Nutrisystem, Day 1

Today is my first day on Nutrisystem. (No, I'm not going to post every day, but this is kind of a momentous occasion, you know?) I had cereal with banana slices on top for breakfast (and discovered I actually shorted myself half a serving of protein, but that's okay), then for lunch I had a chicken quesadilla, yogurt, and more vegetables than I'd expected. I'm supposed to have two servings of veggies, but I didn't realize a serving of grape tomatoes was a full cup! Likewise with the green pepper. Dinner calls for two veggies and a fruit, and though I had enough peppers and tomatoes to make a single serving between them, I'll have to stop by the grocery store after work to pick up something else.

While my stomach is rather unhappy at the moment (probably because of the abnormally large amount of fresh vegetables I had with lunch), I haven't felt unusually hungry. I'm trying to figure out how to work my afternoon snack, since I'm really not hungry right now and I'll probably be eating dinner in the office around 5:00 since I want to be in Alexandria (about 30 miles from here, fighting DC afternoon rush) well before 7:00.

All in all, I think this is a totally doable meal plan, as I don't feel like I'm really denying myself anything. By the way, I'd also like to mention that we had a Valentine's Day party at work, with tons of delicious-looking homemade cupcakes and cookies and stuff, and I didn't eat any. Go me! :D

Pre-Nutrisystem Thoughts

So last night we ordered our first month of Nutrisystem. It was my husband's idea, actually: between his recent 37th birthday and friends losing weight and both of us struggling for so many years, he realized that we clearly can't do it on our own. We've tried a lot of approaches, from South Beach to food diaries to just making healthy changes to our meals. And still we stay fat, because while we know in our heads what portions we're supposed to be eating, it's hard to translate that to the plate, both realistically (understanding exactly what an ounce looks like) and personally (that is, having the willpower to limit our own portions). The idea behind Nutrisystem is that they do the calorie-counting and portion-control for you. Our plan is to do this for a few months (or however long it takes), get our weights down, and most importantly, pay attention to what and how much we're eating.

When we go off the plan, which we inevitably will (though who knows how long it'll be), we'll have a better visual understanding of portions and our stomachs will have shrunk so it takes less food to fill us up. Let's face it: it's really difficult to stop eating before you're full (or the plate is clean, whichever comes first). Since we'll be full faster (and presumably happy enough with our bodies that we're more careful about what we eat - it's easy to binge when you're already fat anyway), we should naturally eat less. It's all about creating habits.

The biggest change for my husband will be not eating the same thing every day (he has OCD, so routine is very important to him), while for me it will be not going out to eat for a while. Yes, the program comes with a dining guide, but it'll be easier to just stay in. I also anticipate being sad on Fridays for a while, when my office provides free doughnuts and bagels.

Despite all this, I am confident. The food is provided, so I don't have to just rely on my own (very limited) willpower. Maybe I won't drop 30 pounds in the first two months like my husband's friend, but I hope to see some sort of improvement. I'll still go to the gym, of course - that's my precious me-time - but diet is like 80% of the equation.

Our first shipment is supposed to arrive in about three days. I think I'll go eat one last Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell.

Wednesday Weigh-in

My weight did not change; I neither lost nor gained.

For which I am grateful, actually, because I haven't been feeling well, or eating well, or exercising much.

In other news, it looks like my husband and I are going to give Nutrisystem a try. Stay tuned.

Gym Recap 2/4/11

Format: exercise - reps x sets - weight - notes (if applicable)

• pull-ups - 7x3 - 112lb counterweight - arms out, more reps than ever!
  
• dips - 10x3 - 112lb counterweight
  
• abdominal crunch machine - 50x2 - 35lbs
  
• reverse crunch machine - 50x2 - 35lbs
  
• hip adduction - 15x3 - 90lbs
  
• hip abduction - 15x3 - 90lbs
  
• chest press machine - 12x3 - 40lbs
  
• bicep curls - 15x3 - 10lbs - per arm, free weights
  
• lawn mowers - 12x3 - 15lbs - per arm, free weights
  
• tricep kickbacks - 12x3 - 10lbs - per arm, free weights
  
• squat machine - 12x3 - 90lbs - really felt it in my behind
  
• plank position - held for roughly 30 seconds twice (didn't have a watch on me, so it was probably less)

Hump Day Happies

Weight change this week: -1
Weight change so far in 2011: -8

I attended the goodbye luncheon for my former supervisor today. It was at T.G.I. Friday's. I thought long and hard about what to eat, and ended up with a half sandwich/half wedge salad, with water to drink. It was really tasty, and at the end of it I felt like I could have eaten more, but didn't need to. So that felt good. You can't imagine how hard it is for me to resist french fries!

I wasn't really in the mood to go to the gym tonight. I didn't feel like lifting weights and most of the cardio was off-limits while I recover from yesterday's fall on the ice. So I went up to the indoor track, loaded up one of the Podrunner mixes, and told myself that I didn't have to do anything in particular, but I wasn't allowed to leave that track for the entirety of the hour-long mix.

And you know what? I mostly walked, but I ran quite a bit too. I took it easy, careful to put most of the impact on my toes, not worrying about speed. And I kept moving for that entire hour.

And most importantly, my knee didn't hurt at all. Score! :D

Getting back up to speed

Last December I started the First Day to 5k program through Podrunner Intervals. I'd completed it once before, in 2007, but due to weather and asthma I didn't keep up with it after that. This past time I got halfway through week 3 and decided that since my knee pain had me about in tears by the end of the run, it was time to quit. Considering I'd been running on an indoor track (and was on concrete sidewalks in 2007), this sudden problem was unexpected, to say the least.

I have several theories as to what happened. The first may be that my form was off during the first week, causing minor injury that never healed properly, worsening every time I ran. The second is that I've exceeded the weight limit for my joints, and I need to just lose weight before I can run again.

I've always wanted to be a runner, not just for the fitness benefits but because I like the freedom of it. You can do it just about anywhere, no special equipment required. The best part of the Podrunner Intervals podcasts is that you don't have to constantly check your watch or your distance: the speed of the music changes when you need to change your pace, with a little chime in between so you know it's coming. And you know, a lot of the time running really sucks, but when it doesn't, it's awesome. And either way, at the end of each run I feel like I really accomplished something.

So I've decided to try again. I have an appointment to pick up new custom orthotics this coming Tuesday. After giving myself a couple weeks to fully break them in, I will begin the First Day to 5k program again, on February 21.

I told my coworker this, who then wrote it on his calendar. I'm not sure how I feel about such accountability, but I guess I'm in it for real now. Here's hoping my knee doesn't fail me again. I'll take it super slow, which isn't saying much considering I was never what you might call fast, but one thing I've learned about going to the gym: nobody's looking at you.

Victories 2/1/11

When I left my house this morning, I immediately slipped on the completely invisible ice and landed hard on my tailbone. It hurt. Kind of a lot. But though I was tempted to treat myself to something yummy to help me feel better, I resisted, and went straight to work.

However, because of my injury, I decided to take the day off from the gym. I'll go tomorrow - but I'll have to be gentle.