110 Pounds And Counting

110 Pounds has MOVED!

2010-03-22T08:18:00.001-07:00

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Weight Loss Plateaus

2010-03-21T19:07:00.000-07:00

I got a great question from a reader:
"i was looking at your weight loss log & i seems that you never really plateaued or temporarily stopped losing weight. congrats on your weight loss by the way! ive made a huge plateau right now and i think im going back to calorie counting to get off the final 20 pounds - any feedback on how to stayed on the weight loss train without getting off periodically?"

Oh yes.....I plateaued A LOT during my weight loss journey. If you look at the dates in my Log, you can probably see that I didn't always "weigh in" each week. In reality, I weighed in once a week EVERY week for the two years I was losing weight. However, if the scale didn't budge, or I gained weight that week, I didn't log it, I just wrote down whatever it said the following week. The reason behind this was that for me, I didn't want to get discouraged by seeing my log go up and down, up and down. So I just recorded losses.

In a previous post, I said my friend Rachel (above) started Weight Watchers. She's weighing and measuring every Saturday and logging it online. I think that's fantastic. It shows her progress on a graph too. So if she happens to plateau or gain a few during her time at WW, the graph will show that.

There was a time when I plateaued for MONTHS. It was really frustrating. After seeing so much progress each week, to be at a standstill for weeks (sometimes months) of hard work, it was discouraging. Keep at it! Don't get discouraged.

The above picture was taken at my 27th birthday (I think) when I weighed about 175.

The advice was I was given by my personal trainer to get over my plateau was pretty simple: DO WEIGHTS! A weight training program is the FASTEST way to lose weight when you get stuck. And it's important to mix things up!

Heading Home

2010-03-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

Sunday we woke up fairly early and went out to breakfast. Again, I forgot to take a picture! I got 2 fried eggs, an English Muffin, and 2 strips of bacon. Instead of the hash browns, I asked to substitute fruit instead.

Breakfast was really big so we skipped lunch (even though we had planned on getting lunch at Dick's!--next time!) and left Seattle behind us.

When we got home, Michael hopped on his bike trainer to do his workout and I headed to the pool. It felt really nice to stretch my legs after yesterday's hike.

After swimming I decided to walk to the grocery store to get a few things. 45 minutes later, I had burned another 200 calories! Dinner tonight was leftover bratwursts.

Game Night And Snacks

2010-03-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

We were all pretty pooped from the day of hiking and wine tasting. We picked up food from the store and headed back to the house to play games and have snacks. Rachel recently joined Weight Watchers, and since I'm on my own program, we got some healthy snacks.

Baby carrots, sliced cucumber, sliced orange peppers, reduced fat Wheat Thins, hard salami cubed small, and hummus. Very tasty snack!

I love hummus! We played games and relaxed and then Michael made turkey burgers for everyone!

Turkey burgers are much lower in calories and I think they taste better than ground beef. Michael calculated the turkey burger patties to be about 170 calories each (plus the toppings, etc).

I used mustard on the sandwich thins and a mixture of lettuce and sprouts, a tomato and some cheese. Delicious!

Very filling dinner!

Saturday Sushi & Wine Tasting

2010-03-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

After the hike, we went to a sushi place in Bellevue that Rachel really liked.

We were ALL starving after the hike and with driving time, we didn't actually eat lunch until about 2pm. Michael and I got the Spicy Tuna Roll, Philly Roll and a Bay Roll.

It was very delicious! And the perfect amount of food for two people. After lunch, we headed to Woodinville, WA to do some wine tasting. I had grown up in Seattle but never went to Chateau Ste. Michelle before. They happen to make one of my favorite wines, so I was pretty excited to go there.

The grounds were absolutely beautiful! Unfortunately, EVERYONE seemed to have the same idea we did and the place was packed! We could barely get a spot at the counter for the tasting, but eventually we did. I did the White Wine Tasting for $5 and got to sample some very yummy Rieslings!

Michael, Rachel and her hubby Jeep all did the Red Wine Tasting for $10.

The Chateau Ste. Michelle dry Riesling is one of my favorites. I bought a bottle of their special limited release bottle to take home.

The grounds of the winery were really beautiful and tons of people were there having picnics. Next time I want to do that!

The fun thing about wine tasting is being able to sample a lot of different kinds of wine that you wouldn't normally try. And --small samples equal less calories than entire glass!

After Chateau Ste. Michelle we went to another winery down the street for another tasting. I bought a bottle of red from that Brian Carter Cellars. Then we decided to head home.

Hiking Rattlesnake Ridge

2010-03-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

We stayed with some friends in Seattle this weekend. Saturday had fantastic weather! Michael made omelets for breakfast for everyone (I forgot to take a picture). Basically he made two omelets and each couple split them. Lots of veggies, some cheese, topped with sour cream and chopped tomato and a side of bacon. Delicious! My best friend Rachel drove us to Rattlesnake Ridge where the three of us hiked to the top! Here is a picture from the bottom before we started:

The picture to the right is of us before we got to the trail.

It was a gorgeous day and everyone else came out to play too. The trail was packed. There was also Search & Rescue Teams in training along the way. That was interesting to see.

So the hike was apparently only 2 miles up but let me tell you, it was pretty steep! We stopped a long the way to rest and to enjoy the view.

I felt really good about the hike. I never felt like I was going to die. I definitely got my heart pounding but I was barely out of breath.

Here is a picture of Rachel and I at the top! The view was absolutely amazing! It was very scary as well--so I didn't want to get any closer to the edge!

I wish I could remember what the mountain range was behind us! Like I said earlier, there were sooo many people out hiking that it was QUITE the party at the top!

And here is the other side of the top:

We sat down to rest. Rachel shared some of her homemade trail mix (yum). Michael and I brought our protein bars (Luna for me, Atkins for him) but the breakfast had been pretty filling and neither of us felt like we needed the protein bars.

Here is a picture of my resting at the top:

We headed down and made it to the bottom much quicker and with no stops. 2 hours of hiking burned 826 calories for me! Now lunch time!

Friday's Food

2010-03-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

Breakfast this morning was scrambled eggs (3 eggs, 3 egg whites split between two people) and 2 turkey sausage links each, topped with a little cheese, sour cream and salsa. This is a pretty standard breakfast for us. Calories: about 300.

Morning snack: Banana, slightly bruised. I'm trying to eat it slowly because it's going to be a long time until lunch today! I'm also having a Crystal Light (100 + 5 calories).

Afternoon Snack: Trader Joe's Greek Yogurt (I think 110 calories) and the Light Pom Super Tea.

Lunch: The last Smart Ones frozen dinner I have at work. My goal next week is to make some easy and healthy lunches I can bring. I'm pretty sick of the Lean Cuisines lately.

Dinner: A slice of pizza. Dinner is going to be on the go tonight since we are heading out for the weekend!

Today during lunch I went for a walk in the Pearl District. It was so beautiful outside! I definitely did not need my jacket and I even wished I was wearing shorts! I am sooo excited for nice weather to be here! Here are a few pictures from my walk:

If you aren't familiar with downtown Portland, "The Pearl District" is yuppy-ville downtown. Hipsters, Yuppies, Rich People Who Live In Lofts. But it's also got some cool upscale stores and restaurants too. I walked by Cupcake Jones and couldn't resist drooling through the window.

Mmmmm....cupcakes. Someday I will try one from there!

I Hate Cooking

2010-03-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make: I hate cooking. I read a lot of foodie blogs and I see these very creative people cooking all their food and buying all their organic food at Whole Foods. Who has time for that? Who has the money for that?! Certainly not me!

Something I DO love to do is cook with Michael. He's really good at cooking and has the creativity to create his own recipes as well. It's pretty impressive what he can create. One of his specialties is Mac and Cheese. It's a Martha Stewart recipe. I think it's the Gruyere that makes it soooo fantastic! It's a HUGE hit every time he makes it. A few times he also made it will sausage cubed in it. Yum.

The picture above right is Michael looking cute during last night's bike ride. :)

Here is the recipe (photo courtesy of Marthastewart.com):

Ingredients

Serves 12

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for dish
6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese (about 18 ounces)
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese (about 8 ounces) or 1 1/4 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 5 ounces)
1 pound elbow macaroni

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour butter into bowl with bread, and toss. Set breadcrumbs aside.
In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat milk. Melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, whisking, 1 minute.
While whisking, slowly pour in hot milk. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.
Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere or 1 cup Pecorino Romano; set cheese sauce aside.
Fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil. Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 minutes less than manufacturer's directions, until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce
Pour mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, and breadcrumbs over top. Bake until browned on top, about 30 minutes. Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 minutes; serve hot.

From Martha Stewart Living, January 2001

Bike Ride Cure-All

2010-03-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday kind of sucked for a number of reasons. Work stresses and petty BS kind of ruined my afternoon and evening. As much as I tried to let it not bother me, it did. So no pictures of me during yesterday's bike ride. Red eyes and my vanity prevented that! Michael and I went for a fantastic bike ride when I got home! It felt great. Because of the time change and the sudden nice weather, it was sunny and somewhat warm until almost 7:00! I can't wait for summer.

We did Michael's commute and it took about 53 minutes there and back to the house. There were a few hills too! A few times my gears locked up (which was scary). I realized a few things:

1. I need to take a bike maintenance class ASAP before Reach the Beach. Just in case.

2. I also realized I am still scared to go really fast down hills. Hopefully I beat that fear soon!!! Michael whizzed by me like it was nothing!

3. I really need cycling sun glasses.

4. I hate my bike pedals. They are such a struggle! I fumble and can't get my foot in. Michael ordered me some clip-in cycling pedals so hopefully I get those soon so I can practice clipping in.

My average heart rate was 136 (just below my target to be honest) and my max was 181. I felt really great about the 409 calories too!

Michael made bratwursts for dinner (I didn't end up eating it all because I got full). I put some spicy mustard on it and a little cheese. We also had some homemade guacamole and tortilla chips.

I felt way too full after eating all of that. I think I'm okay for my calories. Since I was really upset, I felt some of the old "pulls" to eat bad food. Emotional eating at it's finest! But I didn't give in to them 100% (just a little bit!).

Wednesday Food and Thursday's Update

2010-03-18T08:34:00.000-07:00

After the pool last night, Michael and I went to The Ram restaurant for dinner. It was pretty busy so we waited at the bar with drinks. I had a Riesling because beer just didn't appeal to me.

I wasn't too impressed with the menu selections (it kind of felt like a Red Robin) and didn't really see much that I could order. Michael and I ended up splitting a burger with onion rings. I like splitting entrees at restaurants because the portion sizes are always huge.

After dinner, Michael confessed that he hadn't wanted to split the entree but after eating it he was really glad we did. I was too. I felt way too full all night. It was too much food--evening splitting it!! I don't think I broke my "bank" calorie wise though.

This morning I was running late so I had a quick breakfast of toast with peanut butter and a protein shake, with a little iced tea to take my vitamins.

I'm glad the sun is out and I'm anxious to get out there and enjoy it. I think I'll go for a walk at lunch today.

Ankle Update

2010-03-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to the doctor to have my ankle checked out. The doctor said I probably just strained it a little bit and had some bursitis in my ankle (inflammation). She said if I need to keep icing it and taking Advil, to do so but really the only thing she said was to take a week off from running and don't run hills for awhile. I'm okay with that! I picked up some vitamins for joint health.

Then I had a snack and headed to the pool. I love going to the gym on holidays! It's practically empty! I enjoyed my swim, but took it easy so I didn't hurt myself.

My doctor did give me some physical therapy exercises I should be doing. She recommended that I stretch every single day, even on days I don't exercise.

I'm really happy that my ankle is okay! And looking forward to hiking this weekend.

Smart Snacking Tips

2010-03-17T13:40:00.000-07:00

(Too good not to share! It looks like this article was originally published in Cooking Light in 2007. There's so much good information here! Taken from: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipes/article/0,28747,1602551,00.html)

1. If your energy levels are flagging...
Solution: Consuming caffeine–in the form of coffee or tea–can help boost energy and alertness. Adding a bit of sugar and low-fat milk–if you prefer–only adds about 50 calories. Eating foods that blend complex carbohydrates and lean protein can also provide energy. Complex carbohydrates provide readily available fuel for your body, while protein increases the brain's dopamine levels, thereby boosting alertness. Healthful choices include a small handful of dried fruit and nuts, whole-grain crackers with a slice of cheese or a hard-boiled egg, or yogurt topped with a tablespoon of granola.

2. If mealtime is several hours away, but you're hungry now...
Solution: For a snack with staying power, eat something that mixes fiber and protein. (This is also a good strategy to tide you over until morning if you become hungry before bedtime.) In a study at Wayne State University in Detroit, researchers found that when nighttime snackers developed the habit of eating cereal with milk 90 minutes after dinner, they reduced their total daily calorie intake and increased their chances of losing weight, compared to those who ate whatever they wanted. The cereal's fiber and protein combination kept them full–and prevented less mindful eating that can accompany evening routines. Other good hunger-curbing pairings include carrot sticks with hummus or black bean dip, or a slice of multi-grain bread spread with a tablespoon of reduced-fat peanut butter.

3. If you need a pre- or post-workout pick-me-up...
Solution: Before a workout, consuming complex carbohydrates–such as fruit or whole-grain cereal–will provide your body with energy for exercise. Afterward, eat high-quality protein, such as low-fat yogurt or whole-grain cereal–particularly if you performed resistance exercises. A weight workout will stimulate the growth of muscle cells, which depend on protein. And, as always, consume plenty of fluids before, during, and after exercising.

4. If a stressful situation makes you feel an irrepressible urge to munch...
Solution: In this instance, your desire for food may be hard-wired: Research from the University of California, San Francisco, found that consuming food–particularly items that contain sugar and fat–appears to calm the body's hormonal response to stress. But before you head to the vending machine, take a series of deep breaths; delay reaching for food for 15 minutes; drink a hot beverage such as tea, which can be soothing; and distract yourself by calling a friend or taking a walk. If you still feel like eating, then you're probably hungry. Eat a smart snack that fits your craving–a small piece of chocolate with a glass of skim milk, for example.

Ankle and Food Update

2010-03-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

Last night my lovely boyfriend Michael took very good care of me! The second I got home, I got in my jammies, elevated my ankle and iced it. Michael is a wonderful caretaker. When I'm sick or hurt he always takes care of me. He fixed dinner: left over steak grilled up, potatoes and onions and a spinach salad. He refused to let me help and insisted I sit down the whole time. :) And later I found out HE was even injured as well! He pulled his hamstrings (pretty badly) on his last bike commute. Poor guy. :(

I woke up this morning and my ankle felt so much better! Maybe all it needed was a little rest and ice. I'm still going to the doctor this afternoon to make sure it's okay. I want it to be healed enough to go for a hike this weekend!

Breakfast this morning was Cream of Wheat. Snack will be a banana and I have a grapefruit for this afternoon.

Fun tidbit: A coworker who is running the Portland Marathon this year told me something amazing! Apparently if you run and finished the San Francisco Marathon, you get a pedicure AND a necklace from Tiffany's! Wow!

I wanted to share something that happened recently and was really puzzling! I had my snacks on my desk (apple and an orange) and a coworker asked me if I was on a diet. I said not really and asked "Why?" slightly confused. He said that he noticed my apple and orange on my desk. I was left feeling completely baffled as to why eating fruit would mean I was on a diet. Do people really assume diets = fruits and veggies?

QUESTION: Even when you're not "watching your weight" or actively trying to lose weight, are fruits and veggies part of your regular day??

Cravings

2010-03-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

"Hunger is generic: you need food, any food that'll make hunger go away. Cravings are specific: you want a particular food. ["Eating the Moment", pg 21]"

The next time you are faced with the desire to eat, ask yourself "Is it HUNGER? Or is it CRAVING?" Sometimes it's hard to distinguish the difference.

