Day 30 - bananas and apples and egg whites, oh my!

Today was a pretty good day... did my PCP workout in the morning (still not skipping, but running instead), and it was tough, but good. The creeps and the V-sits were especially tough. Legs were properly jellified by the end of the creeps.

Diet was pretty much on par today - didn't end up having the vegetables for the PM snack because I came home late and had dinner late (and now am going to sleep early!). Turned the apple and banana and milk (with some yogurt substitute) into a smoothie and scrambled up the egg white. It's amazing how small one little egg white looks like when it's not mixed into anything. Will definitely need to start boiling up some eggs for the mornings or evenings when I don't have time to cook. Luckily, I really like hard boiled eggs.

Going to keep it short - haven't been getting a ton of sleep lately, and need to work on that. Will post updated pictures soon!

Day 29 - 4 weeks down (whoa!)

Oops - forgot to blog this weekend. Not too bad of a weekend... I managed to stay away from all forms of drinking, and got in a really nice long (15 mi) run through the HK parks and also a short swim. Have realized that I can't really be skipping - but will try Patrick's new suggestion (about flat footed jumping?), and see if that helps. 

Realized last week, that my feet were KILLING while jumping - right at the bottom.. and I could feel my foot pain from last year start to come back (noticed it while I was running too which was particularly concerning). Did a little research and found out that skipping is one of the few activities that exacerbates plantar fasciitis (which was what prevented me from running the marathon last year). 

I am already running 4 days a week, but may add in some short (3 mi) runs to compensate for the lack of skipping, and also try to get swimming in there a few days a week.

Today, pretty good day overall. Actually (weirdly) like the new confines of our dinner... for some reason it's easier for me to not have to think about it (for those at home wondering, it's now an apple, a banana, egg white, and milk/yogurt + vegetables for late snack). Followed it perfectly all day, and went for some gummy candies at the end of the day (fail). They weren't even that good. 

Exercises were good - the floor jumps were tough - legs were jelly afterwards. Planks were surprisingly hard... guess it's the abs right before with little / no rest that makes it so tough. 

Off to sleep early - going to try to get some real sleep tonight! 

Day 24 - 1:40am

I'll keep this short... today was a fail. I ran this morning (7 miles), but didn't have time for PCP, so figured I would do it after work. Turned out after work was 1:40am...

Planned on cooking dinner at home so didn't have any healthy options at work. Many-a-gummy and cookie were eaten. Fail. Need to have back-up options at work.

I don't want to make excuses, so I won't. Off to sleep - know that I have another super-crazy day tomorrow, so going to get up for my run (just 4 miles), and PCP tomorrow morning. Sleep, shmleep?

Day 23 - The Confession

Blogging again today because I said I would be completely honest as to what I am doing...

Day started off well enough - asparagus and onions with eggs for breakfast (I'll admit - I'm still using a teensy bit of ketchup). Yogurt, granola, and fruit when I get to work. Home made chili for lunch with some bread. Fruit snack and water in the afternoon (I also had a coke zero.... I know I need to stop with those chemicals, but damn they taste so good. I'll get there). 

Then it went a bit downhill. Had an event with pizza and I decided not to have any, but changed my mind (I think my willpower lasted for about 3 minutes... need to get stronger) and got not one but two pieces (umm.. they were small?). In retrospect, they weren't even that good. What a waste! 

Anyway... after the pizza - I also grabbed a cookie on the way out. They were taunting me all day.... I have to admit the cookie tasted damn good. 

Got home, went for a run, and went to "Dragon Circuit" (I think circuit training for dragon boat paddlers) for an hour (running, lifting... high intensity stuff with only a little rest in between. I didn't do PCP today because I heard it was super intense, but I'm going to do both next week... figure if I do PCP in the morning, I can do the circuit after work. Patrick / anyone - thoughts on that? I want to be careful not to overdo it (I've been injured before and it's not fun). I want to make sure that I'm following the exercise component of PCP, but it's also really fun to change it up and workout with people. 

People in Hong Kong, maybe we can occasionally get together in one of the parks (we met today at the park along Bowen road - it was the perfect space), and do the PCP workouts as a group? Always more fun to do it with people than by yourself. 

Following the class, a few of the people said they were going out to dinner. Although I wasn't particularly hungry, I decided to go (always good to get to know people). Went with a miso soup and some pieces of beef. Also tried a piece of salmon and tuna (both raw). I actually don't eat fish / seafood - so this is big for me... I'd love to eat fish because I know it's a healthy option - so was pleasantly surprised when they didn't taste too bad at all. Finished off with frozen yogurt and mango. 

Needless to say, things fell apart in the later part of the day - but it did (strangely) help with motivation (at least earlier on), to know that I would have to admit all the mistakes that I made throughout the day. 

OK - time to get ready for bed. Up early tomorrow for a 7 mile run. 

Day 23 - For real, for real (aka help and support from home)

So – I finally did it (probably about 3 weeks too late), but passed along my blog to my best friends and family. I had told most people about it, but hadn’t actually encouraged them to read and to follow what I was doing…. But figured I needed some kind of way to make sure that I stayed on track (motivation and will power on their own just didn’t seem to be doing the trick). I may send it out to a larger group eventually… but I’m waiting for the weekly picture to look a little better first J.

