regimen

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

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Trying to Get Back on the Wagon

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Man… it has been a rough few weeks when it comes to my health/fitness.

My weight has continued to go up, week over week, and my sweets-cravings are through the roof. I am a STRESS eater and I’ve been under a lot of stress lately. Candy has become my best friend …and the worst enemy of my waistline.

I’ve promised myself I won’t weigh-in until Friday, but I can tell you the scale and I did NOT have a pleasant interaction this morning. I worked out 5x last week, but I also indulged in tons of cookies and salty snacks – more than I could cancel out with even the most intense workout.

I’m hoping that one week of rigid discipline will get me back on track, so I’m going to post my calories/meal plan on here for accountability and to try to keep myself on track.

Here’s my food plan for the day:

2am: Quest Cookies and Cream Protein Bar (180 calories)

5:30am: Two OIKOS Plain, Fat Free Greek Yogurt Cups (160 calories)

9am: 100 Calorie BetterOats Oatmeal and 1 cup Blueberries (170 calories)

12pm: 2 cups raw spinach, 3 oz Oscar Mayer Rotisserie Chicken, 1 cup sliced carrot chips, Spicy Guacamole (224 calories)

3pm: Sugar Free Chocolate Muscle Milk (100 calories)

5:30pm: Natural Almonds Snack Pack (100 calories)

8pm: Grilled Chicken Breast and Stir-Fried Veggies (approx 280 calories)

By eating every few hours, I anticipate never feeling “out of control” with my hunger and I’m hoping to quell sweets cravings by snacking on fruit (blueberries) and chocolate protein shakes.

If I can stick to this diet all day (I’m good so far — as of my 9am meal), I will allow myself a 90-calorie Chocolate Pear Squeeze Treat (sooooo good). If I hit the gym (as planned) and do at least 30 minutes of cardio, I’ll swap out the Chocolate Pear Squeeze Treat for one of the 150-calorie Paleo Brownies I made last week. 🙂

It’s all about compromise, preparation, and holding myself accountable this week. Wish me luck!

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

 

The Good & The Bad

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This weekend, my husband and I spent the weekend with some friends in Tampa. I’ve probably not mentioned it before, but we’re craft beer aficionados. The local brewery in Tampa, Cigar City Brewing, was having a celebration in honor of the release of limited bottles of a Hunahpu, a delicious, complex, and decadent stout that they brew and age with cacao nibs.

So, we left Orlando early on Friday afternoon and stayed the night in Tampa, spending the entire day at the brewery on Saturday.

While we had an awesome time and got to sample dozens of rare and unique beers, my diet took a back seat for a solid 24 hours. Food trucks were lined up at the event, selling every fried, fatty, porcine vittles possible to an inebriated audience of 5,000+ people.

Why is food, especially BAD food, so closely intertwined with events?

Do we have to gorge on unhealthy things every time we’re happy, celebrating, or otherwise being entertained?

There were a few healthy options at the event, but they ran out quickly. The one truck boasting healthy sandwiches ran out of 99% of their “fresh” ingredients within an hour and was pumping out only breaded chicken tenders and french fries for the majority of the event.

My Saturday menu consisted of:

At the event —

  • A Dunkin Donuts veggie eggwhite flatbread [my attempt at a healthy breakfast before the event started.]
  • A vanilla nonfat, sugar free latte.
  • Three munchkins. [They were staring at me, taunting.]
  • At least 10 samples [2 oz pours or less] of heavy, craft beers. My guess would be 100-200 calories per sample.
  • A slice of cheese pizza.
  • An empanada that was so greasy, I could have cooked an omelette in the pool of oil left on my plate.
  • Deep-fried broccoli and cheddar “bites.” Something quasi-healthy made irrevocably unhealthy in one moment.

After the event [I’d already blown my diet, anyhow]:

  • Some curry laska soup.
  • Several bites of pad thai.
  • A heaping serving of basil fried rice.
  • Sauteed bak choy.
  • Two coconut fried shrimp.
  • A bottle of beer.

So, needless to say, I was feeling pretty bad about my diet and eating habits by the end of the day. While I had a BLAST at the event and enjoyed dinner with several friends in the evening, I wish that I had better control of my diet and impulses to eat badly when in the company of others.

I’m so regimented and controlled on my own.

Why does company – and celebration – break down my resolve?

I hope to post a video blog later this evening to explore this concept a bit deeper.

Until then, bon appetit!

~ Tori

Monday

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Monday means different things to different people.

For some, it’s the start of another grueling work week. For others, it’s the excitement of returning to a rewarding environment. Classes, jobs, families, responsibilities. Mondays are the catalyst of beginnings.

For me, it’s the return to regimen.

Every Monday, I resurrect my diet from the ashes of my weekend and I vow to be good. I vow to drink my protein shake in the mornings, munch my salad for lunch, and control the wild, ravenous beast inside me at dinner time. I always manage to convince myself that this week will be different. I’ll tap into a magical store of will power and dedication formerly unknown and I’ll be different.

Every Monday, I promise that this will be the time I really change.

Oh, Mondays.

3.4.2013 Monday

Diet plan: PALEO

Starting weight: 139.4

Goal weight by 4.13.2013: 129 [sub-130, for the first time in my life]

Will this be the Monday I follow-through?

Let’s find out and see.

 

I’m optimistic that it is.

 

Bon appetit,

~ Tori