When I was a kid, I was encouraged to eat as much as I could…  We even had contests regularly to see who could put away the most pizza, steak, wings….whatever…  My parents bragged about how much I could eat and I was told by aunts, uncles, and friends parents that I made them happy by gorging myself with copious amounts of their delicious cooking!  I don’t blame them or anyone else because it was a different time and ignorance was abundant, but I know better now.  However, old habits are very, very, hard to break…  I must change my habits and I will.  I have been getting a lot of advice (solicited btw) about not limiting my foods too much as it will cause cravings that will derail me.  I have been really eating differently with lots of veggies and no bread, rice, etc….and I do enjoy all the foods that I have been eating.  But, after re-reading many comments and Blogs, I realize that I do need to let myself eat things that I like that are not the “healthiest” foods.  Moderation is the key but I have never moderated much of anything at all…  I am going to stick to the healthier foods but allow myself to eat a few things I love.  I will keep my portion size to “about the size of my fist”…  🙂

I feel like I live in Oregon…  Rain, rain, rain…  Hamstring was hurting yesterday and this morning but I felt like I needed to do something.  Went to the Gym at work and “rode” the elliptical thing-a-ma-jig for 42 min…  Similar workout and heart rates as yesterday.  It was a little awkward but I got used to it.  I am amazed at how many different ways you can ride that thing!  I tried lots of different motions and some burned the thighs while others the calves and back etc…  Kinda fun…  I felt like the workout went much faster today so I guess I was having fun.  Good music on the iPod helps also…  I stretched the hammies afterward and hit the showers…

BOTH calves were sore this morning and it was pouring rain so I grabbed my clothes and went to the GYM at work…  I rode the recumbent for 40 minutes and sweated like a pig again.  After 15 minutes the heart rate was up to 140 with 233 Watts effort and at the end it was 150+ while maintaining 233 Watts…  I want to run again tomorrow but will see how the calves feel…

OK…  I took a few days off….5 to be exact!  However, I went skiing at Squaw Valley (epic conditions) and played in the snow with the family, etc…so I did get some exercise.  I ate fairly well but had a little sushi rice and even had a beer here and there so I didn’t lose any weight.  Today, I am back on the program!  I ran my 3.5 miles this morning and was a little easier on myself as far as the heel striking goes…  I am trying to get a feel for how to land on the ball of my foot comfortably and consistently.  Only my left calf felt any significant pain today so I think I am progressing.  The right one will come around I am sure…  I had some other small pains like back, groin, ham string that had me thinking and wondering if running is for me…  However, it felt good to complete the run and it made me feel silly for not exercising for 5 days…  MUST KEEP IT GOING!!!

OK…  I got some motivation back…  Getting some good feedback from the clothing.  I put on a pair of pants that I could barely button 1 month ago and even thought about putting on a belt….only for a second.  😉  My calves hurt just walking to the bathroom so I hopped in the car and went to the gym.  I rode the recumbent bike for 40 minutes and the sweat was embarrassing.  I kept the heart rate above 140 almost the whole time but it seems to take a while to get it up there at the beginning.  Maybe that’s a good sign…I don’t know…but I did check my resting heart rate in the morning last week and it was 61 BPM.

Eating salads, eggs, veggies, string cheese, yogurt, and mostly lean meat…  I admit I must have a couple slices of salami on occasion or some Corralitos sausage…  Those I cannot give up entirely…  Oh, and I had a sweet tooth craving before bed and looked for some sugar free jello to make, but couldn’t find any.  I had a pair of Metamucil wafers (chocolate flavor) to boost the fiber.  I think they said 6g of sugar… Oh well, they’ve got FIBER! …and they taste pretty good.  Thanks Nina!  Cheers…