Day Twenty-Three: A Bit De-railed

Today was a little off track for a number of reasons. First, Finn's school was closed because of a scheduling error, which meant I was working at home with him all day on a rainy day. I tried to motivate him to come with me for a lunchtime walk, but we didn't make it far till there was the tiniest bit of drizzle, and we had to go inside for a movie marathon (for him, at least) instead.

My plan was to do a longer evening walk after the kids were in the bed, but instead, I started feeling really nauseated. To the point that I didn't even do the abs workout I have been keeping up with so religiously. I felt like such a wimp, but I think it would have made me throw up. Hopefully this will pass swiftly, because this, folks, is NOT how I want things to be.

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Teeny tiny lunchtime walk with Finn: 3.62 miles
• I was supposed to do this: Day 23 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (100 situps, 150 crunches, 58 leg raises, 90 second plank), but Day 24 is a designated rest day on that schedule, so I am just going to flip flop those two days. This of course, means that Day 27 is going to be rough, but so be it. I refuse to lose steam.

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, 2 eggs, over easy, 2 pieces of turkey bacon, little tomatoes
• Lunch: chicken breast with roasted red pepper, BBQ sauce, and cilantro, watermelon, 1 Babybel mozzarella
• Dinner: baked salmon, summer squash, and little tomatoes from the garden
• Snacks: N/A

Stats:

• Steps: 6039
• Calories: 992 consumed, 111burned
• Weight: 202 (home)

Pretty Thing From My Walk

Day Twenty-Two: Family Hike!

This morning was supposed to be a gym morning, but there was perhaps more exhaustion in the house than could be easily overcome. This time, it wasn't me, but I respect it, plus I feel like I may be fighting off a cold, so a little extra sleep didn't go amiss.

To make up for that little lapse, we went on a longer family hike than usual. We went to the park at Lake Johnson in Raleigh, and we actually made it all 3.62 miles around the lake. Granted, Finn was DONE at about 2.5 miles, and Jason had to carry him on his shoulders for the last mile--the one with all the hills. Kieran made it the whole way on his own with almost no complaining--he was a total boss! It was gorgeous out--so glad we went!

In other exercise news, I failed my plank tonight for the first time due to wrist failure. I finished on my elbows, but it didn't feel right. Carpal tunnel is a rip off.

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Family walk at Lake Johnson: 3.62 miles
• Day 22 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (95 situps, 140 crunches, 55 leg raises, 85 second plank)

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, scrambled eggs with cheese, microgreens, little tomatoes
• Lunch: a tuna salad wrap and a side salad at Salem Street Pub with an iced tea
• Dinner: grilled skirt steak and veggies (asparagus, portabella mushrooms, and orange bell peppers)
• Snacks: 2 water crackers with camembert

Stats:

• Steps:11658
• Calories: 1180 consumed, 509 burned
• Weight: 202 (home)

Pretty Thing From My Walk

Day Twenty-One: "Rest" Day

Saturday--official rest day, though I spent the day on my feet. I went to the farmers market, made lunch, then spent the afternoon being farm wife-ish--processing apples and basil. I have walked very little, done no dedicated exercise other than today's abs challenge, and yet I am totally worn out from all the "rest."

I am also, as I write this, giving in to a massive chocolate craving. I am having some dark chocolate covered blueberries--I checked first to make sure it's not going to drive me over the caloric limits I have given myself, and I am still good. But it still feels so odd to be eating chocolate--I don't even feel all that guilty... :-)

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Day 21 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (90 situps, 130 crunches, 52 leg raises, 80 second plank)

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, spinach, mushroom, and red pepper omelet with cheese, homemade applesauce
• Lunch:salad with lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, and chicken, watermelon
• Dinner:chicken breast with roasted red pepper, cilantro, and BBQ sauce, French green beans with olive oil and wild porcini salt
• Snacks: 1 Babybel, 1 serving of TJ's dark chocolate covered blueberries (SUCH a chocolate craving!)

Stats:

• Steps: 4024
• Calories:1155 consumed, 0 burned
• Weight: 202 (home)

Day Twenty: A Little Shopping

Today was a lighter than usual work day for me, so I took a long lunch with my friend Sonya and did a little shopping at the mall, where I had a whole bunch of birthday coupons that need to be used before the 31st. I never seem to be able to find time to shop. My body has changed dramatically since having babies, which means it's not really an option to shop online since I need to try everything on. The end result is that I almost never buy anything new to wear, and when I do, I get as excited as a little girl at Christmas. I came away today with new pants, two tops, a new dress, some lotion, and some heavenly smelling new soaps. But I digress--my point here was supposed to be that, rather than my normal lunchtime walk, I walked all over the mall instead. Not sorry.

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Lunchtime Walk: Does shopping count? I think it kind of counts, but I didn't exactly map it.
• Day 20 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (Rest Day, THANK GOD!)
• Zumba class with Tameka at the Apex gym

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: 2 cups of hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar each,steel cut oatmeal with 1 tsp brown sugar, chopped pecans, and 1/2 a banana
• Lunch: 1/2 a Thai crunch salad (without the rice sticks) at California Pizza Kitchen with avocado and an iced tea--I honestly don't know how anyone eats a whole salad here. I was so full after the half salad that I ate no snacks all day long, even with Zumba class!
• Dinner: 1/2 a chicken breast sauteed in olive oil with garlic, lemon, mushrooms, spinach, and french green beans with a little broth added; 1/2 a cup of homemade apple sauce
• Snacks: no snacks

Stats:

• Steps: 12787
• Calories: 1256 consumed, 904 burned
• Weight: 202.5 (home)

Pretty Thing From My (Teeny Evening) Walk

Day Nineteen: Overcoming Exhaustion

Thursdays are my Tired Day. I was so tired this morning that making it to my barbell class was a near thing. But I did it. And here at the end of the day, I don't feel like writing it all up either, but I am doing it. I feel like I can't let exhaustion win, or letting it win will become the norm again (as it was!)

