Breakthrough!!!

Just over a half hour ago, I sat down at my computer to write today's post.  Then it dawned on me that I hadn't worked out yet.  Today is a treadmill day for crying out loud!  I could feel the excuses bubbling up to the surface.  I had just moved a bunch of crap around in my basement because it started to take on water after last night's torrential downpour.  That could count as a workout, right?  AND my right shoulder joint is hurting for some reason - probably slept wrong.  But that could be an excuse to not work out, right?  What about my knee pain or foot pain even?  Well, sure I could use all those reasons and probably come up with a couple more.  But I decided to just get on the stinkin' treadmill and get it over with already.

BREAKTHROUGH!!!!!

I actually talked myself INTO a work out.  Woot!  And really, I have you to thank for it.  Seriously.  I didn't want to sit down and write another post where I didn't work out that day.  Believe it or not, blogging can be very motivational.

I thought about running during this workout too, but I'm gonna save that for the road.  I really want to be outdoors when I run.  I know it won't always be possible, but it's definitely preferable.

In researching the C25K (Couch to 5K) training plan, I'm thinking of modifying it a bit.  Here's why...

Week 1 Workout 1 starts with a brisk 5-minute warm-up walk.  No problem with this one.

Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.  And there's the problem.

Right now, at this weight and fitness level, it would be like a heart attack invitational - I kid you not - if I ran for 60 seconds.

Oh and did I mention altitude?  The altitude here is over a mile above sea level.  Oh how I miss sea level.

ANYWAY, I'm going to start with either 10, 15 or 30 seconds of running.  I'm sure for awhile I'll be checking my watch and struggling, but eventually, I'll make it to Week 1 Day 1.

I'm a little worried about my excess weight causing injury.  That's why I want to take it kind of slow.  Well, that and the very real possibility of a heart attack.  But I really really want to do this running thing.  I've always been able to do whatever I set my mind to.  Running will not be any different.  Then, after I'm addicted, I will take my gym with me where ever I go.

In other news, I was supposed to have a doc appointment this past Monday.  Well, the office called and cancelled because the doc was sick.  Now, I wait two weeks and try again.  However, that gives me the opportunity to get my blood work done before the appointment and get results the day of.  I had it done around this time last year, but I also weighed about 20 pounds less too.  Oh yeah, I gained 30 pounds between August of last year and May of this year.  Ten months - 30 pounds - without even trying.  What happened?  A desk job, that's what happened.  A desk job and no activity whatsoever.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm very thankful for my job.  I just wish it was a bit more active.  I get up and walk when I can, but it's not long and not often enough.  That's another reason why I want to run.  Stress relief.  I know there are way more stressful jobs than mine, but mine is nonetheless, stressful at times.

Ok, so this post is long enough, but I just had an interesting idea on workout accountability.  Butttttttt since it's getting late AND this post is getting long, I'll tell you next time...

Have an excellent weekend!!

Last day of visit / Running book list

Today is my son's last day hangin' with us.  He catches a plane in the morning.  I thought about working late today to make up for the time off I'm taking tomorrow dropping him at the airport.  But then I figured I'll just work late tomorrow - after he left - means more time with him now.  All that to say I didn't work out today.  Ate ok though.  But not enough water - again.

I wonder if this will ever get easier.  I hope so.  I've been at it for over 3 months - you'd think it wouldn't be so easy to slip up, but it is.  It truly is.  I know this.  This ain't my first rodeo <she says with a strong southern accent>!!  How many times do we have to learn a lesson before we ACK!!!  What am I saying?  It's not like I didn't CHOOSE to skip my workout.  I did.  I chose that.  I accept the consequences as well.  Moving on...

I've been looking into running books lately.  It started out by accident.  There was this conversation at work that lead me to check out a book electronically from the library (btw, how cool is that?!?).  The book is "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall.  It's about the Tarahumara Indians of the Copper Canyons of Mexico.  It's on the best seller list, so you may have heard of it, but I hadn't.  I'm not much of a non-fiction reader, but this is a very well written book.  I'll give it a solid review later, but for now I'll just say that it's about this guy (McDougall) who looks for and finds this tribe of the world's greatest distance runners.  They can run hundreds of miles without rest - amazing.

While I'm still reading "Born to Run" I'm also looking for other good books on running that will inspire me to get out there.  I'm thinking of these:

"Pre"

"The Courage to Start"

"Running & Walking for Women Over 40"

"5-Minute Plantar Fasciitis Solution"

"Daniels Running Formula"

"Paula Radcliffe Paula: My Story So Far"

I'm not sure where to start or even if I'll read them all.  I just know I'd really like to run.  I know I won't be able to do much at first.  I also know my knees/feet may not be able to take it.  Motrin may be my new best friend.  But I'll never get anywhere unless I try.

