Thursday, February 13, 2014

Becoming a Lesser Person (The Good Kind)

Breathe y'all.  I have not wasted away in the throes of South Beach, Phase 1.  In fact, I actually did better than I was expecting and lost seven (7!) pounds in two weeks!  I was thrilled.  I've also continued working on my couch to 5K training program.  I'm halfway through the week 2 workouts, but the snow days and my office (and thereby my gym) being closed and my boot camps being canceled have derailed me a bit.  In anticipation of the ice terrors, I did make sure to run Monday and Tuesday, so now I just need to fit in one more workout.

I'm feeling pretty good though.  I don't know if you can actually see the missing seven pounds, but I feel more confident, so hopefully that's coming through.  Believe it or not, I did not rush out and eat a loaf of bread Wednesday morning, though I did have some steel-cut oatmeal which was pretty glorious.

I'm currently living my life ruled by Weight Watchers Points Plus, heavily influenced by the South Beach rules.  I think that'll work best for me, as I enjoy cooking and can used both programs to create some pretty awesome stuff.  South Beach did make me think a lot more creatively about cauliflower as I've learned to make fried "rice" and pizza crust with the vegetable.  My recipes for both need tweaking, but that's half the fun of cooking.  (The need to justify my junk food/low-brow cravings is also what led me to figure out a recipe for organic, from-scratch Hamburger Helper.)  I also have seen some ideas for a cauliflower risotto, so that's going on my cooking bucket list.

In any case, with either weight loss program, they suggest a 1-2 pound per week weight loss, so I'm not expecting miracles like the one I just had, but with my running and healthier eating, I'll settle for progress.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Beaching and Moaning: The Couch to 5K Edition

I'm halfway through Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet.  I have to be honest: at the moment, I'd consider beating the crap out of someone for a piece of bread and a glass of cab.  Like "Fight Club" crazy.  But I never thought my willpower would last the first week, and since it has, I'm just going to see the rest of the time through since I'm so close.

I'm not miraculously skinnier yet, but my pants do feel a bit better and my face doesn't look quite so puffy.  But that's to be expected when there aren't any processed carbs or alcohol coming my way.  And I want fruit (lustful sigh).....

I also never thought I'd say this, but I am SICK of scrambled eggs. It's been my go-to breakfast during the snowdays and the weekend and I just had them for dinner.  I need a break.  I'm also becoming less fond of cauliflower.  When I can have flour again, I'm looking forward to trying this.



In fitness news, I started doing the Couch to 5K: Treadmill Edition today.  I love my twice-weekly bootcamp, but I miss running.  I used to look like such a badass when I ran, and I loved the feeling of getting out of my own head (a rare thing to be sure).  I also miss running with my bestie.  Anyway, I haven't done much to celebrate quitting smoking or beating cancer, so a 5K it is.  If all goes well, I'm thinking this is the one I want to do: The Luckie 5K, part of the Publix Georgia Marathon/Half-Marathon.  I might as well go for a fancy 5K.

Anyway, I was a bit nervous about running.  I've always been self-conscious when exercising no matter what my weight was, and I was just afraid of sucking and being horribly slow.  But since no one was in the gym, I turned on the Pandora 80s cardio station (first two songs were "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Eye of the Tiger") and... absolutely KILLED IT on the treadmill.  I didn't come close to a PR or look graceful (and it was a run/walk program), but I felt great during and after, and probably could have gone another five or seven minutes.  I'm not Olympic-ready, but I'm feeling more like myself.

P.S. Today is World Cancer Day.  If you are able, consider donating to a cancer charity of your choice.  If it's not blood cancer, it's lung cancer or breast cancer or prostate or thyroid....  It's all too much, so let's keep fighting against this disease.