party time

This will be a short post because I'm not feeling well. Last last light I started getting a sore throat and today it was still there and I feel a little weak and stuffy. Ick. :\

On to the good stuff, on Friday I had my weigh-in for the work Biggest Loser contest and I was down .6 and my teammate was down 1.4 so I was happy! We were heading out of town so I went to WW to weigh-in on Friday since I'd miss my meeting Saturday. My scale at home was an ass again and gave me the impression I'd be down a pound. I rush to get to my meeting and I stayed the same. Annoying.

Friday we went to a Magic game and it was really fun. We got sushi for dinner and I didn't track too well but I didn't go super crazy.

Saturday technically started my new week in terms of WW. Saturday was our engagement party! It was really nice and we had a great time. I didn't track and honestly didn't pay too much attention to what I ate. I don't think I went SUPER CRAZY OMG but I know I used a lot of WAP. I just went ahead and said I used all my 49 WAP for the week.

Today wasn't a perfect day like I'd hope and since I feel crappy I was sort of meh about things and ate random things throughout the day. Nothing crazy though I think I stayed in my dailies. I hope...

I have been bad about water since Friday and eating a lot of sodium so I really need to drink a ton of water the rest of this week and be super good. I am worried I will see a significant gain but I have to try and be positive and kick ass this week.

I have a feeling I may feel too icky to workout tomorrow but we'll see.

Time to go rest up but one last thing!

Congrats to Jen on finishing her first half-marathon with an awesome time!

John and I at our party. :)

Here we go.

So tomorrow is my first official weigh-in in oh, five weeks. Yeah...

Between my NYC trip and the holidays I need to face the facts that I'll be up. Especially since my last official weigh-in was right when I completed my cleanse.

I am going to cross my fingers and hope my run this afternoon helps that I'll only be up 4lbs.

I'm going to do a 5k distance run today. I know it will be rough with a few weeks of no running but I am going to do it!

Considering everything, it could be a lot worse.

So far I really like the Weight Watchers Points Plus system but next week will be my first full committed week back on program. I'm excited!

I realized that there is a lot of negativity all around us (as well as within us) and I need to try harder not to let that affect me. I have to spend my life doing what is right for me and those I care about most.

I am hoping my weigh-in is no more than 175.8. That means a 10.8 lb loss for me to get to my goal before February 27th. It's super doable and I want that Magic jersey! :)

That will also put me close to a place I'd like to be for starting wedding dress shopping. Yay! I am really liking these two-in-one dresses. It's a long, formal gown with a removable skit so that it turns into more a cocktail dress for the reception!

I must run, but wanted to make a post before my weigh-in tomorrow. I will not let the gain bring me down, I will use it to push me forward and work to see a 3lb loss for the next week!

I hate posting without photos so I'll leave you with a picture of John and I on New Years Eve at dinner.

2010: A short post.

Overall, 2010 had it's ups and downs but I'd say it was a good year.

We had a super fun New Years and brought in 2010 with friends in St. Augustine, FL.

In May, John and I got to go on a super fun trip to the Bahamas and enjoy Atlantis, swim with sea lions, etc. Here is a photo of us at Mesa Grill in the Bahamas. Yes, we love us some Mesa Grill!

We got to do a lot of other fun things like go to Disney, water parks etc.

In March, I started Couch to 5K and completed it this time around! Jen and I did our first 5k on June 12th which was part of the Cool Summer Morning series in Clermont, FL.

I continued to run throughout the year and completed three more 5ks as well as trained for and completed two 10ks.

I am so proud of myself.

As for 2011 running/fitness goals, I am going to stick to maintaining shorter distance races. I want to start riding my bike and really focus on strength training so I don't want to take on a big task of training for a longer race. For now I am going to work on my speed for a 5k distance and look for a 10k in mid-2011 to later train for.

Finally, as you know if you read my last post I got engaged to the love of my life on December 9th in NYC. I am so happy!

As for 2011 goals/resolutions, you saw my goals for running, but what about the rest?

In 2011 I want to:

• Read more. First up is Eat, Pray, Love!
• Focus on toning my body more.
• Take a few minutes each day to meditate.
• Work on eliminating my anxiety in natural ways.
• Get to my goal weight once and for all!
• Get our finances together so we can have our two week honeymoon in Europe!

I hope everyone has a great New Year! <3

"Hi it's me, I'm bored again..."

Okay, I'm not really bored, but I wanted to make a quick post.

So far this week is going pretty well. I have 20 WAP remaining and by Saturday should have earned 10-11 AP.

