health

Tuesday Accountability Report

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First day back to class for my MLS, so I’m going to keep this short and sweet (I have homework to do)!

I ate out for lunch today, and thought I made a healthy choice (chicken, apple, walnut and spinach salad), but my calorie-counter said that it packed a bigger punch than I expected: almost 600 calories.

I kept my dinner as light as possible (egg whites scrambled with mushrooms, onions, broccoli, and leftover lean flank steak), and I only had a sugar free jello pudding for dessert, but it still clocked me at close to 1,700 calories for the day. Boo.

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Oh well.

Tomorrow is a new day, and I have no plans to eat out tomorrow, so I should be able to adhere to my goal of under 1,300 calories consumed (and over 1,000 burned at the gym).

Bon appetit, my friends!
– Tori

P.S. I know I shouldn’t weigh myself daily, but I was 127.4 (down 0.8 lbs from yesterday) at 7am this morning. I’m hoping today’s overindulgence doesn’t jack that number up; I’d be happy to stay the same! Wish me luck!

Setback: a Cold!

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The worst thing that can happen when you’re on a new exercise and diet regimen is a sudden, unexpected roadblock. That could be a birthday party invite, a holiday, an injury, or, in my case …a cold.

I had a sore throat and a bit of congestion when I woke up yesterday morning, and I noticed that my normal energy was lacking. I initially attributed it to overexercising the day before (which I most certainly had), and just took it easy yesterday.

Today, however, I woke up with major congestion in my lungs, a hacking cough, and a low grade fever.

UGH.

On the plus side: my appetite, which is normally uncontrollable, is barely a shadow of it’s normal self. I’m eating my planned snacks and lunch at work today purely out of habit, not hunger.

The down side is that I have zero energy. I’m exhausted, and I slept a full 8 hours last night. That, in itself, is unusual for me, as I tend to exist on 5-6 and feel great.

I don’t want to skip the gym, but I also don’t want to make myself worse …a bit of a dilemma.

My plan is this: eat healthy throughout the day, try to walk around the office (it’s raining outside, so that’s out the window for the moment), and see how I feel when I get home at 6pm. If I’m not feeling better, I’ll do a yoga workout video at home (very low intensity), but if most of my symptoms are better, I’ll try to squeeze in at least 30-45 minutes of cardio before having dinner.

Tomorrow night is the “cheat meal” for the week, and my husband and I are giving serious consideration to hitting Texas de Brazil. Go big or go home!

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Accountability for Thursday

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OK, it’s my fourth day of clean eating (counting a daily cheat of chocolate and/or wine), and I definitely felt challenged to stay on track.

I had four pieces of chocolate, and it took every ounce of self control not to have 1,871,491 more. Ugh.

My appetite is crazy, probably from the massive amount of cardio I did yesterday. Here’s how I managed for the day:

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As you can see, I definitely toned down the cardio today. I’m sore (and tired), plus I have a bit of a sore throat/sniffle thing starting …uh oh. Hope I don’t catch something, as that will completely throw off my exercise routine.

I’m dosing up on NyQuil and hoping a good night’s sleep knocks it out of me.

On that note, bon appetit, my friends!
– Tori

Last Two Weeks

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I’ve officially begun the last two weeks of my internship, which means this is the last two weeks of surviving on less than 3 hours of sleep per day.

While I will certainly miss the excitement of the TV studio, I won’t miss the exhaustion and incessant hunger that accompanied my crazy schedule.

Since starting the internship on 7/28, I went from 123 lbs up to 135, but have managed (through a LOT of self control and cardio) to come back down to the 127-128 range in the last two weeks. My hope is that once my schedule returns to normal (last day is 10/31), I should get back to my pre-internship weight by November 15th, and down to my goal (119) by December 24th.

Yes, it’s weird to set weight loss goals around the winter holidays, but I figure if I can stick strong through Thanksgiving and Christmas, I can survive anything!

So, here’s to my final 10 days of exhaustion, and the coming weeks of intense cardio, dieting, and energy needed to just get back to where I started.

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

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Throwback Thursday 8/21 #tbt

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Another Thursday means it’s time for another throwback!

And this time we are throwing it all the way back to the wee days… Baby Tori!

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OK, not quite baby, but close enough. I’d have to confirm with my mom, but my guess is that I’m between 5-6 here. I hit a growth spurt at 7, so I definitely think this was before then, but I had already started to chub up a bit by now.

Look how happy I am! So, perhaps not all fat is bad… I was adorable with the baby chunk. Ha!

Bon appetit, my friends!

– Tori

Keeping Cheat Day Reasonable

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Saturday is the unofficial cheat day in my household. It’s never officially talked about or agreed upon, but nothing is said if someone orders a burger instead of their usual grilled chicken salad.

After an 8.76 mile run on Saturday morning, I knew I wasn’t going to worry about what I ate for lunch: I deserved anything my little heart craved.

That being said, I decided to finally check out the little bar at the East End Market (in Orlando, Fl.). Located at the end of a row of artisanal restaurants and stores, you can order practically anything you’d like to eat to accompany the drink(s) of your choosing.

With a boulangerie behind me and a charcuterie to the right, I made a good decision:

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Paired with a collection of Florida wine flights, really, I couldn’t go wrong:

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A delicious, satisfying cheat meal – that really wasn’t a cheat, if I’m being honest – and a new experience supporting local small businesses. I would say it was a win/win Saturday!

