Time Management

Well, I have been slacking in posting but I'm going to try to improve on that.

Time management is a big problem for me, partially because I am a procrastinator and find things I'd rather do, than what I have to do. So, what did I do? I found something else to add to my busy schedule. So, time management becomes even more important.

My goal this week is to write down everything that needs to be done, when they are due, and schedule my time. I need to try this for a couple of weeks and see if it feels better.

I am no longer feeling overly stressed but I have to make sure I stay on top of my priorities. I am in control of what I can control and I'm going to do the best that I can.

Tracking Progress: Courtney Month 0

I was thinking of tracking my progress for my cardio health by timing a one mile run. Let's just say that I have a lot of room for improvement! I ran the mile this morning and I probably could have run it faster, but I was simply trying to run the entire mile without stopping. My time was 13:53 which is slower than some people can walk it. My goal is to be at 10:00 by the end of November.

Time to get serious with the running again!

Eating Out with Success- Mexican

I got nothing.

Just kidding. I have a bit, but this one definitely gets me into trouble. First off, it's way too easy to eat the chips and salsa set out on the table from the moment you sit down until the moment the food is served. One trick is to count out the number of chips you are allowing yourself and place them on a little plate. You can break them into a bunch of little pieces so they take longer to eat. Stopping at just the plate takes quite a bit of discipline, especially if they take awhile to get the food out.

Another trick is to be really picky about what you eat and prioritize. Eating tortillas, rice and chips really adds up. Most Mexican restaurants have salads with fajita meat and as long as ask for the dressing on the side and use sparingly and don't eat the tortilla shell bowl they sometimes come in, it should be a healthy choice overall. Tortilla soup is another good option as long as you limit the tortilla chips and cheese involved.

I'm always looking for ways to eat out successfully at Mexican restaurants!

So, about this exercise thing

I did drag myself out of bed yesterday morning for a run. I told myself not to push too hard so I wouldn't get sore. I didn't think I pushed too hard, but I am having trouble walking today! I decided that twice this week was enough for the mornings. I don't have to go full tilt all at once and can instead ease into the routine. Therefore, I took this morning off and I plan to run tomorrow morning. Maybe next week I'll shoot for three days.

Eating Out with Success- Chinese

I thought we could add our tips/tricks for eating out at various restaurants. The best way is to research the restaurant's nutritional information (or something similar) and go in with a plan.

However, dining out with coworkers, we never decide until we're out the door. Therefore my learnings are more trial and error. Yesterday we hit a chinese restaurant for lunch. I saw on the menu you could order steamed chicken & veggies or shrimp & veggies. It wasn't on the lunch menu, but I asked for the chicken & veggies steamed and they happily gave me the lunch portion. I ordered hot and sour soup with it and brown rice. It came with sauce on the side, which I didn't use and instead used hot mustard because I like it hot, hot, hot.

Here are my learnings from the lunch. You can order off lunch menus with special preparations if you just ask. I ended up eating the egg roll that came with the meal and also the fortune cookie, which is so not worth the calories. I finished off almost the entire plate of food, which really was too much. Here's how I will do it next time- ask for a to-go container up front and save half for lunch the next day. Have them leave the egg roll off and open up the fortune cookie, read the fortune and toss the cookie.

Diana's Beginning Again

So, I weighed in last night and it showed another gain. I'm not sure if it's because of the stress, only working out 2 days, because I started working out, or not journalling.

But, I'm going to begin again, today. I got up at 5:15, did 30 minutes of Wii Active and have clothes to do C25K D1, which I plan to do at lunch today. However, my neck and shoulders are so tight I want to get a 15 minute massage at lunch today. I know part of the tightness is due to stress but I wonder if part is from the shoulder and arms exercises from this morning.

Ok, so I'm taking Courtney's advice to change my goal from 1lb per week and just say 5lbs in 6 weeks. I hope that works better, of course, I'm now up a bit so I'll have to make that up before I even start in on the 5 lbs.

And, I haven't done my homework yet - though I started. And, now there's a problem with my laptop. The "T" key isn't working. Grrr. I started to work on the assignment last night but ended up going to bed around 8:30.

I slept ok in that even though I kept waking up, I was able to fall back to sleep pretty easily.

Ok, I'm taking one day at a time and today's a new day and it's going to be a good one :)

Day One

Today was the day I was to restart my exercise plan. I got out my running clothes last evening, set the alarm a bit early and got into bed at a reasonable hour. After the Joan Rivers Roast finally ended, we turned off the tv. I proceeded to toss and turn all night long. I was in a bit of pain and it made me uncomfortable enough that I couldn't sleep.

The alarm went off and I went no way, not today. I did get to the gym this weekend, so technically I did start my exercise routine, just not the C25K like I had planned.