Marathon Mom

Weight: 158.8

Now that Boot Camp is over, I need something to keep me focused. A challenge is definitely in order!

Starting tomorrow (since today is nearly over!) thru Friday

1. Go to gym three times
2. Run or elliptical every day
3. Do squats, straight leg raises, and ab-work every day
4. Drink at least 100 oz of water every day
5. Eat breakfast every day (i’ve been skipping it a lot lately, poor planning and time management)

I’m still super sore from the 10K, but I can’t use that as an excuse forever. Time to get back after resting two days. Food has been right now, there’s really no challenge there.

Today:

2 small granny smith apples
1 small navel orange
100 calorie pack craisins
1 low-fat string cheese
2 grilled chicken soft tacos made with La Tortilla factory 50 calorie tortillas, grilled chicken breast strips, low-fat shredded cheese, fat-free sour cream, lettuce, salsa and chopped red onion
1 turkey burger made with flat buns (100 calories), lean Jennie-O turkey patty, lettuce, red onion, no sugar added pickles and mustard

According to My Daily Plate, that totals 841 calories. I might be a little hungry still, but I’m not sure. I could just be thirsty. I haven’t been drinking enough lately. That’s why the water part of the challenge, make sure I’m getting enough.

Rules are the usual. If I fail: bathing suit picture posted both here and on Facebook. If I succeed (WHEN I succeed!!!): new top to wear to my meet and greet with the B52s on Saturday!!

Weigh-in: 163.8

A more accurate picture would have been one of a chicken with it’s head cut off, but not really the imagery I’m going for on a Friday afternoon!

Today has been crazy day! I’ve been in the car since 8:30 this morning, running errands, going to appointments, paying bills, etc… My 16 year old is now getting braces, they’ll be putting them on September 1st. The cackling you hear on that day will be me! I endured 4 years of torture orthodontia and it’s about time that mantle was passed down. Besides, my son is a wise-cracking loud mouth and I’m hoping this will shut him up at least for a few weeks!! (I love my son, but he takes sarcasm to a whole ‘nother level! And he thinks he’s hilarious. He fancies himself Chandler from Friends. ‘nough said!)

Yay to me for my 60 on the elliptical this morning before work! Unfortunately, I was running around so much, I didn’t get to eat anything until 2:30 and I was pretty damn hungry. The orthodontist is RIGHT next to a Quiznos and let me tell you, that no fast food or pics on Facebook threat is the ONLY thing that kept me from one of their sandwiches (mmmm… toasty!) So far today I’ve had a really big salad. I’ll have some string cheese and almonds in a bit for a snack. And probably a yoplait light yogurt just before I head home.

Tonite is movie night. No Junior Mints for me (waaaaaaahhh!!!) I’ll probably cheap out and just bring my own bottle of water. Jason’s braces are going to cost me a fortune (I’m having to pay for them completely out of pocket, insurance doesn’t cover ortho at ALL.)

Oh, and yes, that IS Brendan Fraser! You’re welcome!

UPDATE 10:45 PM

Another Slump Buster Challenge successfully completed. I had ONE 100-calorie pack of dried fruit and mixed nuts at the movies and some TicTacs and a Fuze (pomegranate & cherry). I did my knee PT exercises before we went. I’m calling this Challenge officially over! Yay!!

I’m also taking the weekend off. Not off of diet, just easing off the challenges. Since I’m starting in HARD Monday for the next 30 days, I’m giving myself a break. This is not a license to pig out & slack off on the exercising.

Unfortunately, my $100 clothing reward is getting slashed to a new top, preferrably on clearance. I just had to shell out $250 unexpectedly today as part of the deposit on Jason’s braces, which he’ll be getting on September 1st. I’ll be paying out a total of $750 over the next month that I did not budget for. And we’s a poor people. So this hurts! But, he desperately needs the braces. So it is what it is. I make adjustments and deal. I was hoping to buy Sean and Skye some new things for school, but they really don’t need them. They have more clothes that will fit in their closet. So really, they’re fine. Most things they’ve only worn a handful of times, they really are practically like new anyway. They’re definitely NOT hurting. I need to be more practical. Period. Well, it’s past my bedtime.

Weigh-in: 165.2 (down almost a pound, how awesome is THAT?!)

