Running My Butt Off - Week 5 {Linky}

Why, hello there, February! You bring me great joy!

Week 1: 257
Week 2: 254 (-3)
Week 3: 254 (-0)
Week 4: 254 (-0)
Week 5: 252 (-2)

Remember last week I said I thought there would be good things in store this week? Looks like I was right! Those are two pounds I will not miss! Bye bye! See ya later! Don't let the door hit ya on the way out!

So what changed? For starters, I got the Yoplait Smoothies giveaway prize pack from MyBlogSpark to facilitate the giveaway that's running right now, and in that prize pack was this awesome fitness journal:



I have been using online tracking sites for awhile and while they're great (Sparkpeople fans -- you know what I'm talking about -- that site rocks!). However, for me to make a psychological connection to my food journal, there's nothing quite like putting a pen to paper. So I used the journal pictured to the left this week to religiously track my food.

BTW, this journal is amazing. I've never had a diet/fitness journal quite like it. It's got a section that explains everything, including calculating how many calories you should be taking in (and why), and it helps you calculate your calorie deficit for the day and for the week. The way it's laid out is a motivator in itself. Seriously, even if you don't like smoothies, enter the Yoplait Smoothies giveaway just for a chance to win this journal!

I learned a few things. One, the "healthy" salads I had been eating for lunch? HA! My lunch was coming in at a whopping 510 calories! So I immediately made some changes to that. We hit the farmer's market this weekend and I got a tastier variety of fruits and veggies to make a salad with, tossed in a few chickpeas, and used oil and vinegar instead of bottled dressing.

Another thing I learned? Holy SODIUM, Batman! As far as I know (and I am not a dietician), you're only supposed to take in about 2500 mg of sodium per day. I was topping out around 4500. This is not a great thing for someone with a history of high blood pressure, not to mention, sodium makes you retain water. Pretty much anything you find at the store that comes in a box, in the freezer section, or in a can is going to knock your sodium intake through the roof. I cut out 90% of that garbage yesterday (after our farmer's market trip) and my sodium intake was 2200 yesterday.

Finally, I cut out soda. I don't think I had any soda whatsoever last week, just water and iced tea (sweetened with stevia)...but mostly water.

In terms of exercise...I had slacked off on that big-time but I finally got moving again. I had a great visit with a friend last Thursday...she recently got a Kinect for her Xbox 360 and we exercised using that. It's great! I don't have an Xbox 360, but if I did, I'd pick it up. I also started walking again. I'm gradually going to ease into running...my knees and hamstring are bugging me so I'm taking it slow, but I think once I knock off a few more pounds it'll help that pain go away and I'll be able to run again.

That brings me to the end of this week's Running My Butt Off update! Feel free to link up any diet/fitness/exercise posts you have this week in the linky below...I'd love to see how you're doing! Maybe we can even inspire each other!



Other Tuesday Linkies to check out: