Friday, June 29, 2007

A Reprimand

Well, my cramping leg antics yesterday earned me a stern reprimand from Coach Martha. She doesn't suspect hydration or electrolytes to be the problem--- she said that knowing me, I've pushed my body too far too fast. What a wake up call! I'm not one for patience or baby steps, so I guess it helps to get knocked around every once and a while. I'm meeting with a sports nutritionist on Sunday before our lecture and swim.....Coach wants to make sure I have it right combining WW with the exercise we will be doing. (I swear I'm fine-- I just want to know why I end up gaining weight on what equates to 1500 calories a day and lots of exercise!!!)

Anyway, today I didn't count points, mainly because I went out to eat for both lunch and dinner and heck if I know where I ended up. Had a turkey burger at this "top of the world" type restaurant.....didn't eat the ciabatta bun and had no sides except lettuce with a little bit of balsamic vinaigrette on my fork. Dinner was Chili's...I ordered a mango margarita and took all the batter off 2 chicken tenders. Then ate 2 bites of the molten lava chocolate cake. I know! The horror!! It was such a bad night. (I did have a 4-point granola bar in the afternoon and a Fiberful bar, so trust me, it was plenty o' food) But I'm not going to feel guilty about it, because I'm just not going to.

Will play with the table thing tomorrow. Thanks for all the tips--- we will prevail!

Thursday, June 28, 2007

I'm tired.....

so, so tired.

According to my journal, this is my sixth consecutive day of exercise. Yesterday, we hit the pool for an amazing swim practise. Imagine 24 Divas in 3 lanes, doing 1-arm drills while circle swimming. Yes, it was a circus! I did, however, learn that in triathlon swims, you rely most on your arms....kicking is only for steering. How about that? I need to save my legs for biking and running, hence the need to make a fabulously strong stroke. I have a long way to go. We spent a little over an hour and the pool, and that was enough for me.

Today, I did my mandated workout--- 50 minutes of cycling, followed by 10-15 minutes of running. Our first combination of workouts. I hit the gym for my 1-hour cycling class, and made sure to keep the cadence up but the resistance moderate. I *thought* I hydrated well, but apparently not so. After class, I hit the trail and attempted to run. My legs felt like jello after the bike (totally normal and expected), but after two minutes, my legs cramped! Oh crud! I was out on the trail all by my lonesome, cell phone back in my car, no ID on me. I seriously was questioning my sanity at my attempt to run with so many bad things going on in my body. So I listened to my calves and stopped, turned around, and walked back to my car, hoping I'd make it without cramping to the point of immobility. What a night! I just downed 2 servings of pasta and am finally satiated, but my body is tired. Dead tired.

Tomorrow is my day off! Thank goodness-- it's been a crazy long week.

It's been that TOM, as well, so I've been starving and hurting all at the same time. I'm not sure what I've eaten lately, but it can't be good for me. Let me try this stupid table again. OK, the table is not stupid. *I* am, in so many ways.

Well, look at that. It's showing up now. But now I can't get it up the darn page. What's up with that?? What am I doing wrong? Argh.....I'm supposed to understand modern technology!







FoodPointsPoints Remaining (out of 22)
Coffeemate with coffee220
Small apple119
Fiberful Bar118
String Cheese117
1/4 cup pistachios (shelled)314
Low-carb wrap with 2% cheese and 1/2 serving turkey410
Sugar Free Hot Cocoa19
100 calorie pack of cookies28
Small salad with 2 tbsp fat free dressing17
2 servings Barilla pasta with 1/4 cup sauce70
Activity points-- 55 minutes of spin+33

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Table issues


Why is it all the way down at the bottom of the darn page? I could scream!!!! Really, html code is not my strong suit.

Thanks for all the comments on the sunburn and knee remedies. Sunburn wise, I'm slathering with aloe and hoping it clears up eventually. It still bubbles up when I exercise, but I'm just going to apologize profusely to everyone tomorrow nad not lose any sleep over it. At least it doesn't hurt like heck anymore. And the knee? I pulled out all my physical therapy handouts and have been doing them all day long so I can loosen up the IT band and see what happens. Unfortunately, it's not a matter of being sore with me. If it "blows" (my term for "cannot walk for weeks"), I can't stand on it for 4 days and then it takes months to be able to straighten it out again without intense shooting pains. Doc says it's just a PT malalignment, correctible with physical therapy, so what can you do? I just baby the darn thing and hope for the best. (And write the company you all recommended to try a free sample!)

