Modifications

Lately I've been thinking a lot about modification. Modifying the way I think, act, eat, etc. This week has been full of modifications, mostly in the way that I think.

New workout clothes

On Tuesday I had a coupon for 50% off of $140 at Old Navy, and decided to go buy some new clothes. When I got there I started looking at summer clothes, thinking that I might buy a size smaller in hopes that I would get there by summer time. But instead I picked out some new workout clothes to help me get to where I want to be and make me feel and look good while working out. I did find a cute pair of jeans one size down that were on sale that I bought as a pair of goal jeans. I very happy with my new gym clothes and am looking forward to using them often.


I also modified my sleeping schedule and got up at 5:15am on Wednesday to go to a 6am Zumba class before work. I laid in bed thinking to myself how much I wanted to stay in bed, but I knew that if I didn't get up and go to the gym that I wouldn't go at all. When I got there still groggy, I was thinking to myself that the 14 people and myself must be crazy to come to the gym this early to shake it. But once we got going I really enjoyed myself and burned some good calories before work. After work I even made time to go to the gym again for a 10 min jog and a 30 min ab class.

Today was a rough day at school. The kids were wilder than I wanted, and I was feeling very fed up by 3:15. I got in my car, and my check engine light went on. My stress level shot through the roof. I thought to myself, ok, that's it... I'm driving through Chick-fil-a! As I got closer to the exit for fried fat food I thought of all the calories that I would be eating and about ruining my whole day of eating well and my workout yesterday. I said (literally out loud in my car) "Hilary you are better than that, you are in control, and recognize that you are stressed". I kept on driving home. When I did get home I had a low fat string cheese, almonds, salami, and some dark chocolate (but all small portions and I logged all of it in my calorie counter). Although I did have a small 'binge', it was still healthier than what I wanted to do.

My boyfriend and I went out to dinner for the first time in about two weeks. We both chose to had salads (I had a salmon salad with the dressing on the side and no fried won tons, modifying food is a new hobby of mine haha), which we discussed we probably wouldn't have had before our health kick. We discussed goals, and how to meet them. I am beyond proud of us, and extremely grateful for his support. When I got home from dinner I decided to play Wii Just Dance and burned 300 calories while my roommate spun on her bike in the living room. It was really nice to work out together at home. I didn't have time to get to the gym because I had to do four loads of laundry so I'm glad I got some movement in.

This week has been about modifying my routine, my mind set, my reactions to situations, and becoming better about listening to my mind and body. Starting tomorrow I have four nights straight at the brewhouse so I need to stay on point and make good food choices while there.

Feeling Prepared

Weighed in this morning and was down 3.6 lbs. I attribute all of that to being consistent on logging calories and eating under my calorie goal daily. It was great to see that on the scale because of all the hard work I had put into planning meals paid off. This morning I also remeasured my body to help see additional changes as I go along.

I also cleaned out my closet and got my room in order for the coming week. I was pleasantly surprised to see that my summer shorts still fit. A little tighter than last summer, but they fit none the less. I am hoping they'll be big by the end of summer.

Today my friend Christina and I walked a mile to Subway to lunch and back to my place. It was a great day in Sacramento for a walk. I also got get started on the MyFitnessPal app! I'm so happy to have so many people using it. I bought a Shape magazine on the way home and it had a 5 week workout/weight loss plan, so I made a copy of it for her, and I promised to check in with her 5 weeks from tomorrow to see her progress. She is going to try to get her boyfriend on the wagon too, and I'll give the info to mine as well.

I am also going to go downstairs and pack my lunch for tomorrow so I can stay on track (I'm closing the brewhouse tonight and won't have time to make a lunch in the morning, so I'm planning ahead!). I've also packed a gym bag for tomorrow after school, so I can go straight to the gym from work. NO EXCUSES!

I am feeling prepared for the coming week (at least in the healthy lifestyle aspect, teaching...not so much). Bring it on!

Planning Ahead

Last night I made a SUPER yummy pizza for me and my boyfriend. Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough, red sauce, light mozzarella cheese, onion, mushroom, spinach and canadian bacon. I was really surprised with how well it turned out! It came out to 190 calories per slice, which isn't too bad. It also wasn't greasy at all like pizzas are from take out, it was clean yummy goodness. (Now looking at the photo, I feel that I could have used even less cheese. I still have left over toppings and all I need to do is buy more dough, looks like we might be having pizza again this coming week!)

After dinner we dyed some eggs. They came out great. I was very pleased with them. And since I did a dozen with my roommate the night before I left them at his house (by the way, they are yours to keep and eat. But only the whites! haha). We then started to talk about what we might do tomorrow, see a movie, go to dinner or make dinner... We decided to go see American Reunion, which I'm very excited about seeing. Also, my boyfriend has been craving frozen yogurt for the past week, and so we decided to make a trip to Pink Berry tonight. I put a mini coconut froyo in my phone for tomorrows "snack". And then the debate about what to do for dinner. I had already planned out my breakfast and lunch (and dessert), and was waiting to see what we decided to do for dinner. My boyfriend thought I was silly for planning ahead that far. But I don't have that many calories to "play" with so every meal counts. We landed on shrimp tacos for dinner,and with this I hit my calorie goal on the dot.