Tomorrow I am going to attempt a long run. I am going to go four miles minimum but push for five. Keeping my knees in mind I won't over do it if I feel pain.

I am not that worried about the 10k on Saturday. I know I'll get though it even if I don't get a PR. Although a PR would be a nice surprise!

The weather for Sunday says it will be a high of 80 and a low of 54. The previous nights low is 56 so I'm thinking at 7:30 a.m. it will be really nice for the race!

There are only two water stops on the course so I may try and carry a bottle with me but I haven't decided yet.

I'm excited to do the race, running is hard but rewarding and I love the feeling of finishing a race. Part of me is still contemplating the Disney Princess Half but with the knee issues I may just do the Gasparilla 15k that weekend.

I'll leave you with some canoe photos from the weekend!

Halloweek!

Last week was a fun week getting ready for Halloween festivities and such.

Friday night was John and I's three year anniversary of dating. We celebrated by going to Seasons 52 for dinner. I did pretty good but still had a bit of sodium and ended up having two of the chocolate covered strawberries that I got him so I was worried about weigh-in on Saturday.

I woke up around 8:30 a.m. to pee Saturday morning and figured I'd check my weight. I looked like I'd be down a pound so I got ready for my meeting and was stoked.

I got to the meeting and ended up being down .4 this week. Hey, I'll take it. A half pound is fine with me for the morning after a celebration.

This weekend on the other hand got a little crazy with points. It's not like I hate a boat load of candy (in fact, I hardly had any) but I just went over points here and there. I think I have 10 WAP left for the week and I refuse to use anymore. My goal is to earn between 10-13 AP.

Auntie Flo came to visit Sunday so right now I feel bloated and crappy but I'm hoping by Saturday to at least be down another half pound.

I have 10 lbs I want to lose in 5 weeks. I need to really commit if I want to get this last bit off before our trip. I will do it or at least get damn close trying.

I have another 10k coming up on the 14th so since my knees are feeling better I am going go try and amp up my running again this week and next. The longest run I'll get to if I'm lucky will be 5 but if I can run 5 I can get though 6. I don't expect to beat my previous 10k time.

I'll leave you with my Mad Men costume. I'm the second from the left in the purple.

Photo credit: www.felixkunze.com

Has fall arrived early in Florida or is this a sick joke?

It seems as if fall has arrived early in Florida! Normally this time of year it's still pretty hot and gross out. This past week however has been really nice! Now mind you, fall for Florida is a far cry from what fall is for the other 80 percent of the country. It's been lows in the low 60s and highs in the low to mid 80s but the humidity has been low and it's felt cool.

On Sunday night my stomach started feeling weird, hard to explain but it wasn't good. Monday it was feeling pretty icky and my appetite was off (however I was able to eat all my points, surprise...) so I decided to take the day off from working out and rest. By Tuesday it was still feeling off so I decided another rest day was in order.

Yesterday it felt better but not great. I decided to give the gym a go and see how it went. I ran 2 miles on the treadmill at a decent pace and felt okay. After that I got on the elliptical but after 10 min. or so my stomach was hurting a lot. :( I decided to cut the workout short but still managed to earn 3 activity points so I was happy. I'm just proud of myself for going.

Tonight I have my first physical therapy session for my knees so I'll be taking the day off. I hope it goes well and I learn some good exercises and stretches.

I have a TON of laundry to fold and put away tonight. I figure I'll do it while John is at his Japanese class and I'll watch Project Runway (go Mondo!).

John and I have been making a lot of WW recipes lately. E-Tools now has a feature where subscribers can review and rate recipes which is super helpful. If you've made WW recipes before you know it can be very hit or miss.

On Sunday we made a Winter Squash Lasagna (I've made this before). I like it a lot but I will say I can see it not being for everyone. It's butternut squash, cheese, golden raisins and has pine nuts sprinkled on top.

On Monday we made Mustard Dill Chicken and it was really good! Sorry, no photo of this one! Super easy to make too.

Finally, last night we made Chicken Parmigiana which also came out great!

I like that I can search for 5-star recipes now. Heh.

- - - -

In other news, I've been feeling down lately about a variety of things. My job, lack of friends, etc....

I get myself so caught up in the things I don't have sometimes that I lose sight of what I do have.

I am so lucky to have a really great family who loves and supports me, who are there for me no matter that and I know will always have my back.

I'm also really lucky to have John. It's like when you're younger you always wish you'd find the perfect person to be with and I did. Of course our relationship isn't perfect, as neither of us are, I'd never say that (it annoys me when people do!). I just found the person who is perfect for me and I'd venture to say John found the person who is perfect for him.

Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the negative and things that don't matter. I am guilty as ever as sweating the small stuff.

I just have to make sure I balance it with remembering all of the good stuff, cause there is sure a lot of it!

- - - -

Final notes!

I stopped taking my birth control on Sunday. It wasn't serving it's purpose in which my doctor had me start it for and I don't want fake hormones in my body for nothing.

So now I have a visitor, ugh, I hope she doesn't mess up my weigh-in Saturday!

I am going to have two perfect days today and tomorrow point's wise and really hope to see a pay off on Saturday!

Talk to you then...

:)

Race for the Cure 10k!

So the day has come and gone! I complete the 10k I've been training for over the past 12 weeks!

The 10k started at 7:30 a.m. We set the alarm for 5:30 a.m. and I was tired! We left the house around 6 and it's good we did because it turned out we were in a rush for me to get to the start line.

For breakfast before the race I had a bagel thin with some almond butter and half a banana with some water.

We got to downtown St. Petersburg and parked. There was already some traffic but not too bad since the 5k started later. We ran into a Starbucks to use the bathroom. We had to walk a bit to get to the race start and I wanted to pee one more time and the lines for the port-o-potties were crazy. Luckily we made it and I got in line for the race. The 10k wasn't that packed so the pace markers were sort of irrelevant and I hung in the middle.

I made sure to use Body Glide to avoid chaffing from my ipod band, watch, knee sleeves and shorts! (Works like a charm! I was fine!)

The race started a little late (around 7:40 a.m.) so my nerves started to get to me as I waited in the crowd alone. I kept thinking how I might now be able to do it, how far it was, etc. Then I told my negative thoughts to STOP and I agreed to enjoy the view and enjoy the run for myself as much as I could.

Let's re-cap mile by mile!

Start to Mile 1: I was feeling good and wanted to keep a good pace but nothing too fast because I didn't want to burn out. The first mile went down a street and up and around the St. Pete pier. It was a nice part of the course right on the water. As I was coming up the stretch to the pier I saw my friend Mary coming down the other side on the way back (she is a long-time runner and speedy! She finished in 45 min.) We waved and I kept going. I got to mile one pretty quickly (around 11:45 min) and was feeling good. I took a cup of water and kept going!

Mile 1 to Mile 2: As I came off the pier loop I looked up and I saw John! He was doing the 5k and 8:15 a.m. and happened to see the 10k group and waited to see me!

Mile 1 to 2 seemed a lot longer. I tried not think much about it and seemed to be maintaining a 12 min/mile. I got some more water and went going on!


Mile 2 to 3: This mile went pretty fast for me. Nothing stands out about it really. Other than the fact I turned onto the second extra round abount for the 10k. Based on the map I knew it was going to be long. I reached mile 3 shortly after I turned onto that road and thought, "5k!" half-way there! At this point it started getting pretty warm. Earlier it was cool but this is when I started to notice the heat. Yuck!

Mile 3 to 4: I never thought I'd get to mile 4. I was going up a side street for what seemed forever waiting to get to the turn around point. I was hot and really wanted some more water. At this point I was hanging around the same women. Some were faster but would stop to walk and fall back to where I was. I decided to keep up with one lady who was consistently ahead of me even with her walking breaks.

Mile 4 to 5: This mile seemed a lot shorter and I got two cups of water at mile 4. I needed it! At one point I debated walking for a minute the second I slowed down my knees felt like hell. They felt okay running but the walking made them feel tight as anything! So I kept running. Shortly after the mile 4 mark the 10k course merged in with the 5k. It kind of sucked because the crowd got big and that meant some weaving around people. Luckily that point of the 5k group were still runners so I didn't have to weave in and out that much. When I hit mile 5 I felt really emotional. I realized I had one mile to go (and change)! My accomplishment was hitting me at this point and I felt like crying but I didn't. Right around that time my Glee version of I'm A Slave 4 U came on and I said to myself "Let's do this!" and I picked my pace! I wish I had my split times because I know mile 5 was a fast one for me. It had to be though because mile 4 was my slowest (I think).

Mile 5 to 6: A little past the mile 5 marker I checked my watch and I had 15 minutes to meet my goal time of 1:20. I thought I CAN DO THIS but I knew I couldn't slow down. I started getting some pretty annoying side stitches (I'm assuming because of my picked up pace) but I kept telling myself that I was almost done and to push through it! I kept checking my watch and thinking "Where is the finish line?!" I started to worry I'd just miss my goal time and It'd annoy me but I tried to tell myself no matter what happened it was okay and I was doing my best. I finally rounded a corner and saw the mile 6 sign! I picked it up and despite my side stich kept trucking!

