167.6 Oktoberfest

This weekend was the St. Charles Oktoberfest, which we have gone to every year for the past 3 years.  I didn't actually take any photos this year; the above picture is from 2010.  We went for a short time both Friday and Saturday and each time I had 1 stein-full of beer (well, actually I couldn't quite finish either one).  There were a bunch of vendors there and we bought a bunch of sausage from a really good sausage company based in Hermann, some blackberry jam, and a homemade catnip-filled mouse for our cats (which they are now obsessed with).  And, like always, we ate sausage and potato pancakes with applesauce and listened to a (slightly ridiculous) "German" band.

I didn't get a chance to post the last few days, but Friday I was 169.4.  For my workout I did Body Pump then ran .25 miles and walked 1.75 miles.  Yesterday I didn't go to the gym.  I think the only reason I'm a couple pounds lighter today is that I went to the gym earlier, as opposed to late in the day after work like I do during the week.  I guess we'll find out tomorrow though.

Here's what I ate yesterday:

banana

1 serving kefir

grilled chicken sandwich from McDonalds

apple

weisswurst sausage with bun, mustard, and sauerkraut

2 small potato pancakes with small serving of applesauce

1 stein of Hofbrau beer

about 6 mini donuts sprinkled with cinnamon sugar

169.0 Back to Normal

I went running again today, and I think the effect of the altitude has worn off.  I didn't really feel the need to run faster than normal (my max speed was 7.0 mph), but I did run a total of 1.75 miles, with a walking break in the middle.

I didn't lose any weight yesterday, which I think may be because of going to body pump.  I really hope I lose a bit of weight in the next few days, because I want to at least break even this month!

Today Jack and I met for lunch at a Thai restaurant close to where I work.  It was nice to get away from my building for a bit, and the food was pretty good.

Yesterday for my workout I ran 1.25 miles at a max speed of 7.2 then went to Body Pump.  Here's what I ate:

Cereal
Ham and cheese on wheat bread with mayo
Small Greek salad with vinaigrette
Protein bar
Hamburger with lettuce and mustard on a bun
Small portion sweet potato fries
1hardboiled egg
5small squares of chocolate

169.0 Not As Easy Today

I lost a pound yesterday!  I would really like to lose two more by Friday.  As it stands right now, I have a net gain of .8 pounds this month, and I'd like to have a loss of at least 2 or 3 pounds.  So I have 5 days to lose about 4 more pounds.

Running today wasn't quite as easy as it was yesterday, but I ran for longer (1.25 miles).  I kept my speed at a maximum of 7.2 mph.  The Body Pump class also wasn't as easy as I thought it would be; I upped my weight in anticipation but found myself struggling.  I think I did pretty well though overall.

The above picture was taken on our hike in Aspen.  Starting from the left, it's Ben and Nicki from Ohio, Emily and Mike from Seattle, Jack and I, and Andy and Claire from Denver.  The dog was owned by the person who took the picture for us.

Yesterday I ran 1 mile, at a maximum speed of 7.4 mph.  Here's what I ate:

2 slices buttered toast
2 fried eggs
granola bar
grilled chicken sandwich with mayo
side of fruit
3 small beef jerky sticks
pulled pork sandwich on wheat bun with slaw
greek salad with light caesar dressing
handful of chocolate covered almonds
small milky way bar
slice of chocolate "pie" (chocolate pudding on graham cracker crust)

170.0 I'm Back!

I know I haven't posted in a long time.  For the last 10 days Jack and I were in Colorado, and for the few days or so before that my days were so full with work, workouts, and housework (so much working!) that I didn't have time (or didn't feel like it).  In the last few days before the trip I gained a bit of weight; I think I was around 169.  So I really only gained about a pound over the trip, which is better than I expected!

The above two pictures are both from Estes Park, which we visited after a couple days in Denver.  We stayed at The Stanley (the hotel that inspired The Shining), and that male elk, along with about 20 females, was hanging out on the grounds outside the hotel around dusk.  I got very close to him, which was a bit scary, but it makes a great picture, right?  The other picture is from earlier that day, hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park.  The next day we went to Ft. Collins (apparently the beer capital of the US), then back to Denver for a couple more days before going off to Aspen for the weekend.  We shared a cabin there with three other couples (Jack's friends from high school plus their wives/fiancees, who have become my friends too).  One couple was from Denver, one from Seattle, and one from Ohio.  The cabin was beautiful, and we took a great hike up a mountain in Aspen which was very difficult, especially with the altitude (we were at 12,000 feet), but I was able to keep up with Denver couple (who are very fit and active) the whole time, so I felt pretty good about myself.

