New Recipe

Yesterday as I was exploring the always entertaining Pinterest site, I found a recipe for a Weight Watchers friendly french toast. I was wanting to spice up my breakfast so I decided to try it this morning and not only was it darn good, it was super easy and quick! This particular recipe was just 5 points for me!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients: 

1 egg
1 tablespoon skim milk
1 pinch salt 
2 slices low-cal bread
low-fat cooking spray
1 banana
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup no sugar syrup if desired

Directions

1. Beat the egg in shallow bowl with milk and salt.
2. Add 2 slices of bread and turn to coat in egg mixture.
3. Heat a frying pan and coat with a low-fat cooking spray and fry the bread for 2 minutes on each side or until golden. 
4. Place french toast on a plate and add banana pieces. 
5. Sprinkle with cinnamon, honey and syrup. 

It's so easy to forget about breakfast or grab something unhealthy on the way out the door. I've made it a point to keep my apartment stocked with healthy and filling cereal bars, but then also quick meal ideas like fruit and yogurt, cereal and milk, and now I will add this to the list!

5 point WW Breakfast that was yummy, filling, and quick! 

Daily Conversations

Everyday since starting this blog conversation, I have been greeted by people sharing their own struggles with me and supporting me on my journey. Old friends have been reaching out to me via Facebook, supportive texts have been delivered, and whispered thanks have been shared. People want to know that they are not alone in their struggles and this blog is doing just that. But it's not just me, others have the same thoughts I do and are sharing in similar ways. Just today CNN put out an article about weight loss blogging! How cool! (Granted, it would have been cooler if it featured me! haha One day maybe!)

I have recently found myself speechless over how many people have opened up to me about anything and everything related to their weight loss and exercise stories. And each time someone comes to me, I feel consumed with happiness, pride, excitement, energy, motivation, etc and I just want to continue the conversation all day, everyday. So, why is it so hard for so many of us to talk about in the first place? It's not like our weight is hiding and if we don't speak up about it, people won't know. If it was hiding we would not have a desire to change it! 

I could go into the social stigma associated with weight, the personal baggage people carry related to their size, the physical struggle of losing weight, or the shame that some people feel, but we know all of that. We know that changing habits is hard and we know that everyone is fighting their own battles, but no one should have to do it alone. It is easier when you can share your struggles (and future successes) with someone. 

I am not saying I have to be that person, although I would love to be, I am just saying to start the conversation and, if you have already made that first step, continue the conversation and good luck with your journey! 

One of my successes of the day: Yummy, filling and Weight Watchers - Friendly breakfast! 

New Achievements

This weekend I had family visiting and on Saturday we decided to go for a run together. If you run from my building, through the marshes, to the Mississippi River and back, it's exactly 6 miles. My aunt and I decided to attempt this. Before this past Sunday, the farthest I had ever ran nonstop was 4 miles. I have ran/walked way more, but never have I ran more than four miles at a time.

Well, Sunday was the day to break that 4 mile record and boy did I crush it! Six miles, nonstop! We ran slow, but we were consistent and managed to run the entire thing. I was so proud of us!

Then, today, I decided to see if I could run 5 miles at my own pace. So once again I took off through the marsh trails. I am proud to say that I ran 5 miles, nonstop in under an hour today!

For those of you not good with math, that was 11 miles this weekend! Part of me does not believe that I ran that much, especially considering I felt pretty good both during and after the run. It's amazing what just two months of training has done for me and I cannot wait to see more improvements!

Because I ran so much this weekend, I am going to be taking it easy during the week with just some 2-3 mile runs. From everything I have read, it is important not to over train and I want to listen to that advice, because I have plenty of time!

Feeling great about this training and very ready to take on the week!

Lesson Learned!

I don't know what triggered it, but yesterday when I came home from work I was just hungry and decided to eat basically anything I saw. I had been doing so well, I don't know why I let myself consume so much food. But, I did. To make things worse, I was "scheduled" to run my first 5 miles that night. Since I had just filled my face with food, I decided to wait awhile before running, but believe me, I wanted to say "forget it" and run another day, but I don't want to get into that habit!

So, I decided to run despite still having a full stomach. My first 3 miles were great. It was actually pretty easy. My plan was to run to the river and back by way of the marsh trails. I was cruising right along, hit my three miles and was thinking "this is easy...I'm going to actually run 5 miles without stopping"! Then it hit me. Major stomach ache that stopped me in my tracks.

I tried to jog the remaining two miles, but my body just was not having it, so I strolled on back to my apartment. Overall, I did run/walk almost 6 miles that night, but I did so in pain and not with the best time record.

