Day 7

Today is the first day I’m tryin’ out this whole Windows Live Writer thing and it’s pretty cool!  Still playing with it so it will probably take some time for me to go pro so bare with me.  Overall, this weekend has been pretty lazy although I did peel myself off the couch today to vacuum and clean up the kitchen but tomorrow is spin.  

 Today’s Food Journal

B’Fast- 3 egg omelet with Swiss cheese and mushrooms, cafe latte with 3 raw sugars, and I shared a plate of homemade fries

Lunch- 4 stuffed shells

Snack- a few pieces of Brie cheese with a fresh pear stew (lemon and fruit preserves cooked with fresh sliced pears) on crackers

Dinner- Chinese food take out…potentially dangerous but I stayed on the light side.

I had a half a plate of steamed vegetable with shrimp and a bit of teriaki sauce and 2 wontons. 

My biggest splurge was adding 5 bites of General Tao’s chicken to my plate.  

Day 6

Today was probably the laziest day of my life. The biggest amount of activity I did today was walk from the fridge to the couch. And I fell asleep twice on the couch this afternoon. After 9 months of only a full week off, I think I'm losing my mind...I sleep every extra moment I have. I think my goal right now is to work out 3 days a week? Well I worked out 4 days this week so I'm on track and not gonna feel that bad for being a sloth today. Last night my aunt told me she thought I lost weight. I checked myself out today and it looks like I lost some fat around my middle. I have been intimidated by the scale because when I work out I gain weight. Yes, I know that muscle is heavier than fat but the scale depresses me after hard work. I still have love handles but my stomach seems a bit tighter. I've noticed that my stomach has shrunk and I get fuller faster. The hardest part is the cravings. I have been fantasizing about cheese cake, french fries, and mac and cheese.


Here's what I ate today:
Breakfast- orange juice with granules and flax seed oil, a half of a pop tart

Snack- Brie cheese (at least 2 servings) with homemade crackers topped with a pear stew (cooked fresh pears made with natural preserves and lemon juice)

Lunch- 4 stuffed shells

Dinner- 1 bowl of potato soup with cheddar cheese and bacon, 1 peanut butter cookie, 2 glasses of red wine

Day 5

Today was a lazy day...I'll admit it...exercise-wise anyways. But I guess I can partially blame the snow storm and the soreness from spin and swimming as an excuse to chill-ax. Fridays are usually my hour long physical therapy sessions which actually give me a decent workout- bike to warm up, massage (my favorite part of the workout by far), strength training, and balancing activities, but with the weather and what not it was canceled. When I got home from work I totally crashed...so much so that my boyfriend called me an hour into my slumbered stooper and I couldn't wipe the drool fast enough to answer.



I faced a new challenge in my blogging quest for health (drum roll please...)- RESTAURANT FOOD (particularly buffets). This is tough for me, especially since I have this tendency to want to eat "my moneys worth" all too often. I almost cracked under pressure tonight with this food ecstacy, but I managed to hold it together.


Food for today:



B'fast- Licorice tea with stevia, 3 mini muffins (fresh bran w/raisins, blueberry, carrot) from my favorite bakery, Goya coconut water (this was some good shiz...it has pieces of coconut floating in the drink and is actually low in calories...two servings are around 120 calories).


Snack- Apple, Mocha TLC bar, Fat Free Vanilla pudding


Lunch- Strawberry Greek Yogurt, pretzels


Snack- Bowl of baked potato soup with cheddar cheese and bacon, 6 ounches of orange juice with Lecithin granules and flax seed oil, a bite of a pop tart.



Dindin- I had 2 small plates of food at the benefit both with ziti, salad, seared tuna with tomatoes, and mashed potatoes with two Jack n Cokes. Every part of me wants to be negative right now and say that the mashed potatos had lots of butter, coke is soda with high fructose corn syrup and refined sugar, and the ziti had cheese (I already had cheese today!) but for once, I'm going to focus on the positive...I had smaller portion sizes then I would have had in the past, I stayed away from the white bread, I didn't have any dessert, and I didn't add any salt or butter to my food. I've noticed that I can be a perfectionist at times and not give myself credit for the baby steps I've made. Moral of the story, celebrate small victories...even if its as small as not getting your moneys worth and pigging out at an all you can eat buffet.

