Just weighing in...

Friday is weigh in day.  I wanted to keep this up through the challenge for some normalcy.  I was excited to get on the scale today because I have been ON POINT.  I started the challenge Monday morning and as of this morning I am down 5.6 pounds.  This shit works yall.  I am on my fourth challenge and I KNOW this will be the best.  I am making sure I am eating ENOUGH food this time and it is making all the difference.  I feel fabulous!!

Also, on a side note, I had to go to the doctor Wednesday morning and they did the height thing.  They never do that anymore.  I have always said I was 5'4".  I made her measure me twice.  5'5"!!!  Doesn't that mean I can weigh more?? :)

We need to talk...

Today is day 1 of my 24 day challenge and I decided to change things up a bit.  I decided to count weight watchers points while doing the challenge.  They say just to eat all your meals and snacks and not to count calories or anything when doing the challenge, but I was feeling a little skeptical and decided I wanted to try to count points and see how close I was coming.  The discovery was a little shocking.  I planned out what I was eating today and added up all the points to see how close I was coming.  I figured I would be going over a little, but it turns out that when doing the challenge I AM NOT EATING ENOUGH.  I thought my last one didn't go as well because I was eating too much, but that simply was not the case.  Here's the deal.

I get 28 weight watcher points per day.  I also get 49 weekly points.  Usually, I would eat my 28 points a day and save the 49 to eat out on the weekends with.  Since I won't be having any splurges on the weekends during the challenge I decided just to divide the extra points by 7.  That gives me 35 points everyday.  Ok, now that we are done with math...

This was my meal plan today:
Breakfast:  4 boiled egg whites-1 point
Morning snack:  Advocare chocolate snack bar (Had my first one just now and holy crap that is DELICIOUS)-3 points
Lunch: 3/4 cup quinoa, 1/4 cup black beans, 1/2 a tomato, 1/2 and avocado, juice of 1 lime-9 points
Afternoon snack:  Grapes and a spark-1 point
Dinner: 4 ounces grilled chicken, 1 cup mashed cauliflower, large salad with homemade dressing (1 Tbls olive oil, 1 Tbls lemon juice, 1 clove minced garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano)-8 points
After dinner snack (which is optional):  Apple or strawberries-0 points

TOTAL POINTS:  22

Yep, that's A LOT of food for me yall and that is 22 points.  I am 13 points short of what I am supposed to be eating today.  Keep in mind this isn't even taking into account any activity points.  I'm trying to stay away from carbs for dinner at least for the first ten days.  That means that points are going to be low here and I need to be eating a larger breakfast and lunch.  Someone once told me eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch, and pauper for dinner.  This is my problem.  Since I was a kid, it was totally the other way around.  Skip breakfast sometimes, maybe something small.  Medium to small lunch.  PIG OUT FOR DINNER!  Here is what I can do to work on this:

Advocare meal replacement for breakfast:  5 points
Unsalted nuts for snacks: ~5 points
Add in a complex carb at lunch like a sweet potato: ~3-5 points
Possibly add in a pre/post workout snack

I know that if you are not a weight watchers person, this may be a little confusing for you, but you can do the same for counting calories.  Eating clean does NOT mean starving yourself.  In fact, eating clean means that you need to be eating pretty much all of the time.  If you decide to eat clean/do an advocare challenge make sure you are eating enough.  Food is fuel for your body and you don't want to run out of gas. 

Running Route Review 1: Highland Road Park

Anyone who has been on Highland road lately has noticed the nice newer front part that they have been working on.  Saturday I was out and about shopping around and on my way home decided to go do my run there and see how it was.  The park is beautiful.  They have done a really good job with it. 

 

There are water fountains all along the route which is a nice bonus.

 

 

 

This sign said the loop was 2/3 of a mile.  I clocked it on my nike GPS app and I came up with 3/4 of a mile. 

 

 

There is also this extremely nice bathroom facility.  I didn't go in, but it looks awesome.

 

There were tons of people there, as the weather was nice.  If you don't like to run with people around I don't suggest this.  There wasn't anyone else running or walking.  Mostly there were cute couples sitting on blankets eating and smooching.  There were also some college aged girls playing some type of game that I could not identify.  There were a few dogs off leash as well, so if you don't like dogs this route probably isn't for you. 

 

All in all I thought this was great.  Most running routes don't have bathrooms and water fountains so I thought this was a nice bonus to running here.  I was only going on a short run so it was just right.  I did the loop three time, but could see how it would get repetitive on longer runs.  Perfect for a beautiful day, but stay away at night.  I didn't notice any lights out there.

Fathletes...

So, work is almost over and I was doing my afternoon peruse of the facebooks and I came across this...