So, it seems that eating a ginormous omelet is the key to weightloss! Ok, so there’s a bit more to it than that! Like the fact that I divided up that omelet and ate it thoughout the day. So the fact that there were a days worth of calories in that breakfast, then divided up and spread out throughout the day, were still a days worth of calories. And I hit the gym. And did my 60 on the elliptical when I got home last night.

I’m feeling pretty strong these days. As I’m getting back into it, my candy cravings are nearly gone. No, that doesn’t mean that I’m a recovered Junior Mints addict. But I can now turn down candy at the movies, whereas before I just could not. And my mom’s office with her stashes of snack no longer calls to me. It took those Slump Buster Challenges (and really DOING them this time, not just committing and then checking out) to sort of jar me back into my routine. Now that I’m back in it, it’s not so hard.

The kids start back to school next Thursday and much as I love having them home, I desperately miss the school year routine. I get up earlier, I get more done. I feel more in control of my day. Having kids home all day, I can’t even describe the chaos of the house. It’s surprisingly clean, but its still cluttered. And I’m not going to be a nag about it. Not for the last week of summer vacay. We’ll spend a couple of days next week putting it back in order, but for now I’m ok with just letting it go.

Confession-time: I only ended up having 1 and a half Coke Zeros yesterday. And I was FINE with it. Didn’t even realize it til the end of the day!! Can you imagine? ME? Just like, oh yeah, I guess I didn’t ever finish that second one! I KNOW, I’m totally shocked too!! I am trying to drink other things during the day: water, tea, water with Crystal Light in it, stuff like that. It’s good to mix it up.

On the knee front: elliptical is definitely helping. I’m still getting the occasional twinge, but no actual pain anymore. I’m keeping up on the knee PT exercises. I’m thinking I’ll be ready to start running again next week. I’m trying to take it slow and gradually build it back up again. If I do this right, I’m going to have knees of steel! STEEL, baby!!

I’ve also decided to do my own Booty Camp. I’m going to start it the Monday of the kids first full week of school, so that’s August 24. I’ve wanted to do this in the past, but I haven’t been in a good place and I’ve let it slide. Well, I’m ready now. That gives me almost two weeks to develop the plan.

A.M. weigh-in: 167.0 (since I’m not going to WW anymore, I guess I can just put weigh-in now, can’t I.)

My two oldest children treated me to breakfast at a new restaurant called Toast. It is very awesome. I had a chicken pesto omelet with artichoke, roasted tomato and mozzarella. YUM! It also came with a side of roasted potatoes and my choice of “toast”: white, wheat, rye, english muffin, bagel or sourdough (I probably left a couple of choices out). I had all that with some jasmine green tea (wha? no Diet Coke? I know, you are totally shocked. It’s part of my reformed ways!) I still have a little more than half the omelet upstairs in a take-out box, waiting not so patiently for lunchtime. Unfortunately, not the faintest clue on what the calorie content on something like that would be. I mean, probably lots of butter. Obviously lots of cheese (it had a movie-quality stretchiness when I tried to eat it. so awesome!) And those roasted potatoes. I think those were my fave. No, I know they were! I could have eaten a HUGE bowl of them instead of the little side-portion. Oh, my toast choice: english muffin. I thought it was probably the most calorie-friendly of the group (not that it really mattered at that point!) I did top it with some blackberry jam. Ah well. Can’t remember the last time I ate at a restaurant? Hmm… oh yeah, when my brother was in town last month. That would be the beginning of July, so over a month ago. So, not feeling so bad about a meal out.

While what I ate wasn’t necessarily health-food, it still wasn’t fast or junk food. So I’m still totally on track with this week’s Slump Buster Challenge. I did my hour on the elliptical yesterday morning and my knee PT exercises before bed last night. Cali and I went to the movies and saw Julie & Julia again. It was just as funny, sweet and charming the second time around. Ok, so are you ready for it. Be sitting down cause this is a big one: I DID NOT HAVE JUNIOR MINTS AT THE MOVIES LAST NIGHT. AND THEY EVEN HAD FROZEN ONES! I know, I am made of steel! Cali and I brought some nuts and dried fruit to snack on. Sadly, I’m pretty sure I consumed way more calories on the fruit and nut mix than in a box of Junior Mints. But they were healthier. So I have that to wrap up in my smugness.

