Trying not to stray!

So now that I am at home in Cincinnati, and I'm finished with my 3 week challenge, I'm trying not to think of myself being on vacation and letting myself eat whatever I want.  I've noticed that whenever I do eat junk, I don't feel very good afterward- mentally and physically.  On Friday at the airport I got McDonald's for breakfast- a bacon, egg, and cheese McGriddle.  It was my first time having one of those, and it was damn good!!  Sweet and savory.  But that will be the last time I have that.  After the first leg of my flight, I decided to try Jamba Juice as my lunch.  I got some kind of fruit and veggie smoothie, which I'm sure is full of sugar.  Then I had the peanut M&M's afterward.   When I got home later that evening, I went with my parent's to a bereavement party.  I was really hungry.  I had 2 slices of BBQ ribs, a little bit of shredded pork, 4 Swedish meatballs, some potato chips, some vegetables, and then a cupcake, and a glass of wine.  Shouldn't have had the cupcake- because after I ate it, I wanted more!  But I didn't have any more.  ;)   That's just the thing- eating sugar and carbs just triggers the craving.  They have some kind of chemical that signals your brain that it's hungry for more.  lol

Today I went to my cousin Adam and Luke's little league game with my mom.  I didn't get up early enough to make breakfast, so before we left I ate 3 strawberries and a few pieces of American cheese.  Not the best choice, but low in carbs.  After the game we picked up my sister, and went to Skyline for lunch.  Instead of getting a 4-way and a cheese coney like I normally would, I decided to stay away from the gluten, and get the chili cheese fries instead.  It's really just the cheese that I love!!  

Tonight I went out to dinner with my parents to Longhorn- got a Blue Moon, had 2 slices of bread, and then got a 6oz sirloin with parmesan garlic crust, side salad and mashed potatoes.  I'll only have gluten one or two more times next week, and that's it!!   Feeling so stuffed!  :(   ...and I'm craving sugar.  No good!

Tomorrow I'm going for a run with Cooper first thing when I wake up.  Then heading to Crossroads (a new age church that I miss so much!) with my sister and my friend, Allison.  In the afternoon I'm having my friends over for a cookout.  I'll grill burgers and probably make a salad.  I'll have a couple gluten-free beers maybe.  I still have a few leftover from Christmas break.  The rest of the week I plan to continue eating clean Paleo, except for Wednesday night and Friday night, when I'm going out with friends again.  I need to have a good week before the half-marathon on next Sunday!! It would be great if I could drop a couple more pounds this week!! 

Post-Challenge Day!

So today I wasn't necessarily trying to stray from clean Paleo, but I wasn't aiming to be perfect either.  :)  I had my last two final exams today, so I'm finished with my 2nd semester of DPT school!! YAY!  It feels great to be finished.  It was a very busy semester, and not much fun. From what I hear from the 2nd and 3rd year students, we are now finished with the hardest part of our schooling.  Yay!   I'm looking forward to a lighter schedule this summer.  Maybe I'll be able to get out hiking and biking more!  :)

I went to school 3 hours before my first exam so that I could study some more.  I ate breakfast at the cafeteria- 2 big scoops of eggs with ham, 1/2 a piece of pork sausage, and tater tots, with coffee.   For lunch about 6 hours later I had some cheese and grapes, and some mixed nuts.  When I finished my last exam at 5pm, I went down to the Manhattan Beach pier with my roommate for dinner.  We split an appetizer of sweet potato fries and I had a beer- a Hefeweizen.  :)   Then I had a cheeseburger, without the bun.  For dessert I had a serving of chocolate covered bananas (which is 4 slices).

I did my laundry, packed my suitcase, and checked in for my flight- which leaves at 6:30am.  It doesn't look like I'll get much sleep tonight!  I wish I could sleep on planes- I've only been able to do that twice in my life, and one time was coming home from London on an empty plane.

I also checked my weight this morning, and just took circumference measurements-  I'm at 196lb, which means I may have lost 2lbs this week.  I'll take it.  I've lost about 4 inches since the end of January- from hips, thigh, upper arm and calf.   Slow and steady, I guess!   

