How the Treadmill….Helped My Running???!

This post is blowing my own mind, but first, Tuesday night’s dinner.  It was delicious as leftovers for lunch yesterday too!

Baked Chicken Wrapped in Bacon with BBQ Sauce and Provolone with Asparagus and Red Potatoes

This meal was super easy to make and satisfying.  It packs a lot of flavor punch while keeping the calories in check.  We use boneless skinless chicken breasts, slices of ultra thin provolone cheese, and turkey bacon.  Potatoes and Asparagus are both roasted in a bit of olive oil and salt.  Easy peasy!

Anyway, what I’m about to say is something I never imagined saying out loud in print…EVER.  It’s like when my sister and Mom claim that I said I never wanted to run another marathon right after I crossed the finish line last year….did I really say that?!   You can definitely quote me on this one….the treadmill has VASTLY improved my running this training season.  My dear dear frenemy the DREADMILL has become a close buddy of mine.  How this has happened I’ll never know, but I’m glad we are friends now.  I wouldn’t even mind inviting one into my home in the future….wishful thinking!  Here are some ways I think FOR ME, the treadmill is helpful:

1. It helps me pace myself at a more steady speed.  When I used to run long distances, I would start out at a good speed and then fizzle out near the end and run REALLY slow miles.  I was able to maintain a relatively steady pace and average 9:55 per mile for the entire 18 miles + at the 30k a few weekends ago.  I NEVER would have been able to do it last year and I think my treadmill running had a lot to do with that.
2. Mental toughness.  Because I hated running on one so much, doing longer runs on the treadmill really made me more mentally tough.  Enough said.
3. Fartlek runs. I do random speed work during my treadmill runs by sprinting the commercials on my iPad shows, which are always random.  They don’t come at regular intervals and aren’t always the same length (25-110 seconds long).  I think this work helped amp up my speed a lot!
4. The treadmill simply made winter training work for me.  One of my biggest downfalls last year was that I didn’t see the treadmill as an option, especially not for longer runs.  This year I sucked it up and did each scheduled run, even the long ones, on the treadmill if the weather outside was iffy.  I let the sun going down early last year keep me from longer Thursday night runs as well but doing them on the treadmill this year helped my training immensely and also made my Saturday long runs SO much less painful.

Speaking of painful, I’ll be back in the stairwell today at work for another round of working out.  Just in case you were wondering, here is the beautiful stairwell I use for my workout:

Dingy says it all.

At least it is well lit albeit non-natural lighting? There is a bright side to everything….pun intended. Tonight is my very last Thursday night longish run on the treadmill before the marathon and I’m a little sad! I’d like to cheer myself up and start Thursday off right with this picture of my beautiful boy who got his hair did yesterday.

Workout at Work or Anywhere Stairwell Workout

The great thing about stairwells, they are everywhere!  Sometimes after sitting at my desk all morning I just need to move and break a little bit of a sweat at lunch! I only take a half hour for lunch and I tested this one out yesterday and it took around 12 minutes with little to no breaks.  You could stretch it out with a few seconds in between each exercise.  For this workout I used one “flight” of stairs, which is two sets with a landing in the middle.  My set has 12 stairs in each segment for a total of 24 stairs, and it gets me plenty winded!  You could do a longer set if you wanted to lengthen it out and pump up the cardio.  Doing sprints every few exercises keeps the heart rate going throughout!

A few explanations:

• Step Ups are done by standing on the landing and placing one leg two or three steps up. Each rep involves bringing the opposite leg to that step and then back down for ten reps. Side step ups are the same concept, but standing with your side facing the stairs. One foot goes two or three steps up parallel to the stairs with the other on the bottom, driving through the top foot to bring the bottom even and back down for each rep.

• I do push-ups on an incline, placing my hands on the top landing of the stairs and my feet three to four stairs down (I’m tall!). Same position for planks with knees to elbows.

• Dips are done similar to push-ups and planks, only reversed! I sit on the top step, extend my legs down a few steps until comfortable, and dip down keeping my elbows straight behind me.

This workout leaves me a little sweaty, but not so much that I can’t quickly dry off with a paper towel in the bathroom before heading back into work.  I sometimes follow up with a brisk walk around the block.

