New York, New York

The countdown continues! Today's New York inspired song is brought to you by Frank...



Let's talk nutrition.

I have soooo many friends who have been eating clean for awhile now. I've eaten healthy (or healthier), but I've never truly switched to "clean". I've started buying organic meats and some fruits. I've used organic dairy for years. But, I also had quite a bit of the processed crap in my diet.

So a couple of months ago, I decided to finally really clean up my diet. However,that was about the time I also started traveling for work. It's difficult to eat healthy, much less clean while on the road. So, 4 weeks ago when my traveling had come to an end, I decided it was time. My diet is definitely not perfect, but it is soooo much better than before. I've really minimized the amount of processed foods I'm eating and reduced my sugar intake significantly!

What I am eating that I wasn't eating before:

Fage Plain Greek Yogurt w/ fruit and stevia...when I was working with a nutritionist, she suggested this. I thought mixing fruit and stevia with yogurt was too much work and kept eating my regular light yogurt. I did occasionally buy this yogurt and mix in honey, but that was it. The Greek stuff has WAY more protein and not so much sugar. Love it!

Spaghetti Squash...we've had this once a week for 4 weeks and I love it! I've mixed it with a little olive oil, feta, tomatoes, Greek olives and seasoning to eat with grilled chicken. I've also added marinara and ricotta for a different flavor. I also baked butternut squash, which I liked...but not as much as spaghetti squash.

Quinoa...I've been hearing about it for years, but never attempted to cook it myself. Yummo! And, it's packed with protein!

Chia Seeds...Yes, as in a chia pet. I've started adding these to salads and protein shakes. They have 2 times the amount of protein of any grains, 3 times the amount of antioxidants of blueberries, 5 times more calcium than milk, 2 times the amount of potassium in a banana, and 3 times the iron of spinach. They are also supposed to be jam packed full of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. Cool!

Hummus and Veggies...I'll admit, I am a pita chip eating fool. Until recently it never occurred to me to try veggies with my hummus instead. I am finding that I love my veggies. I eat hummus with cucumbers, zucchini, bell peppers (all colors), etc.

Flavored stevia in coffee...Okay, I'll admit that I am still getting used to this one. I can't seem to get the combination of the stevia and cream just right. I am not really a true coffee drinker. By that, I mean that I go to Starbucks a lot, but I order the skinny vanilla latte. I didn't think this was a bad thing, but there are 18 grams of sugar in a grande! By switching to the regular coffee with stevia, I am not only cutting down on sugar, I am also saving myself a ton of money!

There are tons more, but those are the things that come to mind. There are also some things that I am not doing well:

Lean Cuisines...I am trying to cook things that I can bring to work the next day for lunch. However, there are times when it's just easier and faster to grab a Lean Cuisine on the way out the door in the morning. There are worse things I could be eating for lunch, but this is still funky, processed crap.

Diet Coke...yes, I am a girl who loves her daily Diet Coke (with lime might I add). I only have one a day, but I think I might be able to eventually eliminate this completely from my diet. Maybe. Truth be told, I really love regular coke, but I save those for special occasions.

Wine...Okay, okay, I LOVE my wine. Right now, my favorites are Cabernet and Malbec. I have continued to have a glass or two a week, especially on Saturdays nights when I've had a long run that morning. I figure it's better than having a Mike's Hard Lemonade (my favorite, but it has 220 calories and 30 grams of sugar!). I'll save my other favorite - Margarita's - for special occasions. And just a note - I have not had any wine this week. It's race week after all!

The other issue I've been having is not getting in enough calories. I log everything I eat into Calorie King. At the end of the day, I noticed that I was only at 1,100 - 1,200 calories for the day, and that's not including the exercise calories I've earned for the day. However, I have gotten lots of great ideas for adding some additional healthy calories from friends...including my favorite, having a nice glass of chocolate milk!

