Diet Pepsi

After all that travel there was no food in the fridge after I made all the healthy items. So I gave myself a bit of wiggle room. I had breakfast envy Bojangles Cajun filet biscuit. With it I had some fries. And this location close to home there is the option for diet Pepsi as well.
The biscuit was as good as expected. I think I could make some spicy Cajun chicken breast in the future that would be just as good. The fries were OK but so not necessary. Sadly I think the dog had more than me. And then came the diet Pepsi. Such a treat! Can I tell you it was downright awful. It has been ages since I have had a soda and now I am reminded that it is just not necessary.

Stuff to remember.

Travel training

I always have the best intentions. They don't always play out. I did walk on the treadmill the first day. I always fear running on hotel treadmills. Sometimes if they are too old they can really screw up your legs and knees.
Thursday nights meal got the best of me. One of those four hours later in the middle of the night most of my dinner is still sitting stagnant in my stomach situations. You would think between years of this type of reaction and the recent cleaner plate with whole food approach I would know better than to do this. But that doesn't work out to be the case. So I found myself rather I'll in the middle of the night.
That does not lend itself well to the am hotel workout.
Saturday morning we left rather early to get to New Orleans. We did some walking there but mostly eating.
So we shall see what today has in store.

Inspired by Kisten.

The blue nails match my bike.

Yay or Wow

Today's race was great. As noted I have been running the course for the last few weeks. The good thing about that is that I knew areas of the course that were easier and where to force myself to keep running. The bad thing about this is that I knew areas of the course that were harder and these seemed even harder with the race.
The hills down on the way out were good.
The hills up at the turn around long and drawn out.
But did you see the stats? I did wonderful for me with the pace. Made me very happy.

I need to work swimming and biking in now before Wednesday before I find myself on Slidell. Don't suspect there will be any swimming or biking there.

The diet has somewhat fallen off. But not too bad. Just a little. How can you turn down a Guinness and homemade corned beef hash on St Pattys Day.

This evening I am staying in. I know this may piss people off staying in could be considered sacrilege. But I am looking forward to another day of good weather and some work out time...

Shamorck 4 Miler

woo hoo look at that average pace... that is a bit of a step up for me...
and that first mile is definitely a new personal best...
the second mile isnt too bad either
3 and 4 are more within reason
not the first one over the line but OK with this and so glad i did it
Untitled by delbda at Garmin Connect - Details

had a few guinness afterwards
now a bath and a nap

Race shirt

Why is this? I sign up for a race and register for a tshirt. When I get a large the shirts end up men's sizing and it is not too large but bulky. When I order a medium they are more fitted in sizing and snug.
There won't be much layering with Shamrock shirt tomorrow. Not really a problem as the temps are still pretty darned warm in comparison to most March temps.

Ran for the last time before the race yesterday. Ran with KP in her neighborhood. It is mostly flat. We did two minutes run one walk. We did a little over 2.5 miles.

Tonight will be yoga for runners. I need to stretch out the legs before the run. It looks to be a wonderful weekend. I hired to get in the water and on the bike!

Shamrock 4 Miler

4 mile race on Saturday morning. A bunch of us are signed up to go for the run. I have been practicing / training along the course for a few weeks now. I was so proud of myself with the results last week. Not so much this week. It is a combination of reduced stretching in yoga with the recent time change and some overall nasty bloating cramping feelings (isn't that nice to share?). I have found the stretching does help my legs feel less heavy when I run. As for the other... It just seems like my internal organs are more noticeable when I feel all crampy... We could also discuss the heat. It was 84 degrees yesterday when I was out there for my run. And I stupidly had only packed long jog pants and a long sleeve tshirt. I thought I had mixed things up in the gym bag but hadn't. Tonight's run will include a tshirt but still not ready to give up the long jog pants. Not sure what the weather will be this weekend for the run.

Cookie balls

Yes,the healthy outlook took a side road thes past few days. I made the nutter butter version over the weekend. I thought they were kind of dry and chewy. So last night for SPD I made some with mint Oreos. These are interesting if you like chewy undercooked brownies with a mint Oreo taste. I don't find myself making then again any time soon.

1300 yards

Well that felt good. An ice way to spend a Sunday. Followed it up with some weeding and gardening and shed cleaning. Bike still sits in the back room.

BBQ

This has been a topic of conversation in my mom's world for a the better part of this week.  How that in the South BBQ is a noun that represents pork and fixin's.  And in NJ it represents a verb ultimately leading to hamburgers and hot dogs.  We had a little bit of both yesterday.
The BBQ by Butts R Us.  Was amazing as usual.  AND the event to help promote a friend's political efforts made for a nice start to our afternoon.
We followed it up with more tailgate type foods along with burgers at another friend's house.
From there we went to the rugby match.  It was fun to watch the game with so many people that have never watched a game before.  To see there reactions when full grown very athletic men run at full speed at one another with no padding whatsoever.  It is an intersting sport to watch.
It got really cold when we were out there.  But the news says it will be far warmer the rest of the week.

