A Challenge

I have a problem. I know that processed junk food is bad for me, but at times, it's so tempting that I give in. Then it escalates and I don't stop. Potato chips, candy bars, donuts, cookies. All junk!

So I issued a challenge to myself: No junk food for one week. (Basically, no chips, cookies, donuts or candy. I'll allow one serving of crackers or pretzels per day)

I'm allowing myself one piece of chocolate per day, as a treat, but that's it. I'm also trying to cook fresh foods as often as I can. Here's my report for yesterday:

Breakfast: 3 cups of coffee, 1/2 cup Fiber One cereal with 1 cup light soy milk, and 6oz light strawberry yogurt

Lunch: Chunky Greek Salad with Chickpeas (recipe from Fitness Magazine) and 1/2 cup homemade chicken salad on half a bagel thin

(This was my favorite meal of the day! The salad was really filling and tasty!)

Dinner: 4oz tilapia, 1/2 cup corn, 7 french fries (processed, I know. Oops!)

Snacks: 1oz cashews, 1 clementine, 1/2 bagel thin with 1 tbsp peanut butter, 4 pretzels, 1 mini York peppermint pattie, 1/4 cup ice cream


I disappointed myself by not exercising yesterday. I wanted to work on my arms yesterday, but it didn't happen. Today I'll be running, and I just might try to get in some strength training, too. I've had a problem in the past of doing too much at once and hurting my back in the process, so I'm trying to take it slow this time around.

I'm mostly happy with yesterday's diet. It wasn't perfect, but it was well-intentioned. :)

Food Revolution

I just discovered Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. I can tell I'm going to love the show, but it's also going to make me angry...

I love that the message of the show is to help Americans eat healthier, particularly for the sake of children who are brainwashed into making horrible food choices. The state of our cafeteria/school lunch programs is disgusting! :-(

It's all about making healthier choices and cooking fresh foods rather than processed crap. It's how my husband has lost over 30lbs in the past 3 months. He still gets to eat a lot; we just don't buy processed foods nearly as much as we did before. And we can both tell the difference! Yesterday, I had microwave mini-cheeseburgers for lunch, and my stomach was killing me for the rest of the day! That crap is no good for me! (I, apparently, need a reminder every so often)

For fun, we like to go through the frozen section at grocery stores and look at the nutritional information on the foods we used to eat on a daily basis. It's insane! It's no wonder we both kept gaining weight, we felt tired all the time, and got winded walking down the street!

It's not about eating lettuce all the time, either. Healthy foods can taste really great, and the preparation time isn't much different than the processed stuff.

...now if I can get them to make more fresh foods at work. We cook food for our hot food bar every day, and we're actually required to offer a certain amount of "finger foods" which consist of things like french fries, chicken tenders, pierogies, mozzarella sticks, etc. Those are always the things that sell first. Most of our main courses are frozen, too. We just put them in a steamer to thaw and heat them, basically. The few dishes we sometimes cook fresh are things like macaroni and cheese and haluski, both very unhealthy. We do serve fresh fish often, but it's usually soaked in butter. We cook over half of what we serve in a deep-fryer... Gross!

I don't want to sound preachy or act like I know how everyone should live their lives... but you'll live longer if you take care of yourself. And if you don't care about yourself, do it for your family, your children. They deserve to feel healthy and happy and to live a long life. Right?


jamieoliver.com

Sign the petition to show you care about the health and future of our nation's children: Food Revolution Petition

Why I Love Running

When I run, I feel invincible. I feel like I’m capable of anything and everything. I feel like nothing can touch me or ruin my day.

I was never in very good shape growing up. I was thin, but had no real strength. We had this test in high school where you had to try to run a mile in under ten minutes. Forget it! I couldn’t jog for more than a minute or two at a time, let alone that distance in that time! Over the years, I just grew to believe that I couldn’t run, that it wasn’t in me.

Then my sister started training for a 5k. I thought she was nuts, but I soon followed her progress with pride. I wondered if I could do the same thing, but I had a few false starts. I didn’t research properly and both times I started a training program, I suffered pain and slight injury. It turned me off to running even more.

However, I thought I’d give it one more try. This time, I did my research first and talked to my sister (now pretty much an expert in running). Then I started the Couch to 5k program. I was amazed that it was both challenging and fun! It was difficult, but not to the point where I couldn’t do it. Jogging for 1-2 minutes at a time was something that was feasible for me, and continuing from there wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

Today I finished my Week 4, Day 1 training. I jogged two intervals of 5 minutes at one time! I never thought I could do that! I’m proving to myself everyday that I’m capable of more than I ever thought I could do. There’s this rush when I’m running, this awesome feeling of, “I can do this! I can do anything!”

