Week 6 - Another blown weekend

I'm not going to post my weight this week. Let's just say that I didn't lose any weight. And the weekends are proving to be my nemesis. This past weekend I ended up having five events - beer tasting on Friday, trail race Saturday morning, dinner in New York City on Saturday, a baby shower Sunday afternoon, and more beer with a friend at a bar on Sunday evening. Of course the trail race - approximately 6 miles run in 1 hr 36 min - did allow me to expend a fair amount of calories but I didn't do so well on the post-race foods and drink. This is partly due to what choices are available but I really need to stick to one post-race beer and not the two that I did have. One good thing that I did do was not have beer when we went out for dinner after Friday's beer tasting. Next weekend plans include a trail race Saturday morning and a Christmas party Saturday evening so hopefully I'll be better!

The week was pretty good for the diet (except for the weekend of course!). I drank hot green tea after dinner Monday through Wednesday instead of the beer that I've been drinking. However, on Thursday I decided to go to Copper Mine Pub to try some Sierra Nevada beers that they tapped since I don't usually find a SN beer besides their typical Pale Ale. I had a pint of the Southern Hemisphere IPA and a pint of the Northern Hemisphere IPA. At 6.7% alcohol, I wonder if these beers also have more calories? My dinner consisted of tilapia and broccoli. I'll be having a similar dinner this week - salmon and asparagus. I only had a piece of fruit three days this past week so I'll have to be better next week.

The work-outs weren't as strenuous as I need them to be for weight loss. My legs were still pretty sore from the almost 20 miles of running in four days that I did the weekend before and so only did 25 min of yoga on Monday. I was up late on Monday night so by the time I was done teaching on Tuesday I was too tired to go to the gym and took a 3 hr nap instead. I ran a total of 9.3 miles on Friday and Saturday. Saturday's run was good. I took it a little easy on the first part of the course to warm up. And there were some serious hills which required walking. It took me about 57 min to get to the aid station. The second half of the race, I made sure to push the pace and if a hill was short and not too steep I made sure I ran all, if not most of it. It felt really good to push the pace. I felt strong, passed several women, and completed the second half of the course in about 39 min. It also helps to not care about getting muddy or wet. ;)

This next week will have to be better in the exercise realm. I don't plan on running as much during the week and certainly no speed work. I will be running a 25 km (15.5 miles) trail race on Staten Island Saturday morning and want to be able to run it well (I have no idea what to expect with regards to terrain - except for the 2300 ft of gain that is listed on the website). I also need to let my right ankle heal a bit. I turned it during Saturday's trail race. I'll have to make sure to lift weights on Tuesday and not Thursday. My legs were still a little sore Saturday morning. I've incorporated lunges into my weight routine since the Essex County College gym is not that great and figured it might be better for my running that doing leg presses. And when I do lunges, I use a lot of the smaller leg muscles for stabilization. At some point I may actually perform a lunge without almost falling over!

Week 5 – Survived Thanksgiving (sort of)

My weight at the start of the Thanksgiving week was 155.2# and I had an average weight of 155.5#. I’m starting week 6 at 156.6#, which means any of the weight that I may have lost in the previous weeks has been negated by four days of eating and drinking. I know that some of that extra weight is going to be water weight - beer can be pretty bloating – but I still ate more than I should have. Though I am happy to report that on Thanksgiving I ate much less desserts than in the past – a single slice of very delicious carrot cake. But I think the reason I ate less desserts is because it was served right after dinner. Typically at my family’s Thanksgiving, there is some time between dinner and dessert to clean off the table and get the dishes washed, allowing for digestion and more room for dessert! For the most part, I did pretty well on the portion control for all the different side dishes that were served. Where I got into trouble was the turkey and mashed potatoes – I had 3 helpings! And using the excuse of not eating either of these items during the year is no excuse! The other contributions to the weight gain, of course, was the beer drinking on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday (can you see where I need to cut out the calories!??!).

So this week I really need to focus on the diet and keep exercising (again); I have 24 more miles of running to make it to my goal of 800 miles for the year, which I'll reach some time in the next 2 weeks. Today will have to be an easy day (yoga). During the Thanksgiving weekend, I ran 4 straight days for a total of 19.6 miles! Running is the only thing that has kept the weight from increasing more than it has. And I really need to start limiting the beer intake! So one of my goals this week is no beer Monday through Thursday. Even though I only would have one 12 oz beer on a weeknight it is still calories that my body does not need.