I view yesterday's diet as that diet where they say every so often you give yourself a break on the calorie control to remind your body that you are not trying to starve it.  I think that is what yesterday was.

as far as workouts are concerned.  I did not end up swimming.  In calculating times to get things done I forgot to add in drive times and change times.  And then there is that ever present chlorine smell that I swear does not wash off the first time around.  I didnt want to walk around to all these events and smell like a swimming pool.

Today is supposed to be up into the 70s.  I am thinking a little bike and swim will be in order. 
And then I am trying to convince myself that a run tomorrow morning will work into the schedule.  I have an appointment to donate blood after work so there wont be any training tomorrow evening.
Tuesday and Thursday will be my swim days.  Actually Tuesday I need to work in the stationary bike as well.
Wednesday will be a run - although I am at a client all day so I am not sure how I am going to work that - with the clothes changing etc.  But I will figure it out.
Friday night I think I am leaning towrds just biking.  Need to prep the muscles for Saturday top of the mornin's race.

Time for a run and a swim.

Yesterday resulted in just a walk. Met my mom around 3 and we took a stroll of sorts through her neighborhood. So far this morning I have made a crunchy cauliflower salad. Don't let it fool you. It could be healthier. Cauliflower, peas, green onions, celery, cashews, ranch dressing, sour cream, bacon. It's those last few ingredients that give it great flavor. It is those last few ingredients that throw it over the top into unhealthy. I read another recipe to toss bite size pieces of cauliflower with the dry ranch mix and roast. May try that in the future. Then we ventured into new decadence territory. DEFINITELY NOT A HEALTHY PLATE RECIPE! Chocolate covered nutter butter cookie balls. I tucked my dads old food processor out from the bottom of the pantry and chopped up the cookies and some peanuts. I then mixed them with cream cheese and rolled into balls. Iroceeded to dunk the balls into melted chocolate and sprinkle with nonpareils. What a production. They are definitely more like candy than cookies or cake. Think I may stick with whoopie pies in the future. Now I need to get the gym bag out of my trunk and get ready for a 4 mile run and then a mile swim. I think I have enough remnant chocolate coursing through my system for that. Have a BBq to go to this afternoon. Theot Rk and beans and slaw will surely be counter productive to my recent diet successes. So with the subsequent rugby pep rally we are going to before the big Life University vs. Notre Dame game this evening. Go Running Eagles!

Yay me!

Down to the RR Rock Hill weight. I consider that weight as a milestone. In 2010 there was a goal or maybe even a bet set with a good friend. And I had worked slowly in the first half of the year towards that goal. But somewhere in the summer things took a turn and it was more like 3 months of spring break instead of the focus I had to that point. So I hit this weight right before that race. And pretty much stayed there. THEN the work stress started. A coworker was let go - to keep the drama simple. The stress compiled. The workouts diminished. The fast food crept in. And 4 pounds slowly crept on. I was back to what I call my equilibrium weight. The weight I seem to level off at if I am not trying but also not overindulging. But then things took an even more stressful swing when another coworker just walked out. Leaving us high and dry. And it became a year of craziness. That is what I recall the better part of 2011. And when it did settle down... We had Ireland, birthdays, moves, and the holidays. So up the weight went even further. And at this moment I am happy to say that I am 13 pounds below that miserable weight. pHEW! This weekend will entail BBQ and burgers and some tailgating. A little concerned on that but I will keep my focus. Plus I am donating blood on Monday so the rush of protein will be helpful.

Flub flub flub

Hit the water at sccl today. I did two sets of 300 Two sets of 100 at a fast pace One set of 100 breast stroke cool down One set 100 back kicks It felt great. Last night I made some chicken broth (the low sodium organic kind) with chopped spinach and celery and the seared tofu. That is what I had tonight for dinner along with some wasa and low fat cheese and a glass of wine. It was light in calories but felt like such a great treat. I really enjoy this healthy eating thing. It forces me to be so creative and I am so surprised and pleased with what I find.

Healthy plates

What I have found getting my plate in shape, it takes time and preparation. On Monday night I spent a good amount of time in the kitchen making the broccoli pesto. Tuesday night I spent my evening making salads for the rest of the week. And last night I made chicken broth soup with spinach and celery and seared (well kind of seasoned and seared) tofu chunks. It takes time. But when done it sure is worth it.

Eating out

In the quest for keeping the plate in shape I have noticed - eating out does not lend itself all that well to that objective...
I am always surprised by the hidden nutritional facts behind a meal.  Today for lunch I had the vegetarian black bean soup and chopped BBQ chicken salad at Panera.  I knew that there could have been healthier choices but I tried.  I didnt get the bread :)
I was surprised when I did the final compilation and realised LUNCH was the culprit that threw my calorie count over the top today.  740! calories for the one meal.
I am lucky if I get 400 calories in a meal.
I wish I had done the math before dinner.  i may have been a bit more discerning on the food intake.  Not that it was bad.  But maybe I didnt need as much.

