Maybe the Mediterranean Diet?

Thank you https://bloguvib.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/mediterranean-diet/

I know I need to find a way of eating that works for me. I've tried so many various things - Weight Watchers, eDiets, 21 Day Fix, calorie counting. I did the best on Weight Watchers, but I just can't seem to get back into it. I don't know why, but I have tried off and on over the last couple of years and cannot stick with it.

I have been reading a bit on the Mediterranean Diet and wondering if this might be an option. I know I can't give up pizza, fries, or dessert, but I like the idea of more vegetables, fruits, fish, and whole grains. They are all foods I eat and may be a better way for me to get a healthier diet and lose weight.

I still have research to do, but it sounds promising. Do you have any experience with it? Any advice? I'm open to more information!



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21-Day Fix

Hello All! How are you? How's your week been? Mine's been good - still fighting the cold I had since last week. Hoping it completely goes away soon!

Today hubby and I started the 21-Day Fix plan. We have both been a little too casual about our diets lately and I am not happy with how I look. In the last three years I've gained about 50 pounds. Yea...

June 2012 - Baltimore Women's Classic

March 2015 - Shamrock Half Marathon

Odd how both photos have me in orange... Anyway! That's not the point. The point is I weigh way more than I should and I'm trying something to change that.

I have a couple friends who have done it and had good results. Nothing I've tried lately has worked, so why not try something that talks about portion control and more real food than processed. I'm not a packaged food diet or shake kinda person {yes, I know the 21-Day Fix has Shakeology, I chose not to use it}. Give me a diet that talks about eating real food in real portions and I'm all for trying it.

So, today we started and for the next 21 days we will be eating real food in smaller portions. Breakfast was eggs with peppers and onions, 1 slice of toast with peanut butter, and half a banana. Not bad. All real and all good. I have my meals planned out through Easter currently. Over the next few days I will plan out next week as well. The planning is rough, but it does make things easier....knowing what I'm going to eat for each meal.

Let me say here and now that we will not be 100%. Our plan is to eat healthy 6-6.5/7 days. I know we may not see the same results as others with a day off, but in order to make this work as more of a life change than a diet, we have to be true to ourselves. We will want a beer. We will want a burger. We will want a doughnut. It may not be exactly the way it is planned out, but we need it to work for us.

We also start the workout portion tonight. The goal is to do the workouts, plus our training plan for the Wild Half Half Marathon in May. They are only 30 minutes each, which isn't much. We should be able to swing that. ;-) After work, first thing we work out.

Have you done the 21-Day Fix? What do you think? Tips? Suggestions?
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Hard decisions

This past week I celebrated my birthday. I've always loved my birthday, who doesn't? LOL! It's the one day a year that's all about you. We spent the day at the Baltimore Aquarium and dinner at the Owl Bar. Both were lots of fun! And I spent the day with my hubby, who is oh so good to me.

But, it made me think about things. I guess I'm at the age where people have those mid-life crises. I'm don't think that's where I am, but this birthday did make me think about my life. That's why I posted the above photos. The one of the left from 2012 was me at the Baltimore Women's Classic. I love that race and have run it five years in a row. The one on the right is from this past August 2014 at Chickie's and Pete's Boardwalk Run 5k. Can you see the difference?

I can. It's so obvious to me. I have let my workout desire and my diet just crash in the last 2 years. Horribly.

I've gotten to the point where I'm having trouble finding clothes I own that make me look good. I just look fat. Yes, it's relative. But to me, having been 40 pounds lighter, I look fat and I don't like it.

I need to make changes. I've been saying this for two years. But, after trying to find things that flatter me for two weddings in the last three months, not liking how I looked on my birthday, and knowing I have a wedding next month and gasp! half marathon training coming up, I gotta do it.

I have a notebook to keep track of my food, water, and workouts. I had a running trainer for the month of September that helped me get back into a workout grove. I need to keep moving with the workouts and add in healthy eating. I'm in a challenge group for the next 21 days and I'm going to put my all into it. I blew off the warm-up week, which is my fault, but I can come back and rock the actual challenge.

So, what have you put off doing? What do you need to work on to make yourself happy?


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Here we go again

I had a really good start to my 40 pound challenge. In 3 weeks, I was down 7 pounds. I was happy, a little behind schedule but happy. Then I had a bunch of things happen one right after another that threw me emotionally and I got off track. I knew what I was doing to myself, but I couldn't stop.

Friday, I got on the scale anticipating a really bad number. It wasn't a good one, about a 6 pound gain. I knew it was coming and honestly felt it would be worse. I was surprised at how low the weight was on the scale.

What does this mean? Does it mean I've given up? Does it mean I'm just going to stay where I am? Does it mean I'm going to continue on the way I have been? No. I'm going back to the habits that I had started using that brought about weight loss.

I will not reach my 40 pound goal by Nov. 11th. I am saddened by this, but because of that challenge I'm not going to give up. I am going to go back to my healthy habits and do my best to lose what I can by then. I may not be able to reach 40 pounds by Nov. 11th, but I can lose something.

