Kari’s Blog

Yesterday didn’t go 100% to plan.  I had a meeting at 3pm with my financial gal, and that ran late enough that I didn’t have time to do my run between finishing that & meeting a friend for dinner.  :(  There’s another good reason to do the workouts in the morning - then nothing can get in the way of it during the day!!  I WILL do my run tonight, however, nothing will get in my way!  Not rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor dark of night! 

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To the title of this blog:  I had possibly the best salad I’ve ever tasted last night.  It was sooooo deelish.  There’s a gastro pub in our neighborhood called the “Leaky Roof”, and it’s run by an Irish family (it’s worth it to go in just to listen to them speak in their great accents. ).  Normally when we go there I eat heavy Irish food….shephard’s pie, great big burgers, etc.  But that certainly wasn’t in the calorie plan for the day, so I ordered their poached chicken & pear salad.  It was fan-TAS-tic!  It was basically a bed of mixed dark greens, with essentially a deconstructed chicken salad on top - tiny cubes of poached chicken, finely chopped fresh pears, a sprinkling of blue cheese, and a citrus vinaigrette.  I ate every morsel on the plate and wanted seconds!  Best of all - I entered in in my calorie tracker & it was very, very reasonable & healthy!  If I could figure out how to make that dressing, this is totally something I could make at home for myself.  I think I might give it a try this weekend!

Big Congratulations going out to the Blue Violets this week for their win!  Great work ladies, you did a wonderful job and deserve all the credit in the world for dropping those pounds like a bad habit! :-)  Way to go!

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As for my weigh-in, after my sluggish week last time, this week I saw a 2lb loss, so I am feeling great!!

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I missed blogging yesterday because DF was on the computer all day looking for jobs.  He still has his job at the firm, but has been a bit discontented lately, so he’s starting to test the waters and see what else is out there.  I’m glad he is looking around, I want him to find something that will make him happiest, so I didn’t mind giving him use of the computer for the day!

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I took yesterday off.  Completely.  I rested after my long, hilly run on Saturday, and I did not count calories at all.  I still ate healthfully, and in moderation - I just decided that Sundays will be my “break” day, so that I don’t feel like I am constantly in diet mode.   It’s actually a really great feeling to be at a point where I know I can take a day off and not go out of control.  I wasn’t even tempted to go “oooh, it’s my off day, I’m going to eat a pint of ben & jerry’s!!”.  I still want to be eating well, so I feel well and stay on track to my goal, but I just want to take my mind off every little calorie.  I felt in control and yet freed from my stringent plan that I stick to every other day of the week.  It was great!

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Today I am going to take the dog for a run after work - it’s supposed to be sunny & beautiful, and I am SO thrilled that DST is here, so that it’s light enough in the evenings that I can do it and not be running in the dark.  Then I’m meeting a friend who’s visiting from out of town for a light dinner, to catch up on girl chat.   It’ll be good to see her, we only get together a couple of times a year since she moved away.

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Have a great start to your week, buddies! 

It’s a gloomy, rainy day in Portland and I was not feeling very motivated to get outside and do my run.  I realllllly wanted to get in one last good workout before my Red Hottie weigh-in tomorrow morning, though, so as soon as I saw a break in the rain I threw on my shoes and went out for a 6 miler.  I took a different route through downtown and got in lots of up & downhills, which was a nice way to mix things up.  About four miles in, it started raining again…hard!  At that point I didn’t have any option but to keep running & finish my 6 miles, which I did.  And running in the rain isn’t that bad, once you get going.  For some reason just *starting* a run in the rain is the really hart part for me.

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Anyhow, that’s out of the way now, and in a little while we’re going to meet some friends to watch basketball.  (Rock Chalk Jayhawk! I have to say that for my friend Tye, he’s a huge KU supporter).  :P  I know the bar we’re going to and they serve brown rice & chicken bentos, so I planned for that today and already put it into my calorie tracker, making sure it fits into the plan and it does, so I’m good to go! 

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I hope all of my buddies are having good, successful OP weekends!  See you tomorrow for weigh-in!

