2011 - Week 1 in review

One week into 2011 and one week back on track with everything.  Doing the summary on Saturday is throwing me a little, since I usually conceptualize my week as Monday-Sunday.  I'll give it a try and possibly shift for future weeks if I need to.  Here's my take on the week:

• Weight
• Starting Weight:  153.8
• Today's Weight:  147.4
• Weight Loss:  6.4
• Review:  I think I've worked through the "extra" weight from the holidays and have started to work on the actual weight gain that took place over the last few months.  I was a little frustrated with the bounce back up from the mid-week low, but am really not stressed about it.  I'm happy with the overall trend and I know that I'll continue with the loss as long as I continue with the relevant behaviors.
• Prediction:  The rate of weight loss will slow down significantly and I'll see more bounces like this one.  
• Exercise
• Days of Exercise: 6
• The one day off was a planned skip.
• Stayed on target with calories burned.  My watch counts Monday-Sunday, so I'll give the "official" report later. 
• Review:  I would have liked to get onto the stairmill today, but it didn't work out that way since the car was in the shop.  I felt a little low-energy with some of the morning workouts (since I am NOT a morning person), but felt better toward the end of the week after the planned skip day.
• Prediction:  I may have difficulty getting 6 workouts in this week, though I expect that 5 would be doable.  I have two early mornings (for me) accompanied by late evenings which may make it difficult to fit the 6th workout.  So I'll commit to 5 and aim for 6.
• Eating
• Days of Clean Eating: 7
• The one deviation was the Caesar salad at tonight's office dinner
• Review:  I'm happy with being on-plan for the week.  I had been anticipating a difficult cheat with the office dinner.  It's all served family-style, so I had no say in the menu.  The other veggie choices were broccoli (which I won't touch), another salad tossed in dressing, and mushrooms or asparagus drowning in butter/oil. 
• Prediction:  I anticipate staying on-plan during the work week.  When I'm in a structured environment and have things to do, I'm less likely to go grazing in the kitchen.  On top of that, I gutted the office kitchen on Friday and got rid of anything leftover from the holidays that could be a possible temptation.  We don't have any set plans for next weekend, but I wouldn't be surprised if something comes up.  I'll try to anticipate and plan for whatever we end up doing, allowing for an enjoyable time with some moderated indulgence.  But I won't create a cheat if it doesn't present itself.
• Overall
• I'm proud of my return to program this week.  I feel much better, both physically and emotionally, when I'm eating clean and moving.  I see a difference in my face, especially when I wake-up - over the holidays, my face was visibly puffy and swollen.  
• I'm doing okay with the reduced Splenda.  Sure, I'd like to add more as a way to feed my insatiable sweet-tooth, but I'm learning to take things a little less sweet.  (I'm sweet enough as it is!)
• I do want to re-introduce the second meal each day, as I don't want to under-eat.  That would mess with my metabolism and could increase my vulnerability for unplanned cheating if I let myself get hungry.  I haven't worried about it this week, since I haven't been hungry.  I attribute this to the working through "extra" weight.  It's just a struggle to make myself eat when I'm not hungry, but I think my body will get used to it.

Food Log:

• Breakfast
• 4 egg whites and 2 eggs with salsa
• Snack
• Green beans with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray and spray salad dressing
• Tablespoon of peanut butter
• Dinner (Office holiday party)
• ~1/2 cup Caesar salad (tossed with dressing already, didn't eat croutons)
• 4 oz chicken with champagne dill mustard ("smuggled")
• 20g almonds ("smuggled")
• DID NOT EAT white pizza, pastas, breaded chicken, buttery/oily veggies, or cannoli.
• Snack (after getting home from the party)
• Green beans with Mrs Dash (Tomato Basil Garlic) and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray
• Generous tablespoon of peanut butter

Exercise:

• Time:  90 minutes (had 2 episodes of Glee to watch!)
• Level: Level 1 for 1 minute, Level 3 for 88 minutes, Level 1 for 1 minute (Lower level because I knew I was going to be going for a longer period of time)
• Calories:  800+
• Distance:  6+ miles

Today's Weigh-In: 147.4