Monday motivation

Wasn't it Normal Mailer who said, "You can't go home."?

I couldn't agree more.
I am born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The diary state. Home of the cheesehead.
62.8% of Wisconsin adults are overweight.
26.3% of Wisconsin adults are obese.
And...I went home this weekend.

After a week where I ran, ate well and walked 33kms (21mi), I was up almost 2 pounds! How does this happen? I was angry. I am an angry eater. And as soon as I hit Green Bay, that was it. Here is my food consumption in a 48 hour period:

bratwurst
1 slice pepperoni pizza
small bag of popcorn
small DQ banana cream Blizzard
Kroll's fish fry with brench fries
Kroll's cheeseburger
Kit Kat
HUGE chocolate chip pancake
2 pieces of bacon
1 scrambled egg
HUGE cheeseburger
bison chili
2 slices pepperoni pizza
ice cream sundae
chocolate chip muffin
cheesecurds
BLT
sweet potato fries

I'm sick just typing this all up. I can't find the calorie count as I will break down crying. I am dreading the scale tomorrow.

Super yummy pizza

I made BBQ chicken pizza for dinner tonight - yummo! I got the idea from fat camp but made it easier and with a few less calories.

Use a pita bread or other 100 calorie crust for pizza. (there are a lot of alternatives in the USA - not as many in AUS - just use a big pita) Add two tablespoons of BBQ sauce.  Add a few sprinkles of cheese. Add cooked chicken, red onion, tomatoes. It was done in 10 minutes.

Self sabotage

I just read a good article in Cooking Light - a few reminders to all of us to eat smart. And stop drinking your calories! :)

http://www.cookinglight.com/eating-smart/nutrition-101/diet-habits-00412000081869/index.html

Jillian Michael's Water Detox - the results

As I posted on Saturday, I tried the Jillian Michael's Water Detox. It was really difficult to do. I couldn't do it while I was on my all-day hike yesterday as there were only a few bathrooms available. And I felt bloated all the time. So, I am not completing it.

It is a bummer to not finish something but it was really challenging due to the amount of yucky tea to drink.
And I don't think it has made any difference in my weight.

Maybe I will try again in a month but I would be more interested in drinking a cup of dandelion tea and then drinking a gallon of water every day. That would be a lot easier.

Recuperating

Today will be a day of bed rest. I have icepacks on my ankles and knees. I am popping ibuprofen like candy. And yes, that is a blister the size of a thumb on my foot. I better have lost some weight yesterday!

How do people talk you into doing things that you never dreamed of doing?

My sister decided that this morning we would walk the lake, which is a nice idea. It is a beautiful area of the country. It is great to spend the day outdoors. And as far as hikes go, not only is the lake gorgeous, but many of the mansions were built at the turn of the century by Chicago tycoons. (Wrigley, Armour, Schwinn, Harris...)

Paula on the start of the hike

With no training we start out at 8am for a 21 mile (34km) hike. Our initial pace was a slow, but respectable 20 min/mile. Then it got really hilly. Then it got really rugged. Then we got really tired. We slowed to almost a 30 min/mile at some points that were terrain challenging. After a short potty and lunch break we still had 11 miles to go. We pulled on our big girl knickers and kicked it.

The Polar tells the story - 9hrs, 58 min, 2178 calories burned

Time to complete - 9 hours, 58 min, 37 seconds
Calories burned - 2178
Blisters - too many to count

VICTORY is ours!

Start the week positive!

Jillian Michael's Water Detox

Paula has been reading on Pinterest about Jillian's detox tea which seems to be the latest rage. I am not into detox or fad approaches but since she keeps asking, the least I could do was review it. So I did.

- This is a WATER detox and all it is promising is to get rid of that bloat.
- You do eat your normal 1200-1500 calorie diet - this is a water replacement which seems a lot more healthy than a regular detox.

I am curious to try for two big reasons:
1 - I gain a lot of water once a month and it always messes with my head when I get on the scale
2 - I said I was going to change things up to get off of my plateau and this is a possible way of doing that.

Jillian Michael's Detox Water
60 oz Purified Water (I'm using filtered water)
1 TBS Pure Cranberry Juice (not a cocktail)
2 TBS Lemon Juice
1 Bag Dandelion Tea (I steeped it in hot water and added that to my 60 oz)

I am a little skeptical because water loss does come back. This is not losing fat but I'll be positive and give it a go. I'll let you know the results in a week. (Or more importantly, how does it STAY off!) :)

Hallelujah!

