Calorie Confusion

Calorie confusion doesn't only confuse my body... it confuses me as well. If you don't know what calorie confusion is, it's basically when you stick to a certain amount of calories each day for an extended period of time. Then one day, you eat well above your normal allotment of calories. Your body becomes confused and burns off more calories than usual... Here is my example:

I usually eat about 1400 to 1600 calories daily if I only workout at Curves. This increases by no more than 200 calories on the high end (so 1400 to 1800 calories daily) if I work out at both the gym and Curves. These numbers were given to me by my doctor. I have been sticking under my calorie "cap" for the day (the highest number of calories allowed to me) for the past two weeks. I only had a couple of days where I was over, and this wasn't by very many calories.

Yesterday I splurged... I wouldn't call it a binge because I knowingly ate what I wanted and wasn't out of control. I just ate a lot... Here is roughly my calories eaten yesterday...

1 bag of Birds Eye Steamfresh Penne and Veggies in Alfredo Sauce - 520 calories
2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches  (natural pb/grapejelly/wheat bread) - 810 calories
1 hamburger patty with 1/2 slice of cheese and a drizzle of ketchup (no bun) - 140 calories
1 hye roller (ham, turkey, roast beef, lettuce, colby jack cheese) - 610 calories
4 popsicles - 200 calories
1 sundae cone - 190 calories
TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED = 2470

This is a hye roller, if you weren't aware:

So, I had 1200 more than my daily allowed. I was sure that I would see a gain today. I was extremely hesitant when I stepped on the scale this morning to see what damage I did yesterday. Imagine my surprise when the scale said I was actually down 2.6 pounds since last Friday. Awesome!!!

See, the past couple of times I've attempted dieting, I never strictly follow any kind of plan. Then when I have a day where I eat more than usual, like yesterday, I gained weight instead of lost it. This time around, I've been very dedicated. That's a good sign. I've been eating my daily allotment of calories and usually no more or very few more if I do... I've been working out regularly. I just feel so good this time around. :)

My Week + The Illinois Marathon

I sat down at my computer last night to type out an entry... I didn't post yesterday at all. It was really late (after 10 pm) when I went to write my entry. I knew that if I wrote it then, it would be short and not very interesting so, I made an executive decision to write my entry today.

Yesterday was my weigh in day. I was down 3.6 pounds from last week! Woohoo! This dieting and exercise thing really does work. Haha. I think my metabolism is getting a little better or something because I overate by about 400 calories last night and still managed to drop 0.4 of a pound since yesterday. I know, weighing in daily isn't advisable, but it keeps me in check. If I gain, I know I need to be more strict. If I lose, it makes me want to eat better. In all honesty, when I stepped on the scale this morning I was thinking, "If my weight is down, or even the same, I'm going to get something delicious and unhealthy for breakfast." My weight was down, but that motivated me to be good. I was going to go get something like a Frisco Breakfast Sandwich from Hardee's. That is one of my ultimate breakfast foods. LOVE IT! If I were to go get one of those, however, it wouldn't be one... it would be two. One just doesn't satisfy my greasy breakfast food craving. After thinking it over, I made a decision to try to stay good, and even if I was going to "eat out" for breakfast, I could pick something remotely healthy. So I chose to go to McDonald's and get a sugar-free vanilla iced coffee and an Egg McMuffin. Yes, it was 420 calories for breakfast, but if I got what I was planning (the two sandwiches, hash rounds, and diet soda from Hardee's), I would have eaten 1110 calories! I'm getting this. :) I also bought a Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait that I will be eating soon as my morning snack. I love those things!!!

