Running Scared

It was the most gorgeous day! It started off a little rainy, but the skies changed pretty quickly and the sun came out for a beautiful fall day.  Since it was raining to start, I decided to go to the gym for a run instead of outdoors.  I can’t believe my first 5K race is in 8 days!  Holy crapola!  I felt a little scared thinking about it.  I haven’t run in a week.  I’m trying to keep my hip damage to a minimum before the race, but at the same time, I’m not really training like I should be.  I know it’s just 5K, but I started feeling uncertain about it;  a million doubts about my ability were flooding my mind…

I fueled up with a little protein before heading to the gym – a spoonful of PB & Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter…

The best stuff ever…

and I snagged half of little daughter’s toast spread with some of it on the way out the door!

I don’t know why I felt nervous about running on the treadmill today.  I didn’t quite feel up to it and my confidence was shaky.  But, I ended up kicking those nerves to the curb after I got started!  I chatted with my friend, Coleen who moved to the next treadmill to keep my company and keep my mind off the time.  I wanted to try to shave some time off my last run which was 50 minutes.  She left when I had a 1.25 miles to go, so I plugged in my tunes and cranked out the rest of the run.  I pumped up my pace toward the end and , surprisingly, felt pretty strong.  I ended up taking 4 minutes off my time!  I like 46 minutes way better than 50!  Hopefully, next week it will be even less, but as long as I finish, I’ll be thrilled!

I treated myself on the way home to a small Caramel Latte Lite at Dunkin Donuts.  Only 99 cents this week!  I’m treading on dangerous ground by slipping in the coffee here and there, but so far, my stomach and throat seem to be up for it…

I was ready to chow come lunch time.  I found some leftover Eggplant Parmesan Pizza in the freezer, heated that up and paired it with some crunch…

I made sure to have a serious snack so that I wouldn’t dig and munch on too much.  I went with a strawberry Chobani yogurt topped with these cuties…

All the bunnies in…

I also tried another flavor of Zevia.  This was the Cola flavor…

I dug it!  It’s a great Diet Coke substitute.  I like mine on ice…

I bumped Pizza Night and decided to make some comfort food:  roasted chicken, mashed potatoes topped with bacon and green onion and sauteed spinach.  I served it all family style…

My plate…

I’m off to pack.  The husband and I decided on an impromptu overnight to celebrate our anniversary which isn’t for a couple weeks, but this weekend worked out best!  I won’t be posting so that I can spend QT with the hubs, but I’ll be taking lots of pics and will catch up with you all on Monday morning :)

Have a great weekend!!!!

ONE GOOD THING:  I had an awesome run on the treadmill and feel confident that I can make it through the 5K next Saturday!

Question of the Day:  What’s one good thing that happened for you today?

Fast Food

I was a fast food junkie today, paying tribute to those fast food restaurants of the past.  I used to love those places.  McDonald’s, Wendy’s, pizza places;  they were all former stomping grounds.  I have always loved good food, too.  Real, wholesome, made from scratch meals, so I got the best of it all!  But, when I decided to seriously embark on my weight loss track, I slowly realized that these fast food places were not the best options for me.  Yes, there were menu items that I could eat at many of them that were better choices than what I would normally go for (i.e. quarter pounder with cheese and supersized fries!), but I would always leave feeling a bit empty and deprived.  The better choices that were available were usually salad and grilled chicken items, but often times the nutritional facts for these were still on the high side and I knew that if I had eaten at home, I could have eaten something much more filling and satisfying without having to spend the money and the calories.

My menu today reflects how I have been able to find similar, but healthier options to those favorites.  I started off with a take on the Egg McMuffin.  How I used to love those!!!  I can easily make it at home now, using a light or whole wheat english muffin, reduced fat cheese, egg whites and canadian bacon.  When I first began Weight Watchers in 2007, I probably ate this version everyday for the first 6 months.  It was a filling breakfast and would hold me until lunch.  My newest version changes it up a bit by using Eggo Nutrigrain, lowfat waffles.  My bacon, egg and cheese wafflewich uses 2 Eggo waffles, 3 egg whites cooked in nonstick spray with 1 slice of center-cut bacon crumbled into it and a slice of 2% cheese.  So good…

For lunch, it was off to the local pizza place.  Really local – my kitchen!  I had made an Eggplant Parmesan Pizza on Friday nite when Gram joined us for dinner.  She likes everything eggplant and whole wheat, so she and I shared some of this pizza…

I made this using Trader Joe’s whole wheat pizza dough, Dominex Eggplant Cutlets that I prebaked in the oven, homemade marinara sauce and part skim mozzarella cheese.  It was delicious and just as good reheated for lunch.  I also reheated some leftover Zucchini and Beans to have with it.  Can’t get that at the local pizza place…

After a fun family afternoon at the park, we were all hungry for dinner.  That fresh air really works up the appetite!  The husband and daughters got Italian hoagies on the way home, but I decided on a good old hot dog.  I really love the Applegate Farms Organic Uncured Beef Hot Dog that I bought recently.  They are low in calories and fat, but have that traditional hot dog flavor.  I put mine in a whole wheat bun and piled on the sides- carrots with chipotle hummus and barbeque POPchips…

A little later, the ice cream man came to town.  He lives in our freezer actually;  the husband and daughters love ice cream and eat it almost every night.  I’m not too tempted by ice cream, but these guys were shouting at me from the freezer!  Mmmmm….

And thanks to this, I sang the commercial jingle all night long!  *What would you dooooo, for a Klondike bar? * The advertisers who made that one up would be happy :)

ONE GOOD THING:  I was able to include some fun fast foods into my day and still feel like they were healthy choices.  Yeah, even the Klondike:  ice cream = calcium and peanut butter = protein.  Okay, I know that’s a stretch, but everything in moderation, right? :)

Question of the day:  Do you have a favorite fast food item that you recreate at home?