**Disclaimer, I am definitely not a personal trainer and all exercise programs should be discussed with a doctor before beginning!  I’m just a girl who likes to find creative ways to workout

Workout: 4 miles (Treadmill) + 20 minutes elliptical + abs

 

Weekend Weigh-In and Mo Veggies Please

Happy Monday morning….or not.  Trying to be optimistic about the week here!  I’ve been blissfully ignoring the scale lately and it is certainly starting to show.  I did a lot of dumb things over the past few weeks eating wise and I’d like to share, but first here is today’s number:

Not too bad, but definitely creeping back up, which is obviously the wrong way.  Basically, I think I can blame a number of different things for this.  A) The bulk of my longest runs were in the past few weeks and I was insatiable hungry all.the.time.  Not an excuse to go crazy though! B) I tried to do a “cleanse” that turned out all wrong.  After seeing/reading lots of good things about Advocare on different blogs, I thought I might give it a try.  I was super skeptical of the products (and any like them for that matter) but I started seeing it crop up on blogs I consider trustworthy and gave the Herbal Cleanse a try.  I’ll be honest, I did all the recommended eating and followed the nutrition to a T and had to quit on day 4.  The fiber drink was awful, the horse pills I had to take at night made me gag and literally throw up in my mouth once, and I felt like ASS the entire week.  I had horrible headaches at work and random moments of nausea.  Without giving TMI, I also didn’t have a…ahem…movement for 4 days!  I did some research online and Advocare claimed these could be normal side effects of the “toxins” leaving your body, but I just couldn’t function at work or feel good enough to get in good runs, so I quit.  Anything that puts me THAT out of wack just isn’t worth it for me.  By the way, I boomeranged after that and ate like I just came out of starvation.  Weight gain source #2! C) I just like food, a lot and tend to swing back to old habits and get carried away sometimes.

All that said, I’ve made a commitment this week to getting back on track and making my body happy.  No more restrictive eating, just giving myself what I want and staying close to my goal intake for the day with lots of fresh fruits and veggies!  I already eat pretty healthy at meal times and take in 100-120 oz of water a day anyway, so why I thought I needed a cleanse to fix me I’m not sure.  I just need to buckle down and go back to doing what worked for me when I lost the weight in the first place and what always works without fail, eat right and work hard at the gym!  Rocket science, yes I know.

I also challenged my parents, sister, and aunt to start making this commitment with me this week.  We’ve all gotten a little complacent with our eating and the cold weather has been keeping us indoors, and we have to change that!  We all weighed in together yesterday to start the week with accountability.  I made myself this big old omlette blob of eggs with lots of veggies towards my goal of eating more of them, and we also had a great meal last night that was full of them!  We made Skinnytaste Buffalo Turkey Burgers with Broccoli Slaw and they were delicious!  The burgers themselves had shredded carrots and onions in them which you hardly noticed but added extra veggies to the meal.  The broccoli slaw on top, roasted sweet potato wedges and giant salad on the side pumped up the nutrition too.  It was a super satisfying and filling dinner I’m looking forward to enjoying leftovers of today!

1 egg, 2 whites and red peppers, green peppers, tomato and spinach (beautiful blurry shot)

Buffalo Turkey Burger with Broccoli Slaw, Roasted Sweet Potato, Salad & Beer

I’ve been keeping up with Bodypump and can definitely tell a difference in my arms especially! I also got my first swim workout in for the week and man, it really takes it out of me. I’ll finish off today with a photo of Halligan sitting on our couch like a human with demon eyes. He is so lazy, but a stunner none the less.

Workout: 4 miles (Treadmill) + Abs

I’m Not Dead and….It’s March???

February came and went!  Lots happened and I’ve been putting blogging on the back burner to make sure I’m getting all my last training in (the bulk of which is now done!) and keeping up with school work, which unfortunately turned out to be much more time consuming than I thought.  Instead of going over it all, I’ll recap with a few pictures I’ve had laying around:

Super fun ski weekend with my boo!

My slope buddy

Fresh snow and mountain sunrise

how you should start your weekend…carb load

and chocolate loading

please take your crock pot skiing. 8 hours on the slopes = dinner.

then you have the energy to go back out and night ski

and if you’re lucky your husband knows how to make fire

…and have dessert (hot toddy not pictured)

my lonely skis on an empty slope, hitting it early for freshness!

some sexy snowboarder I met…

why he would hit the slopes with a dork like me…unsure.

the brunch every session should conclude with….breakfast nachos??!