Also, I will add that this change in my diet has resulted in me losing a little over 8 lbs. The 1st 4 lbs were lost in the 1st week alone! And, I am happy to say that I am now at my lowest weight since getting pregnant with my 1st kiddo 7 years ago. I still have a few more pounds to lose to reach my goal, but this has been the closest I've gotten to it in YEARS! Now the real challenge will be jumping back into these eating habits as soon as we return from NYC.

So, what are your favorite healthy snacks to munch on? Do you "eat clean" or follow some other eating plan?

Lunchtime PSA & a Swim

I do try to eat healthy...thanks to working with an awesome nutritionist after having the Munchkin, I learned to watch more than just calories and fat. Now, I watch protein, sugar and fiber. I try not to eat as much processed food, watch the high-fructose corn syrup, etc. But for lunch, sometimes it's just easier to pop one of those Lean Cuisines in the nuker. Yesterday I tried this one:

Major lunchtime FAIL. I love Thai and that yummy (but fattening) peanut sauce, so I thought why not give it a try? I heated it up in the microwave at work. It smelled great and didn't look terrible. See...

Unfortunately, it was nasty. So, just in case you are also a lunchtime nuker like me, steer clear of this one!

As for workouts, I did head to the pool after work and managed to swim 1,700 yds. Most of this workout was just swimming. I did do some endurance drills and try to focus on my form, but other than that it was just swimming and swimming. Since I didn't swim at all last week, it felt terrific to get back into the pool. That's the thing about swimming - it's a pain to drive to the gym and miss out on family time, but once I'm there in the pool I really, really enjoy it!

First, let's talk workouts! Or should I say workout?

Tuesday, the Hubby and I cleaned house after the kiddos were in bed. The Hubster has martial arts classes on Wednesday nights and his parents are coming into town on Thursday, so Tuesday had to be the cleaning day. No workouts....

Wednesday, the Hubby ended up working late and didn't get to make it to his martial arts classes afterall. Unlucky for him, but lucky for me. It meant that with his assistance with the kiddos, I could hop on the treadmill earlier than usual. The schedule called for 55 minutes easy and 55 minutes it was! I started with a 10 minute warm-up, then followed with 40 minutes of running at a 10:30 pace, then began my cool-down at the easier than usual pace. Then, I decided to walk for another 5 minutes just to make my workout an even 1-hour. Overall, my 55 minutes running was at a 10:38 pace. This run started out a little iffy, but once I got into the groove, it felt great! So far this week, I am at 13 miles. I have 10 on Friday for my long run and then a rest day on Saturday.

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So remember that yummy protein shake recipe I posted earlier this week? Well, it may be awhile before I make it again. When loading the dishwasher yesterday, the hubby accidentally bumped the glass jar on our granite counter and it broke! Aaaaaccckkkk! So, I ordered a new one thanks to the friendly Kitchen Aid Customer Service Rep and it will be here next week. Maybe I will have to substitute a Starbucks skinny vanilla latte in the meantime. :-)

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So, I have been utilizing my little ipod shuffle during my treadmill runs. I have a nano, which was a hand-me-down from the hubby when he bought his iphone, but for running I still prefer the shuffle. I seriously need some new running music! So tell me dear internet people, what music do you like to listen to??? Share please!

Random Thoughts

Let me start with running stuff....afterall, this is supposed to be a running blog! I've had 2 runs since the super duper sucky run on Friday and I am confident that it was just one of those days. On Sunday, I ran 4 miles around the 'hood. I'd love to tell you my pace and time, but my Garmin crapped out on me after only 9 minutes. In those 9 minutes, my average pace was 10:27 though. I don't know what's up with the Garmin. I tried to turn it on again once I was home and it would come on for a second and then turn itself off. The next day, I tried turning it on again and it stayed on for 3 hours. This Garmin stuff is becoming really annoying! I think that means I need a 405, hehehe! My hubby would probably disagree.