Mile 6 to 6.2: I kept running and finally saw the finish line in view! The clock read just over 1:19 and I booked it! It was tough because the area was more crowded with all the 5k finishers so I had to do a bit of weaving but I crossed the mat at the clock time of 1:19:48!!!! That means my chip time was even less! *JUST IN* My official chip time is 1:19:20.

I AM SO HAPPY! When I crossed I felt like I was in a daze. I finished my first 10k and beat my goal time! I maintained around a 12:30 min/mile overall.

I stretched and roamed around a little before I met John at our meeting place.

At first I thought my knees were okay but they became super tight and achy fast. I do think the knee sleeves helped though.

John and I came home, showered and felt beat! We rested for a bit and then had a nice lunch at Seasons 52. We were so sleepy and had time to kill so we napped in the car for 20 min. after lunch. Heh.

At 2 John got his hair cut and I got a pedicure! It was a nice treat after a long run. I got a pretty bronze-orange color for October/Halloween!

After that we came home and napped until 6! Then we ordered Domino's Pizza to be delivered. I got a thin crust with light cheese (and I've learned this means a tiny sprinkle) which is fine with me! I ate half of my medium pizza. I was famished!

I ate all of my 7 activity points I earned today but the race made me hungry!

Tonight we are just relaxing! My legs are so tired!

Okay, time to go relax more! Thanks to everyone who wished me luck and for the support.

Pre-10k post!

The 10k is tomorrow morning! I can't believe it's here. I started my training plan three months ago! Time sure does fly and once again teaches me that if I want to do something I might as well do it now because time won't wait on me!

On that notion, it's time to kick it into gear with my weight-loss and getting to my goal. Speaking of getting into the fit groove, John has his 10 year H.S. reunion in two weeks and we wants to try and lose a little weight. So for the next two weeks we are going to work hard and continue it on! I told him he can lose 5lbs in a week if he tries really hard, damn you men! He only has maybe 10-15 to lose max.

Back to the 10k...

Here is the little print out of my training plan at my desk at work. I highlight all my completed days. You'll notice there aren't too many skipped days (white). I'm really proud of how well I did!

My furthest distance to date is 5.75 miles. I know I have it in me to hit that 6.2 mile mark. :)

My gear for tomorrow is the following: new tank top, shorts (wearing body glide!), my standard socks and shoes, knee sleeves, my iPod nano on my armband and visor!

There are five water stops on the 10k course which is awesome. I think I will walk though the water stops to drink the water if I start to feel tired.

The temperature tomorrow is going to be between 71 and 75 degrees. YAY! Florida just got a little cool front and the timing is perfect!

The 10k starts at 7:30 a.m. My goal is to finish in 1:20. I don't know if that's realistic but it's what I'm going for!

John is running the 5k and it starts at 8:15 a.m. I figure if it takes him an hour to finish we'll finish around the same time.

John, Jen and I have to get to Vinoy Park early (I'm thinking 6:45 a.m.) to park, figure out a meeting place since we'll all lose each other during the race, and use the restrooms.

I am excited but also nervous I won't do good or I'll burn out!

My thoughts are that I'll try my best to cruise and enjoy the first 3 miles. I know I can handle that. Then I'll focus on getting to the mile 4 sign. I know I can get to mile 4. From there I know I'll be starting to feel it but I will do my best to truck though to mile 5. If I can get to mile 5 I know I'll be able to get to mile 6 and then the finish line will be minutes away!

I have to make a new play list tonight!

I leave you with the cookies I made for a bake sale at work today to raise money for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer! Pumpkin Oatmeal Cranberry cookies! I decided to participate since the race tomorrow is Race for the Cure and it's a great cause.

Wish me luck!

Black Bean and Butternut Squash Chipotle Tacos (Vegan)

Black Bean and Butternut Squash Chipotle Tacos (Vegan)
By Danielle & John
Adapted from Fatfree Vegan

Ingredients:


• 4 cups, butternut squash diced fairly small

• 1 can, black beans

• 2 cloves, garlic diced

• 1 pepper, chipotle in adobo diced (remove seeds)

• 1, lime

• 1/2 teaspoon, chili powder

• 1/2 teaspoon, ground cumin

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 cup, red or white onion sliced for topping

• 1 cup, avocado diced for topping

• Salsa for topping

• Small soft corn tortillas

Directions:

Warm black beans in a small sauce pan with juice of 1 lime, chipotle pepper and some sauce from can and garlic. As beans warm, mash them up with a fork to incorporate flavors.