We had a great time skiing and eating, and skiing, and drinking and eating. Please check out Devil’s Backbone brewery for the food and brew if you are ever up near Wintergreen…phenomenal.  It was February, so Valentines Day happened.  I had a romantic 9.5 mile date with the treadmill followed by pizza and wine with my honey at home!  I also made him a special Valentines Day breakfast.

Pinterest has turned me into a weirdo…

In other Valentiney news, I ran the Virginia is for Lovers, and as indicated by the PR page, crushed last year’s (and Ben’s last) time! My training this spring has paid off and it is showing. I wanted to do a full race recap but it just aint happening this month folks.

cupid?

I also ran my final Distance Series of the winter and it was also a great success! It was cold and rainy but around 200 runners still showed up and made it happen for a 20 or 30K! The 30K distance was my best ever, keeping my pace under 10 minute miles throughout. I feel super confident and ready to race at Shamrock after that run. What didn’t excite me was what happened after. The bouncing for 18.something miles plus rain and wind ended with a ponytail that completely matted and hair that looked like this:

Nappy as hell is all I can say…

Ben combed my hair out for almost 1.5 hours…HUSBAND OF THE YEAR AWARD! I want to keep up with monthly goals, so although I still won’t be around much for the next few months, lets revisit February’s goals:

1.  Complete at least 1 swim workout per week Yikes!  I got in two all month….

2. Run at least 115 miles Only got in 100, but they were productive ones!

3. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables Stellar on this one

4. Lose around 4 lbs (closer to final goal!) Still working on this…have to find a good hunger from running balance!  Didn’t gain though!

5. PR at Virginia is for Lovers 14k

6.  Clean out 3 dresser drawers I did this!!!!

I also signed up for my sprint tri, so I’m on my way towards completing that resolution!  Now I just need to get on those swim workouts….

March Goals

1.  At least 1 swim workout per week…a MUST!

2.  Run 80 tracked miles (marathon recovery!)

3.  Lose 3 pounds and keep progressing towards goal

4. Run Shamrock and PR!

5.  Weight Train 2x per week

6.  Reorganize Closet

7.  Create system for household chores (this sounds dumb, but I get behind!!)

 

Here’s hoping for a more productive month that doesn’t fly by quite so quickly!  I’m going to try and be more consistent here, at least twice per week for now but I have to keep my priorities in line

February Goals and 1st Vacay of 2013!

So cliche, but where did January go again?  It has been a bit of a whirlwind of a month but lots of great things happened!  I didn’t officially talk about goals for the month of January since I was busy being a resolutionary but I can look back and see how some of those resolutions are coming along based on January activities.  I talked about 8 Resolutions and I can honestly say that in January, I made solid progress towards all but one.

I ran a grand total of around 107 miles this past month!  That is definitely the most miles I’ve ever run in a month and I’m thankful that I’m finally training the right way and staying dedicated.  I’m thankful for the Chilly Challenge for helping me stay motivated!  Another challenge coming up in February   I’d say I’ve made a good dent in the 1,000 miles I want to conquer this year.

I PR’ed in the 5k distance on New Year’s Day, so I can cross .25 off my list of distances to PR in this year.

I have been using fruits and veggies as snacks more and more and feel like I’m well on my way to making it a habit!   I need to take more pictures so I can remember what I’m putting in.

I haven’t taken a class in something new YET, but I have done some research.  I found a sushi making class I really wanted to take but it was already full   I’m thinking of another cooking class of some sort and will definitely be looking into other things as well in the coming months.

Being green….I think I used my fabric produce bags at least twice this month out of 4 grocery trips so I’ll call that progress.  I only forgot my fabric shopping bags once because it was an impromptu trip.  Recycling has been as usual and I’m TRYING to use less paper towels.

I haven’t signed up for my first triathlon yet but I’m pretty set on which one I’ll try!  It will be in early April and I have a few other short distance ones later in the summer I’m eyeballing.  I’ve also started planning swim workouts for the coming weeks.

Purge unnecessary junk….um haven’t done it.  I’ve been riding around like a hobo with a bag of clothes we packed up in my car for 3 weeks that just needs to be dropped off at Goodwill so I’ll call that a loss…..

Finally budgeting for the week.  I think I’ve been rocking this pretty well!  Still haven’t had the time to sit down and transition to an app but will do soon.

