Catching up

It's been awhile! Between difficult classes, work, and normal day-to-day stuff, this semester has really gotten away from me. I hit the halfway point a couple of weeks ago and I can't even believe that the year is almost over. But, I do intend to be more intentional about updating this little corner of my world. 

Not too much has changed. I love love love my new job at the Career Center. I get to talk to people all day, which is pretty awesome. This includes talking to students that are just as confused about what direction to go in their life as I was when I changed majors a year and a half ago. Plus I work with some pretty fun people. I also got to work at my job back home during Spring Break. Boy did I miss everyone! 

And of course there's the insane amount of schoolwork I feel like I'm always doing and time set aside for friends. It's been really fun, but I have definitely missed blogging and keeping ya'll in the loop on life.


I have kept up with my running, working more on speed than distance as I prepare for my first 5K (!!!) two weeks from this weekend. I'm really excited about it! I wanted to wait until it was a little warmer out because of how my lungs reacted at the last race. So, April 6 I will be running the Point of Honor 5K. It's all about raising awareness for organ donation and that is something I really believe in because it has affected multiple generations of my family. My friend Deana has been training with the Couch to 5K program and is going to run the race as well! It's all super exciting stuff and I can't wait!

At my dad's surprise party over break

Spring Break was definitely a test on eating balanced at home. Aside from various surprise parties, it was mostly how normal day-to-day life will be this summer so I wanted to try to eat how I would eat then. Of course I ate way more junk than I was planning on (namely, donuts) but that's okay. It's a learning process. I made smoothies for breakfast like I do here, experimented with muffin recipes, put spinach on my pizza (not half bad!) and was intentional about picking a lower calorie meal that tastes good and will fill me up when eating out. When I weighed myself in after break, I was about the same as before so I am feeling more confident in how this summer will play out.  

And that brings me to maintenance mode. I can proudly say I have maintained the same weight (aside from some normal fluctuations here and there) since January 23rd! Almost 2 months! I have a "healthy range" for maintenance but honestly I haven't even had to depend on that because for whatever reason I can eat as much or little as I want and not gain/lose anything. I'm not complaining though! Sure I haven't made it to "goal" but I'm only a couple of pounds off, so I am content. And so incredibly proud. I see some of my friends making changes because of me and at the end of the day, that's what makes me the happiest: helping others realize their goals as well. 

My lucky number

 Tomorrow is the big day! I'm getting super excited and also really nervous. There's just so much I'm unsure of because I've never run a race so of course I'll be eager to update you all tomorrow night...or Sunday or Monday. Really I'm right out straight all weekend and Monday but I promise to write out a post the second I get a chance to sit down at my computer! :)

After what felt like ages in construction traffic, I got to pick up my packet! I called my sister the second I was in my car because my race number is 6! It's weird but I have always thought of 6 as my "lucky number." My birthday is 6/6 and there's been other stuff in my life that corresponds to that number as well. Needless to say, I was a little tickled. 

Hurray race bib!

I did my final pre-race run this morning. 2.25 miles around campus in the ice and snow! I was up and at 'em before they salted the sidewalks so I definitely ran in place a few times but no falling! Of course I did fall when I left the dorm for real later on after the salt had already been put on, so obviously I'm much more graceful when I run. The cold was what killed me though. My weather app read 30 degrees when I woke up but it was so much colder than that! It was way too cold out for my lungs to handle and I started to wheeze after the first mile and a half or so, love my lungs. I took my inhaler and it was immediate relief, just gotta roll with the punches I guess.

I did finish the first two miles in 20:29 this morning and the overall run in 23 minutes flat. For weather conditions like the one I was fighting, I'll take it!

Then I warmed up with a big bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter and freeze dried banana slices mixed in. SO good! The freeze dried bananas gave it such a nice crunch while the peanut butter is just perfect as always. I was going to eat a Clif bar tomorrow morning but I just love this combo way too much to give it up yet (until I get sick of it). 

First ever race shirt!

I'm sure all of you are probably annoyed with my constant talking about running, races, food and such. I know my friends probably are by now at least. But it truly helps keep my accountable by announcing that I am going to do something. If I didn't announce it or talk about it then it would be so much easier for me to quit or skip a run without others knowing. So thank you all for taking time to read my ramblings, I truly appreciate it. Thanks everyone!

Inspired by Others

When I take time to stop and think about it I realize how crazy it is that as the self-proclaimed "least athletic person" I am now running 5x/week. Honestly, it's pretty insane how I started out just exercising more to accompany eating right and now I'm pretty much addicting to running. It's kind of funny actually.

