UJam Fitness, Finally!

Finally went to UJam fitness tonight!!! After a month of trying to go, but never meshing with the time that it is held. But tonight was the night. My friend Christina went with me as well. Just a reminder of what the class description is: "This class unites world beats with urban flavor and takes you around the world from hip-hop to Bollywood with an intense cardiovascular workout! Easy to learn dance steps choreographed to high energy music that makes you sweat, tone your body and leaves you craving for more!" It should just be called "Hip-Hop Class (with some Bollywood arm movements)"

But it was really fun! I had a really good time. My shins splints were hurting a little from running this morning so I didn't do a lot of the jumping moves. But after the first song I was already sweating up a storm, and by the end of the class I had burned 660 calories. Not bad for an hour of dancing fun! After class which ended at 6:30, Christina headed to Subway for dinner. Dinner was only 460 calories, so I burned some to spare at class tonight!

Hump Day Motivation

Last night I went to a friend's house for dinner. In the couple of years he's made some healthy changes in his life and has done a few triathlons and has become an avid biker (and has dropped a few pounds in the process). He has been really supportive of my taking up running and we plan to do a run sometime together if we can get our schedules to mesh. He made an awesome Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya to put over rice (white rice, but we both commented that brown would have been healthier but the white rice tasted very yummy with everything on top of it). It was healthy as well, I might just need to steal this recipe from him. He has also taken up beer brewing so I just had to try some! It was very tasty as well. And one beer turned into two, and then three. I am learning that beer is a definite weakness for me. I would rather have two beers with dinner than a chocolate dessert after dinner. But to each their own.

When I checked my email this morning I had a message from one of my cousin's friends. My cousin had passed the link to my blog to her. She wrote me saying how much she enjoyed my blog and how she has decided to make a commitment to her health and to get things rolling! I am so happy that yet another person is inspired by my blog! And again, I encourage you all to share my blog with whoever might enjoy it. I wasn't going to go to the gym today before I received that email, but her positive attitude and encouraging words has given me that extra boost to get to the gym before heading to my cousin Jen's to help out with her little ones (which is a fun work out all on it's own!).

Oh, I also forgot to weigh in today before I had breakfast, so I will just have to wait to weigh in next Wednesday. That will be about a week and a half from my last weigh in and I hope that I see a loss! If not... I will kick my own butt!

I am very excited though about my new little garden! All things that I have planted have sprouted! Even if they don't yield anything, I have proof that I am able to grow something!

My front porch Zinnias (to be)

The radishes are growing the best so far!

Back From Vacation With A Vengeance

My sister and I near the Golden Gate

Vacation with the family was very fun this last weekend in the Bay Area. It was fun seeing my friend Lacey for a quick bit when she was working at Marin Brewing Company. And just an all around good time. I took a total break from my healthy lifestyle. I ate whatever I wanted, and drank more alcohol than normal as well. By the end of the weekend my body was letting me know that I was making bad choices. Which is a good reminder why eating healthy is such a big deal. I also didn't use the hotel gym at all, and didn't even bring my bodybugg on the trip. I haven't been using my bodybugg as diligently as I had been and think that it's contributing to my not hitting goals.

First BBQ on my Webber

As soon as I got back to Sacramento I filled my fridge with healthy foods, and decided to get my healthy lifestyle back on track again. My dad brought a little Webber BBQ for me to have, which I am very excited to use on my patio. I am looking to do some grilling tonight! I have planned out all my food for today. Egg and canadian bacon tacos for breakfast, turkey sandwich for lunch, a jalapeno sausage BBQ'd with grilled veggies for dinner.

This morning I couldn't get my butt out of bed to go to the gym for my normal 9:00am Body Pump class. Sleeping in my own bed was just so comfy and I wanted to sleep in a bit. But at 8:45am I decided that I was going to get up and go for a run around Midtown before it got too hot. I jogged a 1.4 mile loop from my house and back. It felt good to get up and do something, even if it wasn't going to the gym. I did laundry and picked up the house. Laid out in the sun for a little while, and then decided to go to the gym and run on the elliptical for an hour or so. Then back to the house and then grilled a yummy yummy dinner!

