Sushi, Birthdays, and Over Eating

Today I ran 4 miles at lunch. I totally rocked it out.

I ate like crazy today. Breakfast was OK. For lunch I had a slice of pizza, pretzels, and a peach for lunch. I snacked on a latte and a peanut butter cookie.

We went to the Waterfront for dinner to celebrate Emily's birthday. For dinner I had way too much sushi. There were two packed boats of sushi for four adults and one child. It was delicious, but I should have eaten about half of what I did. I will have to make up for it tomorrow.

Longest Week Ever

This week seems to be dragging on. I'm working on a project at work that needs to be done this week but is about as boring as watching paint dry.

Despite the dull project, I am still great with exercise. Today I did the elliptical with Kelly at lunch and ran 3 miles after work. I tracked my calories (other than the snack mix I took from pricing's food day table). All in all it was OK.

For a long time I avoided running because I think I look like an awkward runner. I clomp along at a slow pace. A few months ago I got over the fear and started running in public - on the treadmill at work and along busy streets in my neighborhood. I really like running outside, because people really like to cheer on the chubby girl running. Every time I go for a run at least one person I work with tells me good job. It is nice to get some encouragement to stay on track....now if I could just get someone to keep me away from the next food day in the pricing department.

Whoopsie

I haven't blogged since Thursday. It's not because I haven't been busy running or tracking calories, it's just because I've been so darn busy.

Today I ran 4 miles at lunch and walked with Allyson after work. I tracked my food. I am ready for a night in so that my dinner calories don't make my jaw drop.

Relaxing a bit

Today I just didn't want to pack my lunch or work out at lunch. I finally decided to cut myself a break and head to Pablo's for a quesedilla. I am glad I did. The food was great, and I was able to catch up with Anna.

After work I went on a three mile run. My route has been feeling a little long lately so I remapped it at USATF.org. My run is about a quarter of a mile longer than I thought it was, which makes me feel better about my slow runs outside.

Tonight for dinner I'm having pretzels and frozen banana ice cream with peanut butter. I'm also going to bed at nine. It's going to be a great night.

Well that is more like it....

I weighed myself again this morning and now I'm down 2.5 pounds from last week. That's right. I lost 2.5 pounds yesterday. If only I could do that every day for 1o or 15 weeks.

Today my two hour lunch meeting got done early so I hit the gym for a 30 minute run. I also squeezed in a walk as a morning break and after work. It was not an ideal day for exercise, but I made it fit.

I did OK with food today. I ate a light lunch in expectation of dinner on the patio of Tally's with Ivy and Hot Toddy. I had a veggie burger with a fried egg on top and onion rings. I went crazy on the ketchup (two little cups) and pinot grigio (two and a half glasses. It would have been three but I'm an animated talker).

Frustrated

I weighed myself this morning and I'm up two pounds. I'm frustrated with the whole thing. I feel like I work hard but I'm not seeing the results I want. I know it's probably a fluke and that I'll be back down tomorrow, but that doesn't stop me from being frustrated.

Today I had five hours of meetings. I worked through my lunch. I left a little early and ran three miles. It was worse than yesterday. I did level 1 of the DVD because I knew if I started level 2 I would get frustrated and turn it off.

I counted calories today. It wasn't hard, as I missed lunch due to meetings. When I got home from work I had eaten 3 granola bars and 2 oatmeal raisin cookies. It's amazing I didn't buy lots of junk food when I stopped at the grocery store on my way home.

Tomorrow I will be in six hours of meetings. I probably won't get a work out in during the day, but I'm hoping to eat lunch. I'll grab a quick run before meeting Hot Toddy and Ivy for dinner. Hopefully Ivy will share her weight loss wisdom with me (after all, she is the girl that lost weight in London).

Darn You, Ivy!

Today I did the elliptical at lunch. After work I ran three miles. It wasn't a good run, but I did it. I was pretty slow. After the run I did level 2 of the 30 day shred DVD. It sucked. Big time. It is so bad that halfway through it I started cursing Ivy for ever telling me about it. I only forgave her once my heart-rate returned to normal and I realized that she was torturing herself by doing the workout too.

I'm taking a break from morning workouts for two weeks. Mandee tore a muscle in her calf so she is taking it easy for a few weeks. I could say I planned on getting up and working out alone, but I know I never would. I'll just relax and make up for it with afternoon runs.

I did OK with food today. I'm hoping to see results on the scale, not just in my fitness level when I weigh myself tomorrow.

Off Day

Today was my off day from working out. In addition to treating it as a work out break, I also took a break from eating healthy. I still tracked my calories, which helped how much I ate over all (even if it was too much).

I'm looking forward to getting back into my schedule this week. I have about 5 hours of meetings every day but Friday, so I will definitely need the energy burst that I get from doing cardio.

Saturday Sushi and Bike Ride

Yesterday I did OK with food. I could have done better with beer, but I did good with food. I rode my bike to Cumming with Foster where we had some beers. It was a very hot ride, with a heat index over 100. It felt good to ride in the heat. I am paying for it today, as I'm worn out from the ride.

Last night we went out for sushi. It was delicious and low calorie. You can't beat that.

Friday

Yesterday I did a 45 minute circuit with Mandee at lunch. I ran three miles after work. My legs are sore today.

Yesterday I did OK with food and ate within my calorie range. I am better off than I planned because John dove his bike over to use my pump to fill his tire. He parked behind my car in the garage. After that he went on a ride and then rode home. With his car keys. So we walked to meet each other in downtown Beaverdale and had a disappointing dinner at Goodsons. After that we walked back. So I got a good 20 minute walk in that I wasn't planning on.

