cheaters

since my nutrition & fitness program ended last tuesday, i haven't worked out. between long hours at the office working on this major product release, packing, and preparing for a baby shower... i haven't carved out any time for me & my body. i really need to re-prioritize.

this past saturday ended up being a super duper cheat day b'coz i spent the day helping host a baby shower and well there was really nothing i could eat that fit my nutritional guidelines. i had a choice of street tacos, sushi (which was long gone before i realized there was any), and an endless supply of desserts. after trying really hard to avoid everything outside of the guidelines, i broke down. mike and i figured the day was already shot... so we decided to top the night off with carbolicious foods that we would really enjoy... pasta! following the baby shower, we drove down to mdr for dinner at c&o trattoria. i love this place. i love the food. i love the location. i love the ambiance. i love the service. i love the decor. i love the group karaoke sesh of 'that's amore!'. it's amore. what a night! we had garlic knots, caprese (4 servings) and shared an individual serving  size of fettuccini alfredo... we. were. stuffed. we ended up taking half the pasta home for our roomie to finish off.

went back to the guidelines the last 2 days, but today... i had vermicelli dry from saigon dish. and you know what... it wasn't even good!! geez, shoulda stuck to greek yogurt as i have the past 2 days. i cheated and now i feel cheated! sigh... lesson learned... don't over do it... indulge but don't over-indulge... drink a glass, not the whole bottle... i hope i've learned my lesson b'coz i have long way to go back to a size 5.

i think i'll avoid my scale this week... just can't face it after all the cheating i've done.

 

weighing in

so, a few weeks ago i posted this and decided to cut out sugary and starchy carbs. well, after procrastinating for 2 wks... i finally started... and 4 weeks later ... i lost 11lbs. *happy dance*

eliminating some of my favorite foods was tough b'coz i love food... eliminating alcohol was even harder. but, i love me more. and i miss my skinny jeans and my waist very very much... it's been awhile since we last hung out and strutted our stuff. so... no pastas, rice, bread, cereal, cupcakes, cookies, chips, or even FRUIT! for 3 weeks. i ate all the veggies, lean meats, and fish my taste buds can tolerate. surprisingly, it was not difficult to find snacks and meals that fit with my diet. add a lil circuit training and 24 hour fitness turbo kick classes and you've got yourself a well established and guaranteed to lose weight diet & exercise program. ta-da! it's that easy...

... not. yeah, giving up the really good part of food kinda sucked... but not fitting into that dress i've been eyeing at bebe is absolutely devastating and nearing borderline depression. so... i guess i had to ask myself that question... what would you rather have? the delicious macaroni & cheese topped with chicken and buffalo hot sauce from elbows... or to wear a size 5 again. I'LL TAKE LATTER PLEASE. sure, i can have any comfort food satisfy my palette for the next hour. but, it'll take me yet another week to lose that pound i just gained. so, my diet began... and it won't stop until my eyes are satisfied with what it sees in the mirror... and my waist is satisfied with the size of jeans that wrap around my legs and hips.

it's great seeing results. and the scale isn't the only result i rely on to keep me going... the energy... the small definition and toned muscles that i swear to god i see peeking out... the ability to have a full and good night of sleep... the confidence... the clarity... the cleansing feeling from eating naturally good foods rather than processed fast food. changing how you eat is truly a positive lifestyle change. i can't wait to see where i'll be in another 4 weeks!

"motivation is what gets you started. habit is what keeps you going."

 

calories

today i learned that 3,500 calories = 1lb. so, when you've consumed or burned 3,500 calories... you've either gained or lost 1 lb.  puts things into perspective... doesn't it?

i also learned in order to know how many calories you should consume daily to maintain your current weight, you must multiply 11 with your current weight.  for example:  if you weigh, 150 lbs... 150 x 11 = 1650.  1650 represents the number of calories you can eat daily to maintain your current weight.  so, if you're looking to lose weight... you use the same formula but instead replace your "current weight" with your "desired weight" to get the number of calories you need to consume daily to shed pounds.

i don't know why i'm blogging about this.  perhaps, so i can look back on this from time to time to remind myself i have all the right info and tools and need to utilize them to get me out of this funk they call dieting.

i'm cutting out sugars and starchy carbs (grains, potatoes, fruits) and sticking to lean protein and veggies for the next couple weeks.  we'll see how this goes...

 

run, gina, run!

normally, i keep things to myself b'coz once i start talking to people about something, i tend to lose interest.  but, who's reading anyway... i started running again.  an old fav of mine.  i especially love running when the sun is down and the sky is filled with stars.  however, when you run in a well-lit park b'coz you're a chick with a fear of being taken, you don't get to see many stars.  i like running with my shadow... she either runs beside me, behind me, or challenges me by running ahead of me.  no matter what, i never run alone at night. furthermore, running in the evening is so much more cooler without the heat of the sun beating down you.  my pace is not as fast as it once was... i'm currently at 3 miles in 40 minutes.  i'm working on it... slowly but surely with progress.  if anyone has any tips on how to increase my pace little by little, i'm open to suggestions!  hoping if talk about it... own it... i'll improve it.  i don't know if i'll ever run a marathon... or even a half marathon.  i think, for now, i'd rather much run for myself... for the peace that it brings me... the pleasure... the motivation.  just gimme a dope beat to immerse myself in and i'll dance to the rhythm and run with the tempo.