On another, but related, note I am also going on a 'men fast' for the month of July. I have been too focused on not having one or trying to get one that I have slacked on 'doing me'. So for the month of July, I'm putting men completely out of my head and focusing on me. Maybe some of the emotional baggage lifting will help with losing some more weight! :)

New Garden and Monday Weigh In

Monday weigh in brought me back one pound that I had already lost. This have been I think the third week of a gain, and I'm over it. I need to get back to seeing negative numbers. But at the same time I went to the gym to weight lift and run on Monday after my weigh in. While running I had a zen-ish moment where I was feeling bad about letting that one pound slip back on, but then I though to myself, at least I'm at the gym doing something about it. My dad has always reminded me since I started really working out this year, that even though I might think that my ultimate goal is to lose weight, that every time I go to the gym I am getting healthier period. Weight loss or not, every hour at the gym gets me closer to being healthy overall. So I'm not letting this weight gain really weigh on my mind (even though I want it gone next week).

I'm also thinking about changing my weigh in day to Wednesday because I feel like I'm setting myself up for failure weighing in on Monday if I slipped up a bit on the weekend. And think that Wednesday might be better. We'll see. I've been doing Monday weigh ins for 6 months now, I think I'll give Wednesday weigh-ins a go for a month or two.

This week I have been eating better and sticking to my calorie eating goals. I recently bought sunflower butter instead of almond butter. So far so good, it's a nice change. I've been making english muffins with sunflower butter with diced pan fried canadian bacon on them (no oil used to fry the bacon). It's really a yummy lil combo!

I am heading to San Rafael with my parents Thursday-Sunday, and I know eating healthy will be a challenge as it always is on vacation. But hopefully we walk around enough, or I use the hotel gym enough to break even or lose some weight.

And summer is definitely here in Sacramento. We are looking at our first triple digit day. I will have to get up early to beat the heat if I wanna do some runs outside anymore. I might have to switch to the AC gym treadmills! :) I also planted a little garden on my patio with some fresh herbs, radishes, green onions, and hot peppers. I will keep you updated on how they go! I wish I had more room and had thought to do this earlier so I could have some lettuce or some more items. But I'm happy to start out small.

5k Foot Pursuit

Today I got up at 6:30am ate a banana and a piece of whole wheat toast with almond butter and headed off to Miller Park in Sacramento to a 5k for local law enforcement. When I got there not many people were there and those who were looked very fit, and my first thought was "I'm going to be the last one to finish!" As I waited for the race to start I made a new friend, Kate. She was very nice and gave me some tips on what upcoming runs to do, and what the courses are like. She was obviously an experienced runner, and about 2 min 'til start time, she moved to the front of the pack. More people came who looked like they might be walking the course, so I felt better that I would not be the last of the last.

The course started down near the marina, and then followed I-5 to oldtown. We ran under the freeway to the mall, turned around, back through oldtown, and to the starting line. The course was more hilly than the other two I ran, so I thought for sure my time would be slower. I wore a stop watch this time so I could keep a better pace. I did the first mile in 13:40 which is my fastest mile on a run. Then the hills came. I walked up them, and then took advantage of gravity and ran down them. mile two was rough. Between mile 2 and 3 we ran along a bike trail near the river. It was really beautiful. It was about 70 degrees with a slight, and much welcomed, breeze. We were wearing dark blue shirts, which made it extra warm. When I saw the mile 3 marker, I ran from there to the finish. As I was running up there was an announcer catching people who are crossing the finishing line and calling out their names. "And here comes Hilary King!" the announcer called out as I came down the home stretch. It definitely gave me a boost of energy to go that last little bit. And best.. of.. all.., I beat my best time. I finished the race in 45:34!!! That's an average of a 14:42 minute mile.

