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Jul 27, 2010

I’m On A Roll

July 27, 2010 By

It’s been a big week of win around here, it seems. First, I ran for 20 minutes straight, which was a huge accomplishment.

Then, I survived six days alone with my children and only ate fast food for a grand total of once. ONCE. Six days, 18 meals and only one of them involved food ordered at a drive thru. And it wasn’t for lack of begging from my daughters. Remembering that I want to lose weight, have more energy and be healthier helped me avoid the grease traps.

As part of the Better for BlogHer challenge, I was asked to replace just one meal a day with a Healthy Choice entree. This has been amazingly easy, and has given me the chance to experiment with different Healthy Choice entrees. I’m usually a creature of habit and stick to 1-2 favorites that I eat over and over. But when the meals are provided for me, I’m willing to be a little more adventurous.

I usually eat the Cafe Steamers because I like simplicity. Pop it in the microwave and wait – no cutting slits in the top, no stirring halfway thru. My two favorites by far are the Balsamic Garlic Chicken and the Lemon Garlic Chicken & Shrimp. (Hmmm…apparently I like garlic.) But I decided to try some of the complete meals, which also come with a dessert. I now have two new favorites to add to my list: Fire Roasted Tomato Chicken and the Spicy Shrimp Diavolo. I never expect a frozen meal to have a lot of spark when it comes to spicy, but I’m pleased to say that the Spicy Shrimp Diavolo is actually SPICY. Yum! And while I was a little unsure of the fruit desserts, I’ve found them to be just as delicious and the perfect ending to a meal.

But here’s where the final part of my good week comes in. Combine running, avoiding temptation and replacing one meal a day with a Healthy Choice meal, and I finally have an achievement that I’ve been waiting on for months now:

The scale finally caved, and I broke through 187.

Well. It’s about time.

I’m hoping to see the 170’s by BlogHer. I haven’t seen them since my wedding in 2003, and I know I can do it.

Full disclosure: As I’ve mentioned before, Healthy Choice provided me with free entree coupons as well as compensation for the Better for BlogHer challenge, but my opinions are still my own and are 100% honest. And looking above, numbers don’t lie. OK, I suppose they could lie, but these aren’t. More importantly, my hips won’t lie when you see them in a fabulous dress at BlogHer.

Filed Under: success, weigh-in Tagged With: ,


Jul 19, 2010

With A Little Help From My Friends

July 19, 2010 By

I realized a few days ago that I have been running (well, running and walking) for a month now. I’ve kept to a single program for a month! Anytime I reach an accomplishment like that, I have to remind myself that despite the criticisms I’ve acquired throughout my life, I can do just about anything I put my mind to!

Of course, then a day like today happens. Week 5, day 2 of the couch to 5K plan, and I had to run two 8-min intervals, with a 5 minute walk in-between. It sounded do-able, but I didn’t make it. I managed to squeak out the first 8 minute run, and even recovered pretty quickly during the 5 minute walk. But halfway through the second run, I lost any pattern to my breathing and felt sick. I had to walk for 2 minutes of that interval, and I felt miserable. Probably didn’t help that it was insanely hot and humid, too, but I was more focused on my fault, not the weather’s fault.

Thankfully, friends came to my rescue online and reminded me that this is a hard week of the program, but that one setback isn’t failure. They’re right, and I’m going to try again on Tuesday.

Also, another little stroke of luck came my way last week to help me in my goals of shedding the weight and getting healthier. Healthy Choice is hosting a Better for BlogHer Challenge, and I was one of the bloggers selected to participate! As part of the challenge, I’m replacing just one meal a day with a Healthy Choice meal, and at BlogHer I’ll be meeting with Tara Gidus, “The Diet Diva,” for a one-on-one nutrition, fitness and wellness consultation.
Eating one Healthy Choice meal a day will be the easy part in this journey – I’ve already been eating them several nights at work, because they’re easy to pack, easy to prepare and taste better than many frozen meals out there. The real challenge will be consistency.
To go along with this new challenge, I’m also going to rev up my fitness routine. Right now I’m running three days a week and not doing much else otherwise. I plan to work some other type of fitness routine into some of my off days, whether it be biking, swimming, walking, or just doing some crunches.
We’re just over 2 weeks away from BlogHer, and my goal for the next two weeks is to make that scale show a number lower than 187 – where it’s been stuck for MONTHS now. Nothing has made it drop lower than 187. Last week I stepped on and it flickered between 186.8 and 187.0 several times before giving me the digital scale version of the middle finger and settling on 187.0.

That number will be lower in two weeks.

Full disclosure: In exchange for my participation in the Healthy Choice Better for BlogHer challenge, I am being compensated with product coupons and gift cards. No guarantees were made for positive reviews, but if this helps me get below the 187 mark on the scale, I might just kiss the Healthy Choice reps at BlogHer!

Filed Under: c25k Tagged With: ,