To the fatty running on the track

It was posted by someone (I'm sure with wonderful intentions) who said something about it being inspirational and how everyone starts somewhere.  The title of the article is "To the fatty running on the track this afternoon."  At this point I'm already pretty skeptical, but I clicked anyway.  I clicked because there are things on facebook that sometimes are misleading for purpose of shock value.  Like that one article people keep posting about the married guy saying marriage isn't for him when in all actuality the article is about how he should treat his wife like they are dating etc.  So anywho, I click and start to read.  I read the whole thing and then read it again.  I checked the website to see if maybe I was reading something on the onion, but no.  I wasn't.  LOTS of people actually found this article to wonderful and inspirational.  I, however, did not.  I found it to be extremely offensive.  I'm a little worried that people think that it is anything but that.  However 14 people have already liked the article that was posted.  Maybe I read it wrong??  Please someone tell me I read it wrong.

As a fatty myself, I'd like to say to the author of the article that I am a fathlete.  Yes, you read that right.  I am a fatty who is extremely athletic, eats healthy, moves quite easily, could probably beat you at softball, and has run a half marathon.  It is quite possible that I am MORE athletic, healthy, AND in better shape than non-fatty who decided that this would be inspirational to people.  Sometimes it's luck of the draw buddy.  Genes play SOME factor in our shapes and sizes.  Do I think that the people on "My 600 pound life" just got bad genes?  Probably not, but I'm also guessing that they were never 105.  The article is disgusting and condescending and I'm actually embarrassed for the person who wrote it thinking it would be anything other than that.  I don't need to say too much more because someone wrote an article about why this wasn't cool and it says everything I would say anyway.  Overview:

The second paragraph is supposed to make up for all of that. You see, it’s ok to trash a fatty if you bravely lift them up later.

The Facebook piece relies on tired stereotypes. He has no problem making guesses about this person's eating habits, exercise habits and psyche based on seeing her go past on a running track. Maybe she isn't a beginner at all

This person may weigh twice what the author weighs, but maybe she has three times the muscle mass and feels just as easy moving her body.

Maybe this person doesn’t like dessert, or doesn’t drink beer, or goes to bed at 8pm. Maybe this person doesn't feel that she needs to pay a debt for eating, maybe she is running for health, or because they like it

Maybe the runner loves her body exactly as it is, and her music free mantra is "I love my body and I love running and I wish that creeper would quit staring at me!"

It’s not a compliment to suggest that a fat person’s workout is any more inspirational than anyone else who dragged their tired ass to Zumba or the track.

For the full article:
Why it's not cool to think of fat people as inspirational

Motivational Monday

How in the world can you NOT be a runner when it is this gorgeous outside??  I just remembered why I like to run.  I thought I hated it, but that was because it was winter.  This weather makes me get excited about my run after work ALL DAY.  I sit at my desk and check the time just getting excited about this glorious weather and the time change and getting to be in it.  If you don't run, this post is probably not for you, but that's ok because I'm sure I will have some that ARE for you later this week. 

Heads up:  I'm doing another Advocare 24 day challenge starting April 1!  If anyone wants to do it with me just let me know. 

And last, but not least...this popped up on my facebook newsfeed today.  This was the 1/2 marathon I was planning on doing.  I can't pass up a sale.  It could be over zealous of me to sign up for a race in January 2015 when it is only March, but I figure that putting out the bucks will motivate me to train hard and  make sure I'm there for it!  The race is only 5 days after my 29th birthday so I will consider it my birthday gift to myself.  If you are interested check out the sale!!


ROCKNROLL

 

I'm back....

I'm back from vacation and I must say it was AMAZING!!!  I will spare you the details.  Most of you have seen the pictures on facebook and there really isn't any need for me to make you any  more jealous than you already are! 

Ok...maybe one or two :)

While I was gone I hit 10,000 views on my blog!  I am so happy I started this.  It has been a blast writing and I really do enjoy it, even when it feels like no one is reading.  More good news...

The damage on vacay?  2 pounds.  I will take that ANY DAY!  A whole week of vacay and I only shot up 2 pounds.  This is where it is a blessing that I don't enjoy drinking too much.  I think that number would be a lot worse had I indulged in alcohol more than just for one of the nights.  Also, a large blessing that I didn't like the way the cokes tasted there.  I'm sure that helped (side note...Jon and I gave up soda for lent.  I don't really drink them often so it should be easy.  It was his idea and he thought it would be simple until I reminded him he couldn't drink whiskey and coke either.  Sucker.)

