Tennessee to Georgia

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Rebecca

Started my day with an amazing 8-mile run through the Maryville and Alcoa TN Greenbelt.  It was just like old times – after about a mile my brain drifted and I sometimes forgot I was running.  It was very relaxing, as strange as that sounds.

Then it was back to reality.  Long meeting, then hopped in the car again for a meeting in Georgia.  Probably didn’t make the best meal choices again today.  It’s so much harder when the food is handed to you – dang hotel cookies.  So let’s reflect – why did I eat the two cookies & the tasteless breadstick at dinner?  Well… the first cookie was special because it was a treat I can only get in Knoxville.  The second however, was just a freebie at the hotel and totally no necessary.  Then the breadstick was just sitting there on my plate and I didn’t really want it, but ate it anyway.  My mom was there on my shoulder telling me to finish everythingon my plate.  At least I started out with a good breakfast.

 

Daily Meals & Workout Plan:

  • 6:30 am  – 1/2 granola bar
  • 7:00 am – 8 mile run… which was awesome!
  • 9:30 am – 1 slice whole wheat toast, fruit, 1 cup milk & vitamins
  • 12:00 pm – 1 slice whole wheat toast, fruit (breakfast leftovers)
  • 2:30 pm – 1/2 chicken sandwich, chips, chocolate cookie
  • 5:30 pm – free cookie at hotel check-in
  • 8:30 pm – Salmon, pasta, zucchini, breadstick

*****

Let’s back up to last weekend for a moment.  I want to shout a big thank-you to the Cincinnati Reds for providing healthy food options!  They had an entire market full of healthy foods.  Awesome!

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Travelling Times

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Rebecca

I just embarked on a month of business travel, including a couple short trips home.  Today started with a grueling 7-hour drive, of which 2 hours was spent stuck in traffic.  Ugh.  Business travel has always been difficult for me to balance with my ongoing efforts to eat healthy and workout, but since I’ll be travelling pretty often with my new job, it’s time I conquer this.

I can’t say I ate terribly well today.  I got too hungry before lunch due to some erratic meetings, and since I didn’t have my usual purse full of almonds and dried fruit, I fell for a pastry.  After the meetings, I took off on my first trip, ironically in Knoxville, TN, where I just moved from last September.  Upon a very late 8pm arrival, I headed straight for one of my old favorite restaurants – Tomato Head.  They have a very eclectic, natural-food menu.  I went with my favorite Oh Boy sandwich, chips, and cookie, then took it to the nearby park to enjoy.  

Being back in that park, right beside my old office, brought back a lot of memories.  I quickly forgot about my food, only eating half the sandwich and chips and saving the rest for tomorrow.

I found myself in that park, on those trails.  Maybe that sounds strange, but I visited those trails almost every day for 5 years, de-stressing from work with long-runs at lunch, seeking solace after multiple miscarriages, finally reaching my weight loss goals after devoting myself to Cinch, and joining my husband for walks when he took a part-time summer job at my office after getting laid off.  I first learned how to run on those trails, starting with only being able to go a few minutes, and working up to a full marathon.  I fell in love with running!  Lots of memories, good and bad, but being back there flooded me with the reminder of who I was… who I still am.  I think I lost some of that in the move, with so much focus on my new, very demanding job. 

I still need time for myself, to find myself again and continue on the journey I started and abandoned in Knoxville.  Perhaps this trip was a great wake-up call for me.  I’m so excited to get up early tomorrow and hit those trails once more for a long run.

