Motivating Monday and Tell Tale Tuesday

I got back from a weekend in Chicago yesterday. I was too lazy to blog, so today is a bonus addition. This week's Motivating Monday is the filthy Christina Aguilera. This is a sing along song that is perfect for working out because she references being sweaty. It makes me feel less awkward about dripping.

Now about that tell tale Tuesday thingy.... Did I mention I was in Chicago last weekend? And we toured 2 breweries? And that there was lots of drinks? And 11 PM burritos the size of my head? I knew I wasn't going to lose this week, but I was still saddened to see the 2.4 pound weight gain this morning. I'm not worried, I know it will come off. This week is busy (two happy hours, one bar crawl, one wedding), but I'll make it through.

Today I did the elliptical at lunch and had only one glass of wine at happy hour. Now I'm headed to the kitchen to make a stir fry.

Just one basil martini away from giving up...

I went to happy hour tonight with some co-workers. I had one martini and a few snacks. I did recognize that I need to keep it to one drink. If I had two I'm pretty sure I would have eaten everything on the menu. I try not to go to happy hour when I'm just getting in gear, it is too easy to fall off the wagon.

Today I tracked my calories. I lifted at 7 and did a run/walk combo for 3 miles at lunch. My hip isn't back to normal yet, but it doesn't really hurt. I had to walk much more than I normally do. It will probably take a while to get my running mojo back.

I'm very stressed at work at the moment. I'm actually going to log off of this computer and fire up my work laptop in a moment. I have a hard time focusing when I'm working 10 hour days. What do you do to keep motivated when work is going crazy?

A Good Fail

Today I went out to lunch instead of working out. I had spinach and artichoke pizza with an alfredo sauce, root beer, and egg rolls. It was divine. After work I had a work sponsored happy hour. It was my intention to go for one glass of wine. Three hours, three glasses of red wine, a mini crab cake, and some cheese later I was on my way home (note passage of time between drinks and food consumed).

On my way home I decided I shouldn't run. I've worked out 4 days in a row, and my muscles have been really tight. I decided some time off would be good. When I was walking Cooper I realized I was very tired. Either I was going to be asleep before John was done with his bike ride or I was going to have to get moving. I opted to get moving and ran three miles.

These were not the fastest miles ever. Amazingly they were faster than my normal runs two months ago. It kind of sucked. I kept telling myself I could stop after the next song. I did take one walk break, but ran three miles total.

I went over my calorie goal for the day. Running three miles does not make up for my lunch and happy hour. Even though I am at a net gain for the day I feel really good about they day. I know that the next time I go to happy hour I will stick to one glass of wine (running after three *really* sucks). I feel like I'm making progress even if the scale doesn't agree.

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?