Yesterday's 10k

I participated in a 10k yesterday morning - "Race to the End of Summer". It was the first time event from these folks, and man, it was a let down for a 10k walker like me. There were about 600 participants total (5k and 10k), and I think maybe 10 folks walked the 10k total (I assume more folks walked the 5k, based on the timing results).

The route was poorly planned - it was an out-and-back route. It's a little hard to describe, but shortly beyond the turn-around point for the 5k, you passed right by the finish line area (a weird loop). Anyway, when I was on my way back and passed that area, all of the runners were done of course, and I heard some guy on the speakers going on about "there's an emergency - we're down to the last bottle of..." and I couldn't tell what. I don't know what that was all about, but it made for a big amount of willpower to continue to finish the rest of the course instead of cutting through and finishing early.

Sadly, by sticking to the course and finishing it out, there was almost nothing left at the post-race area. I couldn't even find water. There was some coffeecake (though I love the local restaurant chain Hobee's and their coffeecake - and love them for supporting these races - I just really didn't want coffeecake!), and some cut bananas that were left over from before the race. Apparently there had been smoothies (from the "Smoothie King") but those were all gone. I saw a little cup of granola from the Bare Naked granola folks, but there was a swarm of people around there so I skipped it.

All of the racing events out here always have a ton of kids volunteering (high schoolers, perhaps?). I only see them on the route, in clusters at various points to "cheer" you along. There were a couple of water stops along the way and these kids were only looking in one direction so I had to weave through 'em to get past. It was weird. Anyway, these kids who volunteer ended up with nicer gift bags than the participants who paid to do the event! I saw them with lululemon bags - and there wasn't even anything from lululemon in the participant bags! Very weird.

(Am I old-fashioned or simply bitter for these kids getting gifts for volunteering? I know community service is a requirement for them, but when I was in school and did community service, we got nothing besides a warm thank you! Certainly never got a gift nicer than the people who paid to attend!)

Anyway, I was really frustrated when the event was over because I couldn't find water and the only food options that were left were those gross bananas and some coffeecake (again, tasty coffeecake but not what I wanted right then!). I came home and chugged a liter of water and then a protein shake. Feh.

At least I got my steps for the day finished before 10am. ;)

Red Mango Frozen Yogurt

I am totally addicted to frozen yogurt. I love this tart froyo trend, and the self-serve places are terribly addictive too. However, my favorite place for quality tart froyo is Red Mango. It's all-natural with probiotics and all kinds of other good things in it. They've got a number of flavors, but I always just stick with the original (tart) flavor. No artificial sweeteners in there, which I appreciate.

You could be all healthy and get it with no toppings - or just fruit toppings like this photo. But I cannot resist two of their toppings. Mochi is a Japanese rice-based chewy candy of sorts, and it is tasty (and available at most froyo places). Red Mango's unique topping is their Ghiradelli dark chocolate mini chips. I LOVE these things. They are tiny - which is perfect for froyo so you're not getting a mouth full of chocolate with no room for the frozen treat. And they're dark, which is very tasty. Highly recommended.

Just watch out for the portions - their nutritional info on their web site shows a serving size at 1/2 cup, but the small size is 1.4 servings, regular is 2.3 and large is 3.5.

Nutrition Facts per 1/2 cup

Calories 90

Total Fat 0

Saturated Fat 0

Trans Fat 0

Cholesterol 0

Sodium 125 mg

Carb 20 g

Fiber 0 g

Sugars 18g

Protein 3g

Met with a dietician

I finally met with a dietician today to discuss my weight and diet. She thinks I should be eating more, and also that I should go for a low-carb high-protein diet for awhile. I don't have the paperwork in front of me, but my BMR is 1750 or so, and she said I shouldn't be eating less than that - which surprises me. I thought I just was supposed to stay above 1200 calories, net after subtracting calories burned with exercise.

She wants me to eat 200 grams of protein and 135 grams of carbs a day (and 1800-2000 calories total). Sparkpeople says 1,240 - 1,590 calories, including 60 - 130 grams of protein and 168 - 242 grams of carbs. So... that's a bit different.