I crave sweets. Like I posted in a previous entry, my trigger food is sweets (candy, cookies, ice cream...anything sweet). QUESTION: How do you resist your cravings? Something I did was to have sweets in the house that can't do too much damage to my waistline. Small dark chocolates that satisfy my sweets craving but aren't 300 calories a pop. I do NOT have things in the house that I cannot resist! For example, my boyfriend LOVES M&M's. He'll buy a huge bag from Costco and it will taunt me the entire time it's in the house. Michael says, "Well why can't you just have a serving of it?" Why can't I? I have no idea. If it's in the house, I will think about them ALL THE TIME!

If you have ever been on a diet, you will understand this next comment. How many times have you realized you have overeaten or "cheated" and you just give up and say "Oh well, I might as well just keep eating! Today is ruined anyways!" It's happened to us all. Don't fall into this trap! Many, many times I've felt guilty after I've slipped up. Try not to beat yourself up to badly. It's not the end of the world to have one bad day. You can make up for it the next day. Go for a walk during lunch in addition to your regular workout, or instead of having dessert, have some sweet fruit (like strawberries) to balance it out.

I've never done Weight Watchers but friends of mine have and they've told me a bit about it. Apparently you get a few "extra" points each week that you can use one day when you go over your allotted points. I think that's a good system!

Note: The above picture was taken last summer when we were having dessert at Papa Haydn's. http://www.papahaydn.com/ It is THE best dessert place in Portland!!

Resting

2010-03-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to the pool to stretch out my sore legs. The second I got in the pool, my leg stiffness was gone. I felt no pain! (The picture to the right was just something I found online. It's not my pool, obviously, but I wish it were!!!!)

It helped so much! I always tell people if they are in any kind of pain or soreness, swimming cures it! My legs feel 90% better today. It also helped to sit in the hot tub for 10 minutes I'm sure.

The downside of the Shamrock: I think I hurt my ankle. Yesterday it started to bother me. Today is a little better but it's still troublesome. I wrapped my ankle last night and slept with it on. I also wrapped it today. I'd rather be safe than sorry so I'm trying to rest my ankle.

Years ago, I had surgery on my right ankle to repair the ligament. It was extremely painful. I also sprained my Achilles in my left ankle 3 years ago. Luckily, this current pain doesn't feel like either of those old injuries.

UPDATE: I'm going to the doctor tomorrow afternoon to see what's up with my ankle. I'm crossing my fingers it's nothing awful. :(

Eating the Moment

2010-03-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

I recently read a book called "Eating the Moment" by Pavel Somov, Ph.D. The majority of the book addressed emotional eating and prompted the reader to find out WHY they eat. There are three types of hunger according to the book:

We eat out of physical hunger (the need for food).
We eat out of psychological hunger (stress and emotional triggers)
We eat out of habit (it's 6pm, I should eat even though I'm not hungry)

The book asks the question, Why do we overeat? The answer: because we aren't mindful. [pg 8]

*Mindless of environmental triggers.

*Mindless of the process of eating.

*Mindless of sensations of fullness.

*Mindless of emotional eating.

What is eating out of Habit? Here is an example: you go to the movies with a friend. Even though you just had lunch and aren't really hungry, you get a large popcorn with butter (400-1200 calories) and an even larger soda (500 calories) because that's what you do at the movies. (On a side note, MSNBC reports that movie popcorn + soda = 3 burgers and 12 servings of butter!!! http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34023406)

What is eating because of Emotional Triggers? Emotional triggers could be anything from watching TV, people you associate with food or eating (like the girlfriend you always go out to pizza with) or even the weather (it's a cold, rainy, winter day = let's eat comfort food!). The easy part is making a list of what your emotional triggers are. The hard part? Changing the behavior.

I am very much an emotional eater--and always have been. When I was 250, I was going through some difficult times and I "medicated" myself with food. Ice cream and pizza were my absolute favorites. And to this day, those are the two "trigger foods" for me that can spark an emotional response. My decision to stop eating those two items for 2 years was crucial to me losing weight and staying motivated.

Now that I've lost the weight, I've slowly started eating those two things again. Of course I eat them in moderation now and not all the time. But I still get a feeling of anxiety at the prospect of eating ice cream or pizza.

Question: Do you continue to eat even though you are full? Do you know what full feels like?

Sunday Dinner and Monday's Update

2010-03-15T09:29:00.000-07:00

AFTER RACE DINNER: PROTEIN!
Last night's dinner was fantastic! Michael made steak, I steamed some broccoli and added a little butter. Michael also made one of his specialties: potatoes and onions. It was a great meal and I think it was the perfect food after a race. I also had a vodka tonic. YUM! :) It's been a long time and I figured I'd earned a treat!

I slept great last night. I did wake up once in the night and felt like I could barely move my legs! When I got up this morning, however, I wasn't quite as sore as I thought I would be.

I checked the Shamrock Run website to see where I ranked. I was ranked #452 out of 635 for the 8k in the group "Female 30-34 Years Old Net Time". I wasn't too worried about my ranking. I was more concerned with reaching my personal goals (like not having to walk).

MONDAY
I had Cream of Wheat and 1/2 of a banana for breakfast today. I brought a Dannon vanilla greek yogurt and an orange for snack today. I'm going swimming tonight to help stretch out my sore legs! So far I'm not feeling the time change.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM THE 8K

I can do anything I set my mind to. Visualizing myself running the entire thing and NOT walking really did help keep me motivated!
Eating pasta the night before the race does amazing things!
Walking after the race keeps me from locking up entirely.
I will inevitably need to pee several times before the race starts. I need to get in the line EARLY!!
Running the hills in my neighborhood GREATLY prepared me for the hills on the Shamrock!

After Party

2010-03-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pictures from the after party at the Waterfront. It was fun! To the left is a picture of me and my very cold boyfriend, Michael. :)

To the right is me with water and the Stanford's salmon chowder. YUM.

We didn't stay a long time. I could feel myself starting to stiffen up and my legs were a bit shaky and jello-like. I was ready to go after I finished eating. A hot shower felt great. Soon, a nap!

According to my Nike+, my pace was 8'01!

I just wanted to point something out about the run today. I saw so many people of different sizes and shapes running the 8k with me. If you EVER feel like you can't do something, think again! YOU CAN! :)

UPDATE: According to the Shamrock Run website, my time is 52 minutes and 48 seconds!

I DID IT!!!!!!

2010-03-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

I ran the Shamrock Race 8k WITHOUT WALKING!!! This is huge for me! That being said, let me start from the beginning...

Parking was a nightmare so we gave up and found a garage. I found my friend Robyn amidst the 21,000+ people and we made our way to the starting line for the 8k. I am VERY happy that the weather turned out nice today! No rain. The sun was out, but it was pretty cold. There were a LOT of people there for the 8k so our start was pretty slow. I felt stiff for the first mile but started to warm up after that.

We ran up Burnside and turned onto Broadway. I tried to take a few pictures during the run but they didn't really turn out great. Sorry. :) I was feeling pretty good with my pace. I saw a few people trip and fall but they seemed okay. One girl fell right in front of me and I helped her up but she wasn't scraped up too badly.

After turning onto Broadway it was uphill the rest of the way to Terwilliger. Ooof! It was okay though. My heart rate monitor said I was peaking at about 190 beats! Yikes! But my legs were doing okay so I didn't walk. It leveled out and I felt some relief for about a mile. I was excited that I had gone as far as I had without feeling like I needed to walk at all.

Turning from Terwilliger we headed back to Naito Parkway. I could see the finish line and it was all downhill! The last mile was where I started to hurt a bit. My ankles and feet weren't too happy but they weren't screaming at me either, so that's good.

A few yards from the finish line I started to sprint. I saw Michael on the side cheering for me and taking my picture! That gave me the extra little push to run as HARD AS I COULD! I crossed the finish line in 53 minutes and didn't walk at all!!!!!!!!!

It was hard to make my way through the crowd to where I was supposed to meet Michael but I finally did. I was choked up with emotion when I saw him. I gave him a hug, he kissed me and I felt so relieved that I had finished. It was a great feeling having reached my goal: completing the race without walking.

Race Day!

2010-03-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 6:45 am (time change and all). For breakfast I had:

1 piece of Trader Joe's Organic Oats and Honey bread, toasted
1/2 a banana
1 serving of honey
Gatorade

Almost time to leave for downtown! I slept ok. A lot of my dreams were raced related: I was waiting for my turn to run, I was late getting to the starting line, etc. But I feel pretty rested. The sun is coming out and it looks like it will be a dry morning. Yay!

One thing (hopefully not TMI)...when I'm nervous about anything, I have to pee. Very frequently. Uh oh!

Carbs for dinner

2010-03-13T20:47:00.000-08:00

Tonight for dinner, we are having "Fettuccine Paolo" from the "Athlete's Palate" cookbook. It makes 2 servings:

4 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 1/3 cups chicken stock

4 tsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced

1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts with liquid

1 1/2 cups sliced grilled chicken

2 tbsp thinly sliced fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

6 oz fettuccine

2 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

Rehydrate the sun-dried tomatoes by placing them in a bowl with 1 cup warm water. Soak for 1 hour, or until soft. Gently squeeze to remove excess liquid and set aside.

Heat olive oil in skillet. Add bell peppers and cook 3 minutes, or until soft. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add the stock, balsamic vinegar, boil and then simmer until reduced by half. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and liquid, grilled chicken and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Keep warm. Cook fettuccine, drain and add to sauce. Mix thoroughly and top with cheese.

Per serving: 580 calories, 44 grams protein, 66 grams carbs, 17 grams fat

* * * * * * *

I forgot to get bell peppers at the store so I'm leaving that off. I also didn't feel like chicken, so I got prosciutto instead. Hopefully my alterations don't change the recipe too much. I also got whole grain wheat fettuccine pasta.

And yes, I had 1 beer! It's carbs! :) The result of the pasta: it was okay. It wasn't the best thing ever. We both decided it probably would have been better with the chicken. Oh well! Live and learn. I still got the carbs I was looking for. I really liked the artichoke hearts too. I also had a side salad of red leaf lettuce and baby spinach leaves. Dessert was ice water with 4 small pieces of dark chocolate. It's about 8:45pm now. I am heading to bed! Wish me luck!

Preparing for the Shamrock

2010-03-13T18:29:00.000-08:00

I set out my stuff for tomorrow. I am not a morning person. And with the time change tonight, I imagine I will be a stumbling mess tomorrow. My kitty, Yggdrasil, helped me organize my gear. He likes to think he's crucial to everything I do. :)

Weight Loss Log

2010-03-13T15:24:00.001-08:00

In order to keep track of my weight loss, I wrote down my weight once a week. Sometimes there were gaps. To be honest, that was probably a week where I gained weight instead of losing weight. Here is a list of my log when I was losing weight:

Date	Weight
22-Sep	250
31-Oct	239
12-Nov	236
24-Nov	237
3-Dec	232
10-Dec	229
12/22/06	228
12/27/06	230
1/9/07	227
1/27/07	225
2/10/07	223
3/20/07	216
4/7/07	213
4/21/07	211
4/28/07	212
5/1/07	210
5/5/07	208
5/13/07	205
5/20/07	203
6/2/07	202
6/13/07	200
6/19/07	199
7/13/07	196
7/24/07	194
8/10/07	190
8/19/07	189
8/31/07	186
9/8/07	189
10/6/07	184
10/27/07	183
11/19/07	181
11/28/07	179
12/7/07	178
12/15/07	176
12/25/07	180
12/29/07	176
1/19/08	175
2/2/08	172.5
2/15/08	171.4
2/22/08	170
3/14/08	167.8
3/15/08	167
3/22/08	165.6
3/29/08	163.6
4/12/08	160.8
5/8/08	158.6
5/11/08	157.6
5/18/08	155.2
5/23/08	152.4
6/20/08	159
7/13/08	156
7/19/08	154.4
8/10/08	150.6
8/29/08	148.4
9/15/08	147.4
10/12/08	147
10/31/08	145
11/28/08	146
12/25/08	144.2

Shamrock Eve

2010-03-13T15:06:00.000-08:00

I slept in this morning (which was fantastic!) and had a piece of toast with peanut butter for breakfast. I went to the gym to do a light workout on the elliptical. The sun was out and I was tempted to go for a walk but I knew that I would end up running (not good before the race). I felt like my gym experience today was pretty mediocre because I was so concerned about NOT hurting myself before tomorrow's race.

After the gym, I met up with my great friend, Robyn, and we headed to the Adidas Campus in NE Portland to pick up our run packets. Traffic was a nightmare, parking sucked, and the lines to pick up the packets and t-shirts were horribly disorganized. What a disappointment! But we got out stuff and it didn't take all day, so that's good. We headed out for sushi for lunch! YUM!

Lunch was great and I got my sushi fill. Next stop, Trader Joe's to get the ingredient's for tonight's dinner.

I'm obsessively checking the weather report for tomorrow. So far, it's changed hourly on whether or not tomorrow morning's run will be rain or not. We'll see!

Out For Lunch and Comfort Foods

2010-03-12T13:46:00.001-08:00

I met a friend for lunch today at Jake's Grill in Portland. It's one of my favorite restaurants! They have fantastic seafood there (and the best calamari in town).

I got the shrimp sandwich on a croissant and a cup of clam chowder. It was okay. The shrimp sandwich had too much onion!! Too much! The clam chowder was fantastic though.

I probably had about 700 calories for lunch. That's about double what I usually have for lunch but I skipped my morning snack and I'm pleasantly full (so probably no afternoon snack). I was not tempted with dessert--even though it looked delicious! :)

I recently got a book from the library called "Eating the Moment." I enjoyed reading it. It was short and a quick read (mostly little "food for thought" thoughts). One of my favorite quotes from the book is:

"If food is medicine, overeating is overdosing. [pg 166]"

What is your comfort food? Mine is usually soup and bread. When I'm not feeling great, when the weather is icky, during wintertime, I really want that warm feeling I get eating hot soup. My favorite is tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. When I'm feeling sad or upset, my "go-to comfort food" is dessert.

Tonight I'm going swimming and will definitely be spending a lot of time in the hot tub. I hope that helps loosen me up for Sunday's race. Tomorrow I'll be picking up my race gear! I haven't decided yet if I'm going to work out tomorrow.

Weight Training vs. Cardio

2010-03-12T08:39:00.001-08:00

Another question:

"Thanks for the post. I have one other question when you first started out did you strictly do cardio and how long? Do you know incorprate weight traning into your fitness routine?"

My answer:
Cardio burns more calories than weight lifting but lifting weights spikes your metabolism for about an hour after you're done exercising. So after you're done with the weights, your body continues to burn calories more than cardio.

The benefits of Cardio are vast. It improves your heart, lungs, stamina. You get a "runner's high" (a rush of endorphins and "happy feelings"). When you're very overweight, cardio is the way to go. It's better to build up your stamina and ease yourself into a program so you don't hurt yourself.

After lifting weights, immediately eat protein. I suggest cottage cheese or a protein shake. Lifting weights replaces fat in your body with muscle. After you lose a lot of weight with cardio, switching to a weight program is ideal to get your body leaner and lose the FAT.

While I was losing 110 pounds I did only cardio. Cardio is fun and easy for me. I could do the elliptical machine for hours if I wanted to. Weights, on the other hand, were harder for me. I don't know why it's not my first choice.

Since I am pretty close to my goal weight, I'm finding it harder to lose weight because cardio doesn't have the same effects it previously had. I started going to a personal trainer periodically to get ideas. He had me doing a cross training program that included a lot of weights and resistance training. It REALLY made a difference. I got over my plateau and started losing weight again.

