Veg Italian Night

Week 5 of p90x is almost over. So far I've exercised four days this week...hopefully I can convince myself to do either kenpo or legs and back tomorrow. This morning I ran with Bishop...I love love love running with him...he is so excited and happy to be outside that it makes my run more enjoyable. Plus, the fact that he is calmer the rest of the day is an added bonus. =)

Last night I made a really yummy Italian dinner (vegetarian of course)...I got some whole grain organic penne from Trader Joe's (which was so cheap...only like $1.39/lb) and a bag of their meatless meatballs. I sauteed some onion, garlic, and mushrooms and added some fresh parsley from the garden. Then I added a jar of sauce to the veggies (we like Classico Fire Roasted Tomato and Garlic) and put the meatballs in to simmer (all of this while the pasta was boiling). By the time the pasta was done cooking, the meatballs were warmed through! I mixed the pasta with the sauce and meatballs and then added some fresh chopped basil from the garden (all garden veggies are courtesy of Jan). Voila! It was really yummy. Jan and Chris were both here for dinner...both self-proclaimed carnivores...and they both loved it (or at least they said they did)! There was only a tiny bowl left of pasta (and one lonesome meatball) so I'm taking that as a sign that they really did like it.

I'm super tired right now. I had a hectic week at work and then had to sit through an LCSW prep class all day yesterday and half of today. It was definitely helpful...but boring. At least now I'm ready to really start studying so hopefully I can pass this exam in a few months and be done with studying foreve!!

taco night

I'm halfway through week 5 of P90x...and shockingly I'm still doing it consistently! For the past five weeks I've worked out at a minimum of 4 days each week...and I feel really good about that. I've also been doing weight watchers now for almost two weeks and that's going well, too. I'm finding that I can find a healthy balance between eating healthy and treating myself. It's great that I can eat as many fruits and veggies as I want, because I load up on the fruits during the day. I'm not feeling deprived...because if I eat something that is high in points then I just eat healthier at the next meal. I don't know if the number on the scale is moving (I haven't checked) but I feel better and that's more important to me anyways. I think that this is a good combination for me.

Tonight I'm going to make veggie tacos. I'm using morningstar soy crumbles...which I hope are good. I'll put some taco seasoning with those, and then make a mango salsa w/some mango, onion, lime juice and avocado to go on top. Chop up some onions and tomatoes and it's taco night!

Tomorrow and Saturday I have to sit through two full days of a prep class for my licensure exam. I'm not thrilled about it, but I'm hoping it will help prepare me to take the last test I'll ever have to take! We get lunch on our own, so I'm going to have to scope out some places around that have healthy options. I will be so glad when Sunday comes around so I can sleep in!

Going strong...

So this is week 4 of p90x, which is the recovery week. In the past I've always slacked on the recovery week, thinking that since I'm "recovering" it's okay if I don't work out. This time I haven't done that! I did Core on Monday, Yoga Tuesday, and CardioX yesterday. Tomorrow is supposed to be XStretch but I'm going to go for a run with Bishop. I learned in school that it takes 30 days to maintain a habit...and after this week it will be 30 days of doing p90x consistently! I'm super happy about that because I've been really dedicated about waking up in the mornings to work out. I don't even give myself a choice anymore...at 5:15 the alarm goes off and I'm up (regardless of how much it sucks) because I know how much better I will feel afterwards.

3 days of weight watchers and I'm going strong! Haha. I still have a while to get to 30 days...but so far it's going well. Since I am doing p90x everyday I'm getting a lot of activity points which is helping me eat enough and not feel deprived. The real test will be this weekend. But I've been good about measuring stuff and tracking my points so I'm just going to put 100% effort into doing that. Plus I'm saving my weekly bonus points for the weekend so that I can treat myself a little. =) I feel really good about this and that is an awesome feeling!

weight watchers

Well I've been tossing around the idea of starting Weight Watchers again (I've done it several times in the past and it's always been successful). I usually just start tracking points without actually joining weight watchers and paying the money. But yesterday I was trying on dresses to wear to a friend's bridal shower, and felt like nothing looked good. Even with doing p90x and being vegetarian I am not in the shape I'd like to be in. I think it comes down to eating habits because it's the little pooch in my stomach that I want to go away...and that's where I tend to gain weight first (which hopefully means I will lose that weight first). So yesterday I, sort of impulsively, joined weight watchers online. It was $53 for three months (they are waiving the sign-up fee right now) and I figured if I'm going to do weight watchers I may as well really do it and be serious about it. My wedding is in 4 months so now is a good time to make a commitment to working out and eating healthy. Let's go!

Restrictor or Permitter?

Week 3 of p90x is almost done! I've had a good workout week with 5 days logged so far. I've followed the p90x schedule except for today when I ran 3 miles with Bishop instead of doing legs and back. I still did abripperx though and I'm starting to see my 2 pack again! So if I wake up tomorrow and get some sort of exercise in that will be the second straight week of working out 6 days! Go me!

I'm still having a hard time with healthy eating. I'm doing the best I can and I'm constantly thinking about it, but I have made some bad eating decisions. Between date nights and Memorial Day bbqs, healthy eating went out the window. I'm actually thinking about starting Weight Watchers on Monday (for some reason it seems easier to start new diets on a Monday). With the points plus program, you can eat as many fruits and veggies as you want for zero points, which is usually what I snack on during the day. I'm just going to need to make sure I'm getting lot of protein (to go w/the p90x workouts) so I may make myself a protein shake everyday. I made a really yummy shake today after my run...one frozen banana, some strawberries, 1/2 scoop Jay Robb's vanilla egg white protein powder, and 1 cup almond milk! Delish.

