things

Monday:
Breakfast: smoothie (kale, romaine, pom juice, pineapple, banana, flax)
Lunch: salad (romaine, red onion, walnuts, a little blue cheese, balsamic vinegar)
Dinner: "burrito" (homemade "refried" beans, lettuce, salsa in 1/2 of a whole wheat pita)
Non-ETL food: candy
Exercise: 30 min Cardio with Yourself!Fitness, 30+ min walk with Cammie

Tuesday:
Breakfast: smoothie (spinach, blueberries, strawberries, banana, flax)
Lunch: Golden Austrian Cauliflower Soup with Kale
Dinner: Salad (romaine lettuce with homemade "refried" beans and salsa), 1/2 whole wheat pita
Non ETL food: 3 small chocolates, about 6 Nutter-Butters
Exercise: Rest Day

Wednesday:
Breakfast: smoothie (spinach, blueberries, strawberries, banana, flax)
Lunch: Golden Austrian Cauliflower Soup with Kale
Dinner: "burrito" (homemade "refried" beans, lettuce, whole wheat pita)
Non-ETL food: pudding cup
Exercise: 30 min jogging on the treadmill (not walking!)

I have been getting back on track slowly. Last week I lost somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 pounds. I am close to being back up to speed; as can be seen by the past few days of food. One of the things that has really helped me get back on track has been my workouts. I've always enjoyed exercising when I actually get my (sometimes) lazy self up to do it... and becoming more athletic and active has been one of my major goals since the get go (well that and the clothes... sigh, the clothes) ;-)

Previously the best I could do running would be to jog for a few minutes - maybe five at the most and then I would have to stop and walk the rest of the way. Well a few weeks ago I decided to try to do one of the programs on my treadmill just for something different. It forced me to do some jogging and I realized that I could do much more than I thought I could. I don't run too fast, but I do keep the treadmill at a respectable incline (isn't it supposed to be better for your knees?) and the other day I jogged for a decent (to me) 25 minutes straight. It's new and fun and I get an awesome workout. I'm going to work on increasing my speed and endurance and maybe someday actually try running outside - although I enjoy watching the treadmill count all of the calories I'm burning. :-)

I really want to transform myself into an athlete. I often find myself fantasizing about winning/being given a ridiculous amount of money and winning the HGTV Dream Home so that I can quit my job and spend my winters skiing and my summers hiking and kayaking and white water rafting. The first thing I'd purchase with my riches? Well, that'd be a 57 Chevy Bel-Air, but the second would be an Endless Pool so that I can swim whenever I want no matter what the weather is like. I think that I would train for and compete in the Xterra Triathlons, which is something I can still do living my normal life. I just have to keep plodding along on this weight loss road. Exercise just became double-duty: 1)weight-loss facilitation and 2) triathlon training. Sweet!