Day 57...MEATLESS WEDNESDAY!

At work today one of my girls said I was losing weight...This was the first time someone other than me or Jim has noticed.  I was on cloud nine, but tried not to make a big deal about it.  All they know at work is that I am trying to be good and exercise.  Myself and some of the girls from work are going to try an Aqua Zumba class next week thanks to Groupon!  I can't wait to try something new!

I came home from work and walked/ran on the treadmill for about an hour.  I tried bumping up the speed a bit to 3.2 walk and 4.2 run, but that only lasted for two intervals before I went back to 3.0 walk and 4.0 run.  About half way through I hit the emergency stop and had to start over.  I am tempted to tape it into place, but I am scared I will actually need it someday.  Oh well!

Tonight was Meatless Wednesday.  I made this:

Spinach & Vermicelli Soup with Fried Egg

Except mine was actually Kale & Angel Hair Soup with Fried Egg.

I thought it was DELISH!!  I used the Dreamfields lower carb angel hair pasta.  It was still a carb fest, but oh so good.  I ate it with chopsticks and felt so Asain by association.  I also added some of Trader Joe's South African Smoke seasoning and pepper.  Jim was not as thrilled with it, but said it was pretty good.  He did not eat much...probably had something to do with the two bowls of cereal he had to hold him over.  I will definitely be making this again.

Days 55 and 56

Yesterday I came home from work and rode the bike 2.78 miles.

This morning I went into work late so I did my upper body strength training.  I can tell you...I HATE ARM CIRCLES.  I worked late, so I came home and walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes.  Heather suggested I improve my walking speed so I built up to 3.5 and did that for 20 minutes before going back down to 3.0 for the last 10 minutes.

Tomorrow I plan on doing a walk/run.  I think Wednesday will be meatless monday.

I got my lab results back and I am "normal"...what do they know?  I am disappointed to see my cholesterol was not on it.  I will be requesting that test when I see the doctor in March.

Days 53 and 54

Saturday was my rest day.  I spent the day with Mom and we took down my Christmas tree.  FINALLY!!  We went fishing on the dock and Mom caught two bream and I caught two bass.  Jim caught nothing.  Bwahahahaha!



Today I took Mom to the airport to go back home <sniff>.  Jim went diving and left me all alone.  I did my strength training, my walk/run and some ab work.  I feel like my recovery after running between intervals is starting to get quicker. Improvement, YAY!!

The scale did not love me today.  I weighed in @ 250.6--that is +.04.  Could have been worse.  I was off my game with Mom in town and all her good cooking. ;)

I am excited because at the end of next week I am taking new pics to post and taking my measurements.  I am looking forward to some non-scale victory.

Days 51 and 52

Yesterday I only rode my bike again.  I took a nap in the afternoon after loafing with Mom and was grouchy and unwilling to exercise.  Mom, while I was sleeping, cooked a feast of steamed fried chicken.  It smelled so good when I woke up.  I ate 2 helpings and finished Mom's.  Bad Lisa.  Steamed fried chicken is my FAVORITE meal of Mom's.

Today I got on the scale and wanted to cry.  I was up 3 lbs.  So I took the bike out for my 2 mile ride.  Later I did my strength training and increased the weight to 5lbs from 3lbs.  Disclaimer: I reverted back to the 3 lbs for arm circles and for part of the second video.  After I took Mom to dialysis  I came home and walked on the treadmill for an hour @ 3.0 with 10 one minute intervals running @ 4.0.  I am beat.
 

Day 50

I woke up this morning pretty achy.  After my morning coffee with Mom, I took the bike out for a ride this morning and went 2 miles.  I wanted to stop after the 1.5 and go home, but I told myself if I did it yesterday I could do it today.

When we got home late this afternoon I took a nap.  I was wore out after running around all day.  For dinner I made my Asian Chicken Salad.  Yummo.

I did not exercise tonight; I read online that you first start out training to run you should do it every other day to let your body recover and adjust.  Back on the treadmill tomorrow night.

Tomorrow morning I am getting my labs drawn and have a follow up appointment with my doctor March 18.  I am hoping for good results.  It has been a while since I have had labs done.

Day 49

I am off this week with Mom in town.  It is nice to get up and not have to rush to get to work.  I am sooo not a morning person.  I took the bike out for a ride and went for 2 miles instead of my customary 1.5.  Later in the day Mom and I went to The Seminole Casino in Immokalee.  We made our annual donation to the tribe and came home.  I got back on the treadmill tonight and walked for an hour at 3.0 with 10, one minute intervals of "running" at 4.0.   I am a sweaty mess right now.  Last night I found this:

I think I will be making an order soon.  On another note...tonight we are having Mom's chicken and rice for dinner!!  MMMMMMMMMM. I will try not to overindulge. ;)

Days 47 and 48

Sunday, as promised, I took the bike out for a ride in the morning and walked 30 minutes on the treadmill.

