And We're Baaaaaackkk!!!

By now we all know that I am a terrible blogger, and not only that, I tend to fall off the fitness bandwagon fairly quickly. I do want to point out that I was good for four and a half months, over a third of the year! Only to be followed by almost four months of slacking off, ha ha. A lot did happen during those four months, however: I returned from India, got ridiculously busy with work (as usual), resigned from said work, took a two week road trip and visited family (and was stuffed full of sweets by both grandmothers), and started my new job working for my dad. So between all of that, there wasn't a whole lot of exercising going on, at least on a regular basis. And as I mentioned, there was lots of bad eating involved, so it shames me to admit that all of my hard work back in the spring was reversed - I put all but two pounds back on. :(

I did get back into standup paddleboarding in June, and have been going every couple of weeks (when I can afford the rental fees). See the pic above of me in action!

The good news, though, is that I am back on the wagon: I've been working out for the past week and two days, getting back into my old routine of alternating 3-mile jogs with Total Gym workouts, and tonight I even mixed it up with a yoga session (I sure do miss the yoga classes in Hyderabad!). I only took Sunday off in that timespan! And since I started my new job, I have been packing my lunch every day, trying to pack healthy options, and not overeat in the evenings when I get home. I am hoping to make some good progress in September - I'm heading up to Ohio the first weekend in October, and will definitely run into some old college friends, so that is definitely a good motivation to lose some weight - and inches!

So that's it for now - I suppose I should do a measurement update, I'll try to do that by the weekend. Time for bed!

Namaskar!

That's not included in the bumpbuster diet!!


So I arrived at my last week in Hyderabad. And I've managed to post only once so far! I'm a terrible blogger. Maybe it's because I can't find the time...or maybe it's because my life really isn't all that exciting. Who knows.

Anyways, I've had quite a nice routine going here while in Hyd; I've managed to make it to yoga classes at 8:00 four mornings a week. I walk to and from class each morning, which is about a 20-minute walk each way, so I feel that I'm definitely getting a good workout in with that and the yoga. My arms have definitely gotten more toned - all of the sun salutations I've done over the past two weeks include many many push-ups (ok, half push-ups, but still). If you're curious as to what a sun salutation is, you can find descriptions and images here: http://yogasite.com/sunsalute.htm

The part I knew would be difficult was the eating. And it has been, but it's almost impossible not to eat at least some terrible food - everything here is cooked in oils and butters galore. I usually eat a big breakfast, which includes a mushroom omelet, a bowl of muesli cereal with skim milk, a large cup of coffee, and one of three items: a banana, a muffin, or two small pieces of French toast. Not the healthiest of breakfasts, but it is my largest meal of the day.

Lunch is usually a Fiber One bar, a large bottle of water, and some Asian rice cracker snack mix (again, healthy I know). I might eat a handful of almonds in the afternoon, along with some dried apricots (I brought all of this with me). Then dinner we usually order in, or sometimes I grab dinner with my team in the cafeteria. It's almost always a starchfest, though! Definitely looking forward to some nice green salads when I get home!

So there's my update on the past few weeks; I have also had ample opportunity to work on my tan, so I am looking quite dark these days. Woohoo! I plan to take some measurements when I get home this weekend, so be on the lookout!

Metric to English conversions

Why can't my frangipani trees at home look this good?


So now I've REALLY fallen behind in my blogging...but here goes, my first post in India! I've got the better part of a week under my belt, and so far, so good. It is definitely more of a challenge to eat healthy here, because 1.) all Indian food is cooked with some amount of oil in it, and 2.) fresh vegetables don't really come into the mix at all. But I am trying. I trust the raw veggies here at the hotel, so I had a salad at lunch yesterday. And the spa at Ista had a plate of apples out, they were sooo good! It's funny how you crave certain things when you know you can't have them - I definitely snagged an apple for the road!

While waiting for my treatments at the spa, I noticed they had a scale in the waiting area; since it's been a week or so since I weighed myself, I had to jump on. Then I realized it was a metric scale, ha ha. So I noted my weight on the scale - 61.8 kilograms - and googled "kilograms to pounds converter" once I got back to the room later last night. FYI, 1 kilogram is 2.2 pounds, pretty easy to remember, right? So that puts me at just under 136 lbs., woohoo! The pounds definitely have not been coming off as easily as at first, but at the very least I am not gaining any back.

The good thing about being in India is that I can be very consistent with my workouts; they have a great gym here at the hotel, with free weights and good cardio machines. I also did my first authentic yoga lesson this morning! Definitely a sweat fest (not only because it was in an unairconditioned room, either), and I signed up for a month, so I'm hoping to be consistent and go at least 3-4 days during the last three weeks I am here.

Unfortunately I did not bring a measuring tape with me, so the May measurements may have to wait until I get back to the states! Now that I'm over my jet lag and have gotten adjusted to Hyderabad time, though, I'll try to be more consistent in my blogging. Here's to a good week!

New Measurements

I know, I know, I've sucked at blogging lately. But it's the new month, and that means measurement progress update!!

