Cold Turkey

I've always been curious where the term "cold turkey" came from, so I looked it up this morning. According to Wikipedia there are many origins to the term.  Quitting "cold turkey" is usually associated with quitting a smoking habit, a drug habit or a drinking habit.  But what about an eating habit?

I quit cold turkey on Monday morning.  My hubby and I went out for Chipotle for one last hurrah before the beginning of October Unprocessed that following day.  I felt like crap after that meal.  Monday morning came and went and lunch came and went.  The afternoon was filled with temptations, horrible cravings, and will to just stay away from the need. A little more on how I did it later. 

There are a number of things I will admit to being addicted to.  There's sugar.  Sugar is the main thing.  I am (was?) obsessed with sugar.   A craving would take over for anything with sugar.  There was candy (gummies are my favorite), pop (I've limited myself on pop before but never completely rid my diet of it),  mixed coffee drinks, juice, candy, candy, candy, ice cream, frozen custard, and everything sugar.  Ugh.  I was also addicted to caffeine. I mostly got that from pop and sometimes a cup of coffee if I wanted something warm. I also loved bread.  I wasn't necessarily addicted to it except maybe my addiction to Subway.  I was really going to Subway for lunch 4 out of 5 days for lunch eat week.  Subway is ok in moderation, like everything else. 

This was getting out of hand.  I knew in my head I had to limit myself on these types of foods and added ingredients. I quit all these things on Monday.  I quit sugar, I quit caffeine (with the exception of unsweetened hot tea), and I quit processed carbohydrates. Let me tell you, this was HARD!  Monday was hard because of the temptations at work.  I actually sat in my office and watched out the window with jealousy of the people that got to go to Subway for lunch.  I got through the cravings even though it did some some physical will to not give in.  Tuesday the cravings were still there but they weren't as strong, but that withdrawal headache was starting to kick in by the end of the afternoon.  Wednesday, the headache hit with full force.  I was irritable and crabby and wanted to yell and wanted to cry after a customer yelled at me on the phone. I just didn't want to be at work anymore.  Wednesday was the hardest.  Thursday got a little better. The headache was still there but I felt one hundred percent better.  I was starting to notice that I wasn't getting the mid-afternoon sugar slump.  I was tired sure, I think my body is still learning how to adjust to not having refined sugar to fuel itself.  And I was hungry.  I just had to make sure I brought enough snacks for myself to make sure I had something when I got hungry so I didn't go for the snack box in the breakroom, filled with processed junk.

Thursday afternoon, when I got in my car, I was a little dizzy.  I think it may be because my blood sugar was too low.  I did eat a handful of pretzels when I got home from work and I felt so much better. I know the pretzels are processed but I needed something at that moment.  I need to look for other options in case this happens again.  Friday was like a new day after the rest of the week. I was energized when I woke up and felt good through the whole day. Plus, it's Friday with a whole weekend ahead of me! Who doesn't like Friday?!

Things I've noticed this weekend since going off my cravings and addictions cold turkey: I was going to allow myself a cheat meal. The cheat meal hasn't happened yet.  Maybe it would have if my husband was in town but I've been alone all weekend. I've been eating leftover  Mexican Chicken soup for lunches and scrambled eggs for dinner last night.  I picked up some good salmon from Whole Foods this morning that I will have for dinner tonight and cook the extra for lunch tomorrow. While driving this morning, I was thinking a cup of Chai Latte from Startbucks sounded delicious but when I got to the local establishment, I just kept driving right on by.  This confused me cuz I really wanted the latte, or atleast I thought I did but I knew it was processed. I knew how much sugar was in the Chai tea mix.   I ended up at home instead.  Here to my computer to write about it.  I ate an apple and had some lunch and started writing. 

On a side note. I went to the grocery store lastnight after planning my meals for the week.  I let myself have a treat of a little gelatin dessert cup.  One, my taste buds have somewhat changed, even just a little, and the treat didn't really taste that good. Two, the sugar gave me a headache. Three, the sugar gave me a belly ache.  So that treat really wasn't worth it to me.  I would have rather had a piece of fruit. 

