Getting a Do-Over

...which is exactly what I needed physically & mentally to get the job done. My trainer added stuff to my meal plan; as previously discussed, I've been lacking in energy for exercise. But I didn't realize how badly I felt for so long. After about 1.5 days on the revised plan, I had tons of energy. Or maybe a normal amount of energy. It was an immediate difference & it was great.

Tuesday night, I had to balance my desire to stick to my plan against a birthday dinner for my friend. In Italy, you're crazy if you don't get the pasta/pizza. But if you're trying to lose weight, there are only so many carbs you can eat. And that's not very many carbs... trust me. So instead of caving to craving, I made good food choices.

Starter: mozzarella di bufala & prosciutto

Sure, the prosciutto isn't "good" for me. But it's not nearly as bad as having that prosciutto on a big fattie pizza like I normally do. I followed this up with a mixed salad & Branzino al Sale, which is simply a European sea bass prepared in a sea salt. It is beyond yummy & my go-to meal choice when I'm trying to be healthy. And I love the salt... I sweat so much that a bit of extra salt isn't going to hurt my diet.

The next day, it was back to the regularly-scheduled meal plan. This now includes black beans. I've never had black beans before; I'm not particularly bean friendly. But I agreed to try it to help mix up the flavors. I didn't realize the corn was off the plan, so I fixed it the next day. Yes, those are onions in the pan. I'm even eating onions now!

Took a bit to get used to, but now I love it!

Then a treat arrived at the house. My new BondiBands are here! I can't stress enough how much I love these things. They're wide enough to hold my bangs back and stay on my head without requiring any adjustments during runs. They really are as advertised: No Slip, No Drip. They also sell hats, ponytail hats, & other sundry items. And now you can customize your BondiBand with your own sayings/mantras (at additional cost). I couldn't resist; I ordered my favorite mantra in 2 different colors.

Though she be but little, she is fierce.

Not the best photo ever taken, but it was pre-run. I should've taken the photo after the run... which was my smoking-hot 4 miles on the treadmill. At 9:49 pace. I felt strong. I felt powerful. I felt fierce.

And Friday, it was weigh-in time.

Here's something I haven't seen in a long time!

FINALLY! On this new meal plan, the weight is melting off. I don't even feel like I'm working that hard. Don't tell my trainer that. Oh, & yes, it's summer so I'm getting regular pedicures.

And today was LSD #2. This is the Do-Over. I didn't realize I skipped a week in my training, so I got to do Week 2 over again. This gave me a chance to re-do the disastrous 5-miler of last week. Which was great considering I didn't make it 5 miles.

It's 6:45 AM & I'm ready to go!

I set out & purposefully held myself back. Every single time I started running too fast, I pulled back. Even though it was early, it was still hot. I started running out of steam at the end & my time was not great (11:22 pace for 57 minute run), but I was right at the point of needing nutrition. And I didn't have any on me; didn't want to overload my system. But I'm having a hard time caring about being on the slower side because I'm simply relieved I was able to get it done! And the reward for finishing that? My chocolate protein smoothie of yum. And this time, I got the chocolate portion correct. And didn't make the blender explode.

Now it's time to take a recovery nap, study for the LSAT a bit, & hopefully head to a friend's house with Penny for an evening walk... that may or may not include gelato.

Happy Saturday everyone & log great miles!