Good morning! Today I promise myself…

…I will eat with purpose and planning all day. This includes cooking a meal for dinner, not eating microwaved turkey bacon and cans of green beans and beets (ahem, last night).

…I will complete a room before and after.

…I will abstain from all television and movies.

I ate 1,200 calories in almond butter today. And two donuts. And bacon. And probably four servings of Craisins.

When I screw up, I punish myself with food. It’s a little bit comfort eating, but especially now, it happens because I reach a point where I feel like it’s what I deserve. 

I’ve put on 2-3 pounds since Thursday as a result of this + no exercise + stress/depression.

But I’m not going to beat myself up. I’m still ahead of where I was in January, and I didn’t suddenly lose a huge amount of fitness in 5 days.

Tomorrow, I go to the doctor in the morning, I embrace the busy schedule that means my only choice is to eat my planned food, and I exercise.

What’s done is done, right now I need to not blame myself for letting this happen, but learn and move forward.

Learn, and move forward. Always forward.

Rough patch

So, after a great week last week, I landed flat on my face this weekend.

Found out my fiance’s cousin was in Vail for the weekend, from New York, so we headed up there for Saturday and Sunday nights to visit. Decided to take the weekend off.

Unfortunately, ran out of my depression medication on Thursday (I’ve been on it for clinical depression since I was 14, not normally a significant part of my life in any way). The confounding factor was that I’m out of refills, and haven’t had a physical recently enough for the doctor to re-prescribe. Trying to enjoy food, I underestimated how much I had adjusted to smaller portion sizes and paleo, and made myself pretty overstuffed/sick right off the bat. From there, it was downhill. Today was the worst.

Luckily, I have a doctor’s appointment Wednesday, so I should be back on the meds and taken care of soon. In the mean time, I’ve planned out all my meals for the week, including the weekend and planned indulgences.

On a happier note: I found sandals to wear with my wedding dress :)

Hidden Sodium in Healthy Foods

Whole Wheat Bread:

One hundred percent whole grains are high in fiber and help to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease. Unfortunately, many bread manufacturers are adding too much salt in their recipes, negating the bread’s health benefits. Slices can average from 260 to 400  mg, and considering most people have 2 slices at a time, the sodium can add up. There are brands that provide less than 170 mg per slice, which should be the maximum amount per slice.

Breakfast Cereal:

A high fiber bowl of cereal with low-fat milk and berries is a healthy way to start the day. On the other hand, if you aren’t careful, it could be the start to a high sodium day. Many people check the cereal’s food label for calories, fiber, and sugar and rarely look at the sodium content.  With ranges approximately 170 to 280 mg per serving, this nutrient should not be overlooked. Hands down your best bet to avoid sodium in cereal is to look for shredded wheat brands and plain oatmeal.

Cottage Cheese:

Whether you have it with fruit salad, as a topping on a baked potato, or in place of regular cheese, this versatile food is known as a good source of calcium and protein. But with an average of 400 mg sodium per ½ cup serving, it can change a healthy dish into a high sodium one. Choose no-salt-added cottage cheese for just 60 mg sodium per serving.

Nut Butter:

The only ingredient really needed to make peanut butter is peanuts. Yet, so many companies add sugar, palm and hydrogenated oils, and lots of salt to enhance the taste. An average 2 tablespoon serving of nut butter can have as many as 125 mg of sodium.  Get into the habit of buying a no sodium added nut butter or break out the food processor and make your own.

Salad Dressing: 

 Salad should be a staple in your diet because of the endless health benefits of greens and veggies. Also, eating salad with dinner helps to fill you up so you’re less likely to overeat. Beware though because your salad dressing may be sabotaging your good intentions by adding a giant dose of sodium to your meal.  Be on the lookout for dressings that range as high as 230 to 550 mg per serving. Follow this simple step-by-step guide to making your own vinaigrette.

Tomato Sauce:

Opening up a can of tomato sauce and preparing an antioxidant-rich pasta dinner is a simple, go-to dinner. However, many brands of tomato sauce are as high as 670 mg per serving. If you can’t find a low sodium brand in the store, try making your own.

List from Cooking Light
Not sure how much sodium is too much? Keep in mind that the RDA for sodium is under 2000mg. So a general rule-of-thumb that can be helpful is that if a food has more mg of sodium than it does calories, it’s TOO MUCH!

Small setbacks are not the same as failures.