Meanwhile, two things of note:

1. Jason messed up the kids' lunches today, and Finn ended up with Kieran's way-too-healthy lunch at his school, so I had to leave work to go take him something he would actually eat for lunch. This means that I missed my normal lunch walk. So I worked till I hit a stopping place, and then took a long break and went for a walk around Apex Community Lake. So nice to get a change from the normal path.
2. The abs workout tonight about killed me dead--thank goodness tomorrow is a rest day! BUT, and this is a huge but, I can now do about 5-7 leg lifts with a full range of motion. 19 days ago, I could not go past about 45 degrees without my surgical scars feeling like they were going to tear free from my abdominal wall. But now, I can go all the way to the floor and back up. Granted, I can't do that for 50 leg raises, but I think any is HUGE progress for less than 20 days. Very pleased.

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Barbell Strength Class with Joy at the Apex gym
• Lunchtime Walk:  2.64 miles
• Day 19 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (85 sit ups, 120 crunches, 50 leg raises, 75 second plank)
• Teeny evening walk in the neighborhood with the family: .30 miles

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, two eggs scrambled with parmesan and turkey bacon, some little tomatoes from the garden, 1/3 of an avocado
• Lunch: a big salad with balsamic vinaigrette and some baked chicken breast
• Dinner: salmon baked in parchment with lemon and basil, steamed French green beans tossed with a tiny bit of olive oil and porcini salt
• Snacks: one Babybel

Stats:

• Steps:11080
• Calories: 1029 consumed, 665 burned
• Weight: 202.5 (home)

Pretty Thing From My Walk

Day Eighteen: Walking with a Friend

Today's nutritional triumph was resistance to some very delicious looking gourmet doughnuts that I bought for my office. It was a near thing on the fig and goat cheese doughnut, not to mention the maple bacon one. But I walked away--go me!

I got a little treat today, too. My friend Sonya came into the office and went walking with me at lunchtime. I went a little bit of a shorter distance to accommodate her schedule and because I knew I'd be going to Zumba later, and it was totally worth it for the company. It made me think about when I lived in New York, and I used to work out every day with my friend Rita--sometimes I really miss having a partner.

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Lunchtime Walk:  1.63 miles
• Day 18 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (80 sit ups, 110 crunches, 48 leg raises, 70 second plank)
• Zumba with Tiffany at the Cary gym

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, two eggs scrambled with cheese, 2 Applegate farms chicken sage sausage links, some little tomatoes from the garden
• Lunch: salmon and squash baked in parchment with lemon and basil, tomatoes from the garden, 3/4 a medium honeycrisp apple
• Dinner: homemade tomato soup with parmesan crisps, cucumbers, 2 slices of turkey
• Snacks: 24 almonds and a glass of milk

Stats:

• Steps:14475
• Calories: 1117 consumed,910 burned
• Weight: 203.5 (home)

Pretty Thing From my Walk

Day 17: Official Weigh-In Miracle

OK, so I had some LOW expectations at the official weigh-in this morning, given the weekend's cheater-y extravagance. Imagine my surprise to see my weight down this morning! Not insanely so, but still down. I am so relieved and pleased. What I am less than pleased about is the fact that i STILL have to drive my results over to the Cary gym to get them properly recorded. I attempted emailing the picture to a trainer at Cary, but received no response, so off I went. This time, I could find no trainer to enter my info, but I finally went and pitched a fit till i found out who was in charge. I emailed that guy, and all is now well. He's going to take care of entering my info every Tuesday from now on. Again--it's not like I think I am going to win this thing, but the whole point of joining was for more accountability, right? I want my credit, dammit!

Today's lunchtime walk involved a snake sighting, as you will have seen from the pictures below. Poor guy wasn't doing too well, but I did my best for him by moving him off a busy path into a little secluded grassy area. We'll see if he's still there tomorrow.

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Barbell Strength class with Tracy at the Apex gym
• Lunchtime Walk:  2.28 miles
• Day 17 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (75 sit ups, 100 crunches, 42 leg raises, 65 minute plank)
• Evening Walk: 0.76 miles

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, steel cut oatmeal (.2 cups before cooking) with 1/2 a banana, 1/2 cup of milk, a handful of chopped pecans, and a teaspoon of brown sugar (which I didn't really need and wished I could undo)
• Lunch: salmon and squash baked in parchment with lemon and basil, tomatoes from the garden
• Dinner: Panera for knitting--a half chicken Caesar with no croutons and a cup of black bean soup--tasty and not too bad
• Snacks:1 medium honeycrisp apple

Stats:

• Steps: 11287
• Calories: 1213 consumed, 678 burned
• Weight: 203.5 (home), 207.7 (official, -6.6 lbs)

Pretty Thing(s) From My Walk

What I Like To See at the End of the Day

Day Sixteen: Clambering Back Onto Track

This morning, I stepped onto the scale expecting the worst after a dismal weekend performance, and I was extremely relieved to find I only gained back a pound. I really thought it would be a lot worse than that, so--whew! I still need to recover some miles from that fiasco. The next time I go to my mom's I will absolutely take food with me and plan to cook it there. The good news is that this week looks like it shouldn't be a huge problem to get myself back on track. I am really going to try to get back in gear!