It's going to be challenge to get in that much protein, that's for sure. Lots of egg whites, chicken breasts, Greek yogurt and protein powder. She suggested 2 protein shakes to help max out my protein - the powder I bought is 25g each serving, so two of 'em hits 25% of my protein for the day.

I figure I'll give it a try. I've read so much about the low-carb diets and how they're not sustainable, but they do help people drop some weight to start. I feel like my body needs a kick in the pants, so to speak, so maybe this will help. Or maybe I'll just gain all the weight back and be obese forever. Oy.

DiGiorno Deep Dish Pepperoni pizza

I don't remember how I got it, but I had a coupon for a free DiGiorno Deep Dish pizza that was expiring, so we decided to pick it up for dinner. The coupon was max value of $3.30, but one store had it for $4.79 and the other store had it for $3.79, so we bought it at the second store. Crazy that the base price at our local groceries is always higher than the max value of coupons for a free product, but that's another rant for another day...

Anyway, yes, this is a healthy living blog, so why am I talking about pizza? Well, this pizza claims it is two servings, and one serving is a mere 300 calories so it would work into a healthy-ish diet for a rare occasion.

Side rant: this pizza's total weight is 7.5 ounces. I didn't measure the pizza before we ate it, but the box is only six inches along the side. This is not two servings.

Additional rant: the nutrition facts don't add up. One serving - 1/2 the pizza - is 300 calories, but the whole pizza is 590 calories. C'mon. We're not stupid.

OK, so - did it taste good? NO! I'm from Chicago, I know deep dish pizza. This never even met a deep dish pizza. It never saw a photo of a pizza. It was pathetic. I get more satisfaction from the pepperoni pizza Lean Pocket. What a ridiculous waste of money and fat. The crust was butterlicious, but I had to go find something else to eat and felt ripped off for those 300 calories.

Nutrition Facts for 1/2 pizza : whole pizza
Calories 300 : 590
Total Fat 17g : 33g
Saturated Fat 8g : 16 g
Trans Fat 0g : 1g
Cholesterol 25mg : 45mg
Sodium 470mg : 950mg
Total Carbohydrate 26g : 52g
Dietary Fiber 2g : 4g
Sugars 2g : 4g
Protein 12g : 24g

Nabisco 100 Calorie Fudge Petites Mint Fudge Chocolate Shortbread

New! A new 100 calorie pack from Nabisco!

Notice the fine print... there are only 5 packs in this box. The "regular" 100 calorie boxes come with 6 packs. This new product is the same price as the others. I am *not* pleased with the ol' grocery-shrink-ray action here.

But I am a chocolate addict, and I love nothing more than chocolate and mint. So I had to buy a box to give it a try. And... I won't be buying another box. These are okay. They've got this white chocolatey coating on the bottom which is a little odd. The flavor is okay, but frankly, these are not as good as the Keebler 100 Calorie Grasshopper cookies. And the loss of one pack from the box is the nail in the coffin on this one. Lame move, Nabisco.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 100
Total Fat 4.5 g
Saturated Fat 1.5 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 95 mg
Total Carbohydrate 15 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugars 7 g
Protein 1 g

Nabisco 100 Calorie Chips Ahoy Double Chocolate Chip cookies

Enough of my whining about my weight. ;)

Back to more tasty reviews!

I like the 100 calorie pack concept - especially when the company comes up with an unique product that you can't get otherwise. These little Nabisco Chips Ahoy "Fudge-Drizzled" double-chocolate chip cookies are a good example.

Like most 100 calorie packs, you don't get a ton of cookies, so you definitely need to slow down and savor. ;) These have a nice chocolate flavor base, and then you get the bonus of chocolate chips and that fudge drizzle. They hit the chocolate spot for me. I would (and have!) buy them again.

Nutrition Facts
Calories 100
Total Fat 4.5 g
Saturated Fat 1.5 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 95 mg
Total Carbohydrate 15 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugars 7 g
Protein 1 g

Well... crap.