Now, I try to incorporate weight lifting into my routine as much as possible. Since I'm training for Reach the Beach (bike ride) and Hood to Coast (running), I do a lot of cardio. I need to have the long distance stamina to complete those things. But when I go to the gym to do my cardio, I try and end with weight lifting. I do about 20-30 minutes on the weight machines.

HOW LONG?
When I was trying to lose weight, I did about 45-70 minutes of cardio (usually the elliptical machine). Now my routine is a bit different:
RUNNING: Running at lunch I do about 35 minutes. Mostly because I don't have time to go longer if I want to shower and eat before heading back to work. On the weekends, I do longer runs of about an hour.
GYM: I do about 45 minutes on the machines (elliptical or stair-master) then go do weights for 20-30 minutes.
SWIMMING: 45 to 50 minutes 2 or 3x a week.
BIKING: When we go for bike rides it's usually for several hours.

It's race weekend! I'm excited and nervous. Good luck to http://slowlybutsurely2010.blogspot.com/ ! :)

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way a personal trainer or nutritionist. I'm just passing on what worked for me. :)

Email Response

2010-03-11T09:03:00.001-08:00

I wanted to respond to a comment posted on my blog:

"As I commented on your blog before you (the plastic surgeries)you look great and I commend you efforts. But, what keeps you motivated, and i also read that you ate a lot of Lean Cuisine when you first started. What do you eat normally snacks included."

My response:
For two years, I ate a pretty plain diet while I was losing weight. My goal was to eat about 1500-1800 calories a day. For me, it was all about substituting things I liked with lower-calorie options. Instead of real butter, I used "I can't believe it's not butter" spray--I think it was like 10 calories. Here is a list of things I used to eat for each meal:

BREAKFAST
*Oatmeal or
*Breakfast sandwich (Eggbeaters, 1/2 a slice of American Cheese, English muffin)

AM SNACK
*Yogurt or
*Fruit of some kind

LUNCH
*Turkey sandwich with American Cheese on the Sara Lee 45 calorie bread with a serving of Wheat Thins

PM SNACK
*fruit

DINNER
*Lean Cuisines with a salad or
*Grilled chicken with salad or
*Fish with a salad

DESSERT
*Rice Krispie Treat (90 calorie snack size) or
*Smart Ones Frozen dessert

Why I liked eating the Lean Cuisines was simple: it's a serving size. I had to relearn what a serving was and not to overeat. Having a fixed amount of food helped. But I found that it often wasn't filling enough. That's why I would make a salad or veggie with it.

What kept me motivated was actually seeing the weight loss. I saw that what I was doing was WORKING. That's the best motivation! Something else that helped was having a specific goal that is attainable. I wanted to lose 5o pounds before my brother's wedding. I reached that goal. Then I wanted to lose 75 pounds. When I reached 75 pounds lost, I said "I can totally lose another 25!" And I did! Having a good support system helped, and of course positive feedback from other people helped too.

I'm looking forward to planting my carrots soon. The seed pack says it takes 70 days before they grow. Yay! I will have carrots for summer!

UPDATE: I tried the Dannon Greek Yogurt for snack today. It's pretty good! It's kind of like the "fruit on the bottom" yogurt. My only complaint is that it's almost too fruity and sweet.

Sandwich Thins

2010-03-11T08:34:00.000-08:00

Last night's dinner was homemade turkey burgers. Michael's are the best! He mixes ground turkey, minced garlic, chopped jalapenos, bread crumbs and seasonings. Very, very good! I used the new Oroweat Sandwich Thins I bought instead of a hamburger bun. I was VERY happy with them! They tasted great and were only 100 calories. They are officially my new favorite thing. :)

As my side dish, I had raw cauliflower with light Thousand Island dressing (about 50 calories worth for the dressing). I also had 1/4 of a serving of Jalapeno flavored potato chips just for a taste.

Turkey burgers are much healthier than a hamburger. Ground turkey has less fat in it than ground beef.

As the night progressed, I got more and more sore and stiff. What the heck? I don't understand how the stair-master could wreck me like this. Michael joked, "Yeah, I don't remember the last time I ran UP STAIRS FOR AN HOUR!" So.....yeah....I guess that's why I'm sore.

Grocery Store Finds & Tip for Snacking

2010-03-10T16:13:00.000-08:00

Today I had jury duty...or what I like to call "sit around and wait duty". It pretty much took all day and I wasn't chosen for the trial. I'm not too put out about the whole thing because I brought books to read and finished one of them! I was able to come home during lunch and fix something healthy, instead of eating out.

While I was at the courthouse, I ran into someone I hadn't seen in about 4 or 5 years. She didn't recognize me at all. Last time she saw me, I was about 230 pounds. I wonder what she thought?

I woke up today feeling very sore from yesterday's gym workout. The weights I did were all upper body and my arms and chest are reminding me of that fact. The 40 minutes I did on the stair-master REALLY made my butt and hamstrings sore. Weird! I need to take it easy for the next few days so I don't overdo it before Sunday's race.

I went to Fred Meyer to pick up some things and got a few goodies! First, Dannon is making an attempt to market Greek style yogurt. I picked up two to try (vanilla and strawberry). They are lower in calories than a lot of the other Greek yogurts out there so that appealed to me. I hope they taste good! The second find was Oroweat Sandwich Thins! I am very excited to try these! I've been reading about them on other food blogs and they seem to be popular. What I like is that they are 100 calories. Tonight we are making turkey burgers for dinner and I'm going to use the Sandwich Thin instead of a regular hamburger bun.

I also bought some seeds to grow my own carrots! I am very excited. :)

I wanted to share a tip that I learned a few years ago that has helped me a great deal. It's about snacking and self-regulation. How many times have you been watching TV, snacking on some chips (or cookies, or whatever) and you realize that you just ate the entire bag? Oh so many times! When I started counting my calories years ago, what I did was count out a serving and that's all I ate.

So instead of grabbing a bag of chips and mindlessly mowing through the whole bag, look on the back of the bag and see what a serving size is. If it's 18 chips, count out 18 chips and put them on your plate and put the rest of the bag away. Eat them slowly and SAVOR them, make them last. When you know you can only eat 18 chips, you really do want to make them last. :)

5 Days Until Shamrock!

2010-03-09T19:31:00.001-08:00

Today I had CPR training for work so I did not get my lunchtime run in today like I had hoped. For lunch I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a very grain-y and oat-y bread. It was tasty and very filling. I was so full I didn't have to eat a snack in the afternoon. During the training, they discussed strains and sprains, which I found very interesting since I've suffered from both before! I figured I would share the info here since exercising of any kind can cause a strain, sprain, or worse. Remember to RICE.

REST...Protect the injured muscle.
ICE...use ice packs for 15-20 minutes at a time on the injured area. (Longer exposure can damage the skin, so don't over do it.)
COMPRESSION....reduces swelling. Wrap the area in an ace bandage.
ELEVATION....reduces swelling.

NOTE: If your injury does not improve within 24 hours of the injury and you did the RICE diligently, call your doctor asap.

I went to the gym tonight since it was very cold out today and the gray clouds were threatening nasty rain (and I was right!). I spent 40 minutes on the stair-master and then did about 20 minutes of weights. It felt good to be back in the gym and working on my weight program! Tonight I spent most of my time on my upper body (especially my triceps). I burned 540 calories.

Dinner was left over Spinach Ravioli and pesto (my sore throat is much improved!) and steamed cauliflower.

There are 5 days left until the Shamrock Run. I feel very unprepared. I wish I could get one last long run in before Sunday but I think that would do more damage than good at this point.

UPDATE: I forgot to post my weight in yesterday's post. I weighed in at 158.

Weigh In & Measurements

2010-03-08T11:21:00.000-08:00

Today I weighed in for the first time since December. I am NOT happy with the number I saw.

I weigh EXACTLY what I weighed in December. What?!

*I've stopped taking a medication that I think is responsible for some of my weight gain.
*I've stopped drinking alcohol for over a month, and when I do drink it now I limit it to one or two servings once in awhile.
*I've been counting my calories again and being diligent with my food.
*I've been working out even harder to train for the upcoming Shamrock Run.

So what happened? I have no idea. Perhaps I have hit a plateau and need to be patient. Perhaps I am not eating the RIGHT foods. I need to sit down and look back at my food diary and see where I'm lacking. I've plateaued many, many times before in my journey to lose 100 pounds. I think this current Plateau is my body telling me that I need to have a better relationship with food.

"When our relationship to eating and food is out of balance, it is easy to be overcome with negative emotions. We may feel aversion to the sight of our body in the mirror, jealous toward people who can eat 'anything they want,' or anger towards ourselves for our inability to end our struggle with food and eating. What can we do to counteract these unhappy feelings? [Mindful Eating, pg 117]"

When I weighed 143 (my lowest weight), my life was very different. I ate a very limited diet and counted my calories. I ate a lot of Lean Cuisines. My diet was plain and boring. My exercise routine was swimming and the elliptical machine at the gym. Now I swim, run and do a weight routine. Perhaps the weights are adding weight to me.

UPDATE: Tonight after swimming I measured myself. Here are the numbers:

From 12/30/09:
Chest: 38 inches (which is weird since I wear a 34 bra)
Waist: 36 inches
Hips: 39 inches
Thighs: 22 inches

From 3/8/10:
Chest: 38 inches
Waist: 35 inches
Hips: 38 inches
Thighs: 22 inches

So I've lost about an inch around my middle section. That's something! :)

Saturday Hiking

2010-03-07T18:11:00.000-08:00

Day Two of the vacation started with massages. It was preferred to do it at night but scheduling didn't allow it. I asked the masseuse to spend a lot of time on my lower body and she tried her best to get the kinks out of my legs. Apparently my quads and hamstrings were super tight. :( Not good! I really need to be stretching more. I think every day I should be stretching.

We went for a very nice hike along a river. Of course, I hadn't planned for the very nice weather in Bend and was wearing the wrong clothes. We ended up getting turned around and taking the long way back to the car. So an hour long hike turned into 2 1/2 hours.

We were all dead on our feet after that! We limped back to the car and drove to Bend where we had a really nice dinner at La Rosa. It was Mexican food and very tasty. We ate like we hadn't eaten in days!! I had burned 725 calories hiking and we hadn't eaten since breakfast = famished!

Back at the timeshare, Michael and headed to the hot tubs. It felt so nice on my sore, tired, overworked muscles. Then it was time for more games. We played a few games of Apples to Apples and then I crashed and slept like the dead!

Sunday morning, we ate a good breakfast and then did 18 holes on their Putt-Putt course! It took about 2 hours and we had a blast! I didn't count my calories while we played but I'm sure I burned enough. Lunch was Subway on our way out of town.

It was a fantastic weekend. I am still sick. I plan on resting as much as I can this week.

Snowshoeing!

2010-03-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

After our gut-bomb lunch at Deschutes, we headed up to Mt. Bachelor to do a short snowshoeing hike. We stopped at Swampy Lakes and got all our gear on. It was probably about 2pm when we started. The Snowshoe loop was a little under 4 miles.
It took us 2 hours to do the loop and I burned 900 calories!!!! Basically, I burned off lunch! Yay! I felt really good about that number. Unfortunately, around mile 3, my left knee started to really hurt. :( I am hoping I didn't do any lasting harm to it. The trail was fairly level and flat, with only a few big hills and a few small, rolling hills.

I really like snowshoeing a lot. It's a fairly easy winter sport to do and it's almost impossible to really hurt yourself (like you would skiing). And it's way cheaper than skiing! This was the first time I snowshoed without a guide and it went great. I'm really happy we tried it on our own and I think my next purchase will be my own pair of snowshoes. The trail was clearly marked and if you stayed on the trail, there was no way to get lost or turned around.

We saw a lot of animal tracks too. The snow was peaceful and the weather was perfect. In fact, the weather was wonderful ALL weekend long! We really lucked out. I will say, though, that it wasn't much of a vacation! We did NOT rest or relax at all. Oh well, we had fun!

After snowshoeing, we checked into Eagle Crest where our friends have a timeshare and us girls went to the nearest grocery store to get food for the weekend. We decided on EASY, which translated to probably not the healthiest...For dinner Friday night we made 2 frozen pizzas for the four of us. Newman's Own and California Kitchen I think. They were okay. We stayed up pretty late playing Yahtzee and having some drinks. Fun!

Deschutes Lunch

2010-03-07T17:44:00.000-08:00

We had a fantastic time in Bend this weekend! When we arrived Friday, we stopped at the Deschutes Brewery for lunch. It was fantastic. I got a burger and salad (instead of fries!). And of course, an ale.

I went way over my calories on Friday. But I tried not to beat myself up too much because I was on vacation AND we went snowshoeing and burned a ton of calories.

My cold was pretty nasty all weekend. :( I'm worried about the run next weekend. I've been taking Zicam since Thursday and I think it has helped a lot.

Road trip!

2010-03-04T19:02:00.001-08:00

Yep, I am officially sick. So far it seems pretty mild. I just have a tiny bit of congestion and a bad sore throat. I'm eating the crap out of the Zicam in hopes that this goes away quickly. Talk about bad timing!! :( Last night was the worst. I couldn't swallow and my throat hurt too much to sleep. This morning it feels a little better. Maybe Zicam is magical?

The Honest Tea on the left was really tasty. Pomegranite and Goji berry tea with just a hint of sweetness. 70 calories.

Snacks for the road are packed: Granny Smith and Gala apples slice and cheese cubed! Yummy combo!

I am crossing my fingers that I am healthy SOON.

Road Trip Snacks and REI Finds

2010-03-04T09:42:00.000-08:00

I picked up my new running fuel belt from REI. I ordered it online from their clearance website. I'm a bit disappointed at how large it is. I thought it was smaller. :(

I tried it on last night and it fits, I didn't bump my elbows when I moved my arms like I was running. It just felt big and bulky. I might keep it for Trail Running. But I can't see myself really using it for my regular runs. Perhaps it will come in handy for Hood to Coast.

While I was at REI, I also bought some Cliff's "Gu" packs and some Sharkies. I've never tried either but will try them on the Shamrock Run next week if I need a boost of energy.

ROAD TRIP!
I'm going to pack some healthy snacks for tomorrow's road trip. Thankfully a friend is house-sitting/kitty-sitting for us this weekend. One less thing to worry about!

Michael and I are going to Bend tomorrow with our friends who have a timeshare. The weekend will be fun-filled with snowshoeing, hiking, and (much needed) massages! I can't wait. Bend is about a 3 1/2 hour drive from Portland so I want to bring some healthy munchies. So far I have:
1. Granola (apple and cinnamon flavored "lite" granola from Fred Meyer's organic bulk section)
2. Trader Joe's Pretzels
3. Apples (I have an assorted array of apples that I will slice tomorrow before we leave)
4. Cheese (I will cube some Colby Jack for easy snacking)
5. Girl Scout Thin Mints (Okay, I know they aren't healthy but they are coming with us anyways!!)

Hopefully this will prevent us from wanting to stop somewhere convenient for snacks!!

QUESTION: What is your favorite snacking food? Is it healthy?

Thursday's Breakfast

2010-03-04T08:25:00.001-08:00

When I lived alone, I used to make protein shakes for breakfast almost every day. It was fast and easy and they tasted great. This morning I decided to make myself one for breakfast.

I used my handy Magic Bullet (love it). I chopped half the apple, skins and all, used a scoop of oatmeal and half a serving of the Aria protein shake powder, water and the entire banana. I added 2 frozen strawberries for a little flavor and blended it up! In the past, I also added yogurt to make it creamier. I didn't do that this morning and wished I'd had. I sliced the rest of the apple and used a teeny bit of Trader Joe's Peanut Butter too. Calories for breakfast were around 300.

UPDATE: It's 10:00am now and I'm still feeling full from my protein shake breakfast. In a little bit I will have my AM snack of Anjou pear.