Quitting my addictions will open doors for me.  Some are small for right now. I can enjoy a lazy Sunday afternoon with my two cats, watching the leaves drop from the oaks as Fall takes hold of the Wisconsin scenery.    Although I do wish it was a little warmer so I could enjoy the afternoon on the deck with a cup of hot tea. 

Come back tomorrow for Monday's weigh in!

One Foot Infront of the Other

I ran 7 miles today! It wasn't all running but only walked 2 minutes at a time and I finished 3.1 miles in my fastest time ever! So yea, it was a good run. I went into this run not doing a long run day in two weeks. Two weeks ago is when I did 6 miles and had horrible blisters from my old shoes. I was disappointed in my time that day so I was actually nervous about this weeks 7 mile run. Next weeks 8 miles is now scaring me but I will just have to get over it.

My training this week was lacking by one day of running but I did get some bike time in. My running time last week was sooo hard. I just wasn't feeling it at all. I was just putting one foot in front of the other. Do you have days where it's just hard to stay moving forward?

Todays run just wasnt like that. Today's run went really well. I ate a bagel about an hour before my run and just kept plodding away on the treadmill. I was super excited about getting 3.1 miles done fast and I was shocked when 6 miles this week was faster than it was two weeks ago. So yea, today was one of those good days that makes me think 13.1 miles isn't that far fetched.

It's Been Worth It

When I was searching my brain for something to write about today, I kept coming back to the changes that I have experienced over the past year and a half. I know I've written about this before but I am still in awe of things that are so much different.

The change that keeps coming to me is how much better I feel when I run and how much further and faster I can accomplish that feat. I think back to when I first started running how much it really hurt. At the very beginning, even three years ago when I was running in the snow with Anne, I remember coming back home feeling exhausted! I usually wasn't running more than a mile or two and it was probably more walking than running. I remember one particular night, getting in my car after a workout, I was actually dizzy and had to sit in my car before starting it for just a little while until I got my bearings back.  I have felt the dizziness since then but its been rare.

I remember how bad my shin splints were. I remember having to stop and stretch because my feet just wouldn't flex. My shins were just too tight and it just hurt too much. But I stuck with it.

I don't know when I pushed past that because it doesn't hurt as much anymore. Now I have more mental barriers versus physical barriers. Those barriers are still there but to a lesser degree. Maybe it's just because I'm more confident? I know I can achieve any distance I put my mind too. It may take some training and pushing but I've learned it's so worth it!

If my body has made this much in changes in the past two or three years, where will I be in another two or three years? Where will I be in a year? Where will I be if when I get my weight down? How much easier will it be? These are all questions I have to think about. If I keep pushing, I know I will feel better. So why not keep pushing and striving for goals?

Tomorrow I will fill you in on my goals for the year.

I Fought for 5k!

I woke up on Thanksgiving morning to a clean house, a huge amount of food in the fridge, and the wind blowing against the siding. That wind was telling me it was too cold outside to get out from under my covers, it was too cold to pull on my work out gear and get ready for the 5k I had committed to over a month earlier. I just wanted to stay under the sheets, cuddle with my husband, and dream about the upcoming Thanksgiving meal that was going to emerge from my oven. I even asked my husband if he wanted to skip out on the event. I can't believe I did that! As I stared at the ceiling, trying to talk myself out of the bed, I began to think about everyone else that was going out into the cold air and running or walking a 5k that morning. There were my parents, my sister, and the majority of the Pack. If they were braving the weather, then I could too.

After the stuffing was in the crockpots for my first attempt at hosting Thanksgiving dinner, I climbed the stairs to put on my warm clothing. I made sure to check the weather before I decided what to wear. It was windy and the air was was damp and cold. Hubby and I climbed into the car and started on our way to the Berbee Derby. I couldn't understand why he was trying to push me out the door nearly an hour before our race start. Once we got there, I was glad he did. The place was already swarming with cars! We decided to park about a half mile from the event start line so we would have an easy get away at the end of the race. I would have to say there were atleast 3000 participants between the 10k and the 5k race. I like these bigger races because I can blend in with the crowd and there are sure to be people in that crowd that I am faster than. It gives me a confidence boost.