And the mojo that I had lost, it back in full swing again. Back to eating right and planning on keeping a good workout schedule for next week. I am having a Father's Day BBQ with my Uncle and other family tomorrow (my family not living in the same city I do), so I will allow some 'cheat foods' tomorrow. I am also meeting my parents in San Rafael, CA on Thursday-Sunday so I know I won't be eating all that great with them on vacation, so I need to make Monday-Thursday morning really count!

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend!

Mojo Half Way Back

Yesterday I dragged my butt to the gym in the morning. I did 45 minutes of cardio while listening to my Jillian Michael's podcast. I love listening to her podcasts about fitness and health while working out, it wouldn't be the same if I was listening to them while sitting on the couch. It felt good to get up and go. I always feel better after hitting the gym no matter how much I am dreading going beforehand.

When I got home from the gym, I needed to go deposit my unemployment check at the bank (to which I usually drive), and decided to walk there. It's only 7 blocks away, and as I was locking my front door and started walking to the car I thought 'This is stupid, it's not that far, just walk!'. So I did. It was sunny and a bit breezy, perfect walking weather. I'm hoping that the nice weather holds for my 5k on Saturday. Not too hot, but not raining like last time. I'm looking forward to picking up my race t-shirt and number tomorrow morning.

I feel as though a little weight has been lifted off of me. The unemployment check that I got was suppose to be my last one before I had to reapply for unemployment and it wasn't guaranteed that I would be awarded more time on unemployment. When I opened the check, I was happily surprised that I was already given an extension that would allow me 13 more weeks on unemployment. I am still a little stressed that it's some sort of cruel government joke and I won't be given the extension. I won't feel totally relieved until I get my first check from the new extension. However, I have applied to 3 teaching jobs in Sacramento (as I'm sure 300 other people in my situation have done also). I've also been exploring other options for employment as well... it looks like I have 13 more weeks to figure it out! Yikes! :)

I brought left over lasagna to my cousin's when I went to babysit for her last night, even though she is a great cook and eats very healthy. It's just nice to know that I know exactly what I'm eating. Now I only have 9/12th of my lasagna to eat, since I had it for both lunch and dinner yesterday. Thank goodness this lasagna is good!

I'm taking it easy tomorrow so I can try to beat my time in my 5k on Saturday! Very excited to be able to run feeling healthier than I did last time!

I Have Lost My Mojo

So I have good news and bad news....


Good news: Today I went to body pump again today, and it felt good. Even though I was still sore, it felt nice to work out the muscles again.


My Spaghetti Squash Lasagna came out AMAZING! I was so worried that with it being all veggie that it would be really runny, but it wasn't. It was perfect. I figured out that 1/12 of my 9x13 pan had only 266 calories. I think that is a pretty good deal! It was a super yummy dinner, and now I will be having it for the next 11 meals, because cooking for one sucks.  :) I also had drinks for my friends birthday tonight and it was just what I needed,... on to the bad news.

Bad news: I had an emotional day today coming to terms that there are really no teaching jobs for me in Sacramento, and that is really sad. I have known I wanted to be a teacher since forever, and it's hard to realize that it might not be what I will end up doing for a living. It's also been really hard financially being on unemployment and I am getting really fed up with always being beyond broke. I know I'm an emotional eater, and even though I realize and own that, I still do it. I did have more dark chocolate pretzels than I had planned today, and also had 2 beers at drinks instead of the club soda I had planned on, but didn't go totally off the handle. Drinking as a stress release is something that I have done for six years. It's a hard habit to break.


 I have this feeling that I just need to run away from everything, and that's exactly what I will do on the treadmill tomorrow morning at the gym, and try to refocus my emotions. I also haven't been going to the gym as much as I would like, and it's no one's fault but my own. I have lost my gym mojo, and need to get it back quick.


A family friend, Mary posted this quote on her facebook today, and it's exactly what I needed to hear. Because right now I feel like that little voice. 

‎"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow."

Triceps, Biceps, and Quads, Oh My!

I woke up this morning very sore from lifting yesterday, but it feels so good. My triceps, biceps, quads and hamstrings are definitely feeling the burn.

