Adventures in Juicing

I decided to start juicing because what I did the previous week, just cutting back, obviously didn't work. Small changes over time are the most effective, but I don't have time for small changes!

Sunday - When I woke up, I decided that it was time to unearth the Juiceman that my parents gave me weeks ago. I made a commitment to have only juice that day, but had no idea what challenges would be thrown my way...

Carrot, celery, ginger, kale, apple and lemon.

It started out easy. It always does, doesn't it? I made the juice above, and it was delicious! pretty good. Much better than some of my protein shakes. I was committed. But then, when my boyfriend declined joining his friends for football - they decided to bring the party over to his house. I was actually doing the Insanity workout when they showed up, but joined them for a game of Bocce ball on his lawn as soon as I was done.

You honk, they drink!

To be a good hostess, I made a beer, pizza, appetizer run. I don't drink, so that wasn't tempting, but let me tell you: driving home with a fresh, hot pizza in my car knowing that I couldn't have any of it was one of the hardest things I've done in my life. Perhaps I love torture, because I even baked them cookies, while I begrudgingly sipped another batch of juice. All I kept thinking was wow, I really picked the wrong day to juice. But, it was actually the best day because I would have had all of that!

Monday - I ate normal for breakfast and lunch, but went to Mother's market after my massage and got a 16 oz. juice. I used to think their $4.25 price was high, but now that I realize just how many vegetables you need to buy to make that much juice, it's almost worth it. Only having juice for dinner left me really hungry as I was trying to fall asleep, but I felt really good when I woke up.

Tuesday - I had a big salad (also from mother's) for lunch and was planning to juice for dinner, but we rode our bikes to old town Tustin. I ordered three pulled pork sliders, but only had two. I'm starting to notice now that less food fills me up!

Wednesday - Ate normal during the day, but juiced again for dinner, using Andra's recipe: Detox Mojito-1/2 c fresh basil,1 english cucumber,1/2 lime zest and pith removed,1 apple cut into wedges. Starting with basil, juice everything. Stir and enjoy. Well, that's what I was planning to do. But, it was game 1 of the world series, and my boyfriend wanted ribs at the Tustin Garage. Half a rack was only $10...how could I say no? But, I could have said no to following that with a hot fudge sundae.

Thursday - Time for the weigh in. I normally weigh in on Fridays, but will be away at a conference. Imagine my disappointment, again, when I realized that I had gained a half pound!!!  This blog was supposed to be about my success not my failure and disappointment! That's 3.5 total loss, minus 2 total gain for 1.5 pound loss. That's it??? I thought I would have lost 6 pounds at least by now!

In trying to identify what went wrong, I realize that while I did do well on Sunday and Monday, I had too much last Friday after I was disappointed by the gain. I had pizza and TWO cupcakes. Also, I didn't exercise nearly as much because I couldn't get away for a lunch run and didn't make time for the Insanity workout. Also, I am most likely holding on to some extra water weight from all the sodium in last night's dinner.

Unlike last week, I am not going to let this gain be an excuse to say forget it and eat too much. I'm headed in to Hollywood to see my friend Jen, and we're going for sushi. NO DESSERT! Then, I will be at the CASC conference Friday and Saturday - all day. I'm hoping that being held captive will help prevent me from snacking! But, it will also prevent me from exercising, so I need to do something on Sunday - maybe it's time to dust off my road bike, or go for a long hike.

Week Two: Regression!

My commitment to update this blog with my progress (or, lack thereof) on a weekly basis is helping hold me accountable...or so I thought. I cut back a little on the weekend...but pretty much ate what I wanted. Then, Monday rolled around and the idea of writing the blog was looming. I write a little bit each night, and the daily act helps keep me focused.

Sure, not many people may read this blog...but just the act of writing it, and knowing it's out "there" forces me to be more conscious of my choices. 
But this week, in spite of my efforts, I didn't make any progress; 

I actually gained 1.5 lbs from last week! 

Monday- I thought I would start the Insanity workout, but it starts with a fitness test.  The fitness test was only 25 minutes, and consisted of a lot of plyometrics. What are plyometrics, you ask? Pretty much the hardest thing ever. Short, powerful, explosive movements using bursts of energy. It's exercise that allows muscles to exert maximum force in a short time. I followed this torture with a 3 mile walk with his huskies and had a protein shake for dinner. Good day.

Tuesday- I ran 3 miles in 31:31 and felt like I was running in mud. My legs were super heavy from just the 25 min. fitness test, but I got through it. That evening, I attended the Forks Over Knives screening and had an acai bowl for dinner. When it was time for bed, I was hungry and instead of making something to eat, I just ate a piece of watermelon. I was confident that when Friday rolled around, I would definitely show a loss! 

My week was off to a good start with this lunch!

Wednesday - I went to Disneyland and thought that since I had done so well the previous day, I could have a cheat day. This was where I went wrong. Though I didn't eat a large quantity, I did have a Wetzel Pretzel...wrapped around a giant hot dog...with a side of cheese. 