As for today, other than the delish breakfast out, it’s not really on track. I was just too damn tired to get up and exercise this morning. I barely got up in time for our early breakfast. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m EXHAUSTED. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was pregnant (I haven’t had sex since 2006, so unless there’s a toddler in there, I’m good.) I’m asleep by 10… well, before 11 anyway. And I could barely drag myself out of bed at 7:15. Even now sitting here, it’s everything I can do just to keep my eyes open and my fingers moving. It’s like I just can’t get enough sleep. Even if I went home and slept all day, I’d still be exhausted tomorrow. Speaking of, I need a day off!!

I did think to pack and bring my gym bag, so I’ll still be heading over at lunchtime. I’m very tempted to do my 60 minutes on the elliptical at the gym and kill two birds with one stone, but part of me thinks that would be cheating. So I won’t. Plus I’d be gone too long. So there’s that. I’ll just do my regular workout and hit the elliptical the minute I get home.

Hey, I just realized, knees - not hurting! And I should qualify that “hurting” with “pinched ligament/nerve/tendon/whatever” cause that’s really what the pain is. And it feels like it, it’s a vertical pain on the inside of my knee that runs about halfway up my thigh and down into my shin, sometimes to my ankle. It’s so obvious that’s what it is. It helps to focus on it when I’m exercising. I’m learning how to turn my feet in such a way as to alleviate the pain. Eventually, I’ll get this all figured out and be pain free. Until then, it’s a process. But I AM getting there!

That’s the plan today, anyway. We’ll see how it goes. I spent most of yesterday running to help my mom with my grandparents. It was very stressful and I felt pulled in a million different directions. It didn’t help that Tad called cause my younger kids were fighting. And when I got home, I discovered that they’d pulled the mattresses off their beds to make a fort in the living room. I wanted to get mad, but then I thought you know, they’re home all day in a hot house and trying to entertain themselves. Mattresses can be put back, things can be picked up and put away. Oprah isn’t coming over for dinner (or my mother for that matter.) Who cares if the place is a mess. At least they were able to entertain themselves without doing any kind of permanent damage (thank god Skye outgrew the coloring on the walls phase!) So I just let it go. They ended up having a big campout in the living room on the mattresses with all the fans pointed on themselves. Smart kids really. I should be proud. But mostly, I’m just tired!

UPDATE 2:40 PM

Did upper bod workout at the gym. Finished other half of omelete for lunch. Still have a second Diet Coke I’m most looking forward to. Til then I’m working on water with Crystal Light mixed in. Meh. It’s just too hot for tea.

Still owe the elliptical an hour when I get home. I’ll probably survive it. Dont’ know that I’ll even have dinner tonite. I’m FULL. Note to self: eggs are uber-filling!! Maybe I need to switch up the brekkie menu!

Oddly, I have more energy now that I’ve been to the gym than I did this morning. Though I can feel it waning as the afternoon wears on and my job sucks the very life-force from my being.

Also, trying very hard to ignore the 2 large Baby Ruth candy bars in my mom’s office that have just been sitting there for over a week now. JUST SITTING THERE. Not cool, Mom, not cool at all!!

Today’s weigh-in: 167.6 really?? FUCKING REALLY??!! WTF?  My scale is obviously involved in a right-wing conspiracy with the elliptical. They probably shot JFK too. What a total Monday.

If I were one of those people who didn’t eat when under stress, I would weigh 12 pounds right now. But I am not, so I weigh slightly more.

I do not get the whole stress eating thing. Why? It doesn’t even make any sense. One theory is that it takes our mind off things. Well, I snack totally mindlessly when stressed. Sometimes I’ve even surprised to find myself in the middle of eating something, having no conscious memory of opening a bag of chips or grabbing a handful of M & Ms. Another theory is that since stress is usually negative and eating is a pleasurable or positive experience, we do it to cheer ourselves up. When I’m stress-eating, I rarely actually taste the food. It’s an auto-pilot short of shove, chew, shove, chew (and I admit to not really doing a whole lot of the chewing either, more like shove, swallow, shove, swallow… but then that’s starting to sound a bit pornographic, isn’t it!)