Last night I went to pub trivia with friends. I had eaten well all day, and had planned on eating at the pub for dinner. I had decided not to have a drink to save money and calories, but when my friend ordered a pitcher and poured me a pint, my will power went out the window. I did have only one pint though, so that's good. I use to basically drink a pitcher when I would do trivia last year. We were there for happy hour, so I was going to order dinner off that menu. Everything was either fried or really high in calories on the happy hour menu. There were no salads, only fish and chips, chicken strips, potato nachos... So I picked, what I thought to be the best option on the happy hour menu, two pulled pork sliders. They didn't come with fries so that was a plus. And they were very yummy. I'm sure a lot of you all also find that it's hard to eat healthy and not drink cocktails when going out with friends. Happy hour is not designed for people looking to make healthy eating choices.

I weighed in this morning and had gained 1.6 lbs since last week. But I expected that with breakup food eating, ladies night drinking, and pub trivia night. I am usually really good at eating healthy for break fast and lunch, but then dinner sneaks up on me, and I make poor eating choices. I have birthday drinks with a friend tomorrow night, and I have decided that I will have club soda with lime, which will be low in calories, and less expensive for my wallet. I also have a friend coming into town on Saturday, and I think we'll be going out Saturday night so I will have to either workout more, or drink less alcohol on Saturday to balance things out.

At the moment I am making a veggie lasagna to have for dinner for the rest of the week. I'm trying to plan out my meals to try to do better this week than I did last week. Planning ahead always makes a difference for me. It's when I don't plan that I make bad choices and go off my plan.

Missed Weigh In But Back On The Wagon

So since I last posted I went out for Ladies Night and had a great time. I didn't eat well, and drank way too much. But it was a much needed release. I spent Sunday recovering unfortunately, it's amazing what not really drinking for 6 months and then going big one night will do to your body.

This morning 7:30 came very early, and I almost skipped going to the gym. BUT I DIDN'T! :) I got my butt out of bed, put on gym clothes, and got to my Body Pump class on time. I did forget to weigh in this morning, so I will do it tomorrow morning. I thought about lowering the amount of weight that I lift during that class since it's been about a month since I've been, but I decided to make my body work, and really feel the burn today. I actually upped my weight for the back and squat portion of the class. I really missed going to the gym, and especially this instructor, she is very funny, and helps you push through. During the class some parts really get your heart rate up and your cardio going, and when this happened I realized my lung capacity still wasn't all the way back from being sick. I was planning on running after the class, but decided against it. Maybe I'll try to run tomorrow. I'm glad that I went too because I got to talk to my friend Sirena which was nice.

I am also back on the healthy eating today. I just made some yummy nachos for lunch. I bought some fat free organic greek yogurt for the first time, and thought to use it on my nachos instead of sour cream. I added fresh garlic and cilantro to it, and a little water to make it thinner and dolloped it on the nachos, along with black beans, cheese, green onions, and salsa. It was very good! I've already planned out dinner, and am working on a menu for the rest of the week.

Happy Monday!

Jaime Oliver and Ladies Night Out

This morning "Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution" popped up in my Hulu Queue. A great way to start the day. I really support what he is trying to do in our schools, and really think it's horrible that LAUSD is banning him from even looking in their school kitchens. His show makes me want to add a Home Economics or PE credential to my credential. Or get a nutrition degree and work for school districts or the state to help our kids learn how to eat better. I wish that I had really been taught the importance of a healthy diet at a young age instead of having to  figure it out now. It would be great to start an after school program that teaches families and children how to cook healthily. I know for a lot of low income families it seems that a Little Caesars $5 pizza is a good deal to feed your family for dinner, but there are other inexpensive and quick ways to feed a family and all they would need is a little help.

As for me, I am finally feeling about 95% better. I still wasn't talking normal yesterday, but my throat is feeling loads better. I would love to start this upcoming week off with going to the gym, and I hope that I can. It's been way too long. But my body can only do what it can. I have been eating ok. I have had a pizza and ordered some Thai last night for dinner. But considering how I would have eaten while sick and after a break up before, I am pretty proud of myself. Before I would have driven through for dinner every night and gotten doughnuts for breakfast and just wallow. But I have kept the eating mostly in check.

