Confessions of a Food Junkie, Part 3

Okay, as my quirky English professor joked, "The Father is in."


A couple of weeks ago I revealed my new fitness plan of going to Bootcamp at 5:30 am every M, W, F. Well, here's the confession: I went. Two whole times. wince. Here's my story and I'm sticking to it: it was the pace of bootcamp, not the actual physical activity that did me in.


Here's the upside though: my husband and I have been running after work together on those days instead. It equals out to about 2 miles round trip per run. I feel for drivers and passengers who have the bad fortune of watching me run alongside the road. I don't have a pretty running face...it's usually flushed and sweaty with furrowed brows. And I'm sure my legs look like how I feel, full of lead. Anyways, in addition to that we've started playing tennis and swimming too. I've never really been a fan of summer before, especially now being a part of the nation's workforce (bye bye beloved summer break), but summer's growing on me. It gets darn hot and humid where we live, and it's going to reach 100 today I hear.


More (good) confessions: I've been eating so well guys! I told my husband I've become a fruit addict, though not a fruitatarian (and yes they do exist!). My lunches have a ziploc baggie full of strawberries, grapes, or a banana most days. And I've even gotten into the habit of eating some crunchy carrots for a snack. Consequently, my diet has gotten a major boost of fiber because of this. I can't believe that my diet was so severely lacking before! Now, I can't imagine not eating a couple of servings of fruit or vegetables every day. I've also had fun concocting fruit smoothies as desserts.


My encouragement to anyone struggling in fitness or nutrition areas as I do is to take it in small steps. At first the running was a chore and I had to force myself to eat some fruit, simply because I knew I needed to. But now, I practically can't get enough of either. And while I do ultimately want to thin down just a couple of pounds, I already have a more positive self-image knowing that I'm eating healthily and exercising on a regular basis. I feel better and lighter somehow too.


I have a rabid sweet tooth, but surprisingly the fruit really satisfies any cravings I have. And yes, I still eat ice cream occasionally and other goodies, but definitely not like I used to. My habit of eating dessert every night has also faded. Since chocolate is my absolute favorite thing, I enjoy it now via chocolate soymilk. It really tastes decadent when you've desensitized your tastebuds to the real thing. That theory also holds true for me regarding other desserts.


Okay, so here's my little list of yummy snacks that have helped me stay on target:
Kashi GoLean Crunch cereal
100 calorie pudding cups (chocolate!)
carrot sticks
bananas
strawberries (I go through a quart a week)
grapes
bottled water with those flavored to-go mixes
sweet & salty nut bars like Nature's Valley
chocolate soymilk
trail mix (make sure you measure the serving size before gobbling down)


On a fitness note, if you're geeky and visually-minded, I use a very simple (and free) activity tracker just to show me what I've accomplished. I'm working on the "Active Lifestyle" program in which the goal is at least 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week. Still not perfect, but 3 days is better than nothing.

Have a great weekend!