What a nice day
It's gorgeous here in Chicago today. A bit overcast and a little windy, but still. Warm is warm. I've had a productive day, moving my little office to the back deck so that I could enjoy the fresh air. It's so nice not to be inside.
Cali had a big ball chase this morning, and now I'm taking her back to the lake and we're doing a little training run. I have it in my head that fitness is a great new goal for this gap year, so I am doing a little run/walk alternating training schedule with the intent that I can be running 5Ks later this summer. I'm also doing yoga most days, and some weight lifting on the balance ball for good measure. I had a knee injury from last summer that has been troubling me all winter, but I'm taking things slow and it's getting stronger.
In the meantime, Beth and I had this brilliant idea that we would go on South Beach together. It all started because we've been pretty much justifying treats non-stop for the past two months. Oh, I really really want a pizza for dinner tonight. Oh, the only thing in the world that could possibly make me feel better today is a brownie. I've been dreaming about sherbet for the last three nights...I better have some and get rid of this craving. And on and on. Between us, though, that meant that pretty much a day didn't go by when we had some sort of food we really didn't need. In an effort to stop, we decided that cutting white carbs would be a smart idea. That became South Beach.
We did pretty well the first week. By pretty well, I mean to say that we only ate a few fruity yogurt cups, I avoided white carbs when I went to dinner with my friend Will and only had a bite of his flourless chocolate cake, and on Hot Dog Day I only had a bratwurst. But then the other day, we decided that we needed a break. We had pizza. And oatmeal. And thai food. And chocolate, all within two days. So, BANG. We started again. Great day one, except for the left over pad thai that could not make it to the bin without some snacking. Great day two, except that I was miserable because I kept getting hungry. Great day three, except Beth had a vegan muffin, I didn't eat snacks or lunch because I had a meeting downtown, and we had burritos and ice cream for dinner. Today is Day Four, and while breakfast was exactly what we should have, I have no idea how Beth is doing and I had a bagel for lunch because I happened to be near Beans and Bagels and I could simply taste that whole wheat bagel with the chive cream cheese and I needed a latte anyway and, well, you get the idea.
I've lost weight, though I attribute that more to the exercise than the lack of dieting. And we still agree that it's a good idea. So tomorrow is Day One, aka Third Time's The Charm. And while I will stop phase one 10 days in again when Tom and George are here, I'll try not to let it be a blowout, and I will definitely get back to phase one when they leave for another 10 days. It's not that this is so hard, it's that it's a pain to have to cook meals all the time and to eat the volume of vegetables required not to feel hungry. But that's what gap years are for. Doing things you've always intended to do. Right?
Cali had a big ball chase this morning, and now I'm taking her back to the lake and we're doing a little training run. I have it in my head that fitness is a great new goal for this gap year, so I am doing a little run/walk alternating training schedule with the intent that I can be running 5Ks later this summer. I'm also doing yoga most days, and some weight lifting on the balance ball for good measure. I had a knee injury from last summer that has been troubling me all winter, but I'm taking things slow and it's getting stronger.
In the meantime, Beth and I had this brilliant idea that we would go on South Beach together. It all started because we've been pretty much justifying treats non-stop for the past two months. Oh, I really really want a pizza for dinner tonight. Oh, the only thing in the world that could possibly make me feel better today is a brownie. I've been dreaming about sherbet for the last three nights...I better have some and get rid of this craving. And on and on. Between us, though, that meant that pretty much a day didn't go by when we had some sort of food we really didn't need. In an effort to stop, we decided that cutting white carbs would be a smart idea. That became South Beach.
We did pretty well the first week. By pretty well, I mean to say that we only ate a few fruity yogurt cups, I avoided white carbs when I went to dinner with my friend Will and only had a bite of his flourless chocolate cake, and on Hot Dog Day I only had a bratwurst. But then the other day, we decided that we needed a break. We had pizza. And oatmeal. And thai food. And chocolate, all within two days. So, BANG. We started again. Great day one, except for the left over pad thai that could not make it to the bin without some snacking. Great day two, except that I was miserable because I kept getting hungry. Great day three, except Beth had a vegan muffin, I didn't eat snacks or lunch because I had a meeting downtown, and we had burritos and ice cream for dinner. Today is Day Four, and while breakfast was exactly what we should have, I have no idea how Beth is doing and I had a bagel for lunch because I happened to be near Beans and Bagels and I could simply taste that whole wheat bagel with the chive cream cheese and I needed a latte anyway and, well, you get the idea.
I've lost weight, though I attribute that more to the exercise than the lack of dieting. And we still agree that it's a good idea. So tomorrow is Day One, aka Third Time's The Charm. And while I will stop phase one 10 days in again when Tom and George are here, I'll try not to let it be a blowout, and I will definitely get back to phase one when they leave for another 10 days. It's not that this is so hard, it's that it's a pain to have to cook meals all the time and to eat the volume of vegetables required not to feel hungry. But that's what gap years are for. Doing things you've always intended to do. Right?
Comments
I hate dieting the white hot fury. And I hate being fat. I don't know which one I hate more.
You know what I hate about lasagna? Garfield. (That was a joke. I mean, what is there to hate about lasagna? Except aren't ham rolls your favorite?)