The Secret to Losing Weight:
"Food is energy. If we want to lose weight, there are only two ways to do it. We have to decrease the energy flowing into our body OR increase the energy flowing out. [pg107, Mindful Eating]" It's as simple as that. It's so simple, yet we make it so hard!

I really love the book Mindful Eating. I'm half way through the book and can't stress how useful it is. This next part I'm going to discuss is shocking but so OBVIOUS.

Why is America fat? The answer is: CONVENIENCE! Back "in the old days" people had to work for their food. They had to work in the fields, pick the produce themselves, farm the land, etc. They expelled the calories they replaced. "Mindful Eating" has a fantastic chart on WHY WE ARE FAT:

MORE ENERGY IN
*More concentrated calories
*Cheap, calorie rich food
*Larger portion sizes
*Eating mindlessly (tv watching, in front of computer, driving)
*Grazing

LESS ENERGY OUT
*Less work to obtain food
*Labor (and calorie) saving devices
*Sedentary lifestyles
*No exercise (driving instead of walking, etc)
*No gym/recess at school

Basically, we aren't working for our calories anymore.

QUESTION: Are you lazy? Do you drive places where you could walk instead? Do you drive around parking lots forever trying to find a "good spot" close in, or just park and walk?

Dinner out

2010-03-04T08:15:00.001-08:00

Last night we decided to go out to dinner. I chose Portofino in Sellwood http://www.portofinoportland.com/. It's a little Italian joint with really fantastic food and a romantic atmosphere. It was a nice change because we usually eat dinner at home watching TV. Growing up, we always ate at the dinner table as a family. It was only on special occasions (like movie night) where we'd eat in the TV room.

The only drawback to my iphone (besides being ridiculously expensive and pretentious) is that the camera does not have a flash. Boo. Sorry the picture of my food didn't turn out great.

I got the grilled flat iron steak with pesto, Yukon gold au gratin potatoes and grilled broccolini. I'd never had broccolini before and it was really good! The vegetables were not dripping in oil or butter and the food was correct portions. I didn't feel like I'd gorged myself afterward.

I did have a few pieces of the freshly baked bread from Great Harvest. It was soooo wonderful; airy and soft. I didn't use butter or the olive oil.

Michael got the pasta special of the night that looked like a creamy fettuccine with chicken sausage. I had a bite and it was very tasty. I loved Portofino because it was quiet, not busy, and very romantic.

I probably went a little over my calories for the day yesterday but I don't feel discouraged. I had a good run and the protein in the steak was exactly what I was craving!

Hump Day Run

2010-03-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

My pre-run snack today is the Atkins protein bar: Caramel Chocolate Nut Roll. 8g of Protein, 2g of Sugar, and 19g of Carbs. It tastes OK. It's not the best protein bar (Luna is my favorite brand) but it's much better than most of what is out there!

I ran the opposite direction of the Esplanade today to mix things up. I was toying with the idea of running up to Washington Park, but decided not to push myself too much this close to the Shamrock Run.

I crossed the Hawthorne Bridge and was almost to the Eastside when it started to rain! Blast! Fortunately, it was just a light drizzle and actually felt pretty good. The above pictures are from today's run: gloomy, dark skies.

I am happy to report NO KNEE PAIN! YAY! Hopefully that will be the norm now. My pace was good, I ran the loop without stopping, and felt pretty light on my feet today. Then, with about 1 mile left (at the Steel Bridge), I felt a rumble in my stomach. A not so good rumble. I've read horror stories about runners being stuck somewhere and having horrible stomach problems. For the last mile, I was really worried. Thankfully nothing happened. Perhaps I've added too much fiber to my diet this week.

Run time: 34 1/2 minutes! I shaved about 45 seconds off my run!
Calories burned: 423
Pace: 8'36, according to my Nike+

Equipment Malfunction
While today's run was great, I was endlessly annoyed during my entire run. First, my regular sunglasses are broken and I've been using a backup pair that are a bit too big for my face. They kept sliding down my nose.

Second, my new Nike running jacket--that I LOVE--kept riding up. I don't notice it riding up with other shirts I wear underneath, so it must be the undershirt I wore. Third, my running shorts are old and getting too big (yay!). Unfortunately, it seems impossible to find running shorts with pockets.

Lastly, and most sad, I think I need to upgrade my heart rate monitor. I have a Polar and I've loved it. But it's been acting wonky lately. While I was leaving the building and about to start my run, it said my heart rate was 221. Um, no. I'm pretty sure I'd be dead if my heart rate was 221. And then it said zero, like I had no heart rate. Grrrr! I fiddled with it, tried to get it to work and then gave up. About 5 minutes into my run it started working again. Perhaps it's time to upgrade to a Garmin that also tracks my mileage.

UPDATE: I just read an article about weight loss and the writer's mantra was “My weight does not equal my worth”. I LOVE it!!

I Hate Rest Days

2010-03-03T09:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I listened to my body and took a day off. I was feeling rundown and was worried about getting sick so close to my race. Several people in my office are battling a sore throat/cold/sickness too. I immediately drank Emergen-C, had a Zinc lozenge and today I'm drinking Airborne. I will NOT get sick!

Dinner last night was the Costco spinach ravioli with pesto instead of olive oil. The ingredients in Pesto (garlic, basil) are excellent for sore throats. I ate it preemptively! (Sorry the picture didn't turn out great.) I also had a really yummy salad.

Snack today: oranges for Vitamin C!

The Shamrock Run is about 10 days away and I'm starting to get excited--and anxious. I'm trying to listen to my body and not overdo the training. I've read articles that say I should rest before a race and taper down my runs. So next week will probably be pretty light on the exercise.

According to weather.com, it's supposed to be overcast but not rainy today until after 1pm. That means I could run at lunch today. I'm waiting to see how my body feels. I don't feel as run down today as I did yesterday and I got a really good night's sleep.

Why do I hate Rest Days? Basically, I exercise so I can eat. When I take a day off, I tend to feel guilty for not working out. I haven't quite figured out how to NOT feel that way. I got a few books that I'm trying to read in hopes I can cure myself.

QUESTION: Do you feel guilty when you don't work out?

Serving Sizes

2010-03-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

Serving sizes are sometimes a mystery. Especially when eating out! When I eat out, I generally assume most of what I am eating is 2 servings. One trick is to ask for a "doggy bag" when your food is delivered. Immediately put half of the food in the box to have for lunch the next day.

Another trick I do is to split an entree. One time, Michael and I went to one of our favorite restaurants for lunch, Papa Haydn's in Sellwood. We got the Croque Monsieur (Black forest ham or turkey on grilled parmesan coated bread with gruyére and dijon) and split the sandwich. We also ordered a caesar salad and split that. It was the perfect serving size for us!

When eating processed food, pay attention to the labels. I found a nifty guide online (see above left). Sometimes there's multiple servings in an item and you don't even realize it!

Here is a general guide on serving sizes:

Meat or Poultry (cooked)
Suggested portion: 3 - 4 oz.
Size guide: A deck of playing cards or a computer mouse

Fish (cooked)
3 - 4 oz.
A checkbook, or an eyeglass case

Salad greens
1 cup
Two cupped handfuls

Veggies (raw or cooked)
1/2 cup
Roughly the size of a baseball

Fresh fruit
1 medium piece
A baseball

Bread
1 small slice
A cassette tape

Pancakes and waffles
2 small pancakes or waffles
A compact disc

Pasta
1 cup
Your fist

Rice
1/2 cup
Cupcake wrapper

Potato
A small potato, about 3 oz. (most restaurants serve 6 - 12 ounces of potatoes!)
A bar of soap

Dried cereal
1 cup
Your fist

Dried fruits and nuts
1 oz.
An egg

Cheese
1 1/2 oz.
A large eraser or 4 stacked dice

Yogurt and milk
1 cup
A fist

Ice cream
1/2 cup
1/2 a baseball, or a Clementine

Chocolate
1 oz.
Small package of dental floss

Oil, mayonnaise, and butter
1 teaspoon*
The tip of your thumb

*Most people use far more butter and oil than the standard serving size, 1 teaspoon. For reference, 3 "tips of your thumb" measurements are equal to about one tablespoon.

Monday's Dinner

2010-03-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

Last night's dinner was very yummy. I suppose we made a taco salad but it was really Michael's concoction.

First, I put baby spinach in the bottom of the bowl. Then I put a thin layer of Daisy Light Sour Cream over the spinach. Topped that with chopped olives. In the picture to the left, there's jalapenos in Michael's bowl. Next, cubed Colby Jack cheese. Michael sauteed a serving of shrimp for each of us (about 9 shrimp) with Mexican seasoning like cumin, cayenne and salt and pepper. A few tortilla chips and some salsa on top and it was done! It was really good and healthy and filling. I estimated the entire dinner to be about 600 calories or so.

Shrimp is a great "diet food" because it's really low in calories, healthy and filling. One serving of shrimp is also really high in protein! Perfect dinner after a hard workout.

Today I am taking the day off from exercising. I'm a bit sore from yesterday's run and am also starting to feel a little run down. To prevent getting sick, I'm going to rest today and tomorrow.

General Running Info

2010-03-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

RUNNING ABBREVIATIONS:
Many of these are self explanatory. From Runner's World.

AG: is Age Group.
AR: is American Record
AT: is Achilles Tendon.
BQ: is to Boston Qualify as in to meet the standards to qualify to run in the Boston Marathon.
C25K: is Couch to 5K, a common beginner's running program.
CR: is course record
DFL: is Dead &$%&* Last
DLF: is Dead Last Finish
DNF: is Did Not Finish
DNS: is Did Not Start
DOMS: is delayed onset muscle soreness
ED: usually is used to refer to an eating disorder.
EIA: is exercise induced asthma
EPO: is short for the natural occurring hormone called erythropoietin. EPO can be used to enhance performance illegally and is associated with the dangerous process known as "blood doping."
FF: is a fast finish (see "negative splits" below)
FIRST: Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (their website -- thanks to John)
GA: is general aerobic
GPS: is global positioning system; see Garmin below.
HM: is half marathon
HR: is heart rate
HRmax, MHR or HRM: means the maximum heart rate that one can reach while running. Training intensities are often determined by percent of HRmax.
HRR (HRres): means Heart Rate Reserve, which is the difference between HRmax and RHR (HRmax - RHR = HRR). Some runners base training on percent of HRR instead of HRmax.
IOC: is International Olympic Committee
ITBS: refers to the illotibial band syndrome, a common overuse running knee injury.
KM: is a kilometer, also may be abbreviated simply as K.
LRS: is local running store.
LSD: is long slow (or steady) distance.
LVD: is long varied distance.
MP: is marathon pace.
MPM: is usually minutes per mile
MPW: Miles per week.
MHR: is maximum heart rate
MTSS: is Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome; another name for the infamous "shin splints."
NB: is New Balance, a shoe company.
NSAID: is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug; ie Advil, Aleve, Motrin, etc.
PDR: is Philadelphia Distance Run
PF: is plantar fascitis
Pfitz: refers to runner/coach Pete Pfitzinger or his popular marathon plans. For example "Pfitz 70" would refer to a Pfitz marathon plan that peaks at 70 miles per week.
PR and PB: is personal record or personal best. PB may also stand for peanut butter. :)
PT: is physical therapy.
PW: is personal worst.
Quads: the quadriceps muscles in the front of the thigh
RD: is Race Director
RHR: is resting heart rate
RICE: rest, ice, compression, elevation
ROM: is range of motion
RT: Running Times.
RW: Runner's World.
SFX: is stress fracture
TM: is treadmill
USATF: is USA Track and Field
WR: is world record
XC: is Cross Country
XT: is Cross training

General Running Terms:

10% Rule: is a general guideline that says don't increase your weekly mileage by more than about 10% each week. An alternate rule is Coach Jack Daniels' rule not to increase more than the number of workouts you do per week; i.e. if you run five times per week, then you can increase by five miles a week.

Aerobic: means simply that something requires oxygen. Aerobic exercise requires the heart and lungs to work harder to meet the body's increased oxygen demand. Contrast with anaerobic.

Anaerobic: means simply without oxygen or not requiring oxygen. This is exercise performed at a high intensity and requiring a rate of energy production greater than that supplied by aerobic respiration.

Base: is how many miles you are running; for example if you run 30 miles per week, that is your base. This is somewhat simplified, but gives you the general idea.

Carbo Loading: basically this just means trying to maximize the storage of glycogen (a form of energy) in one's muscles before a race.

Chronograph: is a fancy name for a runner's watch. The stop watch mode where you time your runs is known as the Chronograph mode.

Cross country: is usually a fall sport at the high school and college levels; it is a running event in which runners must run a course consisting of varying terrain. In team events, the first five runners to cross the finish line score for their team. The team with the low score wins. 1 point is awarded to first, 2 points to second, 3 to third and so on. A perfect score in a Cross Country meet is 15 points.

Cross training: is another aerobic exercise such as swimming, cycling, cross country skiing used to complement running or when you are injured and can't run.

Couch to 5k: is a beginners running plan.

Doubles: refers to doing two runs in the same day. Singles would be doing just one run. So if someone says "I did 50 miles this week, all singles" they are saying "I ran 50 miles this week, all as once-a-day runs."

Elite: refers to those really super fast folks who usually don't have to pay for shoes because they get them sponsored.

Fuel Belt: a type of belt you wear around your waist that has holders for bottles to carry fuel or fluids. Other types include Amphipod (a brand) and Camelbaks (which are like back packs that you carry water in).

Gallowalking: refers to walking at certain fixed intervals, such as one minute in ten, during long runs. The phrase is named for Jeff Galloway. Also called a run-walk.

Ghost Runner: is the guy (imagined or not as the case may be) that is on your heels about to pass you, used for motivation to keep up the pace. (thanks to Chuck for this one.)

Grade: refers to the steepness of a hill.

GU: is a type of energy gel. It's a brand name, but it's often used as a generic for gels generally (kind of like how xerox is used to refer to copying things in general). Gels are a semi-liquid sugary snack used for a quick energy burst. Sports beans are a jelly bean product related to GU. Cliff Blocks are another similar product. Hammer Gel is another product. Etc. You can find these at your local running store.

Hashers: or Hash House harriers are self proclaimed "drinkers with a running problem."

Heart: is obviously an organ in your chest, but it also is often used in running to refer to your courage, drive, desire.

Ice Bath: is what it sounds like, taking a bath in ice to help prevent next day soreness.

Jog: is basically running at a slower pace, often to recover between intervals. Jogging is subjective rather than objective. One person's jog can be another person's run.

Junk miles: are runs at an easy pace done in order to reach a weekly or monthly mileage total rather than for any specific benefit. A lot of people say no miles are junk, though!

Laps: and Splits: are your times in a race or workout at several measured intervals. Laps would be this for example, a 36:00 minute 4-mile run might have mile splits of 9:00, 8:50, 9:10, 9:00. Splits technically refer to cumulative times, e.g. if you are running 8:00 min/miles, your split times will be 8:00 @ Mile 1, 16:00 at Mile 2 and so on. Negative splits: refers to running the second half of the race faster than the first. The opposite is a positive split where you run the first half faster. Even splits would be running essentially the same time for both halves of the race.

Master: is usually an athlete 40 years of age or older. There is a Masters Forum here at RW.

Out and back: means a course you run out a certain distance, then turn around and run back. A loop is simply that -- you start in one spot and run in a big circle.

Personal Record: or Personal Best: means you ran your best time at the distance. Can be used as a verb "I PRed this weekend at the local 5K."

Pheidippides: was this awesome Greek dude who ran the 24 miles or 39 kilometers from Marathon to Athens in 490 BC with news of a Greek victory over the Persians. After delivering the message, he collapsed and died. Marathons are named for his feat. (It's a long story about why it's 26.2 versus 24 ...)

Road Kill: - You become road kill when during a race you are passed by a faster runner.

