Wednesday, November 25, 2009

My weakness

Cookies!

I


Cookies!

They are my all time favorite snack item to consume.

While I like pie, cake, chips, candy, and other items that have an abundance of calories, I can limit myself with those items. I can turn them down without a second thought. I attended several dinners a few weeks back where everyone ordered desert except me. Why? Because the extra calories weren't worth it. Yes, the desert items appealed to me, but not enough. Now, if a warm cookie had been on the menu I would have succumbed. I guess that is a plus to that being my weakness....knowing that most places don't serve cookies for desert. :)

I'm kind like Cookie Monster.

I. Want. Cookies!!!!!

If they are there, I will consume. No doubt about it.

I reflected on how I ended up at a weight of 236 pounds and one of the reasons was cookies. I used to make cookies on a weekly basis, either from scratch or those break and bake ones from Nestle (those were just too easy). I would also purchase cookies from the bakery in the grocery store of they were sold on the counter at the place I was eating lunch. That would be my desert.

Suffice it to say, I knew I had a problem with cookies. And I still do. It didn't go away because I lost weight or began eating more healthy. What happened, was I became better able to control my impulse. Yes, it is still there and I do cave at times, but not as often.

I don't keep cookies in the house and I don't purchase those break & bake cookies anymore.

I do purchase those 100 calorie cookie packs to feed my desire. Yes, they are expensive, but they work. They give me my cookie fix in a limited quantity and limited caloric quantity. I do what I have to do!

What's your weakness?

Monday, November 23, 2009

No derailment here!

I don't know about you, but the upcoming holidays will not derail my healthy lifestyle! I refuse to let that happen. I just read about her Thanksgiving Plan and it is perfect. In fact, here's my comment on her post:

Your plan is similar to mine: to continue to do what I know is right for ME!

I think my gym is open on Thanksgiving Day so it is likely that I will go per the normal (just not as early).

I’m going to a family gathering, as well, and I don’t plan on returning home with any leftovers. Generally, we don’t have any so that is a good thing. I’m not going to limit myself, just eat like I normally do and don’t overfill myself.

I’ll hit the gym on Friday as well and if weather permits will go for a 2-3 mile walk on Friday & Saturday.

Thanksgiving is just another day. It is another day for me to live a healthy lifestyle and the over abundance of food will not cause me to lose focus. I'll eat my normal breakfast, continue to drink water (though it won't be as much since we have a bit of a drive to our destination), and eat what I like. I'm not going to limit myself as I don't believe in denying myself, but I will only eat until I'm full. I will not be gluttonous and eat just because it is there.

Since our family gathering is about a 3 hour drive from here, we generally don't bring home leftovers. In fact, normally there's not a lot of leftovers to bring. So we're all good there! Friday will be just another day of living a healthy lifestyle.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

So very sore

Although it has been quite awhile since I last posted in this space, I'm still around and still doing my thing. Trying to eat healthy every day and be an active person. Well, yesterday I was so active that I'm really feeling it today! Here's what I did:

  • 3.2 mile walk (really dislike that I can't post from nikerunning.com anymore
Then I head to the gym for a leg workout:
  • Warm-up
  • Squats
  • Romanian dead-lifts
  • Lunges
  • Leg-press & calf-press - 1 set of leg press then a set of calf-press
  • Abs
  • Stretch
For each of the exercises with weights, I did 6 super-sets, increasing the weight by 5-10 pounds with each set and decreasing the number of reps with each set. It looks like this:

Squats:
Set 1: 65 lbs, 8 reps
Set 2: 75 lbs, 7 reps
Set 3: 80 lbs, 6 reps
Set 4: 80 lbs, 6 reps
Set 5: 75 lbs, 7 reps
Set 6: 65 lbs, 10 reps

I rested for 90 sections between sets.

I alternated the lunges with the Romanian dead-lifts doing 10 reps of lunges.

Oh.My.Goodness. I am extremely sore today! So sore that I'm walking slowly, sitting & standing gingerly, and stretching throughout the day.

Despite the soreness, I made it to the gym this AM for more abs and 25 min. of interval cardio on the stairmaster.

I'm feeling the burn!

ETA: I forgot to mention that I'm only taking the stairs at work-that's 3 floors up and 3 floors down. Plus whenever I have to go anywhere in the building, I take the stars. So far today, I've gone up & down 10 flights of stairs (3 more will be added when I head home for the day). Despite the soreness, I'm pushing forward. I also plan on getting in a 2-3 mile walk this evening when I take my nephew to soccer practice. Not letting the soreness stop me!