Bad eating day. It's getting to be that TOM, so I'm ravenous. I did go for a nice, sweaty bike ride this afternoon, so hopefully that will make amends for what will surely be a traumatizing evening of the munchies. Thankfully, the house is stocked full of healthy foods!

I suppose that's it from me today. Still trying to get used to this new format and all the crud I've done to mess it up. Good grief!!!



























































Food Points Remaining (22 base)
Light String Cheese 1 21
Fiberful Bar 1 20
Pria Bar 2 18
Cpffeemate 2 16
WW Smart Ones Enchiladas Suiza 6 10
Light n' Fit Yogurt with Almonds and Strawberries 2 8
Small apple 1 7
small nectarine 1 6
Salmon burger with ear of corn 4 2
1/2 serving Light Pretzels 1 1
Activity Points! +2 3

Monday, June 25, 2007

Blisteringly slow

Rushed home today to get in a quick run before turning back around and meeting my boss and team for dinner. I did a 20-minute run followed by 10 minutes of walking/cooling off, and I was pretty darn tired afterwards. My legs, recovering from sunburn, are now blistering and itchier than you can possibly imagine. Exercise only makes them worse. Instead of popping and drying out, my legs are staying moist and they blister and then return to normal, day in and day out. Just die already! I am sick of looking like a burn victim and being unable to shave. What are they going to say to me at swim practise on Wednesday when I show up looking like a Yeti?

Anyway, didn't cover too much ground in my run. Maybe 2 miles? My knee is fighting me on this running thing-- so much so that I had to drive with one hand while keeping ice on my knee with the other one on my way to dinner. I'm doing this triathlon, even if my knee is a messed up joint.

Sunday, I hit the pool for the first time in over a year. My first salt water pool, so that was pretty cool. Not sure if it's because I'm more fit or because the salt water makes me more buoyant, but I did a continuous 800 meter swim after doing a couple hundred meters of warmup. Boy, was I impressed with myself! My time was appallingly slow, but when I e-mailed my coach, she was very encouraging. She said that I didn't realize how fit and strong I really am and that many of my fellow Divas will never even see 20 minutes on their swim for the distance we'll be swimming. She then assured me that mine will see marked improvement and that she can't wait to continue training me to see where I go. Woohoo!! Now I just need to convince my knee to stay well-behaved.

I am signing up for the triathlon 2 weeks before the Pacific Coast as a warm-up. It's in beautiful Santa Barbara, and it's pretty quick and easy. 500 meter ocean swim, 6 mile bike, and 2 mile run. Right up my alley! I guess the waters are calm and the bike course is flat, so this will be a wonderful warm-up for my big race. Besides, hubby and I will get a weekend in Santa Barbara. What could be better?

Had a bad eating day. Everything I ordered got botched, but I was so mad I didn't send anything back. I just shrugged my shoulders and ate, hoping all the calories I burned running adn swimming would be enough to counteract restaurant stupidity. Got a Greek salad with the dressing already mixed in, even though it has it on the side in the picture......then for dinner, ordered a lemon parmesan sole, butter sauce on the side. Shows up, and the damn thing looks like it's caked in breadcrumbs, fried, and swimming in butter. BossMan paid a pretty penny for it, so I sucked it up and ate. It wasn't worth it, though. Everything was unremarkable, which is a shame. Why don't chefs realize that a lovely Dover Sole is very best when broiled and sprinkled with lemon? Why?!

Anyway, need to start over tomorrow. If my legs look better tomorrow, I may take a spin class. If not, I'll call tomorrow my day off and wait for the swim on Wednesday. After all, we are tapering into our exercise regime.....must go slow!

So glad to have found you guys again. Keep commenting with your blog addresses so I can continue to check on you!

Sunday, June 24, 2007

A New Beginning

Earlier today, blogs.weightwatchen.com died an early and terribly unexpected death. All 400 weight loss blogs joined together by the work of "Roni" disappeared permanently due to a downed server. We'd been joined together in our common journeys for over 4 months now, so as you can imagine, the loss of the data AND the community is just devastating.

I've decided to continue blogging, under the same name, in my weight loss attempt and hope that one day I can reconnect with some of the wonderful people I communicated with on Weightwatchen.com.

To bring you all up to speed, I'm a 28-year old career woman who's been on Weight Watchers for nearly two years now. I lost 35 lbs for my wedding last June, and I've managed to keep 30 off permanently. This blog is my quest to maintain and lose and continue to live a healthy lifestyle. The big news in my life is that I'm training for my 2nd sprint triathlon in September! So if my blog is a mix of triathlon training and dieting, my apologies.