When we are stressed, our adrenaline rises and we go into fight or flight mode. Doesn’t that really sound more like exercise? And yet, I do the OPPOSITE of exercise. I sit on my fat ass and stuff my face. When did I get so screwed up? I mean, that is like REALLY jacked-up! I need therapy. And for everyone to keep their fucking snacks out of the office!!!

But, on to more positive things (cause really, how could I get any less positive there?!) I got up (albeit a bit later than I should have!) and did my 60 minutes on the elliptical. Yay me. I stopped by the grocery store on the way to work and picked up some pre-cut watermelon (hellOOO, insanely expensive! What is up with THAT? I can get a donut for like 39 cents but a small container of watermelon is $5.99?! Are you kidding me? No wonder we’re all fat!!) I replenished my super salad making supplies and grabbed some healthy snack Yoplait Light yogurts.

I’m just now finishing up my first Diet Coke of the day (funny how when I have to ration them, I make them last SOOOOO much longer. Normally I’d be on number 3 of the day!) I’ve got a plethora of tea here at work, so I’ll be having several cups to help stretch out the time til my next Diet Coke this afternoon. I’m calling it a “treat”. Soon, though, I think I’m going to have to give up these babies altogether. And that makes me very sad. I’m not ready to let them go. But it’s just a matter of time, I’m afraid, before I’ll have to move on. More change. More stress… oh, let’s not go back there just yet!!

I still need to do my knee physical therapy exercises when I get home. And not eat a ton of carbs out of the fridge. I will now admit to eating several plain flour tortillas at night, oh around 8 pm or so. And last night I had a couple of slices of plain white bread too. Blah. I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised by the number on the scale afterall. It’s really my own doing. I’m a carb-addict. Do they have carb-aholics anonymous? Cause honestly, it’s my downfall. I could eat a whole loaf of bread, it’s like one serving to me! Horrible. It’s why I can’t start the day with a bowl of cereal. I’ll eat half the box. And having just one small bowl is so UNsatisfying that I’d rather skip breakfast.

Off to make some tea, lovies! I feel like I’m really embracing my English heritage. My great-grandmother would be so proud!

I just finished 60 minutes on the elliptical and I hit the gym earlier today. So BOOYAH! Oh, and seriously all healthy food. Oatmeal for brekkie, big ole salad for lunch and I’m having two lean turkey burger patties and a bag of steamed snow pea pods for din-din! No snacking of any kind. CIRCLE THIS DAY ON THE CALENDAR! I SAID NO SNACKING TODAY! I KNOW, SHUT UP, RIGHT?! (sorry, got a little caps happy there!)

I am now torturing myself by watching Food Network programming. Cause I’m all masochistic that way.

I’m going to spend the rest of the night planning menus for both the kids and myself, with an accompanying shopping list. Tomorrow after work I’ll do the shopping and any prep work. I’m trying SO hard to get more organized.

I also need to plan out a new Slump Buster Challenge. It’s REALLY helping me, I’m honestly shocked at how that’s kept me not just from eating what I shouldn’t, but more importantly sticking to my exercise. I ONLY hit the gym today because I committed to doing it and that penalty, oooh booy was that gonna hurt! I’ll update in a bit after dinner, when I’ve had some time to mull this one over.

UPDATE 8:47 PM

OK, so here’s the menu I’ve come up with for next week (M-F)

Breakfast: watermelon, cantaloupe, melon, etc…
Snack: fat-free yogurt
Lunch: big ol’ salad
Snack: string cheese and handful almonds
Dinner: lean protein and steamed veggies

My exercise for the next week:

Elliptical: 60 minutes daily
Gym: Tuesday & Thursday - upper body workout

I’m going to step it up a notch for the Slump Buster Challenge. I’m convinced that my excessive Coke Zero drinking is inhibiting my weightloss. When I lost all the weight before I had basically cut it out and was drinking mostly water and tea.

So here it is: no more than 2 Diet Coke/Coke Zeros a day (ouch!) Expect to hear much whining and complaining by Tuesday!! You’ve been warned!

OFFICIAL SLUMP BUSTER CHALLENGE FOR 8/10 - 8/14

1. No more than 2 diet sodas a day
2. No fast food, cookies, pies, cakes, candy, donuts, chips or other “junk” foods
3. I will work out at the gym Tuesday & Thursday
4. I will do minimum 60 minutes on the elliptical everyday
5. I will do my physical therapy knee exercises Monday, Wednesday & Friday!!