I know where I'm starting though - I downloaded an app a few months ago and just haven't worked up to using it yet - "Couch to 5K."  I may repeat several weeks of the 8-week program, but that's ok, because I feel like I'm worse than the "couch potato" more like "in bed with covers over my head shaking in fear of pain!"  Anyway, it's a starting point and along with that, I'd like to fill my brain with running knowledge and inspiration.

So, have you read any good books on running?  Please share - I'd love the input!

How to eat out at a BUFFET!!

So, I started on this post early because I didn't know what time I'd be back from dinner... 

We're meeting friends for dinner and to catch up each others' lives.  And we're eating out.  I knew we would, but fortunately it's only one day this week.  

But wait, it's a buffet.  I don't have a lot of control when it comes to those, but I'm going to try to stick to meat and veggies tonight.  Meat is expensive and veggies are good for you - sounds like a winning combo, right?  Yeah, right - I always try to eat my money's worth at these places, uggghhhh!  It's a new place for me too - a Brazilian Grill.  Never done that before, so it should be interesting - and filling!  This was a last minute thing too, so I'd already eaten according to plan all day.  If I'd known, I'd have cut back a bit in preparation. 

Ok, we're back from dinner.  It was AWESOME!!!  Very cool experience with the meat servers coming to your table.  I had several different marinated steaks, sausage, bacon wrapped filet mignon and I even tried a teensy tiny taste of marinated chicken heart (yep, tastes like chicken!).  They basically cook it and bring it to all the tables on a skewer then slice you a bite-sized piece right on your plate.  I waited til I had tried all the meats-maybe eight bites, then went and grabbed a nice salad, some fruit, and after that, a small spoonful (maybe a heaping tablespoon size) each of brown beans, black beans and rice.  Oh and I had water to drink.  

No room for dessert of course, but we did see the dessert tray.  There was this cake called "Death by Chocolate" and I'm fairly certain it would have been true had I tried to eat it.  If you can imagine your standard two-layer chocolate cake, then just make it SIX LAYERS THICK!!!  Oh my gosh I can't imagine trying to eat that alone.  It was easily 6 servings - probably 12 and literally a 12 inches from the top of the first layer to the plate.  Anyway, I was fine without it and so was my wallet!

I don't know if that was the best way to eat at this particular restaurant.  But I was very satisfied when I left.  I know I ate too much, but I wasn't in pain like I usually am after a buffet-type of meal.  I felt like I was on this protein high (or low?) after all that meat.  And a bit sleepy too lol!  

In answer to my title exclamation though... How to eat out at a buffet?  I came up with some "rules" I can tell myself

1. Well, first get over the cost. All-you-can-eat places are typically pricey.
2. Next, you don't literally have to EAT all you CAN!
3. If you eat meat and want to feel full, eat a meat portion first and add on a side of veggies or salad that fills half the plate.
4. If you like, after you've had meat and veggies, you could go back and sample (like a tablespoonful) some of those "carb-loaded" treats you love so much.  If there are just too many choices, pick your top five favorites and remind yourself that the restaurant will likely be here next week and you can come back and they will cook more food.

Now, if we stick to those 4 rules, I bet we can walk out of a buffet-type restaurant for less than 600 calories.  What do ya think?  Can we do it?!?!?

Finally, the fitness notes of today... my eating was questionable (I came up with the "rules" AFTER I got home from the buffet!)  I walked a little, but not nearly what I wanted to do. And I didn't drink enough water.  Good thing it's only Wednesday and I can kick it into high gear for the rest of the week!  

How's your week going?

Do You Pronate?

Used the headphones today during my workout and they were great!  It was truly serendipity that I found those things!  We were actually out shopping for new running shoes for my son.  I took him to a shoe store that analyzes your running and then recommends highly overpriced the right type of shoe for your type of gait.  It would seem my son inherited my overpronation.  He got to try on several pairs of shoes then run out the door and jog around in the back parking lot to see how they felt.  Oddly enough, he chose the exact same brand and style as me - Brooks Addiction.  I've got customized orthotic inserts for mine due to plantar fasciitis, but isn't that weird that he chose the same ones?  He didn't even know until afterwards.  Haha dude, you got shoes like your mom!!!  I only pick on him a little - he's 22, he can take it though - plus he got new shoes, right?  Check these out...

That huge sole is what makes these so awesome - lots of
support and cushion when you move!

Have you ever checked out your walking or running gait?  It can really mean a world of difference if you suffer from foot or knee pain or even shin splints.  Here's a pic of pronation...

If you check the wear-pattern on a well worn pair of old shoes, you might be able to see it there as well if you've never done the treadmill test.  (Btw, the test is typically free!)