Exercise wise, I believe I did good this past week. I went to Curves Tuesday through Friday. Granted, the computer for the Curves Smart program crashed so I didn't have the machines telling me how hard to work... or the computer telling me how many calories I burned at the end. I still worked out hard and turned bright red and sweated like a pig. I logged my calories burned as 300 for each 30 minute workout. However, I usually burn more than 300 even on the days when I'm really slacking. I figure that I underestimated my calories burned at least by some... On Thursday, I went to the gym with my friend. She recently had to walk really far in some uncomfortable shoes and ended up with blisters all over her feet. She thought she was ready to go back to the gym, but it turns out she wasn't. I wanted to get in at least 1.5 miles on the treadmill. I walked it in about 25-30 minutes thereabouts. I'm pretty okay with that, but I don't know how I'm going to run a 5K. LOL I guess time will tell. :)

My plan for this week is to go to Curves Monday and then on Wednesday through Friday. I have a dentist appointment on Tuesday after work to get my teeth cleaned. I never know how long that's going to take, so I imagine I won't be working out on Tuesday. I also have to hit the gym (or walk outside) for 1.5 miles on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Rock on! I'm excited to begin my 5K training.

Apparently, there is an annual marathon in Illinois. It's actually taking place today. One of my goals is to be able to run a marathon before I'm 30. I would love to run in the Illinois marathon. That gives me right around two years to get marathon ready if I want to run this race before I'm 30. :) Awesome.

HOLY CRAP!!! The winners of the Illinois marathon were just posted. The first male crossed the finish line at 2:22:46 - that's an average of 5:27 for each mile!!! The first male crossed the finish line at 2:43:52 - that's an average of 6:15 for each mile!!! Holy schnikes, Batman!!! That's some fricken endurance. LOL I can't even imagine running 26.2 miles... let alone at 5:27/6:15 average per mile. Wowza.

Okay, I'm going to go for a while... Have a great weekend!

Soreness

It's been a very long day. I pretty much had to force myself to come write this entry, but I know I'll be glad that I did. Today was kinda hard eating wise. I had my first "bad" slip up. It wasn't even bad per se, I made sure to log everything and came in almost 300 calories less than I was allowed for the day, but I ate pizza. It was delicious and I had three pieces. My sodium intake was about twice as high as it was supposed to be. I'm praying that this doesn't bite me in the butt tomorrow as it's weigh in day...

I had a great workout day though. I went to Curves and had an awesome workout. It was kind of slow in there, but I felt like I was doing good. Our Curves Smart system is currently down so I'm thinking I probably low-balled the amount of calories I burned, but that's okay. Then I met a friend at the gym and did 1.5 miles on the treadmill in 25 minutes. I was just walking, but I feel like I walked very fast. My legs are pleasantly sore.

I had a comment asking whether I will be doing my 5K training outdoors or on the treadmill. I'm going to try to do most of it outside, weather permitting.

Okay, I'm so exhausted. I'm heading to bed. G'night!

It's about that time...

My shoes feel better today than they did yesterday. That's good. By the end of the day, my knees were killing me, but I guess that's normal. I mean, when I've walked "wrong" for most of my life, walking the way I'm supposed to is bound to hurt and use muscles I didn't use before, right??? The outsides of me feet still hurt pretty badly, but I'm thinking that will go away soon too!

My best friend and I are signing up for The Color Run in Indianapolis. She doesn't get paid until Monday and I refuse to sign up without her so... Monday it is. :) I've pretty much picked out a plan to train myself. It's meshing together Hal Higdon's 5K Novice Walk and 5K Novice Run programs.  Here is my plan, as long as Pam approves:

Week	Starting	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat
1	04/30	1.5 mile walk	Rest/Walk	2 mile walk	Rest/Walk	1.5 mile walk	Rest/Walk
2	05/07	2 mile walk	Rest/Walk	2.5 mile walk	Rest/Walk	2 mile walk	Rest/Walk
3	05/14	3 mile walk	Rest/Walk	3.1 mile walk	Rest/Walk	3 mile walk	Rest/Walk
4	05/21	0.5 mile run	Rest/Walk	0.5 mile run	Rest/Walk	0.5 mile run	Rest/Walk
5	05/28	1 mile run	Rest/Walk	1 mile run	Rest/Walk	1 mile run	Rest/Walk
6	06/04	1.5 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	1.5 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	1.5 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run
7	06/11	1.75 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	1.5 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	1.75 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run
8	06/18	2 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	1.5 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	2 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run
9	06/25	2.25 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	1.5 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	2.25 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run
10	07/02	2.5 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	2 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	2.5 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run
11	07/09	2.75 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	2 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	2.75 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run
12	07/16	3 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	2 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	3 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run
13	07/23	3 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	2 mile run	Rest/Walk/ Run	REST	5K DAY!!!