I'm so excited to see my puppy!!!!!   and my family and friends, of course!  :)

Day 21- The End of My 3-week Challenge!

So yesterday I realized that I was doing a 3-week challenge (basically until I went home for "spring break."  That being said, I'm going to drift a bit from my clean Paleo diet.  Although I will continue to eat this way forever, every now and then I'll allow myself things like beer, cookies, and pizza...although this time, I'll allow them a LOT less.  I already have drinking plans for when I'm home hanging out with friends and family...but I will drink in moderation!  Tomorrow morning I'll check my weight and hopefully see that I've dropped this week.  If not, I will know that I need to make some tweaks somewhere.

Pretty good day today.  I had what I thought would be a really hard final exam this morning (turns out it wasn't so bad), so I got breakfast at McDonald's again- egg mcmuffin without the muffin and a coffee.  After my exam I came home because I didn't want to sit in the library ALL day.  I had lunch which was 6 oz of chicken with peppers and onions, asparagus spears, and 1 Dove Dark Chocolate heart.

About 2 hours after eating, I went out for a run.  Since I had a lot of studying to do today, I wanted to do a quick run to the beach and back- 4 miles.  So I decided to push myself even harder today.  It was 63 degrees and overcast in Manhattan Beach, so I wore a long-sleeve DriFit shirt, and didn't take my Camelbak.  My feet and ankles seemed a bit stiff at the beginning of the run- probably because they were "cold." It was kind of a weird feeling- something I haven't felt in a while.  lol  I warmed up quickly, and felt very energetic!  (oh, I had a tablespoon of honey right before I ran)  I worked on my form, pushing myself to run further up the steep hills, and practiced doing some mental imagery- where I would imagine the race course that I'll be running 10 days from now.  As I was running up hills, I was imaging the hills I would encounter on the race course, and how I would feel running up them.  Using mental imagery has proven to be a great strategy for athletes to help them succeed in their competition.  It's weird that I'm feeling so ready for this half-marathon.  The last two I ran I had basically stopped training a month before the race and just "winged it." My pace on the flats today was around 9:30, and I felt pretty comfortable at that pace.  I haven't been able to hold this pace comfortably in a few years, when I was probably 40lbs lighter!   My goal for the half-marathon is a sub 2:30, but I would love if I finished faster.

After my run I had a leftover hamburger patty and 2 pickles.  Later on I had some hot green tea with honey and Truvia.  For dinner I had a salad and a Trader Joe's Palak Paneer dish (I was still hungry after eating the salad!).  For dessert I'm allowing myself half a serving of chocolate covered banana slices.

To get an idea of the hills I run up and down 3x a week, I've attached a pic of one.  I'd love to know the % grade!

Day 20

So tired.  Been at school studying ALLLLLLL day.  My brain turned off 2 hours ago, and I'm still in the library.  :(   3 exams left- a hard one tomorrow then 2 more on Thursday.

Breakfast- 4 eggs, deli turkey, 1/2 avocado
Lunch- 4 oz grilled chicken with peppers and onions, mini peppers, strawberries
Snack- beef jerky
Dinner- salad- mushrooms, eggs, garbanzo beans (not paleo), grape tomatoes, broccoli, balsamic vinaigrette
Snack- trail mix from school


I don't have the energy to say anything else.  Going straight to bed when I get home, and waking up at 4am to cram for the exam!  :(

Day 19

It's finals week, so the next few days of blogs will be very short!!

Breakfast at 7am:  McDonald's egg mcmuffin, but without the muffin...and a coffee with cream and Splenda

Lunch at noon:  salad with a Lean Cuisine "Salad Creations"- not very good and I was still hungry afterward.  :(  I also had an orange bell pepper and 1 Dove Dark Chocolate heart

Snack at 3pm:  1oz cashews.  I was really hungry!

Dinner at 5pm:  6 oz rotisserie chicken with some kind of sauteed sugar snap peas and mushrooms and some other green vegetable that I can't think of the name.  Then got a hot green tea with honey and Splenda.

I was hungry again by about 7pm...what the heck!?