Today I also rode the bike 1.5 miles and walked/ran for 1 hour.  I only ran for a total of 7 minutes, in 1 minute intervals, but you have to start somewhere.  I have a new goal...to run a 5K.  I have my sister, Heather, on board with me to do the annual Turkey Day Run in Charleston, SC.  I am super excited.  I have never ran a 5K, but she has and I know some others who can hopefully give me tips to train...Liza!  Anyone who would like to join us is welcome.  We have almost 9 months to train...so no excuses!


Tonight for meatless Monday (I am actually doing meatless Monday on a Monday) I am making this:

I just had to put in back in the oven because the sweet potato in it was still raw.  Let's hope that after an hour of cooking it will be done because I am STARVING!!!  It is starting to smell good, so here's hoping it tastes good!

Days 43, 44, 45, 46, and 47

Goooood  Morning!!  Forgive me for not posting for a while.  Here is the rundown of the last few days...

Day 43, Wednesday:   I did not get up early to exercise.  Boo.  We had our early Valentine's dinner @ Misto.  It was delicious.  Needless to say I did not exercise when I got home either.

Day 44, Thursday:  I came home from work and finished my cleaning for Mom.  Unless you count the cleaning as physical activity, I did not exercise.  I also used some of the enchilada meat mixture leftover from Monday's Bubble up Enchilada and mixed it with brown rice to make stuffed peppers. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Day 45, Friday--What a nightmare:  Work was great up until 5:45 when I was supposed to leave and there was a balancing snafu that kept us at work until 7:30.  Poor Mom, I forgot to tell her I was running late and Jim was coming to pick her up instead.  I felt really bad.  When we all finally met up at home about 8:30, we decided to go out to eat.  We were hoping since it was later that it would not be so bad getting in someplace.  We decided on a Cuban restaurant near the house as Mom requested to go there sometime during her visit and we thought it would not be so bad on Valentine's day.  We got a table easily, but it took 15 min for someone to take our drink order, another 10 or so to get the drinks and bread and over an hour to get the food.  While the wait was long the food was good.  We did not get home until well after 10.  I went straight to bed.

Day 46, Saturday:  I did not want a repeat of the last few days, so I took my bike out for a ride early.  Later in the evening  I walked about 45 min on the treadmill.

Today, day 47...I'm not sure what the plan for today is yet, but I am going to finish my coffee and take the bike out for a ride.  I weighed in this morning @ 250.2 for loss of 3.4lbs for the week.

Day 42

Today was my early day at work.  I came home and cleaned house for Mom.  Not quite done, but it will be much easier come Thursday night to finish.

I walked 45 minutes on the treadmill in my new shoes.  I have to say that I love them.  I listened to my body, as my friend Emily suggested, and brought down the incline when my foot start hurting.  That helped tremendously.  The last thing I need is another foot injury.

For dinner tonight we had the leftover Bubble Up Enchilada.  It reheated well and was yummy in my tummy.  Tomorrow night we are going out early for Valentine's, YAY!  My goal is to get up early to exercise, because I am going to need it.  Jim has already told me he plans on dessert....

Day 41...Just another manic Monday!

Another super busy Monday @ work.  I was told that they officially hired a new store manager, and that he/she is a current store manager from Nebraska.  That is exciting because they will hit the ground running and won't need to go to training.  It will take a load off me!  I had to stay late for a conference call and I binged on fruit snacks.  Bad Lisa.

I did come home to make dinner.  Tonight's dinner was WW Bubble Up Enchiladas

Mine did not bubble up quite so pretty...maybe if I had put it in a smaller dish to bake.  I added a can of rinsed black beans and a small can of drained mexi-corn.  I also doused it liberally with hot sauce.  maybe next time I could just buy the med enchilada sauce.  It was pretty good.  Jim rated it a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10 for my "diet meals".  I also used lean ground beef, but if I made it again I would use ground turkey.

No, I did not exercise tonight.  I am using it as a rest day since I exercised both Saturday and Sunday.  I get off work early tomorrow so I will have time to clean house and get ready for Mom and exercise.  It will be helpful that I will not have to cook dinner as we will be eating the leftovers.

day 40--New Kicks

This morning I changed out the seat on my bike to the no pressure one I ordered from Amazon, and took it for a ride.  Well, the back of my rear was OK, but now the there is too much pressure where my legs meet my rear.  I will try readjusting it a little downward before my next ride to see if that is any better.  BTW, I made it through the entire ride with out stopping.

Later Jim took me to The Run Shoppe to get my new shoes.  I am now the proud new owner of the Brooks Addiction.  They actually measured my feet, help me put the shoes on and the nice young man even tied my shoes.  They have excellent arch support and the sole is very solid.  I was told it was a good walking and running shoe and of course it was recommended by my doctor.  I wore them out of the store.  It was not until I got home and looked at the box that I noticed that they are wide width.  That was a blow to my vanity, but hey if the shoe fits...

I also weighed in @ 253.6 this morning for a weekly loss of 1.4 lbs.  I'll take it!

Day 39--Mexican!