Today's lunchtime walk was a weird one. I had to go to the mall as BOTH my apple peeler and my food processor have bitten the dust, and I need them to process the 9 huge basil plants in the back yard and the bushel and a half of apples in the kitchen. These things CANNOT wait, and guess what I will be doing tonight? So--I walked at the mall. I mapped it, and I walked as fast as i could around people and through shops. It was almost a mile and a half. I still need a real walk later tonight, but that's still way better than nothing.

I went for a walk around and around my block after the kids were abed to finish out the day's steps. I learned that one trip around my block is almost exactly .25 miles, so i can walk laps and keep track pretty easily. I also realized that the main reason I don't like walking at night as much as during the day is that I can't find a pretty thing of which to take a picture. That's become essential to my walking pleasure, and walking at night feels a bit like robbery sometimes. I see so many things that would be lovely in the daylight, and there's nothing I can do about it. Still, I am glad I went--I feel better about being back on the wagon when I walk over 11k steps!

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Lunchtime Walk (ish) at the Mall: 1.42 miles
• Evening Walk: 2.34 miles
• Day 16 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (Rest Day)

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, 1.5 pieces of turkey bacon (I got busy, and I was trying to eat as I was making lunches, and I literally forgot to eat an egg to go with this bacon--ridiculous.
• Lunch:Big green salad with 2 slices of Applegate Farms oven roasted turkey and Briana's honey mustard dressing
• Dinner:shredded roasted chicken, a 2 ounce block of robusto cheese, 2/3 of a medium honeycrisp apple
• Snacks: 1 Babybel, 24 almonds, a big cup of tea with milk and raw sugar

Stats:

• Steps:11215
• Calories: 1112 consumed, 539 burned
• Weight: 204.5

PS: I have the tiniest tickle in my throat that won't go away. If I get sick, I am likely to go postal and shoot someone. Just a warning...

Day Fifteen: Frustration Central

Today is my birthday, and I didn't get a lot done. It was a day filled with frustration. We drove home from my mom's house, made a VERY ill-advised stop at Denny's for lunch, where it took us almost an hour to get some extremely mediocre food that had way more calories than it should have. YUCK. Then when we got home, later than expected due to the Denny's delay, I had to rally Kieran to finish a school project, which led to quite a pile of whining and a whole lot of not fun for any of us. Meanwhile, I ran to Target to get some rolls, only to run face first into the last minute Target run before the first day of traditional school. Again, not a mistake I want to repeat any time soon. There was no time to exercise unless I did it at night after the kids were in bed, and honestly, I am just too tired. I did go my abs workout, but that's as far as it went. Back on the wagon tomorrow, come hell or high water.

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Day 15 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (70 sit-ups, 95 crunches, 42 leg raises, 60 second plank)

Nutrition (if we can call it that):

• Breakfast: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, 2 eggs scrambled with cheddar cheese, 1/3 a honeycrisp apple
• Lunch: Denny's on the road, a mistake I will not repeat again--a cup of brocooli cheddar soup and half a chicken salad sandwich on 7 grain bread
• Dinner: a little bit of homemade BBQ and 1/3 a honeycrisp apple
• Snacks: 24 almonds, a small piece of my birthday cake with a cup of 2% milk

Stats:

• Steps: not doodly--4203
• Calories: 1752 consumed, 0 burned
• Weight: no scale again, so no weighing today

Day 14: Designated Birthday Cheat Day

I am at my mother's house, and I have to say, it's easier to eat healthy at Chick-Fil-A than it is at her house. There are no fresh vegetables in this house but a handful of baby carrots (which I bought the last time I was here). There are grapes at least, but that's not so helpful when you are trying to limit sugar. Couple that with the fact that tomorrow is my birthday, and the fact that we were planning to be out most of the day apple picking and exploring with the boys, and I decided not to worry about it for one day. As Jason said, "You work hard so you can play hard, right?"

And he's right. One cheater day doesn't derail a whole plan unless you let it. And I won't. I am pretty proud of how far I have come in just two weeks, and I want to keep going--I am not going to let a couple of slices of pizza and a little bit of birthday cake kill my long term goals. So here's the log, shameful as it is for today, and then after that--some pictures of the beautiful day I spent with my family in the mountains. Tomorrow is soon enough to get back on track.

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Apple picking
• Short family walk on the Flowering Bridge in Lake Lure, NC
• Day 14 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (65 sit-ups, 85 crunches, 42 leg raises, 55 second plank)

Nutrition (if we can call it that):

• Breakfast: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, 2 eggs over easy, 3 applegate farms chicken apple sausage links
• Lunch: Super Cheater Lunch at Mezzaluna in Hendersonville (not sorry): fried calamari, 3 pieces of Marguerita pizza, side Caesar salad
• Dinner: Mama's spaghetti (not much--still stuffed from lunch) and a piece and a half of garlic bread
• Snacks: 1/2 a fresh honey crisp apple, i.5 inch square piece of chocolate birthday cake

Stats:

• Steps: 7204
• Calories: 2022 consumed, 229 burned
• Weight: no scale, so no weighing today

 Apple Picking at Stepp's Orchard

 

 

 

 Beautiful Flowers from The Flowering Bridge in Lake Lure, NC

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday to Me!
(even though my birthday is really tomorrow)

Pretty Thing From My Walk

Day 13: Road Trip

Today, I made it on my lunchtime walk, though it wasn't quite as long as I wanted because of an all-hands meeting at work. There are just not enough hours in the day sometimes. I wasn't able to attend my afternoon Zumba class today either, because we drove to my mom's house to go apple picking in the mountains this weekend!