My step total for the month is 359400 - 115.94% of the 10k-a-day-pace!

My highest month before this one was 67.77% of pace, so you can probably guess why I've gained weight this year.

So you'd think this month I'd lose some, right? Well, you'd be wrong. 4.6 pounds up for the month. FEH! I am so completely and utterly frustrated by this. I'm 19 pounds higher than I was a year ago today - and even then, I was so frustrated by the plateau I'd been on for months. Well, no plateau these days - the scale just keeps inching up. Ugh.

Trying to not give up hope though. As always, if I can average just a little over 2.0 pounds lost each week, I could hit my goal by my birthday. I feel like I've been saying some variation of this for the past two years, so I'm feeling like a broken record. Gotta break this trend!

Couldn't say it better myself

Go read this post on the "Eat Nothing Diet" over at Big Fat Deal - they're highlighting why I hate most mainstream media. Thanks for making everyone think they can achieve the impossible.

Still walking & moving

and of course, still 2.4 pounds back over that goal #1. Ugh! Gaining 4.6 pounds in THREE days sucks! This week, I'll be out of town Friday-Monday, so who knows what will happen to my weight then. I'll be trying to get in some activity, but I'll be doing a lot of driving and then staying with friends and won't have access to a gym or my Wii. ;)

Sidenote: my experiences with the EA Sports Active More Workouts is improving as I have turned off the trainer prompts - much less irritating. ;)

I am determined to get in my 310,000 steps for August! I'm at 260,000 right now - three days ahead of pace (which is good with that mini-vacation coming up...)

Walking

Though my weight is continuing to trouble me, I am at least moving more. Every weekday morning this past week I've worked out with the EA Sports Active More Workouts, and then done some walking in the evenings. Tonight I did a long walk and have a longer one planned for tomorrow. I've completely failed on that 10,000 steps a day thing I did in 2008 & 2009 - but I'm trying to average that 10k a day for each day the rest of the year. Hopefully moving more will naturally draw my weight down...

Goal #1 not met!

Doh. So four days of work lunches and dinners, shockingly I gained weight and that goal #1 weight is long gone. DOH! I *will* see that weight again in a few days - it simply must happen!

Still trucking along with that EA Sports Active More Workouts 6 week challenge. Sweating my butt off every morning before work. ;)

Goal #1 met!

as previously posted:

Goal #1: 2 more pounds to go to get back to where I was before disastrous weekend a few days ago.

Goal #2: 11 more pounds to get back to where I was a year ago this month.

Goal #3: 5 pounds to the "overweight", also the weight I was before our big vacation last summer.

Goal #4: only 8 pounds to hit that magical 100 pounds weight lost.

(then it's only 24 pounds to go after that for the big goal!)

Today I met goal #1! Hooray! It's super-frustrating that it took me two weeks to undo what I did in a mere two days though... ouch! And I've got four dinners out this week, and then a mini-vacation next weekend... I have a feeling goal #2 is going to be awhile, but I'm trying to keep on keepin' on. ;) If I weigh less or the same as the day before, I'll take it. ;)

Still chugging along

The scale is slowly (very slowly!) inching down - I'll take any progress in the right direction! ;)

I'm trying to get through the EA Sports Active 6 week challenge, but boy, that game can sure annoy me at times. I'm really hoping the new version coming out this fall is a lot more accurate - it really irritates me when the "trainer" is scolding me for not doing something right, but I AM doing it right and yelling back at the TV. ;)

and for the first time this year, I am on pace for my 10,000 steps a day for the month! Hopefully I can get some quality walks in this month.

How is life treating you these days? ;)

Still not to goal #1

...and instead exactly where I was on Wednesday. Doh! Had lost almost a pound, but then sushi dinner, birthday party, and then a different birthday cake over the weekend, and that pound is back. Doh!

I got swamped with chores and social gatherings and didn't work out this weekend, but did take a quick walk at the office today and then a 45 minute walk after dinner. (The problem with walking after dinner - it makes me hungry!)

