Yesterday was Thanksgiving
And it was a success.
Because I stayed away from the pie
At my own behest.
Yes that pumpkin looked good
In a crust oh so yummy
But I thought about all I’d ate
and looked to my bulging tummy.
I was done for the night
The pie would have to wait
I successfully enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner
With a moderate amount of food on my plate.
Even since this Fall into Fitness 30 Day Challenge idea sprang into my head, I seem to have sprung myself into a semi-vigorous workout routine. It seems that I am always at the gym, reflecting on the group fitness class schedule, or wondering if I can sneak a run in between classes. And that’s just no good!
Wait, is that a chocolate bunny?! Turn around turtle, turn around!
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that I’m looking to be proactive about my health and am exercising more than ever, but I find myself quite tired, not eating enough, ignoring homework (to be fair I would probably ignore it without a challenge), and fairly sore from getting a move on. Who am I?! I need to get back to my slow and steady pace that I’ve come to rely on so much, and I have a few ideas on how to do just that.
Problem: I’m feel as though I’m not eating enough and I don’t want my body to go into starvation mode.
Solution: Eat more! Carry healthy nutrition bars and fruits around (Kashi bars and apples it is!). Try to eat at least 1,400 calories a day, anything less isn’t actually working in your favor and will be more likely to cause binges.
Problem: I’m feeling sore from exercising.
Solution: Recognize that it’s perfectly acceptable to take a rest day every now and again. It’s unreasonable to expect to work out every single day, and when I’m not feeling my physically best I should focus on resting up for an improved performance the next day.
Problem: I’m ignoring homework because I’m focusing too much on exercise.
Solution: Cut down exercise time to one hour a day and take those rest days. If you still really want to get going, take a book to read while on the stationary bike and try not to get motion sickness.
Problem: I’m feeling tired.
Solution: Make it a priority to get those 8 hours in ever single night. Don’t forget to stock up on foods with protein and iron, and always keep some water handy too. Tea is also a great and healthy way to add some perk to a day.
Or until you’re tired or have homework or are hungry or are sore. Basically, stop whenever you feel like you need to.
I am so so pumped for this challenge that I need to just slow my roll. While it’s great to really push myself for these 30 days, I am acutely aware that if I push myself too hard I won’t be able to make it through this challenge and I definitely won’t be able to continue staying fit and healthy into December.
How hard do you push yourself regularly and for challenges? Do you have any challenge related changes that are worrying you?
After soaking up some rays on the beach, playing mini golf to my heart’s content, and eating my way through some of the tastiest Maryland Crab soup while sitting a foot away from the bay, my thoughts turned to dinner.
It had been about 4 years since I last visited a buffet down at Ocean City, and I thought the time was right for a visit. Why pay $25 dollars for a regular plate of a limited seafood selection when $30 can give you access to an all-you-can-eat extravaganza? Where else can you feel free to try new and interesting varieties of seafood without fear of disliking what you’ve tried and wasting money on your plate? (This is how I found out that catfish is pretty tasty). How can you resist the lure of so many options all available hot, fresh, and more colorful than the sea?! And how, how, can you ignore a coupon for $5 off?
So I went in.
And it was glorious.
Seafood as far as the eye could see! Mussels, clams, shrimp, oh my! Embers had it all, and it was all mine for the taking!
After getting a small serving of a few different options, I made my way back to the table and began digging in. There may have been literal digging involved, as I was so excited that I’m pretty sure I neglected my utensils for the first 5 minutes.
Despite being at a buffet, I managed to avoid most fried foods (though I couldn’t give up my fried scallops entirely), I stayed away from the dessert table (holy cannoli, I still can’t believe I passed on those brownies), and I drank water like I was one of the fishes (but not the ones on my plate).
However, I ate 10 snow crab leg clusters.
Yes, 10.
The number after 9.
Because apparently 9 just couldn’t cut it.
I have this weird obsession regarding getting my money’s worth. And while it’s great for ensuring that I complete that 5K run that I’ve already paid for, it seemed to weigh me down with succulent crab meat in this instance.
I figured that if I wanted to get my money’s worth, I would have to hit the seafood pretty hard.
Enter snow crab legs.
I had eaten around 5 when I got it into my head that it’d be fun to eat into the double digits.
What the heck is my definition of fun?!
I got to 8 and I was so full that I was basically cracking open the shell, taking a little nibble, and moving on to the next one. But I made it to 10.
I don’t even know how to feel about this action.
On one hand: I ate something healthy
On the other hand: I ate A LOT of something healthy
On one hand: I got my money’s worth
On the other hand: I got MORE than my money’s worth
On one hand: I had a good time enjoying something that I rarely get to eat
On the other hand: I was so full that I realized why I rarely eat at buffets
I suppose that all in all, I’m happy with how I did at the buffet. Should I have been there in the first place? Probably not. But, I’m proud of myself for sticking to food that was good for me, even if I ended up eating it in such large quantities that I drew stares from those seated around me and the waitstaff was probably in the back betting on how long I could keep stuffing food into my mouth.
I wish I could take Garfield’s advice, I really do. Unfortunately, I’m an all or nothing type of gal.
This means that I’m either giving something 110% and getting neck cramps from sticking my nose so hard to the grindstone, or I’m ignoring that something completely and sticking my fingers in my ears going, “Lalalala. I can’t hear you!”
For those wondering, this is what a rainbow unicorn looks like.
This makes it difficult to stay healthy.
When I’m healthy, I’m an engaging blogger (hopefully), enthusiastically lovin’ life, and taking adorable pictures of myself flipping my hair with a rainbow unicorn in the background.
When I’m unhealthy, I want to crawl under a rock with a bag of Doritos and never again see at the light of day.
I desperately wish there was a middle ground. I wish I could have my daily dose of peanut butter and exercise too. But I just don’t think that’s an option for me. Instead, I try my best to focus on constantly staying healthy (not that a piece of cake would send me plummeting into the abyss with nothing but fat pants to cushion my fall), because the other option is sending myself into a fatty foods funk that is darn near impossible to overcome.
Sorry Garfield, but let’s take an honest look at the amount of lasagna that you eat and then we’ll judge…
While I will always strive for moderation, I will accept my two extremes and try to find a compromise. While I will always strive for weight loss, I will accept any positive changes to reaching a healthier Katy. And while I will always mention Doritos and/or peanut butter in my blog posts, I will acknowledge their presence only in my virtual world, and not in my offline kitchen cabinet.
Happiness Through Health 