Driving means road food, where it's SUPER hard to be faithful to my restrictions. We went to Chick-Fil-A, and the best I could do was grilled chicken nuggets with a side salad and an unsweetened tea. Of the dressing options, I went with avocado ranch, but only used half the packet (MORE than enough for a side salad), and I admit, I did not resist the BBQ sauce for dipping the nuggets. All in all, it could have been a lot worse (fried chicken sandwich with mayo, waffle fries, sweet tea, and a big old chocolate chip cookie worse), so I am pretty happy with my powers of resistance tonight.

Definitely looking forward to eating an apple again--the lack of fruit is the hardest part of this phase of my nutrition plan. Sunday is my birthday, the end of the first two weeks of the challenge, and eating a big, beautiful, freshly picked, Honey Crisp apple is totally going to be my reward!

Walking up and down my mother's hallway tonight to finish out my 10k steps. Dedication. :-)

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Lunchtime Walk: 1.65 (very hot) miles
• Day 13 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (60 sit-ups, 75 crunches, 40 leg raises, 50 second plank)

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, 2 eggs scrambled with cheese and spinach, 2 slices of Wellshire Farms Canadian bacon, about 1/3 cup of little tomatoes
• Lunch: small baked chicken breast with lemon and thyme, sauteed zucchini with peppers and onions
• Dinner: Road Food - Chick-Fil-A grilled chicken nuggets with BBQ sauce, side salad with avocado ranch dressing, unsweetened iced tea
• Snacks: 24 almonds, 1 Babybel

Stats:

• Steps:10103
• Calories: 1459 consumed, 207 burned
• Weight: 203.5

True Story

This totally, 100% happened to me after having two babies via C-section. This article is a hilarious look at a very annoying problem I battle ever single day:

An Open Letter To My Weird Post-Pregnancy Belly Flap

Pretty Thing From My Walk

Day 12: Off the Wagon

Today was my first total bust. My alarm went off at 5am this morning, and I just didn't get up. I am torn between feeling like a failure, and realizing that I was simply too exhausted to make it today. My knee was hurting a little bit, but mostly, I just could not keep my eyes open. Then I had to take Kieran for a new cast, which took forever, and pretty much erased my lunchtime work. This also meant working later and off hours today, which ate into any later walking time that might normally have happened. It was just a mess all day long. At least I still ate well instead of caving to the cravings for things like fries. (We ate lunch at a place with AMAZING fries, and I had none.)

I know that realistically, there are going to be days like this, where life intrudes and your well-laid plans fall by the wayside. I think the real test is going to be getting back on the horse after a day like this one. I really don't like it when my fitbit isn't all green at the end of the day.

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Basically nothing
• Day 12 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (Rest Day)

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, 2 eggs scrambled with cheese, 2 Applegate Farms chicken sage sausage links, about 1/3 cup of little tomatoes
• Lunch: from the Cafe at Jason's office: mixed greens salad with citrus vinaigrette, cucumbers, tomatoes, and about 3 oz baked salmon
• Dinner: Roasted chicken breast, sauteed zucchini with peppers and onions
• Snacks: 24 almonds

Stats:

• Steps: a pathetic 5339
• Calories: 1313 consumed, 0 burned (under the caloric glad for the day by the skin of my teeth)
• Weight: 204

Day 11: Working Around an Insane Schedule

Once again, no lunchtime walk--this week is particularly difficult for that because of other things going on. Today was the once-a-year day where my work friend Lisa and I deliver donated backpacks to the Durham Public School System and go out to lunch in downtown Durham. We traditionally go to Toast, which is very much a farm to table kind of place. I had a great salad and some straccitella, which is this Italian egg drop soup normally served with bread crumbs. I got it without the bread crumbs, but it contained a handful of forbidden peas. Really though, if peas are my only dietary violation on a lunch out, that's not too bad.

The abs challenge I am doing is seriously ramping up--I have to do it in sets now, but I can tell that I am getting stronger, which is gratifying. Zumba continues to be fun. I realized that I will miss Friday afternoon Zumba because we are driving to my mom's house for the weekend. It's going to be real work not to let that utterly derail everything!

A word on the leaderboard: I am on the board this week for Cary, in 8th place. The person in first place has lost 14.9 pounds, 4.17% of her body weight. The person who is nationally in first place has lost 38.8 pounds in a week and 3 days. I sincerely hope that person is under the care of a doctor and not just a trainer--I just do not see a healthy way to lost that much weight that fast. I am working hard, and I am trying to keep my caloric intake high enough to avoid messing with my metabolism. I want to lose weight, but I truly want to do it in a healthy way without long term ill effects. This is why winning is not so much my goal as is setting up new, healthier habits and sticking to them.

