Recap and What Have You

There's so much pressure to come up with blog titles. It's really daunting. I'm totally lacking imagination tonight, as I look out onto this imposing week ahead, so you get what you get.

Anyway, last week

So I didn't actually set a goal for activity this week, I now realize. But last week it was 200 and I almost doubled that this week! Granted I had an entire day off work...no, actually, I'm still proud of myself. 

Best Workout of the Week

Maybe not best by athletic standards, but my favorites are probably either of my walks with Ellie. The incoming Governor declared Tuesday a state holiday (or state of emergency, we'll see) so I got the day off work. The weather was really nice so I decided after some lounging about to take Ellie to cherokee Park to walk. We listened to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History and climbed some hills. In all we did 5.04 miles and my legs were killing me Wednesday!

Saturday it was a balmy 70 degrees here. No kidding. Kentucky is very midwestern in that it gets 4 separate seasons (usually....almost always). 70 Degrees is just rude on December 12th. Also it was stupid humid. Anyway because it was so nice I decided to take Ellie out and then ride my bike. The combo was actually really nice. We did a loop around the park while I listened to the first episode of Serial Season 2 (which was fantastic, despite my prior skepticism). After we got back I hopped on the bike for a 30 minute spin session. The combination of the walk and the spin really got my legs eased up. 

Food of the Week

My relationship with food this week was mixed. After last week's ineffective stomach episodes, I decided this week to try to rebook the system. So instead of talking about "best" meals of the week, lets talk about what I actually ate. My Stomach reboot called for some rules. These included: 

- Absolutely no nuts (including peanuts...and peanut butter)

- No popcorn

- No granola or oatmeal

- No Spicy Stuff

So typically my breakfast has been overnight oats or a whole wheat English Muffin with Peanut butter. So yeah, I had to improvise. For breakfast I had 1/2 a Belvita package (so 2 crackers) and a Special K Protein Drink. I didn't really notice myself getting super hungry or anything. I typically ate my crackers with my morning coffee and drank the special K on my way over to court. Lunch was soup every day (Except Friday, when I got Panera, duh). Dinner wasn't too eventful with a frozen Tika Masala one night and a sandwich another. 

Where I can improve? Eating out. Tuesday night we got BBQ in celebration of having the day off. The BBQ was a little spicy and I got onion rings with it. I was appropriately punished for making this decision as The Belly decided to cramp and gurgle for the rest of the night. Thursday night, after 3 hours at the Volleyball Gym I broke down and got Chicken Nuggets and some fries from Wendy's. The Belly, however, did not reject this. It think at that point I was just too hungry.

So how do I feel after upping my activity level and controlling my diet?

Awful. Wait, is that not what you were expecting? I gained 3lbs. My stomach is super distended and angry. At the end of today's run I felt as though I was running in one of those pregnancy simulator vest things. With a big sack of weight not connected to me but still me. It was frustrating to say the least. 

BUT - that's just how things go sometimes right?

This week I will:

- Eat more protein (Even if it means eating more calories) 

- Maintain my activity schedule

- Stay Positive

 Here's my meal & activity plan as proof. 

And here's Ellie because why not?

Happy Running!