Reward: $100 to spend on some new clothes (my wardrobe currently sucks!)

Penalty: current one is totally working for me - swimsuit pic here and on Facebook (I would run 10 miles and eat lettuce every day to avoid that! If I don’t show a weightloss tomorrow, I may seriously consider that!)

HAHAHA!! Get the ’80s reference? If not, you are too young to read this. Go away! (just kidding… sort of. I’m feeling really old and bitter today.)

I did my 3 miles this morning. And decided that I’ve got to give up the running for a week or so, give my knees a break. I’m going to up the elliptical and gym/physical therapy time. I’ve got to get these knees back on track! The ligament pain down the insides of my knees is a sharp, burning type pain. The kind that says HELLO. STOP DOING THIS PLEASE. NOW!!! OR WE WILL QUIT. DO YOU REALLY WANT TO GO THERE?! (my knees are quit the pushy bitch, aren’t they?!)

However, I DID do the run this morning. Which means that all I have left to do to avoid complete and total public humiliation (posting of bathing suit pics both here and on Facebook) is to go to the gym tomorrow and avoid fast food for the next two days. And I will have officially completed a Slump Buster Challenge. My first. I.AM.AWESOME… well, almost awesome. I’ll actually BE awesome Friday at Midnight, when the challenge is over. But until then, I’m like pre-awesome.

I’m planning on juice-fasting today and tomorrow. I could use the boost and it’ll set me up for a good weekend. Lots of salad and green healthy stuff.

Biggest obstacle - tomorrow night is a double movie night. G.I. Joe and Julie & Julia both open. Neither is having a midnight showing in my area (I actually called the theaters and spoke to managers just to be sure.) So that means that I have to go see both tomorrow night. Why, you may ask? Besides the fact that I’m psychotic?

Julie & Julia - I read both the blog and the book and have been literally counting the days til this movie’s release for months! I adore Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci and have actually dreamed about this movie. Waiting til Saturday to see it - unfathomable.

G.I. Joe - sure, I love action/adventure movies. Especially super CGI effects ones. And this one looks promising. But what put’s this one over the top for me? Two words: Brendan Fraser!!! He has a cameo in it, one scene. But I haven’t seen him on the screen since January (Inkheart) and I’ve been missing me some Brendan!! And IN UNIFORM! HELLO!!! Which is why, I’ve already scheduled it out that after work we are first catching G.I. Joe and then Julie & Julia. Cause I love my BF that much!! (Hmm… coincidence that Brendan Fraser’s initials are the same as the internet abbreviation for boyfriend? I think NOT!)

By this time tomorrow I will be seriously crazy with anticipation. I need Valium!

I did it. And more importantly, I didn’t do it!!

I DID go to the gym today. I realized today why I fight going. While I like working out on the equipment, I’m EXTREMELY self-conscious. Everyone at my gym is fit, we are talking toned arms and 6-pack abs. I’m not exaggerating. I feel like a big, fat flab. I was having to share the machines today with a bunch of ripped 20 something guys. I have never felt older or less cool in my life. UGH. It took imagining myself in that bathing suit and having to post it on here for me to even stay and do my workout. Even the women in their 50s and 60s put me to shame! It’s hard being the fattest person in the gym. I know that may shock some/many of you. That at just 30-40 pounds over my ideal weight, I’m the fattest person there, but these people have like NO body fat. One of the biggest draw-backs of living in Marin County. Everyone here is fit, health-obsessed and very trim and toned. The average sized woman in the rest of the country may be a size 14, but here it’s a size 6. I’m like that line from the Devil Wears Prada “A size 2 is the new 4. And 6 is the new 14!”

So, on to what I didn’t do. I didn’t have fast food today. First, I was super-stressed and really wanted a burger and fries. Really badly too! But I didn’t. I had some grilled fish and a big bowl of edamame (it’s what I had in the freezer upstairs at work.) Then my mom had to drop off her car for some repairs and when I picked her up, she wanted to drive thru McDs for an ice cream cone. I love McDs soft-serve ice cream and I almost craved, I mean, is that REALLY fast food?? But then I thought, no I better not. I’ll just get a Diet Coke. And then I was all, WAIT does that still count? I mean, it’s still from a fast food place? So does that make it fast food??? So, I didn’t get anything. I didn’t want to end up in a bikini on Facebook on a technicality!!!