Runner: is a person who RUNS. Period. Every two weeks or so we have a thread about who supposedly qualifies as a runner. Simple answer: If you run, you're a runner. Please stop asking what is the difference between a runner or a jogger. If you're interested enough in the sport to come here, the chances are excellent that yes, you're a runner no matter how slow or fast you are or whether you ever enter a race or not.

Runner's High: is a feeling of happiness and euphoria following running. Seems to be caused by endorphins. Not everyone experiences it.

Snot Rocket: is a way to clear your sinuses when you're running; as in "I launched a snot rocket." Ask the board for technique suggestions. Also known as a farmer's blow.

Sprints: are usually the races 400 meters and below in track and field. To sprint means to run as hard and as fast as you possibly can, usually for a relatively short distance.

Streak: means you run at least one mile continuously for such and such number of days, weeks, months, or years in a row.

Triathlon: combines swimming, biking, and running, usually in that order. There are various distances.

"Types" of Runs:
These are some different types of runs you will see referred to on the Runner's World Forum board. All of these types of runs are done to accomplish different goals and objectives.

"_______ pace runs": refer to running your predicted or expected race pace. So if a workout were to call for doing miles at "marathon pace," that means running at your predicted marathon pace per mile. That could be anything from 5:00/mile for someone fast to 12:00 minutes a mile for someone slower. A 5K race plan may call for doing intervals (explained below) at your 1 mile race pace. A good way to figure out your expected paces is to use an online calculator. The McMillian Calculator is excellent. Running Times also has a calculator you can try.

A tempo run: is a run at around your 10K race pace (or about 80-85% of your heart rate or so). Traditionally tempo runs were 20 minutes or so in length, but they vary. It's often described as being "comfortably hard" -- it's a challenging, but managable pace. You want to finish a tempo feeling challenged, but not exhausted. Most tempo runs consist of ten to fifteen minutes of easy running, then the tempo part, then ten to fifteen minutes to cool down. Tempo runs build speed and teach your body to run at a certain pace.

Related to tempo runs are cruise intervals. Like tempo runs, these runs are designed to help you learn to deal with the accumulation of lactate; they are sometimes called lactate threshold runs. Don't worry too much about what that means right now. Cruise intervals are usually 3 to 15 minutes in length, with 1 minute or so of recovery for each five minutes of run time.

A fartlek: is a fun word that you can say and make non-runners snicker. It simply is an informal way of doing speed work. It's a Swedish word meaning "speed play." In a fartlek, you would run hard to say the next telephone pole, then slow down, then run hard again to the next object. It's just basically bursts of speed in the middle of a workout. It can be easy or hard. There's no set distance or speed, it's very loose and informal. Fartleks are good for a beginning runner who wants to dabble in speedwork.

Intervals: (sometimes called "repeats") usually refer to track work, though you can do them elsewhere. Usually intervals consist of a set distance (say 400 meters, 800 meters, a mile) that you run at a set, usually fast pace. Between the intervals, you would recover by either jogging slowly or walking. People often do them on the track because the track is obviously measured. An example of an interval workout might be 4x800. This means you are going to run four sets of 800 meters (or about a half mile) at a certain pace. Between those faster runs, you will walk or jog to recover. Often an interval workout will give you the pace you're supposed to run and the time you should take to rest. Usually rest time is roughly equivalent to how much time it takes you to run the distance. So in our 4x800 example, if you were doing the 800s in 4:00 minutes (8:00 mpm pace), you would take about 4:00 rest. Intervals build your pace and speed.

Some types of intervals ... Repetitions which are a form of intervals that are faster and shorter than VO2max intervals with full recovery betwen them (usually 4-6 times as long as the repetition). These are used for improvement of anaerobic capacity, running form and running economy. Ladder which means an interval workout of increasing interval lengths, such as 200-400-600-800 meters. A Cutdown which is the opposite of a ladder or an interval workout of decreasing interval lengths, such as 800-600-400-200 meters. Pyramid: is a combination of a ladder and a cutdown, such as 200-400-600-800-600-400-200 meters. (thanks to Jim2 for defining several terms in this section.)

Just a brief word about the track .... If you visit the track to do a workout, know that most tracks are 400 meters in length. (There are some quarter mile tracks, but most are 400 meters.) A mile is roughly equivalent to 4 laps around the track. A mile is actually a little longer than 1600 meters. If you want to do a true timed mile, find the common finish line. (It's usually located at near the end of the straightaway in front of the home stands. Usually has numbers painted there.) Go back 9 meters and there should be a line; that's where the mile would begin.

Long Runs: are typically 25-30% of your weekly mileage or so and are usually done once a week. These are usually done at a comfortable, fairly easy pace. We often refer to them here as LSD -- long, slow distance. An appropriate long run distance is determined by your goals. A long run might be anywhere from 5 miles to 25 or more (for an ultramarathoner).

The easy run: or a recovery run is simply a run at an easy pace done for recovery purposes or just simply enjoyment. Most of a beginners runs should be easy runs.

Jogs: usually refer to slow running done to recover between intervals. Runners and (especially) non-runners will sometimes use the term "jog" for a slow run for exercise. Runners tend to prefer to refer to what they do as running; but usually know that if a non-runner refers to you as a jogger, they probably don't mean any harm.

You will also hear about hill repeats: -- these typically are runs up a hill to build strength. I personally hate hill repeats, so I prefer to run hilly courses instead.

Strides: are short, controlled bursts of running of 50 to 150 meters designed to improve efficiency, work on form, etc. Often done at the end of a run.

Warm Up: is a period of slower running prior to faster running. Cool down: is slower running at the end of faster running. This is also sometimes called a warmdown.

Monday's Run

2010-03-01T11:35:00.001-08:00

Today's run was pretty good. Or at least, it got better. It started out rough. My knee was bothering me a bit. I'd taken about a week off from running to rest my knee after I banged it up two weeks ago. It loosened up the longer I ran today, but there was a moment when I first started where I considered going back to the office instead.

My legs felt like lead. I was eating a headwind the whole way, and I felt like I was running through water. I was starting to feel discouraged and worrying that my running hobby may be coming to an end....

And yet...it turned out to be one of my best runs time wise! Weird! 35 minutes to do 3.33 miles and I burned 440 calories. Woot!

Lunch today is leftover Annie's Organic Mac and Cheese (about 3/4 of a serving) and a bean salad I made.
Bean and Corn Salad
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can white kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
1 can of corn (rinsed and drained)
Chopped cilantro (I think I added too much)
Salt & Pepper
Cumin
Chopped tomato
Minced Garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

On a side note, one of my pet peeves I've developed along with my running...People who feel the need to comment on how BAD running is for you. FYI, runners know running is bad for the knees. And guess what? They decided to do it anyways! I can't tell you how many people say "Oh you shouldn't be running! It's so bad for you!" Yay yay yay. I'm gonna do it anyways, thanks. I try to protect my knees the best I can. I buy good shoes. I only run about 2 times a week. I'm pretty sure I'm never going to want to run an entire marathon. And there's a track in my neighborhood where I can run if I desire to escape the concrete. I do my best.

Mindful Eating, Part 2

2010-03-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

I am really enjoying the book "Mindful Eating." I've been reading it slowly and really trying to learn from it. Like many people with eating disorders or food issues, I've never had a positive relationship with food.

The current chapter I'm reading is about recognizing your emotions surrounding food. "If you were raised in a difficult family, mealtimes maybe have been unpleasant. [pg65]"

Here is my favorite concept so far: "In Pavlov's experiments with dogs, food was paired with a bell. Perhaps in your home, food was paired with stress, shame, anxiety and danger. In Pavlov's experiments, the sound of a bell made the conditioned dogs salivate....[For humans] there could be many different results, many possible behaviors, that result from the pairing of eating with stress. Even after you grew up, left home, and could eat alone in safety, events could trigger the body and mind to react as they did when you were a child. Because the family table was the scene of unhappiness, you may feel subtle anxiety when you sit down to eat.[pg66]"

It will probably take the rest of my life to accomplish my goal to have a better relationship with food. To work towards my goal, I will:
1. Learn to recognize real hunger and when I am full.

2. Learn to eat slower so I enjoy and experience my food.

3. Recognize what my triggers are for "mindless" eating (emotional, etc) and stop doing it!

4. Realize it's quality not quantity of food.

5. Stop feeling shame when I "slip up."

Note: There are donuts here at work today. I actually have no desire to have one! Shocking! I'm actually excited to eat my banana for snack. Why? Because I know how that donut will make me feel after I eat it.

QUESTION: How does food make you feel?

Sunday's Dinner

2010-03-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

Dinner last night was exceptionally good! I scored some yummy ravioli from Costco (Spinach and Cheese). Ravioli is one of my favorite dinners because it's yummy and so easy to do. This is crucial since I really dislike cooking. :) We topped the ravioli with a little bit of olive oil, freshly ground pepper and Parmesan cheese.

Dinner Salad consisted of:
Bagged salad and baby spinach mix
Raw cauliflower
Chopped baby carrots
Craisins
Croutons
Robusto Italian dressing--this was a new purchase and I really enjoyed it. Michael liked it as well but said he wouldn't be eating it because it contained soy.

Apparently, soy is bad for men! I had no idea. Men who eat soy products have significantly lower testosterone levels than men who don't. Not good! Soy is OK for women to eat, however, because our bodies do need the estrogen boost. Here is a very interesting article about soy: http://www.healthyfellow.com/310/soy-guide-for-men/

For dessert, I had one Girl Scout cookie (Samoas).

Calories for dinner: about 500.
Calories for dessert: 75.

Costco is a great place to get things that you eat a lot. But it's also a place where you can easily overeat...The raviolis were HUMONGOUS and there are 9 servings in that package. Pay attention to serving sizes when you eat. It's easy to eat more than one serving if you're not paying attention.

Today is supposed to be sunny in Portland. I'm trying to decide if I should run at lunch. We'll see how I feel in a few hours. And I'm not sore from yesterday's bike ride! Progress!

Sunday was a good food day for me. I will be weighing myself and measuring next week. Really not looking forward to that...

Sunny Sunday!

2010-02-28T11:28:00.000-08:00

It's another beautiful day in Portland! Even though I am a bit sore from weights at the gym yesterday, Michael and I are going to head out for a short bike ride.

This morning I was served breakfast in bed! It was quite the pleasant surprise. :) Unfortunately the picture didn't turn out, but I did get one of my kitty.

Breakfast was scrambled eggs with a little cheese sprinkled on top, 2 strips of bacon and an English Muffin. Very good! It was around 400 calories for breakfast.

We biked River Road in Milwaukie. About 60 minutes burned 400 calories for me. I was able to do some good sized hills and get my heart rate up. One hill almost killed me! It was sooo steep, but I made it up without stopping or walking (and took a picture resting at the top). River Road was nice because the bike lanes were very wide and there wasn't too much traffic.

It is impossible to look cute or sexy in biking clothes. :( It will make even the skinniest person look like a sausage. Oh well. It's still fun--and much easier on the knees than running!

We're now making Nathan's hot dogs for lunch. :) I'm having a serving of the Terra Sweet Potato chips (they are actually growing on me) and a diet 7-Up.

Fajitas

2010-02-28T10:24:00.000-08:00

We made fajitas for dinner Saturday night. It's one of our favorites! Since I'm not much of a chef, I leave the complicated stuff to Michael. I'm more like his sous chef. I chop things, prepare stuff for him to cook. It works well. :)

Fajitas are fairly low in calories and they are packed with good stuff (protein, fiber, etc). However, the guacamole is very high calorie. But avocados are packed with GOOD fat for your heart. So it's ok to splurge once in awhile on the high fat treat.

For the guacamole:
We used 2 medium sized organic avocados. I mashed them up, mixed in a spoonful of light sour cream, minced garlic, ground pepper, and lime juice. Mmm tasty!

For the fajitas:
I chopped orange peppers and a small yellow onion into strips. Michael sauteed them. We used skirt steak for the fajitas. He cut them into long strips of meat and sauteed them as well with some seasoning (Worchestershire sauce, salt and pepper and cumin).

It's really tasty!

Saturday's Food

2010-02-27T15:10:00.001-08:00

We can always find excuses for NOT EXERCISING. The most common excuse is "I don't have time." The trick is to FIND the time. I woke up this morning at 8am to go to the gym. We had plans with friends today at 11am and I wanted to make sure I got my workout. Did I want to get up at 8am? No. Was I tired and feeling like I'd rather go back to sleep? Yes. I still dragged my butt to the gym. Glad I did too!

Before heading out the door, I had a quick "breakfast". The Atkin's Shakes are really tasty, low calorie AND low sugar! A lot of the shakes out there are super high in sugar and carbs--basically defeating the whole "diet" shake concept. I highly recommend Atkins.
I spent about 40 minutes or so on the stair-master. It's my new favorite machine at the gym. Then I went upstairs and did about 30 minutes of weights and ab work. I burned 630 calories. Woo hoo! For the rest of my breakfast, I ate a toasted English muffin and a handful of granola.

We met up with some friends at the Portland Japanese Gardens. Today was "Free Admission" day and I'd never been. Luckily the weather was decent and we walked around the 5 acres of gardens and enjoyed the day. Afterward, we had a leisurely lunch at Produce Row Cafe (I had a turkey sandwich--even though I really wanted the nachos!).

Tonight, Michael and I are making fajitas (one of his specialties). I will still come out pretty good for today's calories!

Favorite moment of today: Michael noting that he thought I'd lost weight lately!! Awww! :D (And that's why I bought him flowers! The orange carnations.)

Tomorrow's plan: bike ride. Crossing fingers for no rain!

Making Good Choices

2010-02-27T15:04:00.000-08:00

We went to the Kennedy School with friends last night. I think I made pretty good food choices! I went swimming beforehand and I was starving! But I split the chicken/pesto/spinach/cheese calzone with a friend so I don't feel too bad about what I ordered. I'd been craving calzones for weeks now and finally got to have one--without ruining my week of hard work.

I recently posted that I stopped drinking alcohol for a little while. It's been about a month. Didn't miss it either. Last night was the first time I felt like having a drink. I had two Ruby Ales (McMenemin's specialty) and felt pretty good. All in all, it was a good night!

Mindful Eating and Book Review #2

2010-02-26T13:48:00.000-08:00

I started reading a wonderful book called “Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food” by Jan Chozen Bays, MD. It’s a Shambala book, which comes from a background of Zen Buddhism. The book teaches us how to tune into our bodies and learn WHAT to eat, WHEN and HOW MUCH.

Through my journey I’ve discovered that I do not have a good relationship with food. I don’t know that I ever did. I’ve always viewed food as The Enemy, instead of Fuel. You would think after several years of relearning how to eat, I’d know this by now. Some habits are really, really hard to break.

If you have food issues of any kind, I highly recommend this book. Order it from Amazon.com and read the book. It’s short and there’s so much wisdom in it! Don’t worry if you’re not Buddhist. It has helpful ideas that everyone can benefit from.

“Have you watched healthy young children eat? They run in from a morning of playing hard, sit down at the table, and with obvious appetite they eat just enough. Then off they run to play again.[pg 15]” How did we lose that ability as adults? We inhale food while multi-tasking, in front of a TV, in the car, etc, without tasting, enjoying, or experiencing our food.

Each chapter has an exercise to do. Here are just a few exercises and tips:

1. Try making a mindful meal once a week for yourself as if you were a guest. [pg 24] 2. Be aware of the sensations in the “stomach” during the day. How does the “stomach” signal to you that it is “hungry”? [pg 37]
3. When you feel hungry, delay eating for awhile. Simply be aware of the sensation you call “hunger”. [pg 37] MY NOTE: Often times we are bored or dehydrated. If you wait to eat, sometimes you realize this.
4. After you’ve eaten half your food, stop eating and take a few seconds to assess stomach hunger again. [pg 38] MY NOTE: Many times when I want to get seconds, my boyfriend wisely says “Wait 15 minutes and then see if you want that second slice of pizza” and he’s right—I usually don’t want it!

