The Healthy Tales

Straight to the gym!

I know that is part of quite a few people’s lifestyles, but it is not a regular part of mine. I personally hate going to the gym but it is the only way to live a long and healthy life. So here I am all packed up and as soon as I leave work I am driving straight there. No stopping at home until after I complete my work out. It is a part of the larger lifestyle change that I am working on after facing the harsh reality at the doctor’s office that my weight is too high and there isn’t a magic fix for it. Fingers crossed!

Does the calorie count really make a difference when you are eating in a restaurant? Is it truly necessary to put the calorie counts on the menu? Buried deep down in the Health Care bill, there is a requirement that any restaurant with over 20 locations must include the calorie count on their menu. Is seeing the calorie count really going to make a difference when people read the menu and order their meal?

As someone who has been on Weight Watchers off and on for the past 6 years, I already have a good idea on what the average calories are in each menu item at select restaurants. For those I don’t know specifically, I can pretty much guess a “points” range. To me, eating out is a special treat that my husband and I have once or twice a week. Since I am pretty strict with my diet every other meal/day of the week, when I go out I fully expect to indulge with menu items. So I don’t really care how many calories are in my beer or boneless wings at Buffalo Wild Wings. I am there to treat myself and forget the nutritional values – that is save for other meals. I can see how people would like this change if they ate out more frequently each week.

So what do you think? Are you excited about this change? Indifferent? Mad?

Happy Monday!  I have been busy the past few months and have not meal planned at all!  I am so ready to start cooking at home again and having real food rather than the frozen variety or the take out variety.  Mike is also finally back in town and I can cook for him.  So this week I am shopping in my pantry and refrigerator looking for things to eat.

Monday ~ Beef Tips (from Tyson) and Brown Rice, Side Salad

Tuesday ~ Tuna Helper “Helped” ~ 2 cans tuna, 1 helper box, 1 can corn, 1 can peas.  Served with fruit

Wednesday ~ Left over buffet.

Thursday ~ Semi-homemade Pizza & Fruit

Friday & Saturday ~ Crawfish Etouffee & Veggies

Required Trips to the Grocery Store: 0! Yipee!

Recipes, Weight Watcher points, and photos to come.

So last week I totally slacked off. After going to see my doctor and telling her about how I was starting the Couch to 5K program to get back into shape as well as to give myself something to drag myself out of the house and into the gym, I totally whiffed and didn’t make it to the gym once.

So after a week of missing the gym and ordering in at work for an entire week (bleh!), I went back Friday night with Mike and finished week 1 of the couch to 5k program. Just like the previous 2 sessions, it was easy going for the first 2 intervals and then it got harder. I did push through and finish but after taking a week off, I think I am going to do one more week 1 session before jumping into week 2. I think I owe it to my body especially since I went back to the gym yesterday and lifted weights for the first time in what feels like forever. It was definitely a shocker in how out of shape I got so quickly. I learned though and will not be letting this happen again.

So yesterday was Session 2 of the Couch to 5k program. I didn’t do anything special or different than from the first night to prepare. I just grabbed my workout clothes, iPod, a towel, and a water bottle and drug my butt downstairs to the apartment gym and hopped on a treadmill. I would love to tell you that I felt a thousand times better and stronger than the first session but that would be a lie. LOL

I will say though that I felt I started out stronger than last time. I was able to go to a brisk 3.8mph walk to start things off within 2 minutes of starting the session. After that the first two 5 minute intervals of walking/jogging went by really fast and I was feeling really good. Then, once that timer turned past 15 minutes in, I started feeling it and noticing how out of shape I am. I didn’t give up and I didn’t turn the treadmill down but I did think about it a few times.

So by the end of the 25 minutes required by the program I had covered 1.74 miles (up .01 miles from session 1) and burned 170 calories. I also bumped my walking up to 3.8mph vs. 3.7mph and kept my jogging flat at 5.0mph.

I also pressed forward and did another 5 minute walk at 3.8mph, one 5 minuter interval, and then another 5 minute walk before cooling down for the night. I definitely felt like I had pushed myself but in a good way. We’ll see in the morning though what happens. I am hoping to finish week 1 tomorrow before jumping into the car and heading to Baton Rouge for the weekend. It will probably be rough as I am not too sleepy right now and then still up typing in this blog post and I need to wake up early for a doctor’s appointment. Riding an exercise bike for 40 minutes tonight didn’t help either. Oh well. No pain no gain right?