All that said, here are February’s goals:

1.  Complete at least 1 swim workout per week

2. Run at least 115 miles

3. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables

4. Lose around 4 lbs (closer to final goal!)

5. PR at Virginia is for Lovers 14k

6.  Clean out 3 dresser drawers

Looking forward to checking these off (hopefully).  In other news, I made one of my new favorite dinners for when Ben is at work.  I made a simple tuna salad with pickles and light olive oil mayo (I was out of avocado!) and put it on an english muffin with thin provolone and spinach.  Sadly I didn’t have tomato slices which would have made this 10x better.

Dinner for one paired with steamed dijon carrots and spinach

It was a super satisfying dinner that I followed up with a spoonful of natural crunch peanut butter, mi amore. Last night after I crushed a 9 mile run at the gym my amazing man, who just so happens to moonlight as a professional omelet maker, made me the best omelet I’ve ever hand, hands down. Filled with grilled ham steak, roma tomatoes, red onion, spinach, and shredded cheddar. 1 egg and 2 whites, just the way I like it, can’t forget the salsa!

Amazing Omelet with Frozen Thawed Strawberries/Blueberries

Can we talk about these berries for a second? I froze them in the fall and they are so delish. Am I the only one who thinks still half frozen berries are the best? We went out to run errands for our much anticipated Wintergreen weekend of skiing and snowboarding so naturally we had to swing by Sweet Frog for froyo. I intended to take a photo of the deliciousness that ensued but I just had to dig in and forgot. I tried a new flavor, low fat fudge brownie batter, on top of my usual cake batter and topped with chocolate sprinkles and mini m&m’s. Had to keep it simple people. Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend, and here’s to hoping I don’t do any crazy stunts on the mountain!

A Not the Weekend Weigh In

First things first, dinner last night was lazy, quick and easy but pretty good!  I had bought a frozen Stouffers Chicken and Rice with Vegetable bake a while back for nights when Ben may or may not be eating at home so I could pop it in the oven or keep frozen if we didn’t need it.  I baked it last night and rode my elliptical/watched Monday’s episode of the Bachelor while I waited for Ben to arrive. Before I went home to cook dinner, I also hit up a 5 mile run during which NONE of the pain from Monday’s run resurfaced and I felt awesome.  I conquered a new bridge I haven’t done before and got to the top at the peak of sunset!  It was beautiful and as much as I wish I had taken a picture, I was too lazy to take my phone out of my armband plus I was trying to pay attention to oncoming traffic.

Chicken and Rice Bake with Side Salad

I followed dinner up with a delicious Navel Orange that was super juicy.  Getting to my weigh-in, which as mentioned yesterday I did not do this past weekend, it went really well!  I weighed in this morning before an early spin class and the scale blessed me with this number:

Gotta paint those toes ASAP

This number means I managed to kick 2 more pounds but the downside is that i am .7 lbs away from my Dietbet goal and getting my winnings for the month of January! I still technically have until Thursday night for the final weigh in but I’m not sure if I’ll make it. Again, regardless of the outcome I am just happy to have been motivated by this challenge and lost a few pounds towards my final weight loss goal! The ladies (and guys) were great about posting and sharing motivation and I think this is a great way to lose weight if anyone is interested. I would recommend it and Roni is starting a new game on Thursday if anyone wants to join!

Speaking of challenges, the Chilly Challenge I’ve been participating is also coming to a close on tomorrow.  It has been super fun and motivating and helped me to get outside those nights when I wanted to stay bundled up on my couch!  I’m closing in on 100 miles which will also help me reach my monthly goal, which I’ll talk about more in the next couple of days.

Hope everyone has a lovely day, I’m hitting the gym again tonight for a short run and Body Pump….two a days baby!

Workout: 50 Minute Group Cycle, 3 Mile Run (Treadmill), Body Pump

The Little Things in Life

Last night’s dinner was delish!  It was really simple but I decided we would make Cobb Salads for dinner and it was definitely a good choice.  We cut up fresh romaine, baby spinach, cucumbers, grape tomatoes and topped it with grilled chicken and avocado.  We also had hard boiled eggs and yummy fresh three cheese crusty bread on the side and it was such a satisfying dinner.  I topped mine with a tiny bit of light honey dijon and Ben went with a little oil and balsamic.

Super Filling Salad

After we finished devouring eating our salads, we halved an apple and smeared some crunchy natural peanut butter on it. I had to dash off to class so I was glad there was minimal clean up. Before dinner I went for a run outside and it was the WORST run I can remember for a long time.  I set out to do 5 miles and literally after 2 I wanted to go home.  I have no idea why but I was having mild shin pain, which is something I haven’t had in over a year since I’ve been running so regularly, and my lower back was hurting as well.  I had not run since Thursday which is a long break for me so I know my muscles weren’t over tired or anything.  My run had me thinking introspectively to get through and I thought about a lot of the little things that make a big difference.