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Day 11 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (55 sit ups, 65 crunches, 33 leg raises, 42 second plank)
• Zumba at the Cary gym with Tiffany

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, tomato, avocado, and turkey bacon omelet with parmesan
• Lunch: from Toast in Durham: HUGE mixed greens salad with red wine vinaigrette, grana padano cheese, and roasted chicken, a cup of stracciatella soup
• Dinner:cucumbers, turkey roll-ups, and a mozerella Babybel
• Snacks: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar

Stats:

• Steps:11647
• Calories: 1136 consumed, 838 burned
• Weight: completely forgot to weigh this morning--oops!

Day Ten: Crazy Busy Weigh-In Day

Today I had an eye doctor's appointment, which means I had no time to go for a lunchtime walk. In the end, however, I think I might have been more productive if I had just gone anyway. I really think it  makes a tremendous difference to my afternoon when I get outside for a bit at lunchtimes. I was sluggish all afternoon. Plus, I missed finding something pretty to photograph on the go with my phone.

The whole day was super busy, and I am pretty amazed that I was able to fit everything in in spite of it. My knitting group meets on Tuesday evenings at Panera, and I ended up needing to eat dinner there--so hard to find something that works with my current restrictions! I managed, however, and I was surprised at how good their chicken Caesar salad was. I'd definitely get it again.

This morning, I weighed in again at the Apex gym, and once again, I had to take my results over to Cary to have them recorded. I just don't get it. But the trainer at the Cary gym who entered everything was awesome. He looked at my loss so far, and high fived me, then asked how it was going. He wanted to know specifically how I was eating and to make sure I wasn't doing anything stupid. I told him I was logging it all into MyFitnessPal, and he checked it out and showed me how to look at my weekly stats to notice any trends. He asked a bunch of questions about my workouts and how they were going, etc. After looking at it all, he told me I was doing everything right. That little bit of validation really felt good. So--I'm, as my mother would say, keepin' on keepin' on.

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Barbell Strength Training class with Joy in Apex
• Day 10 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (50 sit ups, 50 leg raises, 30 crunches, 38 second plank)
• Evening Walk: 1.75 miles

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, baked eggs with spinach, herbs, and parmesan, fresh tomatoes, cup of milk
• Lunch: : Chicken breast, black beans, roasted red pepper, and cilantro tossed with a tiny bit of BBQ sauce, small salad with Briana's Champagne Caper Vinaigrette
• Dinner: Panera's half chicken Caesar salad with no croutons and a cup of black bean soup.
• Snacks: large hot tea with 2% milk and 1 tsp raw sugar

Stats:

• Steps: 11607
• Calories: 1142 consumed,617 burned
• Weight: 204 (home scale), 209.9 (official weigh-in weight, -4.4lbs)

Day Nine: Wildlife Central in RTP

Today was conspiring against me a little bit--I think maybe this is a Monday thing? I was going to walk this morning, but I overslept. Then it was HOT, and I forgot my walking shoes, which led to a tiny fit in my office. And then I decided to go for a walk anyway, in spite of my flip flops and the fact that it was already 89 at 11:15am. So i went, resentfully. And you know what? I saw like 40 butterflies in at least 4 different varieties, saved a cool looking caterpillar from death, saw a beautiful blue and black lizard, and moved a praying mantis from harm's way. It was wildlife central out there, and totally worth it. The flip flops slowed me down, and I stuck to the shade to avoid the beating sun, but I still made it a little over a mile and a half. In these!

In other news, I may be experiencing some of that endorphin thing people who regularly exercise keep promising me. We'll see how I fee after tomorrow's barbell class, but I was in an oddly good mood this afternoon--I blame brain chemistry.

Last, but not least, my fitbit emailed to congratulate me on a lifetime peak of 4000 floors with the 747 badge. It's the little things...

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Lunchtime Walk: 1.56 miles
• Day 9 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (45 sit ups, 30 leg raises, 30 crunches, 38 second plank)
• Evening Walk:  1.38 miles

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, 2 eggs scrambled with cheese, 2 slices of Canadian bacon, and fresh tomatoes from the garden
• Lunch: grilled sirloin and asparagus, steamed broccoli, small salad with Briana's Champagne Caper Vinaigrette
• Dinner: Chicken breast, black beans, roasted red pepper, and cilantro tossed with a tiny bit of BBQ sauce (I imitated the snack I had yesterday at the gym cafe, but with added beans, and it was lovely!)
• Snacks: large hot tea with 2% milk and 1 tsp raw sugar, 24 almonds, 1 mozzarella Babybel

Stats:

• Steps:11691
• Calories: 1453 consumed, 380 burned
• Weight: 204.5 (home scale)

Pretty Thing From My Walk

Day Eight: Into the Woods

Sundays are marathon days. Today I got up, drank tea, made breakfast, got everyone dressed, threw in some laundry, and headed to the gym for Family Gym Day. The kids played at the kids' center while the hippie and I did our respective things. Then we fed the kids and had a snack at the Lifetime Cafe before heading into the woods for a little family hike. The woods were my favorite part of today--it was just lovely, with all the dappled light. And the woods trails have the HUGE advantage of being 100% shaded, because it was about 93 degrees. Shade is key if you're going to make it.

After the walk, we hit Whole Foods, then came home for late lunch and some cooking. I made almost 2 gallons of fresh tomato puree to freeze, along with some chicken, steaks and asparagus for dinner, and banana bread for Kieran's school snacks this week. Once again, I have to go into the week armed with plans for food, or everything falls apart.

