Hey everyone, sorry I haven't been around in awhile.

My nutrition of the past week or so hasn't been the best, although I have really been trying to keep to the 5 meals a day plan.

Yesterday I completed my very first 5k! I came in at 43:37 - which completed two goals for me 1)to finish the race running across the finish line and 2) to finish under 45 minutes. It was hard, but not any harder than I had thought it might be. I'm looking at a couple races in September that I might sign up for - hopefully shave two or three minutes off my time. :)

Today my plan is to put together a bunch of the recipes I've found so that I have a good amount of ready made food that is also on plan, as well as put together my Meal Plan for the week. I think that's where I really got off track this last week, not having any kind of a meal plan set down.

Exercise:
(a.m.) 30 min. recumbent bike (6 miles)
(p.m.) 45 min ST w/E

Food:
Meal 1: oatmeal, eggs
Meal 2: 1/2 of protein shake (got busy and the rest melted)
Meal 3: veggie omlette, handful fries, 1/4 slice cake*
Meal 4: Cottage Cheese Loaf, spinach, string cheese
Meal 5: Baked sweet potato, pinto beans, spinach

*Today we had lunch catered by one of our vendors. They bought from Zea's Grill which is a steak and seafood type place. The only thing they brought that was not meat were the fries. So I ate around 6 or 7 of them. We also had this MASSIVE anniversary cake given to us by the building's management. Our actual anniversary isn't till Aug 3rd, but oh well. I had a small portion of that.

Exercise:
Wed - 30 min recumbent bike (5.5 miles)
Th - 32 min treadmill intervals (2.3 miles)

So on Tuesday as I was doing my workout out with E my personal trainer, we were talking about my upcoming 5k race. He was telling me that the night before I should eat a lot of pasta/ carbs and that the morning of I should only have at most a banana w/pb. I asked about a protein shake, and he said he wouldn't recommend it since it'd sit pretty heavily.

Now we come to today - my running day. I get up and I have a bowl of oatmeal, two eggs, and a tbsp of pb. I'm feeling pretty good - full, but not overstuffed. I get to the gym and decide that I'm going to try something a little different today - do my run with no incline. Usually I "run" on the flat, and then have an incline of 4 or higher for my "walk" interludes. So, I did that. I was feeling great - even got myself going as fast as 6.5 mph for a good bit of time. Managed to do 2 miles in a bit less than 26 minutes.

Exercise:
45 min ST w/PT.

Food:
Meal 1: cereal w/rice milk
Meal 2: veggie omelette
Meal 3: Smart Ones lasagna florentine, 1/2 serving CC roast
Meal 4: string cheese, 2 baby carrots (they've gone slimy! ugh!)
Meal 5: grilled cheese sandwich from Sonic

Didn't eat according to my meal plan today much at all. Just kind of took whatever was fastest. The day didn't start out well because when my alarm went off at 5:50, my body said NO!!!! So, I didn't actually get up till nearly 6:45. My one day I can actually get into the gym early enough to do 40 - 45 minutes of cardio, and my body totally rebelled.

Exercise:

30 minutes recumbent bike (6 miles)

Food:
Meal 1: Oatmeal, eggs
Meal 2: Protein shake
Meal 3: Cottage Cheese Roast, spinach
Meal 4: string cheese, baby carrots
Meal 5: quinoa, spinach

Didn't do strength training today - my PT called me and told me he wasn't feeling good and asked if I could do it tomorrow instead.

Feeling pretty tired tonight - maybe after affects of my food choices Saturday evening + neighborhood kids w/fireworks till all hours.

My protein shake wasn't very slushy today - probably because my co-worker put it in the fridge for me, instead of me leaving it out throughout my workout/getting ready. It took a long time to eat it.

Exercise: none

Food:
Saturday:
Meal 1: Tri O plex protein bar (freebie, had to try)

Meal 2: Fruity Protein shake

Meal 3: beans, spinach, string cheese, cottage cheese

Meal 4/5: At the ballpark -- free food and drink (my dad's birthday treat)
---------salad, biscuit, cc cookie, sm cup soda
---------salad, baked apples, small portion nachos w/cheese, sm cup soda
---------cup chocolate ice cream w/fudge, sm cup water

* I know, not the best meal 4 & 5. I really tried to take small portions of the not so good for me foods -- and didn't even eat all of what I took. I didn't cheat on my nutrition plan, I just chose to veer off it for a short while.

Exercise:

I took today off

Food:

Meal 1: Protein shake, oatmeal
Meal 2: cereal w/rice dream milk, string cheese
Meal 3: sweet potato fries, eggs, cottage cheese

I got up late today. After eating breakfast, I worked on a number of projects that needed to be done around my home . . . wasn't terribly hungry - more focused on doing my various projects. I'm kind of hungry now, but its about time for me to head to bed. Oh well, I'll survive.

