Last night, as I was making a menu and grocery list for this week, I realized that I have got to seriously buckle down and get back to eating properly. There is definite room to "trim the fat", so to speak. So I got out my handy-dandy "Ultimate Weight Solution Food Guide" (by Dr. Phil) and revised my menu plan. I'm going to begin with the next two weeks as a jump start, using the Rapid Start Plan. Then I will continue on with the maintenance menus. Hopefully that will help cleanse my system and give my metabolism a boost. In addition to cutting out sugar, I'm (once again) going to drastically reduce my Diet Coke intake. I'm not going to say I'm cutting it out completely, because I believe I can do this in moderation. There is a time and a place for the occasional Diet Coke, just not everyday. Now that I have my menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the entire week taped to the refrigerator, I feel even more motivated.
When I first lost all the extra weight I'd been carrying from my 4 pregnancies, this was the diet/menu plan that I used. I lost 60 pounds in nine months, bringing me down to a weight of 115 pounds. At 5'3", I felt like that was a good weight for me. I was able to maintain that for a couple of years...then I started running. Within the first 6-8 weeks of starting training for my first marathon, I had gained 10 pounds. I'm sure that most of that can be attributed to muscle gain, but it was still unsettling to me after all the work I'd done to lose weight. Now, a little over a year and 3 marathons later, I'm still sitting pretty at 125 pounds. Some of you out there may be thinking that I should be happy with that weight. The problem is that I know how my eating has gradually become less managed, I've sort of adopted the mentality that because I exercise so much, I can eat pretty much anything I want and not gain weight - a dangerous mode of thinking. I can tell that I've let it get out of control to an extent because I don't feel good, physically. In theory, I should be in the best shape of my life, but most days I feel sluggish and flabby. I know that with a little jolt of reality and some sacrifice, I can whip myself back into shape without too much pain and suffering, so here goes...
This morning's workout consisted of a 10 minute Pilates warm up, followed by 30 minutes on the bike. Then I did 5 minutes worth of sit-ups and plank position, followed by 30 minutes on the elliptical. After that I got on the treadmill and did 15 minutes at 6mph. Now it's time to go grocery shopping.
A mother's journey from non-runner to marathoner. If I can do it, anyone can...so get out there and run!
Agreed. It's kind of a theme in a lot of running blogs to joke about diet. I know I do it when I over-indulge. But opps, it was almost everyday I'd have something bad. I know I could be at a better weight if I worked harder on my diet, not to mention feel better.
ReplyDeleteDay 2 of pristine diet for me and I already feel more inclined to workout harder and consistently. Which is another problem area for me around this time of year. boo.