Thighs: 22 7/8" (1 2/8" lost)
Hips: 37 1/4" (2 3/4" lost)
Waist: 32 3/4" (1 1/4" lost)

The measurements are pretty much what I expected - I continued to lose through the thighs because I kept up with the running (and it's the easiest place for me to lose), but my diet took a bit of a nosedive mid-month due to work, so the pooch suffered. Well, it's another month! Gotta be good for the next two weeks, and try to be somewhat sensible once I head to India. Easier said than done!

Two steps forward, one step back

I think I am in the diet doldrums. Unfortunately, I've put a few pounds back on, due to poor eating choices during my hectic last two weeks (including red thai curry at dinner with friends Friday night, and a delicious but not very healthy indian meal Saturday night at my neighbors' party). I can't help it, I love food! I shouldn't have to completely cut those types of meals out, but what I do need to do is limit them to special occasions (and no, the weekend is not a special occasion...although it should be).

The good news is that my workouts have stayed consistent, so at least I am combatting the food that way. I managed to get two TG workouts in last week (Tuesday/Thursday), 40 minutes of cardio via Exercise TV on Demand Wednesday night, and a 3.5 mile run Friday morning (it is killing me to wait until almost 7 to run in the mornings - the only downside to daylight savings time!!). Then, Saturday was the big day for my yard - my dad arrived at 8 Saturday morning with two pallets of sod to lay. We actually ran out of sod before the front yard was done (as evidenced by the pics below), so we'll have to continue when he can get some additional sod this week. But that was definitely a workout (although not quite as intense as the rototiller a few weeks back). I also washed my car yesterday (hey, it's 93 calories burned!) as well as another 3 mile run. And a TG workout this morning - my arms are definitely getting ripped with the TG workouts and lawn work, woohoo! Now, if only the pooch would follow suit...

I wanted to share a new recipe that I tried out yesterday; back in the fall, I stocked up on canned tuna when Publix had it BOGO (I had like 12 cans in the cupboard). Since beginning my mission, though, I've been trying to cut as much fat and calories as I can, and the thought of mayonnaise-y tuna salad just didn't fit the diet bill - and I just can't do tuna right out of the can. So I started looking at Allrecipes.com to see if anyone had posted a mayo-free tuna salad, and sure enough, there was one that sounded pretty good! Roasted red pepper hummus was substituted for the mayo, which sounded yummy to me. And it was! I modified the recipe to my liking - I don't care for raw onion, and I didn't have any fresh herbs on hand, but threw in pickle relish and hard-boiled egg whites - and it sure was good.

So there you have an update on the past week for bumpbuster, and as promised, a few pics on the yard project, as well as the recipe...








Mayo-Free Tuna Sandwich Filling

Ingredients

* 1 (6 ounce) can albacore tuna in water, drained and flaked
* 1 tablespoon red onion, diced
* 1 teaspoon fresh oregano, minced
* 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
* 1 tablespoon diced green chile pepper
* black pepper to taste
* 2 tablespoons red pepper hummus

Directions

1. Mix tuna, hummus, onion, oregano, rosemary, green chile pepper, and pepper in a bowl.

Enjoy!

Back in the Saddle

Got a Total Gym workout in tonight!!

Working till 12:30 AM Does nothing for one's weight loss regimen...

I know, I know. I haven't posted in over a week. Things got crazy at the office this past week, and I've barely had time to check my facebook, let alone blog. Fortunately I am seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, I just hope it gets bigger soon.

Other than working in the yard for a few hours on Saturday (cleaning up palm fronds, which is more laborious than it sounds, and planting hedges), I have not exercised since Thursday. Bad. I knew Daylight Savings Time would put a crimp in my running routine, since it's still pretty dark, even at 6:45. I'm going to have to test the waters at some point, though. It's just hard to get up at 6:15 after working till 12:30 to begin with!

And the diet...ugh. I've been eating takeout for most meals, since I've been working so late. And when I get stressed, I tend to snack, so there has definitely been some dessert snacking going on. I was out at a client site today, and basically worked through lunch; thank goodness I had brought in a dozen donuts, because one became my lunch. But bad because it was a donut!!!

This is the type of evil that lurks during busy season; up to this point I've been able to avoid falling off the wagon too much, but I've got to get back on the straight and narrow before I fall off completely. Here's to a better second half of the week!!

Just a lil' update...

:)

Tillin' and Chillin'

This weekend, I realized that the time for playing games was over. If I wanted to get my yard done before I leave in a month, I was going to have to enlist the help of power tools. Enter the Honda rototiller, above. I rented one of these bad boys from Home Depot this morning. Now, mind you, both men working at the tool rental counter looked at me like I had three eyes, and treated me like I was a foolish girl who didn't know what she was doing (and maybe they weren't too far off), but they helped me load the beast into my truck (borrowed from dad), and off I went to dig up the rest of my yard.

