A Random Type of Day

Rolling out of bed at 10am...it's like a good portion of my day is gone already!  I'm still on a quest for consistency.  I haven't settled on what days I'm going to do what.  I'm usually good with organizing my time wisely, but ever since I've gotten serious with this blog (which I've had since last year), it's been taking a lot of my time.  Time I should evenly spread doing other things, but I can't pry myself away from the computer.  And then once I am away from the computer, I'm at my iPhone doing the same thing. #NotWinning.  

Anyway, I want badly to complete my goals.  I really want to meet my "flat stomach" goal by uh? ... I need to figure that one out.  It WAS by the end of the summer, but I don't know.  We'll just say that's pending for now.  I was glad to see that Yum Yucky will be starting another challenge.  I'm a new reader of her blog and saw the mid and ending results of her challenge, not to mention the awesome prize she gave away, so I think that'll help motivate me to "finish what I started".

Today's Workout

Before my run, I did an upper body weight routine from Carrot 'N' Cake's blog.  It was something easy on time that I could fit in beforehand.

I'm supposedly following Nike's 5K Training program to increase my 5K speed.  I attempted 4 miles yesterday, but due to the heat and low hydration and the fact that I rolled out of bed so late I barely finished 2 mi.  Today is kind of my make-up day.  According to the plan, I was supposed to take today off, but since my running group is meeting today (in a location I love), I decided to join in so I won't feel so bad about yesterday.  I have never stopped and walked midway run with them, probably because when I'm running, exercising, or doing anything for that matter in front of other people, I never want them to see me at my weakest point (call it pride, I guess?).  Crazy, but it helps me endure.  Don't get me wrong, I will stop if I just can't take it, but I see it as motivation that I don't.

We ran 3.76 miles. My average pace was 10:24.  I'm puzzled at the fact that my first mile was 10:16, but my second was 8:57. Ran down hill maybe? IDK.

Lunch

This was a I-have-too-many-leftovers-from-other-recipes type of day.  I didn't want any thing to go to waste, so I was fortunate enough to find these two "recipes".  I had almost or at least some things that could substitute in the following "creations".

roast beef and spinach sandwich

Ingredients
1 Laughing Cow Swiss Cheese slice
1 tbsp light mayo
2 slices whole wheat bread
1 tbsp mustard

255 calories

Dinner

chicken fajita-ranch wrap

Ingredients

1 tsp chili pepper (to season tenderloins)

2 tbsp ranch dressing

4 oz chicken, tenderloins

2 tsp garlic powder

1 whole wheat tortilla

1/2 cup green bell pepper

424 calories

Do you prefer working out alone or with people?  Do you push a little harder in others' presence than you would if you were alone?

Give Up Pizza? No Way,...

...but I will find alternatives to enjoy.  My husband and I used to eat pizza once a week like we're kids or something!  I see it as a reward for doing so well during the week and since I count calories*, I only eat one serving to one and a half servings of the regular stuff.  It's no fun just eating one serving all of the time so it was finally time to for me to find a clean recipe for pizza (next, it's pancakes!).  I found this recipe for Spinach and Chicken Sausage Pizza at the Clean Eating Magazine site.

Spinach & Turkey Sausage Pizza

My local grocer was out of chicken sausage, so I substituted with turkey sausage.

Ingredients:

6 oz spinach leaves

1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes (drained)

1 whole wheat thin pizza crust

1 1/2 cups of sliced turkey sausage

3 oz part-skim mozzarella cheese

10 minutes at 450 degrees and it was done #saan!

One slice is 194 calories

Hubby's Verdict: He loved it, so this will be a staple in our dinner rotation (He requested chicken breasts for next time though).  Wifey Verdict: It looks good and tastes good.  The next time I'm going to make several at a time and freeze them.

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Finding substitutes for foods I already love were key to my weight loss success.  If you love food and are just starting out, I suggest you do the same because it's easier to stick with in the long run. In my opinion, majority of the recipes I've tried over the course*, have tasted just as good as the unhealthier versions.  I gradually learned what I should eat and what I shouldn't.  I started small by switching to lean ground beef in my Hamburger Helper, then I turned to ground turkey, and now Hamburger Helper is a no-no in this house and ground beef makes rare appearances.

*counting calories for now is helping me with portion control.

*it took me a 1 1/2 year to reach my first weight goal of 50lbs.

What foods can't you "live" without?  Any suggestions for clean pancakes?

A Monday Message

I usually don't have a problem following through on workout plans (unless you count going past 11 days doing Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred), but a conversation elsewhere asked what my workout goals were this week.  This gave me the idea to start paying more attention to planning my workouts.  Hopefully this will help me stick to a consistent routine.  As of now, I am not very consistent with my strength training as far as the days I do them.  I do them more along the lines of ... when I feel like it.  My goals are still to tone up and flatten the tummy, but I realize I need to be a lot more consistent than I have been the past few weeks.  

I've gotten lax over the past few weeks with my eating and exercise intensity level.  I've been doing the minimum and that's about it.  I can tell I've done a good job just maintaining because the scale has literally not budged in a month.  If i want to increase my 5K time and meet other body goals, that's just not going to work.  So I figure I need to bump up the intensity back to where I started.  When I was so "hungry" to lose the weight.  

I started one of the Nike Plus beginners 5K training programs last week.  Day 1 started with 2 miles and then seems as if it will alternate between 3 miles and 4 miles every other day.  

- - -

Today I ran/walked 4 miles.  On a scale of 1 to 5, today's run was a 3.  I should have known better than to attempt running (especially a distance I haven't ran in a long while) in the middle of the day, in this southern heat.  After mile 2, I started breaking down and taking more walk breaks.  After mile 3, I started to feel light headed and a little dizzy.  Never again.  If I wake up late, I will just force myself to run in the evening when the temps are cooler.  Oh, and HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE!  The part of the trail I ran was very shady, but I think I probably should have drank more water starting yesterday!  I have definitely learned my lesson.