My Plan to not SCREW UP

Don't Screw Up the Holidays.

Holiday season brings extra festivities,
including FUN RUNS like
the annual Jingle Bell Hell!

It is the start of hibernation pounds for many (myself included). A long stretch of festive celebrating, eating on the go, work parties, family get-togethers and holiday meetups for every social group that you're a member. While the merriment is all fine and dandy, it leaves my jeans a bit tight by New Years. So I have a PLAN to not screw myself quite badly this year. I share it with you as an accountability check...

•  I expertly timed to run a marathon in March. The 16 week training schedule starts Thanksgiving week. Enough said. I'll be running my butt off - starting with a 5 mile Turkey Trot on Thursday morning. Plus I plan on attempting the RW Holiday Streak. This is either an awesome idea or stupid... unsure which yet.

•  I purposely entered a Dietbet contest that ends the week after Thanksgiving. I'm halfway to my goal (to win a share of the $ pot), with 4 more pounds to lose before final weigh-in. It's completely doable, but will require sacrifice of that pumpkin pie and fresh bread (my weaknesses) on Turkey Day. I'm not even a fan of mashed potatoes, gravy, casseroles and all that jazz so it's not terribly difficult for me to stick with just the turkey and veggies. However, my Aunt always has yummy snacks as we watch the football game... and my team usually makes me lose my cool, driving me to munch. It's not a challenge without temptation, right?! As we roll into December, I plan on signing up for another Dietbet. I can't deny it - the investment with money on the line - motivates me to say no to the cookie. I need that to keep my food in check over the holidays.

Don't Screw Up Marathon #6.

My training plan for the Shamrock Marathon started last Monday. I did not. As you may be aware, I was pretty sick this past weekend, so it quickly became a 15 wk training plan. Sigh. It is what it is, and I move forward.

I've finally settled on a training plan that works into my busy life, especially over the holiday season. (I'll share my plan details next week.) Although, I'm still searching for the motivation to train. I love running without a doubt, but training takes the run outside the "fun zone" sometimes. I know some people do, but I don't run full marathons for the fun of it. The only reason I run a full these days is to improve, PR, push my limits. 26.2 is always a big challenge and in the end, a huge high that keeps me coming back more. The distance drives me to push further and faster. To keep me (and you!) accountable to winter training schedules, I will be kicking off the Winter Miles Challenge on January 6... a free 8 week challenge that includes weekly prizes and motivation to keep us from slacking over the snow-riddled winter. More to come on that, so get excited!

Don't Screw Up My Foot. 

No one likes to talk about injuries, but once you suffer one, it's always stewing in the back of your mind. I'm not a very good patient. I don't listen well to the 'rest' philosophy. I have backed off my miles since completing the Marshall Univ Half (where IS that race recap?), but what I really needed was complete REST. My body obviously told me that this past weekend when I was bed-ridden with a fever for three days. It's amazing how your muscles and joints can ache more from laying in bed than running a marathon! I feel so darn stiff. Yoga please! However, after a 0 miles week, I now wake up each morning and walk normal from the get-go. If you've ever had plantar fasciitis (PF), you'll understand what a blessing that is. Therefore, I promise not slack as I pick up miles again. I will continue icing after workouts and my stretching exercises (Trigger Point review coming soon) to prevent another PF flareup. Long may this girl run!


Your turn...
What's your holiday plan? Do you fight it, or just worry about it come January?
Are you a winter runner? Do you have a spring race that you train for over the winter?
What's your current injury?

Last Chance Workout

Today was the last day of Mindy's Dietbet. I paid $25 to get in last month, gambling that I could lose 4% of my body weight during the course of four weeks. I had some good days; I had some bad days. I lost and then I gained.  When I weighed in, I was a pound shy of my goal. I decided to put in a good last chance workout. My weight fluctuates a lot - it can change several pounds from morning to night. So I knew it was 100% possible to shave off that final pound before the deadline.

I was suppose to get up at 4:45am this morning for a run. Instead, I slept in... and it felt awesome. I awoke to my five year old cuddled up in bed with me, which is rare occasion these days. Needless to say, I was actually happy to have missed my early run.

But... I still needed a final workout. By mid-morning, I stepped outside and it was already sticky, humid and uncomfortable. I debated the treadmill, the gym or running on our backyard trail. The girls wanted to swim, so we compromised. I created a little circuit workout to do in the backyard. They could play in the pool, while I worked out - still having an eye on them.

