#4 - 3 mi/Smoothie Challenge/Taco Mac!

This was Sunday's workout. I knew I had a lot to do on Monday and wouldn't be able to run, so I definitely needed to squeeze in a short run on this day. I will be glad when daylight savings ends, btw.  This run was extra slow and boring. There were people on both sides of me running on the treadmill, that motivated me to keep going but only for so long. Well, regardless I got in 3 miles...but I will definitely have to find my way outdoors this week!

Sunday was also "prep for the week" day. Prep work was definitely required if I would be successful this week, my first week, at the "smoothie" challenge. I'm supposed to replace two meals a day with a smoothie. Breakfast and lunch are the easiest to replace. Pictured on the left are freezer bags, one bag makes one smoothie. I've filled each with strawberries, banana, blueberries, pineapple, and maybe an orange slice or two. I also add 1 to 1/2 cup of water and 1 serving size of chia seeds (for more fiber) and protein powder (the reason this can be used as a meal replacement) when I'm ready to blend.

I can go ahead and report on Day 1, as I am typing this post on Day 2. Admittedly, I was very hungry in between, I hadn't brought any healthy snacks to munch on at work in between. I was also under the impression the chia seeds would really have me full. Bloated, yes. But full for long, no. I was bloated, but still COULD eat if I wanted. Fortunately, I did not have any loose change, lol, because the vending machines, out of ALLLLLLLLL the weeks I've been working there, had CHOCOLATE DONUTS!!!!!!! I ought to be shame, but.... yeah.

Later the hubs and I watched the BCS Championship at Taco Mac. I didn't let that deter me. Almost everywhere offers healthy options on their menu. I ended up ordering sweet potato fries (SO GOOD!), the chicken ranch wrap, and water. I did good. Those fries were good. I wanted more. I was still kinda hungry, but remembered I had a little smoothie left over, so I drank that and went to bed! Oh, and in between all of this, I was gulping down water. 

It's definitely an adjustment. I haven't restricted my food intake in this way for over a year, before I met my weight loss goal. So, now I'm going through that initial phase of getting back into it. I'm counting my calories, so I'm not depriving myself of food. Just eating less.... Once I met my weight loss goal, I didn't restrict myself as much, just as long as I didn't go overboard. I do/did just enough to maintain. Granted, I've gained 10 lbs from that so-called method, but as long as I don't move up a size I'm good. I'll probably re-lose the 10 lbs during this challenge, but I'm cool with that because I have ING Miami coming up and I wouldn't mind being at my "race weight" of 10 lbs lighter anyways.