On Monday, I was doomed to run on the dreadmill. Since I haven't received this week's schedule from "the coach", I decided to follow last week's schedule again. I did the same 3 min hard/1 min easy (x10) workout as last week, but this time I increased the incline on the treadmill to 2.0. My final results - 1/2 mile warm-up, 4 miles at a 10:18 pace, followed a 1 mile cool down. Definitely slower than last weeks 10:04 pace, but maybe that was due to the extra effort required by increasing the incline. Regardless, it felt great!

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You might remember when I posted my version of the "green monster" protein shake here. Well, I quickly grew tired of that shake and found a couple of interesting recipes in the hubby's "Ab Diet" book. Since I didn't have all the ingredients for the ones that sounded good to me, I combined a couple of recipes and came up with this:

1 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon chocolate syrup (you can use 1 cup of pre-made chocolate milk instead of these two ingredients)
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1 1/2 cups spinach (fresh, not frozen)
1 banana
1 teaspoon chopped almonds (I use a 1/2 teaspoon of almond butter instead)
1/2 scoop of chocolate flavored protein powder
2 tablespoons of vanilla yogurt
ice (the recipes only call for 6 cubes, but I like to use a lot more!)

If you like the Starbucks Mocha Light Frappacino, you will like this! You can also use a packet of Swiss Miss diet hot chocolate instead of the chocolate syrup if you want fewer calories and sugar. I actually look forward to drinking this in the morning, it's sooo yummy!

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Aerosmith's Joe Perry announced that Steven Tyler has quit the band. So what's gonna happen now? Joe Perry and the band are looking for a replacement lead singer. Aerosmith with no Steven Tyler? After 30 years - with Steven Tyler?

I.don't.think.so.

So glad I had the chance to see them live before this happened! Didn't think a Runner Mom could be a fan, did you?

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Speaking of being a fan, I saved the best for last....I have been a HUGE Rockets fan for over 2 decades. I love basketball and it's really the only sport I can tolerate watching on TV. Naturally, a huge part of the Rockets for most of the time I've been a fan was #34 - Hakeem Olajuwon. I *heart* Hakeem and was heartbroken when he was traded to the Toronto Raptors late in his career. While the hubby is not much of a NBA fan, he was a UH fan in the days of Phi Slama Jama and is still a fan of Hakeem. I still remember watching the Rockets play the Celtics in the NBA finals in '86...and of course, there were the back-to-back championships in '94 and '95! Ahhhh, the good old days! So this weekend, while attending the wedding of a friend, you can only imagine how excited I was to see #34 himself! I was super stoked!

Green Monsters and a Lack of Energy

This is a week of new stuff for me...first it was Nighclub Cardio and today it's the GREEN MONSTER! A big thank you to both Michelle and Jenna for posting about the Green Monster. Here's what I used for mine:

1 cup skim milk
1 frozen banana
1 tbsp peanut butter
4 cups spinach (from the produce section...don't use frozen!)
1 scoop of chocolate-flavored protein powder
Ice

Just put everything in the blender and you have this:

ready to roll......




Yeah, it looks weird, but I promise it is really yummy! I'd like to try different variations of this and figure out what I like best...maybe almond milk instead of regular skim, almond butter instead of PB, other types of fruit, other flavors of protein powder...the possibilities are endless! I was finding that even though I am eating 3 meals a day, plus snacks that are high in protein, I had trouble getting in all the protein I needed...so, that's why I decided to try this little concoction.

Oh and just a few tips - 1) peel the banana before you put it in the freezer...just sayin'...yeah, I am an Aggie); 2) Use fresh or bagged spinach - do not use frozen, because I read it makes the shake disgustingly thick; and 3) the GM doesn't taste so great after sitting in the fridge all day...I didn't want to drink the entire thing (too many calories), so I decided to save some for later. Don't do it.