I really liked how the sweet potatoes turned out. I peeled a sweet potato, then sliced it into thin slices or chips. Then, in a ziplock bag, I poured 1/2 cup egg substitute and some spices. Then put the slices in the bag and shook! I baked them in my toaster oven at 375 for about 25 minutes. The egg mixture that didn't get absorbed by the potatoes, fluffed up nicely around the pan. This is definitely a meal I want to do again.

Exercise:

32 minutes treadmill intervals (2.2 miles)

Food:
Meal 1: Protein shake, oatmeal
Meal 2: Cereal w/rice milk
Meal 3: Spinach and swiss cheese pita, 1/2 deviled egg
Meal 4: err ... snickers bar
Meal 5: Smart Choice Lasagna Florentine

Can't really give a nutrient total for today's meals, because Meal 3 came from our office deli. I managed to get off this morning with my food for Meal 2, but totally blanked on bringing eggs or anything else for Meal 3.

Then we got let go at 3 (early holiday release.) I'd planned on taking my almonds/carrots with me to munch on while I headed to the grocery store. Unfortunately, by the time I actually got out of the office, it had completely slipped my mind.

Exercise:

35 minutes strength training (Phase 1; Week 1; Day 1/2)

Food:

Meal 1: Oatmeal, Eggs, Protein Powder

Meal 2: Protein Shake w/banana & Rice Milk (more like a slushee!)

Meal 3: Veggie omlette

Meal 4: 1 oz almonds, baby carrots

Meal 5: Lentils, spinach, cottage cheese

Cals: 1247
Carbs: 160
Fat: 33
Protein: 93

So, you may be wondering what mistake did I make today? Right now I have a cannister of Hemp Protein Powder that I am needing to use up. It goes great in my shakes/smoothies, as well as the pancakes I made on Sunday. I guess you're supposed to put it in your oatmeal . . . NOT your eggs! Ugh! Blech! I barely made it through half of my egg/powder combo.

Exercise:
35 minutes Interval on treadmill; stretching

Food:
Meal 1: Protein Shake, Oatmeal w/ dab of honey

Meal 2: Fruit Salad, .5 oz almonds

Meal 3: Bean Burrito w/eggs & veggies

Meal 4: .5 oz almonds

Meal 5: Quinoa, Cottage Cheese w/pineapples

Cal: 1549
Carbs: 248
Fat:36
Protein: 81

The first Tuesday of each month the bank in our office building buys breakfast from the office building deli and gives it away as a promotional tool. Last month I got a Potato and Egg burrito, fruit salad, and juice. Today, I was planning on just getting the burrito. Unfortunately, they were out and only had something with chicken in it. So, since I hadn't brought anything else, I went with the fruit salad and eating 1/2 of my almonds.

Exercise:
30 minutes Recumbent Bike; stretching (a.m.)
45 minutes Strength Training w/E; stretching (p.m.)

Food:
Meal 1: Oatmeal and scrambled eggs
Meal 2: Eggs on whole wheat toast
Meal 3: Bean burrito + veggies
Meal 4: 1 oz almonds, sm bag baby carrots
Meal 5: Butternut Squash with quinoa

Cal: 1134* Fat: 27 Protein: 67 Fiber: 41

*Ooops! I forgot to add the protein powder in my oatmeal this morning, and I also forgot to eat the veggies with Meal 2. I need to print out my meal plan!

I ate half of my squash last night for supper, after having baked it in my toaster oven for several hours. I knew I wasn't going to have time to do that again today, so I decided to try it in my crockpot. Last night I had also made my oatmeal, there was a good bit of liquid left with the cinnamon and nutmeg seasonings. So, I left that in there, and put my squash face down in the liquid. I set the crockpot to cook on high for 2:30 minutes, then the remainder of the day it was on Warm.

Today was my first day eating on the GHF plan. It was a high-carb day. :)
I made pancakes for breakfast, actually I made enough to freeze for 3 more Sunday breakfasts. :) They were very yummy, and oh so full of protein. It took awhile to make them though - but if I only do it once a month (the labor intensive part) that'll be okay.

One thing I noticed today was that it felt like I was either making food, eating food, or thinking about my next meal. I also spent a bit of time inputting my menu plan on ProTrack (had to add a bunch of foods). It just seems like SO much food!

Before, I would normally have a box of raisins for a mid-morning snack at work. Something extremely easy to transport and no hassle to get ready. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to actually be MAKING something at work almost as soon as I walk in the door. I guess it's something I'll just have to get used to.

Today was my weigh-in day. I also decided to go ahead and take new measurements for the hey of it.

