One week before Thanksgiving!

I'm not sure exactly sure how many calories I will be consuming for dinner as we are going out to eat, but I have a range of 350 - 650 to keep me within my daily goal. And, fortunately, I do not find the bread basket at the Cheesecake Factory to be very tempting. So if I stick with a nice salad, I should be good to go!

Today is what my brother's cross-country coach calls 'active rest'. I did not run, bike, swim or weight train today, but between the commute, the lunch-time walk, the dog walking and the trip to the post office, I will have walked 11 miles today.

I am glad to be back working on this and keeping myself in check! I have really started to focus on the "trade-offs" I talked about yesterday. I could have bread tonight, and forego the wine. I could have an entree and no wine. I could have a glass of wine and a salad and still do well on my calories. No self-deprivation, no "off limit" foods. Just choices....choosing to live on less....and that's the healthier choice.

Back with a vengence

Soooo....2 weeks of vacations and other lame excuses got me out of the Sparkpeopl habit = BAD. Back-to-back weekends of excuses to allow myself a little excess. (One weekend would have been okay....2? No.) But my first day back on the wagon was a good one.

Know what one of the best things about sparkpeople (for Fitday or any food journal/tracking) is? It shows you how to make decisions. It demonstrates tradeoffs. You can enter everything you might eat, look at the various calorie allotments and have a really honest conversation with yourself about what is actually genuinely worth the calories.

That has been my defense against the still-present leftover Halloween candy in the office. Sure...I can have those Nestle Crunches....or I can have one glass of lovely Reisling after dinner. One or the other, but not both...and when presented in that fashion, it is easy to make the decision.

The last 2 weeks makes me a little fearful that I will never be to the point where I can just eat right without tracking...but for now....if this is working....it's not so onorous that I am willing to give it up.

Weight: 150 (le sigh)
Physical Activity: 2 miles of dog walking, 2 mile walk to work, 20-minute weight workout, 20 minutes on the ellptical, 4 mile run.
Calories: 1550

Working out is not a problem

Depending on your sources, you can have a variety of statistics on the breakdown in importance between calorie intake and exercise for weight loss. That remains a huge part of my frustration, I admit. I can follow a plan, if I know it is successful in the long-term. But while some will say weight loss is an easy equation of calories in versus calories burned, others will show scientific evidence of the KIND of calories (fiber, protein, good carbs vs. bad) or the timing of calories (eat whatever before 2 p.m., eat every 4 hours) or the temperature of calories (ice water burns more...) being a critical factor in success in weightloss. Frankly, if you did all kinds of online research, I can see where you might #1 - give up completely or #2 - buy into some stupid plan like the grapefruit diet.

But the bottom line is that nothing will work long term if you don't learn tio eat properly. I hear that losing weight is 70 - 80% diet, and the rest exercise. That is frustrating to me because exercise is NOT a problem for me. In fact just today I did a GREAT 30-minute upper body weight work out and a 5-mile run. But did I eat okay today? That is really the question when it comes to weightloss. And while the answer for today is probably "yes"...that is not the same as this past weekend....or last weekend, when I was on vacation. And if I am not ultimately learning to be a better eater I am not being successful in my current endeavour, I will also not accomplish long-term success in my relationship with food, which is really critical.

Our scale has been acting up, I think it is now fixed, but I do not have a current weight to report. Nor have I been good about tracking my calories.....I wanted to get to the point where that was not necessary....but I do not think I am there.

And the holiday season is upon us, which means food challenges. I have a lot to learn.

Motivation in a shopping bag

Nothing will get your butt back on Sparkpeople and elevate the intensity of a workout like a day that starts with clothes shopping followed by a registration for an endurance event.

The extra hour last night might have helped too, because I was up early and felt like I had lots of time for a gym trip.

Weight: did not weigh
Physical activity: 2 miles walking the dog, 4.5 miles run (split, to gym and back), 20 minutes upper body weights (chest, biceps and triceps), 7 miles on stationary bike (26:30 minutes).
Calories: 1700 planned.

Depressed

The scale was 150 this morning. And today was Halloween. One week until I go to DC, so 7 weeks since I started.

I am very depressed.

On my own

Sooooooo....5 days both on my own and on an expense account (for part of it). It showed, overall, that I am not quite ready. Sadly, I had time to do really, really well on my exercise.....yet also had plenty of access to free candy and dessert. (I was on the concierge floor...they brought me Oreos before bed for pete's sake!)

So....good in some cases and not good in others. I am learning a little....but need to work harder. Building on what I am learning...I will get there. Tomorrow will be another challenge......Halloween. Potluck at work and handing out candy. I hope we get lots of trick-o-treaters.

But I should not need to hope for that......I am getting better at containing myself....and the running is back.

Weight: 149
Exercise: 5 mile run (I started running again!)
Calories: 1550

HUGE challenge coming my way

Tonight: Dinner out with friends

Tomorrow: We leave for San Diego where we will spend the weekend, but then I will be there through Wednesday for a conference.

Challenge....not creep back into the 150s.

I have been holding at 148 every day...I do NOT NOT NOT want to go back up. There will be no food scale, no measuring cups, no internet to log into SparkPeople every day.

There will be a day at the zoo (walking!) and a gym at the hotel (hopefully....or I start running) plus I have never been to San Diego so I just want to walk around and see the place.

But I do view this as a test....have the changes I have been integrating really taken hold? Can I control my food intake when I don't have a visible calorie count?

I accpet this challenge, and hope to come out with flying colors!