Over the next few weeks, I hope to recover some of my blog posts from Google caches and copy them into my new blog. I'm hoping I can back date them! At any rate, I don't want to lose those memories.....

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Pedal to the Metal

Or something like that.

Today was the 2nd training session, and we met at a gorgeous park by the ocean and sat through an inspirational session followed by a lesson on cycling safety, cycling tri rules, and technique. Then we hit the road for a 30 minute ride to work on form and cadence. I was pleased to see that my mountain bike with road slicks was in the company of a few other mountain bikes. All in all, I ended up towards the front of the back, in back of the road bikes (I did beat a couple) and in front of all the mountain bikers. Did 8 miles in 30 minutes without working up too much of a sweat or tiring out my legs…..apparently we have to get out of the “push it” phase, because after the ride, we still have to run. Gee, no wonder why my last triathlon in 2004 was such a nightmare. Why didn’t I think about this stuff?
One additional comment on the triathlon thing. Everyone should seriously consider it! My group is full of skinny minnies, regular girls, and even larger girls who are wearing the XXL wetsuits and workin’ them! Everyone is on an equal playing ground, and anyone can finish. It’s that easy. And what a great way to get out and enjoy the outdoors and meet new people — I can’t recommend it enough for EVERYBODY!!!

Anyways, what fun. DH and I headed up to a triathlon store afterwards and I bought my first wetsuit. And you thought a bathing suit was revealing– you should try a form-fitting triathlon wetsuit! Yikes! I ended up tricking the saleslady with my size. She put me in a larger size at first, but I ended up fitting perfectly into the smaller one. Woohoo!! Victory. I tell you, I may have little legs, but my stomach can be a beast. Thank goodness the tri suits are all about fit in the arms, legs, and hips.

I didn’t eat so well tonight. Had 2 fish tacos without the cheese or guacamole, and I didn’t succeed in resisting the chips and salsa. I’m not sure what I ended up at for the end of today, but it was probably pretty darn close to going over my points. Anyways, tomorrow is a new day. Bought some gorgeous peaches and tons of lettuce at the store today, so it’s back on the wagon tomorrow. DH is working all day, so I may get a respite from Mexican food.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Time to catch up on all the TV shows from last week!

Friday, June 22, 2007

I ate a burrito

A 790 calorie shrimp burrito, no avocado, no sour cream, followed by chips. This equated to nearly all my daily calories in one sitting. I feel like crud, and it wasn’t even all that great. (Although major kudos to La Salsa for posting their awesome nutritional information online….too bad they didn’t have it in their store so I could make a more informed decision when ordering!)
There, it’s out there. Now I can sleep in peace. (Although I am still nauseous)
Why can’t I stay strong when I go out with my husband? Why?

Thursday, June 21, 2007

The Dreaded Mile Run

21 06 2007
Does anyone else throw up a little in their mouth when they hear that? Does it conjure up images of torture? Or kids rushing past you? Of all the weeks leading up to this horrid event that made you feel like the world’s biggest loser?

Well, if it doesn’t, you were probably one of the lucky ones that I used to hate. But no hard feelings, for today I cranked it out and I have to admit, I’m pretty darn pleased to be facing this demon! Grabbed the hubby’s GPS, my MP3 player, and then hit the trail for a timed mile. Coach wants us to have a baseline, and the workout homework for the next two days was 20 minutes of running/walking….so this worked out great. I completed 1 nautical mile in 9 minutes, 5 seconds, which converts to 7 minutes and 52 seconds for 1 regular mile. Woohoo!!! Now, I was definitely dying by the end there, but this is a marked improvement from the 12 - 15 minutes of my elementary school past. I feel like a fine wine– look at how much better I’ve gotten with age!
……well, all except for that pesky belly pudge that just loves to make me feel all self conscious and pregnant.

Before I go any farther, I finally posted my mountaintop photo on the Photo page. It’s a little distorted, but I’m not so good with this thing here so it’s as good as it gets. Yes, it’s called Flattop Mountain for a reason!! But boy, the way up there was anything but flat.
So today was alright. I ate a little more than I wanted to, but I’m without a car (gotta love blinking indicator lights and the panic it instills in me!) so I haven’t had a chance to do any shopping. This week has been all canned/frozen/old foods, so no doubt high in sodium. Back in the 150’s. Big shocker there! My body is justing socking away the fat trying to taunt me with those 140’s. But I’ll get there. Just you wait.

