Couch to 5k - 2.1

First change-up in the program felt a bit rough. Hoping to feel better the next time.

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Couch to 5k - 1.3

Today's workout seemed to go a little faster. Next workout will be a little more "intense" relatively speaking.

On a negative note, I weighed myself today. Weight is up even though I feel like I've been better. I'm going to start tracking my intake better and try to begin tweaking unnecessary calories (switch back to skim milk, cut back on sugar, etc ...)

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Re-training

About a month ago, I decided that I would try to eat only good things. I've been fairly successful if I compare it to what I was doing prior to my decision.

I haven't gotten traditional fast food in that time. I have, however, stopped and gotten something that was within my acceptable range. Today I realized that I have begun to look forward to my Wendy's salad after every Saturday morning class. I understand that restaurant salads can be loaded with hidden calories, but I think it's an ok trade-off for the [insert favorite sandwich] combo at this stage of my plan.

Yesterday, I told Beck to start one thing and do it really well - and then add another thing. I'm going to take my own advice on this and stick to my couch to 5k plan. I'm not going to go crazy and start trying to push myself too hard at this point - I think that would backfire on me. Once I feel like the 5k training is a part of my regular routine, I may add something new. I know I love to run (I just have to get my body to remember).

I am obviously taking the slow approach, but I think this might be better for longer lasting results anyways.

Workout 1.2

Slight improvement today, but again, I'm pretty much just pleased that I did it.

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Step 2: suck it up and do it

Yep. It was pathetic but manageable. As you can see, I didn't burn up the treadmill but at least I took the first step.

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Step 1: shoes on

I hope to follow up this post with a successful first exercise post.

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Hungry

I'm just so hungry this week. Any ideas on why or suggestions are welcome.

In other news...

My mom recently started a couch to 5k program. I told her that sounded like just the thing that might help me get started back into the fitness thing.

Brief mom history: In the past 18 months, she has lost a substantial amount of weight with the help of the BodyBugg (as seen on the Biggest Loser). I'm super proud of her. Anyways, she has been walking on her treadmill this whole time, but I don't think she's ever done much running or jogging.

So, I thought it might be fun to do a 5k with her (and anyone else that wants to join us) in the spring. I just need her to be serious about this to keep me on track. I can handle 30 minutes of training 3 days a week, can't I? 3 days.

Not awesome

I am not doing my best right now. Maybe pms related? I had way too much restaurant eating last week although I did somewhat keep it together.

Last night I experienced extreme cravings and then again this morning. I'm hoping to keep it together for the next few days till it hopefully passes.

I think I'm going to attempt a new self challenge of no restaurant eating next week. Maybe for a week or two.

I received a phone call yesterday that leads me to believe that I may want to have my weight down by summertime. Hopefully this is the motivation I've been needing.

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Weekdays

This week has not been hugely successful for me; however, I have kept it together somewhat. Restaurant eating is just bad in general, but today I opted for the chicken wrap with no fries. Success? I think so considering this pub has my favorite burger in Ann Arbor. Yesterday it was Indian food at the best Indian buffet in AA. (Pay By the pound is a great dieting tool.) I get just enough to make me satisfied. I suspect I'll hit up the soup kiosk tomorrow for awesome lobster bisque (only available on Thursdays).

I haven't stopped for breakfast in several weeks. That's gotta count for something.

So I think I'll consider this to be an off-week in my long-term strategy, but not a total fail.

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Weekend

Had an ok weekend. Feel good about heading into next week (except for my tax quiz).

I will wait a few days to weigh myself to flush out the water weight from the past couple of days.

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January 21, 2011

I knew today would not be great, BUT I did not go all out like I could or generally would have. I had lunch and dinner at restaurants in A2. I'm not going to pretend that it was healthy, but I'm just going to look at it like it was one day and it's over. Tomorrow is business as usual (the new usual anyways).

One redeeming factor: I drank a ton of water.

January 20, 2011

Today was ok. I had solid breakfast and snacks, but we went to the Jolly Pumpkin for lunch. Restaurant food at its best is still probably not great. I was, however, conscious of my choices. Instead of the burger or the pastrami reuben, I chose the soup, salad, and mushroom frittata. It's Restaurant Week in Ann Arbor. Tough to say no to all of the great food offerings for relatively affordable prices (for A2). Tomorrow will be much worse. I have lunch and dinner plans. I guess the key will be to stay in line during the rest of the day.

On a positive note, I successfully increased my water intake today. It helped to set a goal yesterday for this specifically.

Another good day

Had another positive day of eating.

I found a nice droid app the other day (MyFitnessPal). It's basically a food and activity tracker. I'm sure there are others that work well or may have the same features, but I like that this one allows for scanning barcodes to add the items - huge time and frustration saver for me. Plus, maybe it's more accurate. Looks like I've been staying around 1400 - 1500 calories this week.

I've really cut back on going out to lunch. I really think this is key for me. There are just SO many great restaurants (and friends) in Ann Arbor - hard to say no. However, I have been diligent about packing my lunch and snacks lately. My strategy is to eat salads exclusively if I do go out (like tomorrow). It's not the best, but it's way better than what I was doing before. I'm just still trying to get into the right mindset for tackling this whole thing again.

I bought myself a Keurig single serve coffee maker a couple of months ago. I think it might have initially had a poor effect on my weight, but it's balanced out now. I quickly make myself coffee in the morning and then I don't stop for coffee on the way to work. The BEST benefit is that now I don't grab food along WITH my coffee on my way to work. I went back to eating South Beach breakfast bars. I ate those exclusively for the whole time that my weight was low. I find them tasty and satisfying.

Goal for tomorrow is to increase my water intake.

Good day

Another good day of eating. Very few cravings, if any. I even went grocery shopping without wanting to buy junk.

Just read a study stating that 2 cups of green tea per day led to an additional 3 lbs of weight loss over 12 weeks (and 1 inch). I'm going to make an extra effort to try this out.

Still going

I've been sticking to my plan of eating better, and I feel very positive at this point. Nothing earth shattering, but I've managed to avoid terrible cravings. Moderation. And I lost about 5 lbs last week. I'm pleased with my plan and progress so far.

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Goals

Eat better. Be more active. Survive. Graduate. Reclaim my life.