Day 4

Well its almost 11:00 at night and I'm beyond exhaustion after 12 hours of work and an hour and fifteen minutes of swimming so unfortunately tonight's blog won't be life changing (sigh of sarcasm). I'm hoping to have some time this weekend to jump into it more...so take cover! In brief, Spin kicked my ars more then I thought it would! My back was a little sore this morning but so was the rest of me! And did I mention I feel like someone kicked me in the cooch? I need to invent an extra down pillow bike seat because the gel ones aren't cutting it...sorry. Anyone who has done spin without padded shorts can probably lament with me (unless of course you were blessed with a JLo booty in which case...I don't feel sorry for you). Going upstairs at work today took willpower and so did doing flip turns in the pool tonight. MY FREAKIN ARMS ARE EVEN SORE! Totally glad I jumped in the pool tonight but I was lagging for sure. Luckily I have until Monday before my next Spin class...that means 3 more days of recovery!

As for my energy level, it was high this morning...until I eat school chicken nuggets. Yeah, BIG mistake...I'm surprised I didn't get explosive diarrhea. Ok, I'm being a drama queen but once again this is an example of my impulsivety. Once again Liz, TMI TMI. I'm hoping that continuing to do spin will help strengthen my core and my back.

I splurged a bit more than I wanted to today. I'm still trying to find the balance between being a health nut and non-obsessive. I think this is the hardest part.

Here's the food diary today:

Breakfast- I ran out of orange juice and so I tried organic grape juice instead. Mixed about 6 ounces of it with the flax seed oil and granules. It was fine but grape juice has a lot of sugar per serving and tastes too sweet to me.

Snack- 3 small slices of all natural sharp cheese, Blueberry Non-Fat Chobani Greek Yogurt

Lunch- Ended up eating 10 of the kid chicken nuggets, 1 serving of Smart Food popcorn, and a chocolate chip cookie. I totally crashed after lunch...hmmm...wonder why?!

Dinner- 2 crab cakes with a tarter sauce I made out of relish and a natural mayo substitute. Then these Pop Tarts in the pantry kept calling my name begging me to eat them...so I did....2 cherry Poptarts later and I'm in bed. I think this was my pig out day??

Exercise: Swam 3000 yards during Masters swimming today (surprised my arms didn't just fall off).

Worked: 12 hours today

Day 3

I'm back after my first spin class in 3 years! It totally kicked my flabby booty but it was awesome! I ended up meeting two friends there and it made it so much more fun...and did I mention the class is TOTALLY FREE all winter and spring?!?! Ride The Zone is a spin studio located in Manhattan and East Hampton. They offer free spin classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings (at least at the EH location) and the place was awesome! You also get free clip-in bike shoes for the class if you don't feel like rocking your sneakers. I'm a big (poor) cheapo so anytime I find a good deal, I have to tell the world. My friends and I had so much fun that we are going to try to go at least once a week.

Now that my physical activity is higher in the past week, so is my appetite (as I discussed a bit in yesterday's blog). I have been a super active person my whole life (college swimmer, 13+ years as an ocean lifeguard, triathlete, runner, etc...) but ever since I hit 25 my metabolism isn't half of what it used to be! I swear, I eat a quarter the amount I used to and I'm double the size...ok thats an exaggeration but you get the point. In the past when I used to work out hard, that was my excuse for pigging out on virtually everything I laid my eyes on. The problem is (besides not fueling my body with the correct nutrients) the minute I stopped working out (whether it be work, sports injuries, etc...) I continue eating like a pig and the flab reappears. If I make a full recovery from my injuries soon, I'm excited to see how a healthy diet will help my athletic performance.

Ok...so here's how I did today:
Breakfast- Orange juice with lecithin granules/flax seed oil (you can read up about this more in my blog from yesterday), chocolate fiber bar (super good but tasted pretty sugary), and a Soy Latte with 3 organic cane sugar packets.

Snack- Strawberry Greek yogurt, Licorice tea with a packets of all natural stevia (I've noticed that I am usually starved by this time of the day...even if I eat a good sized b'fast!)

Lunch- 4 finger sandwiches (turkey, cheese, mayo), a handful of potato chips, pickle


Dinner- A crock pot concoction of potatoes, green beans, and chicken cooked in Campbell's cream of chicken soup served over left over couscous. Thanks mom!



Hours worked today: 8

Workout: Spin class for an hour

Day 2....LORD HELP ME!

So I woke up this morning with that buyers remorse feeling. What am I doing telling perfect strangers what I eat and what I do in my day? TMI (TOO-MUCH-INFORMATION)!? I know that what I'm doing is totally awesome, but I'll admit it...vulnerability is uncomfortable!!

Rookie mistake.... misspelled Beth's blog address! Its actually fatbustermack.com...check it!

