Weigh In ..

or lack thereof.

I know I haven't commented on my WI yet. That's cause I'm still waiting on weighing myself. My wonderful boyfriend is having a hard time remembering where he put the scale!

I don't really mind as it's just after Thanksgiving and who really wants to weigh themselves after the biggest eating holiday of the year?

I know he hasn't really given it that all out effort as we were busy over the weekend so I'm sure he'll find it. I'm going to remind him again after work to give it a go.

To be honest, I'm sort of dreading it.

Gobble Gobble Gobble

Turkey trot completed! I went to bed last night a little pessimistic. I was tired and just DID NOT FEEL LIKE RUNNING. But I sprung out of bed this morning nervous and excited for my 5k. It was freezing outside. Well, freezing by Southern California standards. A cool, breezy 40 degrees.

I ran this particular race by myself but I had a lovely cheering section. My boyfriend and my pup stood on the sidelines clapping for me. It was a nice run. There were hills which I really did not expect. Very long, gradual hills that go on for what seem like miles. I did better than I expected overall. I only walked for about twenty seconds when I hit the 2 mile marker. I don't even really know why I stopped I just did and then before I knew it I was running again. Oh yeah, and I did walk one more time at the peak of a hill for a bit to catch my breath before the long, long stretch to the finish line. I don't know my official time as we were chipped and it took me some time to cross the timing mat but I'm thinking between 36-37 minutes. It's slower than my usual pace but I'm very pleased all things considered. My foot held up too! It started aching halfway through, but honestly, other things started hurting worse so I just ignored it :)



I am VERY happy that I signed up and even more ecstatic that I finished. I was a bit disappointed that I knew I was going to have to walk because I knew I wasn't back up to my 5k standards - also I'm very competitive that way but none of it mattered as soon as I was out there. This was also the first race I've done completely solo so it was nice to know that I can do it on my own. Actually, I made a running buddy at the last third of the race. This woman had been right in front of me the whole time and then we hit the final stretch and she started walking. So, I sidled up next to her as I was passing her and told her to "come on!" - we ran the last stretch together and right when we hit the final portion I encouraged her to go faster and sprint. She met her family at the finish line and I told her good race and she was very thankful for the encouragement. I always appreciate when people tell me I can do it so when I'm out there that's what I try to do for others who look like they're struggling. Cause lets face it, running is rough!

Now, I sit on my couch, turkey in the oven and I'm starving. I put up a good fight this morning and now I can't wait for my special dinner.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving!!



PS: So, today was the end of my 30 day no scale challenge. I forgot to get my boyfriend to unhide the scale before we left for the race so since I want to weigh myself in the morning as usual, I guess it's going to be my 31 day challenge :) Update tomorrow!

Holiday Road

That time of year is upon us again. I can't believe it's going to be Thanksgiving in THREE days! Amazing how time flies. This weekend I did the grocery shopping and got everything for my Turkey Day Feast. I'm only planning on cooking for two which makes for an incredibly easy shopping venture. I had decided awhile back that I was not going to try to do anything different for the holiday eating wise. I was going to prepare the usual suspects and enjoy them along with everyone else on Thursday. However, I do have a plan for everything else. I'm going to "frame" Thanksgiving Day healthfully. I wish I could take credit for this one but I got it from the Biggest Loser. What it means is that on the days leading up to the big day I'm going to make sure that I get my exercise in, get my good sleep in and get my fruits and veggies in. And ON Thanksgiving, I'm going to get in my workout (hello 5K) and then once it's time to eat, I'm going to sit back, relax and enjoy the time with my loved ones. Then once Friday hits, it's back to the grind. See? I'm "framing" the holiday.

I was very intrigued by this idea. I have a tendency to feel like if I take a day off I might as well take the weekend off. Not a good mentality. And I especially don't want to do that for Thanksgiving because I have a 4 day weekend. I could do some damage on a 4 day weekend :)

3 days to Thanksgiving also means 3 days to my 5k. I registered over the weekend so that I don't have to be there at 6am. I'm excited. I know I said I wasn't going to run but something snapped last Wednesday. I just got sick of my foot hurting and interfering with my running. It's not a severe, I have to go to the doctor right now pain. It's a: this doesn't hurt enough to do anything other than annoy me pain. It's been extremely frustrating and I got fed up. Also, it hit me that no matter what, walk or run, I signed up so I was finishing the race. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt I wouldn't be happy unless I was running. Even if it was only a portion. Unfortunately, I hadn't run or done anything to "train" since the first week of this month. So, on Wednesday, I set up 3 training sessions to see what I could do. I did my last run today and managed to run just over 2 miles solid. Not bad for a week's time huh? So, tomorrow if I work out at all I'll do either light walking or some other non-weight bearing exercise. Just something light. Wednesday will be a complete rest day and then Thursday we'll see what happens :)

And for my reward, I get to eat Thanksgiving dinner.