Came home from school to eat again at 10pm:  salad with baby carrots, tomatoes, parmesan, 1/2 avocado, 2 slices bacon with Italian dressing... and about 8 thin asparagus spears.  1 Dove Dark chocolate heart for dessert.

On a side note- did anyone see the Dr. Oz Show today?? They discussed the Paleo diet!  YAY!!!!  I'm so happy that this is spreading and people are becoming more aware of the TRUTH!!   http://www.doctoroz.com/episode/paleo-diet-craze-does-it-work


Goodnight!

Day 18

Today was somewhat of a productive day.  I got up around 11am (yeah, I know... I was supposed to get up at 8am).  I ate 2 hamburger patties, 5 mini peppers, and 3 strawberries.  I did some studying while watching the Reds game, then around 1:30pm I went out for a 5 1/2 mile run.  It was another beautiful, sunny day.  My roommate has been hanging out at the beach all weekend!  She has final exams this coming week, also, but apparently she doesn't need to study much for them.  ;)

My run felt good.  I keep thinking about how I will feel on race morning.  I plan on eating some bacon and eggs and an avocado 2 hours prior to race start.  That should keep me fueled for all 13 miles.  I'll bring a Honey Stinger gel just in case I need it, though.  There are some times during my runs lately when I'm running around a 9:30 pace.  That's really good for my 195+ lb body!  My plan for the race is to run with my sister until the split off point for the full marathon, which is at mile 8.75.  My sister is doing the full-marathon, and plans to run a 10:30 pace.  I'll stick with her until she splits off, then I am hoping to push a little harder (since it will be mostly downhill/flat for the race of the half-marathon.  My PR for the half-marathon is 2:41, which I ran at last year's Flying Pig.  This year I'm shooting for sub 2:30. 

I made chicken in the crockpot today.  I added a bag of frozen peppers and onions, and some italian dressing.   After my run I had about a 4oz piece of the chicken and some tortilla chips and salsa leftover from last night.  I went to Coffee Bean to study with a classmate afterward.  There I had my usual hot tea- with some honey and Truvia.  When I got home at 7pm I had a Trader Joe's shepherds pie made with mashed potatoes, veggies and beef.  I think I need to eat more on days that I run.  For dessert, I had a banana with some honey and cinnamon.   My calories today are about 1500, and carbs 120 grams.  High carb day!   The rest of this week I will be studying hard for exams, so will be at school all day, everyday until Thursday evening.  I won't have time for another run this week until I get home to Cincinnati Friday evening.  So I will stick to moderate calories and low carbs this week.  

Well I think that's all I've got to say.  I can't procrastinate studying any longer, so time to get back at it.  I want A's on all of my finals!!  ;)

Lata...

Day 17

Well despite the fact that I swore I would get up early today to get studying, I didn't.  :(   I was so tired last night, I fell asleep at 10pm and didn't wake up until my alarm went off at 8am.  Yet I didn't get up, I kept sleeping til about noon.  lol    I made my usual eggs for lunch, and then was having really bad sugar cravings, so had a serving of Trader Joe's chocolate covered banana slices that I bought again last night.  (bad idea)

Today I got a few hours of studying done for my Neuro final that is on Monday morning, so I feel good about that.  Now I need to switch over and do some studying for another class the rest of the night.  Yesterday, I decided that I would get a steak dinner from Chili's, so I ordered it to be picked up at 7pm.  I got a 6oz sirloin with a side of broccoli and loaded mashed potatoes.  They included a bag of chips with salsa, so of course I ate that too.  I was starving!!

I got on the scale today to be disappointed that I didn't lose any weight this week, even though I was eating low calories and low carbs.  As I mentioned in a previous post- I am noticing this to be a trend.  Which is why I'm eating high calories today (and did yesterday, also).   Here is a good article that I found on Mark's Daily Apple website today:  http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dear-mark-should-i-increase-carb-intake-for-weight-loss/#axzz2R2MFxyAL

The only thing that I can do is continue to experiment with this.  Despite researching and reading articles, there doesn't seem to be a clear answer.  Hopefully the naturopath that I'm seeing in June will be able to figure it out and explain it.

