Sunday should be a day of rest right? So today I got caught up around my house after three weeks of neglect - laundry, meal planning, groceries, laundry. I actually had to schedule myself a day to do it, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (for life getting back to 'normal' that is). Didn't go to the gym today for the first time in 8 days!
I haven't even had time to update everyone on my progress. I am now officially 6.2 lbs down in total! I know that isn't supposed to make a difference and that the weight I lose isn't as important as the change in lifestyle (blah, blah, blah) but I am going to need something to keep me motivated throughout this process - and eventually I won't have the other contestants to keep me going. Funny that I am already thinking about the end of the contest, but these three weeks have gone so quickly!
I am learning about healthy food choices - which is sometimes hard depending on where I am. Yesterday was the homecoming football game, and the Alumni Association was invited to the lunch in the South End Zone. I spent most of my time driving the Alumni Association golf cart, taking guests from the gates to the end zone - and trying to stay dry in the pouring rain. So by the time I stopped for lunch, I was so cold and wet that pretty much anything heated sounded like a good plan. Luckily they had grilled chicken on a bun, so I didn't have to make any really tough decisions - but the side dish they were offering was CHIPS.
Ah my sweet kryptonite...salty, crunchy, yummy chips....how lovely they would have been. They were even in those small bags, perfectly portioned for a little treat but not so many that I would have to do 2 workouts to burn them off. But then I have a birthday party later and I am sure there will be wine - and right then and there the decision was made....a glass of wine with dinner instead of the salty goodness. If only all decisions were as easy to make! I know that I won't be able to avoid chips for the rest of my life (or even until the end of the day as it turns out), but I guess it is about focusing on one decision at a time.
When I got home, Tracy convinced me to meet her at the gym for a quick workout before the party - what a girl!! I probably would have laid on the couch trying to warm up, but instead I learned a new machine and sweat my a$$ off. She had me try the step machine that looks like an escalator - starting on level 9 and doing a fat burning cycle that takes you up to about level 14 and then drops you back to level 9. I managed to crunch my toes a bunch of times, almost fall off once and round out the 10 minutes before calling it quits. Burned a crazy 150 calories in 10 minutes, and I will try it again, but decided to finish the rest of my workout on the cross trainer. Paul mentioned that he will soon be bumping me up to 700 calories per cardio session, so I am enjoying these 'short' ones for now. A quick few minutes of plank (not in a row) and it was off to get showered and ready for the party.
Dinner was fantastic (as always) and I opted out of dessert. After dinner I came face-to-face with chips again...I only had 4-5 with some homemade salsa, and was satisfied with that. But I wasn't even hungry because we had just eaten dinner...one of my short term challenges was to stop unconscious eating so I failed that time, but at least I only had a few rather than munching down half the bowl (and I counted them on my nutrition tracker).
I guess my point is that while we were playing a game after dinner, I unconsciously ate an additional 150 calories - in chips/salsa, veggies and a little bit of dip. Man did that add up quickly! But we all did it. We had just eaten a great meal - there was plenty of food and we all ate for quite a while - and almost as soon as dessert was cleaned up we were back at it again! Still counting it as a win though because I didn't go crazy and I stayed within my calorie range for the day (even if it were at the high end).
So, still on track and better prepared this week to make healthy meals and snacks. On to week 4....
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