Last night my first loop which ended at 2 miles took me past my house.  I wanted to go back so bad but I made myself keep moving forward.  I told myself I would do another small loop to make 3 and go home.  When I got to the turnaround for 3, I went a little further knowing I could do 3.5.  I was near home at 3.5 when I told myself another .5 wouldn’t kill me and I pushed it out to 4.  It’s strange when 10 miles is nothing one day, and 4 is so hard on another, but that is just part of the struggle.  I’m convinced that those last 2 miles last night made me stronger, and it was such a little thing which will make a big difference.

Other little things have come to light lately, like that extra glass or bottle of water instead of reaching for an afternoon soda or choosing to have a comforting cup of tea before bed instead of hitting the kitchen for dessert.  I’ve had it programmed in my brain for so long that dinner is always followed by dessert, but it doesn’t have to be all the time, especially if I’m not even hungry!  I really wasn’t hungry last night so I made the little choice to have a cup of tea, be satisfied, and go to bed.

Enjoying my meals slowly and taking the extra 2 minutes to clear off our dining room table each evening to enjoy our meal together looking at each other is a little thing, but it makes all the difference in how we eat and more importantly, how much we eat and our focus on each other.  We have conversations that might have been missed and learn things about our day that might have gone unspoken to each other.  Not eating in front of the boobtube is a little change I’m so glad we’ve stuck to.

At the end of the day, that extra mile, that glass of water, that cup of tea enjoyed in bed while recapping the day, or those glances and lovely conversation during dinner may not seem so significant or important, but all the little moves and decisions add up to a larger picture.  Without all these little changes, I wouldn’t see a change in me, so I’d like to continue being conscious of them and their impact on my life and health.

It Was A Snow-GO, Weekend in Photos

The Weatherman called for snow Friday afternoon and evening, and he delivered!  The forecast said we would get 1-3 inches variably and maybe a little more in some areas, and that was pretty spot on with 1.5 inches in P-town.  If you are reading and you aren’t from the Mid-Atlantic or South, you won’t understand why this is a big deal.  I know for sure that people up North chuckle at us when we get a tiny bit of snow, but we just aren’t used to it!  Furthermore, we have such a large military presence in Hampton Roads that we have transplants from all over who have no idea how to drive or what to do in winter weather….basically, pardon my French but there is no other way to say it, it’s a clusterfuck.  I was one of the can’t drive in it to save my life folks who was happy to get out of work early and plant myself on the couch!  The bulk came down at rush hour and it took many people 3+ hours to get home.  This is what it looked like when I got near my house and it didn’t even start snowing until the minute we left work!

Slippery!

The biggest bummer of all was that my Distance Series race WAS indeed cancelled.  The other big bummer is that I could NOT make myself do the run on the treadmill.  Not only that, but I didn’t work out much at all in a conventional sense this weekend.

Not sure what’s more scary…the quality of this pic or me with a shovel

Although I didn’t hit the gym like I should have, I did play in the snow a bit and shovel my driveway and sidewalks on Saturday.  Ben and I also got out and made a snowman or two and exchanged a few snowballs.  Fun was had by all until he hit me in the head with one and pissed me off, lol.  It was short-lived.

Fugly/Creepy snowman I created

Snow Fireman complete with beer button eyes and required fireman stasch

Proof we still love each other after the snowballs

It was Halligan’s first snow and he absolutely loved it!  He ran around like a crazy dog and tried to scoop it all up with his beard I think!  We romped around with him in the snow as well.

Flying!

Gotta love the snowbeard!

Saturday night was the annual Guns v. Hoses game before the Norfolk Admirals.  Local firefighters play a team of local law enforcement and it is generally good clean fun!  It is hard to see in the first photo but the firefighters won and we couldn’t have been more pleased!  The admirals won as well so it was a good night in my book.

Fire > Police

The cops acted like jerks this year….

Sunday morning it was just me and Hal flying solo, so we went for a long walk and thawed out together after.  The scenery with all the snow still out was great and it gave me the chance to scope out the roads for a potential run later in the day.  Although the roads looked decent, I never got out there and I’m beating myself up a little about that today.  Moving on, I AM getting out there this afternoon between work and class!

