Wow, it's been awhile, huh? I'm a terrible blogger these days! I HAVE become a better Instagrammer though! And I've been posting a lot on @mynestinginstincts about what I'm eating and my workouts, etc there.
But here's a little update on life since I last wrote. I DID run the 5k on Thanksgiving with my sister! It was a great experience and I'm so proud I did it still! I have my bib from the race hanging in my kitchen by my sink so I can see it when I'm doing dishes (which is every 5 seconds, basically) and I love the remind in the place I once ate to cope that I can do anything and be anything and that I've achieved so much!
I also signed up for a half marathon. It's at the end of April. I'm REALLY excited. Training looks like me doing my own thing. Running a few days a week 2-4 miles and having 1 longer run every weekend (7+ miles). I ran 10.53 miles this weekend for 2 hours which is both a distance and duration record. It felt AWESOME! Except I couldn't move after. So I took an ice bath. OMG. Those things are TERRRRRRIBLE!
Our family's Christmas was wonderful! BUTTT I kind of took December off of dieting. I decided I'd just enjoy the holiday and continue to work out. I did work out a lot and pretty hard and then I ate all those calories burned plus some. I gained from 160 to 165 the weeks leading up to Christmas and then 165-175 the weeks of Christmas and New Years. OHHH MY! I have no regrets and it was good to see I do not yet have the self control I need to resist eating way too much (like these salted caramel chocolate chip cookies).
So January 1st I started Paleo and I did it 12 days. I'm back down to 168 and am trying to lose 3 more pounds before we go to Disney World, but again, I had the same problems with Paleo… lack of energy! I focused on eating a lot more veggies and more carb foods like bananas or sweet potatoes but in those long runs I was in the negative calorically by 800+ calories and it was HARD to press on. I actually paced 11:24 on that 10.5 mile run and then had some pasta Josh made Sunday night and Monday morning I ran 3.5 miles in 35 minutes at a 10:04 pace. It just makes ALL the difference to eat carbs. So I'm counting calories on My Fitness Pal, I'm working out hard, and I'm making smart choices. Yesterday I had bread for a sandwich but ate clean all day. My snacks were very healthy, my dinner was healthy, my breakfast was healthy… and the day I had pasta for dinner I had eaten very lightly and healthfully in anticipation of that meal. THAT'S how it's done, I just need to learn to do it! Tracking helps!
So that's a little update on where I am! I'm also really loving weight lifting. I've been doing it about a month on my upper body and have noticed a lot of change. I also just really enjoy the feeling of focusing on a muscle and feeling what it's capable of. Very awesome. My weekly workouts now include a lot of running, intervals for speed (and fat blasting!), a few T25 sessions, an ab day (or 2) and lots of weight lifting.
Hope y'all are doing well!