Now, before I say how much I LOST this week, let me say that I ate anywhere from 1300 - 1700 calories per day (sodium levels below 1200), drank at least 2 liters of water per day (closer to 4 most days), and completed every workout session. The previous couple weeks I had been exercising 90% of my workouts, but I was not eating right - lots of junkfood and high-sodium days. So, long story short, my body had a good bit of water weight to lose.

So . . . drum roll please . . . Last Saturday I weighed in at 226.2 lbs. This morning I weighed in at . . . 217.6 lbs!!!! I also lost about 2 inches overall - in one week!

A co-worker of mine rides with me to work most mornings. We've been doing this since our company moved in August, and for the most part it's worked well. This last week and a half though, she has had some really bad problems with her sciatic nerve. This has made her move much more slowly, and as a consequence, get out the door later than usual. I've really tried to be patient and understanding, but this morning as I watched the clock ticking away, and I was sitting there waiting for her . . my frustration level peaked. So, I mentioned to her that I understood she'd been in pain, etc., but would really appreciate it if she could try to be closer to the 7 a.m. departure time. I explained that I need to be ON a machine in the gym by no later than 7:25 a.m. in order to get 30 minutes + stretching completed. She didn't respond too well to this, and it left me feeling bad and wondering if it had been completely selfish of me to even have mentioned it.

Sorry, not feeling creative with titles tonight.

Anyway, today was my 2nd run for the week. I barely completed 2 miles in 30 minutes of walk/run intervals. I can't even say for sure what the intervals were, because some were 2 minutes, some were 3, some were 1 (running). I think maybe I'm trying to hard to get back to my previous pacing, and just accept that right now I probably need to keep the pace at 2 and 2 - trying to do more isn't helping.

Food today:
Breakfast: Fruit Smoothie (banana, frz fruit, hemp protein, flaxseed, pb powder, water)
PWS: Morningstar Veggie Cake - Southwestern Style

So this morning was my wt session on my own. I ended up getting to the gym a little earlier than usual (because my carpooler was sick) so I decided I'd do 3 sets. In all, I took about 40 minutes.

My workout was all on machines (5 upper body, 3 lower body), except for 12! ab exercises I did in the Captain's Chair. I forgot to write down what weights I did for each machine. Actually, started to list them out here, but couldn't remember the names of all the machines! It ended up that I ran kind of short on time in the end, so had to cut my stretching a bit. But I felt that I had a good workout overall.

Exercise: 30 minutes on treadmill - 2 min walk (3.5 mph) /
4 min run (4.5mph)intervals.

Food:

Breakfast: Fruit Smoothie
PWS: Morningstar Farms Veggie Cake Southwestern style
Lunch: Amy's Organic Bean and Cheddar Burrito; 1/2 cup mixed veggies
Mid PM: 1 oz almonds
Supper: 1/2 cup quinoa w/ 1/2 cup mushrooms; 1 Tbsp Nutritional Flakes; 1 Tbsp Honey
PM snack: 4 prunes, 1 smartie roll

Today as soon as I got home, I put my gym bag away and got started on supper. While the quinoa was cooking I started the dishwasher and picked up a bit. After I ate, I put 16 servings of pinto beans into these nifty foodcuber things to freeze tonight. Tomorrow I'll take those out and put in another container, then do the remaining 16 servings of beans.

This morning I did 30 min cardio on the recumbent bike, and then I did something that I don't normally do - had a snack right after working out.

Having a post-workout snack has made me have to change up my normal routine a bit. Usually I get up about 6 a.m. and have breakfast (usually a fruit smoothie) then get ready to go to the gym. By 8a.m. I am hitting the showers, then try to be at my desk by 8:30 a.m. I take synthroid to keep my hypo in check, and it is supposed to be taken at least two hours after eating, and then wait an hour to eat. Normally I take it as soon as I get to my desk, so I'm ready for my mid-morning snack.

I think I am the poster child for the roller coaster ride of weight loss.

My ride started in 1989 when my mom and I attended a Weight Watcher's meeting. I was 14 and 175lbs. All along this ride, I have held strongly to the belief that I wasn't going to take any shortcuts - no pills, powders, potions, etc. for me. Instead, like so many people, I joined programs like Weight Watcher's or Weigh Down multiple times. I'd experience success for a short while, but then eventually go back to what was easy and comfortable, and voila! the weight would come back.

My Junior year of college (1995), my mom was diagnosed with a Pituitary tumor. Through testing, they found out that she had an under active thyroid - or hypothyroidism. Lo and behold, it was decided to check my thyroid levels as well, and it turned out that I too had an under active thyroid. Finally! Something I could point to and say "That's the reason I have so much extra fat!" Um . . . maybe. Or it more likely could be the foods I was eating and the amount of exercise I wasn't getting.