Week 2 - no electricity and not much exercise

Well I certainly didn’t meet my workout goals this week. Sunday morning a transformer blew and I’ve been without power ever since! This is now day 6. Luckily I have been able to stay with friends so I had a warm place to sleep and a hot shower. I’ve had to eat out a lot, and ate with friends so the diet would not have been typical. I’ve been able to see what others eat for dinner at home and now have a couple of ideas of what other foods I can eat - spaghetti squash! I should also look at other recipe resources as I’d like to eat much more vegetables than I usually do. The one good thing about sleeping at other people’s houses is that you end up following their sleep schedule. And my friends get up quite early to work out so they go to bed early! Hopefully I’ll continue with that trend when I am finally back in my own home and bed. It would allow me to workout consistently and more intensely. Also, I’ve read that lack of sleep contributes to weight gain and the inability to lose weight. Something about hormones. I should look into that so I have a better understanding. At least I’ve noticed that my weight has stayed the same. No gain is better than gaining if I’m not able to lose a few pounds this week.

This weekend I’ll be traveling to Albany NY with a friend to visit another friend. Marie is having a wine and appetizer party. Hopefully I’ll get a run in this week before I travel. So far this year I’ve been able to run at least once a week. I’d like to continue that trend. And since I have run just over 700 miles this year (a new PR!) I’d like to get to 800. I won’t be able to run as far as my sister – she’s run 1000 miles this year! But maybe I’ll try to make that a goal for next year. All those extra miles should help with my running goals!

Week 1: October 24-30, 2011

Weight: 154 #
Monday - first day post-marathon; legs sore - especially front of left ankle. Going to try and do some yoga today (need to cut out the word try and just do it!).
   Breakfast (9:15 AM): 1/2 of a large bagel - half smeared w/butter, half w/blackberry preserves, 8 oz oj, 2 cups coffee with sugar and skim milk, 1 scrambled egg
   Snack (11:40 AM): granny smith apple with 1 tblsp chunky peanut butter
   Lunch (1:30 PM): 9.5 oz minestrone (100 cal), 5 saltines (60 cal) with butter, 8 oz skim chocolate milk
   Snack (3:00 PM): 1/4 french toast muffin (200 cal)

The 800 calorie muffin I won at the 5k race on 10/22. I've cut it into fourths; though I know I should toss it.

   Workout (4:45 PM): 25 min yoga. I know I need to do more strenuous workouts but its the first day after a marathon and I'm having issues with both ankles.
   Dinner (6:15 PM): One scoop of bean & vegetable chili (from Runner's World), 8 oz, skim milk
   Snack (2:00 AM): 2 pretzel rods, can of diet coke, 0.5 oz dark chocolate with hazelnuts

   Bed: Much too late to write down. This is something that really needs to change as I do it way too often.
   Trying to drink lots of water. Seem dehydrated (dry lips) - perhaps due to Sunday's race or might be getting sick (I hope not!)

Tuesday: Awake at 6:10 AM.
   Breakfast (7:30 AM): Eaten while driving to campus. Large Dunkin Donuts coffee w/2 Splenda and skim milk, untoasted cinnamon raisin bagel
   Lectured for 3 hours
   Lunch (1:00 PM): PB&J on whole wheat bread (2 slices), diet coke, Stonyfield raspberry yogurt (130 cal), 15 roasted/unsalted cashews
   Snack (4:45 PM): Starbuck's grande skim mocha (no whip cream), reduced fat cinnamon swirl cake
   Watched a movie at the NY Academy of Sciences - "No Dinosaurs in Heaven" about evolution, science teaching, and creationism.
    Dinner (9:30 PM - while watching the Biggest Loser): 1 scoop of bean & veggi chili, 8 oz skim milk
   Fell asleep on the couch before 11 PM, in bed at 1:30 AM
    Didn't work out today. I was too tired from being up so late so decided to stay on campus to work before heading into the city later.