In another skillet, spray with olive oil and add butternut squash, season with cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook until squash is tender.

Warm your tortillas in a small pan, and top with black bean mixture, squash and desired toppings.

Etc.

These are delicious and have a super smoky hot flavor from the chipotle. Not only are they delicious but they are super filling and easy to make!

Note that the beans are so delicious on their own they could be used as a side dish for another meal!

Photo of John's first taco (beans are hidden, sorry for the crappy quality iPhone photo!)

Mid-week update

So far the week is going well. My reward jar has proved thus far to be successful. Last night was my first night since Saturday where I didn’t get any stones.

I went one point over for the day (over my earned APs that is) and in addition snacked at night. I am trying to think of what spurred it. I think part of it was I was very emotional last night about Dakota right before I went to bed and the other part was that I didn’t eat a filling enough dinner (not enough protein). Such is life, must move on!

Today I am determined to get my two stones! I am heading home after work to get to the leasing office because my knee sleeves arrive today. I hope they fit. I had a bit of a measurement error so it might be close.

Yesterday after I work I went to a kickboxing class! My company offers some free group fitness classes. In the past they’ve offered step which I pass on because I hate step (a sprained ankle waiting to happen if you ask me!) but they just recently offered a three class series for kickboxing so I signed up for all three right away.

I was worried it wasn’t going to be a good workout but it was tough and I was sweating! I could tell right away I was working areas I haven’t in a while with all the running. It’s good to mix things up!

A new product shout out! John and I splurged and bought a $9 jar of Barney Butter! It’s a very smooth almond butter. Most almond butter is grittier but this brand is the same smooth consistency of creamy peanut butter. It’s also made in a peanut-free facility so great for people with peanut allergies. I always hear people rave about it on the food blogs I read so I had to try it. I’ve behaved so well with it too! I have 1tbsp on toast for breakfast with some sliced banana. Yum!

Tonight I’m doing level 2 of 30 Day Shred and making Greek Turkey Burgers and soup for dinner. Yum!

I also hope to read more Harry Potter. I’m on Order of the Phoenix. No spoilers! So far my favorite character is Sirius Black by far!

Speaking of Harry Potter, I think we might go to Universal Saturday for the day. I told John I have to go to my WW meeting so I may be hitting up the 6:30 a.m. meeting. UGH!

Overall I’m still upset about Dakota but trying to remain positive. Talked with his vet yesterday. He has moderate heart disease but some key parts of his heart look good which is great news. He will start taking a beta-blocker medication 2x a day to slow his heart rate so his heart doesn’t work so hard. She said he should continue to act normal and in 6 months we will repeat the echocardiogram and hope that we find his heart disease has not progressed. Sigh.

Here is me pretending to sleep when Dakota was snuggling with me the other night while I was reading. :)

Keepin' on keepin' on...

So I am still finding myself doubting my 5k time from Saturday. What is wrong with me? I checked the course! I guess it's an effect of a low self-esteem. :\

Yesterday I was going for my long run of the week, 5.5 miles. My knees felt iffy all day so I told myself I'd play it by ear and if I wasn't feeling good I'd swap it for a shorter run and do the 5.5 another day.

Apparently Monday runs = runs with all types of issues. My knees felt eh but I had more GI distress and also I was getting a sharp pain where one of my incisions was from my surgery in February. It could have actually been related to the GI distresses. Sigh.

So you could probably guess I wrapped it up around 3.1 Long run attempt #2 will be Wednesday. I want today to be an easy day so I'm just going to do 30 Day Shred level two or Shred It!

My midnight snacking has been bad again. I'm completely aware of my snacking (not sleep walking or anything) but I wake up to pee and feel like I need to snack. It sucks starting the day with -4 points. I will beat this bad habit!

I just had lunch and it was delicious! I had a small sandwich using one slice of 15-grain bread, sliced chicken breast, lettuce and a tiny bit of light mayo and mustard. Yum! This bread held up really nicely sitting in the fridge overnight! I also had a side of my new love, chick pea salad! Yon can make any variation but I used: can of chick peas, reduced fat feta, English cucumber, tomato, 1tbsp EVOO, white balsamic, salt pepper - yum! It's approx. 2 points for half of a cup.

In muh belly now!

In other news I've been falling off the wagon with the no soda/caffeine thing. I realized today I've been allowing too many "once in a whiles," so I am cutting it out 100 percent again.

Finally, I am very hot and cold about this half marathon in February. Especially now with the knee pain. I def. want to wait to see what a doctor recommends.

Tonight I need to start Order of the Phoenix!