I am proud of myself for not letting a food "slip" stop me from running, but I sure did learn my lesson! In case I was unsure about eating healthy and training for a half-marathon before, I now know that I cannot just eat whatever I want whenever I want! Back to fruit and counting points for me!

Until this point, I was having one success after the other. Each run was better than the last in some way, but not this run. Now, I didn't really want to share this with anyone, but I figured if I did, then I will be less likely to repeat this mistake in the future. So here's to learning from my mistakes! And hoping my next attempt at 5 miles goes better!

Obstacles and Support

These past two days were hard and I knew they were going to be. I am in the middle of training for my job and some meals are typically provided. Usually, I can work around these meals by accommodating for the unknown points at lunch, by having a smaller breakfast and/or dinner. However, these last couple days we were away on a retreat and all meals were provided for us. These were pretty great meals too and they all had multiple dessert options! In addition, there were tons of snacks everywhere I turned, including those dreaded double-stuffed Oreo cookies!

It was hard to regulate my portions and know exactly what I was eating for the day, but I made sure to fill up on large salads, skip most desserts (yes, I indulged in a little ice-cream), include tons of the veggie dishes, and work in activity when I could. Then, when I returned home today, I made sure to instantly get back on track with my running schedule and ran my three miles for the day.

Staying on track while away is hard, but not impossible. I came prepared with the mindset that I was not going to let these two days derail me. Furthermore, I made sure to pack healthy snack/meal options that included cliff bars and bananas; therefore, when everyone was reaching for bagels and extra french toast in the morning, I had a banana with a little peanut butter. Having a cliff bar to curb my appetite also helped when we all made a Culver's stop. I ate that before stopping for the fast food, so I wasn't tempted to get anything. And I am proud to say I did not!

It also helped that I had my coworker's to support me. They would give random high fives, share in the frustration of so many snacks, and allowed me to voice my struggle. One has even started picking me up and spinning me around to help boost my spirits and congratulate me on avoiding certain foods! I must say, I am rather enjoying that show of support! :)

It's important to prepare for things that might easily derail you, like this retreat I just had. But giving some forethought to the situations can help keep you on track and maintain your motivation. I feel much better tonight knowing that I stuck to my plan and made overall healthier decisions, than I would have if I had regressed into old habits.

<Click Photo to Enlarge>
View of our retreat location from the top of the bell tower. It was a nice climb to the top! 

A New Normal

The other day at Weight Watchers my leader talked about creating a "new normal". She was referring to how we think about and eat food and how we incorporate activity into our day-to-day lives. Weight Watchers is not a diet, but rather a lifestyle change. I have heard this said dozens of times throughout my time with Weight Watchers and I believe it to be absolutely true. Individuals believing it is a diet or a "quick fix" to weight loss may have short-term success, but I think have a harder time in the long-run.

For me, my "new normal" surprises me daily. Before joining Weight Watchers and seeing success, I spent most of my days sitting around and eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it. This is no longer the case. Nowadays, it is actually hard to get me to just sit down and do nothing!


My "new normal" was highlighted significantly yesterday. A former RA of mine came to visit me this weekend and we decided to go for a bike ride on Saturday. After doing some research we decided to explore the Sparta trails and investigate these "tunnels" that were mentioned as being along the path. This semi-spontaneous bike ride resulted in us going nearly 24 miles, seeing two really cool tunnels, and being scared by a close, and rather loud, cow!



Our bodies were killing us towards the end of this ride, but we were so proud of our accomplishment. All I wanted to do after, though, was to sleep for a very long time; however, I still had my 4 mile run to do! I strongly considered postponing it for a day, but I knew that would mess up my schedule for the week considering I am out of town for two days for a training conference. So...I ran. It was a struggle, but in the end, I only ran it 30 seconds longer than my last 4 mile run and I kept to my schedule despite desperately wanting to slack off!

Yes, I feel like postponing a run after a 24 mile bike ride would have been justified, but I am so proud of myself for sticking to my goals! Being active is now part of my "new normal" and I am very happy for it!

Pictures of the two tunnels we came across while on the bike trails near Sparta, WI. You had to walk your bikes in a single file line on the right through these because it was so dark. I learned tons of history while on this ride including that trains used these tunnels back in the day and the doors helped keep the moisture out during the colder months. One tunnel was built in 1873! 

THANK YOU!

I wanted to take this moment to just say thank you to everyone who has been reading this. Everyday since starting this blog, I have either had someone surprise me by telling me they have been reading it or thanking me for sharing my story. I have been happily overwhelmed by how many people have taken an interest and it has helped keep me motivated everyday. Words cannot express how thankful I am for all of you and all the support you have shown me already. I am beyond appreciative. Thank you! :)