Alas, here is the day:
FOOD POINTS
Coffeemate creamer 3
1/2 Brownie bite (darn you coworkers!) 1
Fiberful bar 1
Granola Bar 3
2 servings Barilla pasta with ICBINB spray and fresh basil 6
Oatmeal — TJ’s with splenda 3
1/2 cup mixed vegetables 1
Lemon Pepper tuna steak 3
1/4 cup Golden Grahams 2
1 Dannon Lite n’ Fit yogurt 1
Activity points earned +2
Flex Points used 0
Totals 24

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

On Your Mark, Get Set......

I’m off!! Day 1 of triathlon training is officially over. Met my coach, met my fellow Divas, and had a great inspirational session followed by a spin class focused on technique. I was surprised that there were plenty of “normal” women in the group and that I was actually holding up on the bike much better than some of the others. I’m sure that this will change over time….it seems many of them are runners. Watch out! I’m no runner, so we’ll see how it goes.
At any rate, I’m happy with the evening and looking forward to getting out there and doing more. What fun! I can’t believe it took me this long to sign up and go for it. Without a doubt, my coach WILL get me through this, open water swim and all. She’s awesome! (And my $15 EBay cycling shoes are pretty awesome, too, despite their smurf blue ways)
I have no idea what I ate today. OK, I do. I don’t think I stayed on track, though. Here’s the damage:
Food Points
Coffeemate creamer 2
Fiberful bar 1
1 small apple 1
100 calorie bar 2
3 Cheese Ziti –WW 6
2 Wasa Crisps with 1 wedge laughing cow lite 2
1/2 tortilla 2
2 servings barilla pasta with 1/2 cup sauce 7
Trail Mix bar 3
Activity points earned +3
Flex points used +1


Totals 26

Yikes! I need to rein in a little here. The past week has made me very hungry. Time to get back under control.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Back from the Beyond

Always a mixture of sadness and relief when you get home from vacation. I was so happy to see my cat and get started with training, but sad to say goodbye to family and our favorite state. Walking is difficult right now. Although I’m sure some of this is soreness from our killer hike, I was dumb enough to elect to NOT put sunscreen on my legs and now I’m paying the piper. My legs are swelled and sleeping is near impossible. I’m walking around all bow-legged because I can’t bend my knees without pain. ouch!! I have learned my lesson, though. From here on out, I’m going to slather myself in a high spf sunscreen. I love being stupid.

Can’t wait to get back on track with this diet. I’m sick of having to guess at everything that I eat! I think it’s safe to say I’ve gained during this trip, but I’m not going to weigh in tomorrow because I’m carrying around far too much in my legs thanks to the burn.

Tomorrow is my first day of triathlon training. We’re hitting the spinning room to learn cycling form and get used to our clip pedals. I bought some shoes on eBay for $15– brand new with new LOOK cleats attached. I think I got a bargain!! (And I guessed my size in UK numbers correctly– go me)

I promise to update tomorrow with my mountaintop photo. It ain’t pretty, but you bet I made it to the top and I’m not going to stop bragging about it!

Monday, June 18, 2007

The Morning After

Sometimes I think I don’t remember that I live at sea level.

I’m sitting here with the world’s worst sunburn on the back of my legs, a sore knee, and sheer exhaustion after our Hallett Peak attempt yesterday. From 7:30am - 3pm, we were on our hike. 9 miles round trip. 2800 feet of elevation gain. Mostly above tree line. Ugh!!! It was a bit much for us. We ended up on the summit of Flattop Mountain at 11:15am, after scrambling up a snow field, and we were whooped. Winds were gusting to 60mph and beyond, and at times I had visions of us being blown off the mountain and down Tyndall Glacier! At any rate, the extra 1/2 mile to Hallett were deemed too much for our inexperienced selves, so we made the decision to begin our descent and call it a day. I’m actually okay with this decision, as it was probably the safest thing we could have done. We didn’t have any gear on us, and both of us were wearing shorts. Everyone who continued on had the heavy duty hiking boots, pants with gators, and poles. I bet they thought it was a miracle we even made it up there. And the altitude! I didn’t feel it until we got down….nausea all afternoon and the world’s worst headache. Why do I live at sea level? Why?

I had a WW heart attack on my hike yesterday when I became insatiably hungry and decided to eat whatever my body told me to eat. I think the grand total was 2 Sweet Salty Nut bars, 1 100 calorie bar, 2 handfuls of Planters nut mix (holy cow– very bad for you), and a 100 calorie breakfast bar, on top of my morning banana and muffin. I drank the equivalent of 10 bottles of water on the hike….and another 3 or 4 when we got back. I felt guilty about all of this until I ran a 7-hour hike through the Sparkpeople exercise calculator…..3,000+ calories burned! Well, I believe it. It was grueling. I think that I’ll be just fine when I meet my fellow TriDivas for the first time on Wednesday. They went running yesterday, but I think that my hike was more than sufficient to bring me up to speed with them.

