Insanity... indeed

I have a fast approaching 5k that I am so not prepared for.  My best friend and I decided it would be a good idea and good motivation for both of us to sign up for our first 5k together.  Thing is - she's tiny, super tiny and always has been.  She was even tiny while she was pregnant (well you know what I mean right?).  She's also in better shape than I am.  In the past I may have been able to beat her in strength exercises but she's always won out in cardio.  She has also been training on a regular schedule where as I did too.. for about three weeks.  Then my list of excuses started to grow.  "Oh I'm too tired", "Oh I'm sickish", "Oh I just worked a triple to cover call-ins I can't go run I need to collapse on the bed".  Really it seems like every time I start to get back on track my schedule at work goes insane and I'm doing good to just get 4 hours of sleep a night, much less exercise, or cook dinner, or do laundry.  One night this week I didn't even come home - I stayed with Dearest's g-mother since she live closer to where I work so I could get an extra hour of sleep.  Anyway what was my point?... Oh right excuses...

I'm running out of time and I'm going to be a mess on race day.  A hot sweaty mess.  Dressed like a snow fairy.  That's right we're dressing up.

In my desperation I started looking for quick fixes and cure alls.  Enter Insanity.  I've seen the infomercials, I own Hip Hop Abs and love Shaun T.  I've wanted to try it but didn't want to pay the money for it.  Well magically I found a set for sale on Craigslist less than 10 miles from my house, and for less than half of what I'd have to pay for it new from BeachBody.  I'm also a slave to instant gratification so imagine my delight at being able to lay hands on it without waiting for shipping once that decision to buy it had been made.

I haven't taken my "before" pics yet, going to get Dearest to help me with that today I think.  I also need to record my current measurements.  I'm going to place starting weight at 189.4  since that is what I weight last time I got on the scale (last week).

Day one was just the fit test.  Dear sweet baby frogs.  By the end of it I was collapsed on the floor, mid way through I had decided I wasn't going to make it.  I'd just have to put down "zero" for number completed for the last half of the exercises.  I didn't though, I pushed through.  I didn't get many but I got something and I'm excited to see how I'm going to improve.  Dearest checked on me a few times (despite my "I don't want you watching me do this" warning) to make sure I was still alive and hadn't stroked out.  I looked ahead at the workout I'm supposed to do today and I'm not going to lie.  I'm scared terrified.  The actual moves seem easy enough and in my workout frivolities I've done most of them at some time or another before but the pace holy molasses - it's gonna hurt.  I guess it's a good thing I suspect I'm a masochist.  This just may confirm those suspicions.

Anyway, after Day 1 - a 30 - 40 minute fit test from Hell and making decent food choices I weighed in this morning at 186.8  a 2.6 lb loss I will gladly take.  I also doubt that to be water loss seeing as I barely drunk any yesterday (bad! yes I know).   We'll see how things go today since I'm already a tad sore from yesterday..

Fruits and Vegetables for Weight Loss... and Other Wonderful Things. Who Knew?

In my last post I walked you through my intro to green smoothies.  Now it's been a few months and I'd like to point out a few things that I've noticed.  I took a green smoothie break over the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays and I ate pretty darn much whatever I wanted.  Enter 8 pounds - stage right.  That extra 8 pounds that I had seemingly *just* lost was making me miserable.  I felt like a sausage stuffed into my clothes, I was irritable and tired and just yucky overall.  I decided it was time to get back on track.  I didn't really notice so many changes when I first started drinking smoothies, but I noticed a lot of things when I stopped..

I noticed my nails.  While on smoothies my nails were strong, healthy, and were able to grow out longer than I can remember them ever growing (well maybe that one time I was on Slim-Fast).

My hair has grown and it was shinier, but I noticed it starting to get dull any dry again.

I was tired.  When I drank smoothies I didn't need caffeine.  I kicked it without a second thought.  I didn't drag my feet all day at work, I walked with purpose and dodged and weaved around slower walking people.

They also helped to regulate my bowels and control stomach bloat.

That's pretty big right there.  At first they did make me feel sick and gave me headaches, but that only lasted about the first week.  Now, even after not drinking them for a month I've had no problems returning to drinking them.  I crave them.  I crave fruits and vegetables.  That's *insane*.  All my life, I've never particularly been a fan of salads - the other night I ate one with a vengeance, it just tasted so good! I thought I had lost my mind, truly.

The past two weeks I've been eating a truckload of fruits and vegetables.  Well, at least what I consider to be a truckload.  I get at least 5 servings if not 8 or 10 or more.  Typically I can get at least 4 or 5 of those servings just from my morning smoothie.

I know it sounds like I'm trying to sell you on these things... but well I am.  If you try it, just for two weeks you just may love it.  Not to mention, it the last week and a half I've lost five pounds.  My cravings are greatly diminished and I've consistently been able to walk past the glass candy dish full of chocolate truffles without even wanting one.  That's flipping amazing.  I can't deny chocolate, who am I??

Now I did have a bit of a stumble one night that included way too many frozen mini eclairs (darn my brother for bringing those tiny temptations in the house) but I had planned that day for a higher calorie dinner.  I tracked everything I ate, every darn one of those eclairs.  I've learned that you have to balance things out.  Yes I had a glass of wine and three biscuit pizzas and (cough cough unsaid number) eclairs, but I also had a salad which kept me from eating even more.  I also planned lower calorie meals earlier that day, and had a lower calorie day the next day as well as adding in a little exercise.

I'm getting there.. one step at a time.

Now, it's off for a mushroom and spinach egg white omelet.  I save my smoothies for work days (they're super fast to make and portable woot!) to make sure I don't get burnt out, but I may still have one later for a snack.. they're just darn tasty.