Run Like Hell 5k

2010-02-26T10:24:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from my first run, back in October. The Portland's Run Like Hell 5k. You can sort of see my head in the middle of the crowd. I have on a light blue sweatband. My stats:

Division Rank: 47/122

Gender Rank: 168/518

Overall Rank: 292/746

My first ever race was the Run Like Hell 5k. I had no idea what to expect, or if I could even do it! I tried to research how to train, what to eat before the race, and what to expect afterwards. But really, nothing could prepare me for it like just doing it!

I trained for a few months by simply running. I wanted to build up my confidence and stamina. I started running on the Portland Esplanade at the Waterfront during lunches. The Portland Esplanade is about 3 miles total. I was able to do the 3 miles in about 45 minutes the first time I tried it. I didn’t get discouraged, however, because it was a building process.

The first time I was able to run the entire 3 mile loop without stopping or walking was an exciting day! I kept scanning my body as I ran, thinking: “Do I really need to walk? Or can I keep going?” and “Is my breathing ok?” I told myself that I’d just run a little further; I’d run to that next light post; and then all of a sudden I realized I was almost done! That gave me the extra burst of energy to keep going. And I did it. I felt so proud to run the whole 3 miles without stopping. And I knew that I would be ok for the upcoming 5k.

Then I go the flu. Months of training and working hard on building my stamina was immediately put on hold. I was bed-ridden for a week with the nastiest flu I’ve ever had. It could have been H1N1 but I didn’t go to the doctor to get tested. Either way, I was not exercising. I could barely get myself to the bathroom.

Day 4 of the flu was my 5^th day of not exercising. I saw all my training going down the drain. The stress probably didn’t help me heal any faster, either. I tried to ignore the stress of not running because honestly, I had no energy anyways. I wondered how it would effect my run time. I wondered if I would even be able to finish the race!

My boyfriend Michael said the sweetest words anyone has ever said to me….When I was sweating in bed with a fever and headache, he said if I was still sick on Race Day, he would run my race for me! That was the sweetest thing he’s ever said to me! He is NOT a runner, so it was a huge sacrifice for him to offer.

I rested up and started to feel a little better. On October 25, I woke up at 6am to prepare for Race Day! I ate a bowl of cereal and we headed downtown. It was a particularly cold day in Portland, and I was not feeling 100% yet. Once the gun went off and the race started, I focused on running.

This was my first competitive run ever. I had no idea what to expect, honestly. I found myself running too fast and too hard when I first began the race. I read later that this is a common occurrence with newbies. I probably burned out too fast. But I kept going. I had a goal: finish the race! It was distracting seeing so many people pass me. Older people, a woman with both knees wrapped, passed me! The shame! I tried to run faster. What I really should have done was ignore everyone else and just focus on my own body. It’s very easy to get caught up in the excitement of the race and the people around you.

Half way through the 5k, I walked a few seconds while I drank the water they offered runners. I started to jog slowly to get back to the run. The last stretch of the 5k, I was suffering. I just wanted it to be over with. “How much longer?” and “Good lord, this run is killing me!” and “Damn flu!” Then I saw the crowd gathered at the finish line and I raced to the end.

I saw Michael at the finish line, taking my picture. I ran across the finish line and hugged him. I felt shaky and exhausted. I finished the 5k in 31 minutes! We walked down to Pioneer Courthouse Square where the after party was happening. I got some snacks they had for the runners: half a wheat bagel and half a banana. I was sweaty and felt tired and hurt and just wanted to leave. We didn’t stay for the party. When I got home, I showered, laid down on the couch and immediately fell asleep for 2 hours!

The following three days, I was so sore I could barely walk! Of course, days after the fact I read that marathon runners take an ice bath after their runs. Next time I definitely will do that.

Book Review #1 & Weight Loss

2010-02-26T09:23:00.000-08:00

"Secrets I Learned Running 50 Marathons in 50 Days--and How You Too Can Achieve Super Endurance!" by Dean Karnazes.

I loved the book! It was really inspiring and made me want to get right out there and run a marathon. What Dean did is amazing, and crazy, to me. The book had a lot of really good tips for running, motivation, recovery and injuries. I think both seasoned runners and newbies could benefit from the book. I lent the book to a co-worker who has run Hood To Coast for 8 years and she loved it too.

Each chapter is a different marathon in each of the states. Here is an excerpt from one chapter:
"Follow the Losers: According to research data, these are the top three habits of men and women who lose significant amounts of weight and keep it off permanently:
1. Daily Exercise
2. Portion Control
3. Behavior Modification"

That quote just reiterates what I previously said about there not being a magic pill. Those three things are the key to success. I particular like the "Behavior Modification" theory. I know a few people who had gastric bypass surgery to lose weight. Even at 250+ pounds, I never considered surgery an option. I'm not trying to criticize people who have had such surgeries...but seeing two friends of mine go through it, I think I can give a pretty informed opinion.

The surgery helped them lose weight, yes. Both friends lost about 50 pounds and then stopped losing weight (and also gained a lot of weight back). Why? Because they did not change their behavior. They still ate the high fat, fried foods they enjoyed before the surgery. So why even have the surgery? Anyone can lose weight--it's the keeping it off that's really hard. It's easy to slip back into old habits and get lazy with eating. I've been there. And I gained 15 pounds.

How many calories should we eat each day? It really depends on your sex, age, current weight, height, and how active you are. Everyone is different, but here's a general guide:
Men, age 31-50 should eat 2200-3000 calories a day.
Women, age 31-50 should eat 1800-2000 calories a day.

In order to lose weight, you should try to eat 500 less calories a day.

Slip Ups & PMS Cravings & Other Random Stuff

2010-02-26T08:11:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to a friend's house for dinner. They made really yummy bean soup! I now want to try making my own soups. The sad news: I slipped up and ate way too much bread with dinner.

Bread is definitely one of my weakness. I had three pieces of french bread -- with butter. And boy, it was good! I didn't need three slices. I should have stopped with 2. But I can't beat myself up for "slipping"; and starving myself to make up for those calories isn't the solution either. Today is a new day and I'll make better choices--and listen to my body when it says it's full.

Michael (the best boyfriend in the world!!) bought Girl Scout cookies last night! *Squeal!* We opened the box of Samoas and I ate a serving size. A serving is 2 cookies for about 150 calories. Not bad! The Thin Mints are 4 cookies for 160 calories (I think--or maybe it was 150). That's not too bad, calorie wise. The secret is to only eat a serving size! Hopefully I will have the willpower to refrain from eating the entire box. :)

Which brings me to PMS and cravings! How do you get through PMS and cravings when you're trying to eat healthy? I usually crave salt during that time. To make better choices with my snacks, I pick salty food like pretzels (a serving is like 30 pretzels!), pickles (salty and crunchy and only 5 calories!) or my favorite: Trader Joe's Sea Salt Pita Chips. Mmm... When I crave chocolate instead...I eat Snackwell's cookies (I like the Devil's Food cookies), dark chocolate squares (dark chocolate is so rich you only need a few pieces), or the single serving ice cream (no risk of eating the entire carton!)

On a side note, I ordered a Foam Roller. I can't wait to get it. Runner's injuries can be many: shin splits, runner's knee, pulled muscles, etc. The one that scares me even more than Runner's Knee is tearing to the IT Band (the outside of the thighs). I've noticed my thighs are usually stiffest after a hard run so I'm really hoping this foam roller will help prevent an injury. I will post an update after I try it out.

UPDATE: The Sweet Potato chips were just ok. Nothing too special. :( Disappointing!

Whole Foods Adventure

2010-02-25T13:06:00.000-08:00

My adventure to Whole Foods today was short lived. Once I walked there, I was so hungry and all I smelled was food! They had a taco bar, soup bar, sushi bar and other assorted foods available. I picked up a few things and decided to just get lunch.

I did sample some brown rice pudding. And all I can say is that it is not for me. I didn't enjoy the texture at all!

I go through phases where I get burned out on the frozen meals for lunch. So for lunch I am having a cup of tomato eggplant soup. I got a small roll to go with it (because I can't pass up bread!). It's delicious! I estimate lunch today at about 400 calories. I might not eat all the soup because it's pretty filling.

I'm really looking forward to trying the Terra Sweet Potato with Sea Salt chips! Mmmm. :)

UPDATE: Lunch was so filling (soup usually is) that I'm skipping my snack and having some Crystal Light instead.

Thursday's Food Update

2010-02-25T09:20:00.000-08:00

Dinner last night was quick and easy. I swam after work and when I got home I was starving!! I made a quick dinner of Annie's Organic Mac & Cheese with steamed green beans. Calories: about 500. I burned 350 swimming.

Breakfast this morning was oatmeal. I added a spoonful of Benefiber, a spoonful of Aria Protein powder, and 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar. The Aria gave the oatmeal a nice vanilla flavor and I can always use more protein! Calories for breakfast: 230. What I love most about oatmeal is that it sticks to your ribs. When I have it for breakfast I am full for most of the morning. TIP: Don't add extra fiber to your diet too fast. Your stomach with thank you. :)

Today's snacks are pictured above. This morning I'm having an orange. I like to slice my fruit because it takes longer to eat it. This afternoon I'm having baby carrots and Trader Joe's Tzatziki dip. Total calories for my snacks: 175.

During lunch I'm going to walk to Whole Foods and peruse their products! (And hopefully pick up some kale so I can try making "green monster shakes"!)

Training for the Shamrock Run

2010-02-24T14:47:00.000-08:00

Sunday, March 14^th is the Shamrock Run in Portland. It will be my first time participating and my first “long” run! The last race I did was Run Like Hell (5K). Shamrock is an 8k. I’m confident that I can do it and that my time will be decent.

My 5k time was pretty good – and I’d had the flu! And I didn’t know what to expect. I do now, and I think I’m prepared for the 8k. The biggest problem I am facing is the weather. I’m a fair weather runner and I’m not ashamed to admit it! Who wants to run in pouring rain? Icky. I have a running rain jacket I’ve yet to use. I will definitely be bringing that! I recently bought a visor and a running hat.

There’s about 3 weeks until the run. (GASP…I thought I had more time!) So I need to get on the stick with my training! It looks like I have about 17^th days to go!

In preparation, I was reading websites, running books and training guides. My favorite quote: “What pace should you run? Go slow. There is no advantage to going fast during your long runs, even for experienced runners.” PHEW! Big sigh of relief. My goal for the Shamrock Run is to complete it with a decent time. I’m not racing anyone. I’m training to be able to compete in Hood to Coast.

My training is going well so far. I’ve been able to complete 2 long runs with minimal soreness. And those two long runs were done in my VERY hilly neighborhood. I believe that has helped me. My goal is to be able to do a few more long runs before the Shamrock. Rain or shine!

QUESTION: How do you train for events? Email me at 110pounds@gmail.com.

Weight Loss and Happiness

2010-02-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

What Makes YOU Happy?

When I was 250+ pounds, I was very depressed. I thought "if only I weighed 150...I'd be happy like everyone else." It took a lot of hard work but I reached 150. 143 was the lowest my weight got, and I didn't stay there very long.

I've previously mentioned that I put on about 15 pounds this year. In a few weeks I'm going to go back to weighing myself once a month again. While I was losing weight, I weighed myself twice a week. It was a good thing to keep me in check and when I lost weight it made me happy! Seeing a 2, 3, 8 pounds loss made me ELATED! On the flip-side, seeing no loss --or worse--a gain, I'd be depressed and beat myself up for what I ate. I didn't take into account that I was a woman and certain times of the month we can gain around 5 pounds due to PMS, bloat and water retention.

The reason behind weighing myself only once a month is because I don't want to get obsessed with the scale. I went through a phase where was I was. It's an easy trap to fall into but it's not healthy.

The hard part is learning to love your body no matter what weight you are at. Find joy in losing 5 pounds, being able to walk a flight of stairs without panting, running a mile. I struggle with this every single day. I have good days and bad days. I'm not worried about being "heavy". I'm athletic and will never be "skinny."

If you're having a bad day about how you feel about your body, take a few minutes to look up pictures of professional athletes. They are NOT skinny (well, maybe the marathon runners). My favorites are Michael Phelps and Serena Williams. Serena Williams is a massive woman. Have you ever seen her THIGHS? Dang! But you know what, she's healthy!

It's a hard thing to accept sometimes. Athletes aren't skinny. You need food as fuel. Simple, right? Then why am I so hungry all the time?!

Food for Tuesday

2010-02-24T09:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was OK for food.
BREAKFAST: Breakfast sandwich 340 calories
SNACK: Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt, 80 calories
LUNCH: Smart Ones ziti and Rice Krispie Treat, 410 calories
SNACK: banana, 105 calories
DINNER: Baked Salmon with steamed cauliflower, 635 calories

Salmon is one of my favorite foods and it's sooo healthy! Salmon has omega-3 fatty acids that are beneficial for your heart and reduces inflammation in your body (excellent for athletes). Don't be scared of the F word--FAT! Salmon has the GOOD FAT our body needs.

Salmon is also really easy to make. In the above left picture, it shows the raw salmon. I put it in foil, sprinkle pepper and Lemon Pepper seasoning and a little butter on top. Close up the foil loosely and baked at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes (depending on how thick the cut is). It's moist and tasty! I served it with steamed cauliflower and Goddess Dressing (my favorite). I drank 2 glasses of ice water and a lemon slice (trying to drink more water every day). It was yummy and filling. And I had room for dessert! (Dark chocolate squares!)

Yoga & Runners

2010-02-24T08:18:00.000-08:00

During my last massage, the masseuse asked me if I was a runner. "Why?" She said that my leg muscles were tight like a runner, and she said she could have spent the entire session on just my lower body.

Not good!! I have a confession to make: I am horrible at stretching. I stretch after running but not nearly enough. The recent soreness of my knee reminded me that I need to take care of my body. The possibility of being sidelined for weeks or --SHUDDER-- months, scared me! Time to make a change!

Running causes a tightening and shortening of muscles and if not fixed with stretching, it can cause serious injury. A lot of times, I feel tight and stiff after a run. I assumed that with my swimming I was OK--that stretched out my long muscles enough and relieved the tightness. Which is true. But not enough!

Last night, feeling down about my sore knee and stressing about when I could run again, I did yoga after work. I set up in the living room (picture above right) and spent about 25 minutes doing yoga poses and stretching. I used an iphone app for yoga to help remind me of poses. And yes my kitty helped me with the yoga! :)

I felt so much better afterward! And waking up this morning, my knee pain was gone! I am going to try and do yoga at least once a week. I might incorporate it into my routine on Rest Days. I'm also going to look into local drop-in classes.

Rest Day

2010-02-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

My calories for yesterday were really good. For dinner, I had a Boca Burger (70 calories) and steamed broccoli and cauliflower with Goddess Dressing. It doesn't look pretty but it tastes great! It's a very filling, healthy dinner. After the bun and all the "burger" fixings, dinner was just under 600 calories.

This morning's breakfast is created by Michael. :) A breakfast sandwich on an English muffin, sliced turkey sausage, scrambled egg, a teeny bit of Colby Jack cheese. The whole breakfast is about 300 calories. I also had some iced tea (no sweeteners of any kind). It's a really yummy breakfast. If you want to cut the calories even further, substitute the scrambled eggs with either egg whites or Egg Beaters.

Today is a rest day for me. I woke up today with my knee hurting. I think I banged it on my bike during Saturday's ride. Of course I'm worried that I will develop Runner's Knee, too. So I might take tomorrow off from swimming, depending on how my knee feels.