Whenever I step up the exercising, I always end up eating like a savage beast! I'm a little nervous about the diet accountability here especially since I plan on starting to train for another triathlon this summer (injuries permitting). The good news is that I woke up without back pain this morning for the first time in a LONG time...awesome! I'm hoping that with proper nutrition and more exercise my injuries will perminently chill out. Today I was super hungry and ate pretty well but I ate large portions for lunch and dinner.

Here it goes:

Day 2:

Brekkie- I had a fiber bar for breakfast and tried something called the "Membrane Fluidizer Cocktail" this morning. The name sounds nasty but it was actually really good! I got the recipe from Dr. D'Adamo's book (Eat Right 4 Your Type). The recipe is simple- 1 tablespoon flax seed oil, 1 tablespoon lecithin granules and 6-8 ounces orange juice. I didn't taste the oil or the granules. Lecithin is a lipid, found in animals and plants, that contains metabolism- and immune enhancing properties. It absorbs into the oil so you can't taste it in the juice. I picked up the Lecithin granules at the health food store and it was pretty reasonable. I love orange juice but yes its high in calories. Maybe one of these days I can motivated myself to get up earlier and make fresh vegetable juice.


Snack- Mocha TLC bar, Blueberry Greek Yogurt

Lunch- A big Quinoa soup (with squash, potatoes, and red peppers), coconut water (tasty and a natural electrolyte + very high in potassium!), and an all natural peanut butter/dark chocolate square (my guilty pleasure!). My friend told me today that Quinoa is high in protein which fills you up (I can use that with my appetite!).

Din'ski- Whole wheat tomato, basil, mozzarella ravioli with tomato sauce (I ate a lot...I'll admit it...I WAS HUNGRY!)

Exercise: 30 minutes on the StairMaster

Energy level: Better then yesterday!

Hours worked today: 12

The virgin blogger intro...drum roll please...

Food obsessed? Yes. Compulsive? Yes. Workaholic? Yes. Suffering from Muffintop'initus? Yes. If you can relate to any of the above then it sounds like you and I are perfect for each other.

After being inspired by my friend Beth's blog (http://www.fatbustermac.com/) and being sick of feeling like crap, I've decided to take positive steps toward unlocking maximum health and wellness in my life. I've realized that creating a blog is not only a great accountability, but a way to get ideas, and dialog with other people who are passionate about change like me. To begin, I want to take a real vulnerable and honest look at my lifestyle and habits as I continue to strive toward my healthy ying yang. I am not one who sits on the couch and eats bonbons, nor am I the perfect candidate for "The Biggest Loser". In fact according to my Wii Fit, I am in a healthy range for my BMI and I wear a size 8. But despite all that, I still don't seem to have enough energy, I suffer from digestive issues, and I feel flabby.


I guess my quest for a healthier me started 11 years ago in college when I doused my couscous with extra virgin olive oil or when I thought that "organic" somehow negated the calories in the entire box I polished off. Or better yet, when I asked for gravy on the side of my cheese fries. My intentions to eat healthy have been pure, and I have made progress in the past years, but I'll admit it...I'm compulsive. Anytime I see the golden arches I get a warm fuzzy feeling. That drive through is a euphoric feeling until I'm laying on my boyfriends couch with a food hangover...


Here are some healthy steps I've slowly taken in the past few years:
-Cut down on refined sugars and my alcohol intake
-Given up aspartame (check out the documentary Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World)
-Began juicing raw fresh fruit and vegetables (when I have the time of course!)
-Started eating more organic foods


SO here it is- my short term goals:
-Exercise more! 3 days a week of cardo and at least 1 day a week of strength training to firm up the flab! Note: I'm having some reoccurring athletic injuries and back problems so this should be interesting!
-Be more disciplined about stretching! It makes me feel SOO GOOD...especially with my injuries!
-Don't be compulsive about what I eat! Think about the long term affects...another wards....

I think these beginning goals could be a challenge...but lets see what happens!

For my first day as a blogger, I thought that I would start off on the right foot (especially since I gorged myself this past week over vacation)....

So here is day 1:

Brekki- Green Tea with lite Agave

Snack- Fat free Greek yogurt with peaches, 2 servings rice chips, Almond Mocha TLC bar

Lunch- Braised Tempeh with caramelized mushroom sauce, brown rice, and a side salad (NO I didn't make it...but I'll take the credit for it!)

Din'sky- Couscous with red peppers, vegetable stir fry with a few pieces of chicken apple sausage, 3 pieces of dark chocolate

Exercise: 15 minutes on the stair climber

Energy level: TIRED!