I knew that being at high altitude for a while improves athletic ability (mainly because there's less oxygen, which makes your heart work harder to get the oxygen to your muscles), so I was looking forward to running after getting back to see if it was easier.  I did that today, and it was easier, but not in the way that I expected.  I thought the difference would be in my endurance and breathing; that I would be able to run for a longer time and not be huffing and puffing the whole time.  What actually happened is that I was just able to run a lot faster.  What felt before like a hard run (7.0/7.1 mph) felt like a mere jog, and I kept wanting to go faster--actually I got to 7.4--but the breathing was no less difficult.  In fact, I was breathing so heavily I decided I should stop for fear I would pass out or something, even though my muscles weren't tired at all.  I only ran a mile.  Tomorrow I will try a different approach--not going any faster than 6.8/6.9 and see how far I can run.  I'm also going to Body Pump tomorrow and I think it will be interesting to see if that's any easier.

I didn't write down what I ate yesterday, but let's see if I can do this from memory:

granola bar
2-3 servings of Naked juice
powerbagel with almond cream cheese from Einstein's
airplane peanuts and cheesits
airplane cup of ginger ale
grilled chicken sandwich with cheese, jalapenos, and sauce
side salad

? Beautiful Day for a Bike Ride (And a BBQ)

Today when I woke up from a long, luxurious sleep with the window behind the bed open, I felt the light, cool breeze and saw the clear blue sky and thought, "I absolutely have to take a bike ride today."  Fortunately I got my bike back from the shop yesterday, so that's just what I did.  My legs felt like jelly afterwards, but I felt like I was going much faster up the hills than I was before (maybe the spin class has helped).

Our friends John and Lauren (the ones we have cooking club with) just moved into a new place the other day, and today we are going over there to grill some steaks and shrimp.  It's a great day for that as well.

Yesterday for my workout I did the elliptical for 20 minutes and walked for 25 minutes.  Here's what I ate:

chocolate protein shake
2 dates
small glass of orange juice
1/2 leftover grilled cheese
small portion beef jerky
raspberry cheesecake jello temptation
french dip sandwich
fried chicken drumstick
side of cottage cheese
2 Mich Ultras

167.2 Donuts Are the Bane of My Existence

Last night Jack and I went out to a bar with a couple friends, and when we got home I had my heart set on making donuts.  I made them very poorly--the oil was too hot so they cooked too fast on the outside while the middle remained uncooked--but I loved them anyway.  So much that I ate 4 small ones and 2 large ones.  Why???  Seriously, these donuts are like my achilles tendon.  They are sent from the gods.  Why did I have to discover them?  Curse you, Pinterest.

Anyway.  I'm not sure what I weighed yesterday, but I'm assuming pretty much all of the weight gain was because of that, so I'll assume my weight yesterday was the same as Thursday, 166.2  That means I lost 2.6 lbs last week!  It's definitely because I did more cardio and less muscle strengthening.

I did not workout yesterday.  Here's what I ate:

cereal
large portion of sushi (white rice)
apple
small portion of tuna salad on 5 saltines
6 chicken wings
a few fries
3 Mich Ultras
2 glasses of red wine
4 small and 2 large donuts
glass of skim milk

? I Like My Job

I really started to like my job today.  I feel so much like an adult!

I didn't get to go to my body pump class today because I was thinking the class started at 5:50, so I planned on working 9-5, but it turned out the class was at 4:45.  Whoops.  So I just went home, through torrential rain, and when I got there the power was out in our apartment so Jack and I just decided to go out for dinner.  A day with thunderstorms is a good day to skip a workout, right?  It felt kinda good.

Yesterday for my workout I did the elliptical for 10 minutes, walked 20 minutes, and ran 1 mile.  Here's what I ate:

cereal
1/2 leftover spinach wrap
large salad with lettuce, kale, leftover chicken, and fat free italian dressing
nonfat yogurt
large serving of sauteed green beans
medium portion of butter chicken curry (with chicken tenderloin)
glass of V8
raspberry cheesecake jello "temptation"

166.2 Better Day at Work

My 2nd day at work was a lot better.  I learned more about what I'll be doing and while I was still pretty bored most of the day, it wasn't as boring as yesterday.  Tomorrow things will pick up for sure.  I wasn't able to leave work as early as I wanted to in order to make it to the muscle works class, so I just did my regular cardio workout.  Tomorrow I'm hoping to make it to the body pump class after work.

I lost 1.4 lbs in the last two days, hurray!  That means I've already lost more than 2 lbs so far this week. My goal for the end of the week was 166.8.  Yesterday for my workout I did a 40 minute pilates video. Here's what I ate:

cereal
granola bar
1/2 reuben panini
small salad with cucumbers, cheese, and fat free dressing
nonfat yogurt
3 dates
1 and 2/3 roasted chicken thighs, skin on
roasted red onions

? First Day at New Job

Today was my first day at my new job.  It wasn't the greatest, because it was pretty boring (they didn't have anything for me to do yet) and I was really really tired (I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night).  Tomorrow things should pick up though.  Since I was so tired today, I didn't go to the gym after work as I'd planned, but came straight home.  I did end up doing a pilates video though.