Daily Meals & Workout Plan:

  • 8:30 am – 0% greek yogurt, 1 cup blackberries, 1/2 corn muffin
  • 12:00 pm – small pastry
  • 1:00 pm – 8 chicken nuggets, small sweet potato, 1/2 strawberry Frosty, carrot juice & vitamins 
  • 3:00 to 4:30 pm snacking – 1/2 apple, 1 serving pretzels, 2 Ghiradelli squares, small homemade granola bar
  • 8:00 pm – 1/2 chicken sandwich with spinach and sundried tomatoes, 1/2 serving chips
  • 8:30 pm – 1 mile walk
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Another Week

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Rebecca

I think I’m done with strict diets.  It always ends the same way… I’ll be really good for maybe a week, then get frustrated and binge for a week, undoing any and all progress.  Plus, I’ve read that this sort of yo-yo dieting can wreak havoc on your metabolism.  All is not lost, however.  I had so much success last year, but actually, I went through many of the same challenges for months before I changed my habits.  It was helpful to read through old posts and be reminded that it was not smooth sailing.

So here I am again.  I can’t say “starting over”, because let’s face it, this is reality.  I can’t start over on a new diet every time I have a decadent meal – for me, that’s half the fun of life!  Last night was a fancy $100 dinner, finally using a Christmas gift card, and this weekend we’re heading to Cincinnati for a little tourist fun and a baseball game, no doubt facing many tough meal choices.  Why does it have to be tough?  Can’t I just eat healthy most of the time and have a delicious meal with a moderate portions from time to time?  Easier said than done, since I apparently eat for fun!  I found the below article today that does a great job explaining my issues with food.  Are you a Hedonic eater too?

Click for article on Hedonic Eaters.

 

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The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Rebecca

Let’s start with The Good.  I survived the entire 5-day detox, without cheating, and dropped 5 pounds (as of 5/3).  Yippee for me.  131 pounds… the proof is below.

 

 

Now for The Bad.  Yesterday I was back at 135.8 pounds – only a 1/2 a pound net loss since I started detox.  I just go back from 3 days in Chicago… at a food show… where your job is to eat food.  I actually did OK most of the time, going out of my way to find healthy options for most meals, steering clear of the cookie table at breaks, and getting in lots of great excerise.  But alas, I did eat some things that were not good for me.  Below is a sampling of pictures from my Chicago adventures.

And finally, The Ugly.  Sustainable weight loss is slow, and incredibly difficult.  The reality is that there’ s no quick fix.  Any sort of detox or extreme diet will help you drop pounds fast, but as I said several times previously, it’s mostly water weight the first week and is not sustainable.  So as much as it pains me to see the scale back up again, I must keep going.  This is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix. 

 

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Cinch / Sass Day 5

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Rebecca

Day 5!  I’m still going strong, but ready for some food variety.  I weighed in again today and am down to 131.  Final weigh-in will be tomorrow.  It feels like I’ve been doing this so much longer than 5 days!   I will be travelling through Saturday, but will try and snap some pictures of my meals.  Maybe that will help keep me accountable despite being out of my comfort zone.  It will also help that I’m staying right on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago and new clothes are an awesome motivator!

 

Speaking of clothes, I’m actually feeling quite irritated this morning.  My husband and I got up early for a morning walk (so happy it’s light outside at 6am now), and ended up running late.  Which means I’m throwing an outfit together at the last minute and suddenly realize the white jacket I was planning to wear is no longer in my closet.  What??  I must have taken it to my consignment store.   I filter out my closet frequently, moving items to either the donation or consignment bag, and sometimes filter out something I shoud have kept.  In this case, I probably only wore that jacket twice in 3 years, so I decided it was not worth keeping… until of course I put together an outfit that matches it perfectly.  Sigh. 

I also didn’t have time to make my breakast, so I reversed the meals.  I had half my smoothie leftover last night – I find that the whole thing is a bit much at night.  So I had the other half on my way to work, then I’ll have the salad for early lunch, the parfait for snack, and then the scramble with fruit for dinner.  I WILL complete this without cheating!

 

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Cinch / Sass Detox, Day 4

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Rebecca

Oh yeah, 132 on the scale this morning!  I’ll be totally psyched with a 4 or 5 pound weight loss on detox.  Some people can lose 8 to 10 pounds, but it depends how much total weight you have to lose, and in my case, it’s not a lot.