Sure, it’s hard at times, and I can’t say I’m never sore from this training. It’s so worth it, though, for that exhilarating, invincible feeling and for knowing that at the age of 30, I’m probably in the best shape of my life!

I’m almost halfway through this 5k training program, and I’m looking forward to each running day. By the end, I’ll be jogging for 25 minutes at a time! Right now, that seems a little scary to me, but so did 5 minutes, and I did that today! I know I can do it.

I can’t wait for my first 5k race! And eventually I’m going to do that ten-minute mile!

Couch to 5k Program!

You live, you learn.

My husband and I both thought we'd be okay to go slightly off our "diets," by splurging at my birthday party on Sunday. Problem is, we started Saturday and didn't get back on track until today!

We feel terrible! Not guilt, but physically, we feel icky. We're both bloated and having intestinal pains and stuff. Nothing dire, just a general feeling of discomfort. Sometimes you don't realize how great you feel when you're eating healthy until you fall off the wagon and splurge on stuff that's not so good for you.

We did have plenty of healthy options at the party, fruits & veggies, sushi, and ginger chicken. But we also had chocolate cake and cookies and lots of pasta... They're okay in moderation, but we didn't feel like moderating ourselves. (Oh, and the splurging on Saturday started with a trip to McD's...)

Oh well, it's a new week, and we're even stronger in our resolve to eat healthy. We want to feel good again!

I started a new 30-day challenge on EA Sports Active yesterday, and I'm enjoying it. I moved up to medium-intensity so the workouts are a little longer with more reps of each exercise. I also set a goal to do 1200 fitness minutes for February, and two days in, I've got 107 minutes, so I think I'm doing well on that.

I also started the couch to 5k program again. I think I'm a little past the "couch" starting point (I know I can jog in place at least 5 minutes), but that's where I'm starting anyway. This program involves alternating periods of jogging and walking 3 times per week, gradually working in more jogging and less walking, so that by the end of the 6 weeks, you're jogging 5k (3.1 miles). More info: www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

Stats (now that I'm back on track):

Nutrition:
Breakfast: Kelloggs All-Bran Complete Wheat Flakes with a banana and soy milk
Lunch: Bean and Pasta Soup (recipe: www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/B
ean-and-Pasta-Soup ) and a big salad
Dinner: tuna salad on Arnold's multi-grain sandwich thin
Snacks: 1/4 cup mixed nuts, 1/2 c whipped pineapple dessert, 15 wheat thins fiber selects crackers

I can still have 350 calories after that to reach the top of my range, and I need more protein, so I'll probably have more nuts or some peanut butter or something. (I'm working tonight, which explains my small dinner)

Fitness:
EA Sports Active: 25 minutes, 97 calories
Wii Fit Yoga: 10 minutes, 17 calories
Wii Fit Strength Training: 10 minutes, 22 calories
Wii Fit Aerobics: 11 minutes, 36 calories
Wii Fit Games: 4 minutes, 9 calories

Total: 60 minutes, 181 calories burned


So, the positives of falling off my healthy lifestyle for a few days are: I know that I feel tons better when I'm eating healthy, and at least I didn't gain any weight from splurging. Lesson learned!


My twin and I at our 30th birthday party!

One Week!

One week from today, I turn 30!

Maybe that's why I'm on this latest health kick... Nah, I kind of doubt it. I started getting healthy years ago. It's been an ongoing process with ups and downs.

Starting February 1st, I'll be doing another 30-day challenge on EA Sports Active. My sister's going to start the same day, so we can encourage each other to finish. I'm also thinking of starting the couch to 5k program again. Last time I made the horrible mistake of not waiting long enough after eating to start jogging... Horrible pain in my stomach! Blech!

Today I did some yoga and some fun games in the Wii Fit Plus. I thought I'd try a running one, and it was about 45 minutes after I had breakfast (cereal and a banana). Didn't wait long enough again. I really hate that pain! I waited another half hour and tried running again, and it came back again.

I just have to work on my timing. I usually get up and workout before I eat (which is probably not a great idea...), then I have breakfast. If I'm going to run, too, I'm going to have to try to fit that in somewhere... And I don't want to be doing too much at once, either.

Yesterday, I had two halves of a candy bar... Mr. J bought them from a charity raising money for cancer research. It was too difficult to resist... and then I had a couple swedish fish before bed. That's a tough time for me, I think.

New product:



Wheat Thins make a new cracker called Fiber Selects. Each serving (18 crackers) has only 120 calories and 5g of fiber! Woo-hoo!! The Garden Vegetable flavor is pretty good. When I first tried increasing my fiber, I had a difficult time getting the 25-35g required. I considered using a supplement, but I kept trying for it naturally. Now I have to watch to make sure I don't get too much! But for those days I'm a little behind, these crackers will help out!

