My W1D1 story...and some thoughts on what I eat.

So yesterday, as I had promised myself I would, I headed to the fitness and walking trail that is part of our county's recreation league to start out on this C25K journey.  I had never been to the trail before (it surrounds some soccer fields), but I had seen it from the highway, and I knew that it was relatively close to the county prison.  Because I know where the prison is, I figured it would be easy to find.

Well, it was easy to find.  However, reaching the parking lot was a little odd.  You have to turn in by this barn and follow this narrow road that goes right by the prison yard (complete with signs admonishing you not to talk to the inmates...luckily, none were in sight as I drove by) to reach the parking lot.  On the up side, the trail is not visible from the prison yard, so you don't have to worry about an audience.

I parked my car, got out and got my iPod all set up, and headed over the trail.  There were perhaps seven more people on the trail, but it's pretty long (about a half mile, I think), so I didn't worry about stares as people wondered what I was doing!  I was not able to jog all the "run" sections, but I still completed the workout.  I was able to jog four of the nine runs, and I know I can improve this.  I was very proud that I took this first step.

W2D2 is scheduled for tomorrow, and although I initially wanted to do these first weeks outside, I am rethinking that, and I think I am going to go to the gym tomorrow for my workout.  First of all, we pay $82 per month for my husband and I to belong to the gym that is closest to our home.  I have not been going often, and now that I have an exercise plan that I am setting out on, it just makes sense to go to the gym for it.  Secondly, when I used to run, I was mostly a treadmill runner, and I liked that.  I would run outside on occasion, but for the most part, I liked the treadmill.  And third, I want to be able to pay attention to how fast I am going in the run sections because I think keeping them slow will make me able to do more of them.  I am worried that I was jogging faster than I should have, and being outside, I had no way to gauge my speed.  On a treadmill, I can keep the runs at more of a "wog," and that should help with my stamina.  I am interested in working first on the amount of time that I can jog and then worrying about speed later.  So I think the treadmill might be the way to go for now.

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I have done every diet out there, it seems.  I have a lot of information on low carb diets, low fat diets, low GI diets, high fiber diets, and a variety of other diets floating around up in my head.  I had some success with Weight Watchers in the past, but I find that to be very low calorie, and I have trouble sticking to that in the long term.  I have been doing nothing but calorie counting since January, and that has really worked for me.  However, I am noticing that I am getting a little looser with my eating, and I am thinking it is time to rein it in some.

The first sign that I was slipping was when I found myself in the drive thru at Sonic after work for the second time in a week.  I had enough calories left over for the day both days to enjoy some tots with cheese for dinner (I love these things!), so I indulged.  However, those are something that should be an occasional treat, not my dinner choice two nights in a week.

I also notice at home that I am relying on a lot of froze and convenience foods to build my meals.  I do buy some decent foods to bring to work for lunch, but when I am at home, I often find myself reaching for frozen foods or Easy-Mac or my stand-by of either a tostada shell or flour tortilla with cheese melted on it.  While I am staying, for the most part, within my calorie goals of 1600-1800 calories, I am not giving my body the best fuel available for it.  I would like to change this.

Next time I am out and about, I plan to grab an issue of Clean Eating magazine and do some perusal of what it means to eat clean.  I also want to work on getting some superfoods back in my diet, as I know that they taste great and pack a nutritious punch.  I don't expect to give up all of my convenience foods, but if I can replace some of them with something better for me, I will be better off in the long run.  And I hope that doing this will break the weight loss plateau I find myself on, especially since my challenge is starting on Saturday!  I am at my lowest weight since January, but it is only 0.2 pounds less than I was when I weighed myself on Friday morning.  However, any loss is good, and I will take it!