Taking the Reins

I made these tonight from a recipe in Her Sports Magazine….but after reading the fine print, it looks like the original author is the American Institute for Cancer Research’s “Marlene Koch’s 375 Sensational Splenda Recipes.”

 Now, I was skeptical about the black beans, and because of that, I used regular butter, regular eggs, and regular sugar.  But now that I’ve tried the recipe and think it’s fabulous, I wouldn’t hesitate to try spray butter, Egg Beaters, or Splenda.

Ingredients:

3/4  cup black beans, drained

3 tbsp butter, melted

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup Splenda or sugar

6 tbsp Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Prehead oven to 325 F.  Spray 8 x 8 pan with nonstick spray.  In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder, flour, and baking powder, then set aside.  Place beans and melted butter in a food processor and puree until beans are completely smooth, like a thick paste.  Scrape bean mixture into a medium-size bowl.  With a wooden spoon, beat in eggs, vanilla, and sugar, until mixed well.  Add cocoa mixture and stir.  Mix in nuts.  Spoon batter into prepared pan.  Baked for 13 - 15 minutes or until center springs back when touched.  Do not over bake.  Cool in pan on wire rack.  Makes 12 servings.

Nutrition per serving:

100 calories (132 if using sugar), 4 grams total fat (2 saturated), 14 grams carbohydrates (22 with sugar), 2 grams fiber, 3 grams protein, 95 mg sodium.

A+ to this recipe!  Hubby didn’t like it because it wasn’t Ghiradelli, but I’m in love.  Who knew black beans and chocolate could taste so good?!

Oh, if only it were as good as the past 2 years.

 Not only did I have to travel home for Thanksgiving, but I also had to organize my hubby’s 30th birthday party the night before the big feast.  To say that I overindulged would be an understatement.  Ugh!  But I’m not looking back.  I figure the fever and nausea I had yesterday were enough punishment for my week of bad eating and less-than-stellar exercise.  (I ran about 3.5 miles on Monday, but the altitude got to me and I couldn’t go much farther!)  I didn’t get to run in the Turkey Trot this morning, either— yesterday really took it out of me and I didn’t think I’d be in any shape to try 6.2 miles for the first time ever.

So today, my first day feeling healthy, I’m back on track.  And I’m cooking!!  I decided to make the black bean chocolate brownies that I read about in Her Sports magazine a few months back.  I had bought all the ingredients, but I haven’t been bored enough on a weekend to want to cook since before triathlon season.  Funny how that goes.  Now I know why women cook a lot on Sundays….need something to do while we mourn the loss of our hubbies to football! 

So, this week I have plans to hit the run club.  It’s really only for gym members, but they meet outside and my coach is the sweep, so she thinks it’s fine for me to show up and run with them. I guess until they get wise, I’ll take advantage of the group running benefits and try to stay healthy!  Also need to get my rear in the pool…..I miss it!

At any rate, that’s my update.  Ate a lot for Thanksgiving.  Felt like garbage.  Back on program.  And tomorrow is another day.

I am hurtin’ for certain today……  Like a good minion, I took Coach’s suggestion and met her and a group of eager runners at 24 Hour Fitness for an evening running club.  The only requirement?  You must be able to run 4 miles in 45 minutes.  OK, fair enough.  I fit the criterium.  What I didn’t take into account, though, was the 1 mile HILL we had to run up half-way through the run.  Holy hip flexor!  I made it, but I wasn’t as fast as I was hoping.  That’s what you get for tapering your workouts so much.  But now I have  Thursday night workout that is FREE (always a bonus), is coached (we have a personal trainer who takes the lead and then my coach runs “sweep,” making sure she’s last every time), and gets me off my rear.  We did 4 miles last night, so that was pretty fun.  Running at night in a group is actually kind of invigorating.  I feel so much more alive today!

Just tell my hip flexors to quit hurting so much.

I did conclude that exercising on a caloric deficit really stinks.  I’ve held fast to the plan for an entire week, and although I’ve lost 3 lbs., I do feel totally knackered when I hit the gym.  Coach suggested I time my meals so that I’m eating an hour before I work out, so we’ll see if that makes a difference. 

In food world, I’m facing down a restaurant lunch right now.  All new chains, so I don’t have Dottie’s Weight Loss Zone to act as my pre-lunch guide.  Hopefully I’ll find something mildly healthy so that I still have points left for dinner!  We leave for vacation on Saturday night, so I’m not sure how I’ll do over the next week.  I’m packing my running shoes and my swimsuit, though, so hopefully I can get a few good workouts in to make the week less painful.  Good way to get away from the in-laws, eh? 

Anyway, good luck to everyone on their Thanksgivings.  I know you can get through the week unscathed….just remember, a tablespoon of everything is what you get.  And if it’s THAT fantastic, then you can go back for another tablespoon.  It’s all mental.  If you deprive yourself, you’ll only want it more.  So indulge, but do so in a controlled manner.  I know you can do it!

I hate to say it, but the program works.

I can’t tell you how many times I complained to people, swearing I wasn’t doing anything differently but wasn’t seeing results.  I gained 5 pounds when I moved to California over a year ago, and I’ve been “dieting” ever since. But it was all a lie!!!  I was cheating.  I was cheating on my points.  Cheating on my readers.  But most importantly, I was cheating myself by not acknowledging that I was not on program.

Now, I may be moaning and groaning next week, but this is Day 4 TOTALLY on program, no indiscretions, and I am down 3 lbs since last Thursday!!  And before anybody can dismiss it as water weight, I had sustained 154.5 for 4 days before I decided to take action.  So here I am, back to the famed 151.5.  Goal.  But I still qualify for the Athena division in triathlon, so I need to keep going!