EA Sports Active More Workouts revisited

Whew, I hadn't touched the EA Sports Active More Workouts Wii game in months (it politely did not tell me *exactly* how long though). Tonight I started a new 6 week challenge, so we'll see if I can actually finish it. ;) (I'll be out of town for four nights later this month, but that's no excuse to not finish this time.)

Anyway, I was quickly reminded of some things that annoy me about this game - the FIRST exercise (after the stretching) didn't work as expected. Squats with a knee raise, and it didn't register that I was doing the squat. After re-squatting a few times, it finally registered (and all the remaining squats were without incident). Doing the "Squash" mini-game left-handed was *completely* backwards for me - literally, lunging left when it said to lunge right. When I did was it said, it didn't register - but when I did the opposite, it registered. Blargh. I can't do this game when anyone is home, because I express my discontent with the game's recognition of my movements sometime.

I did work up a nice sweat though, so that's more than I did last week on an off night. ;) I do like the stretches at the end as well. Good (sweaty) times.

Small goals

So right now, I have 50 pounds to lose to get to the "normal" weight range according to my BMI.

18 pounds to get back to "overweight" (instead of obese, where I am now - and morbidly obese, where I started).

I'm looking at even smaller goals.

Goal #1: 2 more pounds to go to get back to where I was before disastrous weekend a few days ago.

Goal #2: 11 more pounds to get back to where I was a year ago this month.

Goal #3: 5 pounds to the "overweight", also the weight I was before our big vacation last summer.

Goal #4: only 8 pounds to hit that magical 100 pounds weight lost.

(then it's only 24 pounds to go after that for the big goal!)

I'd really, really like to get that 100 pounds goal by the end of the year. Of course, I've been saying that for two years now. It's crazy. I lost so much weight in 2007, and then 2008 everything stalled... and stalled in 2009... and then reversed in 2010! Yikes!

To help reach my goals:

- physical activity every single day (Monday short walk with husband, Tuesday long walk by myself, Wednesday pilates, Thursday...)

- tracking everything in SparkPeople again

Let's do eeeeeeeet!

Getting back on the wagon

I need a better cliche here. ;)

So, 2010 has not been a good year for weight loss for me. I've basically gained 20 pounds this year - ugh! A combination of eating not-as-well and not exercising nearly as much will do that to you. I'm way off my 10,000 steps a day pace that I maintained in 2008 & 2009. Just got very busy with work and house and my exercise fell off.

As of tonight, I am 50.8 pounds away from my goal. My birthday is just over 6 months away. Would be amazing to hit my goal by my birthday. It would only be 1.79 pounds a week. That's all. TOTALLY DOABLE! Now to actually *do* it. ;)

First goal is to hit 310,000 steps for the month of August (4 days in and I'm already behind, but not by too much - 38400).

(and only 2.42 pounds a week would get me to goal by the end of the year...)

Still here

Still gaining weight. :( Will be posting more soon, and getting back into the walking & working out side of things too.

Hope y'all are doing well! :)

Elimination diet aftermath

So kids, what did we learn over the last four weeks?

Not too much, sadly. I think I've got some issues with some dairy (cow and sheep but not goat), coffee, duck eggs and maybe some wheat. Too much rice gets to me as well.

My weight did drop, but then it's gone up dramatically over the past two weeks (still a couple pounds down from where I started a month ago though). Very frustrating, of course.

Wish I could figure out my body, and what the "key" is to unlock some weight loss...

Elimination diet, day twenty-eight

Last day! WOOHOO!

For my last day, cow's milk was on the agenda. I eagerly went to my beloved Red Mango for frozen yogurt for lunch. Tart frozen yogurt with mochi, dark chocolate chips and mango. SO TASTY. Oh frozen yogurt, how I have missed you. However, my body... I did have some big time stomach gurgling shortly after eating the froyo. Nothing awful, but definitely uncomfortable. Hrm.

I am still having that weird burning in my esophagus, but let's see what the next day or two brings as I come back to eating "normally". (A friend suggested yogurt to help the heartburn, actually!)

Overall... no huge epiphanies during this elimination diet, but definitely need to keep an eye on the dairy and the wheat and the rice.