10 sets of this workout will get you...
 2 miles, 300 jumping jacks, 200 pushups, 100 burpees, 250 superman kicks, 250 ab crunchers
NO JOKE.

Once I began the workout, the kids joined in with me, sprinting across the grass. They did the first couple sets with me... and then the last.  Each time I'd jump in the pool, they would squeal like crazy. They even kept count for me with their diving rings, throwing one out every time I completed a sequence.

Make no doubt, I was exhausted by time this workout was done... and yet, it was fun play time with my kiddos. As humid as it was outside, this is the only fathomable workout I could have done today - happily.

P.S. Yes - I made my final weigh-in goal!

Woo-Hoo! Down 7.2 lbs for the month!

Diet-to-Go Review

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I basically live on a permanent roller coaster of losing/gaining weight. The baby weight has been gone for quite some time, but I'm still stabbing away at those extra "newlywed" pounds and the "freshman 15". Yeah, I know, it's been long time since college. Hey, I've been busy!

Busy...
My least favorite word.
And yet my favorite excuse.

I'm busy alright... I exercise like crazy! But my food intake is sloppy and inconsistent. I love, love, love healthy fresh foods (really, I do!), but my busy-as-a-bee lifestyle makes it difficult to find time for proper food prep. Add in my hatred for grocery shopping and we've got ourselves a real problem. I can go all day without eating (bad, bad, bad) and then I'm starving by late-afternoon. Typically, I end up grabbing whatever is quick and easy in the house. Several nights a week, I don't get home from the gym until late. I'm famished and looking for something quick. My track record of "choices" is not stellar.  I'm not the only one who gets sucked into this routine, right?

That is exactly why I was excited when asked to review Diet-to-Go, a diet meal delivery service that was recently ranked #1 by Epicurious. A couple weeks ago, I came home to find a styrofoam box on my doorstep... packed with individually wrapped frozen meals amongst dry ice.

I selected the "Traditional" diet meals, but there is also vegetarian and low-carb options as well. I received an assortment of breakfast, lunch and dinner meals to sample. While all the food was neatly organized in packages, I would have liked to see a printed "menu", outlining what to eat each day and the nutritional totals for that day. Instead, I just grabbed whatever sounded good each day.

Cranapple Muffin with cream cheese sauce

Here's a sample of some of the meals I received...

• Wheat French Toast Bake
• Egg with Spinach, Chicken Sausage and Asparagus
• Tomato Veggie Pie
• Chicken Salad Sandwich
• Waldorf Chicken Salad Sandwich
• Wahoo Fish Burger
• Black Been Soup & sides
• Stir Fry Chicken Dinner
• Creole Dinner
• Chicken Fajita Dinner

My favorite was the Stir Fry Chicken Dinner (pictured above). Real vegetables, chicken breast meat with sauce and brown rice. It was both yummy and filling.

My least favorite was the sandwiches in general. I'm a carb gal... I seriously know and value fresh bread. I was not a fan of the bread used with these lunch meals. With the Waldorf Chicken Salad Sandwich (pictured above), I ended up scooping out the inside "chicken mix" and eating it atop a bowl of spinach.

PROS
• The convenience of course! Instead of digging for food or tempted by the drive-thru on the way home in the evening, I knew exactly what was for dinner... with no shopping or prep work. Most meals slid straight out of the freezer into the microwave and were done in less than 6 minutes.
• I found all the dinner creations were quite tasty and filling. Several times, I added extra veggies that I had in the fridge. I just prefer an abundance of vegetables on my plate... more filling with little added calories.
• Diet-to-Go offer no cancellation fees or gimmick pricing. There is no commitment or contract, and they offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee. You can pause, stop or restart your diet meal plan at any time. I like the control factor of that.
• Should you find certain meals that you don't care for (like I did with the sandwiches),  Diet-to-Go's online customer tools make it easy to do meal substitutions.
• New meal flavors without wasting time searching and analyzing recipes. Diet-to-Go is like your own personal chef. Best of all, no pots and pans to wash!

CONS
• I thought the calorie counts were a bit high for a diet. The Wahoo Fish Burger was a fairly small dish that I had for lunch one day... 710 calories is a bit much for me. To see weight come off, I usually need to keep each meal under 500 calories, especially if I'm to allow for snacks. I also thought the sodium was high in most dishes... but that's coming from a girl who basically quit using salt (and doesn't miss it). Even my mom thinks I'm weird.
• The backside of each meal had ingredient information, some of which were quite long with too many words that I can't pronounce. I was kinda puzzled that only about half of my meals had nutritional information listed. How do I log this meal into my tracker without knowing the calorie count? Eeek! A dieter's nightmare.