The home scale claims I am down 5 pounds, but I am not sure i believe that. We'll see what the official weigh-in on Tuesday says.

Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Light weights and stretching at the gym for 60 minutes (Stretching felt so good!)
• Family hike at Hemlock Bluffs in Cary (See trail picture above for the gorgeousness of the woods.)
• Day 8 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (Rest Day)

Nutrition:

• Breakfast:2 cups of hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar each, 2 eggs over easy with one slice of roasted turkey and fresh tomatoes from the garden
• Lunch: sauteed zucchini with garlic, pepper, onions, and chicken breast, Trader Joe's Giant White Beans in tomato sauce, hummus and cucumbers
• Dinner: grilled sirloin and asparagus
• Snacks: BBQ chicken with roasted peppers and cilantro at the Lifetime Cafe

Stats:

• Steps:11292
• Calories: 1458 consumed, 521 burned
• Weight: 205 (home scale)

Pretty Thing From My Walk

Day Seven: Rest Day

Today was an official rest day for me, though honestly, I had to force myself to do it. It was all i could do not to find a class at the gym or go for a hike or something. I am reminding myself that rest is important, and I don't want to burn out or risk getting hurt.

The grandparents came over and watched the boys for a bit this morning so that the hippie and I could go to the farmers market without them, run a couple of errands, and go to a belated hippie birthday brunch. We went to Toast Cafe in Cary, and I am happy to say that I resisted things like blueberry pancakes and corned beef hash in favor of what turned out to be an AMAZING omelet. Its listed ingredients were Parmesan, avocado, tomato, and bacon, and it came with grits, hash browns, or fruit on the side. I asked them to sub turkey for the bacon, and by some miracle, they had turkey bacon--so good! And I subbed a salad for the fruit, and that was good, too. Highly recommend that place. Lunch was an exercise in using up things in the kitchen than needed to be eaten, but turned out to be surprisingly good. And dinner was a bit of an adventure--I handled some whole fish for the first time ever. I admit I was intimidated, but I muscled through it, and it was totally worth it! Delicious!!! I am stunned that, though I feel like I've been lazy and eaten like a pig today, I have come in under the calorie goals recommended by MyFitnessPal.

 
Today's Log:

Exercise:

• Day 7 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (40 sit-ups, 20 leg raises, 20 crunches, 30 second plank)

Nutrition:

• Breakfast:  (brunch really) omelet with leftover avocado, turkey bacon, tomatoes, mixed green salad with balsamic vinaigrette, unsweetened iced tea
• Lunch: sauteed zucchini with garlic, pepper, onions, and chicken breast, Trader Joe's Giant White Beans in tomato sauce
• Dinner: whole grilled vermillion snapper, steamed broccoli
• Snacks: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, 24 almonds

Stats:

• Steps: 4321 (Not one line on the fitbit log is green--that hurts, even though I know it's needed.
• Calories: 1283 consumed, 0 burned
• Weight: 207 (home scale)

Day Six: Carb Resistance

Today was the first day that I woke up thinking about carbs. Seriously--I was all, "Mmmmm, some pancakes sound awesome." Lol. I didn't snap and eat pancakes, but I wanted to like nobody's business. Tonight was Family Movie Night at our house, which means pizza, and it's also Jason's birthday, which means delicious chocolate cake, of which I had none.

No Cake for Me

Thank goodness, I had plenty of other options at my disposal. Once I reach my goals and am in maintenance mode, an occasional cheat day for a birthday or something will be totally ok, but NOT during a weight loss challenge, and certainly not in the first two week, no-carb, no-sugar phase!

In other news, I had to skip my lunchtime walk today--it was an early release day at Kieran's school, so I had to go pick him up. I still got all my steps in, but no pretty pictures from walking today.

Today's Log:

Exercise: 

• I tried to go to a Zumba class at the Apex gym with Tameka, but she was out of town, and there was an unannounced change to a gruelingly intense class called Reggae Madness--I made it through the whole hour class, but whew!
• Day 6 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (35 sit-ups, 15 leg raises, 15 crunches, 25 second plank)

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: omelet with leftover grilled veggies, turkey, and cheese, hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, cup of milk
• Lunch: turkey and cheese roll-ups, hummus and veggies
• Dinner:sauteed zucchini with peppers and onions, baked chicken, and a Caesar salad
• Snacks: hot tea (2 bags) with 2% milk and 1 tsp raw sugar, cup of milk, 24 almonds, 1 babybel cheese

Stats:

• Steps:11271
• Calories: 1364 consumed, 845 burned
• Weight: 207 (home scale)

Day Five: Tired, but Still Going

I knew going in that at some point in this ambitious week, I would have a crash day. Today is apparently that day. I went to the barbell class this morning, and made it through by the skin of my teeth. I walked at lunch, and made it through by the skin of my teeth. I made it through work ok, but when I got home with the boys, I actually hooked them up with a show and took a 30 minute nap. It was that or die. I still managed to get exercise, eat well, and get all my steps in, and for that I am proud. Tonight it's early to bed for this girl.