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Bon appetit, my friends!

Tori

Join Me on MyFitnessPal!

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Instead of trying, with difficulty, to take several pictures of my good diary and exercise log to post on here, I wanted to encourage my fellow Yo-Yos to join me on MyFitnessPal (www.myfitnesspal.com).

I am 100% honest with my food and exercise log, and I publish everything so that it’s fully transparent to my friends.

Doing this keeps me accountable, as I’m far less likely to eat an entire bag of cookies if I know my family, friends, and coworkers are going to see it! The more people who join and add me as a friend, the more accountable I feel.

Here’s my handle – look me up!

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As a note, I do not gain ANYTHING for mentioning these apps/sites; they’ve just been a huge personal help on my health/fitness journey so I’m a big fan. Feel free to skip if you have a system that works better for you; or, even better, share it with me in the comments!

On that note, bon appetit!

Tori

I’m Back!

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OK!

I’ve been silent for nearly two weeks – very abnormal behavior for me. No, I haven’t lost my mind, moved to Antarctica, and dedicated myself to studying penguins or anything. Although, I do hear cold weather boosts your base metabolic rate…

I made a promise to myself to fully disconnect over the holidays – from work, from writing, and from dieting – and just enjoy the company of my family and friends.

I never thought I’d actually follow through with that promise (I mean, really, who can stay away from blogging and checking work email?) and I shocked myself by not only disconnecting from everything, but by not even CARING that I was disconnected. I ate when I wanted to eat, I went for a run when I felt like running, and I put my phone on silent when I heard the ping announcing a new work email had arrived.

It was amazing. It was freeing. It was rejuvenating.

And guess what?

The world didn’t end.

No disasters occurred in the office. I didn’t turn into a giant balloon of fat, my muscles didn’t deteriorate, and my clothing still fits – albeit, a little tighter than they did before the holidays.

This was a good reminder to me that BALANCE is the key to all things in life: balancing work with life, socialization with private time, diet with the occasional cheat meal, and exercise with the infrequent lazy day on the couch.

I feel very recharged. I feel very optimistic. I feel like it’s a new year.

I commit to posting here more frequently, so brace yourself for recipes (mostly Paleo), weigh-ins, photos, updates, and motivational pictures. We’re going to make 2014 a great year of health, fitness, and BALANCE!

Bon appetit, my friends, and let’s get started!

~ Tori

The Required New Year’s Resolutions Post

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OK, you all knew it was coming… the infamous resolutions post. This is the expected annual tradition for any of us that has an unhealthy vice (which is practically 99.9% of humanity, I’m sure) and, for many people, it feels like an act of futility. While I’ve been a bit down lately regarding my weight and eating habits, I recognize the opportunity that comes with setting resolutions for a new year.

You see, I am a naturally competitive person and I thrive on goal-setting and benchmarks. In fact, I am most religious with my workouts and diet when I have a very clear, defined goal and a due date that I’m trying to accomplish.

For example, every time I’m invited to be in a wedding party as a bridesmaid, I make it a point to order a dress size SMALLER than what I need. (Literally, I won’t be able to zip the dress or, if I can zip it, I can’t breathe.) And, every time, I’ve managed to lose the weight (despite months and months of plateaued weight prior) in time to comfortably wear the dress for the ceremony.

There is something about a tangible goal – and putting my money where my mouth is by purchasing the dress ahead of time – that gives me the dedication of a saint, the self-command of a drill sergeant. So, with that being said, I’m outlining very goal-specific resolutions for 2014 that I hope will serve as the commitment I need to whip myself into shape.

So, here we go!

2014 Resolutions:

  1. Participate in at least ONE organized run/obstacle course per month. (Will be signing up for several races tonight – AKA, paying a lot of registration fees!)
  2. Complete a half marathon before before my 30th birthday. This run is practically starting in my backyard and supports a great cause, so there isn’t an excuse not to do it in March.
  3. Wear a size 2 dress on my 30th birthday. I’m currently shopping around for a nice one (trying to make sure it’s not stretchy, so I can’t “cheat” by squeezing myself into a size smaller than I am) and I will post a picture here once I’ve ordered it.
  4. Complete a full marathon before January 1st, 2015. (Dates past March 2014 aren’t posted yet, so I’ll have to wait to register for a marathon until later in the spring).
  5. Be more dedicated to the Paleo lifestyle. I will do this by spending the money on true, Paleo ingredients so I stop cheating with dairy, wheat, and soy. Julian’s Bakery and Caveman Cookies will become good friends in 2014.

I know I will be adding to this list of resolutions shortly, as I tend to create new, smaller goals to help ensure I hit the big ones. I just wanted to vocalize (and publicly commit) to some of my resolutions now before I have a chance to recant on them.

Between now and January 1st, I’m trying to stop stressing my weight and just enjoy good friends, good food, and good spirits. My weight has been teetering between 132-135 despite missed workouts and a crazy diet, so perhaps I won’t spiral into morbid obesity after all. I’m a little squishier around the middle, but I think that’s encouraged this time of the year, considering all the hugs we like to give out. If anything, I’m doing a favor for my family and friends – no one likes to huge a washboard or a wood plank, right? Right.

On that note, it’s time for a homemade brownie. Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

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