I read Geenen Roth's book "Women, Food, and God" awhile back and she talks about how most people are either restrictors or permitters (restrictors do well on diets because of the rules and guidelines, permitters feel like they deserve treats every now and then). I'm definitely a restrictor and I think it's because it makes things black and white, which makes things easier for me. But then on the weekends I turn into a permitter, giving myself all the treats I want to reward myself for the hard work of the week! So counterproductive. But, knowing I'm a restrictor gives me confidence that weight watcher will be successful!

Here's a link to a quiz on Oprah to determine if you're a restrictor or permitter....

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Are-You-a-Restrictor-or-a-Permitter_1

Finishing up week 2!

So even though this is my third week since starting my second round of p90x, I'm just finishing up week 2 since I didn't work out at all last week. This week has been great! I woke up at 5:15 every day before work and got my workout in. I realized how much I just NEED to work out in the mornings...what a difference from last week when I didn't work out at all! This week I was in a better mood, had more energy during the day, and slept like a baby at night. So I've come to the conclusion that I just have to force myself to wake up and work out so that I'm not miserable. Plus, when I work out in the morning I make healthier food choices during the day because I don't want to undo all my hard work!

I did skip YogaX this week and went for a run instead with the dog...I was feeling pretty tired and knew that I'd get more energy out of running than out of Yoga. Plus the dog appreciated it. =) Today is KenpoX and that will make 6 straight days of working out! It's been so long since I've done that. Yay!

I went to a really great restaurant last night. It's called The Loving Hut and it's in Falls Church. It's an Asian-inspired restaurant...and the best part is everything is vegan! It was so nice to go to a restaurant and have the ability to order ANYTHING off the menu! I got a veggie burger (which I didn't realize would be fried) but it was AMAZING! It had this really yummy special sauce on it. I asked for a side salad instead of fries and the salad was really nice...lots of fresh veggies and craisins and it had some amazing homemade dressing. My mom got a portobello panini and my dad got a Vietnamese (fake) pork sandwich with jalapenos, sauerkraut, and cilantro. Everything was really tasty and cheap...my dad's sandwich was only $4.50! For dessert we shared some vegan raspberry lemon cheesecake. Delish! The menu is not up online yet but they have a lot of choices...pho noodle soup, chinese dishes, Indian dishes, salads, sandwiches, etc. Check it out! http://lovinghut.us/fallschurch_01/

healthy food disaster

I just got back from a weekend at Ocean City to celebrate a friend's birthday and have a girls weekend. It was a really fun time...we relaxed, had some tropical drinks, talked, and ate...a lot. In an effort to hold myself accountable and not conveniently "forget" what I ate I'm going to write it all down here. It's not pretty. Here we go.

Friday:

Lunch - on the way up we stopped at Applebee's and I got one of their under 550 calories meals. It was shrimp and lots of veggies over whole wheat noodles in a teriyaki sauce. Not too bad health-wise but it tasted like it had a ton of sodium.

Afternoon - two of us were in the hotel room for the majority of the afternoon waiting for the other girls. So we snacked ALL afternoon on pretzels and sun chips. We did take a long walk on the beach but I don't think that made up for all the chips we ate.

Dinner - the other girls got to the hotel late...too late for dinner...so we hit up some late night food. This was pretty bad (but tasted so good). Late night grub included fried pickles (one of my favorites), mozzarella sticks (I only had 1/2 of one since I'm not really eating cheese), and jalapeño poppers. Fried food heaven. Add a couple of beers on top of that and that pretty much rounds out my Friday. Healthy food DISASTER!

Saturday:

Skipped breakfast.

Lunch: I wanted to stay away from fried food after Friday. Being vegetarian is hard sometimes when you go out as a lot of the vegetarian friendly foods are often fried (appetizers and such). So I decided to have tuna salad which I'm sure was loaded with fat from full-fat mayo. This came with potato salad that was also I'm sure made with full-fat mayo, so I didn't eat all of the potato salad. This also came with fresh fruit and a hard-boiled egg. I also had a tropical drink called pain in the ass.

Dinner: Seacrets in Ocean City! So fun. And delicious! I had a really good black bean burger with guacamole and salsa (no cheese) but of course it was served with fries. I tried to share them and not eat them all but fries are seriously one of my all time favorite foods. Top dinner with a couple rounds of fruity (way too sweet) mixed drinks and a couple of beers...and Saturday is pretty much another healthy food disaster.

Sunday:

Breakfast - Wawa MTO...not too bad...whole wheat roll with scrambled eggs (no cheese), tomato, onion, and pepper.

Lunch - At home. Phew. Had a few pieces of sushi and some honey nut cheerios. Weird combination I know. I was starving after the long ride home.

Dinner will be fresh mussels over pasta for my mom's birthday.

So. That's my weekend of binging. It was a great weekend and I had a fabulous time with my friends. But it made me realize a big part of why I have a hard time losing weight...WEEKENDS! I eat so well all week and then on the weekends w/social gatherings I tend to throw it all away. Boo. Not good!

So here's my plan...after a week hiatus from p90x I'm going to start week 2 tomorrow. I have a little over 4 months before the wedding which is a good amount of time to tone up in a healthy way. I'm going to focus on eating mindfully, slowly, and eating healthy foods. I'm going to aim to work out 5 days a week (even though p90x is for 6 days...some weeks that is unrealistic). If I'm crunched for time and can't fit in a p90x workout then I'll take Bishop for a run (even the dog is porking up!).

I feel good about this. It's good timing since next weekend is Memorial Day and marks the official start of summer which means bikinis! I felt alright in my bathing suit this weekend but I'd definitely like to feel better and more comfortable with myself. Time to get down to business!