Today's Log:

Exercise: 

• Barbell Strength class with Tracy at the Apex gym
• Lunchtime walk: 2.3 miles
• Evening walk: 1.21 miles (gatta keep the fitbit happy)
• Day 5 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (30 sit-ups, 12 leg raises, 12 crunches, 20 second plank)

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: spinach and mushroom fritata, fresh garden tomatoes, 2 cups of hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, cup of milk
• Lunch: Mediterranean chicken stew (with broth instead of white wine)
• Dinner: an omelet with leftover grilled veggies, sauteed spinach, turkey, and cheese--so good!
• Snacks: 24 almonds

Stats:

• Steps:11420
• Calories: 1362 consumed, 752 burned
• Weight: 207.5 (home scale)

By the way, on my lunchtime walk today, the sky looked like this--Carolina blue in full force:

Pretty Thing From My Walk

Day Four: Scanning the Leaderboards

I say I am not competitive, but... Today is the first day for the posted Leaderboards for this 90 day challenge, and I was quite annoyed not see my name on the board for my gym. According to the names on the board, I should be in second place (behind a woman who has somehow lost 5.7 pounds since this weekend!) Further investigation shows that I am somehow (first!) on the board for Raleigh instead of Cary, with my name misspelled. I emailed the trainer who initially weighed me in, and I am hoping he can help. I am definitely invested in this more for personal reasons than to try to win some national competition, but I do want the pounds I lose to be counted toward my club's totals, and toward my own! It's pretty encouraging to be on the board locally, even if it's way too early to tell what will happen in the long run. I suspect that a lot of people didn't bother to weigh in so soon after the starting weekend, so next week may well change everything. (It's worth noting that the woman in the lead on the national board has already lost 9 pounds! What??!)

My walk at lunch today was GORGEOUS! It was hot as all get out, so I had to literally cool down in my office for a bit before I could eat anything, but it was so beautiful, I was glad I went anyway.  No one can say that I am vitamin D deficient this week, that's for sure!

Then Zumba--that's nothing but fun, though I will say that my arms and legs are pretty sore from yesterday's strength training. I made it through, but I had to scale back some of the arm stuff. Tiffany, the teacher for Wednesday nights, is so strong and high energy--I really, really like her. I can't wait till I learn the steps and the songs better so I can just have fun without having to concentrate so hard.

Today's Log:

Exercise: 

• Lunchtime walk: 2.14 (hot, but beautiful!) miles
• Day 4 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (Rest Day)
• Zumba Class at the Cary gym (Holy crap! 5000 steps and 844 calories!)

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: spinach and mushroom fritata, fresh garden and CSA tomatoes, hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar
• Lunch: salmon baked in parchment with squash, lemon, and basil, garden salad with champagne caper vinaigrette
• Dinner: Mediterranean chicken stew (with broth instead of white wine)
• Snacks: English breakfast tea (2 bags) with 2% milk and a teaspoon of raw sugar,one Babybel cheese, 36 almonds

Stats:

• Steps:14014
• Calories: 1424 consumed, 1128 burned
• Weight: 208 (home scale)

Pretty Thing From My Walk

Day Three: Is this a Test?

Sometimes, it feels like the universe is throwing out everything that it can think of to derail you. It's important to pass these little tests.

Last night, I got to bed a little later than I should have, but such is life. Then Finn woke up twice during the night, which was a pretty severe sleep interrupter. However, I managed to lever myself out of bed at 5am anyway to make it to the 5:45am Barbell Strength class at the smaller gym location near me in Apex. Whew, I am out of shape! I made it through the class, though it was a near thing there at the end. It's been a LOOOOOOONG time since a workout actually made me feel nauseated, but that one really did. I know that's a lactic acid issue, and that I will adjust, but it still stinks! That said, by about 10 minutes after class was over, I was good to go. I really liked the instructor, so that's a huge plus.

I did my first official Tuesday weigh-in with one of the trainers at the Apex location, and for some reason, he insisted that I didn't need to log into the machine to do it; he instead took a picture, with my phone, of my results. So this meant that, to get those results officially recorded, I had to drive them over to the Cary location. What a waste of time! Next time, I know to insist on logging in, and then no one has to manually enter anything anywhere. Who knows--maybe that trainer was as new to this program as I am.

Today at lunchtime, it was supposed to be pouring rain, so I had to sneak in a walk between storms. I had a failed start, but I got the walk in by walking around my office floor (feeling a bit like an idiot), and then heading outside when the rain paused (with a Ziploc bag for my phone and an umbrella). Every victory counts, right?

I am WIPED OUT, but pretty proud of myself for the last few days' work.

Today's Log:

Exercise: 

• Barbell Strength Training class, Apex gym
• Lunchtime walk: 2.06 miles
• Day 3 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (25 sit-ups, 10 crunches, 10 leg raises, 15 second plank)

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: spinach and mushroom frittata, fresh garden and CSA tomatoes, hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, cup of 2% milk
• Lunch: pan seared tilapia with tomatoes and basil , french green beans with olive oil and wild porcini salt, roasted cauliflower with garlic and rosemary
• Dinner: salmon baked in parchment with squash, lemon, and basil
• Snacks: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, hot tea (black), hummus and raw veggies (celery, zucchini, and yellow peppers)

Stats:

• Steps: 11810
• Calories: 1372 consumed, 558 burned
• Weight: 211.6 (official Tuesday Weigh-In from Lifetime) (Net -2.7)

Pretty Thing from My Walk

Day Two: Report

Despite all good intentions, today didn't start out at smoothly as it could have. I was planning to go for a walk early this morning, but I woke up with a raging headache instead. This happens to me sometimes, so I need to be flexible I guess. I took some drugs and slept another 45 minutes instead of walking. Luckily, today wasn't as scorchingly hot as it's been lately, and the predicted rain held off, so I was able to go for a walk at lunch. I'm trying to do little things to help with my step count, like parking at the far end of the parking lot, taking the stairs (I am considering the elevator off limits for the next 90 days), walking the perimeter of the building every time I take a break; I am hoping that little things will add up into big things.