Wednesday: Awake at 7:30 AM
   Breakfast (8:45 AM): 1/2 c homemade granola w/3 tsp apple sauce and skim milk, 8 oz oj, 2 cups of coffee with sugar & skim milk
   Lunch (1:00 PM): 9.5 oz minestrone (100 cal), 7 saltines with butter, 8 oz skim chocolate milk
   Snack (3:00 PM): Stonyfield strawberry yogurt (110 cal), 6 roasted & unsalted cashews
   Snack (4:30 PM): chunky peanut butter - eaten with a spoon from the jar so I don't know how much I ate
   Dinner (9:00 PM): scoop of bean & veggie chili, 12 oz beer
   Bed at 12:15 AM

Thursday: Awake at 6:15 AM
   Breakfast (7:40 AM): Breakfast (7:30 AM): Eaten while driving to campus. Large Dunkin Donuts coffee w/2 Splenda and skim milk, coffee cake muffin (probably one of the worst muffins by Dunkin Donuts you can eat - ~650 calories!)
   Lectured 3 hrs
   Lunch (12:15 PM): PB&J on whole wheat bread (2 slices), diet coke, Stonyfield lemon yogurt, 15 roasted/unsalted cashews
   Should have gone to the gym but was tired.
   Snack (4:00 PM): 12 oz beer
   Dinner (9:00 PM): scoop of bean & veggie chili, 8 oz skim milk
   Fell asleep on couch; bed at 4:15 AM

Friday: Awake at 8:15 AM
   Breakfast (9:15 AM): Breakfast (8:45 AM): 1/2 c homemade granola w/3 tsp apple sauce and skim milk, 8 oz oj, 2 cups of coffee with sugar & skim milk
    Lunch (1:30 PM): slice of mushroom pizza, diet coke, 1 oz dark chocolate with hazelnuts
   Workout (4:00 PM): 3 mile run in 34 min; some stretching
   Snack: string cheese; three 5 oz tastings of beer, chips, 2 cookies
   Dinner: 2 pints of beer; pasta with shrimp and moz cheese, 1 pc garlic bread. This is where I need to do a lot of work - need to make better choices when eating out (would have had a salad but none looked appetizing). Didn't see in the description of the pasta that there would be lots of mozzarella cheese.
   In bed before midnight

Saturday: Awake at 8:00 AM
   Breakfast (9:25 AM): 1/2 of a large bagel - half smeared w/butter, half w/blackberry preserves, 8 oz oj, 2 cups coffee with sugar and skim milk, 1 scrambled egg
  Lunch (2:00 PM): or should it be snack? 1 small gala apple
  Workout: if I ran 1/2 mile in the snow and ice cold water in the woods I would have been lucky
   Dinner: 2 beers, chicken & mozzarella sandwich on chiabatta, mashed potatoes (quite good, I forgot how much I liked mashed potatoes!), 3 french fries
   Snack: diet coke
Fell asleep on the couch while watching football. In bed at 12:00 AM

Sunday: Awake at 8:00 AM
   Power went out at 9 AM so rest of meals have been eaten away from home
   Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs, 1.5 fat breakfast sausage, 1 pc wheat toast with butter & jam, home fries, 6 oz oj, 4 c coffee with skim milk and sugar
   Snack: Starbuck's grande skim mocha (no whip cream), reduced fat cinnamon swirl cake
   Dinner: filet mignon sandwich on garlic bread with mozzarella, roasted red peppers, & romaine, onion rings, 4 pints of beer (only planned on 2 pints but two patrons brought me beer).
   Bed at 11:30 PM. Slept on a friend's couch

Hopefully next week will be better - but the first couple of days likely won't be as the electric company doesn't expect to have electricity restored until Wednesday!

exercise this week?

During my first week of trying to lose weight I haven't been very good about exercise. And I can only put part of the blame on recovering from a marathon. So far this week I've done 25 min of yoga on Monday and a 3 mile run on Friday. Had hoped to get a nice run in the woods on Saturday - in costume - but there was a freak storm that hit the East Coast. First it rained and then it snowed. A lot! Just getting to Great Swamp was quite an adventure. And getting home after dinner was even more adventurous! Lots of downed trees and power lines.

So what have been my excuses? Tired - a few nights of staying up late makes it difficult to work out. Wednesday was pure laziness. I should have gone to yoga at a local studio - I want this guy to succeed since his studio is close to me and his rates are really good! Thursday I had my gym gear to go to the gym and ride the stationary bike but by the time I left the office, I was tired and unmotivated. And frankly I am still recovering from the marathon. I wish I could have some of the energy and recovery capabilities of my friend Jessi. On Saturday she ran in the morning and in the afternoon. I won't bother posting her mileage - she runs ultra-marathons and does IronMen races - so the number of miles she ran less than a week after winning the marathon are insane. Plus she's 17 years younger than me so she can recover faster. But the one thing she does is she gets out there nearly every day and works out for 1 hour or more.

So here are my exercise goals for next week: (1) work out nearly every day; and (2) when I do work out, do so for 1 hour.