 What's awesome though is the number of friends of mine that have started becoming more active and even starting the Couch to 5K program because of little old me! Four of my friends have told me in past weeks that they have started as a result of my efforts and that just blows me away. Two of them will be running this intense race with me over the summer. :) And of course my family got gym memberships while I was home and I went to the gym with my parents a few times a week! The hard work of others is definitely motivating me to keep moving as well.

Yes, my cereal bowl does include a drinking straw

Anyways, I've become a big supporter of breakfast. I've always known breakfast was important but I'd just kind of eat it because it's bad to have coffee on an empty stomach (duh). But it's SO important to have breakfast or else your body goes into this crazy fat-storing starvation mode and nobody wants that.

My breakfast is becoming predictable though. 80% of the time I'll have oatmeal mixed with fruit and a very little bit of peanut butter. YUM. And the other 20% of the time I have Greek yogurt (It would be more if it wasn't so darn expensive!) or a fried egg on toast. Or both. All that is just to say that breakfast can be splendid and it really starts your day (and your metabolism!) off on the right foot.

The condition this treadmill was in made me miss the YMCA

Today I continued my interval running and I'm actually starting to notice a difference. When I started running for distance, I cut off all interval runs. That was okay, but it seemed to take a while to improve my distance without feeling like death. I've noticed a difference since adding intervals though and that was just last week! Yesterday's distance run went so much better than even shorter ones that I have done before. Also, I had to push the incline during today's run to get to the right level of nasty gross nobody-dare-look-at-me mess that I just love. All this to say, intervals really do help. Now only for it to get warm enough to do the non-interval runs outside! UGH.

On a completely random note: today I discovered Cold Turkey and I'm thinking it'll help cut my procrastinating back this semester...maybe? Time to go put it to use!

Setting Goals

As a direct result of Sunday's fiasco, I decided to take this week a little slower and I repeated Day One yesterday. Today (Tuesday) I was feeling much more confident so I moved onto Day Two and it wasn't as bad as I was expecting! I still felt like a gooey mess after, but it's progress. Day 3 is supposed to be running 2 miles straight. I don't know if I will do that or do 1.5 miles for a couple of days, then 2. I'm just not a fan of it suddenly going from 2 different 3/4 mile intervals to nearly doubling. We'll see though because I'm definitely going to repeat Day Two another time or two first.

Tomorrow I leave for Christmas Break! Woohoo! I'm a little excited that the semester is over. I really think being as active as I have been helped me endure finals week. Sitting still for hours on end builds up so much energy that I use to get distracted on the computer. Taking a break to run relieved some of that. Fantastic. 

My advice for getting through break without falling off the horse is to set some goals. Write them down and put them where you can see them every day, like your mirror. And tell others about the goals you are setting too, that way you are less likely to avoid them. It's just another way of keeping yourself accountable. :)

If you don't like running outdoors then researching a gym back home might be a good idea as well. I found some back home that I'm interested in that have student discounts and memberships that you only need to get for a month. It's perfect for my situation and I plan on becoming a member by Friday. Boom, goal.

So here are my goals between now and January 13:

1. Go to the gym at least 3 times/week
Since I will be paying for a gym membership (something I'm not used to) I don't think it will be difficult to at least guilt myself  into going, I'm pretty frugal. It will be nice to stick to a routine though, which is the whole purpose of this goal, keeping to a form of routine. 

2. Be within 5 pounds of goal weight
Right now, I'm about 8 or so pounds from goal weight. I originally had to lose 5 pounds over break. That would be awesome but I'm just not so sure about that happening. Being within five pounds would make me very happy though because then I could (hopefully) hit goal next semester! It would be a great way to start 2013.  

3. Run OUTSIDE
I'm terrified of running outside, especially if it is cold out. I just think I look so dumb which is why I don't want to be running around others as much as possible. But it's something I need to get over and my neighborhood is quiet and has a nice loop to run around. So, I want to pick a nice day to run around the neighborhood. If I do get comfortable with that then I can save some money this summer on another gym membership! (fingers crossed!)

4. Run for 2 miles straight
I am so close to accomplishing this goal! Being able to run for 2 miles would not only be the furthest that I have run (as far as I'm aware at least) but it would mean that I'm towards the end of this Couch to 5K business and can start working on speed! I'm a little excited because having to slow down during my workouts (as a result of adding distance) has really bummed me out because I feel so S-L-O-W compared to how I was running with intervals. 

5. Indulge in some treats, but have a plan of attack
All this basically means is that I am going to be a-okay with enjoying myself at parties and get-togethers with some yummy food. But, I want to keep it under control and not just eat because there is food in front of me. If I go into a social situation while keeping in mind that I am trying not to be excessive, then I will enjoy the party more and not go home with regrets later on. This really might be my hardest goal because I love sweets so much which is why I'm going to indulge a little.

