So this past week, I decided to start a low-carb diet. That's my plan for Month #2. Since the previous 35 days didn't prove to be all that successful, I knew I needed to attack life with a different approach. I'm not measuring my carbs vs protein vs fat (though I'm sure that would probably be smart - but too tedious for me at the moment).......I'm just straight up going low-carb while also trying to avoid crap. Which actually isn't all that hard to pull off......when you avoid most carbs, you eliminate most junk food by default. Two "healthy" things that sometimes tend to be high in carbs, though, are beans and fruit. Both of which I definitely consider to be healthy meal/snack choices in general. So I'm still going to eat my fruit and occasionally eat my beans and see how it goes. I'm also still going to drink my wine and beer in the evenings while relaxing with the hubs in front of the TV. I know beer and wine tend to have loads of carbs in them, but hopefully my daily carb count won't be too negatively affected, since my carb intake during the day will be at a minimum! However, if another 35 days go by and I'm still struggling to lose weight regularly, I'll reassess the fruit, beans, wine and beer situation. :)
I read that some people have problems losing weight on the low-carb diet because of their dairy consumption, mostly due to eating TOO much dairy (aka lots and lots of cheese). Because cheese is low-carb and YUM. I just really hope I'm not one of those people who needs to cut back on cheese!!!
Friday night and the first half of Saturday were a complete exception this week, due to the fact that I had a half marathon on Saturday morning and had already planned on carb loading Friday night and Saturday morning in preparation for the race, and then celebrating with a yummy lunch after. Sunday night turned out to be a bit of an exception as well, since we had cake and truffles after dinner for my brother's girlfriend's birthday (my meal was low-carb, though!). But I don't have any other races or special occasions coming up for a while, so I should be good to go! Let's lose some weight!!
The week as a whole was also a bit of an exception in the running/workout department. Since it was the week before a race, it was my "rest" week, so there was no running or working out of any kind (beyond stretching) after my last short run on Monday. This next week I had hoped I'd be back to running 3-4 days a week while tossing in core workouts when I'm either motivated (or just flat-out remember), BUT I might have a little snag in that plan known as ITBS, or the IT Band. For a few weeks now, I've had sporadic searing pain from my lower back/butt cheek down to my knee. Sometimes it's just annoying and other times it's downright debilitating. Right at this moment it's not bothering me at all.....but earlier today I couldn't even sit down comfortably. And I wasn't really sure what was going on, because I thought it was just a pinched nerve. Turns out it's most likely my IT Band. Google suggests that I stretch it obsessively, foam roll it obsessively and take a hiatus from athletic activity (in my case, running) briefly while I stretch and foam roll obsessively. So this coming week will likely be dedicated to stretching and rolling and healing this IT Band. Which means I need to buy a foam roller, because I shockingly don't own one even though it's a runner's necessity (and a crazy amount of money for basically a very thick, sawed-off pool noodle). I saw several of them at Target today, but then I remembered that I have a $25 gift card to Front Runner so I should definitely take advantage of it ASAP!
I'll probably also buy myself a new handheld water bottle while I'm there. I like the smaller, flask-like ones that hold about 10 oz and kind of fit right into your hand......I've tried using bigger ones before (16+ oz) and I just don't like how heavy and bulky they are. I currently own a FuelBelt brand bottle, but before that I had one made by Nathan. The bottles themselves are basically identical, but Nathan's hand strap is far superior to the FuelBelt hand strap and I've always wished I still had my Nathan (I lost it a few years ago.....left it on top of my car after a run downtown, drove off, never saw it again). It's the velcro adjustment option that makes all the difference. Some people wonder about what I do when I run out of water (since the bottle is only 10 oz). Well, when I'm running alone, I just pace myself and take small sips when I feel thirsty. And if there's a water fountain to fill up from during a longer run (like if I'm on the Riverwalk or passing the pavilion at Coolidge Park), I'll stop and fill up. During official races where there are water stations every 1-3 miles, I take 2 cups at the aid stations......1 to drink, and 1 to refill my bottle. And if it's hot out, I take 3......the third cup gets poured around my neck to cool myself off. TRUST ME - IT WORKS. You feel better instantly if you're hot and sweaty. But a piece of advice - don't try pouring water over your head unless you're standing still.....otherwise you'll just dump it behind you and miss most of yourself. After a few attempts at dumping water over my head while running during some warmer weather races, I learned that pouring water on myself around my neckline was the WAY better option. But I digress........here's my weekly food log:
Day 36 (Monday, February 23rd):
Total weight loss: 2.6 lbs
Breakfast: Hazelnut crusted chicken from Big River catering (I brought home a bunch from last night's event) and 2 hard boiled eggs
Snack: 1/8 cup of dry roasted unsalted peanuts (I poured a serving - 1/4 cup - but didn't want more than half of it) and 3 apple wedges (the last remaining wedges after Delano ate the rest and then got full or gave up)
Lunch: None (breakfast was really late today so my first snack happened at lunchtime, and it was all I could eat)
Snack 1: 1/2 kielbasa sausage, sliced (9 slices?) topped with slices of cheddar cheese
Snack 2: None
Dinner: Slice of Big River meatloaf and a large salad with ranch dressing
Beer/Wine: Yes, a Lambic Framboise (mmmmmm it had been a long time since I'd had one!)