I don't want to give in. I want to succeed and that's what I plan on doing!

Have you ever been thrown off track with your diet or exercise? What steps did you take to right the train?

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Trying to turn things around

It's been a rough summer. I've dealt with too many negatives this summer for my poor mental and emotional well being. Sometimes it can be overwhelming and honestly, it's been that way for me.

Today, hubby left for Jacksonville for work. He'll be gone until Friday night really late. He won't actually get home until Sat. morning really early. So, I'm going to take advantage of this. I have 2.5 days to focus on me and my eating habits. I can do one of two things while he's gone - I can eat healthy and get into that mindset or I can go crazy and just do whatever I want.

My goal is to eat healthy. I wrote down everything I am going to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until Friday evening. I also have snacks in there, but healthy ones. I'm not looking at my calories per se because I know everything written down is healthy - fruits, vegetables, protein - things I should be eating.

I'm hoping that doing this for the next few days will get me on a roll. Saturday will be a cheat day, it's hubby's birthday and I have big plans for him. Well...I'm working on those big plans. Sorry everyone, he reads the blog and I don't want him to know what they are! Shhhhh! But, come Sunday, I am back on track. I will write out my foods again for next week and I will add in working out. This week is focus on food. My weakness. Always has been.

I will tell you now, I will not meet my 40 pound challenge goal by Nov. 11th. I am upset with myself, but I don't want that to stop me from starting over. I want to start now and move forward, leaving behind the bad habits I took up for the past 5 weeks. I may not hit 40 pounds, but I can lose.

So, here's to a successful 2.5 days. Right now that's all I'm focusing on. I don't want to get too ahead of myself. One day, one meal at a time.

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Nutrition Confusion

Alright. I've been working (not always successfully) on my diet. I have always struggled with what I eat. It's been my Achilles heel for as long as I can remember. I have food issues, always have. Do you know what I don't eat?

Chicken

Steak

Ham

Shellfish

Mushrooms

I will say, I do eat:

Turkey

Ground Beef, Turkey, Bison

Bacon (yea...yea...)

Whitefish (including Salmon)

My question on nutrition is this. In everything I read, it states that you should eat x number of calories a day to lose weight. I get that. Eat too much, gain weight. Cut the number of calories without going too low, you lose. One thing you always hear is you can eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want because they are healthy and of course, Americans don't eat as many as they should. But, don't they have calories too? I know they may not have many calories, but there are still calories to consider. Can I eat as many as I want in a day? Do I count them against my x number of calories? Or do I get x number of calories a day, plus fruits and vegetables? I'm very confused.

Can you please help me? I need someone to clear this up!


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And I'm logging food and exercise again...

Last year I ran the Sole of the City 10k with hubby. We had a fun time running through Baltimore and we had a fun post-race party time with friends. We even took a pic pre-race:

This year we did our self-portrait in the parking garage. Yea...yea...We were cold and tired.

You can't tell too much from this photo, but I am much bigger than I was last year. I noticed it in the race photos. Ugh. Awful. So awful that I have finally figured out what I need to get my ass in gear. Yes. I do not want photographs of me looking like that anymore. It's awful. Did I say that already?

Last August, while in Las Vegas I looked like this:

And now?

How about a closer comparison?

Shamrock 2013

 

Shamrock 2012

 

I want to get back to what I was in August of 2012. Then I want to lose 12 more pounds. Because yes, I was 12 pounds away from my goal before gaining about 20 pounds in 8 months. I'm annoyed with myself. It's frustrating and sad. But, today's Sole of the City 10k photos made me see myself for what I really look like right now. It's not pretty...

 

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Weekly recap

Week one of Zooma Annapolis training is in the books. It did not go as well as I would have liked. I had all good intentions. I got my 3 mile run in on Saturday and ate basically what I knew I would. I did well on Sunday, even hitting the gym for a walk/bike/core workout. Monday, I didn't get my 30 minute run in due to a snowstorm that lasted literally all day. We were able to get to our training session Monday night and get in a 15 minute stationary bike ride.

And that's where my week went downhill. I talked about that failed training session earlier in the week and how it effected me mentally and emotionally. I appreciate all the support you guys gave me! But, I let it take me down the wrong track. Hubby had to go into the office Tuesday/Wednesday (he works from home and only goes into Philly a few times a year) and I just didn't handle myself well. I snacked all day on Tuesday and didn't work out. Wednesday, I went to work and did ok all day, but killed myself afterwards. I skipped the gym, then had McDonald's for dinner. It wasn't pretty.

But, I learned something this week. Actually a couple things.

1. My diet (what I eat) is my downfall. It really is. I may not like to exercise, but it's really what I eat that's holding me back from reaching my goals. I am an emotional eater and no matter what, I fall back on it. I have yet to find something to replace reaching for that Tastykake or Snickers. I need to spend time on this. I need to find a way around this. I need to find a way to make meals that I want to eat throughout the week. My diet is my focus next week.