Berbee Derby 2011

At the beginning of the race I thought that I was going to stick by my hubby the whole time because he was being a dear to participate in the event with him. But then again, I also wanted to see how hard I could push myself and see how far I could go. We placed ourselves in the last wave just ahead of the 5k walkers. In the end, it was the right place to put myself. Hubby ran with me for the whole first mile and then he started to walk. I asked if it was ok if I kept going and he said it was. So, I just kept going. Coming around one of the turns I noticed a big hill ahead. I briefly thought that the hill was going to suck and I was going to let myself walk it. But then I thought back to when I was running earlier in the summer and when I proclaimed that I loved running hills because conquering them made me feel strong! I took that hill, and the next two without stopping to walk. I also took each subsequent down hill quickly. I heard a dad telling his daughter to just let the down hill push her, to let gravity work with her legs and to not push against it. I took his advice and just sailed down the hills.

I fought through the mental battle of wanting to stop to walk. Thing I have read kept working through my mind. "You can do anything for five minutes" kept really sticking with me. My foot went numb, I just kept going. I sprinted at the end. I did! It felt good to put all my energy into going all out the last few meters. I finished and I didnt stop to walk. I fought for it! Hubby finished 5 minutes after I did. It wasn't my best time but I'm ok with that.

A Little Success and a Continueing Goal

I'm not really in the mood to write but I did promise a post about some good news. My last goal was to track my calories for the week. I downloaded the calorie counter program from Myfitnesspal.com and got started on my counting. I did really well for the week except there was a day or two that I didn't want to log my calories because I knew that I would be over my calories for the day. I was usually over those calories because I made a silly decision about what went into my mouth. It was hard for me to own up to it. 

Out of this last week came a loss of 2.5lbs! I haven't been successful with poundage loss since last Christmas. Because of this I am not going to be setting a new goal for this week. I am going to keep focusing on counting my calories and see where I end up next weekend. Hopefully it will be with another weight loss.

A Good Day

After last night's post, I just wanted to say I had a good day! Here is what I ate today:

Breakfast:
Multi-grain Cheerios with skim milk   150 Calories

Morning Snack:
Handful of Frosted Mini Wheats  90 calories
Lunch:
200 Calorie portion of Digiorno Pepperoni Pizza - 200 Calories
Snyders of Hanover Pretzel pieces - 140 Calories
Minute Maid Apple Juice Box (I bought these as an inside joke with my hubby) - 95 Calories
Yoplait Light yogurt - 100 Calories
Stretch Island Raspberry fruit leather - 45 calories
Afternoon Snack:
One mini snickers (the little square ones) - 45 calories
Dinner:
Pat and I went out for dinner for the first time in a couple of weeks. *I remember the times when we would go out for dinner 3-4 times a week* We opted for the Great Dane Pub because we had a gift card. I ordered a glass of water. We split an order of Hot Soft Pretzels and I ordered their Cobb salad with the dressing on the side. The jalapenos caught me off guard as they were buried in with the lettuce. The salad was great and I was surprised how full i was. I have no idea what the calorie count was on this. I'm going to say the salad was around 400 calories and the pretzels...300 calories???

That puts me at almost 1600 calories for the day. That is about right where I want to be. I am aiming for 1650-1700 calories a day.

So Yea! Go Me!

Tomorrow night, I talk about my first, hellish, brick workout!

Week 1 of C25K

So lastnight I stopped at Target to pick up a watch to wear while I am working out. So far, my idea of learning how to run is to push myself as far as I think I can go and then walk for a while, then push myself again. I have looked at the Couch to 5k program a couple of times and didn't think that I was fit enough to even handle the first week. I decided lastnight to just pick up a watch and just start doing the plan. I have noticed a little bit of improvement over the last months but not as quickly as I would have hoped. Now as my first 5k approaches in a little over two weeks, I am not ready to run the whole distance.

