Running towards the goal

Today I began the Couch to 5k program.  Week one is: run 60 seconds, walk 60 seconds for 20 minutes (with a warm up and cool down).  Simple enough.

On minute 8 or so I began thinking that week one just wasn't for me.  I mean, come on, walking more than running?  I haven't been a couch potato.  I exercise at least three times a week - if not all five work days.  I can just skip these first few days of the program.

By minute 11 or so, I was glad I kept on trucking.  My legs and heart were starting to burn.  I could feel the strain on my body.  It was the perfect combination - strained, but not exhausted

When I was on my final 60 second run, I ran harder and faster than I had before.  It felt great.  Exhausted, I was happy to walk off the treadmill and feel a little bit accomplished.

Running isn't exactly my thing, but I'm going to try and keep with this.  I like feeling accomplished and I need more of it.  Plus, just like I said it would, totally totally rocked (calories wise).  And if I hadn't had a goal, like running, I know that I would have eaten more of those delicious Trader Joe's swiss almond cookies.

Stressed and sweet

Work is super stressful right now.  We have a half dozen amazing time-intensive projects going on, and it's very hard to keep on track of everything.  So hard, in fact, that I can not do it.  Simply put, I'm stressed.  (As a little disclaimer, I love to be stressed.  So I really do love times like this.)

The problem with stress is I become distracted and overwhelmed, which prompts bad eating.  Just half an hour ago, wondering how I'm going to be able to do all the things that need to be done in the next two hours, I was craving a cookie.  If only I could go out and get something sweet, I told myself, I would return to work refreshed and be able to get this work done.

I made myself tea instead. 

I kept working and am enjoying the delicious yogi tea I bought myself, saving money and calories today!  I'm very proud of days like today.  It makes me feel like this is a battle that will soon be less urgent and less demanding.  Victories like this make me believe that one day I will be able to have a healthy relationship with food.  Just one day of taking healthy over delicious or bad for me is a victory, and today marks the SECOND day I've overcome my temptations!  Maybe getting injured is a blessing in disguise - I am now eating healthier than I ever was while exercising.

Lunch

To best track my food and save money, I bring lunch to work every day. I try to make a homemade meal a week. Lately I've been tracking my spending and have been exasperated on how much I spend on food. Buying a frozen bag of noodles and sauce at Trader Joe's - which lasts me 3 days - is much cheaper than a lot of the casseroles, burgers, soups, and sandwiches I make myself. The sodium counts on these processed foods is high, and my body does not react kindly to it. I've been trying balance cost with nutrition, and have been falling short. Healthy options are often expensive!

I've been buying a lot of frozen vegetables lately, pictured above. These too are expensive, but less so than their fresh versions (that are not currently in season). It comes out to approximately $1 per serving, because I generally eat two servings at a time of my veggies, which is a good price for a snack or meal side.

I make quite a few cheap meals, but none of which can be easily brought and kept at work. My favorite transportable meal thus far has been chicken kabobs. I have been eating significantly more meat since I began this journey, and I feel guilty for eating meat every day. But it's a nice low-calorie protein source that feels me up.

Any suggestions?

Small margin of error

One of the hardest things to do while counting calories is doing just that - counting calories.

Hungry after I had finished my lunch (and given myself 30 minutes to digest), I went scrounging around the farmers' market looking for something to eat. The spinach paratha looked appealing, so I bought it and ate some. The only problem is that sparkpeople doesn't have spinach paratha in its database of calorie counts. It took some googling to find out that my after lunch-lunch was a good choice: only 150 calories in the half a slice I had. Thankfully.

I have finished all my meals with only 92 calories to spare! But 92 calories to spare means I have calories left over - I have finished my day within my margin! Two days of success. That's wonderful news. I am still not getting enough protein in, and I'm not exactly sure how to increase that amount. I don't care for meat that much, and I'm tired of eggs. I think I need to increase my bean consumption (which is currently at zero). If you have any suggestions, I would welcome them.

Success!

Yesterday was a complete success! I ate between 1,330 and 1,680 calories, ate when I was hungry, and didn't eat too much. Today is day two, and I'm looking forward to repeating my success.

A few things I do along the way to make sure I eat healthy:

• Water - I try to drink 8 8-ounce cups a day. I also count my other drinks (mainly coffee and tea) toward the end goal of 8, but I try make the majority of that water.
  
• Planning ahead - I try to plan out what I'm going to eat that day. When I make a switch during the day, I must first decide what I'm going to switch it out for.
• Count calories - As I've mentioned before, if I don't count it, I don't lose weight. It's really that simple (for me).
  
• Believing in myself - This is by far the hardest for me. Saying "I can" instead of "I will" or "I should" makes me more successful, but too often I don't trust in myself. When I lose that trust, I lose respect for my decisions and overeat. I try to counteract that by saying positive mantras to myself during my morning workout. They deal with weight (this week I will be 1.5 pounds lighter if I keep up the good work), they deal with being body positive (I love my hair and I look beautiful today), they deal with food (Today I can count all my calories), and they deal with my day (Today is going to be great; I'm going to make it great).
  

So far I'm off to a good start - I've even counted the cream in my coffee - and I know I can continue, if only I believe in myself. (I believe I can, I believe I can, I believe I can.)