4th day on the plan

I'm putting to bed my fourth day on the plan. So far, so good! I've lost 2 pounds and the food has been surprisingly good. This morning I had a veggie omelet for breakfast. Lunch I didn't care for as much, but I think I prepared it wrong. It was a Parmesan and broccoli noodle dish and I believe I added too much water. So we will see if it is better next time. For dinner, I went off the plan. The family cooked tacos with ground turkey which turned out to be pretty decent calorie-wise, so I went with that instead. And for dessert tonight I had a chocolate chip cookie. Yummy! I haven't felt hungry and still have not really worked in the afternoon snack which I am allowed.

Exercise is going well. It was storming out this morning so I did my walk/jog on the treadmill...6 miles! Can't seem to do any better than an average of 10 minutes per mile, but I did add some distance. Then tonight I danced Argentine tango for several hours. Fun and a good calorie burn! Took a hot bath, legs are sore and tired but I feel good. :-)

Feels Good!

Today was my first day on the nutri-system plan. For breakfast I had a banana nut muffin, hard boiled egg, and a banana. For lunch I had chicken and pasta in cacciatore sauce. For dinner I had penne pasta with chicken in Alfredo sauce and a spinach salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And for dessert an ice dream bar.

So far, all the food has been pretty tasty. The portions are small, but that was expected. I'm sure my sense of a normal portion is way out of whack from years of indulging in the typical American super-sized meal. I really haven't felt hungry and I didn't have one of the snacks for the day, or all the vegetables that were allotted either. I had to go grocery shopping for all the fresh stuff, which I didn't have the chance to do until just before dinner. All in all, I'm liking the plan so far.

When I got home from my last massage, I still had to get my exercise in. It was so nice outside, so I decided to ditch the treadmill and run in the fresh air.  It started to rain a bit, but it actually felt really good. It made me feel alive and powerful somehow. I am finding that running in general has that affect on me. Maybe it is because running is something I always felt I wasn't able to do, and now I am doing it! That feels good!

new stategy

So this week has not gone well. I can't seem to get back on track. I made a decision to try something new, something I never really thought I'd do. But I decided to try NutriSystems. I checked into several options and considered cost, ease of use, the "look" of the food (hard to judge taste until I actually taste it, but some looked better than others) track record, etc...Surprisingly, the plan actually cost less than what I normally spend on food. Especially if I eliminate the eating out. The thing that is most appealing, is that I think it will address my biggest problem-which is lack of preparation. I can never seem to get meals ready ahead of time. I let myself get too hungry and then end up eating junk food out or whatever is quick and easy when I get home. The meals are all prepared and ready ahead of time. I will not have any excuses now.

My other challenge is exercising regularly. My goal for the first week is just to walk every morning for 30 minutes to get my metabolism going. Unfortunately, NutriSystems can't make me get out of bed and walk. I'll have to do that for myself!
 

New Habits

I read somewhere it takes 21 days to create a new habit. But this week I found out it takes just one short vacation on the coast to disassemble the new habit. I went to California for 4 days, during which time I wasn't too worried about eating perfectly or exercising. I did fairly well on my eating and did a lot of walking. When I got back I was relieved to find I hadn't gained any weight when I stepped on the dreaded scale. The problem really started after that, when I couldn't seem to get back into my workout routine and healthy eating habits. So now it has been two weeks out of the saddle. But tomorrow is a new day, with a renewed commitment to pick up the reins and get back on the horse. And in reality that is what a healthy lifestyle is about. There will be times when I slip back into old patterns. As long as I don't get stuck there, I think I'll be just fine!