 

I’m preparing for a business trip to Chicago Thursday through Saturday, and this is totally the motivation I needed to not only rock my “skinny suit” that’s been a tad tight, but also to keep going and make healthy choices.  The meeting is part of the National Restaurant Association, which means there will be tons of food, both healthy and otherwise.  I can deal with choices as long as there are some appealing healthy ones!

Still lacking energy this afternoon, so I had an extra 10 almonds between the parfait and salad.  1 more day!!

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Cinch / Sass Detox Day 3

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Rebecca

Ahh, Day 3 is in the books and I feel good.  Weighed in again this morning, down to 133.  I don’t care if it’s water-weight darnit, it looks good on the scale!

Day 3 has always been the hardest.  On days 1 and 2, your body is still working on food you ate prior to start Detox.  By Day 3, those reserves are depleted and you start feeling tired, sluggish, and more hunger pangs between meals.  If you read the book, she says this is part of the normal process – to start recognizing real hunger versus stress-eating and better identifying when your body is actually ready for more food.  2 more days.  I can do it. 

As expected, being back at work today  presented some diet detours.

Exhibit 1.  Jelly beans, mmm.  I will be strong.  Then there’s also the ever-present jar of Saltines, and although not a diet-buster, they have no nutritional value and leave me craving more.  Once again, get your water and keep walking.

 

Exhibit 2.  The Diet Devil himself – Mr. M&M.  He only looks innocent.  This little guy has been the cause of most of my diet downfall since taking this job.  Not because I eat that much candy from here, but because having a few pieces of candy triggers the sugar-craving monster that goes on to have several days (or weeks) of bad eating.  Down devil, down!  I think I should avoid this area of the office until my will-power is stronger.  People always say – it’s OK, 1 piece won’t kill you.  Those people do not have my hyper-sensitivity to sugar and have obviously not experienced the food rage that follows! 

 

 

I have a business lunch tomorrow – forgot about that.  I’m sure wherever we go I can manage a salad with berries, protein, and light dressing.  Being that it’s finally Spring (although the trees are not fully out yet in Ohio), most restaurants have lots of fresh salads.  Thank goodness.

I am doing mostly light walks and yoga during the Detox phase, however I was feeling good this afternoon and had a kick-ass workout at lunch.  I’m sure that’s part of what’s knocking me out tonight!  (p.s., the book suggests only light workouts during detox.)

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Cinch / Sass Detox, Days 1 & 2

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Rebecca

I have completed Days 1 and 2 of the Cinch / Sass Detox.  Am I the only one that doesn’t particularly like the names of this diet?  Whether the old version (Cinch) or the new version (Sass), it just sounds cheesy.  A male co-worker was asking me about this diet and interested in trying it, but then he asked me if it was aimed at only girls and what it was called… well Sass Yourself Slim does sound pretty girly.

Anyway, let’s start with the pre-Cinch weigh-in and measurements.

  • Weight – 136 pounds. 
  • Chest – 34″
  • Waist – 27″
  • Thigh – 24″
  • Hips – 40

 

 

I did not blog on Day 1, but out of curiosity, I weighed in again on Day 2. 

One of the great things about this diet is that it works really fast.  Granted, most of the weight you lose in the first few days is water-weight, but feeling de-bloated looks and feels so much better!  Plus, it’s really motivating to continue. 

If you’re looking for a detailed description of the Detox / “Fast Forward” phase, please click here, or you can go to my December 2010 and January 2011 blogs (using the drop-down box at the top-right of the screen).  I gave very detailed descriptions and pictures of every step of the process.

Do you know I’ve never actually completed the Fast Forward phase without cheating?  Yep, even last January I cheated and had a couple pieces of chocolate on Day 5.  I want to do it right this time.  The only minor tweaks I made (and are approved in the book) are using blackberries and blueberries in addition to raspberries, and a tiny bit of Truvia and cinnamon in the yogurt parfait.  I also decided to mix 1 cup of Spring Mix with 1 cup Spinach for the salad and that make sit so much more palatable!  Lastly, Cynthia Sass (the author) is a big fan of Green Tea, so I decided to give it a try.  I’m more of a water-drinker, but the Green Tea is soothing and gives me something to reach for when I feel like snacking. 