When I got home, I realized one small miscalculation in my plan: I was not able to get the thing off of the back of the truck. Fortunately, the neighbor boys were around and willing to help. They were also very interested in the rototiller, and followed me into the backyard to give the thing a test drive. Now, I got it started up, and gave it a go - definitely harder than you would think. It's gas powered, and once you hit the clutch, it wants to move forward. However, to make it really dig into (and up) the ground, you've got to keep it in check and slow it down. I found the best m.o. was to allow it to go forward a bit, then pull it back over the area just covered. The neighbor boys' m.o., however was to "just go apesh*t on it!!!" So they left me to it, and surprisingly I got the back yard done in about an hour or so. It was tough work; my shoulders, biceps and triceps were wore out afterward. I couldn't finish the front yard, so instead raked up as much of the back yard as possible before calling it a day. I had to call the boys back over to help me load it up again, and the one guy liked the thing so much he finished off the front yard for me!! So I am happy to say that my yard is ready to be treated for chinch bugs and re-sodding! And I proved the guys at Home Depot wrong, too :) I've included some pics of the finished product...that is, the dirt in my yard!

So today's workout was a good cap on the week (and I'll be paying for it over the next few days, I'm sure). I managed to eat pretty well, save for a few splurges on Friday (it was my sister's last night in town, I had to meet her and her friends at Cheesecake Factory for dessert! I've got a salad made up in the fridge right now, plus I baked off a new dinner recipe, Eggs in Purgatory, which I plan to pack for either lunch or dinner this week. And I was very good about exercising this week, getting up every morning and hitting the pavement or the Total Gym. All this hard work is definitely paying off, though!

Alright, bedtime is here, I promise to post more later this week!

Picture Updates

Ok ok ok, I know you've all been dying for new pics (and by all, I mean all 3 of you). So I've put together a few montages here of before and after (or I should say, in progress) photos as of Day 1 and Day 60 (or thereabouts). A little humbling, because the pooch is still in pretty full effect, but I must say my butt has gotten significantly smaller! You can definitely tell my shorts have loosened up on me!



And now a sideshot...



Yeah, my upper thighs and butt have definitely shrunk; you can kinda see (if you look real hard) that the fabric of my tank is not quite as tight around the pooch, too...not quite. I've got my work cut out for me in that area!!

MEASUREMENT UPDATE

Thighs: 23 5/8 inches (3/8 inch lost)
Hips: 37 inches (3 inches lost)
Waist: 32 1/2 inches (inch and a half lost)

As you can see, my hips are winning the race right now - explains why some of my work pants are literally falling off of me! Update pics tomorrow night!!!

It's the Freakin Weekend!!!

Ahhhh...I think Thursday nights are my favorite night of the week. I can almost taste the weekend - if I stay up too late on Thursday night, so what? who cares? I can sleep in on Saturday!! Plus, I've definitely been working long hours this week, so it has just seemed to drag on and on.



This weekend is shaping up to be pretty busy; I've got a bridal shower Saturday afternoon, and then my sister is coming into town Saturday night with two college friends for a week of spring break. On top of that, I've got to keep the progress on the front yard moving. So do I get up early on Saturday to dig up more of the grass? Since my sis is getting in Saturday evening, I'll be heading to church Sunday morning instead. Hopefully I'll still get the chance to play volleyball Sunday afternoon - I know my sis expressed interest in doing that, too. And on top of all that...MEASUREMENT WEEKEND!!!

It's been a pretty good week; I've been packing my lunch and being sensible for dinner. I'm still trying to cut down on my sugar intake, because it's the one area that is still not under control. Pretty soon I'll be munching cardboard, I suppose. Most of my sugar intake is from fruits, so on one hand, it's not like I'm downing straight sugar packets...but it's still sugar. Any suggestions on how to reduce the sugar and still have my morning smoothie??

In closing, I'm pretty pumped for my run tomorrow morning; Wednesday's rain brought about another cold front here in SoFla, and it's forecasted to be in the 40s tomorrow morning. Perfect running weather! I gotta enjoy these cool mornings while I can get them, before you know it daylight savings time will kick in, it'll stay dark till 7, and hot and muggy to boot. Blecch.

Stay tuned this weekend for progress updates - including pics!!!

An Image of My Handiwork...

Just a visual of the work I did on Sunday!

Lowering your standards doesn't get you anywhere...

...ok, so distraction is over, and that's all I have to say about that. Anyways, I'm really slacking on the blog posts!! Now that work has picked up again, it's gotten harder to find the time to write. But my mission has been going well; last week was a bit tough, due to all of the celebrating that went on, but I still managed to stay consistent with my workouts (worked out every morning!), and didn't go too overboard on the eating.



Ok, so maybe except for the cheesecake. But c'mon, it was my BIRFDAY, and I did eat the entire piece over three nights!! You gotta spread the wealth, man!