Despite my frustrations, I have to continue to eat clean and stay disciplined and motivated.   My body composition is changing, and that is what really matters!!  Next Saturday I will be going shopping for some new clothes with my mom.  :)

~Tina

Day 16

Had another final exam this morning at 8am.  Had usual breakfast, then had an ounce of mixed nuts at noon.  Went for a long run at 1pm- did 7.5 miles.  Beautiful day in Manhattan Beach!!  Although I wasn't too thrilled to go out for a run before I did, it ended up being a pretty decent run, even though the heat made me a little more tired by the end.   But now I'm very tired. :/  It's been a long week, and I have 5 more finals next week, so it will be another exhausting week before I head home and get to relax for a week! (then run a half-marathon at the end)   ;)

After my run I had two hamburger patties (which I decided I don't like and won't buy again- frozen ground beef patties from Ralph's).  I also had a salad with the usual- tomatoes, shredded parmesan, baby carrots, some cucumber and sliced red pepper, italian dressing, and an avocado.

Having very little success with my study attempts for this evening, so I think I will head to bed early and then get up early tomorrow so that I can get a WHOLE day of solid studying done. 

I'm posting this blog before I finish my day- but I think I may go get some kind of frozen meal from Trader Joe's for dinner.  I need to walk over there to get some groceries to make salads for dinners this week, and see if I can find some pre-made meals since I'll be super busy with finals and studying this week.

Tiredddddddddddddddddddddddddd

Day 15

Hi.  Today was another long day.  I was at school from 8am-9pm.  Here's what I ate:

Breakfast at 7am:  3 eggs, deli turkey, a few (like 6) raspberries, and coffee at school

Lunch at 1pm:  Lean Cuisine "Salad Creations"- which consisted of chicken, peppers and asparagus tips, with some sort of vinaigrette dressing, with spring mix salad...mini peppers, and an avocado.

Dinner at 6pm: thin piece of grilled chicken and split pea with ham soup from the cafeteria at school.

I wasn't hungry when I got home from school tonight, and even though I'm really low on calories for today (around 1200 calories), I think I'll just finish up some studying and get to bed.  Tomorrow I have another final exam at 8am, then tomorrow afternoon I will go for a run- not sure how long yet, I will decide when I hit the pavement.  ;)  Supposed to be a beautiful weekend- 79 and sunny tomorrow, 75 and sunny Saturday, 71 and sunny on Sunday.  I will get outside for 2 runs, but then have some major studying to do this weekend.  I have 5 more final exams next week.  Then I leave for Cincinnati early Friday morning.  Yay!!  One more week!!

This weekend I plan to have a high calorie day- maybe Saturday.  I think I'll order steak, sweet potato and vegetables from a restaurant like Chili's or something.  :)

Day 14- 2 weeks and seeing progress!

So today I didn't get up early enough to make breakfast (not getting much sleep this week), so got breakfast at school at 8am- scrambled eggs (about 2 heaping spoonfuls) and added some tomatoes and shredded cheese, with some kind of sausage/meat...not really sure what it was.  lol  I also got a coffee with the usual.   I had two classes in the morning, then a practical exam at 2pm, so I ate lunch after that was over-about 3pm, which was perfect timing because I was just starting to get hungry.  I had tuna salad, pepper and cucumber slices, and an avocado.   I bought a Lo-Carb Monster Energy to drink at the library.  I really didn't "need" it, just wanted something to sip on besides water.  lol  I stayed at the library from 4-9pm.  Got a little bit of studying done.  At 7pm I had about 1 cup of trail mix that the cafeteria sells- it has cashews, almonds, walnuts, some dried cranberries and a few chocolate chips.

When I got home around 9:30 I was hungry. so I had a salad with cherry tomatoes, shredded parmesan, 3 slices bacon, sunflower seeds and Italian dressing. My dessert was a Dove dark chocolate heart.