So, to sum up: gym - yes! Fast food - NO!

Tiny2b - it is still ON!!

I also did 50 minutes on the elliptical this morning before work.

Unfortunately, not all non-fast-food is good for you, as I will demonstrate below:

Breakfast: sugar free oatmeal (2 packets)
Snack: half a bucket of Red Vines
Lunch/Dinner: 2 Gorton’s grilled fish fillets and a ginormous bowl of edamame
Snack: big ole handful of TGIFriday’s cheese pizza chips (kids found these at the dollar store, they are awesome!)
Movie: box of frozen Junior Mints

I keep thinking I ate something else in there, but that’s basically because I ate those Red Vines all morning. You know the worst part? I HATE Red Vines. But I’m addicted to them. My mom loves them and goes through serious buckets of ‘em. So I’ve inherited her addiction. Plus, they are handy as she usually has a big bucket on her desk. Which is just a few feet from mine. Harsh.

I’m propped up in bed with the bags of frozen veggies on my knees again. And I popped a Vicodin (I have for the past few nights. It helps me sleep. I’m hoping the knee pain will eventually lessen and I won’t need to anymore. The pain keeps me from falling asleep. It’s gotta get better eventually, right???!!!)

Tomorrow morning I have a 3 miler. Outside. I’ve learned my lesson. No more treadmill until my knees get stronger. Promise!

… to avoid public humiliation. This morning’s run sucked. I tried to do it on the treadmill. I said it was because today is trash day and I hate having to run past all the sanitation trucks, they are less than pleasantly fragrant. However, it really was because my Season 2 DVDs of Big Love had arrived from Netflix and I was anxious to see what our desperate polygamists were up to now!

MISTAKE!! I can not really run on a treadmill, as I just discovered but had somewhat suspected. I can’t seem to get a rhythm or stride going. Plus, I kept stopping to use the bathroom since I could. Twice in the first mile… the only mile. I was supposed to run three and it took me 20 minutes and 40 seconds to run ONE (and it stops the clock everytime I got off to pee, so that isn’t even factored into the time!)

And my knees were SCREAMING, like STOP THIS NOW CRAZY WOMAN! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?! (My knees like to express themselves in all caps. They’re very junior high that way.) When I pavement run, they stop hurting pretty quickly and I can just focus on the running. Maybe it’s a mental thing, I don’t know. But physically I just couldn’t do it.

And since I signed on for Tiny2bs’s mini slump buster challenge, I HAVE to do this run today. Or else post a picture of myself in a bathing suit not just on here, but on Facebook too. Uhm, no thanks. I’d much rather run! And since I was too late at that point to go run outside before work this morning, I now have to go run when I get home. Which I hate. Cause I prefer to collapse in a heap on my bed and watch bad summer programming on television. And now I have to go and be all athletic before I can do that. This is seriously cutting into my lazy-ass lifestyle!

As for today’s menu:

1st thing: nothing, kids ate all the bananas. Today was doomed before I even got out of bed!
Breakfast: sugar free oatmeal
Snack: Yoplait Light Cinnamon Roll Yogurt (seriously brilliant), Special K 90 calorie crackers
Lunch: big ole salad
Snack: veggies and 0 calorie ranch dressing
Dinner: either Gorton’s fish fillets (100 calories each) at work or a turkey burger at home (depends on my time)

UPDATE 6:45 PM

I am now sitting in bed with a bag of frozen broccoli on one knee and a bag of frozen california blend veggies on the other. I did my 2 miles when I got home. I wanted to do the full 3, but the knees weren’t having any of it. So I figured since I did do one mile this morning, I still get to count it as 3 miles today. Plus, I didn’t want today’s run to leave me crawling home. I had to take that into account.

But I did it! No bikini pics of me… yet!

So, it’s Monday. Time to start AGAIN. Actually, I would have done pretty good yesterday except for the frozen Junior Mints at the movies. Hey, they were FROZEN. That’s like totally my kryptonite. Can. Not. Resist.