So, back on track today.  Yes, on a Friday.  I'm feeling really good and really motivated.  I'm back to my Friday morning weigh ins and I cannot wait until next Friday to see this weight fall off.  I'll be keeping this one short and sweet, but I finally got to read my sisters blog post about her challenge results.  It's definitely an awesome read for anyone who struggles with eating!!  Check it out:

24 Day Challenge Re-Cap

I'll be back next week and starting my "Running Route Review" series!  I would love to run ALL the routes in Baton Rouge and give yall the lowdown.  Hoping to get one in at a new location this weekend.  Stay tuned.  Have a great weekend everyone!

Clark's Creek

Hey guys!!  It's been a little while and honestly you probably won't hear from me for another 7-8 days or so!  Why?!  Because I am going to the Dominican Republic to celebrate a good friends wedding and have some downtime.  Oh yea, and eat!  Did I mention eat?!  I thought I would write one last post to hold you guys over.  And just a heads up...when I get back it is so on!!



So, Saturday morning Jon and I decided to take the dogs and go hiking.  We googled and figured Clark's Creek would be the best place to go because there would be beautiful waterfalls etc.  We packed up a backpack, slipped on tennis shoes (not hiking boots because we aren't hardcore), and took off around 9:30.  That is the last time anyone would see or hear from me until 6pm.  If this is starting to read like a horror story, then I'm making the point I'm trying to make.

We got to Clark's Creek and set off on our journey.  Now, let me just fill you in on what I expected out of the day.  Every Thanksgiving Jon's family goes to a state park.  There are plenty of "trails."  Most are paved or at the least gravel.  This is what I was assuming we would be doing.  My thoughts were that we would be done around 2 and home by 3:30 and then I could get a run in.  When we set off there was a gravel path.  When there were steeper downhills, there were also a set of wooden steps to go down if you chose to.  At this point I was thinking, "Well, this will be a nice day.  It's a little steeper than I imagined, but there are stairs."  We got about 1/4 of a mile in and there was a nice little sign that read something like this..."Primitive Trail.  This trail is for experienced hikers.  Must be in excellent physical health.  2.6 miles.  Will take 3-5 hours to complete."  The sign then points that you drop down a little into a small creek and follow the path that way.  There are white reflective markers every so often so that you know you are going the right way.  The sign should have read something like this, "Primitive Trail.  Enter at your own risk.  Death is imminent.  Your cell phones will not work.  You will get lost and at the very least break your leg." 

Jon asked if I wanted to do that one.  Our dog, Cooper, is a bit anxious and not too fond of other people so I figured why not.  It would be better because there would be less people.  I looked at Jon and said something like, "3-5 hours?  That's bullshit.  2.6 miles doesn't take 3-5 hours.  Even walking we can do this in like 2."  Now, keep in mind this is my first actual hike and the sign says experienced hikers, but I assumed they just meant we don't want really old people doing this because they may break a hip or something. 

So we are off to a good start.  I'm feeling adventurous.  Everybody is happy.  There are some uphills that kind of suck, but I wasn't super worried about it.  I just figured I would get a little more exercise than I had originally expected.  About a half a mile in we get to a point where I pretty much have to go straight down about 10 feet.  There are tree roots and very small places full of mud to put your feet (It was very rainy the previous week).  The mud on this trail was like stepping on a tile floor full of dish soap and water.  I made it safely, but barely and started kind of thinking, "Oh shit.  This may not be what I thought it was going to be. "  We even had to pick Judge up and put her on the ground because she looked at us like, "You guys are assholes and I'm not doing this shit."  But then again we were like a quarter of the way done right?  WRONG.  SO VERY WRONG.  Jon and I later came to the conclusion that the mapping was aerial and therefore did not take into account the up or downhills.  Like you may walk a quarter of a mile uphill, but from an aerial view it only appears to be a few yards. 

To make a VERY long story short, here are some of the highlights:
-I fell twice.  Once I was walking downhill and hit a slick of mud and slid down.  The second time I was pretty much just standing there and fell on my ass.
-We got full of mud.  There was one point I took a step and I sunk almost to my knee. 
-We got lost once.  There was a white reflector on a tree across a creek.  We went there and then continued on up a HUGE hill.  When we got to the top Jon said there was no way that was the correct way to go because it would be really difficult to get down the other side.  There were no white reflectors in sight.  I pretty much slid back down on my butt as to not break an ankle. 
-Towards the end EVERYONE had enough.  The dogs were so exhausted.  We were so exhausted.  We had run out of water. 

You guys may think I am a pansy, but I feel like I'm a pretty tough girl.  This was like running warrior dash.  Except like three times in a row.  Anyone else ever done this?!  Am I crazy?  I'm pretty sure it was 6-7 miles.  I am still sore.  Although, we did  get to see some pretty amazing views.  I wouldn't trade the day for anything else, but I don't think you will catch me back there anytime soon either. 

This picture appears to be only like a five foot drop, but it was probably closer to twenty.