Totals for today:

Nutrition:
Breakfast: Frosted Mini-Wheats, banana, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 8oz Trop50 orange juice
Lunch: Homemade Wonton Ravioli (and probably a big salad and some grapefruit)
Dinner: 2oz Lite Turkey on Arnold's Sandwich Thin, 18 Wheat Thin Fiber Selects crackers
Snack: Hershey's Almond Bar

Fitness:
Wii Fit Yoga: 10 minutes, 14 calories
Wii Fit Games & Running: 10 minutes, 21 calories
EA Sports Active: 15 minutes, 62 calories

Total: 35 minutes, 97 calories burned.

Good news for my husband: He lost 10lbs since starting January 5th! He fluctuates 2-3 lbs per day, though (and once he went up 5.5lbs in one day!) He's learning that he can't go completely off his diet on weekends and still expect to keep the weight off. I think it's okay to give yourself a treat, but he can't start eating fast food every weekend...

lost another pound

I doubt I'll get much sympathy for this, but my current complaint is that I'm losing weight without trying! I lost another pound, a total of 3 lbs lost over the past 3 weeks when I was trying to maintain my weight.

I'm eating within my calorie range and working out almost everyday. According to how I set up my goals on sparkpeople, that's supposed to keep me at the same weight, but I'm losing slowly. The thing is, according to the BMI calculations (which I don't entirely trust...), if I lose 5 more lbs., I'll be considered "underweight," which to me is just as dangerous as being overweight.

Right now, I do mostly strength training and some yoga for exercise. I don't do as much cardio, as I'm focusing on toning and increasing flexibility.

I'm not sure if I should increase my calorie intake a little. I'm afraid of gaining weight, too... I never realized how hard it could be to maintain weight!

Oh, and I had a bit of a setback the other day at work. I had cereal for breakfast at home, then a banana when I got to work. Then I didn't get to eat anything for about 4 hours, which is difficult for me. My blood sugar drops crazy-fast (which is why I eat several small meals & snacks throughout the day), and when my blood sugar gets low, I have absolutely no will-power! Sure, I had fresh fruit, veggies and a sandwich, but instead, I went and bought two candybars! I could have stopped at one, but instead I had two. To make it worse, after work (when I felt better, normal blood sugar), I bought a small bag of potato chips!

I let stress get to me sometimes. I was having a rough day, and I felt like I deserved something unhealthy... I believe I was still within my calorie range (or close to it), but I felt bad for eating junk with little-to-no nutritional value.

Anyway, my goals to work on currently are maintaining (rather than losing) weight, and dealing with stress in a healthier way.

I cheated.

Okay, I'll admit it. I cheated yesterday. I had a bit of macaroni & cheese and a little piece of cheesecake. Working at a grocery store makes it difficult to avoid temptation sometimes!

The thing is, though, that I'm feeling like I should be eating more than I am. I'm following my diet by staying within my calorie range of 1340 and 1690. That's supposed to be for me to maintain my weight. But I've lost 2 lbs in the past 3 weeks. I'm at 104 now. If I get below 98, I'll be considered "underweight," according to my BMI. (I calculate it using this website: www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/. Also, the Wii Fit Plus calculates my BMI every day.)

Of course, while BMI (body mass index, or the percentage of body fat) is an easily calculated number, it's not the best for judging if you're overweight, normal weight, or underweight. It doesn't take several factors into consideration, like muscle mass and bone density. For instance, it's been telling my husband that he'll have to weigh 165 to be "normal," though we both know he's probably not going to be able to be that low of a weight. He's a really muscular guy, one of those "barrel-chest" type of guys, you know? (He just also happens to have a gut, lol)

Anyway, that's my reasoning for snacking sometimes.

Yesterday's recap:

Exercise:
EA Active for 14 minutes, Wii Fit Plus (Core Strength Training) for 6 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Calories burned: 55


Nutrition:

Breakfast: Cereal with light soy milk and a banana
Lunch: Salad, one half roll of sushi, fresh fruit salad (plus mac & cheese & cheesecake) :-(
Dinner: Pork Chops with Dijon Sauce (awesome!! recipe: http://tinyurl.com/y9oqbxn), baked potato (light sour cream, chives, bac'n bits & 1 tbsp cheddar), sweet corn
Snacks: imitation crab, a tootsie roll, skittles, 2 tbsp peanut butter

I didn't do too well with snacking yesterday... We have dinner around 5pm, and by 8pm, I'm starting to get hungry. By 9pm, I'm searching for anything to eat in the house!