Tonight I am headed out on the town for Second Saturday in Sacramento with at least two other fabulous ladies. I totally need this. I time to get dressed up, look good, go to dinner, walk around Sacramento looking at art and listening to music, grab some drinks, and be on the prowl for men. :)

Hopefully on Monday I will be able to report that I went to the gym!

Miserable Day

Yesterday was a miserable day for two main reasons. One, my boyfriend and I ended our relationship. And two,  and perhaps worst of all, my throat was on fire all day and I lost my voice again. So stupid. Gym is still on hold. My parents are very concerned that I have gotten "re-sick". My mom called last night to check in to see how I was doing post breakup, which was loving, but also was painful because of my throat. I think I am definitely more upset that I'm still sick and in pain and can't go to the gym than I am about the break up.

I wasn't very good eating yesterday, had a doughnut and some pizza. But the good news was that when I went shopping for some post break up retail therapy I bought two very cute dresses, some panties, and body scrub. Plus I walked around the mall for a couple of hours. At least I got some walking in. But I did log everything I ate even though seeing the calorie count on the pizza I ate was rough. But I'm keeping myself accountable even for the bad choices I'm making.

That is all, short and sweet. Just like me ;)

My Voice is Gone... Again :(

Yesterday was spent sipping tons of tea, upwards of 15 cups plus tons of water. My throat is still so sore and hurts to swallow. Even breathing is painful, it dries out my throat and then I have to swallow to moisten it, and swallowing hurts, it's a vicious cycle. Ever since I was younger colds settled in my throat, I've had strep more times than I can count, but still have my tonsils. I dont think it's strep this time, just irritated from coughing and losing my voice and trying to talk. It's annoying to still be 'sick' after two weeks. I'm taking all my daily supplements and drinking tons of fluids. Get out of my system already cold! My roommate got home last night from a weekend away, and when I opened my mouth to say welcome home, I was croaking again. :( I hadn't really talked all day, and now... my voice is on the fritz again! I really don't want to put off going to the gym anymore, but I really feel like I should. I don't want to be sick any longer than I already have been, and don't want to prolong my sickness by working out too hard. I've decided to put off the gym one more day... :(

Yesterday I registered for another 5k. "The Foot Pursuit 5k" to benefit local law enforcement in Sacramento. It's on the 18th so I have a while to get better, run more, and hopefully run it in under 46 min. I have started a nice little collection of running bibs and event shirts. I have made a list of runs that I want to do through the end of the year. I have also added up the cost of all of them, and it comes to about $300. A lot when you think about it (especially on my limited unemployment budget), because you mostly get just a cotton t-shirt from them, but what I get is so much more. My health, a sense of accomplishment, a goal to work towards, and reminders of all the hard work I have put into my health.

Last night I watched the second episode of Extreme Makeover: Body Edition. A 23 year old boy weighed in at over 500 lbs, and worked for a year to lose as much as he could. I can't get enough of people getting in shape, it is so inspiring! My favorite thing he said is getting into "beast mode" while working out. I can't wait to be able to get into beast mode again at the gym! But it will have to wait until my throat feels better.

Monday Weigh In and Body Image

I did my Monday weigh in today and didn't lose anything since Wednesday. I'm totally ok with that because I ate three meals out since then, and didn't make the best choices. I had wanted to go to the gym this morning at 9am but woke up with a killer sore throat. I'm not sure if it was running yesterday and breathing in cold air, or I irritated my already sore throat by doing that or coughing, but I didn't feel like going to the gym. I can barely swallow. I really just want to feel completely better!!!! :( There is a Body Pump class tonight at 5:30 followed by a 15 min ab class, and Pilates later on tonight. I will see how today goes and how I'm feeling. I also just got word that one of my friends went into labor this morning and would like me to come visit, but I'm not sure going to the hospital would be good with me having been sick.