Labor Day BBQ (sort of!)

We decided in honor of all the Labor Day BBQs (none of which we were attending) we'd have a BBQ themed dinner.

I had an Amy's All American veggie burger on a sandwich thin with 1/2 cup of a organic baked beans and a few sweet potato fries (4oz). It was delicious and super filling!

That is all for now! Saved 3 points for some wine later. :)

Ugh, the sick/flu season is upon us!

So Friday I was feeling crappy with a sore throat and yesterday it was feeling worse. John and I decided to skip our run/bike ride since I wasn't feeling well and the idea of breathing heavy while running on a sore throat was not appealing.

Last night we relaxed but by the time Mad Men was over my throat was killing me. I looked down it with a flash light and saw a few little white spots on my tonsils. No! Tonsilitis! Luckily the doctor I saw Saturday gave me an Rx for antibiotic to take if things got worse. So we got the Rx filled (yay 24-hour CVS) and I took one as well as an Advil PM. We read some before bed and then I went to sleep around midnight.

We decided not to set the alarm for a workout this morning due to my sickness. We woke up around 11 today and I am feeling better but still not great. I always feel worse later in the day.

I am adjusting my training this week due to this sneaky sickness and the 5k I'm doing Saturday. My plan is as follows:

Monday (if I feel okay): 30 Day Shred or No More Trouble Zones
Tuesday: 5.25 mile run (indoors)
Wednesday: short run and strength
Thursday: 5.25 mile run (indoors)
Friday: rest
Saturday: 5k
Sunday: rest (or light run/bike ride)

We just made a yummy quick lunch which included a chick pea and feta salad. I didn't get a picture but it was easy. Just threw a can of chick peas, about 1/3 cup of reduced-fat feta, tomato, and cucumber together. Tossed it with salt, pepper, white balsamic vinegar, greek seasoning and finally a touch of olive oil. It was 3 points for half a cup. Yum!

Tonight we are making burger (Amy's veggie burger for me!), baked sweet potato fries and these yummy organic baked beans John found at the grocery store.

Oh, last thing! I got a haircut on Saturday and decided to do something different and I got bangs!

Me and my manatees! My third favorite animal! :)













Hi!
















Okay, the end!

Week 6 of 10k training/weigh-in/outdoor run/pizza

So week 6 of training went well. I'm up to 4.5 miles. My knees have started bothering me a little again so I need to watch that closely. It's also taking me upwards of an hour to complete the run so it's getting long. Overall things are going well.

We had a busy Saturday so I didn't have time to get to my Weight Watchers meeting. I weighed in at home and it appeared I was down .8 lbs. Not too bad since I didn't have a perfect week.

Starting Sunday my meeting location changed and they are doing a test market thing in Tampa where the WW location is open all day and you can stop in pretty much any time to weigh-in or buy products. Pretty cool if you ask me!

Saturday we had a dinner at John's parents and my parents came over too. It was nice. My mom brought these mini-cupcakes for dessert which set me back some WAP but overall I was 15 over. Not too tragic.

Today we woke up early (7:30 a.m.) and headed out to the causeway for a run. We took a while to get going and get out there so by the time we were out it was 82 degrees (feels like 92) and the humdity was 90 percent, ouch.

Here are some photos:

Me showing my "it's hot and I'm dying!" face at mile two when we stopped to look around the boat docks.

John riding his bike down the path, the sun was brutally hot!

















We went 4.04 miles in just under an hour. I probably took between .25 and .50 (probably closer to .50) to walk because it just got SO hot. It's good for me to get used to this since October will still be steamy for the 10k.

After we got home and showered we went out for brunch and I had an egg white omelet (hold the cheese) and then we went to DSW (shoe store) and found nice water shoes on sale! Score! You'll see why this is good later...

Did our grocery shopping and took a nap for an hour and a half. We were beat!

Tonight we made homemade pizza with organic whole wheat dough. It came out good! We wish it was a little crispier but overall it was yummy!

It had zucchini, eggplant, red pepper, onion, garlic, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts and some chicken. Yum!











Now we are just relaxing and waiting for True Blood and Mad Men!

So I am off this Friday and we are heading to Orlando to see the Deftones! I have a special ticket so I am going to a meet and greet with the band. I've loved them since I was 15 so I'm super excited! :) We are staying in Orlando Friday and Saturday night  and on Saturday we are going to Aquatica because my friend got us free passes. :) We've been to some water parks this summer and it's so hot the ground burns your feet BADLY. Hence the water shoes!

Since we're gone Saturday I'm going to weigh-in on Friday morning.

Hope everyone has a good week!