6. Enjoy time with family and friends
That's what the whole point of being home is for! I am so excited to see everyone for a whole month and I am going to really treasure this time and relax. 

So those are my goals! I will definitely share about them as I keep going. I will definitely post as much as I can over break. Safe travels everyone.

Catching up from Thanksgiving: A Variety of Thoughts

Thanksgiving break caused me to accidentally take a break from blogging. I would love to say I did it on purpose because I was eating so terribly, but that's only a half truth. ;) I did do really well for the most part though, more on that later.

I weighed in Friday morning before I went out for breakfast. I made a point because I was at the exact one month mark from when I began being more intentional about what I eat. And in that month I lost 11 pounds! So crazy! And I can definitely tell too, I really just feel much better than before. It's hard to explain, but it is a really good feeling.

Traveling home, I was really good about what I ate. And it got downright painful because of an awful toothache that made me want something soft like a burger and milkshake instead of the Chickfila salad I stopped for and carrots to snack on. Not a good time to be me. But I packed my little box of fruits and veggies and just munched on that while I drove and drank water and some lightly sweetened iced coffee. Besides my mouth yelling at me, it was a very good experience. I think I will pack ahead for the remainder of my trips because I was less tempted to get a candy bar when there was perfectly good (and more nutritious) food waiting for me in the car. The only thing I would change would be to put the apples in a different container than the grapes and carrots. Everything tasted like apple. Poor grapes.

And then I got home. The whole gym situation was difficult because I did not want to pay for a day pass at the Y and it was cold out. Honestly, I was just making excuses for myself. I did my core workout for a few days during break, so that was pretty good. Christmas break will be different because I can buy a month membership to a gym close to home that I researched over this break.

And food. Again, only myself to blame. I went grocery shopping with my mom so I was there to pick food out. As a result of this toothache, I am on some fun antibiotics that mess with my stomach. So, it was suggested that I have yogurt to combat that. Which is how I discovered Greek yogurt. So good. And healthy. The beginning of the week was very healthy for me, smart choices for lunch by me and my parents have been attempting to eat healthy too so overall I didn't mess up at all.

The second part of the week was crazier. My whole fam traveled a couple hours north so it was fast food and then we were baking for Thanksgiving so there were some sundaes (My first ice cream in a long time!) and some pizza. Not a shining moment. Thanksgiving itself was good. I got smaller portions than I usually do for Thanksgiving dinner and only filled my plate once. It wasn't even that intentional, I just get full faster now. Of course, I did have a little of everything, it was so good! I still have not had soda, which was incredibly tempting over break. I think the most sugary drink I had was a cappuccino, otherwise it was water or coffee.

I did get some clothes shopping in on Saturday with my mom! We were waiting in Albany for a friend of mine to arrive, so I got to hit up the mall. I'm down to a size 5 in pants, which is incredible. I have never been smaller than a 7/8. So that was a really good moment for me, especially because I have been wearing these size 10 A&F jeans that are huge on me (originally I could not fit into them only a few months ago, so weird to think about now). And all the tops I got were a good deal smaller than normal too. I'm happy to have clothes that fit me now! And yes, that picture to the left is of me in the fitting room being excited that I'm finally a "5" haha.

I did go back to the gym today-no more excuses. I did continue on the path my routine was going which involved pushing myself a little harder. I hadn't run in a week and a half so I'm pretty sore tonight. But oh well, back on track for me!

Hopefully all of your breaks were well and you didn't hit too many troubles on the way home. That picture on the right was one my brother took in southern New York yesterday afternoon. My drive was kinda crazy as it was quiet and snowy for the first couple of hours, then full of traffic with much less snow for nearly the whole rest of the drive. It was pretty though!

Until next time-keep positive and take action! Don't use the excuse of "I'll get healthy after the holidays." Start now, you'll be surprised how much you can accomplish between now and Christmas.

Traveling

In a day and a half I will make the drive from Virginia back home to New York for the first time in over three months. This is the longest I have been from home since this time freshman year, so I’m pretty excited.

One thing I have been contemplating though is how to try to make healthy choices during such a long drive. I can normally do the whole drive as long as I have a cup of coffee in my hand. And something to snack on, like chips, usually helps too. So, I was nervous about how I’m going to eat right come Friday while I’m traveling. I was able to manage a few good ideas though and they’re very budget friendly too.

Buy your snacks beforehand.

I think I’m going to be less tempted at convenience stores along the way if I already have my stuff packed up ahead of time. I have some leftover grapes and carrots from grocery shopping last week so I’m going to put a handful of those in a container as well as some cut up apples that I got from the dining hall these past couple of days as well. I have already paid for all of this food, so it will be a cheap snack that is better than digging into a bag of chips.

Avoid the soda by planning your drinks ahead of time.

Bring your water with you instead of buying it. That saves money and also it relieves the temptation of buying soda. For my caffeine fix, I’m actually bringing some Starbucks Via packets. Normally, I absolutely despise coffee but this is actually some really good stuff. It has three packets for around three dollars and it’s yummy iced coffee. It’s already pre-sweetened so I'm not adding a bunch of junk on it and the calories in it are very reasonable. Saving money and cutting calories. It’s all good.

So that’s my thoughts on snacking on the road. I’m still quite leery about lunch/dinner since it will definitely be fast food. Most fast food salads are full of sugar and lots of unnecessary stuff, but I may just have to bite the bullet.

Happy and safe travels this week!

Eating Right

While getting exercise is a good idea when losing weight, eating right is even more important. What really made the difference for me was when I realized that I could not just eat whatever I wanted and expect to lose weight because of 30 minutes spent at the gym. 

Such a silly thought, but it’s a very common one.

So, how do you eat right on a college meal plan? I'll give you a run down of what has been working for me.

Breakfast

For breakfast, I typically have a piece of fruit and a piece of toast or oatmeal. The natural sugar in a piece of fruit in the morning really helps curb sugar cravings throughout the day. And of course fruit is good for you too. I also only stick to whole wheat bread and have a piece of toast in the morning. It stores energy and that’s useful for long days that are common in college. Or I’ll sometimes have one serving of oatmeal with my piece of fruit mixed in. And only real oatmeal, not the prepackaged stuff that’s full of sugar. And of course my cup of coffee—gotta have it!

If you don’t want to be lazy like me and buy all of this so that you can eat it in the quiet of your room in the morning, most dining halls do offer fruit and whole wheat options as well. But don’t skip breakfast! Skipping breakfast causes your body to think that you are not going to feed it, and it stores fat just in case. Not a good plan.

Lunch

I love vegetables. I can eat a bag of carrots the same way I can eat a bag of chips. So, it just clicked for me to make most of my meals vegetable based. Not all places on campus have good tasting vegetables; it really takes an effort to figure out where they cook them well and where they don’t so much. A lot of my lunches incorporate my main entrée as a salad with a little bit of oil as a dressing. Of course, protein is important too so I normally include some grilled chicken or almonds in the salad as well. Lean meat is definitely a good choice when trying to eat right. Most dining halls have salad options and I definitely am blessed to be at a school that has delicious salads at most of the dining locations.

Dinner

Again, I try to make my dinner pretty vegetable based with some protein mixed in. Sometimes it will be another salad or there’s nights like this one where I scrambled an egg and had some carrots and grapes. It’s all about finding balance and eating what your body needs. It is also important to have red meat of course so once a week I try to have some hamburg or some other red meat in place of my lean meat. 

Again, I reiterate the fact that it is never a good idea to skip meals because all that will do is confuse your body and counteract all of the work you are trying to do. From my experience, I can fully sympathize with how difficult it is to really focus and be honest with what you eat. I'd suggest keeping a food journal and writing everything down from what you ate to how much you ate. Food journals really help you evaluate where you are making bad decisions and help you stick to your commitment. 

I really hope this helped, it is good to look around and see where your school offers the best healthy options and really take advantage of those! 

Don't drink your calories!

              I live by this. Seriously. First order of business last month was to cut out soda. I know, it’s delicious and on most college campuses it’s everywhere. It is offered with pretty much any meal at any dining location on campus. But soda has absolutely zero nutritional effects. Of course, I’m sure you already knew that. It’s addicting though, so drinking seltzer water for the first couple of days to get over it isn't a terrible idea.

            

             What about the caffeine?! I know caffeine is vital to college life as it definitely still is to mine. The only thing I drink besides water is coffee or tea. And that doesn't mean coffee hyped up on sugar. Tea with some honey does have some nutritional value and coffee with a little bit of nonfat creamer isn't half bad.

            While juice does have some nutritional effects, some juices have more sugar in them than coffee. So, I try to steer clear of them too.  Occasionally I’ll have a glass of juice but it’s definitely not a habit.

            So I have water as a way of cutting out some unnecessary calories. I know water isn't everyone’s thing, but putting a lemon in water does make it extra tasty and it does help to think of the weight that it will help you lose.  

It just makes sense, cutting out unnecessary calories in what you drink alone will put you on the right track to a healthier lifestyle!