I've found that my most energetic day of the week is Sunday. Since mid-January, I've been burning over a thousand calories each Sunday, by playing volleyball and doing yardwork. And usually I really enjoy those activities, so it doesn't even seem like true "working out". Yesterday was no different; my handyman came by the house in the late morning to go over the list of projects I needed his help with this spring. The meeting got me so excited about getting my yard in shape that I decided to start that afternoon! I took my brand new metal rake out to the front yard, and started hacking away at the poor dead sod covering my lawn. FYI, I believe chinch bugs invaded my lawn this fall, nibbling away at the roots and killing off the sod in patches. Very sad. So I'm resodding the lawn, after my handyman fixes my sprinklers. I'll try to upload a pic of the in-process front yard sometime this week (if I can remember to grab my camera and take a pic in the daylight). I'm also going to plant some hedges and other flowers and such, but that'll come soon enough!

So this weekend is my second measurement; I'm excited to see what progress I've made in the last month! While I was getting ready for work this morning, I started to put on a pair of pants I bought after Christmas - there is NO WAY I can wear them until I get them altered, they practically fall off of me now!! It was encouraging to see the progress in my measurements last month, and also a good mid-month encouragement to see that I'd lost some weight as well! Hopefully the progress wagon keeps moving forward...

Vamlumtines Day

February 15th is an awkward day in my calendar; it's the day that falls between Valentine's Day (a big occasion in some years, a nonevent in other years, like this year) and my birthday. What do you do with a random day like February 15th?

Treat it like any other day, I suppose. I actually had a great Valentine's Day too, sans-boyfriend; I worked out in my yard and played some beach volleyball in perfectly sunny 65-deegree weather, then treated myself to a pedicure. I also tested out a new cupcake recipe with two variations - citrus cupcakes with orange buttercream, and mocha latte cupcakes (chocolate cupcakes with espresso buttercream). Then I started today out right, getting in a good TG workout, and was good about what I ate all day (well, except for taste-testing a few cupcakes!) On the docket for tomorrow: a nice 3.5 mile run in the morning, then who knows?

With the onset of tomorrow's birthday, I find myself thinking about where I'm at in life. Tomorrow I'll be 29, and God has blessed me with so much: a wonderful family, a great career with great coworkers, the ability to buy a home on my own, the opportunity to travel halfway around the world, not once, but twice - and preparing for a third trip. So why do I let myself get hung up on the small stuff? Maybe it's human nature to focus on what you don't have. Maybe I thought by the time I was 29, I'd have it all - marriage, maybe a kid or two, some sort of career (albeit not as hectic as my current one). God always has a better plan, I know he's got one for me. Maybe Tim Tebow really is out there in my future???

Ok, that was quite a digression from the usual workout and diet shtick. Back in the saddle next time!

Big Weekend Plans

There's no avoiding it: I will be consuming ridiculous amounts of fat and calories tonight. But it's for a good cause - my dad's 50th birthday - and we're getting him a Cheesecake Factory red velvet cheesecake to celebrate. Just to break it on down:

* Red Velvet Cheesecake
Serving Size: 1 Slice (237 g) Calories: 817 Carbs: 93 Protein: 12 Fat: 45

Yikes.

Good thing we're not actually eating dinner there - we're heading to Legal Sea Foods, I believe.

Looks like I need to get my butt outta bed in the morning and go for a run! My sister flew in and surprised my parents last night for my dad's big day, so I'm planning on spending lots of time at my parents' house this weekend - and love my running route there. I just forgot to pack running clothes! But I'm pretty sure I can wrangle up some stuff that I keep there.

That's all for now, but I'm sure I'll have a more in depth post later this weekend!

Mid-week report

I feel like I am finally starting to see results from my mission; the pair of pants I wore to work today, which I bought with one of my Christmas gift cards, were way too loose - so I might have to get them taken in sometime soon! It's always easier for me to lose weight (inches) in my legs - we'll see if after another month the pooch will start to disappear too. I can tell you this, though - cutting soda (even diet) out of my normal daily habits has really helped me to feel less...poochy. :)

In addition to the blog here, I've gotten hooked on another very practical and useful site, which I believe I mentioned in my last post - www.livestrong.com. I've been using that site to journal my food diary, chart my goals, and track my progress. Of course, I'm only about a week into using the site, but knowing that I have to enter in every thing I eat really helps me stay strong in avoiding bad foods! I've included my progress bar, below, which I expect to start moving along at a good clip soon!

To keep it short and sweet, I've also kicked butt at exercising each morning (ok, Monday evening, but every other morning - and it was pouring Monday morning). Reduce da pooch! Reduce da pooch!

posting from the beach

I'm laying out on Hollywood Beach at the moment - no, not working on my tan, it's actually overcast right now - waiting for the paddleboard group meetup. It was supposed to be at 9, and so far I'm the only one out here. I am hoping people show up soon, because I've really been looking forward to getting back in to paddleboarding! It's a lot less windy and the ocean is much calmer today than last Sunday - which also bodes well for volleyball this afternoon.