Today I discovered a new website that I think is going to be a fun way to track my exercise & set unique goals for myself.  It’s http://exercise.lbl.gov/, and it basically is a “Run Across America” challenge.  You enter in your mileage goal for each week, then enter how many miles you complete (walking, running, or cycling), and it tracks you across the country, showing you pictures along the way of the route you’re ‘running’, notifying you when you cross a state line, etc.  I think it will be fun to say “My goal is to run across Virginia in 3 months” instead of “my goal is to run 100 miles this month”. 

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You can also add partners, and it will track your progress together, so you can who’s “ahead”, and it will notify you when one of your partners ‘passes’ you on the trail, etc.  Really fun!

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So I’m joined up, but I don’t have any partners yet.  If any of my buddies decide to give it a shot let me know, we can add each other & track our progress together!  You don’t have to be a runner - walking & cycling counts too!  It’s the mileage that matter, not how you do it.

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Aside from that cool new motivational tool, things are going well!  I had an unhealthy dinner last night (onion rings with ranch dip at a bar during while watching the NCAA basketball games), BUT, believe it or not, I had planned for that.  I ate light all day (but was still satisfied), drank TONS of water (since I knew there would be a lot of sodium) and entered everything honestly into my tracker.  I finished the day within my calorie range!  Plus I went for a 4.5 mile run in the afternoon (before dinner), so I got my exercise in too!

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I’m ready for Sunday - so I can make my FACT of losing weight come true for my Red Hottie weigh-in!

I think I have finally kicked the sickness that was keeping me down earlier this week.  Even though I hadn’t been planning to exercise yesterday, it was soooo beautiful outside that I decided to go for a run.  I went really slowly and had a few cramps along the way, but I think I was probably still just dehydrated from being sick.  Jo went for her run too - I told her we’d both go in the afternoon and we would “run together”!  I thought of her while I ran, how cool it is that she is doing the fundraising marathon this summer - and in Italy!!  I’m so proud of her, I hope we’ll have a chance to really run together in the future!

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Today I’ve eaten really well, and had a ton of water, so I think I’m going to to try another run this afternoon.  I’m not worrying at all about how fast or far I go, just getting back on my feet again.  The fresh air really makes a difference!

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I weighed myself this morning (I know….I’m obsessive), and if things continuet this well I will make my FACT come true for Sunday!

Hi buddies!  Sorry for my absence over the weekend, DF & I both came down with the flu on Sunday and were down for the count yesterday & Monday.  It was no fun at all, but we’re both feeling much better today, so things are on the mend.

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You probably know, I did not see a loss last Sunday for my weigh-in.  In fact, I had a gain.  I did not feel up to exercising Friday or Saturday (I think the sickness was starting to come on), so that contributed to it, I’m sure.  BUT I’m taking things one day at a time and am on track to a perfect on-plan day, calorie & water-wise.  I am not going to exercise today, as I’m still feeling really exhausted from the last couple of days, but tomorrow if things feel more normal I will get out for a run in the sunshine. 

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As for a loss this week - it’s not a plan, it’s not a hope, it’s a FACT:  I WILL be down on Sunday.  No two ways about it.  I am 100% dedicated to making that happen.  All aboard the motivation train!  Woo,wooooo! (OK, I might still be a little loopy from the sickness, pardon me!)

Well buddies, you can see from my last blog that I am having a rough week!  I am lucky to have such smart & supportive friends here though.  You all truly came through with suggestions, ideas, and lots of support that showed me I need to keep going strong!  So I took two days off from exercise, am still drinking my water, and let myself eat a little above my calorie range the past couple of days to ‘confuse’ my body.  Tomorrow I am going on a loooooong run.  Partly to burn as many calories as possible prior to my weigh in on Sunday, and also partly just for a time of reflection.  I need the time with myself, pushing my body physically, to remind me that I take good care of it and that even if I see a gain this week, despite all my hard work, it is not the end of the world!

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So thank you VERY much for all of your comments and ideas.  It is truly comforting to have you all on my side, rooting for me through the rough days and the good ones!