The protein bars are gone (I ate the last box one day last week. Yep, you read that right. The whole box. In one day. I have nothing more to say about that. Other than I strongly do NOT recommend doing that.)

So I had a banana upon waking. I’m out of No Doze and not planning on buying anymore. The habit has been made and I’m able to wake up and get moving in the morning without it. Which was the whole point.

I ran 3 miles yesterday. Sorta. I ended up walking more than I care to admit and my time was shameful. That’s what I get for skipping a week. No more cutting running days. My right knee is hurting, it kept waking me up last night. My knee hurt more as the week went on, like the longer I went without running the more it hurt. Which probably is related to the loose kneecaps and that running strengthens the knee muscles that support them and I was just starting to really build those muscles and then suddenly stopped. And now I’m jumping back into it after a week. I think I’ve really screwed this up. It’s going to take a while to fix it. And I need to stay on track and focused.

So, even though I’ve been saying it. Today I’m going to the gym during my lunch hour. I have to. My knees need the extra strength training. I was going to elliptical this morning, but my knee is so bad right now that I can’t put any weight on it. It’s starting to pop and crack a bit and I think the kinks will eventually work out. I also took a mega Advil a bit ago and I’m hoping that will kick in soon. So by the time I need to hit the shower and get ready for work, I should be good to go.

Food-wise, I’m trying to focus more on fruits, veggies and lean proteins. Yeah, I say that about once a week, don’t I. But I have to keep trying. Failure is when you give up. I’m not there yet. I’d love my epithet to read “She never gave up.”

I’ve also decided I’m not going to weigh in until next Monday. I’m going to give myself a week of good, healthy eating and exercise. The day to day fluctuations are getting to me. I need to look at the long-term. We’ll see if I can stay away. I admit that I’m addicted to my scale and will often weigh in multiple times a day. I’m a bit psycho, I’m totally aware of that.

Looks like Rush Limbaugh lost 90 pounds in five months (Good Morning America is on). Not really surprising, when you spew that much bullsh*t it’s gotta come from somewhere!

Speaking of GMA, Meryl Streep is supposed to be on today too! I love her and can not WAIT for Julie and Julia to open this Friday!

UPDATE 5:27 PM

I’ve taken Tiny2b up on her Mini Slump Buster Challenge. That means I’ve commited to the following:

1. Run Tuesday and Thursday
2. Go to the gym (and workout) Monday, Wednesday and Friday
3. No fast food Monday through Friday

Reward should I complete this task: a new pair of sandals

Punishment should I fail: posting a current picture of myself in a bathing suit here and on Facebook. Cause Tiny2b knows how to make it HURT!

And so I will report that I did go to the gym today. AND WORKOUT! Cause I’m guessing that’s sort of the point. Otherwise I could just go hang out at the gym for an hour and read mags, they have tons. I could get all caught up on my Jon & Kate plus Michael Jackson’s love child news. Get tips on the latest Jessica Simpson diet (ok, so I actually bought that one!) But no, I WORKED OUT. Did some leg curls and ab crunches. Spent some time warming up on the treadmill and cooling down on the elliptical. It was all good, baby!

Take THAT, Tiny2b! Ha!

Meant to post today’s menu:

1st thing: banana
Breakfast: sugar free oatmeal
Snack: Yoplait Light Key Lime Pie & Special K 90 calorie pack crackers
Lunch: Big ole salad
Snack: Yoplait Light Lemon Cream Pie, Special K 90 calorie pack crackers, 3 stolen handfuls of White Cheddar Cheez-Its
Dinner: 2 pieces of Gorton’s Salmon (100 calories each)

I’m trying to cut it off there. Note: crackers are not fast food. No, I’m not proud of them, but I didn’t break the whole Slump Busters Challenge rule either. And I didn’t realize how hard this rule was going to be. Cause tonite I’m taking the kids to the beach. And we usually get In ‘n Out Burger cause there’s one like right by the beach we go to and none really close to us. And also, In ‘n Out has gluten free options and they’re sort of on the healthier side of the whole fast food spectrum. But alas, they have a drive thru window and wear little paper hats and ask you if you’d like fries with that, ma’am, thus fully qualifying for fast food status. Damn.