Susan, thank you for your nice comment.  I forgot just how inspirational fellow bloggers can be.  I think it may have been a mistake moving my blog off WordPress, since people can’t seem to find me as reguarly.  But then again, I don’t have near as much time these days to respond!

Good luck, everyone.  Off to bed and then Day 3, and being back at work will mean temptations galore!

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Waking Up

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Rebecca

Why does it take a bad picture to wake me up from a sugar-induced coma?  I’ve been missing from my blog for a few weeks now.  The first week was fine, just too busy to post anything.  Then I had a hectic business trip threw me out of my rhythm.  I’ve gotten better about taking my healthy habits on the road, but that assumes healthy food options, a decent hotel gym, and/or a good place nearby to go walking.  So I’m back now, and ran a 5k this past Sunday.  I actually had a good run and somehow finished 3rd at 28 minutes (it was a small group), but seeing the picture afterwards was a reminder that although the scale only shows a 3-4 pound difference over last Spring, my reduction of decent workouts has taken a toll on my hips and thighs!

 

The past 15 months have been an interesting journey, the goal of which was to change my lifestyle permanently and get off the roller-coaster.  I succeeded at this through last summer, losing 14 pounds, sticking to healthy habits, and felt amazing.  Then my move threw me for a tailspin.  Now I’m crawling back, and while I’ve gotten my workouts back on track, my diet is still sketchy and very inconsistent.  I do not want to battle this the rest of my life, so it’s time to get back to the healthy lifestyle and stay there.  I’m about to turn 32 in June and it only gets harder to maintain as I get older!  I was not blessed with a naturally thin body… it takes incredible effort.

Now what?  Why not start with what worked for me 15 months ago?  The Cinch program, now referred to as SASS, fit perfectly for me.  It starts with a 5-day detox that helps shed the bloat, provides structure, and jump-starts the rest of the program.  Within a week, cravings disappear, which makes choosing healthy meals easier, and the weight tends to fall off quickly.  Don’t get me wrong, it was hard at first, but if you get past the first 5 days, it’s a piece of… well… healthy cake.

I bought the new book, which I thought would be different, but actually it just seems like a slightly-revised version of the Cinch book.  But that’s OK because my old book was loaned out and never returned, so I needed a new one anyway.  My husband is out of town for the next week, and I don’t have many plans between Saturday and next Wednesday, so that seems like an ideal time to start detox.  Ahh, wish me luck.

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Monday Monday

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Rebecca

My Monday started out fine.  I drug myself out of bed at 5:45, grabbed a banana en route to the basement for my strength training and yoga workout.  Got ready for work pretty quickly, having decided to skip washing my hair and just pull it half-up instead.  And that’s when it happened.  I checked the sides of my hair to be sure I didn’t have a jagged part, and then saw them – several gray hairs.  OMG!  I’ve plucked a couple before that I couldn’t distinguish between grey or blonde, but these were not mistakable.  Dangit.  I was so enjoying these past few years of low-maintenance hair without color or other hair products.  Looks like I’ve only got a few more before it will be enough to warrant coloring.  Grrr.  Not the way I wanted to start my week.

 

 So life must go on.  It’s going to be a busy day, so here’s my menu and workout plan.

Daily Menu & Workout Plan:

  • 5:45 am  – Banana
  • 5:30 am – Strength Training & Yoga
  • 7:30 am – Purple Power Juice, 1/2 serving pistachios
  • 11:30 am – Greek yogurt with berries and granola; walk to Wendy’s for business meeting, small Apple Pecan Chicken Salad (1/2 the dressing & without cheese)
  • 4:00 pm – Green veggie juice
  • 5:30 pm – Fast walk in neighborhood with sprint intervals
  • 7:00 pm – 4 scallops with veggies, small oatmeal apricot cookie
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