Sorry I’m failing on posting daily. Yesterday was my birthday and I was in an all day meeting so I didn’t get a chance to post. I decided to combine those two days because to be honest, I was completely off challenge yesterday. I opted to enjoy my day and not track or follow what I typically do for my challenge. I suppose you could consider it a cheat day, but I didn’t track anything. So I’m skipping it as it’s easier.

Date: January 13th, 2014

Days Complete: 9

Tracked: Yes

Worked Out: No, took a break

Feeling: Not as motivated as I would like

I ran a 15K today. For those of you who don’t naturally convert to metric (trust me, I don’t either) it’s about 9.3 miles. Not close to the longest distance I’ve run but it’s still a good amount and I felt pretty good running it. I ran almost the entire time (probably had about 5-6 miles of walking time) and still managed to have an average pace at 10:03/mile. Pretty proud of myself for that. Less proud of my eating. I feel I used my run as a reason to splurge. I really shouldn’t have. It’s been difficult, this 30 day challenge. I’m finding it difficult to stay engaged. There’s various things I could blame, but ultimately I just need to get in the right head space. I’m not doing terrible, just not as focused as I have been. This week is also a challenge because I’ll be out for a few nights. But I will keep endeavoring to try and stay on track.

Date: January 12th, 2014

Days Complete: 7

Tracked: No

Worked Out: 15K. Was about 90 minutes of running

Feeling: Pretty good considering the long distance 🙂

Today was a pretty active day which given that it was a day before a 15K race, was impressive. Got up early to walk with two of my girlfriends from SOMA to Diamond Heights. It was between 4-5 miles. Later that morning I went to a 60 minute Cardio Combat class. I always burn crazy calories in this class! Felt really good. I splurged a bit on something from Craftsman and Wolves early in the day so I stayed light until dinner. A friend of mine took me to drinks at Zeki’s (we downed an old-fashioned because there were crazy sports fans there) and then to dinner at Venticello. Had 2 glasses of wine, shared a pizza and had a few bites of scallops. Delicious dinner, but definitely filled up on the pizza. Hard to track because of dinner but I felt pretty good about the calories in/out.

Date: January 9th, 2014

Days Complete: 5

Tracked: Up until dinner

Worked Out: Yes. 90 minutes of walking and 60 minutes of cardio

Feeling: Not bad

Tracked, stayed on the points and managed a quick 30 minute work out. All in all a good day.

Date: January 9th, 2014

Days Complete: 5

Tracked: Yes

Worked Out: Yes. 30 minute run on the treadmill

Feeling: Solid

I had plans to go to dinner with a friend tonight and I knew I would splurge, so I made it a point to eat pretty light throughout the day. I also ran 5 miles in the morning to assist in my splurge-yness. 🙂

Dinner was 1.5 beers and a burger/fries. I fully enjoyed it with no regrets. Balance is key but it’s good splurge every now and then and at least I splurged at a good restaurant (Citizen Band, in case anyone wanted to know).

Back to being good today. 🙂

Date: January 8th, 2014

Days Complete: 4

Tracked: Yes, as best I could given dinner

Worked Out: Yes. 50 minutes running on the treadmill

Feeling: Empowered

Each day gets a little better. It always takes a while to get back into the swing, especially with more than just a day or two break. One thing happened today that I was very proud about so I thought I’d share.

I was driving home and I realized I still have no groceries. With friends in town the past several days, I’ve been eating most meals out (save breakfast). I was debating what to do since it was getting later and I didn’t want to wait too long to eat. Honestly in the days before challenge I would’ve just gone through the McDonald’s drive-thru, using the excuse that I don’t do it that often and it’s okay to splurge. So it actually came to mind last night. But it was more for the ease of not having to get out of my car rather than the idea of eating a hamburger and fries. It just didn’t sound great to me. My other option was Subway which was equa-distant from my house but would require my getting out of the car. Yes, clearly I was feeling lazy last night. It got down to making a right or left on Fillmore and I made the RIGHT decision and went to Subway. I got a salad and I felt so much better after making that decision. And I felt extremely proud. It’s really easy to make bad decisions when you’re tired and hungry. Because of the challenge the past 2 months, it wasn’t that difficult of a decision to make. The only reason I considered it was for the ease rather than the idea of having a “tasty” fast food meal.

I am happy to see how this challenge is paying off in ways other than the scale. I can tell you two months ago I would’ve made a left instead of a right…so yay for non-scale victories! 🙂

Date: January 8th, 2014

Days Complete: 3

Tracked: Yes

Worked Out: Yes. 60 minute Total Body Class

Feeling: Mo Betta

Day 2 definitely felt stronger. I was more focused on my eating and although despite eating  cookie, stayed within my points.

I’m finding that I’m fine with not being overly strict these days. I feel like I can still reach my goals and allow for a bit more flexibility. I’ll be keeping a close eye on myself though, as I don’t want this to lead to too much excess. 🙂

Date: January 7th, 2014

Days Complete: 2

Tracked: Yes

Worked Out: Yes. 4 miles of running

Feeling: Not 100%, but definitely better

Happy New Year, everyone!

So my original intent was to start my next challenge on January 2nd. Obviously that didn’t happen. I had a bit of a set back emotionally and so I opted to put off starting my challenge. I figured the 6th was a good day because it was when I’d officially be back to work.

I won’t say it was my best day. I did work out, my eating was mostly good. It just wasn’t great. I may have sneaked a cookie in at a meeting in the afternoon. Oh, and I didn’t really track. But it wasn’t too bad and hey, it sometimes takes a while to get back on track. Goal today is to track and to stay on target with points. Please send all works of encouragement you can muster. It’s going to be a hard month for me but I a DETERMINED to see it through!

Date: January 6th, 2014

Days Complete: 1

Tracked: No

Worked Out: Yes. 60 minute weight training class

Feeling: Tired, sick, but determined

Another month gone. I am so glad I’ve continued this challenge. It’s been a great impetus to get healthy and have the added benefit of losing weight.

My journey is not over. I’ll start it again in 2014 on January 2nd. I’d still like to lose 5-10 lbs and this has been a great way for me to track my progress.

Thanks for everyone (I think maybe 2 of you) who have been following along regularly and encouraging me. It has helped more than you’ll know!

Happy New Year! And have a blessed 2014.

Date: December 29th, 2013

Days Complete: 29

Tracked: Yes

Worked Out: Yes. 90 minute run (9 miles)

Feeling: Tired

Date: December 30th, 2013

Days Complete: 30

Tracked: Yes

Worked Out: Yes. Walked for 30 minutes, 60 minute weight lifting class

Feeling: Accomplished!

Had a great work out today which always makes me feel better. I realize I’m only a couple days from the end of this month’s challenge. My weight loss has been slower this month but I realize it’s probably because I’m closer to where I’d like to be. I feel I’ve probably splurged a bit more this month than last, but I also feel like I’ve managed be fairly balanced with those splurges.

My plan is to continue in January. I’ll take the 31st and 1st off and start again on the 2nd. 🙂

Date: December 28th, 2013

Days Complete: 28

Tracked: Yes

Worked Out: Yes. 30 minute run, 60 minute cardio combat class

Feeling: Good