Sick of Dining Out

Tonight I went out for a work dinner again. I had one lambic and fish and chips. We were at the Royal Mile which is delicious but not exactly known for their healthy options. I had planned ahead, so I was OK with calories.

I slept in today and did a 45 minute circuit with Mandee at lunch. She kicked my butt by making me do four kinds of squats. I'm going to have a hard time walking tomorrow.

I've always known I do better when I have a routine. This week has been very busy and I haven't kept to my schedule. I've stood up Mandee twice this week and haven't worked out after work at all. I have stepped up my lunch work out, but not enough. Eating heavy dinners and having cocktails every night is wearing me out. Don't get me wrong, I realize that I have an great life and I am thankful that I get to go out and spend time with my boss and co-workers. I'm just tired. I am not used to this schedule and I'm tired. Very tired. I may actually go to bed before 10 tonight.

I will be back in my routine soon, which will help with my energy level. I don't think it will be too hard to get back into the hard core workout habit as I've still been working out and I have tracked my calories all week.

Abbreviated Run and Extended Happy Hour

Today I had a meeting at noon and 1. That meant that I didn't get down to run until 2. I knew we were headed to happy hour before 5 so I kept my run short. I ran for 30 min at 5.5 with no walking breaks.

At happy hour I didn't have any of the tasty appetizers. I just had two beers. I would be sitting pretty were it not for the mid-morning snack of white sheet cake.

I haven't mentioned it, but my boss is in town. She is normally in Columbus. My boss is awesome. She is fun and smart and if she actually lived in Des Moines I would change jobs so I could be her friend. As it is she lives in Ohio so I can hang out with her when she's here and the whole boss thing isn't too weird. Because she lives in Columbus and I get to see her 2 to 4 times a year when she is here we go out a lot. Yesterday was dinner at the Flying Mango. Tonight was happy hour at Court Ave. Tomorrow is dinner out again. I'm loving it and having a wonderful time. I just don't know how to lose weight while having two or (if I'm feeling crazy) three drinks a night.

Have you ever lost weight while imbibing in work related dinners, cocktails, and cake? How did you do it?

Flying Mango and Whatnot

Today I ran 4 miles. Seriously. I ran 40 minutes at 5.5 MPH. That is pretty darn amazing for me, as I am slow and don't run very far. Also I did the elliptical for 20 min.

Oh, also I had Chex Mix for lunch and had three glasses of wine with dinner. But it was a damn good dinner.

You know what????

This sucks. I am tired. I am hungry. I have PMS. But I logged my food (well, except for the chocolate I took from a co-worker's desk). I did the elliptical this morning and walked for an hour at lunch. Tomorrow will be a better day.

So much Mexican food....

This morning I lifted for 30 min. At lunch I ran with a few walk breaks for 45 min. I ended up doing a little over 4 miles.

I did great with food at work. After work I had to walk Cooper and get right back in the car to head to dinner with friends. We ate at Taco Casa. I had never been there before - it was a fast food place. For $5.08 I got the Mexican platter #2 - a tostada, beans, a quesadilla, and chilaquiles. Thank goodness I ran for 4 miles. I'm now uncomfortably food sipping mint tea. I went to the restaurant too hungry and ended up eating way too much. I may be uncomfortable, but I'm happy I'm still within my target calorie range.

Finding my Stride

Where have I been? I've been at home. Being lazy. Eating too much. I did great on Saturday (getting a 40 mile ride in makes it easy to eat within your calories). Sunday and Monday were another story.

The problem with a day or two off isn't that I cheat on those days. It's that it is so hard to eat a normal amount after just a couple of snack filled days. By 10 AM this morning I'd had peanut M&M's and some Bunny Crackers. I decided to let loose in the morning and make up for it later.

At lunch I met Mandee for some elliptical and catching up (we both slept in). After work I ran 3 miles and did the DVD. I only did level 1 but I upped my weights from 5 lbs to 8 lbs for the second set of weights and the chest fly in circuit 3. Running felt great. It really clears my head and helps me focus on what I need to get done.

I'm headed to Davenport this weekend for another wedding. One bad day won't kill me as long as I can get myself to immediately refocus.

Friday

I didn't enter my food from last night until this morning, but I did OK with food yesterday. I lifted in the morning, ran after work, and did the DVD. Noting new or exciting to report on that front.

Today I went to the farmer's market so I'm now full of papusa and coffee. I'm headed to Cumming for 30 miles of fun on the bike later, so I'm hoping today will be a good day. I'm even going to try making kale chips (because those people at the Grinnell Heritage Farm can get me to buy anything).

Doing Fine

Today I did 30 on the elliptical in the morning. I tried to run at lunch, but after 10 minutes my calves were still painfully tight so I hopped on the elliptical for 20 more minutes. I didn't do the DVD tonight because I was busy getting my hair cut.

I mostly tracked my calories today. I did fine up until dinner when I was too tired to figure out the calories in homemade pizza crust and sauce. Instead of plugging the info in I decided to just pick a frozen pizza to use instead. I'm not sure how accurate it will be, but I figure if anything it is more calories than in homemade pizza.

Tomorrow will be tricky. Instead of working out I'm meeting my friend Derek who up and joined the Army at 33 for lunch. He's back for a week before he ships off for good, so I figure lunch with him is pretty important. I'll try to get a run in after work, depending on how my lower legs feel.