As for my workouts today, I hopped on the treadmill after the kiddos were asleep for some intervals. I was on my 7th and final 2 minute interval and 10 seconds away from my cooldown when the power in our upstairs gameroom went off. I found myself standing on the treadmill in the dark wondering "What the hell just happened?". The lights in the kid's rooms were still on (they both sleep with nightlights) and the downstairs lights were on. I headed over to the breaker box and sure enough - I managed to trip the breaker. Okay, I'll admit - the TV was on (even though I can't really see or hear it), there was a lamp on, and the ceiling fan was going. I got back on the treadmill for my cool down and after about 4 minutes, it happened again! I don't know why this is happening now, after running on this same treadmill in the same room, plugged into the same outlet, with the same tv and lamp on for the past year. Maybe I'll try running in the dark next time. Any clue?

So yeah, I almost finished my 30-something minute run...but not quite. I know that before my cool down (@ a 10:57 pace), my overall pace was right around 10:25, but that's all I know.

Workout Stats
Treadmill run, 30-something minutes, ~3 miles, 10-something pace

What the funk?

Much like Cassie and Viv, I've been in a bit of a funk this week. I am having motivation issues with my workouts and I can't seem to get the eating thing down this week! (graphic borrowed from shinybinary.com)

For the workouts, I've made myself do them , but it's been more of a "just git'er done" thing. Last night, I hemmed and hawed - I cleaned the kitchen (because I have OCD and the hubby just didn't quite get it done to my liking, hahaha) and then I watched about 30 minutes of ER. At 9:30 I finally convinced myself to get my butt on the treadmill...and even then it was slow. I just worried about getting in the 30 minutes and didn't worry at all about my pace.

For the nutrition, it's not that I've been eating bad foods...in fact, I have been chocolate free and stuck to the "100 calories of sweets a day" thing. The problem is that it's been a bit busy at work, so I haven't made the time to eat my snacks - which are when I get in my fruits. In fact, I have been having a really hard time getting even close to the amount of calories I should be eating. When I look at my stats on the Calorie King website, I have not been eating enough protein, carbs, fiber and even fat! I have been exceeding the sodium I should be eating, probably because the company has been bringing in sandwiches from places like Jason's Deli and the lunchmeat has tons of sodium! Also, for the 1st time in a long time, I have not been drinking enough water. I will try to do better next week...it's all about planning and I have not done much of that this week.

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It's going to be a busy (but very fun) weekend...I have the Wfit long run tomorrow and later that day the kiddo has her holiday dance recital, followed by my company's Christmas party. Sunday, I'll probably squeeze in some Christmas shopping in the morning, a trip to the grocery store and then we're heading to LaPorte to visit our friends who live in a subdivision that had a lot of Ike damage...that should be interesting, since many of the homes there were lost or are now unlivable.

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Sometime in the near future I would like to go look at road bikes! As much as I want my bike today, I have a feeling this purchase will have to wait until all the holiday craziness is over. If anyone has suggestions for where to buy a bike or on any special components to look for on a bike, please let me know!

Have a great weekend!!!

Another day with no chocolate!

I did it...despite all the holiday goodies coming in from our vendors, I managed to stay away from chocolate both yesterday and today. Actually, yesterday I had the day off but I'll post about that later...it was a crazy, crazy day and I completely blew off my workout. (and thanks to wildlifeonline.com for the graphic)

For some reason, my motivation to eat healthy is extremely high this week, but my motivation to work out is extremely low. I think I may have to move my P90X workouts back to the mornings, because I am sick and tired of starting my workouts at 9 or 9:30 pm. It leaves no room for evening downtime, which I'd really like right now. Today, I made it to the treadmill at 9:40 and decided that I was only going to do 20 minutes. After lolly-gagging around for the 1st 2 minutes, I decided that I would at least make this a good 20 minutes...you know, the whole quality over quantity thing. So here are the results...

Mile 1 - 11 minutes...not happy with that at all

Mile 2 - 10:14...much better!

So, it was a tad bit over 20 minutes. For me, it seems like anything under 11 minute miles these days is good. Maybe if I did some speedwork....lol! I'm sure I was completely anaerobic during the 2nd mile, but it felt good to get the legs going faster than normal.