Sunday isn't listed because Sundays will always be a rest days. I have never worked out on Sundays and probably won't ever so I figured I wouldn't bother putting it on here. Anyway... What I have done is basically taken his running program, put five weeks on the front side of it and used Hal's theory (or what I make of it) to make a new 13 week plan as that's how many weeks I have before my 5K! Woot. Excited!

Running Shoes

My best friend and I ran to a nearby town and got my running shoes last night. Let me tell you, it was an experience. We walked in and I was slightly overwhelmed. We headed towards the shoes and a very nice salesman stopped us to ask if we needed assistance. I told him that I needed sized for running shoes and I had never ordered any before. He had me take a seat, remove my shoes, and roll up my pant legs. Then he had me stand up. He said that I have overpronation on both ankles. Here is a visual on that:

These are both right feet... A normal right foot looks like the one on the left... When walking or standing, the ankle is in a straight line. Now, since I'm flat-footed, when I walk my ankle rolls in. I walk like the foot on the right. This is not good while walking or running. The salesman (I can't remember his name) then measured my feet. He said that I had a normal width and was measuring at a size 9.5 in length. He grabbed a couple of shoes off the wall and showed me what type of shoes that I need. He said I needed one of two kinds and both of them have a prominent arch support. Basically, the plastic where the arch of a foot should be is harder and less able to move as the rest of the shoe.

Then he went into the back of the store and came back with four shoe boxes. He said that for running shoes, you usually go up an entire size from what you were measured. The first shoes I tried on were a size 10.5. They were too big and I immediately didn't like the way they felt. He then grabbed the next pair of shoes. As soon as I saw them, I loved the colors. I flat out turned to my friend and said "I'm not one for blue, but I really like those shoes!" She laughed at me because blue is her favorite color, but agreed. The salesman put them on my feet and laced them up and they felt like they were giving my feet a nice big hug. They were a size 10 and I loved them! The salesman told me to walk around the store or on the treadmill for a few minutes and then we'd try on a few more pairs. So I did. I went back and he took them off and put them in a pile for shoes I liked. I tried on another pair that were a size 10.5 and once again, they were too big and didn't feel like they supported my feet properly. The fourth pair were size 10 again and I liked them as well. The felt like they hugged my feet like the second pair did, but they didn't feel like they supported my arches very well... So, I decided to get the second pair. These are my shoes:

They're a size 10 from New Balance. I really like them. I'm wearing them today to try to break them in. The only downside is that since I used to walk on the insides of my feet and now walk on the outside like I'm supposed to... my feet, ankles, knees, thighs, and hips are feeling it. It's not like I need to take the shoes off. It's like I'm working muscles that I didn't used to. I guess it'll take some getting used to... But I can't wait to start my training!

I'm going to be a runner...

... or try to at least.

I've always wanted to be a runner. I've always been jealous of those that could run because I am incapable of it. I was born with bad knees thanks to my father... I have never officially been to the doctor to find out how to remedy my problems, but my dad has. We have the same knee structure and his doctor told him surgery was the only option and he was much too young for that... If he's too young, then I'm really too young. This isn't the main reason why I can't run, but it is a part of it...

The main reason, I suppose, is because my father's side of the family also gave me flat feet. Even when I was 135 pounds and fairly fit, I still couldn't run a mile. I remember when I was a freshman in high school and probably the most fit I've ever been, I decided that I was actually going to try during running the mile for P.E. class. I tried my hardest and I did. I ran as hard as I could but ended up failing. My mile was ran in thirteen and a half minutes. It had to be done in less than thirteen for a passing grade... albeit a D. My problem is that I don't run on my feet correctly and therefore get the most horrible shin splints while running. I honestly think it's because I've never had good running shoes.