I made them a promise to blog every day from here on out (and to admit when I’ve gotten off track). You see that gap of about a week in my blog? That was because I was more or less not following the plan at all (or not very closely), so I decided not to write anything at all (figured it was better than lying?).  I’m hoping that knowing that every time I give into a craving that I will have to write about it and tell my friends and family, that hopefully, that will help keep me on track. I have a tin of DELICIOUS looking cookies sitting on the ledge in my office (people have this really annoying habit of bringing back the best foods / snacks every time they go on a trip… it seems that people are always traveling). Anyway – these cookies are small and so crispy and so delicious (kind of like almond cookies, maybe?), and I have to walk by the full tin of them about 20 times per day… and they look so little and harmless, but I’m going to resist!

For those of you who asked what was on the diet plan… the main tenant is that you can’t have processed foods (nothing from a factory). So basically, fruits, vegetables and meat. There are carbs  at breakfast and lunch (which may eventually decrease at some point)? You’re also supposed to stay away from sugar and salt, and make sure you get enough sleep. I guess if one follows this plan… it’s pretty foolproof… eat real foods, exercise at an increasing intensity, and rest… sounds about right. I’ll send through the specific meal plan for this week, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Happy to report that today, so far is going well. asparagus and red ionion with an egg for breakfast (home). Plain yogurt, granola (bran-type) cereal (with a few berries mixed in), and then am going to have the chili I made this weekend for lunch. Chili was pretty healthy, but probably a bit high on salt (they didn't have sodium-free diced tomatoes... will get some from the other store before next time).

Tonight, I'm going to an outdoor bootcamp with some friends, and will do the rest of the PCP workout after that. More updates to come !

Thanks again guys for your support! Love you all xx

Day 22 - The Compliment!

So, it happened... as predicted. A colleague (technically a client), made a comment in passing that I was losing weight (he said something about the marathon training maying off - I didn't go into specifics as we were actually just passing in the hallway). Needless to say, just found my new favorite client hahaha :)

In all seriousness, I actually don't think I have lost too much weight (have been naughty with the food and not great with the sleep - but now have a renewed sense of vigor), but I will take the compliment nevertheless. Enjoyed the workout tonight, and also got in an hour of tennis. I'm in bed before midnight (which is HUGE for me), and am planning on going to a bootcamp tomorrow night. Should be fun to workout with some other people.

Going on a junk trip in a little under 2 weeks - so a bathing suit occasion. Going to break down my motivation into little pieces... so focus like whoa for the next 2 weeks... and then take it from there. Hopefully by that time, my new (hard-core, fully PCP) diet will be in place, and my sleeping habits will be on track, and I can start to see some real changes.

Off to sleep. 11:58 - score! :)

Day 21 - Weekends are hard

Ahhh - 3 weeks in, and to be honest, I'm not quite seeing the same results that others are seeing. Probably because I'm not following the plan exactly... completely okay with the exercises (and I think maybe seeing some more tone in the arms, although not quite sure), but just okay with the diet. The weekdays are easy enough, but the weekends get a little trickier. For some reason - I make up excuses and tell myself that it's only small - but obviously that I can have just 1 of it... that I've been working hard, so I deserve it, like of like a mini weekend free pass (which obviously doesn't make sense, and then is counter productive).

Obviously, that kind of mentality needs to go, because 1 turns into 2, and then I completely forget about the rules that I have set for myself.

Anyway, back to the routine of work tomorrow... sort of strangely looking forward to the Monday - Friday, because it's a little easier to stick with it. I made up some chili tonight... couldn't find any low sodium diced tomatoes, but otherwise, everything is pretty legitimate. It's mostly vegetables (tomatoes, zucchini, onions, carrots, peppers), with some meat and spices. Not quite sure how to weigh it... maybe just add the protein + vegetables together, and go with that?

In terms of the weekend, not too bad. Friday night low key, Saturday was my day for my long training run. Meant to run 2.5 hours... ended up getting lost in the middle of hong kong parks and went for 3 hours and 20 minutes (didn't run the whole thing.... sooo many hills!). Came back and PCP'd (except the skipping and I also skipped the lunges... figured there was at least an hour of up hill running which gave my legs / knees enough of a workout).

In the evening, my roommate hosted a BBQ, and this is where things went awry. I decided it was fine to just have 1 drink (it was a watermelon-based drink with fresh watermelon, so that kind of counts as my evening fruit, right?), which of course turned into several drinks (a vodka soda, a chocolate martini and a glass of wine... thought I'd hit up everything?). Not the worst night I've had, but realized in retrospect that I could have had just as much fun sans drinking, and would have felt much better about it today. Woke up with a headache.

Anyway - once again - I'm up late, so really going to focus on making sleep a priority this week. Will also try to blog a little more consistently, which will also (hopefully) keep me on track. I'm back home to NYC in 10 weeks and 4 days - need to keep that in my head as I'm considering wavering... would love to be looking great when I see my friends for the first time in 9 months. Time to put my game face on!