Anyways, had to report my small victory and fess up some more.  I know everyone may think that I look fine, but I really do have more body fat than I need and being at the top of my BMI range, regardless of my lean muscle mass, is really annoying me!  My waist could stand to lose a few more inches, so I’m doing this.

Here’s the day:

It’s only taken 3 days, but my focus is back.  Funny how it takes an entire year and half to recommit to the program after you were initially so successful!  I even unearthed my WW Lifetime Membership card, which I will dutifully take to a meeting with me very soon. 

I’m at 22 points, and although I’m still hungry, I’m finally getting used to it and being honest with myself.  When I post my log tonight, that’s it.  I informed DH that I am out of points, so he will help me if I try to sneak into the fridge or cupboard tonight for an evening snack.    This time, I’m going to get to where I want to be BEFORE I start the heavy training.  This darn belly WILL be gone, along with all the extra fat that’s hanging around just for the heck of it.  I WILL do it this time.  No more lies.  No more self-destruction.  I’m not doing this for aesthetics….I’m doing it for free speed!  (Seriously, I know I’ll be faster with less bulk hanging around)

Anyways, looked at more bikes today.  Scheduled a fitting at a bike shop to check my optimal angles for a tri bike….hopefully that’ll help me decide what frame geometry I should be looking at to maintain comfort and achieve the maximum power output.  As you know, I am all about the speed– I must be fast!  So the fitting is going to take an hour and a half on the fit bike on Wednesday.  I’m kind of excited, but it could be a lot of work.  We’ll see…..

So tonight, I’m packing the gym bag with my swimsuit, pull buoy, and a nice 1800 meter swim workout so that I can head straight to the gym after work.  I need to keep at it 3 times a week to maintain my base, so although I’m a little behind, hopefully I can rededicate and catch up.

Here’s the damage for the day:

So I humored DH today and consented to eating at our favorite Mexican place for an early dinner/late lunch.  I knew this would be difficult, but I had points and I knew I could manage.

 I managed.

But I hated it!  I chewed gum while hubby chowed down on chips and salsa.  I ordered the grilled fish tacos, which I hate, because I knew they’d be low in calories and I wouldn’t want to eat them.  By the end of the meal, I was still hungry, down at least 10 points, and the joy was gone.

That’s not to say that in the past year, I’ve misbehaved.  On the contrary, I think I make rather good menu selections… But I’d also have my serving of chips and salsa, and I wouldn’t purposely torture myself.  I’m hoping this behavior changes.

On the plus side, I played with new road bikes today.  Carbon ones.  They make my heart go pitter patter!!  Not my wallet, but definitely the heart.  I wanted a tri bike, but I’m thinking perhaps it’s not the best idea right now?  Anyway, the sooner I get a new bike, the sooner I get out there again.

So here’s the daily damage.  Time to swallow toothpaste and call it a night:

What a roller coaster the past few weeks have been!  After reading Steph’s (Where the Heck is Barbie) post yesterday, I realized that what I am going through is normal, and the best thing to do is to press on.

So I haven’t been honest.  I put my blog up at 7pm and proceed to healthily eat myself into oblivion for the rest of the evening.  My workouts are not counteracting the caloric intake, and therein lies my problem…..instagain.  I read a ton of triathlon blogs on a daily basis, and they always joke that they can eat cakes, cookies, and other naughty treats because they deserve them!  But man, it’s so hard to turn it all off when you don’t deserve them.

But yesterday, I had my first, honest to goodness, TRULY on PROGRAM day in more time than you could imagine!  I was honest about my points, I didn’t dig into flex, and I had my husband forcefully grabbing food out of my hands during a late night craving.  He made me brush my teeth and stood there while I did it.  Granted, I begged him for help, but it was pretty darn funny in retrospect.  If it weren’t for him, I don’t know if I would have made it??

With that, behold my wonderfully brilliant on program day.  I lost a pound!  (I know, one day doesnt’ do anything, but I need a bone here and the scale threw me one)

Oh, and the big news?  I have signed up for my first Half Ironman!!!  Barb’s Race, in August.  (I intend to eat cake in August)

Ah, you have to love life.  It gets infinitely complicated at all the wrong times,

But I’m here, and I’m it, so here are my 7 facts:  (Thanks, Roni!)

1.  I am a distinguished expert in marksmanship.  Hubby taught me one summer while we were camp counselors.

2.  I hate raw tomatoes.  But I love sundried tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce.  What’s up with that?

3.  I met my husband on the internet.  He instant messaged me one night on AOL, NOT a dating service, and we started talking.  Turns out his roommate was in the same MCAT prep class I was in, and it was so funny watching his roommie looking around the room every class trying to figure out who I was! 

4.  My favorite animal is the horse.  I grew up riding and competing, and I’d give anything for that warm, musky breath and velvety nose up against my face.  They are very special animals.

5.  Hubby and I were on the only all-student team to make it to the final day of the University of Colorado’s Trivia Bowl the year we competed!

6.  I have an obsession with black and white films from the 1930’s.  Jeannette McDonald and Nelson Eddy are my heros.

7.  I hate to exercise!  Yes, it’s true.  The triathlete secretly hates running more than you could possibly imagine.  But I love the feeling of crossing the finish line more, so I put up with the pain and suffering so that I can finish in style. 

 So there you have it.  7 random facts about me.  Hopefully you can’t figure out who I am based off of it.  And if you can….well, I’m a distinguished expert in marksmanship….