Day 542: Happy People

 

"The happiest people I know are always

 evaluating and improving themselves.

 The unhappy people are usually

 evaluating and judging others." 

~Lisa Villa Prosen~

It's Day 542 of Nutrisystem. Most of the time my quote of the day is inspired by real life thoughts and events. Today is no exception. Sitting out on the front porch enjoying my morning coffee I watched a neighbor drive up with a big bag of McDonald's food for the household, all of whom are very heavy. I thought back to the days I would do the same thing on a lazy Sunday. I couldn't go to McDonald's and get one Sausage Egg McMuffin - I had to have two. I couldn't go to KFC and buy one "famous bowl" - I had to have two. Even though I could never finish two I had to make sure I had a second one on hand "just in case". It was not uncommon for me to also buy a 3rd entree of chicken tenders at KFC to go with those famous bowls ! The beauty of the drive-thru is no one knows all the food is for you ! This is a part of my unhealthy relationship with food that I still struggle with but I'm actively working on it. Even if I have 3 weeks worth of yogurt in the fridge I have to force myself not to buy any at the grocery store. I literally tell myself I go to the store every week and don't need a 2 month supply ! I still have to make sure I have "enough" of everything on hand even though the grocery store is always there but at least it's not about having enough cookies, candy and ice cream ! I don't go to fast food restaurants now because I don't really find any of their choices to be healthy. That's my opinion and it's the best decision for me. Nutrisystem does offer guidelines for eating "healthy" at fast food restaurants but I feel like I'm better off just staying out of them. When I saw today's quote I realized that today, instead of judging my neighbors unhealthy choices, I took that moment to reflect on my own. It was a good reminder that I am not so far removed from making the same poor choices .. there but for the grace of God go I .. and that I could be right back in the same boat in a heartbeat. Reaching my goal weight and staying there means staying focused on healthy eating and fitness every single day for the rest of my life. Make no mistake, I'd love to scarf down one of those breakfast sandwiches or a KFC bowl, but all of the hard work I've put in would be undone pretty quickly if I went back to my old habits, so this has to be a permanent lifestyle change. That's where constant evaluating and improving comes in. Nutrisystem gave me the foundation but I have to put in the time and effort to build on it. Same goes for exercise. iFit and Total Gym gave me the foundation but I have to work at continually challenging and improving myself. No one can do it for me. It's all on me. I have the power to succeed or fail. I've reached a level of happiness and peace in my life that I don't think I have ever felt before and for that I am very grateful. Today I could look at my neighbors with empathy, instead of judging their choices, even when a large pizza and several bags of what was probably wings or other fried items arrived for their dinner. Sure, I'd love to sit down with a sausage and onion pizza, boneless wings and onion rings dripping with ranch dressing and mozzarella sticks swimming in tomato sauce. I might enjoy stuffing that all down because let's face it .. that stuff tastes awesome ! The problem is I'd immediately regret it and end up hating myself for being weak. That's the difference 542 days and 140 pounds makes.

Breakfast was a 2 ounce 180 calorie cinnamon roll and a 5.3 ounce 80 calorie Light & Fit creme brulee yogurt. Morning snack was a 155 calorie chocolate shake with peanut butter powder. Lunch was a 3.75 ounce 120 calorie veggie frittata with a chef salad. Dressing added 30 calories. The frittata is a bit of mystery item for lunch because the calorie count is so low. It meets the fiber and protein guidelines for either a smart carb or a power fuel but it's not enough calories to be 1 of each, which is what lunch is supposed to be. I had 3 of them in the freezer and they're getting old so I figured today was a good day to get rid of one. I don't really like them so I don't order them now. Afternoon snack was a 1.42 200 calorie Nature Valley salted caramel nut protein bar. Dinner was a rare treat since I had a low calorie lunch. It was a 9 ounce 250 calorie chicken enchilada that I served over riced cauliflower. Evening snack was a 2.2 ounce 140 calorie lemon zest cake. Total calories for the day are 1155 and I got 80 ounces of water in.

After a second cup of coffee it was time to hit the treadmill and make up for yesterday's excess and the lack of exercise. First workout of the day was the final hike in the Lake Tahoe series. It was 40 minutes of 1:1 intervals with a 6 minute steady state walk at the end. The intervals were 1 minute at 3.2 to 3.3 mph with 1 minute recoveries at 2.7 to 2.8 mph. There was plenty of incline but it was mostly 8% and below. After lunch I enjoyed a 3rd cup of coffee and then it was time to hit the treadmill again, this time for the final hike in Costa Rica. This 30 minute incline hike started with three 5 minute intervals at 3.4 mph with only 90 seconds to recover at 2.5 mph. This was followed by two 2 minute rounds at 3.4 mph with only a 30 second recovery. To end with a bang the speed jumped to 3.5 mph 1 minute into the last interval and at the 1:30 mark it jumped to 3.6 mph ! I surprised myself here because maintaining these higher speeds was not as hard as it used to be ! Sure, I sweated but I never got too out of breath or felt my breathing was out of control, and that is different. I didn't really look at the layout of the workout before I started so I didn't know about the long intervals at the higher speeds ... so I didn't have a chance to doubt myself before I hit start. I'm sure that made a difference as well. Before dinner I completed #12 in the Grand Canyon series. It was only a 20 minute workout but it was at 10% incline the entire time. Speed ranged from 2.2 to 2.5 mph and I was glad when this one was over ! I logged 90 minutes, 4.2 miles and 651 calories. After dinner I spent about 50 minutes on the Total Gym.

When lunchtime rolled around today I thought about reheating the half of buffalo chicken wrap I brought home yesterday. In the end I just couldn't do it and I ended up throwing it away. I was sitting there thinking how good it felt to have a huge chef salad so why would I then eat that calorie bomb of fried chicken pieces and cheese ? Yesterday I ate no veggies and today I realized I missed that. I also didn't drink any water. I missed that too. I've veered a little too far off the program on the weekends lately and although that's ok once in a while it's not ok for it to be an every weekend occurrence. A good reminder was the fact that my sister had broccoli with her burger yesterday, instead of fries. I could have opted for a veggie instead of fries too - but in truth I wanted those fries. Problem is, if I keep giving in to what I want the pounds are going to pile right back on. So, no more fries, no more huge wraps, no more bacon cheeseburgers. Jury is still out on margaritas though .. a girl's gotta live !🍹

I thoroughly enjoyed my Sunday at home. I slept until almost 10 am and when I wasn't exercising I was sitting on the front porch enjoying the beautiful day. Although I slept in I am tired and I have to be up relatively early since I have a dentist appointment. So it's about time for a shower and then it's bedtime !