Not a bad trade off at all!

Shhh, I'm hiding

Not really. I just haven't been in a writing or sharing kind of mood. It's the time change. i do this every year and every year i wonder what is wrong with me. And then every year I figure it out. It's the time change.

So, I have to make sure I get plenty of sunshine, exercise and most importantly sleep.

I have 10 days left of my no-scale challenge. In 10 days I get to get back on my scale. But what I've discovered from my challenge is that after I get on my scale, I'm going to hand it back to my boyfriend so that it can go back into hiding. That's right, I've THOROUGHLY enjoyed my scale free month. I had a couple of days where I felt lighter than air and I enjoyed every moment of them. Who knows what I would have felt like that day if I had jumped on the scale and seen a gain. Also, I will be honest, there were a few days where I indulged and it was nice not to have to face the number the next day.

That all being said, I will address one major concern I have. What if I get on the scale and I show a gain - I mean a significant gain. Is that a sign that I'm retaining water (which folks, unfortunately, the day I'm supposed to hop on the scale IS prime time for that BOO!) or is it a message that I need to tighten up the reins. Sometimes those daily or weekly weigh ins did serve as a nice indicator of how things were moving.

Definitely things to consider. However, I'm pretty definite I will NOT be going back to daily weigh ins and probably not even weekly. I think I will either incorporate 2 week or 30 day weigh-ins. I just love not weighing myself too much. Oh yes, and I ALWAYS forget that I can measure myself. I have the numbers documented I just never remember to follow up. Maybe I'll do that tonight.

Also, I'm kind of trying to forget but it's 10 days til my 5k. I'm super not excited about this one. I previously wrote that I started with running again. It really didn't last long. The pain in my foot just increased too much to feel like I was doing the right thing by pushing it. I will be completing the race most definitely but I will not be running the whole thing. A disappointment? Definitely, but hey, life goes on.

Oops, Break’s Over

So I took a little breather from writing. I ALSO took a breather from eating right. Man, did I take a breather.

My birthday was yesterday so last week I told myself that since my birthday is so close to Halloween I would combine the two and allow myself to have some treats on Halloween. The deal was, Sunday I’d indulge but come Monday, I would go back to healthier eating.

Everything was business as usual until Sunday. Then on Sunday, in lieu of cake for my birthday I chose my favorite donuts and for my dinner I chose my favorite pizza. I went to bed Sunday night feeling HORRIFIC. I felt bloated and just full of yuck. Though my taste buds thought everything was all good, my stomach was very angry at me and before I went to sleep I told my boyfriend “never again.” Monday came and I was still sick at work for the better part of the morning. It was definitely a result of the food I ate the night before.

I got through the rest of the work day eating normally, but when I got home that evening, it hit me. I wanted pizza. I wanted it bad. So, I ate 2 slices that were left over from the evening before. I had it in the calorie bank so I said “Why not?”. Bad idea. It just led to Tuesday. This time, I used the “but it’s my birthday” excuse. I got through work eating all the proper foods and journaling everything. I even planned my dinner. Everything was going great and then I got home. I wanted a Big Mac and French fries. I told my boyfriend what I wanted. He hesitantly asked if I was sure because he knew about my plan. I pulled the “but it’s my birthday” card. Seriously, how can you say no to that?

I got my Big Mac and French fries. It was so strange. I was eating this giant burger and French fries and I was almost finished when I looked at him and said “Why am I still hungry?” And I was. I couldn’t believe that I was eating all this food and was still hungry. Then I took a second to consider the nutritional value of WHAT I was eating. It made sense.

Once again, I went to bed and I felt HORRIFIC. I woke up this morning and I felt HORRIFIC. In fact, I still feel horrific. Just bloated and gross. I KNOW it’s because of what I’ve been eating. If indulging is going to lead to three days of this, I don’t want it. I would trade all the bad food I’ve eaten in the past 3 days for how I felt on Saturday in a SECOND.

However, lesson learned. My body was used to eating low fat, whole foods and once I introduced these processed, sugary foods into the mix it fought back. And that’s a GOOD thing. My body is telling me that I definitely don’t need this crap in my system. So, next time, I’m going to take it easy on myself. Maybe I’ll have just ONE treat at a time. Not a whole meals worth. I also will have some ammunition on hand for when the cravings hit. You know, some healthy alternatives to the pizza and hamburgers I will inevitably want. :)