I slept really late yesterday, like 11:30, so my diet was sorta quirky because of it. I had a yogurt for breakfast with my coffee, then a fried egg sandwich on multigrain bread for lunch - which were only about a half hour apart. I drank plenty of water in the afternoon, which was good, because I got a 3.5 mile run in before having to get ready for church. After getting back from the run, I had two spoonfuls of peanut butter (reduced fat) - so yummy and hit the spot! It's good for your body to have a little protein after a good workout. After getting cleaned up, I had a bowl of salad, then it was off to church.

I knew dinner was going to be my splurge meal for the week, because my parents wanted to go to Shorty's BBQ. I've been pretty good this week on both the diet and exercise fronts, so I indulged - pulled pork plate w/ a baked sweet potato, coleslaw, and a piece of Texas toast. And we had an order of onion rings to start. And boy was it good! Back on the straight and narrow now for me, though...although there is probably a good chance for Papa John's for dinner tonight!!

Going Where I've Never Gone Before

Yes, that's right - yesterday I tried something for lunch that I've never, ever eaten before. A veggie burger. And it was surprisingly good! I went to lunch with a group from the office to this great lunch place in downtown Miami - Granny Feelgood's - that specializes in healthier dishes. I normally get a chicken salad sandwich on rye (their chicken salad has raisins, apples, cinnamon, and pecans in it, so yummy), and their sweet potato fries are legendary. But I went with the veggie burger yesterday, which comes with grilled vegetables on top, along with lettuce and tomato, and I also added a slice of swiss cheese. I did still get the sweet potato fries though :)

I struggled to get out of bed yesterday morning, so I had my usual two cups of coffee, along with a Fiber One bar. And I didn't snack in the afternoon until I had to drive down to Kendall after work, which is only like 10 miles south of downtown Miami, but literally took me an hour to get to because of traffic - I had my favorite snack of cocoa roasted almonds and dried apricots.

I was supposed to play softball last night, but turns out the team had enough girls, and I was only helping out in a pinch, so I ended up hanging out with my fam. Hard to pass up a free dinner from mom! She had made BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches, steamed mixed veggies, and baked potatoes. The BBQ chicken was really good, a recipe she had gotten from my sister. Such a domestic queen!!

I did get a weight training session in when I got home last night, and I am going to try to get in a run before heading to church tonight. I've eaten pretty light so far today, which is easy to do when you don't get out of bed till 11:30 ;) Gotta save up my calories for dinner tonight - heading to Shorty's BBQ in Deerfield. Must stay strong!! Reduce da pooch!

New Measurements!!!

Waist: 33.75 inches (quarter inch lost)

Hips: 39.5 inches (half inch lost)

Thighs: 23.75 inches (quarter inch lost)

My new favorite website...

Again, sister comes through with a winner! www.livestrong.com contains a great diet tracking tool, My Daily Plate, to help you see and track how many calories/fat/proteins, etc., you are consuming on a daily basis. A lot of common foods and restaurant menu items are loaded into the program, so it really helped me with those meals where you couldn't just read a label and determine what you were eating. The site also has an extensive fitness database, to determine how many calories you are burning based on the type of exercise you are doing. Check it out!

One Month In...

Time flies when you're bustin' bumps, right?!? I think I am starting to see some progress - I'll know for sure when I measure myself in the next day or two. I usually see improvements in my legs and butt first, and the bump is always the hardest to change. But I'm workin' on it. New measurements and pics will be posted over the weekend!

I had a great 3.5 mi. run this morning around the 'hood; I have an aversion to running in the dark, although usually I just grit my teeth and do it. This morning, though, I slept a half hour longer and got out on the road around 6:40, and light was already in the sky - a nice change. And it didn't really take me much longer to get on the road for work than usual - I guess that shows how much time I waste putzing around in the morning, right?

So "sister" gave me a great idea to add to the blog this morning - she and a neighbor are food journaling over the next month or so, as they are trying to shed a few additional pounds. I've definitely been keeping track mentally of what I eat throughout the course of my mission, but perhaps it'll be even better if I incorporate it here - it should keep me even more accountable, right? So I'll start today with what was on my menu yesterday:

Breakfast: two cups of coffee w/ skim milk, a Fiber One bar
Lunch: Leftover red thai curry w/ chicken (homemade with light coconut milk, snow peas, zucchini and brown rice), cut up orange and grapefruit, diet peach Snapple
Snack: Starbucks tall skinny cinnamon dolce latte (3 PM), 1/4 cup each cocoa roasted almonds and dried apricots (5:30 PM)
Dinner: salad w/ romaine lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, garbanzo beans, and craisins, with Italian dressing (sparing); almond butter, banana, and honey sandwich on multi-grain bread, iced tea w/ splenda

So I think I am on the right track as far as eating less pre-packaged and processed food, and more fruits and vegetables - AND making healthier choices when dining out; I probably could still cut a little more fat out of my diet, though. For the most part, the fat I am still eating is unsaturated, like the almonds, although coconut milk is definitely not unsaturated. I also have been eating Healthy Choice or Lean Cuisine meals for dinner at night - cuts way back on the fats and calories on the last meal of the day. I just have a hard time eating the same thing day after day, so I am always trying to find more healthy options for my meals. Any suggestions are welcome!