The cost can be a PRO and a CON. When I grocery shop, I buy so much more than I'm suppose to. In the end, I spend more cashola... on things I shouldn't have. So a meal delivery service can help me in that respect. However, I still have to feed my family. Thus, I still have to make that dreaded trip to the grocery store.  The Diet-to-Go meals average $6-8 per meal. Depending on your lifestyle (how much you eat out and what you're currently eating), that may be a lot or right in line. I think it varies based on your current situation and how you place value "service" in your lifestyle.

• • •

Have you ever tried a diet meal delivery service?

If you'd like to try Diet-to-Go, 

use the coupon code fitfluential 

and receive 20% off any meal plan.

FitFluential LLC compensated me for this campaign. All opinions are my own.

Diet-to-Go Rating: 4.5

Reviewed By: Jess McMullin

January Challenges Recap

Like most people, I set myself lofty goals as the calendar flipped to January.  Make no mistake - I love blogger fitness challenges and virtual races, but I need to evaluate and select wisely.  Does this help me stay on track to reach my 2012 Goals?  Keeping focused on own personal goals is tough for me as I tend to get caught up in the excitement/persuasion of others.  During the month of January, I decided to participate in the following two challenges...

New 2 U Cross Training Challenge

hosted by (Just) Trying is for Little Girls

This challenge is a simple nudge outside my comfort zone of running... and try one new cross training activity each month of the year.  I am all about new experiences!  It keeps fitness fresh for me.  I find the more I cross train, the more I enjoy running days AND the less I get injured from overtraining. Total WIN all the way around.  Since one of my 2012 Goals is to complete my first triathlon, the selection of my first "new to me" cross train was easy... SWIMMING!

I wasted no time taking the plunge with my first pool date on January 2.  My goal was to swim at least two times each week as part of a brick-style workout (coupled with biking or running). During the last month, I completed 10 pool workouts.
Here's what I've learned...

• Swimming is hard!  Unlike running, there is much more coordination needed amongst the body parts - arm strokes, hip position, kicking and then breathing. Oh-the breathing!! The basic movements of running are natural for humans, right?  It was quite clear with swimming that I was not a natural-born fish.
• I had to think back to the beginning days of my running.  I didn't run a 5K overnight (took me months to work up to that!). The same holds true with swimming. I started with one simple lap of freestyle strokes.  I alternated with a lap of water jogging for recovery (I was literally panting after one lap of swimming!). The second week, I built up to a 2-1 ratio.  Now in my fourth week, I'm doing 3 laps of freestyle to 1 lap of board kicking where I practice proper breathing technique.  I can now easily finish 1500 yds in 40 minutes.
• Swim caps are not only awesome, but much needed when you have long hair.  I tied my long locks back in a tight bun to swim, but it still came loose. I can't tell you how difficult it is to detangle swim hair!  Finally I bought myself a swim cap and the hair problem is solved.
• Swimmers are not nearly as friendly as runners.  Just sayin'... it was a frigid welcome to the pool by the other regular swimmers.  Even after a month, only one guy has warmed up enough to say hello. Weird.
• Swimming rocks the side muscles of your core!  I felt it instantly after the first workout. I will continue swimming in my regular fitness routine because I think it's made a huge difference in my cardiovascular ability and overall toning of my "non-running" muscles.

Food Journal Challenge

hosted by Run to the Finish

Another one of my 2012 Goals is to lose weight, specifically 30 pounds before summer.  If you've been following me for even a little while, you know my failure is not in the exercise arena.  My weakness is food.  This Food Journal Challenge was just what I needed to start the year. Luckily the challenge perimeters were pretty flexible, because I fumbled around before finally finding what worked for me...

• First I bought a little notebook, eager to jot down everything I ate and journal my "food feelings" for the day.  I did well with that the first week and then it slowly fizzled (lost in the pile of homework, bills and mail on the kitchen counter).
• As I struggled to keep up the notebook, I started taking photographs of my meals.  Initially, the photos were just a visual reminder of what I ate... so that I could catch-up on my journal.  What I learned quickly was that I had a really hard time taking a picture of a pile of chocolate chips (the only chocolate I could find in the house!) or a greasy plate of pizza. I also couldn't take seconds... I mean seriously, two pictures for one meal!?!?  Then I began sharing my photos in a Facebook album {here}.  Now I felt an urge to make the plates "look pretty and colorful".  It also held me a bit more accountable.
• Lastly, I logged back into My Fitness Pal.  I used this website (and now iPhone app) several years back when I started my weight loss journey. It's so easy to use (and free!) to track your daily intake and calories.  It forces me to measure out my food portions.  Like so many Americans, my portions were too big.  In fact, I quit using the 11" dinner plates (except for salads).  My dinners are now served on the smaller 8" plates.