Run: 2-mile treadmill run
Workout: No
Day 37 (Tuesday, February 24th):
Total weight loss: 2.2 lbs
Breakfast: Egg, black bean and Rotel scramble
Snack: None
Lunch: Banzai Burger from Red Robin, wrapped in lettuce instead of on a bun, with a side of broccoli
Snack 1: None
Snack 2: Mozzarella string cheese wrapped in 2 pieces of shaved chicken deli meat, a blood orange and a pickle spear
Dinner: Hazelnut crusted chicken over a large salad with bleu cheese dressing
Beer/Wine: Yes, 1 glass of wine
Run: No
Workout: No
Day 38 (Wednesday, February 25th):
Total weight loss: 3.4 lbs
Breakfast: 2 Scrambled eggs and turkey bacon
Snack: None
Lunch: Tuna Salad (straight out of a bowl)
Snack 1: None
Snack 2: Serving of low-fat cottage cheese, 1/2 an avocado, a navel orange, a piece of mozzarella string cheese and a few slices of shaved chicken deli meat (I was hungry)
Dinner: Pork tenderloin stuffed with mango, with a side of baked asparagus and carrots (made by the hubs)
Beer/Wine: Yes, white wine
Run: No (resting for my race Saturday)
Workout: No
Day 39 (Thursday, February 26th):
Total weight loss: 4.8 lbs
Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with turkey bacon and 2 big glasses of milk
Snack: None
Lunch: Hazelnut crusted chicken and a blood orange
Snack 1: None
Snack 2: Mozzarella string cheese, a few slices of shaved chicken deli meat and an apple
Dinner: Pot roast, carrots and a side salad with bleu cheese dressing
Beer/Wine: Yes
Run: No
Workout: No
Day 40 (Friday, February 27th):
Total weight loss: 4.0 lbs
Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with turkey bacon
Snack: None
Lunch: Cheeseburger (no bun), broccoli and carrots
Snack 1: None
Snack 2: None, though I was hungry (saving up to carb-load at dinner for tomorrow's race!)
Dinner: Soup/Salad/Pizza bar at Portofino's. I had a salad, two helpings of seafood salad and 4 pieces of pizza minus the crusts (carb load, minus the crusts!)
Beer/Wine: No
Run: No
Workout: No
Day 41 (Saturday, February 28th):
Total weight loss: Don't know - didn't weigh
Breakfast: Bagel with cream cheese (pre-race carb load at 6:30am)
Snack: Banana and a GoGurt (post-race)
Lunch: Chips & salsa and an Ensalada Fresca at Amigo. I also had some of the kids' rice and beans. EAT ALL THE CHIPS (post-race celebratory lunch, though I did choose the salad)
Snack 1: None
Snack 2: None
Dinner: Pork tenderloin stuffed with mango, with a side of baked asparagus and carrots (made by the hubs)
Beer/Wine: Yes
Run: Scenic City Half Marathon (13.1 miles)
Workout: None, except for LOTS of stretching after the race!
Day 42 (Sunday, March 1st):
Total weight loss: 3.2 lbs
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, bacon and a few bites of cheese grits
Snack: A navel orange
Lunch: Tuna salad (straight out of a bowl)
Snack 1: None
Snack 2: None
Dinner: Grilled chicken, smoked pork loin, creamed corn and cucumber/tomato salad followed by pineapple angel food cake topped with Cool Whip and two white chocolate cookie dough truffles (it was my brother's girlfriend's birthday)
Beer/Wine: Yes
Run: No
Workout: No
Day 43 (Monday, March 2nd):
Total weight loss: 4.0 lbs
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