Alright, back to work for me...

Another Hectic Week

Three weeks into my mission, and I'm slacking on reporting already. My apologies. The week started off with a bang - I headed to Gainesville Monday afternoon to recruit for my company at UF's career showcase, and came back Tuesday night. I did manage to get a weight training workout in Monday morning before I left, and other than going overboard with sushi Monday night, managed to eat healthy on the trip. I also picked up a bag of pink grapefruit at one of the service plaza fruit stands on the way back - I wanted to get some Honeybell oranges, the best eating orange in the world, but the stand was sold out. Word on the street is that my neighbor is bringing me back some from Lake Placid (FL) tomorrow, though. Honeybells are only available in January, and if you can get your hands on some, they're well worth it.

So Wednesday I had some very good friends coming into town from Ohio, and they stayed with me Wednesday night, after having dinner at Taverna Opa in Hollywood. My "sister" keeps me on the straight and narrow when it comes to working out, so I enjoyed getting to show her one of my Total Gym workouts Wednesday night. We also got up and ran Thursday morning before I had to head into work, and it was so much fun having someone to run with in the morning! Wish I could have that every day, getting out of bed wouldn't be so hard!

I could've fallen into serious trouble later this week, because I was out at client sites both Thursday and Friday. I am much better about what I eat when I control it at home - that is, when I can pack my lunch with healthy things. When faced with the decision of what to eat at a restaurant, I can sometimes give in to temptation. But I stood strong both days and had salad with a vinaigrette dressing. I did have a bag of Gardetto's snack mix from the vending machine Friday afternoon, but overall I was pretty good this week.

So my big weekend workout plans were 1.) paddle-boarding for the first time in over a year (not by choice), and 2.) playing volleyball for the first time since early August. Unfortunately, Mother Nature threw a wrinkle into my plans - forecasts for this weekend were all sun and fun, but then it was like the crappiest weekend ever (ok, so maybe not that bad). It was too windy for paddleboarding this morning, so the meetup was canceled. I did get to play volleyball this afternoon, though, and am I going to be sore tomorrow! It was a great workout, one I hope to repeat most Sundays. I also got a run in Saturday afternoon, after working in the yard for a bit, so a very active weekend all around.

Alright, there's the recap for the week, I promise to post more than one time in the next week. I am also planning to do a whole post on my Total Gym workouts - I swear I am not paid to advertise for it, but I really do enjoy it and it works! Have a great week, everyone!

P.S. The end of this week will be one month in - be on the lookout for bump update pics as well as measurement updates!

Weekend Struggles

When I'm in my routine, I am pretty good. Take me out of my routine, or throw me a curveball...ehh.

After returning from Orlando Wednesday night, I was pretty proud of staying on track (for the most part) while up at training. I avoided snacking, did get up and work out Monday and Tuesday mornings, and made healthy choices for meals - except for Tuesday night's dinner, but c'mon, they had both key lime pie and strawberry shortcake (in addition to other choices) out on the buffet for dessert, how could I possibly choose between the two?!? And they weren't huge pieces! But overall, I drank lots of water, only had a few diet cokes, and ate lots of fresh fruits and salads while I was there.

I continued my healthy eating Thursday and Friday, packing my lunch for work both days with low-fat yogurt, some of my vegetable soup from last weekend, and on Friday, some of the yummy salad I mixed up when I got home from work Thursday night (which I paired with a piece of grilled mahi-mahi for dinner). I'm a big believer in packing your salads with as much extras as possible to make it interesting (no one wants to eat a boring salad, except maybe my brother-in-law). So some of my fave throw-ins are tomatoes, carrots, cukes, garbanzo beans, craisins, and sunflower seeds. Edamame is very good too, maybe I'll pick some up for my next salad.

Things started unraveling Friday night, though. I decided to attend the office happy hour/birthday celebration, which included grabbing dinner at the same pub before the festivities began. I couldn't resist the call of the beef sliders topped with caramelized onions, cheese, and served with fries. And of course several diet cokes over the course of the evening as well. Then I had a burger with my salad for lunch Saturday afternoon (I literally have a freezer full of burgers, must get rid of them). I recovered last night with a jr. salad from salad creations - the heart lovers' salad, which has most of my fave veggies I listed above thrown in, and then had a mango yogurt shake for dessert from allegria froyo - it's one of those tart yogurt places, very lo-fat and lo-cal.

So there's my diet over the past few days; hopefully I will be able to continue on track for the upcoming week, although I do have a bit more travel coming up on Monday and Tuesday.

Thursday morning I did manage to pull myself out of bed and go for a 3-mile run, so I was pretty proud of myself for that. I did sleep in on Friday morning, but made up for that slightly Friday night by dancing to the live band at happy hour. Yesterday I was out working in the yard for a few hours - combatting the palm fronds, planting an avocado tree, and leveling out the very back of my yard in order to get the back gates open. I am definitely sore today, so yardwork definitely counts as exercise. And I washed my car too! Today I plan to get in a TG workout, and if I'm feeling particularly ambitious, might squeeze in a run this evening as well. I'd also like to get a workout in tomorrow morning, before heading to Gainesville in the afternoon for recruiting.