2. My job is physical. I didn't just figure this out. I've known it for months. But, I am seeing that 6 hours on my feet does not make me want to go to the gym after work. Many a day the bottom of my feet hurt and I'm tired. All I want to do is go home, eat dinner, and chill. This week I am re-working my training plan so I am not going to the gym on my full work day. I know that sounds funny, but if I am exhausted and bail on a workout, I feel like I failed my plan. So, rather than failing my training plan, I can re-work it so it works for me. I can play with how I plan my workouts so I get them in, but I listen to my body.

So that's this week. A bit of learning. This weekend I have a 5 mile training run. Sunday, the gym is closed for Easter, so if the weather is decent maybe I'll break the bike out and hit the trail. It's something I want to do more of this year - take the bike on the trail and ride.

With all this, did I manage to lose any weight? Well...

Goal for June 1: 15 pounds
-/+: -1.4
To go: 13.6
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One

Ugh. I gained a pound this week. I'm not real thrilled about this. I know I didn't eat 100% perfect and I missed a workout, but... I'm still mad. Not at anyone but myself. I know what I did. I know why this happened. I got a little too cocky.

See last week I kinda half-assed my workouts and food. I wasn't on point each day, but close enough. And last week I lost about 3-4 pounds. Rather than building on that and continuing on with tweaking the diet to go healthier, I let myself slack. I ate a bit more than I did last week. I skipped the gym Wednesday. I ate poorly two weeknights rather than one. I know I can get away with one night with a bad dinner, but not two. And that's what I did.

So, this week I'm going to work on getting past my malaise. I need to get back in the groove with food and exercise. I have to follow through on what I say I'm going to do. I need to follow my calorie allotment for the day and I need to do my workouts. One week isn't forever, but it sure can lead to more.

Next week I want to be down 2 pounds. I know how to do it. Cut out 3,500 calories via food and 3,500 calories via exercise. I can do it. I just have to buckle down.

Diet

Lately I've been struggling with my diet (and by diet I mean the types of food I eat, not diet in the normal sense).  I can't seem to get control over what I eat and I can't seem to get any motivation to want to cook.  All I want are things that are easy to make and quick to eat.  I have all these great ideas, but I have no desire to do anything about it.

I'm not sure what the heck to do about it.  I'm still working out.  Today I rode the stationary bike for an hour, did my arm workout twice, and an ab workout.  Yesterday, I had my trainer session.  I'll hit the gym Thursday (Wednesday we have a baseball game after work) and Friday we have fencing.  Saturday, my normal long run day, I'm volunteering at the Dreaded Druid Hills 5 Miler in Baltimore (hubby is running), then Sunday I'm running the Baltimore Women's Classic 5k.  Working out hasn't been that bad lately, it's my food intake.

I need to get what I eat under control.  I've been hanging around the same 5 pounds since February.  It sucks.

What is going right

The whole eating healthy and exercising thing isn't working out as well as I had hoped the last several weeks.  And I have no idea why.  I just can't seem to get the motivation up to do what I'm supposed to do.  It's really rather frustrating. 

And because I don't want to be negative, I've decided to post a few positive things that have happened lately:

* Being the Harrisburg History Examiner has been fun so far.  Finding topics to write on has been a little more difficult than I thought it would be, but it's really been a neat experience.  I'll be posting another article later today.  And if you're in the Harrisburg/York/Lancaster area, you'll surely want to check it out!

* I received an email from a list-serve I belong to about needing judges for a 4th grade history essay contest.  I decided to email back and volunteer to judge.  Yesterday, they emailed back saying they would love to have me and I'll hear more from them at the end of the month.  Yea!  I'm thinking it's resume building.

* I follow a number of photography blogs, in the goal of learning some new things.  One of the blogs the other day listed a website where you can write for AOL and if your article gets picked up, you get paid.  I have so far submitted three articles for consideration.  They have a list of topics and you chose the ones you want to write on.  It's not retirement money, but it's something and experience.

* I received another email from a different list-serve yesterday with a local history position opening up.  I was really excited as I check the website of this organization about once a week or every other week and it is not up.  So, I'm happy that belonging to this list-serve gave me an opportunity I would not through normal channels have heard about.  I'm in the process of putting all the required documentation together - including recommendations!  This is the only organization I have applied to that wants recommendations rather than references.  It makes submitting more difficult.  But, I working hard to get everything in place by Monday's deadline.

* And in the spirit of full disclosure, I emailed an organization that I received an email for requesting authors for an upcoming encyclopedia.  I expressed my interest in writing on several topics and had hoped to hear they would be interested in me writing for them.  Nope.  Their policy is to hire professors or Ph.D. students with prior publishing experience on the topic.  Sad.

So, there you have it, things that are going well right now.  Hoping to turn the diet/exercise thing around in the coming week.  Not sure what the heck is going on with it.  If you have any advice, please share.  I'm all ears!