He had to work a half day this morning, so I decided to catch a BodyPump class at 10am. When I got there I set up my weights and waited for the instructor. Fifteen minutes later a 24hour employee comes in and says the instructor isn't showing up. One woman suggests we just do the class on our own, which I was all for. But some people packed up and left. I thought to myself, you set aside time for the gym and a workout, why would you leave? At one time in my life I would have been one of those people to leave, but instead today I did sit ups while waiting. A few minutes later the same employee came back in and said that a trainer and spin instructor volunteered to cover the class (although he had never seen or taught a BodyPump class). He came in and we kind of guided him on what we do, and he added some of his own weightlifting moves. Since it's not what I normally do when I lift weights (added reps, and different moves) I expect to be sore :) I did about ten minutes of the stairclimber and elliptical and headed home for a healthy lunch. I'm looking forward to our healthy dinner tonight, and to see what the scale holds for me on Monday! *Side note/thinking out loud: I need to remeasure my body to have other ways to gauge my progress.*

Amazing April?

Only six days into this month and I must say it is the best one I've had all year (and for sometime before that). The month started with a girls getaway for my mom's birthday in SF and I think that it kicked off the month in the right direction. It is also helps that the first week of this month I am on Spring Break from my long term subbing position giving me all the time in the world to do whatever I want (with the exception of the 20ish hours I've worked at the brewhouse). I am also in a really good "emotional place" right now. I've been waking up feeling energized and lighthearted and ready to take on the day. I attribute some of this to eating healthy, but also being re-engergized by seeing my family, my new relationship, and the support of my roommate in our healthy lifestyles.

I have been very diligent with the MyFitnessPal app on my phone counting calories (along with my sister Meredith, Dad, and boyfriend. It is really motivating to see them all logging days under their calorie goal). I have made two healthy dinners for my boyfriend and I this week, and am planning a wholewheat crust all veggie pizza for us tonight (if it turns out well I'll take a photo to show in my next blog).

I resisted a huge temptation to drive through somewhere last night after dropping my roommate off with friends around 10:30pm I was starting to get hungry and craving something sweet and I put the intended drive through food in my calorie counter and just couldn't justify it to myself. It was also a temptation not to go out with my roommate. If I had, I know I would have drank as many calories as I should have in half a day so I opted to stay home. When I got back I had a rice cake with a kiss of peanut butter and satisfied with my late night snack and it was only about 80 calories instead of the 300ish I was thinking about getting.

Yesterday I went to the gym and did an hour long BodyPump weight lifting class and ran for a bit. I started to get a blister while running, so I decided my shoes of a year and 4 months had served me well and it was time for something new. I ended up with some new Nike shoes (not exactly the colors I would pick, but they feel great!). Also with the suggestion from my friend Linda, some new synthetic material socks to help reduce friction. I am eager to try them out tomorrow! I woke up this morning a little sore from lifting, but it feels sooo good!

April, So Far, So Good

April is moving along quiet well for the time being. I ordered and received my FitBit on March 29th and am excited using it. It is very discrete compared to my BodyBugg. I can wear it on my bra and no one can tell. I love seeing how far I walk seating people at the brewouse and how many flights of stairs I climb while at home. It also somehow tracks how well I sleep (so far I'm at an average of 96%, which is great). It also can sync with my Iphone to the calorie counting program I've been using, MyFitnessPal. If anyone has an Iphone I highly recommend the MyFitnessPal app. It has a HUGE amount of brands and restaurants to help you add up calories. It also has a camera where you can scan the bar code off of food items and it will automatically pop up with the nutritional information.

My roommate and I went healthy grocery shopping on Sunday and are both committed to getting healthy. I even have the boyfriend on board too. I've been trying to make us healthy dinners too. It's really nice to have a support system with people you can check in on, and help to keep you motivated. 

I've decided to stop getting food from the brewhouse because even their healthy items are still more calories than I can afford. There are only about 4 things that I am going to allow myself to get: Chicken Noodle Soup, Mozzarella Tomato Salad (no dressing), Grilled Chicken Breasts (with nothing else, no sauce), Mini EnLightened Beef Tacos (no chips or refried black beans), or a salad (modified with no added calories and/or light dressing).

I am happy to say that for the past two days I have stayed under my calorie goal. I am really trying to get back to the basics with eating healthy since I don't have a lot of time to get to the gym right now. I am going to try to get to the gym but am finding it so hard after 5 hours straight of standing at work. My feet are so tired I can't even think about running. But I need to get some gel insoles or something so I can get to the gym!

I'm excited and looking forward to what April has in store for me.