At weigh-in today, after over a year of basically the same weight, I was my thinnest - by a lot! So hopefully, all the hard work this past month is finally showing up on the scale!

I'm over the plateau!

I have been absolutely diligent on:
1 - one hour of hard cardio every day
2 - no snacking after dinner
3 - sticking to the program

3.2km=2mi * 2

Yesterday I did a run around our neighborhood which is 2 miles [3.2km]. I have been doing sprints up the hill after my run so I thought it was still a good workout and I was done for the day. When we asked my nieces what they wanted to do after dinner last night they said, "go for a run." Erma is in a runners club and Willa wants to do a full 5k so off we went to a park with a track for a family run. This is another 2miles which is good for my daily total. While the run was hot and ended up being a bit of a walk for the girls, it was good to get out and do some family exercising AND add to my daily running total.

There is no such thing as a clean clothes fairy

When I got up this morning for my run and realised that I had run out of workout clothes, I was at a loss of what to do. As I dug through the drawer I saw that I had a pair of my new Nike short shorts. When I purchased them it was really for yoga but I thought I may be able to run in them when it was super hot. Once I tried them on, I realised it would ONLY ever be for yoga. They look fantastic on the young, slim, athletic girls. On me they looked like a sausage being fit into a casing. But today my only two choices were to look bad or not to run. I chose to look bad and I ran.

To the good people driving the country roads in Wisconsin this morning around 8:30am - I apologise. No one should have to start their morning by seeing me in essentially not much more than a swimsuit jogging down the highway. Hopefully no permanent damage was done and I am fitter and healthier than I was a day a go!

This is not what I looked like today, but maybe what I will look like in the future. Short shorts!!!!!!

you can never start too young

I had a partner today for my zumba class - my niece Willa joined me. The lesson to learn from her is that she is always up for trying something new. She heard me talking about it being fun and asked if she could come. She goes after everything with no fear. I love it. She said she had fun but let's see if she is willing to get up at 5:30 every Tuesday morning.

runners ready?

My sister talked me into running a 10k yesterday but without training, I ended up doing the 5k while she did the 10k. The good news is that we both had great times and ran the course fast. The bad news is that it was run on a nature trail and I am completely eaten up with bug bites. OUCH!

Where fat is burned...pride is earned

I have found a gym to go to while I am on holiday. It is very weightlifing-y but it works. They are going to let my niece come with me next week for zumba, if she is really interested in getting up at 5:30!

Eating so clean and healthy

But, I can't stop with the treats. It is so exasperating. I still haven't lost any extra weight. FRUSTRATING!

I would eat the whole bag if I could

Going down the bakery aisle at the grocery store today and I noticed my old friends - little chocolate donuts. I LOVE THEM! Of course I haven't had one in over two years since I started this new way of living but the interesting thing is that since the Hostess company is no longer in existence, the other companies have jumped on the bandwagon.  No American will go without the fatty, chemical, sugary products we love so much. And I totally love them. Maybe I wouldn't if I tried one now? Who am I kidding?

Nutritious, delicious and very low cal

Chicken lettuce cups for dinner - there are lots of recipes online but stirfry some veg with some chicken and a few cashews.

Zumba at 6am on vacation

The dedication!

I wanted to try it

I was in a skirt and heels but I have always wanted to try a rock climbing wall. Since I don't have any upper body strength and am big I never wanted to give it a go. But, yesterday, I saw the wall and I just did it. And it was fun. I wish I was wearing sneakers but I will try it at the gym now. Maybe someday I will get the chance to do it outdoors.

It tastes as good as it looks

I have been making the chocolate peanut butter smoothie every morning - yum. The only problem is that it is for 3 servings. I need to readjust the recipe for a single serv.

Whoever said making almond milk was easy...

Never bought it from the store!

What a mess.  I am sure it tasted really great but I don't drink it straight.  It was fun to try but I will stick to the carton version from now on!  And, it is only 30 calories a glass!

Bubba!

My sister has introduced a new way for me to get my water in every day. She discovered it when she was working in Texas. It's called the BUBBA and is one gallon.  You carry that thing around until you drink it and then you are done for the day. That is a lot of water!

To quote Alicia Silverstone in the movie Clueless, "I have been going down a shame spiral"

It is almost impossible for me to believe but I left fat camp yesterday at basically the same weight I started at. Pause. Deep breath.
I didn't cheat.
I did everything I was suppose to do.
I am in a "I hate my body" and "I don't want to do this anymore" pouting phase.