What’s that, a snow goose?

Thawing out together

Fall down 7 times, get up 8 is what they say, so I’m at it again.  I ate horribly this weekend and let the SNOW be my scapegoat for why I could stay in and eat crappy, why I didn’t have to run or go to the gym, and that was a mistake.  Not sure if I’ll make my weight loss goal this week or not, but regardless I am getting back on track and making healthy choices beginning today.  I haven’t weighed in either and I have a sinking suspicion it’s because I know it will be bad.  Even if I don’t make my goal I will be on the right track this week anyway!  Let’s hope I don’t end up with my head in the peanut butter jar like this guy…

Snowbeard > Peanut Butter Beard

And then I went MIA…

So I took a week off, and then some.  I went about 5 days without running because I was tired and lazy and old man winter started getting to me and whispered in my ear that it was time to hibernate.  He also told me it would be a good idea to eat 4654768 pieces of chocolate and other junk WHILE taking a run break….that’s the story I’m sticking to.  Basically, I hit a rut, but I came out on the other side feeling better than ever!  I gained two pounds during my little wintercation but the good news is I came back and shed them and had a lot of fun doing so!  Here are some random photos from my few weeks and some of the fun things I’ve done over the past few weeks.  I’ll admit I was bad in the photo taking department as well but I did remember to document some!

Weight last week after gaining and losing 2lbs

- The first weekend of my “break” we went on a fun family bike ride on the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail!  This is the same trail my Distance Series is taking place on but it is super fun on a bike since you can go really fast for long periods of time.  I biked a little under 15 miles and we followed up with froyo at my favorite treat spot, Sweet Frog!  My parents, sister, brother-in-law and hubs all came along and it was tons of fun!  It was a rare warm January day so we definitely had to take advantage.

Crusin

Canal Trail

- I went on a long run last Saturday and started off from my parents house.  I did some familiar roads I haven’t run on in forever and decided to run to  my old high school while I was in the neighborhood!  I have to cross an overpass to get there so the tiny bit of hill work was good for me and I got to see what’s changed there since I’ve been gone.  I was happy to see that our little field hockey field now has its fence all set up and has a cute little shed to boot!  I got a little nostalgic running back there thinking back to the days of running during practices when I literally thought it was torture.

- ICE SKATING!  I’ve been wanting to go for the longest time, and last weekend my dad, brother-in-law, and Ben and I went and skated for about an hour during free skate.  I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I picked it up since it had been at least 5 years but I did great and finally learned how to stop without using a wall LOL.  I credit my new experiences with skiing for that.  It sounds weird and probably isn’t that related, but I felt like skiing techniques I’ve learned helped me ice skate/stop better??  Maybe I’m loco on that one.  It was also super cool to see my dad back on skates.  Dad used to play a lot of hockey when he was young, but had not been on skates since before I was born…more than that in fact, about 30 years!  It was awesome to see him go right back to where he left off, zooming around the ice, coming to quick stops (making me nervous!) and just generally looking like he was really enjoying himself.  I told my mom that I wished she could have been there to see it, I was so proud of him and happy that losing all the weight made it possible for him to do that.  I really regret not busting out my camera that day!

- Long walks with my pooch.  I think Halligan has cabin fever too and he has really enjoyed walks when it has been pleasant enough to do so.  We’ve had a couple of really long ones lately and I love spending this time outside with him!

What are you looking at?

- Lots of eating and trying to be healthy of course.  I’ve been in a big cooking mood lately and am excited for meals to come!  I’ve got to start food journaling again better but I’ve gotten a few pictures over the past week or so.

Greek Yogurt with Granola and Bananas

Whole Wheat Pancakes with Egg Whites, Turkey Bacon, and Fruit

Salad with Deli Chicken, Craisins, and Light Honey Mustard

Skinnytaste Crockpot Picadillo with Brown Rice and Salad

-Last but NOT least and certainly maybe the most exciting thing….I’VE BEFRIENDED THE ENEMY…aka the DREADMILL!  For anyone reading from colder climates, I apologize in advance and I know I’m a wimp, but I just have a hard time wanting to get out in sub freezing temps.  I can do anything down to 40 degrees and after that, I just need to get the run in on the treadmill.  The number one tool in my treadmill arsenal?  My iPad!  I discovered my gym has wifi so I watch all the shows I don’t have time (read, can’t stay up late enough) to watch during the week and the miles literally fly by!  I sprint all the 60-90 second commercials as well which gives my runs a little added boost.