Last night, after doing some research, I decided to buy myself a heart rate monitor. After doing some research I determined that I didn't need a Garmin as I doubt I'll ever be a strong enough runner to need a Garmin and if I am, eventually, I will hopefully have the money to buy one then. I bought a Polar FT7 Heart Rate Monitor. It hasn't shipped yet, but I'm excited to get it and try it out!

I also decided that I need to invest in a armband for my cell. That way I can listen to music or podcasts while I walk/jog/run which will make me less bored. I'm not going to buy this quite yet, but I will be buying one soon...

I asked my best friend if she'd be interested in being my personal trainer when it comes to running. She said, "Of course! Anything you need..." Tonight we're going to a local shop where you can buy running shoes. They test your walking and running and arches and then determine what kind of shoe or inserts you need. I'm hoping I can get out of there without spending too much money... Then my friend and I need to figure out when and how we're going to start my training. She just ran a marathon a few months back so she's a good person to learn from. I just hope she takes it easy on me for a little bit. LOL

My Menu in Pictures

I woke up a little late this morning and, therefore, did not eat breakfast. I did however eat brunch. I had a bag of Bird's Eye Steamfresh Penne and Vegetables in Classic Alfredo Sauce. Then I made a homemade Mocha Light Frappucino... like the one you get at Starbucks. I posted the recipe I use. Go try it. :) Om nom nom!

Anyway, here is a pic of my brunch:

It was delicious as you can probably imagine. I love food!!!

For dinner, my boyfriend grilled out some chicken breasts that I had marinated in Lawry's Teriyaki Marinade. One of my favorites! Then I made some macaroni and cheese and baked beans. I just had a little of both as you can see:

That looks like a lot of food, and it is, but I swear I measured it. I got half a cup of the beans as that's a serving and then one cup of the macaroni and cheese and a chicken boob. Delicious! I've been eating while writing this and my plate is almost empty! LOL I feel like I should also point out that while the chicken breast looks burned, it's not... that's the teriyaki marinade and it's yummy!

Other than water, I didn't have anything else all day... Well, unless you count my two popsicles:

Anyway, now that I'm done with that business... I woke up rather late for me and immediately started laundry. Then I did my normal Sunday tradition and took a nice long bath. When I was done, it was almost 11. Holy cow! So, I got dressed and took pictures of myself for my beginning pics... I posted them on my Progress Photos page. Just a heads up, the outfit that I'm wearing is a workout outfit my mom bought me a couple of years ago. I've never worn it out and rarely wear it around home. I'm not comfortable in it. I figure once a month or so I will take pictures of me wearing this outfit and hopefully it will soon be a good fit... and then be too big!!! Haha.

Okay, I think I'm going to go for now. I need to finish eating and then do some things around the house. Should I eat anything else, I will be sure to update this. Talk soon!

How does one become a runner???

I've got an entry in the works for tonight with pictures of my food eaten, etc... but I've been sitting here thinking. How does one become a runner? I'm 230 pounds and overweight. I have flat feet and bad knees and back issues. I know that losing weight will help all of this... Ever since I was young, I've wished I could be a runner. I've never been in shape enough to run. Even when I was at my thinnest (135ish), I wasn't fit enough to run a mile. I forced myself to try my hardest to run a mile when I was this thin and I still failed hitting one mile in 13.5 minutes. That's a pretty long time for one mile, and I thought I was going to die/puke when I was done... and I also had terrible shin splints and my knees and ankles hurt terribly...

I would eventually like to try the Couch to 5K program, but as I'm not even in shape enough to walk one mile (I average between a 17-20 minute mile walk right now) I doubt I could even attempt that program yet. Any ideas how someone as out of shape as I am can become a runner? Give me some ideas!

Healthy Groceries

I went and got some groceries today. I got a lot of great healthy ones to make healthy recipes. I forgot to get some fruits and veggies for snacks so I may run back tomorrow and get some. I'm home and comfortable and ready to stay home and relax.