Today's Log:

Exercise: 

• Lunchtime walk, 2.12 miles
• Day 2 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (20 sit-ups, 8 crunches, 8 leg raises, 12 second plank)
• Short evening walk, 1.22 miles

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: spinach mushroom frittata, fresh garden tomatoes, hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar 
• Lunch:salad with green leaf lettuce, cucumbers, yellow peppers, and little red tomatoes, baked chicken breast, champagne caper vinaigrette
• Dinner: pan seared tilapia with tomatoes and basil , french green beans with olive oil and wild porcini salt (Note: In the tilapia recipe, I used olive oil instead of butter and dry vermouth instead of white wine. I also added more tomatoes, as our garden is overflowing with them. This lovely summer dinner is pictured below.)
• Snacks: big hot tea (2 bags) with 2% milk and 1 tsp raw sugar, raw almonds, 1 babybel cheese

Stats:

• Steps:11634
• Calories: 1263 consumed, 442 burned
• Weight: 210 (home scale - doesn't quite match the gym scale)
• A note on this: Yesterday, at my official weigh-in, it was 9:40am, and I had eaten breakfast and drank a bunch of water. This morning, I stepped on the scale at 6:45am before I had eaten anything. I think that's pretty much accounting for the difference seen here--in no way have I lost 4.3 pounds in one day. If only, right? :-) 

Pan seared tilapia with tomatoes and
basil, French green beans with olive oil
and wild porcini salt

Pretty Thing(s) From My Walk(s)

Pretty Thing From My Walk

Day One: Initial Weigh-In and Pictures

This morning, I met with a super nice trainer named Jacob for my initial weigh-in and to officially start my 90 days. For the most part, he approved of my plans, but felt that I should focus more tightly on strength training and on calorie tracking and portion control. He had some good points. There was also the trainer sales pitch, but it's definitely tempting to add that level of accountability to this entire exercise. But my goodness, it's expensive--prohibitively so for me, even with the 20% discount offered to participants in this challenge. I am listening to Jacob's advice, but I think I am trying this on my own, at least for now. I have many years of reading behind me, and well--I have Jason, who is nearly a trainer himself at this point. If I need extra strength training, he can help me.

As for the numbers themselves, they were predictably dismal. My weight is 214.3 pounds, and my body fat percentage is 44.4% (which is down, by the way, by about 3% from the last time it was measured.) That means I need to lose 49.3 pounds to hit my goal of 165, which I think is possible, though by no means easy. We'll see what happens to the body fat percentage along the way. I am, with great trepidation, sharing my before pictures. Front, back, and side views in a bathing suit or similar, both before and after the challenge, are a requirement, but not really where I want to place my focus. In the interest of keeping an accurate record, however, here they are:

I definitely feel better with more clothes ON. Whew!

Meanwhile, on to the rest of the day's activities:

Exercise: 

• Day 1 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (15 sit-ups, 5 crunches, 5 leg raises, 10 second plank)
• Hike with the family at Hemlock Bluffs, 1.86 miles
• Stretching
• Short walk after the kids are asleep, 1.24 miles

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: scrambled eggs with cheese and nutmeg, fresh garden and CSA tomatoes, hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar 
• Lunch: roasted chicken breast, sauteed spinach, baby kale, and baby bok choy, fresh garden and CSA tomatoes
• Dinner: grilled boneless chicken thigh, roasted cauliflower with garlic and rosemary, grilled asparagus, baby bellas, and orange and red peppers
• Snacks: raw almonds, hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar

Stats:

• Steps: 11694
• Calories:  1152 consumed, 429 burned
• Weight: 214.3 (Official Weigh-in at Lifetime)

Gear: Workout Clothes

I went shopping today for workout wear for the first time in many, many years. It's not like i have nothing--I do have a few things. But everything I own already is worn out and feels dated. I feel frumpy in most of it, and to be honest, I associate a lot of it more with sitting on the couch with tea and knitting than i do with getting sweaty in the gym. On top of that, I am required to take somewhat revealing pictures for this weight loss challenge. Who wants to do that in ill-fitting, saggy, or unattractive workout gear, right? It was definitely time to shop.

It's always a tough thing when you are battling weight gain to resign yourself to the reality of shopping for your current body. It's very easy to get caught up in the body you want and are working toward instead of accepting what actually fits the body you have right this minute. I probably own at least 5 things I would classify as "goal clothes" that just hang in my closet, unworn, awaiting the day when they actually fit. I know rationally that this is ridiculous, but there is nothing rational about the vision of your future self you have in your head. I know many other women who are caught in this same trap. So today, I promised myself not to fall into that bad habit, and to approach things more realistically.

I refuse to spend tons of money on clothing that is specifically meant to get sweaty and gross.I looked at expensive gear, gasped in shock that people spent $60 on a jog bra, and headed to target. Observe my haul:

I am pretty fired up about it. Having clothes are feel at least kind of cute and that fit well make me feel like I actually belong in the gym. My dad always said that you need to right tools for the job, and this seems like a move in that direction. I am trying these out. I think I have enough here to get through a week. If I find I am doing laundry all the time, there are at least 2 other color schemes to explore!