All that said, I’m trying to get my shizz together and I think I’m doing a pretty good job this week.  I have one week left in my Dietbet Challenge and I think I should be able to make my goal!  The Chilly Challenge is also coming to a close and I SHOULD God willing be able to make my goal of running over 100 miles in January.  Team Giraffe is ahead and I am hoping we finish strong!

Another random side note, I’ve been loving Body Pump lately and my sweet friend Jenn and I had the best time last night!  It was the instructors birthday and we all wore hats throughout class to celebrate.  Two of his regulars that have been coming for a long time also dropped their bars and broke out into a choreographed dance during class also, which was hilarious!

Birthday Hats and the Gym = Fab

Lots of updates but there is a lot of exciting things ahead!  My second Distance Series race (25k) is this Saturday but the forecast is iffy.  I really hope it doesn’t snow for once because I need to get this run in!  I don’t want to think about what 15 miles on the treadmill would be like.  Even though we are distant buddies now, I just think that would be too tough of a mental challenge for me.

Slacking and Tracking: Food Photos and Livestrong

Soooo I’ve been pretty bad about posting my meals.  I have taken a lot of pictures of them though or at least it seems like I have so get ready for a healthy food photo dump!  I actually managed to track all my meals via photo yesterday.  Side note, I track all my foods daily and have been doing on a regular basis for over a year.  I’ll get to that in a minute…

I made Skinnytaste Chicken Enchiladas Tuesday night which are one of my favorite meals!  Ben love them too and they are so yummy and filling.

Chicken Enchiladas with Sour Cream and Spinach Salad

Since I had some shredded chicken left over and plenty of fresh cilantro I made breakfast burritos for Ben and a simple egg white scramble for myself the next morning:

Shredded Seasoned Chicken with Egg Whites, Cilantro and Salsa

Lunch was leftover chili from the weekend plus a salad with lots o’ veggies.  Followed up with a clementine!

Turkey and Zucchini Chili with Spinach Salad, Baby Carrots and Cucumber

I was flying solo for dinner last night so I threw together a combination of random things I had to use up.  Turkey meatballs, a medium zucchini, tomato sauce and italian seasoning went into the skillet.

Italian Style Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini and Red Sauce Topped with Shredded Mozzarella

Not too shabby and it took me all of 10-15 minutes total with hardly any prep or cleanup!  It was super filling as well.  I had to eat and clean up fast to hit the gym to cross train and go to Body Pump!

On to tracking meals, although taking pictures of everything is new to me and definitely helps with perception and portion size, there is another tool I would definitely like to credit for the bulk of my weight loss.  I have been using Livestrong Myplate since 2010.  I haven’t tracked consistently the whole time but have been for at least the past 8 months or so.  I track my calories each and every day and THIS is really what I credit for my weight loss.  Sure the workouts and the running help A LOT but knowing what and how much I am consuming really made the weight come off.

I like that all the foods I commonly eat are already in the database and I can just type them in and they pop up.  Even store brands like Harris Teeter where I shop are listed which makes it a breeze!  There is always the option to add manual items as well if you can’t find the one you are looking for, but I usually just choose something comparable.  I also like looking at my percentages for the day to make sure I am taking in the correct amount of protein, carbs, and fat.  I can look at my breakdown by day and week and also track my workouts.  Calories burned for workouts are based on current weight but I am always cautious about the amount of calories Myplate says I burned.  I take it with a grain of salt or lessen the time to make it a more accurate burn.  Just like being leery of what cardio machines say, common sense can go a long way here.  Finally, I use the app to track my water intake as well.

My few complaints about this tool are that the app leaves some to be desired and that as mentioned, the calories burned under fitness seem to be a bit inflated.  I do use the app when I am on the go but I do most of my managing on the PC.  The database on the app isn’t as good and the views are obviously less detailed.  I know there are other highly touted tools out there such as My Fitness Pal and others, but this has worked for me for so long that I can’t think of switching!

Whichever program you use, I highly recommend doing this, especially for runners who are trying to drop a little bit of weight.  As I’ve mentioned, I actually gained weight when I started running which was annoying since I was using it as a way to lose initially.  Extra exercise DOES make me more hungry but knowing when to stop and realizing that running 3 miles doesn’t give you the green light to eat like a marathoner are key to avoiding weight gain or even encourage losing if desired.