One last thing I'll leave you with on this post, which is some of my favorite snacks lately. My "sister" suggested the yumminess of cocoa roasted almonds quite a while back, but I just bought them for the first time last weekend. Almonds are the healthiest of the nuts to snack on, and although they do contain fat, they are almost void of saturated fats, and studies have shown that including them in a healthy diet (in moderation) is a good thing. So I've been packing a quarter cup of the almonds as a snack, and man are they good. And filling too! Another fave snack of mine is dried fruits, particularly mangoes and apricots. While they do contain a bit of sugar, they are filled with so much good vitamins and antioxidants...and getting more fruit into your diet is always a good thing. :) So dried fruit as my mid-morning snack, and cocoa roasted almonds as a mid-afternoon snack; they've definitely held me over and kept me from snacking on bad stuff lately.

A frozen Orlando

I've got Day 1 of training under my belt, and so far I have been successful in sticking to my plan! I did not have a chance to formally work out yesterday, since I drove up to Orlando last night, but does walking across the street and around Downtown Disney in 30-degree weather count for something? I swear my abs got a good workout from staving off the shivers!!

Five A.M. came wayyyy too early this morning, especially since I didn't get to bed until after midnight, but as far as hours of sleep per night go, that's just how I roll. I was actually pretty alert and awake all day, but man are my eyes bloodshot tonight! I got in 20 minutes on the elliptical as well as 10 minutes on the treadmill, and definitely felt the elliptical workout afterward.

I also stayed strong on my commitment to eating healthy, having just fruit and yogurt (and of course, coffee) for breakfast; a salad, some hummus and pita chips, and a grilled chicken caesar salad wrap for lunch, and unsalted trail mix for a snack. AND NO SODA! Dinner is in a half hour, and hopefully I will have some healthy options for that as well.

So there's the update for today, here's to hoping I can pull my butt out of bed the next two mornings!!

A good week down, a difficult week ahead...

After being on vacation for two weeks at the end of last year, it was a bit rough getting back into the swing of things this week - not only at work, but of course with the new mission as well. I actually fell asleep on the couch one night this week at 8:30 - totally not me!!

The week started off well, exercise-wise, but I hit a rough patch mid-week. I could not get out of bed Wednesday and Thursday morning! Wednesday was a run day, and the thought of going out and running in the (cold) dark just was not inspiring me to leave my warm bed. I did manage to get in a TG workout Thursday night, and then ran after work last night (for some reason, running in the dark at night doesn't seem as intimidating as in the morning - probably because I am actually awake).

I am proud to say that I did not have soda ONCE the entire week! I have room for improvement on my lunches - I was about 50-50 on really healthy eating for lunch this week. I did manage to eliminate the afternoon snacking, save for non-fat lattes (which is ok in my book). And since I was still finishing off leftovers at the house for dinner, and I had a friend in town for dinner one night, healthy eating at dinner was a mixed bag as well. I have yet to get to Publix, so I still need to stock up on healthy foods. But I'm getting better, it's only up from here!

I am actually heading to Orlando tomorrow evening for three days of training for work; this will be a definite challenge to both diet and exercise. I've checked out the hotel we're staying at online, and it looks like they have a sweet gym. I just have to pull my butt out of bed at my normal time (around 5:45-6) so that I can get that workout in before heading to the training sessions. Easier said than done, especially if the evening activities keep us out late (which they tend to do at training), but we'll see. And I just have to beware the snacks they usually set out for us!!

Crap, I just checked the agenda for the training...breakfast is from 7-8, and then the sessions start at 8 - I'll never get my workout in before then!! I'll just have to play it by ear; we'll see how it goes...

Inspiration from My Foodie Mentor

I tivo Good Eats on the Food Network. Ain't no shame. I'm a big fan of Food Network, and Alton Brown in particular. I was actually starstruck when I ran into him at the SoBe Food and Wine Festival a few years ago, but did manage to get my picture taken with him. But I digress. Last night he aired a new episode in which he shared a few tips on how he has lost 50 pounds over the past nine months, and one of his go-to tricks was actually something I've done in the past - make smoothies for breakfast!! (I fell asleep during the commercial break after the smoothie bit - have to watch the rest tonight.)