Today we had to take the boat in to be serviced.  We take to Port Charlotte, which is about an hour plus from the house.  While Jim was working on the trailer, I readjusted the bike seat and then went for a ride.  Still uncomfortable, but it is probably as good as it is going to get.  I will probably try out the new seat next week.  The good news is I was able to finish the same ride without stopping this time.  I kept telling myself:

I also think a big difference today was the fact that it was much cooler.  Also I did not take my water with me to tempt me to stop and drink.  Don't worry it is not that long a ride. ;)

So after that we hit the road and dropped off the boat.  Then we went to the best Mexican restaurant we have found since moving to FL....La Esperanza....oh how do I love thee.  Thank God this restaurant is over an hour from the house or I would never diet again. This is what a cheat meal should be.  I literally danced in my seat with every bite I took.  I told Jim that I was OK if this were to be my last meal.  Truly Heaven.  I did resist ordering a margarita or beer.

To make up for this I came home and walked on the treadmill for an hour.  I played with incline slowly upping it to 7 and then slowly lowering it back down.  I stayed at a nice easy pace of 2.5 the entire time.  I did try to run @ 4.5 but it lasted only a minute before I put it back down.

At the doctor's and Susan's recommendation I am going to buy better shoes tomorrow.

Day 38 --what a waste

After work we went out for dinner.  For the second week on a row, Jim wanted pizza.  I am not a huge fan of pizza, so we split a salad and I ordered a chicken sandwich.  It sucked. I am pissed at myself for having an unhealthy meal that I did not even enjoy.  It was such a waste.  We boxed it to take home, but I threw it out as soon as we got back.  We also ordered a cannoli, which I normally love, but even this wasn't very good.  I will workout tomorrow.

Day 37--MEATLESS THURSDAY!!!

I got off early from work today so I took the opportunity to take the bike out for a ride.  It was BRUTAL.  I did the same ride Saturday, but today I stopped 4 times to drink water and rest my legs.  I thought exercising was supposed to get easier as you did it.  Oy.  Saturday the horn of bicycle seat hurt my naughty no-no.  I went online and ordered a new no pressure seat.
When I got it I realizes it did not have springs on it like my current seat does.  I did a little research and found out you can adjust the angle of the seat.  So before my ride today I angled the seat down.  Well I angled it down too far and today there was too much pressure on my beehind.  I am going to try and adjust it one more time before I try out my new seat.  We shall see how it goes.

Since I was home early I had time to cook and we had meatless Monday tonight.  I made Spaghetti Zucchini Pie

I loved it and thought it was delicious.  Jim was not terribly impressed--he said it was just OK.  I think he was just unhappy with the number of dirty dishes I made preparing this....WORTH IT!!

Day 36

Today was nothing special, but I did manage to come home and exercise.   I just stuck with my strength training and core routine from Sparkpeople.  I am tempted to try kettle bells.  They  are supposed to be a great total workout.  Things to ponder.  Tomorrow will be meatless Thursday.

Days 33, 34 and 35

Day 33 was Sunday.  I did not do much.  I felt sinusy so I used that as my excuse to sit on the couch and watch TV.  I was very disappointed that Netflix did not have the final 8 episodes available until the end of February.  BOO!

Monday was a a super busy day at work and I was pretty tired.  I managed to go to the grocery store, but it was too late and I was too hungry to attempt meatless Monday.  I also did not exercise.

Today I did not get out of work until 6:30 and I was so tempted to come home and sit on the couch and veg, but I had to remind myself

So I got on the treadmill and walked.  I did do more than the doctor recommended, but I figure I will do something different tomorrow to rest my foot.

I will go meatless one day this week, probably Thursday.

Days 31 and 32, Month end Review

Friday I got home from work and went out with Jim for dinner.  He had pizza and I had a salad, although I did eat his crust.  We came home and finished a movie we had begun Thursday night.  I did not work out.  Side note, my foot was hurting more last night after a busy day at work.

Today to rest my foot, I plan on taking out the long neglected bike for some cardio.  I will also do some strength training and am going to restart the planking challenge--modified so that I am on my knees instead of my feet as Susan suggested.  My friend and inspiration, Renee, is doing over a 2 min plank at this point.

In a way this first month has passed quickly.  I hope that I am building habits that will sustain me going forward.  My vow to start was to move more, and I am definitely doing that.  There have been days that I skipped and days that I have eaten terribly, but I did not let them derail me.  I have so many supporters who have kept me motivated and accountable and I want to thank-you all--especially my Dad, who never fails to leave a supportive comment on every post.  

At this point I am not following a strict diet.  I am just trying to make healthier choices when I eat and avoid fast food.  Fast food is my downfall.  Last year I had a fast food lunch probably 90% of the days I worked.  This has been detrimental not only to my waistline and health, but also to my wallet.  Eating out adds up in more way than one.  This month I have packed my lunch most days and on the few days I did not I picked up a salad or subway.  I know at some point the weight loss will slow down and at that point I will have to start watching what I eat more carefully, but right now I plan to continue on as I have.

My starting weight Jan 1 was 268.2 and as of today I weigh 255 for a total loss of 13.2 lbs.  If you are reading this blog online (not your mobile device) you can check out the sidebar that shows my measurements.  I have lost a total of 8.5 in this month.  At the end of next month I will retake pictures and post for a comparison.