The first week of C25K is 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking. Well, I did it backwards. I did 90 seconds of jogging and 60 seconds of walking.  I think this worked well for me so I think I will keep it going the backwards way for the next two work outs this week. Week two is 90 seconds of jogging with 2 minutes of walking. Maybe I will do week one for two weeks. Hmm...what to do, what to do?

Thank you to my cousin Lynn, who will be doing the Iron Girl Duathlon with me in September, for suggesting that I do a formal training plan. I was against it at first but I think it might actually work out for me. If you are interested in the training schedule for the C25K, check out the Coolrunning website. There are many other C25K plans but I think this one works for me.

By the way, I did the same 2.15 mi loop tonight that I did on Monday. On Monday, I finished it in 29 minutes. Tonight, using the interval training, I did the same distance in 27 minutes! Go me!

Failure and Success!

I'm not sure what I'm about to say is me admitting to failure or not.

I gave up being a vegetarian about 3 1/2 weeks into the adventure. I was finding that my legs were cramping up far too much during my jogging and thought that maybe it was due to my giving up meat. I'm still not very sure if this is really the real reason for the leg cramping. The real problem is probably that I actually find that I am gaining weight instead of losing it. I think I replaced a lot of the lack of meat with carbs, carbs, and more carbs. The carbs just wore me down. I found as I slowly worked some protein back into my diet in the form of meat, I felt like I had more energy.

This vegetarian thing has really opened my tastebuds to try new things. I learned that I love marinated onions and peppers. I learned that I really like to try new things and that vegetarian items are worth the try and really do taste good! I think I will be trying to incorporate vegetarian meals into my daily menu. My hubby is still doing the vegetarian diet and even opted for a vegetarian meal at Taco Bell today, which he actually liked!

When I got home today from work I was in a bad mood and on the fence about working out. I didn't really want to get out and run, even though the weather was perfect for it. I really just wanted to sit on the couch. I knew my bike was still set up in the basement and that my bike shorts were up on the bedroom floor. But I really just wanted to sit on the couch and watch the news.  But then I thought to myself that I could watch the news while I rode the bike. So that's what I did. I marched up the stairs to pull on the wonderful black spandex padded shorts, my sports bra and a tee shirt. I threw my hair up into a ponytail and slipped on my bike gloves. I turned on the tv and got moving. I pedaled so hard at one point that I broke off the plastic part that holds my foot in place. I suppose it is time to get my bike affixed with those nifty shoe cleats. I wanted to stop so many times but I just kept going. I did 40 minutes...and felt AMAZING when I was done.

Dinner was ready for me after I was done on the bike. It was so yummy and all I could talk about was how glad I was that I got off my ass to work out. I really want this to become a habit and I think I am slowly getting there.

Good Choices

First off, I know you all are going to laugh at me but I have a record 10 followers! LOL. Thanks Sarah for following my blog!

Anyway, I am really proud of myself for what decisions I made today. I stayed out of the snack box at work! I was given the opportunity to make a healthier choice for lunch.

I didn't get the opportunity to work out yesterday because I was just too busy with other things. (I went to see Legally Blonde on stage with a friend). Then I didnt sleep too well lastnight so the only thing I wanted to do after work was sit on my bum and watch tv. Maybe I thought about going outside and work on the yard a bit. I then realized that I am getting together with some girlfriends this weekend and there will probably be no plans for working out on Friday or Saturday. So I pulled on my work out pants and strapped on the iPod and headed out the door. I thought today would be the day would be the day that I would be able to run a quarter mile without stopping. But no, I only got .18 miles without stopping and it was downhill. Ah well!

When I got back home, I made sure I did some really extensive stretching with the hope that I wouldn't have painful legs tomorrow. I have yet to see if that pays off.  Tomorrow night will probably be a bike night. I need to get my bike butt back. I had 5 mini marshmallows to satisfy a sweet tooth after dinner and then a small apple. Yumm.

Now I know this post isn't too exciting but I should be off to bed. Maybe I will come up with something better to write tomorrow night.