The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Taim Falafel & Smoothie Bar in NYC

So if you're a Food Network watcher like myself you've probably caught their show The Best Thing I Ever Ate. They have a handful of episodes with themes such as the best thing that was cheesy etc.

I don't consider myself a foodie per say because I'm not big on trying new and scary cuisines but John and I both love dining out and trying new places, especially in New York City which if you don't know is our favorite place in the world.

I write this post to make a tribute to the best thing I've ever eaten which was at Taim Falafel & Smoothie Bar in New York City.

I love falafel. It's one of my favorite foods but I don't eat it that often because it's not super low in calories but the main reason is that it's hard to find good falafel, especially in Florida.

I only had falafel once when I was in Israel because I had gotten a stomach flu. Tragic, I know...

So moving on, Taim was featured on the Food Network show Throwdown With Bobby Flay a while back and we knew we had to try it. When John and I go to NYC we usually have our line up of places to eat that we collect between visits or places such as Taim that we know we must visit again.

John had gotten the falafel sampler platter (see photo) which had I believe a red, green and yellow falafel.

I got a falafel pita with traditional toppings such as the red cabbage etc. It was hands down the most delicious thing I've ever eaten.

We also got a smoothie on our way out which was a Date/Lime/Banana smoothie and it was so delicious. We tried to recreate it at home and failed miserably.



On our next trip to NYC we plan on visiting Taim at least twice to indulge in their decliousness.

I can't wait until we move up there one day and I can visit much more often.

Now I'm hungry...

Danielle vs. fad diets?/changes

For the past five weeks I've been following my 12-week 10k training plan which now has me running upwards of 13 miles per week and doing strength two days.

I've lost 1.2 lbs.

I'm a little let down because when I started this I thought I'd see my weight loss really increase but alas it has not.

I had an appointment with my doctor next Friday for a physical to check things out and make sure nothing fishy is going on hormonal or thyroid-wise.

You may have read that I get acupuncture for facial pain.Well, my acupuncturist sells a 9-day cleanse that claims it helps with things such as fatigue, digestive issues and weight loss. The idea of dropping 7-10lbs in nine days is really appealing.

It's a pretty expensive item and my hate for fad diets had me skeptical. I did some Internet research and saw mixed reviews. Do I think I could lose weight on it? Yes. Will I gain back some if not most of it once I resume my normal diet (which is not bad)? Probably.

I haven't 100 percent made my decision but I think I decided on the following:

My own cleanse! For two-weeks I will cut out the crap! By crap I mean things such as but not limited to:

• sandwich thins
• baked/light chips, 100 calorie packs, processed junk
• artificial sweeteners (hardly have any now)
• sugary junk (no candy, no Weight Watchers ice pops, no VitaTops)
• no caffeine with the exception of green tea 1x per day max (fall off every now and then)
• deli meats

What I will focus on eating will be:

• fruits and veggies (Organic when possible!)
• whole grains (brown rice, possibly some flax type crackers)
• beans
• lean protein (Organic only)

This is going to end up being more expensive than the cleanse but it will be better!

So that is my plan for now. The next thing I might try is cutting gluten out for a week to see how I feel.

Weigh-in tomorrow! Wish me luck! :)

After dinner at Bern's I'll be happy to maintian but after tonights 4.25 (longest so far!) mile run I hope to be down a least a bit!

I'll leave you with a photo of John and I last October in D.C. on a Segway tour! It was awesome and I highly reccomend it!

food photo from Sunday

Dinner from Sunday:

We steamed green beans (a zero point veggie!) and made jasmine rice in the rice cooker with part water and part light coconut milk. It had a very light coconut flavor and was yummy! We also bought this thai chicken peanut bake in the international aisle at Publix. It adds about a point to how many ounces of chicken you eat but it's delicious!

This was a pretty quick and easy meal.

Tonight we are making a fried rice with brown rice, veggies and chicken. I'll post a photo later. :)

In other news I have a new product shout out! The Jello Sugar-Free Mouses now have a Chocolate Mint flavor and it's delicious if you're a fan of that Thin Mint cookie flavor. :)

Watermelon 5k! July 4, 2010

So this weekend I did the Watermelon 5k with Jen and Ricky and John came along for support and to take photos. :)

The race started at 7:30 a.m. and it was packed! The announcer said over 2,600 were running.

Behind us! So many people!

Ricky and I stretching before the race.

The humidity was BRUTAL. I'd say the temperature was around 86 but felt like 90. The course also had a a few little hills and a decent amount on brick roads which felt weird to run on.