Totally changing gears. A little while ago my roommate and I had a discussion about changing our thoughts on our body image. She has lost about 40 lbs, and she looks amazing. We were talking about how even though we are both down 40 lbs, we still look in the mirror and see the same thing that we did before we lost the weight. Most of the time I'll still look in the mirror and see no changes in my body. It's because I look at it all day everyday and don't see the changes like someone who hasn't seen you in 5 months. When I see people who haven't seen me in awhile say that I'm looking great. But I only half believe it because I still have a distorted body image of myself. I'm not writing this soliciting positive comments or anything, just sharing my thoughts on working to change how I view myself.

I know my body has changed because I have dropped 2-3 pant sizes and can't fit in any of the clothes that I did at the beginning of the year. I have actually gotten rid of most of the clothes that I had in January. In both of the photo's below I don't have the clothes I'm wearing in the 'fat' photos, so that does mean something. I'm not sure if there will be a turning point in when I will really start to realize that I have really made a difference. I'm fairly certain it will have to do with clothes, feeling comfortable in a bikini, being able to walk into any store and can fit into anything, being able to fit into Victoria Secret Bras, I don't know what it will be, but I would love to be able to really see the change for myself. :)

Right: May 2010, Left: June 2011

Right: December 2010, Left: May 2011

Women's Fitness Festival 5k

I ended up not going out last night, which was a great idea, because 6am came very early. Got up had a healthy (but light) breakfast of a banana and an english muffin with almond butter and hopped in the car to head to the capital to do some running... in the rain :(

Women's Fitness Festival

When I got there everything was all set up and looking good, but it was still raining. The booths that were set up were ok, a booth for Luna bars, the half marathon I want to do, California Family Fitness Gym, a shoe insole guy, a boxing studio and some other random ones. The Nike booth was smaller than I thought it would be, and nothing was on sale :( But that's ok. Kaiser had a booth in which they measured you % body fat. Mine was 43.8% and it said I had 102 lbs of fat mass. The acceptable % fat for women that they recommend is 31%, so I've got a ways to go. My body bugg calculates that my body fat percentage is 37.9%. It's good to have another calculation for reference.

Me before second 5k

When the race was about to start it stopped raining! I took off my zippy and ran in just the t-shirt. Mile one went well, hit it at about 14 min. We ran right by my apartment which I thought was funny. Mile 2 came about 15 minutes later, but around 2.5 miles I had a coughing fit, and decided to slow it down a bit. I walked for a bit. I had loaded 60 minutes of songs into a playlist to run to. I found out when 46 minutes (my last race time) would be and what song would be playing so I would know how I was doing. When that song came on I could see the mile 3 marker, and knew I wasn't going to beat my time, but that was fine with me seeing how sick I was last week. I sped up a bit and passed the 3 mile marker and could see the finish line. I ran it all the way out through the finish at 48:40 (UPDATE: official time 48:28). Only two minutes slower than my last time. I am very pleased with that time having been sick. I will definitely try to better my time next race, and I hope I can do it 100% healthy. Over all a very good day/race.

I think I might nap for a bit today. 6am mornings are rough.

I am excited/nervous to weigh in legitimately tomorrow morning before heading off to the gym! Hope that it's good news. :)

Day With Old Friends

Yesterday's Caloric Results

• Calories Burned: 2075 (Goal 2500)
• Calories Consumed: 1619 (Goal 1500)
• Caloric Deficit: 456 (Goal 1000)
• Steps: 1881(Goal 10000)

Today I spent the day hanging with an old friend Thomas. Although we didn't really do anything but watch TV and hang  it was nice catching up. We ended up going to Ink, a bar around the corner from my place. Bars aren't the best place to get healthy food, but I ended up getting a shrimp quesadilla. I asked for light cheese to try to be better, but the waitress told me that was the only item that was made ahead of time and can't be altered. It made me question what the hell I was about to get. A premade, frozen quesadilla? When it came, it looked like a freshly made item. It had onions, spinach, cheese, and shrimp in it. It was pretty good. I tried to take out some cheese to make it a bit better. Thomas and I also couldn't resist the $5 top shelf cocktail board, so we each got one. I got a Mojito. It was very yummy.