Well, I am feeling pretty good.  Today I wore a pair of khakis that were just starting to fit me last winter, but now hang low and loose on me!  It's exciting to go down another pants size!!  I usually have a hard time seeing any changes, but this week I am starting to see it more.  I'm making progress.  I'm motivated!!  I hope I can keep this up.  I know when I go home to Cincinnati in 2 weeks, that I will stray a little bit- beer, for sure!  I have to stay consistent, though.  I have to keep eating clean because if I don't, I may not feel great for the half-marathon, and that wouldn't be good!  So that should help keep me on track.

Tomorrow is another busy day!  Cyaaaaaaaaaa

Day 13. Longer blog today.

Today started by picking up breakfast at McDonald's, on my way to school.  I got a medium coffee and an egg mcmuffin, but without the muffin.  (I got up too late to make breakfast).  I only had one class today (3 hours long), then stayed after for a while to practice for a practical exam that we have tomorrow.  When I got home around 1pm, I made 2 eggs and heated up 3 slices of bacon, with blueberries for lunch.  I went for a run about an hour after that.  I wasn't that enthused about going for a run, thanks to this article:  (not sure if this link is working right now)
http://www.dangerouslyhardcore.com/5343/why-women-should-not-run/

As I may have mentioned previously, I have known for a while that running isn't necessarily good for fat-loss.  I weight a lot.  I'm stressing my body every time I go out running, averaging 70-80% of my max heart rate for 4+ miles.  As the article states, when your body is stressed, it can alter different hormones (specifically thyroid and cortisol), which basically then signals the body to accumulate fat instead of burn it.  I know this is true because I've been long distance running since I was 17.  Since then, I've been really skinny, and I've been really overweight, so it's been difficult to understand why in these past few years, running hasn't helped with weight loss.  So this article is kind of a wake-up call.  After I run the half-marathon in a few weeks, I need to get back to Paleo activities:  interval/Crossfit-type strength workouts, sand dune climbs, sprints, walks on the beach, hikes in Malibu.  I will still run and bike on occasion, but I should really test this out for myself.  Bummer.  I enjoy running.  It's easy and convenient.

I'm hoping that when I see a naturopath in May, that she may have some guidance for me, and hopefully some answers with how my hormones are functioning.   Here is an article from my favorite website, about how too much exercise is detrimental to weight loss efforts (and health): http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-you-shouldnt-burn-more-than-4000-calories-a-week-through-exercise/#axzz2QgDplp2I

Well my run was pretty slow.  I tried to keep my heart rate lower.  It was still enjoyable, though, because I got to be out in the sunshine and jogging around Manhattan Beach.  Right after running, I ate 3 mini peppers and an avocado.  About an hour later I had dinner- chicken breast and steamed broccoli.   I think another issue with my Paleo eating habits is that sometimes I'm not getting enough calories.   I do believe that although it may be good to starve the body every now and then (intermittent fasting), you also need to eat a lot of calories (and carbs) sometimes to show the body that it does not need to go into starvation mode, and does NOT need to preserve it's fat accumulation.  Instead, the body should burn it up calories right away.  This also has to do with insulin levels, but that's way too much to try to explain right now.  I'm starting to waste time online by looking for articles which explain this stuff...must stop.  I don't have the extra time for this.  :/

I'm posting this blog early tonight.  I think I might make myself some green tea while I watch the end of the Reds game, then get to studying.

Here's a pic that I took during my run today.  Manhattan Beach is a pretty cool place to be living!  :)

Day 12

Short blog today.  Was at school all day.

Here's what I ate:

Breakfast- 3 eggs, 3 slices deli turkey, about 6 raspberries

Coffee at school with 1 vanilla creamer shot, half & half and 2 Truvia packets

Lunch- tuna salad (maybe 1.5 cups), sliced peppers and cucumber, 1 Dove Dark Chocolate heart (hooked on chocolate now)  :/

Late afternoon snack- some kind of tomato, cucumber, sliced radish mixture with cilantro and a light dressing, 1 oz of mixed nuts

Late dinner- 6 oz chicken breast, steamed broccoli, 2 pickle spears

2 fish oil capsules, Multivitamin

1 Dove Dark Chocolate heart (37 calories, 5 carbs)

Say a prayer for those affected by the bombings at the Boston Marathon today.  Pretty terrible stuff.  

Goodnight.