So, I didn’t make it to WOD or strength yesterday. M-W-F I go to the 11:30am WODs, but on T-Th I have to go to the 5pm. Yesterday I got home from class and was too overwhelmed by all the things to do around the house, that I spent an hour cleaning (seemingly barely making a difference) instead of working out. Then I devoted some time to getting wedding ideas together to send to the planner.

I was/am sad about it, but in the the end I’ll just do my best to get some progress in this weekend, and be glad the dishes are done and I have clean towels now. I also got all our plastic bags to the recycle bin at the grocery store, and a big bag to Goodwill. So yay for that :).

And, I got enough done wedding-planning-wise to get to sleep feeling on top of it all. Even if it meant spending several hours doing seemingly (and a little actually) unproductive bridal magazine flipping looking at things like this:

However, worth noting that I am TOTALLY ON TOP OF IT with my eating this week. Aside from Wednesday’s adjustment for the chocolate hearts, I have eaten exactly as planned, and felt completely satisfied the entire week. I plan on trying to be conservative but unplanned for the weekend and then planning ahead next week the same way I did this week. 

But I know myself. The temptation will be there to relax just a bit too much and let things like portion control and good decision making slide just often enough to take a step or two backward. I should probably impose some guidelines, or come up with a way to keep my brain on track. Anyone have good ideas on how to keep focused and not end up treating the weekend as a “days off” free-for-all?

5 Reasons to Ditch Energy Bars [Organic Authority]

 

They’ve infiltrated virtually every supermarket, convenience store, gym, yoga studio and even sporting goods stores. Energy bars are synonymous with healthy, quick and energizing food for these modern times, relied upon by millions for a fast, waxy-cardboard-esque-quasi-tasty boost of calories, protein and carbs. But before you power through your next Power Bar, have you considered these five reasons to ditch energy bars?

  1. Protein isolates: One of the most common ingredients in energy bars is isolated protein. Whether soy or whey, protein isolates are often extracted with chemical solvents like hexane—a polluting toxin linked to cancer. Soy, often genetically modified, contributes to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and can have negative effects on hormone levels. Many conventional whey proteins have been found to contain heavy metals and toxins resulting from antibiotics, hormones and other drugs routinely fed to dairy cows.  
  2. Sugar: While they sound healthier than, say, a cookie, energy bars can contain as much—or more—sugar than common snack foods. For example, one Luna bar contains almost as much sugar as three Oreos!
  3. Fractionated oils: Stabilizers are common ingredients in energy bars. Fractionated oils can contain nearly 90 percent saturated fat. While not as bad as hydrogenated oil, it is an unhealthy option; and fractionated palm kernel oil is often sourced from conflict regions where slave labor is common.
  4. Preservatives: Fact: Freshness means “not preserved,” but processed foods contain preservatives to produce a fresh-tasting and “un-stale” product… confusing, right? And what’s worse, certain preservatives have been linked to allergies, neurological and behavioral issues, and certain types of cancer.
  5. Packaging: While a little foil-wrapped bar might appear convenient, packaging waste takes a huge toll on the planet, sucks up resources like fresh water and contributes to pollution.

So… instead of spending $2-$4 every time you need a quick energy boost, try sating yourself with super protein rich and energy-packed nuts like almonds, walnuts or Brazil nuts. Or, make a quick chia seed porridge, which will keep you feeling full and energized for hours at a fraction of the cost of an energy bar. Nature also makes a number of tasty energy “bars,” although they come in much more exciting shapes and colors like Orange, Granny Smith Green, Blueberry or Nectarine. Dried fruits are also an easy, yummy, munch-on-the-go snack that can fuel you with flavor and fiber. And making your own energy bars from scratch with seeds, oats and healthy proteins like hemp can be a fun way to make sure you get pure energy… and nothing else.

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

For me, it’s the last paragraph that really hits home. There are so many other options requiring less money and no additional effort!

Bars of all sorts are INCREDIBLY OVERPRICED, because so many people are willing to pay for convenience. Companies put “healthy” or “all natural” on the label to convince us that this UN-natural processed substance counts as food. Besides, since so many of them have significant sugar, I end up craving them like I would real Oreos! 

Ironically, I’ve chosen to actually pay more in order to buy Larabars, which I keep in my gym bag and cupboard but reserve for emergencies only. For a while I was in love with the new Balance Nimble bar, with balanced macros, but had to ditch them when I realized they were exacerbating my love for sugar (in addition to all the other downsides of bars).