Grocery shopping is such a workout... well, if you're overweight like me. First you have to walk all around the store which has to burn at least a few calories, right??? As you load your cart, it gets heavier and you have to push it so that's got to burn some calories too. Actual shopping... I don't think that burns any more calories than how much you walk... However, I'm thinking that unloading your cart onto the conveyor belt, then loading the bags into the cart, and then loading the bags into the car, and then unloading them when you get home... I'm thinking that's gotta burn quite a few calories. I work up a sweat doing that. I'm fast at loading my purchases on the conveyor. Nothing annoys me more than getting to the check out and the person in front of me being slow... so I try to move at warp speed. Haha. My legs are sore and that's the only "workout" I did today so I'm thinking I burned something, right???

I made a new recipe today. I believe that I originally found it on Pinterest. I changed a few of the ingredients and came up with a low calorie version of it. It's high in sodium though... I'm not sure how to get around that one. It's for Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings. The dumplings are canned biscuits. Anyone have any ideas of a lower sodium alternative for canned biscuits? Anyway, it was really good. I have enjoyed it a lot.

I think tomorrow I may do a picture entry. I have done this before elsewhere, but I think it's a good idea. Pretty much, I'll just take pictures of everything I eat before I eat them. Then at the end of the night, I will post an entry on here with pictures and descriptions of everything eaten. This will help me be more accountable for what I'm eating... Be forewarned... I use a lot of paper plates. Haha. So, you'll get to see my "fine china" if I do this. Thoughts?

Okay, well... I'm going to head out. I need to go do some dishes and pick up my house a little before I go relax. Debating taking a nice relaxing bath tonight... Goodnight!

Tough

Dieting is so tough. It's so easy to put weight on, but so tough to take it back off. You have to have the perfect formula of diet, exercise, water intake, vitamins, etc. I was looking through old blog entries for recipes and realized that I fell for a lot of gimmicks and fad diets. I now know that only good old fashioned diet and exercise will help. No more fad diets for me. Just calorie counting and working out!!!

I couldn't go to Curves today... and I can't go tomorrow. They're closed for renovations While I'm excited that they're renovating, I'm bummed because I wanted to go tonight and tomorrow. Oh well, such is life.

My day has been rather so-so diet wise. I had ham, egg white, and pepper jack cheese on a light English muffin with apple slices from Subway for breakfast. For lunch I had a Lean Cuisine pizza. For dinner I am having a ham and turkey sandwich from Subway. I also ate two chocolate bars as they needed gone so they wouldn't tempt me to eat them. My mom just brought me cranberry-oatmeal-raisin cookies though. Urg. LOL Silly woman. Oh well... at least they sound healthy. *shrugs*

I added my first recipe to my recipe section. I'm excited to add more. If you have a favorite healthy recipe, let me know and I might put it on my blog. I also added a couple of pics to my photos and yeah. It's interesting figuring this site out, but I'm looking forward to my adventure.

Well, I decided to sit at the computer only long enough for me to eat dinner and it's gone... Talk to you all soon!!!

One Step Forward... Two Steps Back

So, today was a day of mixed results with my attempts at getting healthier. My calories during the day were awesome. They were a smidgen high, but that's because I ate some nuts and, as I'm sure you know, nuts are high in calories and fat... but the good kind. I went to Curves after work and had a good workout. It wasn't great, but it was good... As I was leaving, one of the members announced that her son was selling candy bars for band. I was a total band geek in school and I had to sell those same candy bars. So, I gave in and bought one of each... there were four kinds. I held strong when I got home and started making my dinner... a healthy chicken stir fry... but those candy bars in my purse were calling my name. I ate a sugar free popsicle in hopes of curing my sweet craving, but those damn candy bars kept saying, "Come eat me... you know you want to." So, I gave in and ate one. It was good, but not amazing. Then I ate my dinner which was amazing, but I kept thinking about the other candy bars. So I ate another one. I'm ashamed that I have no willpower, but I'm trying to change that. I'm working on it and I know it's going to take hard work and motivation.

What do you do when something you know you shouldn't eat is calling your name??? How do you keep strong? Is it possible to magnify your willpower??? Thoughts?