Thursday - I thought I started the day well, with a banana, OJ with chia seeds and had a healthy lunch of soup and tabouli. I was planning to have a light dinner...but, the Tigers were playing the Yankees - about to beat the Yankees and go to the World Series - and my boyfriend wanted to stop at El Torito for happy hour. So, I caved and had two tacos, a ton of chips and a lot of his nachos. I was a bit disappointed in myself, but continued on with my plan to so my first real Insanity workout: 

Friday - Time for my weigh-in at the nurse's office. I was really disappointed to see a 1.5 pound gain. Still a 2 pound overall loss...but a setback for sure. Decided Friday would be my cheat day...two pieces of pizza and two cupcakes, all before noon. Then, I made dinner with Nathan's sister and didn't skip dessert.

Saturday started with a bike ride and new resolve to do well. Oh, and a little of the pumpkin pudding we made for dessert...

Week One: Progress!

Okay, I must confess: I did not change a thing last weekend with regard to my eating. As I piled on dessert prior to dinner, or polished off and entire Greek omelet, hash browns and toast, my excuse/justification was: It's okay - I blogged about it, so it has to happen; it will happen!

Monday, I managed to get in a lunch-time run of 3 miles in 29:36. We've been trying to go Monday, Wednesday and Friday and this is our 5th week doing of doing it. I also walked the dogs 3 miles, for a grand total of 6 miles. But again, I did not change my eating. I had several handfuls of candy corns (I cannot buy another bag!) and an ice-cream sandwich before dinner!

Tuesday was much better. We had a counseling meeting with district personnel and someone brought bagels. They were even being toasted and smelled so good! But the commitment to weigh in at the end of the week and very real danger of having to report ZERO pounds lost helped me pass them up, in spite of the fact that they stared at me the entire meeting. I would say that I also heard one whisper my name, but that would just be weird. I also managed to get in a 600 yard swim! I would have loved to stay in the pool longer than 20min., but at least it was something. When I'm being good with my workouts, I am more inclined to make better food choices...even though it makes sense to eat better when I'm not working out. But I even passed up the work nacho bar because 1) I couldn't afford any additional time and 2) I had worked out, so I felt like being good. I also did not eat anything bad once I left.

Wednesday was even better than Thursday because I ran again and ate well. No sugar, no simple carbs, except fruit! 

Thursday I thought for sure I might blow it because when I got home, because again, I had a handful of candy corns. But I didn't use that foot-off-the-wagon as an excuse to fall completely off! I ate a really light dinner, and walked 2 1/2 miles.

Friday - It was time for the big weigh-in!!!! I use the scale at our nurse's office. On the short walk over, I evaluated my casual Friday attire and told myself that clearly these jeans and sweater were heavier than what I wore last week...so, if the scale didn't show any results, that was why. But to my shock, surprise and delight... 

I lost 3.5 pounds!

Finding this out made my day! On the 3 mile run, we had the fastest time to date: 28:52! Success breeds success. This little boost was exactly what I needed going into the weekend to stay on track. I even passed up staff cake which I never do! Hopeful that week 2 will be just as good...or better!

Almost, but not quite - time to REFOCUS!

In my last blog post, I wrote about backing off from distance running, and struggling with no longer having high mileage, since that has been such a large part of my identity for over a decade. I also wrote about my goal to loose 8-10 pounds before Hawai'i, which was 30 days away.

I fell short of that goal, but was happy with the 7 pounds I lost. 

Then, we went to Oregon and the new school year started...and I was busy enjoying life and somehow, those 7 pounds found their way back to me. And then a few.

Now, I sit hear again, with 47 days until our next trip to Hawai'i and it's time to get serious.

So instead of not updating for months, I'm going to provide a weekly summary of my progress/workouts/goals/results - something; anything! Somehow, putting it in writing helps hold me accountable.

Just what did I think was going to happen with food like this?

And I need to be held accountable, because I just keep saying "it starts tomorrow!" Yesterday, our secretary was going to McDonalds, and offered to pick something up. So I had a McMuffin. But then, I had pizza for lunch - the biggest slice I've ever seen - and then a Slurpee on the way home. My dinner was a handful of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, and about 10 Halloween pumpkins. What happened to my raw broccoli and hummus? My baked chicken and asparagus? Having sugar as a treat, instead of daily?

In the interest of full disclosure - and tracking my progress, I'm going to give you my real weight. Not my minus 5 lbs weight, not my driver's licence weight, my real-honest-to-goodness-what-I-weighed-today-in-the-nurse's office-with-all-my-clothes-on-but-no-shoes-and-I-can't-believe-it's-really-my-weight: 146.

Before I get on my flight to Kona in November 20th - for Thanksgiving, our 1 year anniversary and his 31st birthday, I will have a maximum weight of 136.

To achieve this, I'm going to continue running 3 days a week with Ann-Marie at lunch (this is our 4th week!), continue walking as much as possible, start counting my calories (1,500 max with only one cheat day per week) and, I ordered the Insanity workout!