Workout Stats

Monday, 12/8 - no workout

Tuesday, 12/9 - Treadmill run, 21:14 minutes

Day 4 & 5 - No, ummm, some chocolate

Saturday we were to run an 8-miler with Woodlands Fit. Dang it was cold! When I left the house, I watched my temperature gauge drop and drop after exiting the toasty garage. 37. Brrrrrr!

The 8 seemed extra easy, as there was lots of great conversation going on. But, turns out that the route was only a bit over 7 miles. Oh well, it was a good run anyway and we followed it up with Starbucks. Our little group of 5/1ers are planning another running weekend, this time at the Zooma 1/2 Marathon in Bastrop. The best part (besides hanging with a group of really fun gals)? The finishers receive a special silver necklace and mini-spa treatments!!! Also, I usually get a non-fat, no-whip mocha at Starbucks, but did you know a tall "skinny" Cinnamon Dolce Latter is only 96 calories??? That's 72 calories less than my usualy mocha! On days when I run, I might splurge on the Mocha, but for other days, I'm going with the fewer calories! (Huge thanks to Wfit peep, Katie, for suggesting the drink in the 1st place!)

After our run and Starbucks stop, I had to head over to Toys R Us for some shopping for the kiddos. I was expecting the worst - millions of customers, fist fights over the latest and greatest toy, madness at the registers - but, it was actually not bad! I think there may have been 20 customers there and I found almost everything I needed pretty easily. The one item I couldn't find, an associate was super helpful and found one in the back. So, huge kudos to the TRU in the Woodlands!

As for the chocolate, I broke the streak and had 10 of the kiddo's M&M's....technically, I don't think it was even enough to count, but still...it was chocolate. I did manage to get back on track on Sunday...except I did have a couple of Margarita's at lunch. Oops! The good news? I'm down another 1.8 lbs! That certainly beats my recent losses of .8 and .5 lbs!

My tip this week from nutritionist extraordinaire - " ...continue to work on your sugar intake. What do you think about eating 100 calories of sweets per day? To help with this try not to eat a fruit or starch by itself particularly as a snack. Add nuts, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese or peanut butter to your fruit or crackers in the morning or afternoon." Sounds easy enough, right??? After reviewing Sunday's log, she also suggested staying away from the margarita's as they are hundreds and hundreds of calories for just 4 ounces...and yes, I had way more than 4 ounces! I'll try to remember that at the holiday parties I'm going to this weekend!

Workout Stats

Saturday, 12/6/08 - Wfit run, 7 miles

Sunday, 12/7/08 - P90X - Chest, Shoulders and Triceps, 50 minutes & P90X - Ab Ripper X, 15 minutes

Day 3 - No chocolate

Wow, I am seriously proud of myself to have made it 3 days without any chocolate! And, day 4 is going well too. I'm using Calorie King to track everything I eat and it's amazing how easy it is to stay within your allotted amount of fat and sugar each day when you're not scarfing down a bunch of chocolate and 100 Calorie Snacks! Of course, the real test will come on Monday when it's time to weigh in again.

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Not much new stuff to report...I swear the kiddos are plotting together to postpone their bedtime as long as possible, because neither would cooperate when it was time to go to bed. As a result, I didn't end up getting on the treadmill until about 9:45, so I shortened my run to 20 minutes....hardly seemed worth it, but I figure it was better than nothing.

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Maybachs galore...you know, before seeing the Lil' Bow Wow episode of My Super Sweet 16, I never even knew what a Maybach was. (Yeah, I watch that show from time to time, so what? It's trash-tastic, okay?) But since seeing that episode, I've seen two Maybachs on the roads in our fair city - both the Maybach 57 which looked something like this:

And yesterday on my way home from work I saw this beauty:

I'm really not into cars, but every now and then one stands out (the Maserati, not the Maybach in this case). But Jesus, I would not pay the $100 plus to buy this one, much less the $350 - $1 mil to buy a Maybach...even if I could!