Check it out! So, I’m ignoring the scale until the end of the challenge (25th), and just focusing on being consistent with food and workouts. Looked down though, and noticed these jeans are even getting loose in the thighs- when I’m sitting, no less! Granted, they need to be washed, but they’ve never been this way before, so I’m going to take it as motivation, and work my way to NEW jeans post-challenge! :)
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Check it out!

So, I’m ignoring the scale until the end of the challenge (25th), and just focusing on being consistent with food and workouts. Looked down though, and noticed these jeans are even getting loose in the thighs- when I’m sitting, no less! Granted, they need to be washed, but they’ve never been this way before, so I’m going to take it as motivation, and work my way to NEW jeans post-challenge! :)

Dinner! Baked tilapia with lemon juice and lemon pepper, with veggies (233 calories).  Wow. I’m not a fan of most seafood (no shellfish at ALL), so I’ve never really cooked fish. I always made my parents/roommates/fiance do it if we were having fish for some reason. However, I decided to suck it up, and it’s way easier than I had been telling myself it would be. Especially tilapia! This recipe is: put on seasonings, broil three minutes each side. The end.  The other tilapia recipe I’ve been loving is tilapia breaded with almond flour, lightly fried in coconut oil. I think I’ll try baking it next time to see how that goes- not having those calories would be great!
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Dinner! Baked tilapia with lemon juice and lemon pepper, with veggies (233 calories). 

Wow. I’m not a fan of most seafood (no shellfish at ALL), so I’ve never really cooked fish. I always made my parents/roommates/fiance do it if we were having fish for some reason. However, I decided to suck it up, and it’s way easier than I had been telling myself it would be. Especially tilapia! This recipe is: put on seasonings, broil three minutes each side. The end. 

The other tilapia recipe I’ve been loving is tilapia breaded with almond flour, lightly fried in coconut oil. I think I’ll try baking it next time to see how that goes- not having those calories would be great!

Before and After pictures, and the timeline for achievement.

I am a mature, well-educated and intelligent woman. That doesn’t mean however, that I don’t sometimes succumb to misconceptions.

Yesterday I found myself frustrated with my progress over the last few weeks. I did a lot of research, rethought my nutrition, and then had a realization:

Wasn’t this week when I commented that I was finally being able to push myself during WODs? Wasn’t this week when it would have been easy to lose balance, but I put in the effort and brought things back on track? Haven’t I already achieved two of my three six-week goals?

Begging the question: Where was this feeling of underperformance coming from?

I thought about it. I ignored it. I thought about it some more. Then scrolling through my Tumblr dash it hit me: Before and After pictures. I am not on a timeline, I do not have a deadline for self-improvement. But here are all these photos of one individual looking like two totally different people over the span of six or eight weeks. Thinking about it logically, there’s a reason I’ve seen those. It’s because they’re UNusual. Somewhere in my subconscious, part of me was swayed, and thought that I have only the six weeks of this CrossFit challenge to change myself. I’ve called “bullshit” on that.

Scale stagnation: The question of calories

So, it’s been two weeks since I saw any progress on the scale. Or felt like I was leaning up. What was working is no longer. Scale read 147 this morning. I’ve been really good with eating (one evening of paleo-time-off pigging out for the Super Bowl is not responsible), but now I have to decide on a course of action. Do I:

  1. Continue as I have been and assume that progress is being made even if I’m not seeing it.
  2. Cut back on calories further.
  3. Bump up calories.
  4. Other.

Right now I’m going with 4. Today and tomorrow I’m going to eat with a goal of about 1800-2000 calories, and try not to eat anything that had been my routine (or at least at a different time of day). Today I’m going to try to go for comparatively more fat (good fat- nuts etc), and tomorrow I’ll try to do heavy carbs (veggies here I come!). Sunday, I’ll start alternating between 1300 calorie and 1600 days instead of 1450 across the board.

The tricky thing is that 1450 feels like it should be right. It’s just enough that I feel well fueled to work out, and don’t ever feel hungry. I feel like If I were to try for 1300 or so on average (option number 2) that I won’t be functioning as smoothly. And I don’t particularly like the idea of number 3, because where I am now seems like enough, and the idea seems like more of a gamble, in that less deficit would equal less weight loss.

Also going to try for MORE consistency. Read: more focus and precision on weekends. And MORE water. Because that can never hurt anyone. And MORE cardio. Woot.

So I could totally go for some RELIABLE info and ideas on leaning out (no pills, no about.com, supplement systems etc). I know there is no “right way”, but the more info I have the more I have to work with as far as finding what will work for me. Anyone out there in Tumblr-land have some good resources for losing that last 5-10 pounds?


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