So, two more vacation days. We’ll see how the weight turns out at the end of this. Jynell, I bet I’m back to the 150’s, so you will probably be the first to sustain the elusive 140’s.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

The Eve of the Summit

Yeah for internet access in cabins!

We are sitting in our cabin on the eve of our big hike to Hallett Peak tomorrow morning. It’s 5 miles one way, so 10 miles round trip — our longest hike ever. I’m a little nervous, but confident that we will make it and enjoy the gorgeous views. After rock climbing on Thursday, I still think I can conquer the world.

My eating has been horrible today, but we had our year-old wedding cake and then celebrated with the first pizza I’ve eaten in over a year. So I’m just considering all my flex points blown for the next week and will go back to proper behavior tomorrow. Not sure how many points I’ll earn by hiking all day long, but it’s got to at least knock off a piece of pizza….right?! At any rate, I am not beating myself up over it. In order to not go off the deep end in my regular life, I do need a day or two like this every year to get things out of my system. It’s not like I ate the entire pizza or downed a six pack of beer with it. And next week, when Coach Martha starts in on Tri training…..ancient history that pizza will be!

So, that’s my check-in for the vacation. Funny how all I can think about is getting to a computer so I can fess up!!

Friday, June 15, 2007

Climbing High!

Just had to check in on vacation really quick to report a personal victory. I went rock climbing and I did it!!! It was probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life, mainly because I had to trust my coworkers on belay (I think that’s how you spell it) and because I was clinging to a sheer rock face…..but I managed to make it to the top on 2 of the 3 routes I took. What a high. Actually, it was more like relief and shock that I was able to overcome my intense fear and do it. Now, I’ll never do it again, but I surely can say that now I’ve been there and done that.

What a great week so far, though! Has been quite easy to stay on track, mostly because being scared to death of rock climbing really kills the appetite. And travel does me well — 148.5 at the Health Fair check-in!!! I was pretty darn psyched, let me tell you.

Now, don’t be too disappointed in my lack of swimming the past two days. The Annual Meeting is like a reunion with some of the most amazing people you could hope to meet in this world. So I didn’t do a lot of sleeping, and when I did, it was tough to get going! Suffice it to say that this weekend, I’ll be pushing us on the hikes to try and make up for the inactivity. (But I will say, rock climbing was such a good workout— my legs were trembling going back to the bus, and this morning my arms are sore from belaying everybody….awesome, awesome alternate workout if you aren’t scared of heights)With that, I’m going to disappear for a few more days and enjoy my vacation….and keep soaking up the compliments! I’m 5 lbs heavier than I was at this time last year, but I got so many compliments on how I looked and that was wonderful to hear. I guess it’s just redistributed to more desireable areas?! :) Keep up the good work, everyone.

Monday, June 11, 2007

The List

Today was the day we received our traithlon equipment list. Is it embarassing to admit that half of the equipment I never knew existed?! I need to buy a triathlon wetsuit, body glide (yeah, sounds like some unsavory stuff is going to go on!!), pull buoy, tire tubes and pumps or cartridges (huh?!), bright colored swim caps, and a heart rate monitor, among other things. I’m on a crazy search for a cheap road bike, but apparently that is too much to ask. I’ve even gotten so daring as to ask my old boss, who apparently has a garage full of very expensive toys, if I might be able to borrow one of his bikes for the next few months? We shall see. I knew that this would be expensive, but I never realized that doing it right would be THIS expensive. Alas, I will make it work. EBay, Craigslist, and co-workers are my friends. I’m really excited, though. I wish we were starting tomorrow, except I need the time to gather all these weird training goodies.

I leave for my company’s annual meeting tomorrow night. This is 3 days of activity and schmoozing and catered meals…hopefully not signs of impending disaster. I survived last year and managed to lose weight before my wedding, so why should this be any different? My friend in DC is packing her swimsuit, as we intend to swim some laps at the start of our mornings. Hopefully this will get me ready for the triathlon divas. This week, they are only running on Sunday. With all of my hiking and swimming, I’m sure we’ll be on the same page!

I’m going through a good eating period here. No insane urges. No eating all my points before noon. Just even steven. I wish it was always this easy. Yesterday, we didn’t even buy any junk at the grocery store. We got 8 bananas that we have to eat before we leave tomorrow night. I’ve only had one, but can you guess what’s for desert?