Workout Stats
Treadmill run - 20 minutes, 11:16 pace

Day 2 - No Chocolate

I survived a 2nd day without chocolate. I'm purdy darn proud of myself. In fact, I've been staying away from the 100 calorie snacks too...they don't do you much good when you eat 3 a day, lol! And, I've actually eaten all 5 of my fruits and veggies for the 3rd day in a row. I'm usually pretty good at getting 3-4 servings, but would rarely get in all 5. Yay me!

Workout - 12/3/08
P90X - Chest, Shoulders & Triceps - 58 minutes

Day 1 - No Chocolate

I made it...well, almost. It's 9:30 pm and I haven't had any chocolate today. The day's not over, but I am pretty sure I won't give in. :-) I don't even feel any different, lol! Other than that, not much new to report.

Workout Stats - 12/2/08
Treadmill Run - 30 minutes

Monday Bike Ride

Looks like I'm back on schedule...sort of. My friend Kristi and I managed to get in our regular Monday bike ride again after a 2-week hiatus. However, the ride was cut short due to the time change and it getting dark so darn early. The last time we rode, it was the Monday after the time change and we managed to make most of our 10-mile route before it got completely dark. Today, it seemed like it was getting dark before we even started. It started to get pretty creepy, so we turned around early. We may have to move our ride to the weekend, just to get in more mileage without worrying about the dark.

I came home and was determined to get in a bit more workout in, so I did the Ab Ribber X...that is, after the kiddos finally fell asleep. Is it possible that someone gave my soon to be 7-month old caffiene? He would not go to sleep! Same with the kiddo, but that's normal for her. :-) In fact, I can hear that the baby is awake again on the monitor - at 11:20 pm!

Workout Stats - 12/1/08
Cycling - 7 miles, 34 minutes - 12.35 mph
Ab Ripper X - 15 minutes

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I got my first bit of feedback from the nutritionist extraordinaire after she reviewed last week's food log...."Let's break the chocolate habit right now :) It is December 1st, we don't want this to go on all month. Try getting a chocolate Balance Bar or Luna Bar to help you with your chocolate cravings in the afternoon." Gotta love a gal who shoots straight from the hip. See, there's this little container of chocolates in the kitchen at work. The kitchen is where we also make copies, get supplies and get water. Every time I walk by there, I grab something - a hershey's kiss here, a Dove chocolate there...you get the idea. It's time to step away from the chocolate!

Almost there...

Wednesday, 11/12 - P90X, Legs & Shoulders - 58 minutes
OMG my butt and legs hurt today. I must have stepped it up a bit on this workout, because I am not usually this sore! But, it was a great workout!

Thursday, 11/13 - Treadmill run, 20 minutes, 11:30 pace
Easy peasy run on the ol' dreadmill. The hill and shin are aching a bit, but nothing to worry about.

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It's almost time to head to the hill country....I have mine and the kiddo's stuff packed up and ready to go! I'll be at a Wellness Symposium most of the day, but will be sneaking out early so we can hit the road before the traffic gets bad. I decided on my new long-sleeve under armour top with my capris...but, I'm bringing the running skirt too just in case. LOL!

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In other news, I went to see nutritionist extraordinaire, Catherine, today! She did a metabolic rate test and gave me some great tips. Apparently, my metabolic rate is slightly higher than average, which means if I do what I'm supposed to be doing, I should lose the weight!

And, I found out that I am not eating enough calories! I've lost over 5 lbs in the past 4 weeks and that was eating only 1400 calories a day. Based on the amount of exercise I do, I should be able to eat 1800-1900 calories a day and still lose weight weekly! But, I have to eat the right foods, which is my big challenge (ummm, remember the Halloween candy?). If I keep eating the 1400 calories, I will keep losing weight but I could eventually slow my metabolism.

And, she recommended this cookbook - Cooking Light 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Cookbook - which I have already ordered from Amazon.com. We also talked about getting the kiddo to eat our food instead of chicken nuggets and macaroni everyday.

I think I can hit my goal weight with a little help from the expert!