154.4 - Get Cracking!

You know you've had it with the treadmill when you opt for a 4 mile run in 90 degree heat and humidity. I just couldn't take another indoor run yesterday, so I bit the bullet and ran in air you can wear. Thankfully it was cloudy so the sun wasn't beating down on me. But there wasn't much of a breeze so there was no relief. On my last mile, I actually poured the rest of my water on my arms to get a brief thrill of coolness.

Needless to say, it was a run as slow as the molasses-like air. My average pace was 11:15, which for a short run is (getting to be) a pretty slow pace for me.

Tonight Sophie has swim team* and the plan for me is 4.5 miles, which is unfortunately indoors, but I'll survive.

The big news on the food front is I started the Crack the Fat Loss Code diet today. Earlier in the week I'd pledged to wait until after the Saturday night party we have, but I just couldn't put it off any longer. So I grocery shopped last night and bought more protein in one shopping cart than I have in the past month. I made crack slaw last night that Jodie recommended (YUMMO, indeed!), planned my food intake for today, ate eggs & cheese for breakfast, skipped my usual coffee with vanilla creamer & sugar (sniff, sniff--right now I am drinking coffee with one packet of sweet & low and it's just not the same), and had a mocha protein shake with instant coffee instead.

I've got the beginnings of a headache, which I'm sure is from not having my usual 4 cups of coffee before 8:30 a.m. (I know, I know). But I'm keeping my eyes on the prize, baby. It took 9 months last year to lose 55 pounds. I can spend 8 freaking weeks on this diet to lose 15 more. The first week is supposed to be the hardest--carbs under 20 grams for 7 days--and the first 3 days are the hardest of the 7.

I can do anything for 3 days. I can do anything for 3 days. I can do anything for 3 days.

Regarding the diet book, on an Amazon.com 5 star scale, I'd give it a 4, and if I could I'd give it a 3 1/2, because (a) she doesn't include any information on exercise or weight training, even though they are "keys" to cracking the fat loss code, (b) there are very few recipes and when you have a restrictive diet like this, I think you need recipes to help people know what to eat beyond grilled chicken & broccoli, (c) she repeatedly says "this is not a diet, it's a lifestyle," which I call bullshit on and find highly annoying. It's a diet. Period. And finally, (d) it's a pretty complicated program. I have no doubt it works--the science behind the plan makes sense, and I've never read anywhere how the body gets its energy sources, first from food, then from muscle, and lastly from fat stores. So I give her kuddos for that. But it's not a diet for the diet novice, by any means. All that said, I still think it will work for me. I'm banking on it.


*Sophie's swim teacher asked her to join the club's swim team! She's at level 4, which is the highest group swim class they offer, and when we went last Monday night to class, Sophie was clearly more advanced than all the other kids in the group. So the swim teacher bumped her up to swim team. Swim team = Tuesdays & Thursdays from 4:30 - 5:30, and every 1st & 3rd Saturday from 10-11 a.m. A lot of swimming for a 7 year old. And competitions are only in the summer, so she's got a lot of time to develop her strokes & stamina. I'm just thrilled that she has found something she loves, that will help instill the habit of doing something physical on a regular basis. That is something I never had as a kid, and you know we always want to do more for our kids than was done for us.