Here’s the day so far. I’ll add my intended dinner and the aforementioned banana.

Food Points
Coffeemate creamer 2
Mediterranean salad with feta and veggies, 1 tbsp dressing 4
1 apple 1
1 banana 2
String cheese 1
Fiberful bar 1
3/4 cup Golden Grahams 2
2 servings barilla pasta with 1/2 cup sauce 7

Totals 20

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Tricky Mexican Food

So, after all that bragging about being a responsible eater this past week, I went to a Mexican restaurant with my husband and boss last night and I don’t think I picked the very best item on the menu. Ugh! I had 8 points left for my dinner, but I couldn’t find a salad that looked appetizing. (And I have a cut on my tongue– light dressings would KILL to eat at this point) I ended up with a blackened chicken burrito that had a sprinkling of cojita cheese inside and mostly grilled chicken and fresh onions & tomatoes. It was in a flour tortilla, though, and it came smothered in some red sauce. I am almost certain that it far exceeded my points for the day, even though I only ate 1/2 of it and there was no rice to be seen. (And no chips for me, I might add!) Anyway, suffice it to say I feel gross today and am a little upset with myself. I tried to do Roni’s veggie burrito standbye, but they didn’t offer a veggie burrito. (And talk about cilantro-happy….it was my worst nightmare)

I really need to get to the gym and get in the pool sometime before I leave on my trip. Miss Diva Coach says that I need to get on a bike to get spinning (not a problem!) and in the water to get the feel back. What I need is a swift kick in the rear to get me out of this house right now. I’ve just been reading the paper, drinking my coffee, and phoning my family, all the while still in my pj’s and not getting anything material accomplished! I’ve blown through 7 points already and I haven’t even gotten to lunch….must find me some veggies at the store for dinner tonight.
Anyways, will add the food journal later. I just wanted to get on here and thank everyone (wow, Dr. Drill even came on and wrote– I was so excited!) for their ongoing support and encouragement. THIS is what it takes to accomplish your goals and get to where you want to be. Everyone’s comments are so helpful and motivational. I promise to get more active on here and sprinkle a few of my own around in the future!

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Dr. Drill Motivates from Afar

Not for bootcamp. But for the triathlon.

Jynell of 31 More Days! fame responded to my “Am I Crazy” post about doing a sprint triathlon again in September. I came up with a million and one reasons NOT to do it, but Jynell encouraged me to keep it in mind despite all those reasons. It took me a few days, but she was right to question me. My reasons weren’t justified– they were excuses. So today, I got in contact with the training group and now all I need to do is pick a race! I’m just bouncing off the walls with excitement at this point– there is absolutely nothing in the world that’s as invigorating as finishing a triathlon. When everyone has said you’d never stick with it and doubts you can finish….there you are, and everyone is cheering and you’ve pushed yourself to your limits! I absolute cannot wait to feel it again.

So, which one do I do? The Santa Barbara Super Sprint is in mid-August: 500 yard swim (open ocean), 6 mile bike, and 2 mile run. It’s 2 hours away from me and I’d probably have to make a weekend out of it, since packet pickup is on Friday and the race is on Sunday. My 10-Year high school reunion is the week before, which may also be a factor. Choice number two is the Pacific Coast Triathlon: 1/2 mile swim (open ocean — 850 yards), 12 mile bike, and 3 mile run, over a very hilly course. It’s the 2nd week in September, with a longer training session. It’s close to my house, though, so I’ll be able to practice over the course.

The good thing is my training group provides coaching for BOTH triathlons, and I can train for the Pacific and also do the Santa Barbara as a warmup. So, what should I do? Do I push myself to do a longer swim than I’ve ever done in open water? Do I do Santa Barbara, even though it’s far away? Will I feel like a copout because I’ve chosen to do the weeny triathlon and not the full-blown sprint? Will my husband kill me when he finds out I need new running shoes and probably a wetsuit so I don’t drown?

Good eating day, if I can stay away from food tonight. I have a 5am wake-up tomorrow for a flight to San Fran, so at least that’ll serve as a sufficient appetite suppressant. Of course no exercise, but I’ll be taking care of that in short order!

