the important thing is that I will weigh less.

I'm definitely losing inches. Pants that I wore during the summer of 2004, when Finn was first in treatment and I couldn't wear for six years, are now too big. Very exciting--and yet very sad at the same time. I love those pants and do not want to not wear them, if that makes sense.

So it will be interesting to see if the inches and scale continue to match up. I have 4 lbs. to go to my own personal goal, but I figure I need to go 2 lbs. below that to make sure I'm weight loss challenge-worthy.

It's going to be hard.

And for years, Eamonn has told me I can't have both worlds--weight loss and inches. He used to tell me to stop weighing myself and just go by inches lost. That is sound advice. However, I refuse to admit defeat and I'm going to continue my epic journey.

I have done really well hitting my 2400 calorie burn these past few days. Today, I'll be short because even though I worked out twice, I spent a chunk of time sitting in the car to and from hockey and then being still at a hockey game.

I haven't tracked calories because I haven't been on the computer all day.

Alas.

But the day looked like this...

Workout 1: HIIT 20, Sculpt 30
Workout 2: 60 min. walk

Disgusting that all of that doesn't get me to 2400, isn't it?

Food was sort of a series of snacks because we were en route somewhere.

B: Chocolate Shakeology, almond milk
Snack: Handful of homemade trail mix
Lunch: Cocoa cassava bar
Snack: 1/2 apple, 1 tbl. peanut butter, 1 cup grapes
Dinner: 1 oz. cheese (!), cornflakes, almond milk (!)
Snack: popcorn

Hmmm, a decided lack of vegetables.

Tomorrow I'm going to--no lie--a class called "Yoga for Still People." Make of that title what you will. I'm going to get my workout done early before the yoga and then we're allegedly skiing. Allegedly.

Spa Night

I just got back from a hockey moms' spa night. I had originally intended that today would be my cheat day, but I have to say that I ate well all day and kept myself in check at spa night. It didn't hurt that everyone brought healthy snacks--hummus, cheese, fruit, etc. I did drink a glass of wine.

In anticipation, I did two workouts:

Workout 1: HIIT 15, Tone 30
Workout 2: 45 minutes on the elliptical watching cheesey woman TV. It was divine.

So, hockey moms' spa night...I hope we do it again. The spa was open just for us. We were there for 3 hours, which I originally thought was a ridiculously long amount of time, but when I looked at the clock and saw it was 8:55pm, I wasn't ready to leave. For $50, you get two spa services--one big one like a facial, massage or pedicure, and one small one like a paraffin dip on your hands, lash tint, brow wax, etc. The person who organizes the party (ME!) gets their service free. I had an awesome massage.

Now, I'm going to bed.