After I dropped him off I met up with my friend Christina for dinner. I chose to go to Jonny Carino's, my favorite Italian restaurant. I was 'bad' and got a pasta dish with a creamy sauce and ate more fresh bread than I should have. But it was super yummy, and I ate a healthy breakfast, and an ok lunch, so I feel fine with splurging  on this meal. Christina and I then went to Old Navy near by to look at some clothes. I ended up getting two tank tops (in large!, Yay, good bye XLarge forever!).


Thomas and some friends are heading downtown tonight for some drinks, and I think I might hang out, but have decided to drink only soda water with lime tonight because I want to be fresh and ready for my run tomorrow! It's suppose to rain tomorrow, which won't be any fun to run in, but I am looking forward to the race all the same!

Looking Ahead, New October Goals

Yesterday's Caloric Results

• Calories Burned: 2163 (Goal 2500)
• Calories Consumed: 1615 (Goal 1500)
• Caloric Deficit: 548 (Goal 1000)
• Steps: 2645 (Goal 10000)

 Last night I had a talk with my roommate about how we both need to get back on the health wagon. I am itching to go to the gym soooo bad. But I am still talking with a croak in my voice and having the occasional coughing fit, so I will be putting off the gym until Monday at 9am when I will do a Body Pump class at 24 Hour Fitness with my favorite instructor Cathie!

I have a family wedding in early October and am making that my next big goal date to work towards. My roommate and I were discussing how much I could potentially lose by then. If I lose 2 lbs a week every week until the wedding (which will be hard work, but doable) I could lose 34lbs. So I have made that my goal, kind of lofty and leaves little room for error, but it is a challenge I'm going to take.

I also woke up this morning craving a doughnut. Bad Bad Bad. But I resisted the temptation to go to Safeway and pick one up. Though I did go to Safeway though to get pasta sauce, tilapia, some Lean Cuisines for when I don't feel like cooking to save me from getting take out, and I did get a bagel for breakfast. A better choice than a doughnut.

Waterfront Bistro Pineapple Salsa Fish Finishing Sauce (Addicting!), Direct Center. I have tried the Wasabi one, very sweet and not enough spicy. I would love to try the Cajun Remoulade and the Citrus Mustard.

I just finished having lunch, tilapia and salad. I bought some coconut crusted tilapia in the fresh seafood section of Safeway by Sea Cuisine. It was super yummy! I gave it a little extra broil in the oven to get it super crispy. I added Waterfront Bistro Pineapple Salsa Finishing Sauce to the top of the fillet (from Safeway as well. I am addicted to it, I add it to the top of almost all my fish). I also had the Trader Joe's Soy Ginger Asian Salad Dressing, and I'm not a huge fan. I hate buying new dressings because if you don't like it you have a whole stupid bottle. I hate throwing them away because some bottles are around $4 and I just can't justify throwing that away. My fridge and it looks like I'm feeding a colony of rabbits or something, two bags of lettuce, a bag of spinach, two celery hearts, and a bag of shredded carrots! :) Another healthy eating day almost complete!

Back in The Swing of it

I slept amazing last night in my own bed last night. It's so nice to be home and back to my normal routine. I woke up this morning and went downstairs to make breakfast, a one egg one egg white omelet with cheese, canadian bacon, spinach and a banana on the side. I chopped up the canadian bacon and pan fried it (no oil), added some fresh baby spinach wilted it down. Then made my omelet (with a little olive oil to help with the sticking), added everything to the middle, and sprinkled with green onions. I also had a V8 fusion to go with it. Calorie Count: 374

I also hopped on the scale today to do a quick check in to see what damage I had done over my two week vacation by not being able to workout and didn't eat all that great. But when I hoped on I found I had lost .6 lbs! Amazing.

I then set off to pick up my race packet from Fleet Feet in Sacramento for my 5k this Sunday for the Women's Fitness Festival. I received a reusable bag, a water bottle, a packet of coffee from Java City, a Luna bar, coupons for Whole Foods, and best of all a Nike DryFit running shirt. It is a very nice shirt to get for a race, not just a cotton one. I am looking forward to going to the Kaiser Permanente "Thrive Pavilion" (aka big booth) where they are conducting blood pressure and body fat testing.

