Pink Icing

So this past week has been interesting. First, I had my WW weigh-in on Tuesday. I lost .8 lb. Not too bad considering I had 3 days away from home this week – celebrating two birthdays and a temple sealing. I did better than I would have had I not been keeping some tabs on my eating. One thing I did discover, store-bought buttercream frosted cake is okay but not really as good as it sounds and looks when you’ve been watching your sugar and fat intake. It was okay and I foolishly ate a second slice but then I felt ill. yeah. Cake is my weakness and I love icing, but it isn’t as good as it looks. Your mind can do funny things to you. But anyway, this is what I wrote down in my WW tracker after that cake-ful evening:

When you’re eating right and exercising you feel great. Your body is strong. It feels well and has energy. When you eat junk – especially bad sugar, it just makes you sick, and it just doesn’t taste as good anymore.

The icing on that cake was sooo sweet and pure sugar. Therefore it was bad sugar. A homemade cake with homemade icing is not as bad and not quite as sweet and much tastier but still, moderation is best. Obviously.

I also learned that, even though I have the spare points and/or have earned some spare points through exercise, I’m not going to lose as much weight if I actually use those points. I knew that. I know that. It’s simple enough. I was happy to have the freedom for that weekend and I still lost weight. I was happy about that. I just didn’t lose as much as I could have.

This week I have done better. I planned dinners to get me through the weekend so we wouldn’t be tempted to buy pizza. I got lots of exercise and earned lots of activity points. I have used some of my free spare points, but not all of them and haven’t come near to tapping into my activity points. I am hoping for a decent weight-loss this next week. But whether or not, I am feeling more energetic and better. So that is good. Oh! And I fit into a smaller pair of jeans! Woo-hoo!!

This weekend I worked extremely hard to put in a couple new gardens in my front yard and to weed and mulch the existing one. It was a lot of lifting and moving and digging and bending over. And I mowed the front yard using the mower bag which meant every few minutes I had to take it off, lift it up and shake all the grass out of it into a paper yard waste bag. Heavy work!! And it was HOT! Friday was hot and it reached 91 degrees on Saturday! But I pushed through it. Driving forces were that I wanted my front yard to look nice including the garden bed in front of my dining room window that had been vacant for a few years. I finally figured out which shrubs I wanted to put there and found the perfect shade of pink azaleas which are in full bloom right now. I also had a large clump of hosta that I divided up and it looks really nice now. But back to driving forces. The other driving force was that as I worked, I imagined the fat melting off me and I wanted to burn as much as possible! I was hoping it will have a good lasting effect on my goals. If nothing else, I’ll be stronger for it and muscle burns more calories at rest so that is a plus. :)

But, speaking of pink…

This Saturday we started the 3-Day training season with a kick-off event at the New Balance store in Cherry Hill. They had their store all decked out with Susan G. Komen gear and lots and lots of pink! It was so cool. Even the men working there made themselves shirts that said “Real men wear pink!” It was great! They had their gear on sale for the event and I bought myself a second pair of running sneakers. Since my training alone will wear out one pair I needed two. I already had a great pair of Nike running shoes so this will be my test to see which shoe I like better. But one thing is – they’re pink!! Yes, I proudly wear pink. :) They had a kick-off walk that was attended by more than 100 people and I met some cool ladies as we walked along. One woman lives nearby and I got her card so hopefully we’ll be able to get together to train sometimes. I am excited for this event. I keep hearing more great things about it. I love talking to women who do this every year and pick different cities to walk in. I am hoping this is a really great experience that I will want to do again and that I will be able to do again. I love things that encourage health and wellness as well as having a good cause to work for. I am excited for the event! Did I say that? I hope in later years, if I do it again that friends or family will join me.

Well, we received in our email the first week of our 24-week training program. I shifted the days so that my Sunday would be a rest day but here it is:

Sunday                          Rest

Monday                       3 miles                Easy walking

Tuesday                       Rest

Wednesday                3 miles                Moderate walking

Thursday                    30 minutes       Easy cross-training

Friday                          3 miles                 Easy walking

Saturday                     3 miles                 Easy walking

For the cross training I already have in place a weight training routine that I can use for the next few weeks. Thankfully my gym offers free personal training once a month so I will be able to build on that as I go along. I will also be doing other cross training through the week as I attend a few classes that I have enjoyed at the gym.

The walking this week should be easy for me. I can handle 3 miles well. I can’t wait to see what is in store over the next 24 weeks! Afterall, we will be doing a little more than 2 marathons in 3 days by the end of this!

I loved the blurb they had next to the energizer bunny in my trainer email:

Energizer Bunny Beat
It all starts here, with that first step, that first “official” training walk. Today you pledge your heart, mind and body. Today you begin your journey. Today you become a pink warrior. You're in good company! Keep Going®

Energizer is proud to be presenting sponsor and official battery of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure™.

I love it!

I am a pink warrior!