I'm currently icing my knee as I sit in my cubicle at work. I hope it helps! I'm going to start working to strengthen my hips to prevent Runner's Knee.

Today's Run and Rest Days

2010-02-22T13:29:00.000-08:00

My new Nike Air shoes are fantastic!! It was the closest thing to running on clouds I've experienced.

My lunchtime run was really great. I ran the entire loop without stopping or walking. The blasted bridge was up again, so I took a detour instead of waiting. I ran up the stairs to the Steel Bridge overpass to get to the East-side and continue my run. The weather was perfect and I took off my jacket half way through.

I used the Mapmyrun App on my iphone today. I wanted an accurate measurement of how many miles the Waterfront loop is. Turns out my lunchtime run is 3.33 miles! Calories burned: 430.
http://www.mapmyrun.com/user/801126426492369843/lisaeirene

Something I want talk about today: Rest Days. They are so important! And I learned the hard way (as many beginning athletes do). When I was close to my goal weight, I hit a plateau that I just could NOT get over. It took months. It was very discouraging! My solution? EXERCISE MORE! Hell ya! Um...totally not that way to do it. I worked out (HARD) for 28 days straight. The scale would not budge no matter what I did. By working out too much, I was taxing my body, putting unnecessary strain on my muscles and joints, and setting myself up for injury. Luckily, that didn't happen. I was burned out, sick of exercising, and frustrated with the scale. What helped get over the plateau? I kept doing my normal 5 day a week routine, continued counting calories, and tried to stop obsessing. It was then the scale finally moved.

I now try to take 2 days off a week from intense exercise. On my "off days" I sometimes walk briskly but try to take it easy.

Rest days are crucial. Recovery days are when your body replenish energy and heal damaged tissues in your muscles. Here is an interesting article at Runner's World about rest days:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-267--13104-0,00.html

"Less Is More
Rest days and easy days reward runners with different benefits
REST DAY
How It Helps:
Prevents overuse injuries
Restores glycogen stores
Prevents mental burnout
How Often: Once a week
How Easy: Off completely or 20 to 30 minutes (or 2 to 4 easy miles) below 60% of max heart rate

EASY DAY
How It Helps:
Builds base
Improves endurance
Increases blood volume
How Often: 80 to 85% of total weekly mileage
How Easy: 70 to 75% of max heart rate or conversational pace at comfortable to moderate effort"

Junk Food and Monday's Run

2010-02-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

Something I wanted to address was "junk food." I'm not necessarily speaking of Cheetohs or Oreos, more like a cheeseburger. Yesterday, Michael and I went to Five Guy's for burgers for dinner. I don't feel guilty because I was way under my calories for the day and could "afford" it.

I think it's a good thing to have a "cheat day". I work out REALLY hard all week in order to splurge once in awhile. The secret of "cheating", however, is to still make good decisions with what you're eating. The Five Guy's "Little Bacon Cheeseburger" I ate was 630 calories. I did not get fries and I had a diet soda. Michael got the regular Bacon Cheeseburger at 1,000 calories. My burger tasted just as great as his, and less calories. I'd had a fantastic week calorie-wise! I rewarded myself with a cheeseburger. :)

The problem with a "cheat day" is that it implies you're on a diet and not allowing yourself to eat real food. That's not healthy and as soon as you're "denying" yourself things you'll want them more! What you have to do is eat food you want to eat in moderation. Michael loves pizza and could seriously eat pizza every day. He explained to me that he goes to places where he can get 1 slice. That's the way to "cheat"--having something you love but not over-eating.

The secret to "Cheat Day" is to not undo EVERYTHING you accomplished the rest of the week!

I read a lot of other food blogs and noticed that they are more concerned with eating healthy and organic food. That's excellent. But for me, since the beginning, my concern is eating what I like to eat IN MODERATION. It's all about portion control. I don't have time to cook elaborate food with all organic items. I pay attention to calories and portions. It works for me.

Yesterday we also went to the Nike outlet and I got some new running shoes! I can't wait to try them out. I really hope these are better than the Addidas. :( I got the Nike Air Insight IV Running shoes.

Today I'm a little sore from Saturday's bike ride, but it's bike muscles that are sore. I hope that means today's run won't be excruciating! Today is going to be the only nice day in Portland, followed by 10 days of rain, I have to take advantage of it!

Question: What is your "splurge food" on Cheat Day? And can you eat it in moderation?

Ouch

2010-02-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's bike ride was a great experience. Today, however, I woke up with a whole mess of angry body parts! I wasn't used to sitting on a bike seat for so long (like 4 hours yesterday) and the biking position has made my shoulders and neck a big mess of soreness. :(

Last night's Girl's Game Night was a success. The fondue party was great! I didn't care at all that fondue was high calories after that bike ride! I cut up anjou pears, granny smith apples, hard salami, wheat french bread, filone bread, broccoli, and yellow peppers. It was a lot of fun!

For breakfast this morning, I had an English muffin with Trader Joe's peanut butter and Trader Joe's apple cranberry butter as well as the last anjou pear. Calories for breakfast: 345. But I am off to the pool in a bit and will burn 350. And of course, sit in the hot tub forever soaking these tired muscles.

UPDATE: Swimming was fantastic. The second I got into the pool, my sore everything felt so much better. The hot tub was great too. :)

Training for Reach the Beach

2010-02-20T15:50:00.000-08:00

Today was the perfect Portland day! The sun is out and it's absolutely beautiful. We went for a bike ride on the Springwater corridor. We did about 27 miles or so, and I burned 1,388 calories! It felt great. It was the first real bike ride on my new bike. I feel confident with more training, I can compete in Reach the Beach.

The Springwater corridor is nice because I'm not as comfortable on city streets yet and it's a pretty nice ride. I saw people walking horses too! We had to turn around prematurely because part of the trail was gravel! Boo!

After the strenuous 3 hour bike ride, we rode down to Sellwood to get lunch. Papa Haydn's was our first choice but alas, no bike rack free so off to Pizzacato! YUM!

Every woman's fear

2010-02-18T14:41:00.000-08:00

So this post is pretty personal for me, but I think it's important to share in case it can help another woman. Almost two years ago, I felt a lump in my breast. Of course, I panicked. Long story short, it was not cancer or a tumor. It was a fibroadenoma.

"A fibroadenoma is a non-cancerous benign lump that is found in breast tissue. When felt under the skin, the lump may feel rubbery and easily moveable within the breast tissue. Fibroadenomas are commonly found in young women during their reproductive years."

The reason I'm posting this is because it can happen to any woman. I asked my surgeon if I had had the fibroadenoma for a long time, because it was fairly large (it FELT like the size of a golf ball). He said I had probably had it for awhile. He was aware of my medical history and that I had lost a lot of weight. I asked him if I was only just now feeling the lump because I had lost 110 pounds. Of course he couldn't say for sure, but he said it was possible.

I was so heavy that my chest was very large. Losing weight, I also went down many, many bra sizes. The reason is that breasts are made of fat tissue.

Luckily it wasn't cancer. But what if it was? I never would have felt the lump if I hadn't lost the weight. The above photo was taken 2 months after I had my surgery. I have had no problems since then.

How to Stay Motivated

2010-02-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

Vegas before....and after! The picture on the right was taken last summer in Vegas. I was the skinniest I'd ever been. I gained about 15 pounds this last year. I hate it. I felt like a failure after losing 110 pounds! Part of it is muscle because I really changed my work out routine this year (added a weight program and started running). The main part of that is medication I took for a year. It was nasty stuff. I'm off it now and hope the weight starts to come back off. I want to get back to that Vegas weight.

I think most people start exercise/diet programs with the best intentions but it's difficult to stay motivated. Here are a few tips I've learned along the way:
*Listen to music while at the gym. Or talk radio. I recorded a few radio shows I liked but couldn't hear at work and it helped me stay on that elliptical machine longer.
*A few gyms now have mini television screens attached to the machines. I've been known to get sucked into an HGTV program and all of a sudden I've been on the treadmill for an hour!
*Choose an exercise that you enjoy.
*Get a buddy! Having someone to work out with keeps you motivated because it's fun and you're accountable to each other.
....And the most important for ME:
*Have achievable goals!

Achievable goals are less overwhelming. Want to run a marathon? How about making your goal to run a half marathon instead? It's less stressful and overwhelming. Sometimes when I run, I start to feel overwhelmed, tired, or bored and want to stop. I tell myself, "I'll just run to that next light post" and once I get there, I usually keep going. :)

While I was losing weight, it helped immensely to have goals and specific dates to reach my weight loss. Here is an example:
1. I wanted to lose 50 pounds by my brother's wedding.
2. I wanted to train for my first 5k run.
3. And currently, I am training for Reach the Beach and Hood to Coast.

Running at Lunch

2010-02-17T11:55:00.000-08:00

Today is absolutely gorgeous in Portland! After months of dark, gray, rainy skies there's actually some sun. It's pretty cold out still, but damn, it's sunny!

Running the Waterfront loop is a great exercise for me because it's about 3 miles the whole way. When the weather is nice, it's a beautiful and scenic run. My goal is to be able to run the loop three times a week before May of this year.

One of benefits about running the waterfront is that I spend less money shopping during lunchtime. :) The danger of working downtown! Seriously, the best benefit is that I have my evenings free again. I used to work out 5 days a week, immediately following work. It was a pain to schedule fun things (like Happy Hour or movies with friends) when I had to work out first. This works out much better!

Today I did the run in about 38 minutes. That's not my best time, but the bridge went up! That's a hazard living in the city of bridges. I burned about 360 calories, came back to the office to shower, and ate my Trader Joe's Indian food for lunch.

On a side note, a blog I really enjoy posted my weight loss story. You can read it here: http://runeatrepeat.com/

Benefits of Swimming

2010-02-15T21:13:00.001-08:00

Swimming has a soft spot in my heart. Whenever someone asks me how they can lose weight, I suggest swimming. As an obese person who had a lot of body pains, I wasn't really about to start up a running program. Going from the couch to running was not going to be a healthy or safe thing for me to do.

I previous spoke about Curves (a woman's only gym) which is okay if you're uncomfortable working out with men. There's also the option of going to a gym (like Bally's or 24 Hour Fitness). Some people are too embarrassed to go to them gym when they are fat though.

Many people gasp at the idea of getting into a swim suit and parading in front of strangers at a pool. I didn't really have that problem. I knew as soon as I got INTO the pool, no one would see my fat stomach. Not only that, I've always loved swimming. I knew I had to pick an activity I enjoyed if I wanted to stick with it.

When you're fat, your body hurts. It's not built to carry around excessive weight. Getting into a pool, you're weightless. There's no strain on your joints.

Swimming is known as THE best exercise. It's fantastic cardio. It increases flexibility, stamina, and is practically injury-free. An article I read stated, "It is perfect for those people who have a hard time carrying out weight-bearing, land-based physical activities. This is because your weight in water is about 1/10 of your weight on land."

When I first started swimming to lose weight, I was slow. I had to stop after every lap, rest, get my heart rate down, and catch my breath. That's OK! Not everyone is going to immediately be Michael Phelps. Grab a kick board and just concentrate on kicking your feet only. When you're comfortable, try the breast stroke. In my opinion it's a lot easier to do the breast stroke than freestyle.

If you're new to swimming, I suggest taking a class or lessons. They have adult lessons everywhere. Here is a website about adults learning to swim: http://ruthkazez.com/AdultLearner.html

Swimming should be fun. If you don't like it, try a different sport. But I love swimming!

Reach the Beach

2010-02-15T21:12:00.001-08:00

On May 15th of this year, I am competing in the Reach the Beach bike competition! It is my first. My boyfriend Michael is doing the full 100 miles. I, however, am doing 55 miles. The 55 miles starts from Salem, Oregon and ends at the beach.

I'm looking forward to challenging myself. I know I can do it. I got a new bike a few weeks ago. It's an entry level Raleigh road bike (my first road bike). This weekend is supposed to be sunny in Portland. Michael and I hope to go for a long bike ride in preparation! If the weather continues to cooperate, we will be spending most weekends training.

I have to raise $100 in order to compete in Reach the Beach. All of the money goes to the American Lung Association. Here is my website for it: http://action.lungusa.org/goto/lisa.eirene

I'm excited and also nervous! It will be the longest bike ride I've ever done. Michael and I have done day rides in the past that were around 30 miles or so. I've heard the leg of the ride I'm doing is fairly flat, so that's promising! :)

I will be posting pictures and my training log.

Snowshoeing!

2010-02-15T21:00:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite winter activities is snowshoeing. I'm fairly new to the sport, and haven't attempted to do it on my own yet. I hope to remedy that in a few weeks when I go on vacation with some friends. We plan on renting some snowshoes and poles from REI for the weekend and exploring Mt. Bachelor.

Some people might be intimidated by the concept, but really, after a 5 minute lesson on how to put the shoes on, you'll be fine. I suggest a guided tour at first, unless you have training in outdoor navigation. When everything is white, it's very easy to get turned around.

Besides the fact that snowshoeing is a lot of fun, it's a GREAT workout! If you don't like running, but walking or hiking is your thing, snowshoeing will be a snap. It's essentially just walking on top of snow.

Some of the benefits include:
*You burn 45% more calories snowshoeing than if you were just walking or hiking.
*Hip flexors and quadriceps can get more of a workout than just walking due to the lifting motion of each step. (Which is great news for runners and bikers!)
*It's a low-impact aerobic exercise.
*It's much easier to learn than skiing! :)

Depending on what part of the country you live in, winters can be pretty brutal. If you're a runner and it's snowing (like in Philly where my brother lives!), you can't go for a run outside. Snowshoeing is a great cross-training activity.

Peanut Butter

2010-02-15T20:49:00.001-08:00

For two years, I stopped eating peanut butter. I know it must sound like I cut a lot of things out of my diet for 2 years while I was losing weight. I really didn't, I just cut out a few things I knew I couldn't eat in moderation. I had to retrain my brain to make good choices, learn portion sizes, and decide WHICH calories I wanted to eat.

Peanut butter is pretty high in calories. For 2 years, it was all about the numbers. Did I want to eat 200 calories in peanut butter? Or perhaps "spend" that 200 calories somewhere else? But in denying myself peanut butter, I was also denying my body good fat, protein, and fiber!

Peanut butter is an excellent fuel food. When I started my running routine, I started reading and researching what I should be eating. I wanted to have energy and stamina. Over and over again, I read peanut butter was the secret! It's so filling too! So eat a serving size (2 tablespoons) of peanut butter on some crackers, or fruit (apples and bananas are yummy) before working out and see the difference!

I prefer Skippy Natural peanut butter to the others out there I've tried. The Boy likes Jif and spreads it on tortilla chips (eeew). Recently I picked up the TJ's brand. Not sure if I like it yet--it's a little creamier than I'm used to.

Benefits of Indian Food

2010-02-15T16:32:00.000-08:00

For lunch today I went to the Tao of Tea with a good friend. I'd never eaten there but I absolutely love their tea! The Jasmine Pearl is my favorite.

We got the edamame, dal with basmati rice, and miso flatbread with salad.

I absolutely love Indian food. I could eat it every day. Thankfully, it's also a healthy way to eat! If you're getting a craving for going out to dinner, skip the pizza joint or the Olive Garden and try a local Indian restaurant. Studies have shown a diet rich in the spices commonly found in Indian food can have these benefits:
*It may help arthritis
*Some of it is low in calories
*High fiber
*Indian recipes frequently use chickpeas and lentils (high in fiber and resistant starch)
*It can lower cholesterol and promote heart health.
*It's super tasty!

Soybeans (edamame) also has the benefits:

* helps reduce risk of heart disease;
* improves bone health;
* reduce the effects of PMS;
* help reduce certain types of cancer.

Great article on the benefits of Indian food: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-01-07-curry-cover_x.htm

Going for a Run!