While I was at Fleet Feet they had a lot of flyers for other upcoming runs. My roommate and I have been looking for a half marathon to do sometime late this year, and I think we found one. The Urban Cow Half Marathon in Sacramento that benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on October 2nd.

Lunch was a Trader Joe's Tofu Spring Roll, with nachos on the side. Used the Trader Joe's Black Bean Dip on the nachos and didn't like it. It was very vinegary. But might be good with some sour cream or something but I didn't like it plain. Also I am super happy to be using my digital food scale again. It's really nice to make sure you are getting exact servings instead of just eyeballing it. Calorie Count: 575

After lunch and before dinner I was a little hungry so I had a small bowl of cereal. I also decided I'm still not feeling up to going to the gym. I'd rather try to make a real go at the run on Sunday, so I've decided not to go. :( Which makes me sad, but it will be better in the long run. For dinner I had an Asian inspired salad with a soy ginger dressing, slivered almonds, and mandarin orange slices and a piece of baked turbot with pineapple salsa and brown rice cake. Calorie Count: 326

For 'dessert' I had a chocolate protein shake and a 100 calorie pack of popcorn. Calorie Count: 210

Bring it on June!

First, a big shout out to my friend Max for his kind words and posting the link to my blog on his facebook. There was an increase in readers last night and today, so to all of Max's friends who came to read, thank you and keep coming back! :) To all other friends and readers, I welcome you  to post the link to my blog on your facebook, or email it to friends or family who you might think would enjoy it. The more inspiration and support out there, the better!

Well, it's June! And the first 5 hours of today were spent driving back to Sacramento. But not before stopping by Los Bagels for a final slug with cream cheese and coffee. Bagels and cream cheese are not usually on my eating plan, but those of you who know Los Bagels, you have to have one last bagel before you leave town.

I got home, unpacked, put new clean sheets on my bed, showered, and then headed off to Trader Joe's to restock my refrigerator. When I was back home my mom asked me what I ate on a typical day. I told her some options that I have for each meal. Mostly I have about three different things that I eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and just rotate them through. It's easy to know what to eat calorie wise and nutritionally balanced when you have planned them out. Dinners vary the most, but breakfasts are easy. It's usually one of the following:

• Fat Free English Muffin with Almond Butter and a Banana
• Quakers Weight Control Oatmeal and a Banana
• 1Scrambled Egg (plus 1 egg white), 2 Pieces of Canadian Bacon and a Fat Free English Muffin
• Whole Grain Cereal with Fat Free Milk and a Banana

And the funniest thing is... I don't really even like bananas! But they are good for you, and filling, so I eat them. I always have a bunch of bananas on hand for breakfast or a quick snack.

I thought that I would share with you my Trader Joe's shopping list for today so some of you could get a feel for what I'm eating (or going to eat).

Trader Joe's Shopping List

• Lettuce, Spinach, Carrots, Celery
• Onion, Green Onion
• Ginger, Jalapeno
• Bananas
• Salad Dressing
• Eggs, Milk, Greek Yogurt, Canadian Bacon, Light Havarti Cheese
• Tilapia
• Reduced Fat Tortilla Chips, Brown Rice Cakes
• Items bought that weren't on list: Fat Free Black Bean Dip, Salsa, Dark Chocolate Bar with Almonds, Mango Chutney, Jalapeno Chicken Sausage, Turbot, Cottage Cheese, Santa Fe Style Chicken Flat Bread Wrap (that was for lunch!)

I still have no voice, but am feeling better each day. I am still not sure if I will be feeling well enough to go to the gym tomorrow, but I'll see how I'm feeling when 6:30pm rolls around and it's time for the new gym class I want to try! I'd rather be able to run my 5k this Sunday than go to the gym before I feel ready. I will be back to wearing my body bugg and recording calories starting tomorrow! Can't wait to get back to it!