6 for 6 !

FINALLY ! A run around GreenLake ! It was actually nice out ... the rain came later. And I don't run the red line, I run street (hehehe) and while I know the street (what I call the "outside trail") is longer, hell, seeing the difference between the red (inside path) and my outside trail there seems HUGE ! HA !

I did OK, it was the first time running outside since the whole stress fracture debacle. Here's the funny part... I get to the parking lot, get ready to go, step onto the outside trail, walking along getting the ipod set up, and I look at my heart rate... it's 172 JUST WALKING ALONG THE TRAIL... I was so stressed out about running outside, and not falling or twisting an ankle that I completely shot my own heartrate up without any exertion. I'm a goo.

It felt drastically different running outside on the trail/pavement than running on the treadmill. My hip is much more achy than it's been on the treadmill. I'm sure some of that is running all tensed up (worrying about falling !) and the ground itself. Interesting.

So that GreenLake run has me at 6 for 6 on the 100 day workout challenge. NICE ! Tomorrow will be 7 for 7 - I'll be hanging out on the StairMill for 140 flights of stairs.

I totally splurged on eating TWO DAYS IN A ROW... Last night... Mama's Mexican Kitchen. I love that place. I had the Mary Salad. No sour cream, a little cheese and no guac. Of course I ate about a pound of chips. I love chips. And today, I had a baby shower (a very long overdue, highly anticipated baby shower !) and I had an amazing chocolate cupcake. Don't care... totally worth it :)

Most of you know, I'm a calorie counter fiend. It's a sad life.. but one I have to live to not be 174lbs ever again. I've learned to not count outloud and go "OH MY GOD DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY CALORIES THAT HAS ?" in public to people. Apparently, it's offensive :(

Here's what good ol' Jillian has to say about calories ... and exercise 5 hours a week.. ouch.. that could be tough for lots of people... I'm only at 4 hours as of today... I guess I'll be putting an hour on the stairmill tomorrow !!

Are You Eating Enough?

You're all trying not to go over your allotted calorie amounts for the week, but how many of you are having trouble eating enough calories? It may not seem like a big deal to consume a hundred or so fewer calories than you're supposed to each day, but that's a dangerous — and incorrect — assumption. 



It is absolutely 100 percent essential to eat enough calories! If you don't, it will destroy your metabolism. It's like telling your body that you're starving. If your body thinks it's starving, your metabolism will shut down.



Not eating enough calories will also force the body to cannibalize muscle and hold on to fat. The body considers muscle to be expendable during periods of starvation, and it considers fat to be necessary to insulate your organs for survival. 



Finally, a deficit of daily calories will lead to a horrible cycle of yo-yo dieting. You'll starve yourself and end up losing muscle, and when you begin to eat the right amount of calories, your body will pack on the pounds in anticipation of another "famine."



What can you do to break the cycle? If you're a woman, set your calories at 1,400 steady — don't vary them. I almost NEVER say that, but in order to get your metabolism back up to speed and set your body right again, you're going to need consistency and time. 



Stay on this calorie allowance and exercise at least five hours a week. You probably won't lose weight for at least four weeks, but the good news is that you won't gain either, and hopefully we will have gotten your metabolism back on track permanently. After about four weeks or so, you should start to lose weight, and then you can begin to vary your daily calorie intake — as long as you never drop below 1,200 calories. Now, go get something to eat!