Do these monthly challenges make a difference?  I'll let you decide. This morning was my official Week 3 Weigh-In for the 55-Day Weight Loss Challenge at my health club.  So excited with my results this week...

-5.1 lbs this week!

Brings my total to -15.1 lbs for the three week period.

My team in general is doing very well.  The five of us Sole Sisters have lost 51.8 lbs as a group!

Order Up!

Part of responsible training is taking care of your body... giving it the right amount of rest and the proper nutrition.  This week I’ve been focusing on everything that hits my plate (and even that which goes directly down the hatch!).  After three days, I’m feeling really good already.  The more I train, the more I’m in tune with my body.  I notice it reacts quickly to changes in the diet.  Feed it right and it will be good to you...

I love reading what other runners are eating, so without further ado, What's on you plate? Wednesday is here!  I'll share some of my favorite meals and recipes from the week with you... Bon Appetite!

LOADED OATMEAL - always one of my favorites!  I start with an instant packet of Quaker Raisin, Date & Walnut oatmeal.  Once cooked, I pile on more raisins, walnuts, bananas and strawberries.  Yum!

BAKED PARMESAN-ENCRUSTED TILAPIA with steamed broccoli & a fun salad.

Little Girl and I tried out new BANANA MUFFIN recipes.

This Banana Oat Nut recipe below was my favorite.

• 1.5 cups flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup applesauce
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• Combine dry ingredients.  In another bowl, beat egg slightly & add the last four ingredients. Stir in dry mixture until just combined.  Bake 400 degrees 18-20 minutes in muffin pans.

I love summer lunches!  Toasted Everything Bagel with turkey, cheese, cuc & lettuce.  

Skipped the chips and went with watermelon & carrots!

The kids really wanted tacos one night... so that's what we did.  

I limited myself to only one, but filled that tortilla to the seams with chopped veggies!

Colorful loaded salad for lunch!  I was starving after Spin class today & this totally hit the spot.  And I'm loving how My Fitness Pal computes every last calorie for me (below)...

I also figured out that if you're going to cheat... make it last!!  I cut this Reese's Peanut Butter cup into EIGHT pieces and made that 100 calories take a full 30 minutes to consume!  Bahaha!

So what's on your plate this week?

Runner on a diet

Everyone always assumes you lose a bunch of weight while training.  With all that running, how can you not shrink, right?!  Unfortunately, that has not been the case for me.  I have to watch everything I put into my mouth in order to shed the pounds.  When training, it seems I'm more hungry than ever.  Not a good combination.  However, I am determined to get down to 145 before my training this summer for the Rock 'n Roll Marathon - St. Louis.

My exercise burn is spot-on.  Time to get the eating under control.  So yesterday I did some kitchen cleaning (again!)  Unhealthy leftovers were dumped. Perfectly good cupcakes found a home in the garbage.

After a trip to the store, we stocked up on foods to make healthy meals and snacks.  Thankfully, my husband was eager to "reset" with me as well.  Back on the healthy train.  Choo-choo! 

And when I get on that healthy kick, even my kids' meals get a makeover.  Thankfully, I do not have picky eaters.  Pride literally shivered through me when the first thing they both grabbed was the broccoli... and then asked for more!  :) 

I spent the evening watching Biggest Loser, making out meals plans for the week, and entered my day into My Fitness Pal website.  It's a good day when you burned more calories than you ate!  Great start to "The Reset."

This morning I began with an incredibly yummy oatmeal concoction (fuel to start up the metabolism!) with bananas, strawberries, raisins, walnuts, and dates.

Today's workout was a 45 min Spinning class, followed by 25 min weight circuit, and 10 min on the Endless Rope.  Today I feel GREAT! (Thanks bloggy-friends for all the kind words yesterday when I was so frustrated.)

Up Next (Thursday):  TEMPO - 2m warmup, 5m tempo run at mid-tempo pace (9:30), 1m cooldown.

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When you make a serious effort to lower your weight, is it a family affair?

...or are you stuck with a Lean Cuisine while the rest of the family chows on lasagna?

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