You know what’s funny is that I was thinking about the irony of my not being able to have it all. If I am in awesome shape, my body clings to it’s current weight and sometimes gains weight. If I stop exercising, my body allows me to lose weight. When I was asking myself today if I’d feel better about myself if I was training for a triathlon or back down to the 140’s, I whole-heartedly chose the triathlon training. I COULD be comfortable with my weight if I felt like I was in solid shape and my body looked it. Maybe that is what I finally need to be happy with myself?
Food Points
Coffeemate creamer with coffee 2
1 small apple 1
2 small bananas 2
(4 hour separation — I refuse to call them 2 pts each, they were small!)
1 Light n’ Fit yogurt with handful raspberries and 1/2 cup Fiber One 2
1 cup ground beef with lettuce and 1 taco shell 5
Hostess 100 calorie pack 1
2 Wasa Crisps with a laughing cow light wedge 2
2 cups brown rice with ICBINB 6
1 Thomas’ Light English muffin with ICBINB spray 1

Totals 22

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Just the log

Nothing new to write about today. Just another day, another crappy restaurant. Hit some fancy steakhouse with a potential general contractor and ordered seared scallops, light on the butter. Well, I ended up with 4 practically raw, COLD seared scallops on a bed of white rice. It was really disappointing and I ended up going back to the office and snacking on fruit all afternoon. Anyways, here’s the day:
Food Points
Coffeemate creamer with coffee 2
1 small apple 1
Fiberful bar 1
Seared scallops with 1/2 cup white rice 6
1 small banana 1
Hostess 100 calorie pack 1
Quaker 100 calorie granola bites 2
Thomas’ Light English muffin with 1 wedge light Laughing Cow 2
TJ’s mini marguerita pizza 3
1 Light n’ Fit yogurt with 1/2 cup Fiber One and raspberries 2

Totals 21

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

The Joys of Fresh Produce

The bloat is gone! TMI, I know. But it’s the craziest thing. If I go grocery shopping and eat most of my points in things like yogurt, fruit, veggies, and whole grains, my stomach seems to shrink. As soon as I grab a frozen meal or a granola bar, poof! Big tummy again.
Anyway, it’s motivation to keep heading to the store for mini shops every 3-4 days to make sure I don’t run out of fruit and vegetables. I was reading a triathlon training guide and one of their articles was devoted to a healthy diet. They said that for desert, if you are craving sweets, eat a few apples. Eventually, the craving goes away. Now, who am I kidding to think that I’ll actually try this??! Well, I might. We shall see. I have 2 Golden Delicious sitting in my fruitbasket with my name all over ‘em.

Jynell got me to thinking about my reasons for not doing the Triathlon training. I mean, who cares if I miss a few of the sessions I paid for because of work or vacation? It happens! I went on their website tonight and read about all the women who are a part of the training team, and you know what? They are all sorts of ages, and all of them are professionals with busy careers. Surely if these women can find the time, so can I. And I may actually make some friends, too! Anyways, there is a shorter distance triathlon up in Santa Barbara in August that might be a bit more realistic for me to try if I’m scared of the one in Newport. Oh, what to do?! I’ve e-mailed the owner of the training group and asked her what she thought of me joining when I miss out on the first session. Fingers crossed I can work it out!!!

So, here’s the day so far. I know red meat isn’t the best for you, but what can a girl do when she’s got a difficult man at home who will sulk if he sees another bowl of Boca chili?!
Food Points
Coffeemate creamer with coffee 2
1 small apple 1
Fiberful bar 1
Quaker instant apple cinnamon oatmeal 2
Leftover spaghetti 3
Wasa crackers and laughing cow light wedge 2
Sugar free hot cocoa 1
100 calorie pack 2
2 beef tacos with cheese 7
1 Mango 1

Totals 22

Monday, June 4, 2007

Crazy Ideas

The other day I had this crazy idea that I was going to join an expensive triathlon training team and do another tri in September. Crazy! Anyway, I’ve since talked myself out of it. First off, in this time of company takeover, I need to make an impression on my new bosses as they come in and start working with me and my group. I’m doing lots of trips back and forth to San Jose and San Francisco, and who knows where else I’ll be traveling. It’d just be a huge waste of money to sign up for this training session and then I wouldn’t be able to do it. Or I’d do it, whilst sacrificing my work performance. So, I’m going to skip it. However, I am interested in doing another triathlon again and am thinking that maybe I’ll find one next spring that I can aim towards without hurting myself? A nice pool swim as opposed to open water? Yes, that’d be much better. And I can build up the training so that I’m not totally occupied every spare second. I’m disappointed, but I’m only trying to be realistic here. Living in CA is all about working on my career, so I can’t let anything derail that.

On a positive note, guess who is firmly back on program? Oh, yeah…that would be moi. I’m at 21 points and I’m pretty much full. One small apple and I’ll be ready for bed! Woohoo! This is very exciting for me considering all the crud I’ve been through these past few weeks. I’m a stress eater, so it’s been pretty tough to stay on track.

