20!

Twenty followers! That's crazy. I have to admit it's a little weird to think of that many people reading what I write. When I started this blog more than a year ago I figured it'd be me journaling into empty internet space. But I get so much inspiration from other people's blogs it's nice to know that I might be that for someone else too. (I know my sidebar says 21, but I think they are counting me or someone not following publicly, because when I click there I only get 20).

Any who.... I came in under calorie budget yesterday!! Yay me.

It's funny because I thought my Wednesday calorie allowance was 1400 so that's what I was aiming for all day. I checked my plan and realized I was allowed 1500 for the day. By this time though it was 7:30pm after dinner and I thought that I could have my Newman Oh's, but I really wanted a coffee to go with them or diet soda or something and I new all that caffeine would be bad for me that late. So I opted out. I did end up having a couple of squares of dark chocolate though just to calm the sweet tooth down a little. In all I ended up just under 1300!!

Speaking of Diet Soda - I was looking at the label on a Diet Sun Drop (had a free coupon) and not only does it have 5 calories per 8 oz. It also has Brominated Vegetable Oil (which I had never heard of) at first I was like, "ewww, why is there vegetable oil in my soda?". And then I looked it up... and now I'm am not only grossed out but kind of mad. Bromine is a toxic chemical that can be lethal as a liquid or gas. It's in our citrus flavored drinks in order to get the citrus flavor to spread out evenly in the liquid (instead of sitting on top). Most countries ban it, but the U.S. and Canada allow it in food and beverages (it's in some pastas too, couldn't tell you why) in limited quantities. If you want to read more about it there is a great article the San Diego Reader where I got much of my info, as well as this blog.

On another topic of weird and gross things to have as ingredients.... I was looking up diet pills the other day - I'm considering starting to take a fat burner - and came across the ingredients for Alli. Among the ingredients is Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. Now, grab your shampoo bottle and read the first few ingredients. Unless you are using a sulfate free shampoo I am 100% sure you will find Sodium Lauryl (or Laureth, it's kissing cousin) Sulfate among the top ingredients. It's the ingredient that makes your shampoo foam, and a whole bunch of other soap and soap-like products we use. It can be really drying and irritating to the skin, but it dissolves oil and is a pretty cheap chemical which explains why it's in Alli which blocks fat. Still... gross all I can picture is foamy intestines.

In other news the weather is becoming gorgeous and warmer (high 50s, low 60s) and I've been running! I've successfully completed 2 and 2.5 mile runs with some power walking on the steep uphill parts. I'm also managing a 10minute first mile. Which, for not really running at all this winter and not doing any training of any sort, I think is pretty good. Certainly about what I would bust out on a treadmill with no incline at all.

I am also down 4 pounds from Monday. Which leads me to believe that with my binging on junk food I was holding a lot of water. I've been really thirsty the past couple of days and drinking LOTS of water. So in general things are getting better. I just have to keep this momentum going through the weekend when my boyfriend is having a party and my family is coming to see me sing and then take me out to dinner. I'm thinking that I need to put together a "What to order at..." list for typical restaurants.

Today is a rest day for me. I have really worked out hard this week so far and my body is feeling it. I had to go to bed with a heat pack a couple of nights in a row because forcing myself to do regular pushups must have strained a muscle. My quads alone feel like someone pulverized them. It was definitely hard sleeping in today though. My 5:30am workout is so much a habit that I've gone from needing 3 alarms at various places in the hallway to get my butt out of bed to waking up before my alarm goes off.

The Numbers for
April 13, 2011. Weight: still too high. Calorie goal: 1400

3/4 C Oatmeal 100
2 Tbsp Raisins 65
1 TBspWalnuts 50
Coffee w/ 2Tbsp cream 40
5.3 oz Greek yogurt 80
2 Strawberries 15
2/3 C Cereal 169
3 oz Carrots  and Peapods 40

2 TBsp hummus 60
1 banana 120
1 med apple 80
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp peanut butter 120
1/ 2 C W.W. Pasta 150
various veggies (measured) 80
20oz Diet Sundrop 12
2 Squares Dark Chocolate 100


Total = 1272
BMR = 1300
Exercise = -956 (30DS lvl2; 2.5 mi run; Yoga Meltdown lvl 1)

Net= 316
Deficit = 984