Where have I been? Great question. I have formally moved to SW Florida. It is supposed to be warm here but someone left the door open to Canada and we are freezing! So, I am sitting here enjoying a nice cup of Chocolate Pistachio Green tea and writing this blog. I have my electric heat on 73 degrees. This house just does not warm up like the one in Rhode Island, which is probably due to the heat rising and we have 12 ft. ceilings here.
So, what have I been up to? I am training for my first Half Marathon. I started in late October and am now into my final week! How did that happen so fast? I have also found out that my inner athlete has finally come out and I am officially a "crazy runner". I joined the running group down here, The Gulf Coast Runners". What a cool bunch of healthy people this group is. And it is also a wonderful way to meet people with my same interests. So far, the farthest I have run is 12.8 miles. Next Sunday is the big day.
Updates: Unfortunately, I was unable (or unwilling) during the holidays to maintain my weight loss. I had managed to get to the magic number of 129 lbs. and felt and looked so great and light. My size 6 clothes were falling off of me. However, I am not at what I guess you would call my happy weight of 135 lbs. Not tragic, but I am going to try to get to the 129 again and maintain.
So, for New Years, I pledge I am going to try to make the following changes:
- Yoga (I think I stopped doing this due to all of the running and distances and time alloted for that during training. Very dumb of me as if I ever needed a little yoga for my body, I need it now!
- Green tea - I have to admit that I am not sold on the taste of green tea (bitter to me). So, I remembered how I went to this awesome store down here in Estero called Teavana. The lady taught me how to brew tea. I know, this sounds silly, but, all teas should be made at different temperatures. Green is brewed at 175 degrees, not boiling and only for 1-2 minutes of steeping. I think in the past I boiled the water and left it to steep too long. So, this morning I am having Chocolate Pistachio Green Tea and it is Yummy!
- Run my Half Marathon injury free! This is a goal that I am enjoying so much now that I have friends to run with. I am exited and I know that I can do this. I am almost sad to know that I will no longer have this goal after next weekend. My running friend told me that once I am hooked after the half, I will be signing up for a full marathon. Question is: Do I have that in me?
- Drink less wine. This is a tough one for me because I love my Cabernet. However, with all of the training, I quickly found out that my running ability is linked to no alcohol the night before. Since I have been running 4 days per week, that limits the wine. I have found that less is best.
- Sleep more and plan my sleep time. Does this sound like a strange thing to add? Well, I have been getting 7 1/2 to 8 hours of sleep per night and it is heavenly. You have to plan on your required amount first and then adjust your time you retire for the evening. It works!
- Plan my meals. When I get overwhelmed with work, this is where I slack off. I am back to calorie counting and planning because that worked for my weight loss. I have learned eating healthy has made my running better.
So there you have it. New year, new me. Let's see how I do! Green tea below:
Breakfast this morning was baked banana oatmeal brulee! (One fourth of this pan). I added a little dollop of vanilla yogurt mixed with Fresh Market almond butter which was made right there in the store. Recipe for the oatmeal was from www.katheats.com. Her website is wonderful and has great healthy recipes.
Whoops, forgot to give the recipe totals:
Calories: 375 (including my topping)
Carbs: 77 (which you need in the morning)
Fat: 12 g
Protein: 15g (yeah)
I also did yoga at home this morning for 60 mins. I got the class off of www.yogadownload.com. This is a great website if you cannot get to a yoga studio. I am not much one for doing a yoga dvd, I find it distracting. This is just downloaded off your iphone or ipod. I did the 60 minute Detox yoga.
Happy New Year Everyone!
Lynda