Hit the grocery store tonight intent on scoring pay dirt with the Grocery Game. Unfortunately, healthy food is NEVER on sale. I swear!! These crazy coupon ladies are stocking up on Suddenly Salad, refried beans, and cheese— I can’t buy all that stuff. I’m pretty brand-specific and focus a lot on fruits and veggies. It was so difficult to actually find coupons to use in the grocery store today. I guess I’ll be cancelling my Grocery Game subscription next week…..

At any rate, next week is my company’s annual meeting, followed by a vacation! My hubby is flying out to meet me, and we are going to spend 3 days in a cabin in Estes Park, CO. We got engaged in Rocky Mountain National Park and married just outside of Estes, so this area is near and dear to our hearts. This time around, we are planning on scaling our first mountain top…..Hallet Peak and Flattop Mountain. It’s around 10 miles round trip, but it’s not particularly difficult as far as actual mountains are concerned, so Im psyched. Really, there is nothing better than hiking in Colorado. I’m excited just thinking about it right now!
Anyway, with that, here is the damage for the day:
Food Points
Coffeemate creamer with coffee 2
String cheese 1
Fiberful bar 1
Quaker instant apple cinnamon oatmeal 2
Smart Ones spaghetti with zuchini 4
Wasa crackers and laughing cow light wedge 2
Sugar free hot cocoa 1
100 calorie granola bites 2
Barilla plus pasta with marinara 3
Salad with 25-calorie light dressing 1
100 calorie Hostess cupcakes 1
Apple 2
Totals 22

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Time for bed.....

‘cuz I’m out of points! Oops. The day started out great, but then DH brought me the last 1/3 of his Chipotle burrito when I was still at work. (We had to take a 4-hour detour this afternoon to my office so I could work on some red light emergencies) I knew I shouldn’t eat it, but my packed granola bar didn’t do anything for me and I was still starving. Of course, it was 2pm, so not late enough that I wouldn’t get hungry tonight.

Yikes! Well, I’m going to roast an ear of corn on the grill and eat a grilled turkey burger patty, no cheese or bun. So I guess if I go 3 pts over for the night, it could be worse. Technically it’s still “on program,” as I do have the 35 flex points to disperse as I like. But look— 25 pts for the day. I swear, this is my maintenance number!! If only I could eat less than that…..
At any rate, had to fess up. Here’s what I ate today, and what I plan to finish the day with:
Food Points
Coffeemate creamer with coffee 3
Granola bar 3
Fiberful bar 1
Hostess 100 cal chocolate cupcakes 1
100 calorie pack Chips Ahoy 2
Another granola bar, different brand 4
1/3 Chipotle burrito 7
Turkey burger patty and corn 4

Totals 25

Friday, June 1, 2007

Booze = Not a Good Food Substitute

Allow me to preface this by saying I’m not a drinker. In fact, aside from toasts at Thanksgiving and 1/2 a bottle of champagne the night of my wedding, I can’t think of a time where I’ve had anything to drink. So why I chose to order a sour apple martini tonight to go with my steak is absolutely beyond me.

Yeah, I had a few points leftover. Until I ate the whole steak. Oops. But it’s my birthday! Was my birthday. Yesterday, was my birthday. I just get so excited thinking about it. I had cake, because it was my birthday, and I got a grill. Yes!!! At any rate, tonight was the celebratory dinner, since we spent all of last night eating cake and assembling my grill. (But let me say that dear husband was brilliant and bought one of those mini cakes that’s only 2 servings— have I told you all how much I adore this man?)

Back to the booze. BAD idea. So bad. I started feeling like my arms and legs were lighter than they should be, and then my peripheral vision seemed to go on me. Naturally, this gets me pretty panicky. What could possibly be in such a small glass to make me feel so weird and horrible? Anyway, I felt on the verge of blacking out and was NOT comfortable driving my car home. We had to walk around for an hour before I finally felt like I wasn’t ready to lose all consciousness. Yowzers!

So that’s my word to the wise today. Eat your points. Don’t drink them. It’s infinitely more satisfying that way.

What a week it’s been. My company is being taken over. It’s my birthday. One of my good friends is in the ICU recovering from a cyst removal surgery that is going to take 1-2 years to fully recover from. What an emotional roller coaster. And to top it off, it’s my one year wedding anniversary on Sunday. Wow! I’m just glad the site of the American Idol ice cream now makes me want to ralph. Something to be said for binging there…..