I did run for 2+ miles over 30 minutes so there was some calorie burn at least.

FOod for today

So today was an on the road day. I had my whole grain medley with raspberries for breakfast. I mis-cooked something between the oatmeal, quinoa, red lentils. I think it was the red lentils that are a little undercooked. No big deal it made for a nice hearty breakfast. For my snack for the drive to the meeting I had soy milk with silken tofu and peaches. I don't consider it to be that filling but it did seem to hold me over for the better part of the day. Better part of the day meant that we did not stop for lunch during the road trip. I ended up have my two 130 calorie nut snacks as lunch. I packed one for WDB but he had cashews and almonds instead. And a bit more than the 130 variety. I finally had my lunch around 4pm. The odd eating made for a strained workout. Or maybe it was yesterday's great workout run that made for today's workout to be strained. So tonight in the test kitchen I was going to have left overs. Those roasted winter vegetables just weren't calling out to me. So I decided to make the spaghetti squash with the broccoli pesto. I sautéed onions and mushrooms with some broccoli florets. I tossed them with spaghetti squash. Then puréed steamed broccoli with lemon juice, olive oil, chicken broth and garlic. Then mixed it all together. It must be good. I want more. I need to track my calorie intake some to determine how many more calories I need to try to eat. I feel like I could be below the goal. As for the workout today 16 minutes on the track. Not a stellar pace. 30 minutes on the stationary Ike. The bike that I really hate. No swimming again. I NEED TO SWIM TOMORROW NIGHT. I ALSO NEED TO RUN THE RACE COURSE.

Miso revisited

So standing in the aisle of the grocery store I reviewed the labels of 3 or 4 varieties of miso. Each had somewhere around 700mg of sodium. So I put them back on the shelf and opted for low sodium organic chicken broth. No picked up some chopped spinach, onion and cubed tofu to make some form of soup instead.

Miso Soup

The Whole Living website promotes miso soup as one of their breakfast recipes in the 28 day diet that has been on their site for February. I tried it yesterday for the first time in a long while. It was salty like I feared o I am still unsure if it is truly something I want in the mix of my diet. But I think I will give I a try. With ample amounts of spinach and garbanzo beans I think it could be ok. And a nice change from the salads I have been eating for lunch. I suspect I will need more calories in the mix as a lunch. I will have o give that some thought as well. Breakfast this week will be a grain mix again.. Quinoa, oatmeal and lentils along with some fruit and tofu. It is more of an attempt to clean some items out of the fridge. Dinner? I am finally going to try the broccoli pesto with spaghetti squash. Contemplating adding some mushrooms to add to the volume of the meal. But first some lAundry, some vacuuming, binding ( it's a work think) and a run and maybe a swim.

Get Your Plate In Shape

So since the beginning of the year - OK maybe it is more like late January early February - I have started making that conscious effort to put the right things on my plate.  Nurish my body the right way.
I am proud to say as a result I have lost 10 pounds - OK I did accidentally start off National Nutrition Month with some fish n chips and a half rack of baby back ribs which impacted the scale.  My goal is to find another 10 to 15 to come off.  BMI tables say even more.  Just not sure I see myself as a 124 pound person.
I have stayed away from caffeine - had some sweet tea with those ribs the other night - was fearful that would really kick in.  It wasnt that bad.
I have stayed away from fast food.  It is amazing how good that feels.  I fear at the end of the month I will be traveling and this objective will be hard to stay focused on but... for now I have will power.
I have reduced other processed food intake as well.
AND increased my vegetable intake.  It is great to feel so good.
I am glad that another campaign of sorts has kicked off for this month to keep me in focus.

Today was black coffee - not only have I dropped the caffeine I dropped the milk.  I love milk and realised I have more satisfaction from drinking a glass of milk than the splash in the coffee every morning. 
And I had the last of the eggs in the house - microwave poached.  I will be learning how to hard boil eggs - I know crazy for all the cooking I do I do not know how to hard boil an egg.  I need to get my LDLs down so the egg routine will be altered.
I have some tofu smoothies in my future for today, a kale salad, some roasted winter vegetables, wasa and sardines.  I know I gag a little at the thought of that last one as well.  It is part of my efforts to get cold water fish into my diet.  Last night was pickled herring.  I had to add some red wine with that to make it work.

Will add more later.

Oh and as far as training is going.  It is going but not as well as I would like.  Havent had that heart rate up since Tuesday.  So sometime today...  a brick is in the mix,

Insomnia

Need to remember how some foods totally interfere with my sleep.  It is usually the same foods thar interfer with my diet.

The fish and chips were good last night but I am so paying the price on so many levels.