Watching the episode inspired me to bust out my blender for the first time in the new house (the new house with no dishwasher, which is probably why I hadn't busted it out before now) and blend up a smoothie after my TG workout. I've included my basic smoothie recipe below, and it's a really easy, quick way to get more fruits into your diet - and it's low-fat. I generally use strawberry or some other berry-flavored non-fat yogurt (Publix sells their strawberry yogurt in the big tubs), and my favorite fruit mix is strawberry, blueberry, pineapple (banana is always standard). I don't always include the flaxseed, either. In Alton's recipe, he skipped the yogurt and included some sort of dark berry juice (pomegranate, acai, grape) instead, which would result in a less creamy smoothie. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup nonfat milk
• 1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt
• 1/2 frozen banana, peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons powdered protein supplement
• 1 1/2 tablespoons flax seed
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries

Directions

1. In a blender, blend the milk, yogurt, banana, protein supplement, flax seed, honey, and strawberries until smooth.

Dipping a Toe into the Water

Okay, let's be real honest here: we all knew I wouldn't begin my mission in full earnest until after the weekend. My family was still in town, so that meant several things:

1.) Multiple yummy dinners aut on the tahn (as my Pixsburgh brethren would say).
2.) Lots of family time = less desire to go out and run 3 miles, more desire to eat things like white chocolate snowball cookies and red velvet cupcakes.
3.) I tend to show my love through baking...I baked cinnamon rolls from scratch for the fam Sunday morning, and then proceeded to eat two.

Monday morning arrives...early. Like 5 AM early, because I had to make an airport run. But this was a good thing, because it gave me no excuse not to go for a run once I got back to my house. So I bundled up (it was seriously like 38 degrees in Fort Lauderdale, and that's cold weather anywhere) and headed out for my first jog in three weeks. It was decent, I actually enjoy running in the cold, but I definitely petered out at the end of the 3.5 mile run. I'll get back into the groove fairly quickly, though. I also think it's time to shake things up in my running playlist, I'm up for suggestions on this one (I like running to angry rock).

From an exercise standpoint, mission accomplished on my first day back to work. From a diet standpoint...ehh, I did so-so. Breakfast was two cups of coffee w/ skim milk and a Fiber One bar on the morning commute; I was a good girl and packed my lunch before I left the house, but then...new hires in the office today!

Of course we had to take them out - I could feel temptation lurking around the prime burger sliders on the lunch menu. But I held my ground and ordered soup (chicken tortilla) and salad (chopped). I'd like to think both were fairly healthy, but I'm sure the salad may have had some saboteurs in it. Overall, though, I could have done worse. And I stuck to my guns and only drank water - no soda at all today! I did slip a little for dinner, and had leftover Indian takeout - I know for a fact that chicken tikka masala is not healthy, but my frugal side won out on that one, and I didn't want to see good leftovers go to waste. I'm planning a Publix shopping trip later this week to stock up on healthy things. And of course, my lunch is waiting for me in the fridge at the office :)

Now that it's well after midnight and I have to be up in less than six hours for my Total Gym workout, I better turn in. Getting back into the work groove is tough!

Day 1 of Mission 2010

I am entrenched in the period of my life when most of my girlfriends are plastering their facebooks and blogs with photos of their ever-growing bellies, and posting professional maternity photos of their husbands kissing said belly. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my friends and following their journeys to motherhood. However, over the past few years, I have begun to notice in myself a similar, eh, body pattern to my mommy-in-waiting friends ("are you growing a baby in your belly?" an observant 6-year-old once asked me). And the only reason for mine is a bad diet and not enough exercise!

Having no baby to blame for the pooch - crap, I can't even blame it on booze and rough living - I have no choice but to subject myself to the mercy of the net. Let me just be clear: I am not the "blogger" sort of person, because I have never believed my life is really interesting enough that other people would want to read about me on a daily basis. But I gotta do something to stay accountable to my mission. So why not do a "baby bump watch" in reverse? My "pre" pics are those with the pooch, and hopefully, if all goes according to plan, the last few pics will show a nice, flat, six-pack (a girl can dream!) stomach. I've posted a few pics above to show how dire the situation has gotten - thank goodness I don't leave the house in those clothes.

So here goes. My plan is simple, and it's not all that different than what I've (inconsistently) already been doing. Three days a week running, and I'm upping the strength training (via Chuck Norris' Total Gym, which is awesome) to three days a week, instead of two. I just need to stay on track and be consistent, in good weather and bad (so easy to stay in bed an extra hour, but gotta be strong), in Daylight Savings Time and Standard.

The most extreme part of my plan is the diet part. I've gotta change what I eat. So here is my list of resolutions (so far) in the diet department:

1. I HAVE TO STOP BAKING COOKIES.
2. No more buying soda - even diet sodas. Supplement with Crystal Light, if I need flavor. Also brew iced tea at home with Splenda or Stevia sweetners.
3. Buy more fruits and vegetables - I got pretty good at packing my lunch in 2009, now in 2010 I need to pack more salads and low-cal snacks.
4. If I eat out for lunch, stick with salads and grilled items. Stay strong!
5. Stay away from the afternoon Starbucks coffee cakes and sweets - a low-fat latte is ok, but not the "Starbucks value meal".
6. DID I SAY STOP BAKING COOKIES?

Here's to getting back on the running wagon and making smarter dining choices over the weekend. Cheer me on as I begin this quest to REDUCE DA POOCH.

Beginning Measurements:

Waist: 34"

Hips: 40"

Thighs: 24"