The first half-mile it was so crowded and we had to weave in and out around people which cost us time and energy.

The race wasn't chip timed but I wore my watch so I knew we didn't cross the start line until about 1:45-1:55 behind the starters.

For some reason after I hit mile 2 things got hard. I'd say this was my hardest race. Maybe it was the humidity level but it sucked! I had to stop myself from walking a few times.

Jen and I stayed together and crossed the finish line at approx. 37:30. I forgot to look at my watch at the end. Oops! That is a high estimate and we think it might have been a bit less but I'm going with that time.

Here is the only pic John could get of Jen and I running by about to cross the finish line.

I had my final pair of new shoes on (Brooks Adrenaline 10) and I like them. :)

The next 5k I'm doing is going to be in September so that gives me a bit more time to train in between. My goal for that is under 35.

In other news, my back started hurting me last night and it got worse and worse. I could hardly get out of bed this morning so I am home from work. :( I have no idea how I hurt it. Going to acupuncture at 2 and hoping that and ice/heat all day will help.

I'm going to start posting about my weigh-ins again next week! Keep an eye out!

Photos From I Love Fathers Day 5k on 6/20/2010

Before the race! Me, Kim, Mary and Laura

Me somewhere in the first mile I think...I look so serious.

Me coming in through the finish. Take off 16 seconds for the late start and you have my 38:40! I need to work on looking cuter when I run. At least when I finish a race!

Everyone at the end of the race, tired, red and sweaty! In order of finishing! Mary got second fastest girl! Way to go! *Note to self: light blue shirt shows sweat A LOT

Overall it was a great time. Seeing some of these photos really motivated me to lose this weight. It's all in my mid-section and it sucks.

Speaking of...woke up at 6 a.m. to run today before work. It wasn't that bad! :)

Day one...hope it's fun?

Okay, so today is the first day! I decided to start on a Saturday because that is my weigh-in day. I didn't go to my meeting today (bad!) because I had surgery last week and have been thrown off. I know it's not an excuse but even though I can't go to the gym for at least another week I am going to be dilligent about tracking points! I believe this week I am around 176-177 which is a little up from the 175 the last time I weighed in. It's okay though, next week will be a success!

I woke up a little after 11 a.m. today so I'm not eating breakfast. I know eating breakfast is good but on the weekends I sleep in so I usually don't!

I did however start my day like any other day with some decaf coffee (I don't drink caffeine):

For my coffee I use Starbucks House Blend in decaf with Truvia (two packets) to sweeten.

If you haven't tried Truvia, do it! I used to use Splenda but Truva(and Stevia) are all natural sweeteners and much better for you!

For a creamer I use Coffee Mate Sugar-Free French Vanilla. I prefer this over the Fat-Free one. Two tablespoons is one point.

Making my cup of coffee a total of: 1 point

For lunch John and I went to Subway since I have a gift card. I got a footlong Turkey since they have the any footlong $5 deal. I only ate half. So I had a 6" turkey on wheat with provolone cheese, lettuce, onion, black olives, cucumber and a little light mayo for 7 points.

We also shared some chips. The amount I ate was 2 points.

After lunch we ran some errands which wore me out since I'm still sore and recovering. We were at Costco and there was nothing I could get for a snack there! John got a churro and I had two small bites. I'm calling it 2 points.

He is making a silly face, obviously. haha.

I decided the other half of my sub was a good snack choice. So I ate it. That half had only the turkey, cheese and veggies. I took off half of the bread (a good thing to do to lower points) so it was a 3 point snack. :)

I had a snack of some turkey pepperoni and bell pepper strips (not pictured) for 2 points.

For dinner we went to Macaroni Grill. Where I met the evil and oh so delicious bread.

I would not let it defeat me! I only had a small piece which I counted for 2 points.

I had a side salad with dressing on the side to accompany my meal for 2 points.

Finally, for my meal I had the Jumbo Shrimp Spedini which is a great choice when you're eating light. Too bad I forgot to take a picture! It was 5 points and yummy. Here is a picture of my empty plate!

Dinner was great and I had a nice time with John. <3

To end the day I had some Soy Dream ice cream for 3 points which I weighed on my Weight Watchers scale. I love that thing. I highly recommend you get one!

Overall today was a success! I went five points over but I had said I was allowed to use 5 of the 35 extras on the weekend and I did.

My goal for the rest of the week is the not touch those extra 30!

Tomorrow night I am going to make "Cherry Chicken Burgers." John is scared of this but it was something I saw on Food Network and want to try to do a low point version on. :)

Goodnight!

Points eaten: 29/24
Weekly remaining: 30/35