Friends, I am having a very frustrating week!  In spite of all my efforts, my two weeks on plan, my committed exercise, drinking all my  water?..my scale has moved up the past two days in a row!  Half a pound yesterday, half a pound today.  I can excuse one day as an anomaly, but this seems to be almost a trend!  And I just can?t have it!  I NEED to continue losing so that I keep contributing to the Hottie success, AND so that I look my absa-fantabulos-oriffic best in my wedding dress when it?s time to start alterations ? which is only about 6 weeks from now!

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I know that ups & downs are normal?.but it?s just so difficult to focus on that when I?m working SO hard.  Normally if I see a little uptick like that I can pinpoint a reason for it.  Like, Oh, I ate a lot of salt yesterday and didn?t get enough water.  Or, hey, I  skipped a workout yesterday, etc.  But this week I have been perfect!!  Why won?t my horrid scale cooperate with me! ARRRGH!

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I just needed to get that out of my system.  I?m hoping against all hope that this is just a weird uptick, and that if I keep doing the right things and sticking to my plan, it?ll drop back in the right direction.  But it?s just a level of stress that I don?t need right now, y?know?  

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If anyone has ideas for how I can shake up my routine to bust out of this funk, while still staying on track, I?m all ears.  

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I will note one thing, that?s different this time though.  In the past if I had been working this hard and seen any ?upward? movement of the scale I probably would have thrown in the towel and said ?To hell with it then!  If I do everything right & these are my results, then I?ll just go back to doing everything wrong!?.  But this time that doesn?t even cross my mind.  I WANT to keep pushing through and get that number down?.but if I get through an ENTIRE week on plan and see a GAIN on Sunday?.I may very well lose it!!!

My blog title has nothing to do with my shopping habits or diet…it’s just the name of a film DF & I went to see at a new theatre in town last night, and it was the first thing that came to mind when trying to think of a title. ;-)  Although now that I think of it, I really do prefer grocery shopping late at night, right before the store closes.  It’s so much less crowded!

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Anywhooooooo.  Did great yesterday, stayed within my calorie range and got my elliptical minutes in at lunch, so that’s good.  This morning I had an early meeting that I conferenced in to from home, then I took the dog for a 4.5 mile run before coming in to the office.  It sure feels nice to have that workout out of the way!

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I’m going to be bopping around the house by myself this evening, as DF is meeting some manly-buddies at a local bar to watch sports.  I love watching sports too but it’s a boys night, so I’ll leave them alone. :)  I’ll probably pick up around the house, do some laundry, and then plop in front of the TV and try not to blow my day by snacking on anything bad for me!  Actually, that should be fairly easy; we’re really  not keeping a lot of junk food in the house these days, and when it’s not there I don’t miss it, so I’m glad!

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Have a great day all!

I did a lot of running this weekend, and I don’t think I got enough water in to compensate for it.  Plus I ate a salty pretzel at the basketball game we went to last night, which was fine, it didn’t put me over my calorie goal, but it definitely added a heap o’ sodium which I didn’t need.

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So far this morning I’ve already had my decaf green tea, and a 32 ounce jug of water, so I’m doing well on catching up!

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I’m about to head out to the gym to get some cardio in over lunch.  I think it was Mindy who asked recently how I squeeze workouts in over my  lunch hour.  I’m actually very lucky, because I have a lot of good things working for me in this aspect.  First, I’m salaried, not hourly, so as long as I’m getting my work done, it doesn’t particularly matter how many hours I work.  My boss doesn’t mind me taking 90 minutes for lunch as long as she knows that I’m accomplishing what’s needed, which I do.  Second, my gym is about a 5-10 minute walk from work, so it’s very convenient to get to.  And third, my boss and my bosses boss are both really active and very supportive of fitness - they go to the gym during the week too, sometimes over their lunch breaks, so they know how hard it is to fit it in and they support us doing it however we can!

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As far as showering & cleaning up; I bring a towel in my gym bag and we have a shower here at work that I use to rinse off.  I touch up my makeup a bit, but my hair is a little messier the rest of the day. ;)  That’s another reason I’m lucky - I work entirely in-house, I’m never meeting clients, etc, and our work environment is really casual, so if I’m not 100% put together in the afternoon it doesn’t really matter.

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Man, when I think about it I really have a lot of factors working together to make this possible!  I should tell my bosses “Thank You” sometime!  For now, I’m off to hit the elliptical!