2010-02-15T09:28:00.001-08:00

It's a beautiful day out in Portland and I have the day off from work! Here is my pre-run breakfast:
banana with Trader Joe's peanut butter
English muffin with cinnamon and sugar
A little bit of Gatorade

My run was ok. It wasn't my fastest/best run but it wasn't awful. I did discover, however, I am NOT a fan of Addidas running shoes. I kept getting pebbles and dirt in my shoes, which meant I had to stop and take them off. Grrr--that never happened with Nikes! And not only that, on the way home my foot started to hurt. I'm a Nike girl. I've never had a problem or pain with Nike running shoes. Looks like I'm going shoe shopping again this weekend!

I ran 6.83 miles, which is almost 11km! My time: 1 hour, 8 minutes, and I burned 690 calories! Woo! I used my Polar Heart Rate Monitor for my time and calories, and used my Nike+ iphone gadget to track my miles.

The two pictures above were of the massive hill (aka Mountain) I have to run up. I was only able to run about 1/4 of it at a time. It's that steep! I wish the pictures did it justice. When I've just walked up that mountain in the past, I felt the burn in my butt for days. Let's hope today's run won't cripple me for the rest of the week. Portland finally has nice weather and I want to take advantage of that!

Ok, off the have lunch with a friend and get pedicures. :)

Email from my brother

2010-02-14T16:43:00.000-08:00

When I shared my blog with my brother, he sent me this wonderful email! He gave me permission to share it.
"Hey Lisa,
That is absolutely fantastic! I don't know that I ever said much about your amazing accomplishment but I couldn't help but smile and feel a huge sense of pride looking at the picture of you holding of your old pants. You look fantastic, you are happy and healthy. I cant tell you how happy I am for you. Hopefully I can take a page from your book and shed a few pounds as well.

I have a terrible habit of once I start exercising I feel that I do
not have to worry about not eating certain things (hey, I'm burning it
all off right? probably not) and whenever I try to cut back on how
much I eat for meals I turn into the starving guy looking for snacks
anywhere I can find them. I know I serve larger portions than I should
for dinner. How did you manage that overwhelming sense of hunger when
you started eating the "right amount" of food for meals?
Andy"

Before I answer Andy's question, I just want to say that many times I slipped during the two years of losing weight. I'd get overwhelmed with hunger and make really bad choices. It's hard. For me, especially after exercising, I go into "starving, crazy maniac mode". I need FOOD! The important thing is to make good choices. I have sliced cucumber in the fridge and some hummus for a quick snack. I take yogurt or granola to work in case I get the hunger pains.

Honestly, once you start limiting your food and only eating what your body NEEDS, you will find that your stomach gets smaller. It doesn't take as much food to fill it up. I'm so used to eating a Lean Cuisine and a salad, etc, that eating copious amounts of food just makes me sick.

The other suggestion I have is to drink a lot of water. It's easy to confuse hunger with being dehydrated. Something else you can do is to wait 15 minutes after eating to see if you're still hungry. If, after 15 minutes, you're still legitimately hungry, then get a little more food. But not Cheetohs or a candy bar!

Also, just because you exercise and burn a lot of calories, doesn't mean you can stop on the way home from the gym and get a Big Mac, fries, or a chocolate shake. Losing weight is about creating a deficit. You burn calories = you lose weight.

If you are feeling extra starving after exercising pretty hard, you need to look at WHAT you are eating. Is it the right KIND of food? Are there carbs in it? Carbs are NOT evil! You need carbs for fuel. Are you eating protein? (Cottage cheese is my favorite super food!) If not, change what you eat!

The above picture is of me at my brother's wedding. A week before, I reached my first goal of losing 50 pounds! I was 200 pounds in that picture.

Alcohol

2010-02-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

I love me some wine. Wine is probably my favorite adult beverage. Portland is a great city for wine tasting, which is a fun spring/summer activity! In fact, last year for our anniversary we went to Hood River for wine tasting. Mmmm.

I've never been a big beer fan, but I've warmed up to it and find that I like it a lot, too. For my 30th birthday last month, my boyfriend and I went to the Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon. Good beer!

That brings me to my point. Alcohol is yummy. But it converts to sugar in your body. Basically, you're just drinking empty calories that make you fat. It's a bummer, I know. For two years while I was losing my weight, I refrained from drinking alcohol as much as I could. Honestly, I didn't miss it either. If you're watching your calories, eliminating alcohol is a good first step.

Top 5 worst drinks:
1. Margarita in a pint glass (2 oz. tequila, 2 oz. margarita/sour mix, 1 oz. triple sec, lime juice, 1 tsp. sugar) - 550 calories
2. Mudslide (1.5 oz. coffee liqueur, 1.5 oz. Irish cream, 1.5 oz. vodka) - 417 calories
3. Long Island Ice Tea (1 oz. vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and triple sec, 2 oz. sour mix, splash of cola) - 380 calories
4. White Russian (1.5 oz. vodka, 1.5 oz. coffee liqueur, 1.5 oz. cream) - 320 calories
5. Piña Colada (1.5 oz. rum, 1.5 oz. coconut cream, 3 oz. pineapple juice) - 293 calories

Top 5 best drinks:
1. Rum and Diet Coke (1 oz. rum) - 65 calories
Tip: Use diet sodas as mixers, such as gin and diet tonic, diet 7Up and Seagrams 7, diet ginger ale and Jack Daniels, and so on.
2. Vodka and Soda (1 oz. vodka) - 65 calories
3. White Wine Spritzer (4 oz. white wine topped with club soda) - 80 calories

I've been under the weather for the last month or so, so I stopped drinking alcohol. Counting my calories, I realized just how much I've been saving by not drinking! I was shocked. I've been able to eat out, eat things I love, and still come in under my daily allowance for calories! Why? I haven't been drinking my calories! This is not to say I'll never drink again. But it's something everyone should be conscious of if calorie counting.

Trader Joe's Goodies

2010-02-14T13:07:00.001-08:00

I made a trip to Trader Joe's today to get some goodies. To the right, are two different Indian food dinners that I will take to work this week for lunches. I am really excited to try them! The calories are comparable to Lean Cuisines. I will post an update on how they taste.

I also picked up some Greek style yogurt. I prefer the Greek yogurt to Yoplait/Dannon/et al. Greek Yogurt can sometimes be higher in calories but it's healthier because it has half the sugars of regular yogurts.

The above dressing is excellent! My favorite thing to do is steam cauliflower and put the Goddess dressing on it. Mmm tasty and healthy!

2/16/10 UPDATE: I had the Trader Joe's Chicken Tikka Masala for lunch today. It's amazing! So good I want to go get 10 more. :)

Swimming

2010-02-14T13:02:00.001-08:00

Swimming felt really great. Unfortunately, the hot tub was out of order--so no soaking after ward. That would have really helped my sore muscles. IcyHot makes a roll-on that works wonders for soreness. If it weren't Valentine's Day today, I'd be slathering on the Icy Hot!

I swam for 45 minutes today, about 1.5 miles, and burned 350 calories. When I first started swimming, I was burning about 500+ calories each time. It's pretty disappointing to do the same routine but to burn less calories. The reason for this, I discovered, is that the closer you get to your goal weight, the less calories you burn because a lot of your body has turned from fat to muscle.

Pre-Swim Breakfast

2010-02-14T09:29:00.001-08:00

Yesterday's vigorous workout has me very sore today. I did weights and boy my upper body is letting me know. Hopefully swimming today (and sitting in the hot tub afterward) will remedy that. For breakfast today, I had a bowl of Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal with nonfat milk. It isn't my favorite cereal but it's ok. I plan on making a trip to Trader Joe's today to get a few new items. I also had an english muffin with Indonesian Cinnamon and a bit of sugar sprinkled on top. Not only is cinnamon very tasty, it's really healthy too! http://www.thehealthysnacksblog.com/2007/11/12/the-top-5-health-benefits-of-cinnamon/

Calories for breakfast: 329

After swimming, I will have a Luna protein bar. The mini sticks are only 80 calories and very tasty! I keep a few in my car for after working out. I've tried almost all of the protein bars out there and only Luna Bars taste good!

Dessert

2010-02-13T19:14:00.000-08:00

I can't wait to try them!

Tonight's Food

2010-02-13T19:10:00.000-08:00

For dinner tonight we had a salad made of: red leaf lettuce, spinach, cucumber, carrots, craisins, croutons, and oil & vinegar. Then we made steamed broccoli (I added a little butter to mine) and Michael made blackened ahi tuna steak. YUM! I had a glass of sparkling lemon water and Michael had some red wine.

Dinner was probably 600 calories. We went for a short bike ride before dinner. I burned 185 calories. My calories are excellent for today:
Goal: 1590
Food eaten: 1903 calories
Exercise: 800 calories
Remaining available calories: 485! Sweet!

Workout Food

2010-02-13T10:55:00.001-08:00

My breakfast this morning (pre-workout) was a banana with peanut butter on it. Through trial and error I've discovered this is the best combination for pre-run/pre-gym food. It keeps me full for the whole workout, I don't get cramps from too much food, and I don't feel starvings immediately afterward.

I'm trying to drink more water, because that's definitely something I am lacking in. And I also had plain iced tea (no sugar added).

When I got home from the gym, I had chocolate milk for a snack. 100 calories. This may sounds a bit crazy but it's proven to help! http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/superfoods/chocolate-milk-after-workout/ "Downing chocolate milk after a tough workout can help replenish exhausted muscles and significantly aid exercise recovery, new research shows." And it's yummy!

Saturday Work Out

2010-02-13T10:51:00.000-08:00

I slept in a bit this morning and then headed to the gym. The above picture is me in my workout clothes. The other are my new shoes! My last pair of Nike running shoes died this week. On my lunchtime run Monday, I realized half way through my 3 miles that they were dead and going to cause me blisters. Ouch! My new shoes are Addidas running shoes. I've never had Addidas before, but I'm willing to try.

At the gym I spent about 40 minutes on the stairmaster and then did my weight training routine. I paid particular attention to using the ab machines because that's the area of my body I dislike the most. I spent an hour and 10 minutes at the gym and burned 615 calories!

Pizza

2010-02-13T10:39:00.000-08:00

I've previously stated that I stopped eating pizza for two years. I did this because I could not trust myself to eat it in moderation. When I reached my goal of losing 100 pounds, my boyfriend Michael took me to his favorite pizza joint in Portland: Apizza Scholls on SE Hawthorne. It was a wonderful moment! We celebrated with slices and wine and he told me how proud he was of me and my amazing accomplishment. It was probably one of the sweetest things he's ever said. Aww...Anyways. I now eat pizza again. But I have learned to eat it in moderation.

We usually get a Papa Murphy's take and bake pizza when we're craving some fat. They have a new thin crust deLite pepperoni pizza that only has about 165 calories a slice! Excellent.

Last night we went out to dinner to one of our favorite Portland restaurants: Hub on SE Powell. http://www.hopworksbeer.com/. And yes, we got pizza.

I ate 2 slices (which was really 4 slices since the pieces were so large). I don't feel guilty for eating 900 calories of pizza though because the rest of my day had been great and I ended up coming in at my goal for the day!

The Mother of All Relays

2010-02-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

This is my last post for today. :)

This year I am competing in the Hood To Coast Relay race. It's called The Mother of All Relays! http://www.hoodtocoast.com/

197 miles
12,000 runners
29th Annual Year
3,500 volunteers
August 27 & 28, 2010
Largest Relay in the World!
Fundraise for American Cancer Society
From majestic Mt. Hood to beautiful Pacific Ocean in Seaside

I am currently training to participate in this race. The most I've raced is in a 5k. I have an 8k coming up in a month. I will be posting more about my training later. (I poached these photos from the official HTC site. I can't wait to have my own!)

Food

2010-02-12T14:20:00.000-08:00

I'm not much of a chef. For two years, I struggled with trying to figure out how to eat. I had to relearn what was "healthy."

I was pretty restrictive with my calories. I wanted to eat 1500 a day (but it was usually closer to 1800 calories a day). On a side note, I was even evaluated by a "nutritionist" (I use that name lightly because honestly she was just hawking shakes) who said I should be eating 1200 calories a day to lose weight. Excuse me?? To me, that sounds like a starvation diet and NOT healthy.

My typical meals for two years were as follows:
BREAKFAST:
Low-calories cereal with nonfat milk or Egg Beaters scramble with an English muffin and fake cheese (nasty!)

LUNCH:
Every day for 2 years I had a turkey sandwich and the exact serving size of Wheat Thins.

DINNER:
Usually a Lean Cuisine frozen dinner with a salad.

I wasn't perfect with my diet, but I was okay. I rarely snacked in between meals, and tried to eat fruit and veggies when I did.

Boy, am I sick of sandwiches now!!

This diet probably sounds awful to a lot of people. But for me it was great. I knew what I had to eat each day, I knew I would reach the calories I needed for the day, and I learned what PORTION SIZES were!! This is probably the most important lesson I learned in this whole process. I had NO idea what a portion size was.

Once I got comfortable with this diet, I started to change things up. I sometimes made a chicken breast on my George Forman grill for dinner. I love fish, so I baked salmon a lot. Again--not a chef. It wasn't exciting food. But I learned portion sizes and what I should be eating, instead of what I wanted to eat.

Now before anyone gets too overwhelmed thinking they can't do what I did...I slipped up many, many times! I was in no way perfect with my food for those two years. My weight fluctuated up and down and I battled the holiday bulge.

My suggestion to anyone trying to lose weight: LEARN PORTION SIZES. Trust me, it's NEVER enough food. However, if you retrain your body to eat portion sizes, you will not be hungry.

How I Ate to Lose

2010-02-12T12:41:00.000-08:00

After my “revelation” to get healthy, I decided to count my calories for one day. I made no changes to my eating habits and just wrote down everything I ate. I looked up the calories online and wrote it all down. I was absolutely shocked at what I was putting into my mouth. I had no concept of serving sizes. I was probably eating 3 servings of food instead of 1 serving. I made poor choices for snacks. I ate too many sweets. I decided to limit my calories to 2000 a day.

This began my calorie counting. It was hard at first. I realized that trying to eat under 2000 calories was difficult to do, and it really wasn’t that much food. I tried to eat fruits and vegetables as my snacks, and eat healthy foods for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. I found myself reading every label and deciding if I wanted to eat those calories. It was all about sacrificing and substituting.

My weaknesses are sugar (ice cream, cookies, cheesecake) and pizza. I decided to completely cut out pizza from my diet. I knew I could not just have 1 slice and a salad for dinner. If there was pizza in my house, I would eat the entire pizza without any regard to health or fitness. As for the sugar, I started substituting the yummy treats I was obsessed with for lower calorie alternatives: frozen yogurt, Snackwell’s cookies that were about 50 calories each, Rice Krispie Treats for 90 calories. Those were my desserts.

The Old Me

2010-02-12T11:19:00.001-08:00

Here are pictures of me at 250 pounds. This was taken during my Chicago vacation in 2006. I was the heaviest I had ever been during this vacation. Chicago is a walking city and boy did my body hurt! I had constant foot pain, my hips ached, my legs were starting to go numb...all because I was too obese.

My first Blog Post

2010-02-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

“How did you do it?”

This is the question that people always ask me when they find out I lost 40% of my body weight. 40%. In actual numbers, that’s over 100 pounds. 100 pounds is a 12 year old boy. I lost the equivalent of a preteen boy.

The crestfallen look on their face when they find out the “how” never changes. They want me to give them the magic spell, the magic beans, the pill they can pop, the diet they can do for one month. They’re never satisfied with my actual response.

“I lost the weight with healthy eating and exercise.”

It took me almost two years to lose over one hundred pounds. It was a journey I knew I had to take. It was a journey that was harder to start than to do, honestly. It took me 27 years to wake up to the change I needed to make.