I woke up early for a Saturday and hit the gym for some treadmill time and circuit/strength training. I walked 29 mins with a 2 min cool down. I wanted to walk a shorter time, but touch screen wouldn't listen to me, so I just made it to 29. I lifted 5,980 pounds through 12 reps each at 8 machines. I made it home just in time to take a shower and throw some things in a bag! We stopped at McDonalds on the way to my hometown. I got a grilled chicken club sandwich, minus tomato, add red onion. Honestly, the bacon was calling my name! I should have said no mayo and no cheese. They always put a horrific amount of mayo on their sandwiches and I don't really care for cheese most of the time. I brought along some of my 1/2 of potato salad too. At this point, an hour after my workout, I had nothing to drink. Sometimes I wonder if my mistakes are rookie mistakes or idiot mistakes. The jury's still out on this one! When we got to the bridal shower 2.25 hours later, we played some games, celebrated the bride, and then it was on for some food. I hung out with SwimTot while most of the ladies got their food.
I entered their kitchen last and found chicken salad croissants and veggie pizza with cream cheese. Not thinking, I grabbed one of each. Plus two chocolate covered strawberries, a few crackers, and a tiny bit of an AMAZING cheese ball (some white cheese with basil and bacon). And of course there was bridal/baby shower punch. You know, the punch where you mix sherbert and sprite. Always a crowd pleaser.
They also had cupcakes with the wedding colors - White and blue.
Like a very blue blue. The brightness of the icing stains you tongue
and possibly teeth! So I stayed away from those. However, I HAD to
have my very favorite pastel mint candies. My biggest love of sweets is
something chocolate/sweet/minty with a crunch. These babies were right
next to the assorted nuts, so I got some of each--and seconds of nuts
and pastel mints. Want me to come to your party? Serve pastel mints!
I loaded up my plate and quickly noticed that there was a problem
with me eating all this (mostly) wonderful food -- I was full! What?
Who is this Em and what have you done to the real one who can down as
much food - and more - than humanly possible? I happily ditched most of
the food asap, ate a few more pastel mints, and sucked down about 4
bridal shower punches because I had not had anything to drink all day! Yeah, not smart, but they did not have bottled
water and I know they have well water -- I have turned into a city girl
for sure!
Overall, I wasn't perfect, but better than I would have been in the past. That's what I'm aiming for! Continual improvement and a heightened awareness of body and mind concerning food.
Black Bean Story:
I have not been a big fan of beans my whole life. (except the green variety hehe) When my parents made chili or ham and beans (gag me!) I would eat something else or pick out the beans, which didn't leave me left. When I was in college, I would go to the fast food-ish part of the dining hall to grab something when I was short on time. I often got chicken quesadillas. Just chicken, cheese, and a tortilla. Well, sometimes things get mixed together when they are in close proximity (think a subway assembly line set up) I got a black bean or two in my quesadilla. Wow, not bad, I thought. The next time I was in a hurry, I got black beans on my quesadilla. I grabbed my food and headed over to a bible study that I was leading. I ate my food as we chatted about God and life. Then -- Uh Oh! A terrible rumbling noise from my innards! Pain, pain, pain! Ok Em, I thought, you can make it through, only X amount of minutes! There was no real escaping to the bathroom -- the dorm only had suites with shared bathrooms. After the bible study was over, the girls wanted to talk, but I abruptly cut them off and told them I had to leave! I high tailed it down to the lobby and rushed into the single person bathroom. RELIEF. And a continued hatred for black beans! I still feel bad about blowing the girls in the bible study off, but really there was nothing I could do!
Eventually, I have added black beans into my diet, incorporated into Mexican fare. Yesterday I ate some black beans, chicken and cheese as a snack and almost had the same experience as above! Should have taken beano -- haha!
Victories:
I have lost 2 pounds! I'm at 273. I'm REALLY happy with this. I'm not expecting the weight to fall off in a certain amount of time. Right now, I am TRULY happy with focusing on my fitness and seeing my weight drop is such a bonus!
My endurance is building. Don't get me wrong, I am not able to run a mile without stopping, but I am improving! I swam 2200 yards tonight and I hated it because it was hard, but loved it because it was challenging!
And I am stepping out of my comfort zone! If I cannot have a lane to myself, I try to get a lane with someone who swims at a similar speed. I got in a lane with a girl who is a few years younger than me (and several sizes smaller! lol) She had started her workout before me and ended before me as well. She was swimming off of an endurance training chart. Normally, I would be very introverted and just keep swimming and ignore her (aka this is why I have a hard time making new friends!). I asked her what she was training for (an open water swim) and we chatted for a few mins. Proud of myself and I hope to swim with her again!
Now I'm off to do a face plant into my pillow! Strength training circuit + 2200 yards of swimming in an hour = wiped out!