Yesterday for my workout I did the elliptical for 20 minutes, walked 20 minutes, and ran 1 mile.  Here's what I ate:

cereal
3 dates
glass of V8
large vegetable salad
nonfat yogurt
medium slice of seared tuna steak with teriyaki sauce
large serving of steamed veggies
1 glass of red wine

167.6 Re-Assessment

Today I had my reassessment with Ashley.  Here are the results, once again starting with the measurements, followed by how much I lost since last time, followed by how much I've lost total.

shoulders: 43.0/-.75/-5.5
chest: 38.75/-3.0/-4.75
waist: 37.0/-.75/-3.0
hips: 40/0/-1.5
thighs: 21.25/-.5/-1.25
arms: 11/0/-1
BF%: 31.2%/-.3%/-3.8%

I definitely lost a lot in my chest, and more in my thighs than usual.

Yesterday for my workout I went to the body pump class then did the elliptical for 10 minutes, walked for 20 minutes, and ran half a mile.  Here's what I ate:

granola bar
chocolate protein shake
salad with lettuce, cheese, red onion, croutons, and Imo's dressing
1/2 avocado
grilled chicken leg and wing
small serving of cole slaw
2 glasses of sparkling lemonade
large serving of potato chips

168.6 Happy Labor Day!

So, apparently I gained 1.4 lbs yesterday.  I don't really know what that's about, unless it's (at least partly) a delayed gain from the day before yesterday when I had 8 beers but then still somehow lost a pound.  It especially doesn't make sense to me because I did all cardio yesterday.

Oh well.  Today Jack and I might make some beer can chicken on the grill.  We made it about a month ago and it was the moistest chicken I've ever had, so I'm excited!

Yesterday for my workout I did the elliptical for 5 minutes, walked for 20 minutes, and ran 1 mile.  Here's what I ate:

cereal
nonfat yogurt
soft pretzel with cheese sauce
1/2 grilled cheese sandwich
large serving of sweet potato waffle fries
22 oz. cider
stout
chocolate dipped cookies

167.2 Lost a Pound Yesterday!

I lost a whole pound yesterday, even with how much I ate and drank.  Maybe this is because of all the cardio I did and how much I pushed myself running.  Today I ran a little less (just 1 mile), but pushed a little more to 7.1 mph.

I'm hoping to get my re-assessment in this Tuesday.  Ashley has been out of town so I've been unable to set up an appointment with her.  Tuesday would be ideal since I start my job on Wednesday and I don't want to go too much longer than a month since my last assessment.

Yesterday for my workout I did the elliptical for 20 minutes, walked for 20 minutes, and ran 1.25 miles.  Here's what I ate:

1/2 coke
1.5 small biscuits
fried egg
1/2 large sausage patty
serving of Naked juice
mango protein shake
2 chicken wings
1/2 spinach wrap
3 waffle fries
2 celery sticks with bleu cheese
serving of cottage cheese
4 Bud Lights
4 Mich Ultras
1 chocolate

168.2 Lost 5 Lbs in August

Ok, this is crazy: I somehow lost the exact amount of weight I needed to yesterday to get to my monthly goal.  I know it seems unlikely, but I swear I'm not lying!  I even ate a pretty heavy breakfast today before going to the gym and weighing myself.  I'm very proud of myself for meeting my goal!

I have also officially lost over 20 lbs at this point.  I have about 23 more to lose, but because of my muscle gain, at this point I'm no longer married to my ultimate goal weight.  We'll see how it goes, but at this point I'd like to retain my original goals, just because it's something to keep me on track.  My goal for this month is to lose 6 lbs.  Actually, if I lose 6 lbs per month for the next 4 months, I will be at my goal by New Years.

Today I ran a little more than yesterday, and faster too.  I actually found that I liked running faster better; it feels different from jogging (uses more muscles throughout the body) and although it's more difficult, it's a lot less boring.  I ran 1.25 miles, gradually increasing my speed to 7.0 mph.  I felt great the whole time, then at the very end I felt exhausted (although this might have been psychological because of knowing the end was near).  No shin splints yet, but I'm trying to ease into this.

Yesterday for my workout I went to the hour-long pilates class, did the elliptical for 10 minutes, walked for 20 minutes, and ran 1 mile.  Here's what I ate:

mango protein shake
1/2 avocado
glass of V8
nonfat yogurt
serving of beef jerky
Chicago-style hotdog from Steak and Shake
small side of fries
kid size strawberry banana shake
several thin apple slices
thin slice of toasted bread with crumbled goat cheese
3 glasses of red wine