After my son picked out his shoes, I asked the sales dude if it would be ok for him to jump on the treadmill and record his run again with the shoe helping to correct.  Wow!  You wouldn't believe the difference - you could actually see it.  Everything lined up just like it was supposed to - how cool?!?  So, yes good running/walking shoes can be expensive, but it just might be worth it.

Change of subject... I finally trimmed my puppies' nails yesterday.  I don't think I've mentioned it before, but they were starting to sound like high heels on the hardwood!  Well, maybe not that bad, but they definitely needed to be trimmed.  I told them they'd get a nice long walk afterwards - I even got their harnesses on them.  I like to use the sidewalks to file their little claws down after I clip them - much better than using ME as the nail file/launching pad!  Well, call me a rotten dog owner, but I lied to them.  We didn't go on our walk.  I looked at the time and was like HOLY NO-DINNER-ON-THE-TABLE Batman!!!

I ran around like crazy and got dinner served.  Forgot the corn-on-the-cob, but everything else was nice.  I'm on Week 2 of the meal plan, so it was Hawaiian Burger night.  I love me some fresh pineapple!!

Anyway, after dinner, it was too dark out to go walking, so I promised them we'd go today... and we did!!  Yay!  It was a little over a mile, but where we went was fun.  At least for me - we walked to our new vet office - only a half mile away.  The doc is soooo nice!  They welcome/love social visits, so that's where we went.  My black pup, Coal (a.k.a. BubbaFace) has been there twice - once for diagnosis of an ear infection and once more for a follow-up to be sure it was clear up.  It was my white pup's (Gabbie, aka the Gabster, aka the Gabinator) first time.  She can be seen on the floor behind me in one of my scale pics.  Anyway, fun was had by all - there were treats and lots of lovin'!!  My vet's so cool =D

Oh and I used my new headphones on my walk as well.  One problem is the cord is too short to go behind me and around/down to my phone in my right front pants pocket.  The left bud kept tugging at my ear because the cord was taut.  Next time, I'll have to find my arm band or just deal with the cords bouncing all over the place in front of me.

Now, on to the fitness/food part of the blog!  Eating was good today - I ate according to plan minus one of the snacks (just wasn't hungry for it).  I'll work on dinner as soon as I'm done typing this post.  I did my upper body resistance training today with a warmup on the punching bag (it's so fun to beat up the bad guys on that thing!).  Did quick stretches afterwards, then it was off with the dogs on our walk.  Like I said, it was a little over a mile.  I paused the workout timer (Map My Walk app) while we were hanging at the vet office, so the actual walking time was around 20 minutes.  Not bad considering the temp was in the mid 80s and I didn't take water and it was uphill - lol!  But all three of us hydrated as soon as we got home!

Well, I hope you had a wonderfully productive Tuesday!  We'll talk again tomorrow, k?

New Earbuds that actually STAY in Your Ear!

I'm calling last week a maintenance week.  Yep, I'm fairly pleased with my weigh-in considering what I put my body through the week prior.  So my weight was up from last week but down from the week prior.  What can I expect though?  There was some eating out, some more eating out and oh, did I mention a bit of eating out?  That, coupled with an almost complete lack of exercise, put me exactly well, here.  Sooooooo, on to the next!

It's a new week and even though the weigh-in really can't be considered a loss, it still keeps me on track with my WeightLossWars goal.  I'm on track to be within 5 pounds of my goal weight to split that pot.  Looking forward to crushing that goal and also breaking the ol' 200 pound barrier.

Looks like I'm going to change up my meal plan again.  Nothing too drastic, it's just some of the recipes I've added don't quite do it for me anymore.  There are certain meals I really enjoy, so I'll probably just swap those in.  Look for those changes coming up in the next week or so.  

Today, I bought myself an early birthday present.  Headphones that don't fall out of my ears!!!!  WHAT?!?! Yes!! Can you believe it????  I love walking/exercising with music, but those little earbuds always hurt my ears.  And if I'm REALLY working out hard, half the time they fall out, which can really break your momentum.  I'm sure there are other brands that do this, but today was the first time i saw them and so I scooped them up and they are mine.  But you too can check these bad boys out at this link on Amazon.  

I tested them out.  They look a bit big for my ear, but it's the second to the smallest size.  I read the instructions and that helped.  They kind of "lock" in place.  In fact, I think that's the whole point.  So I slip them in my ear, lock it and crank up my tunes.  I'm movin' my head this way and that and lo' and behold, they. stayed. in.  I know right?  I couldn't believe it myself, so I had my daughter try them on.  She ran all over the place and sure enough, they stayed in.

As for the pain typically caused by in-ear buds, these didn't cause any discomfort at all.  Now I didn't have them in for long, so the true test is yet to come.  But the standard earbud hurt almost as soon as I put them in.  I'll keep you posted.