Checking in....

I need to regroup. The camping trip was fun and as I mentioned, I didn't count a single calorie or log a single workout. It was gawd awful hot there and we drank water by the gallon, but I also let myself indulge in some cans of "Throw Back Mountain Dew". Because we were all sweating so much and losing so much water I also tried to eat more salty foods than I normally do. The food I ate:

Friday:

• Dinner was spaghetti and garlic bread brought from home. Ground beef in the sauce was grass fed beef and the bread was fresh artisan bread from our local market. The butter was pasture butter from Organic Valley. Overall, I was fine with that meal.
• Followed up with a few beers & a margarita made with fresh strawberries.

Saturday:

• Breakfast was pancakes (plain ole' bisquick) and real maple syrup (no flavored HFCS in this family) with bacon (from happy pigs) & fresh fruit. Not too bad. I drank OJ and water
• Lunch was fresh fruit and cut up veggie sticks with local, fresh made ranch dressing (no bottled salad dressings, either). I ate a handful of Doritoes to get some salt and I drank a Mtn Dew and water. I also had a snickerdoodle cookie.
• I made a green smoothie that day and drank two of them. I also had a margarita made with fresh strawberries.
• Dinner was potluck style and I ate a hamburger with all of the fixin's (I did not supply the hamburgers and they were not grassfed beef) including a white bun. Pasta salad (not made my me) and homestyle baked beans (made by me with bacon from happy pigs and organic ketchup) and a fresh fruit salad. Dessert was a few bites of chocolate chip cookie cake. I drank a few beers that night.

Sunday:

• Breakfast was scrambled eggs (organic, but not pastured), bacon & fresh fruit. Green Smoothie on the side.
• Lunch was more fresh fruit & veggies with dip. A handful of pita chips with hummus and again a few Doritoes with Mtn Dew and water.
• We bought the kids popcicles and I indulged in a ChocoTaco. I also had a green smoothie before dinner and another margarita.
• Dinner was potluck style again. Tacos!! Another family brought the taco meat and she used ground turkey, store bought. Meh, what are ya gonna do? Anyway, I had one white tortilla filled with refried beans (from a can), taco meat, mexican rice (from a packaged mix), cheese, tortilla chips & sour cream. Not a single raw item in my taco. This was the beginning of my downfall. I followed it with quite a few beers and a few handfuls of chips. I had one S'more.

Monday:

• I drank a green smoothie at the camp site while we were packing up.
• Breakfast was eaten at a local restaurant and I had two eggs, over medium & biscuits and gravy with a side of sausage. Not the most responsible choice.....
• Another Mtn Dew in the truck for the ride home with more water.
• For dinner we ordered Domino's Pizza (again, not a great choice)

I weighed myself Tuesday morning and the official damage was: 223.2

I wasn't too upset with it, realizing it was probably mostly water weight and that I could get it back off by my weigh in on Monday. I was committed to being back home and counting calories again. I went for a run on Tuesday and completed W2D1 of my C25K program and all was good. Except I couldnt' stop eating. And I wasn't eating good stuff. Yesterday I had a green smoothie for breakfast and DairyQueen for lunch (I know, I know). I had a small bowl of cereal for dinner and after the kids went to bed I dove into a pack of saltine crackers smoothered with Easy Cheese. With a Mtn Dew on the side. I don't even like Easy Cheese. Thankfully there are no Mtn Dew's left and I will not be buying anymore. That was my camping treat and I was sure to buy the throw back ~ made with real sugar and NOT HFCS. As if that makes a huge difference (rolling eyes at myself.....). I was in such a low point yesterday that the thoughts of saying "screw it" entered my mind several times.

Right before bed last night I realized I was severely dehydrated. I drank a huge glass of water and I woke up still parched. I think my cravings and uncontrollable eating is due to some major dehydration.

I weighed myself this morning and I'm down to 221.0. I have to admit, I'm a little shocked! Today I'm 100% back on track. I'm drinking nothing but water and I'm eating lots of raw fruits and veggies. Starting with breakfast:

Peanut Butter Apple Dip:

1 cup honey roasted peanut butter (I buy fresh ground from our local market)
1 cup organic (or homemade) cream cheese
1/2 cup organic (or homemade) vanilla yogurt

Mix thoroughly. Easy Peasy and ssooo yummy on a sweet Fuji apple. According to Livestrong, 1/4 cup of this mixture is 234 calories. It is so filling and I usually can't even eat the full 1/4 cup with one apple. This will keep me going until lunch time.

I'm headed back to the gym today to get my run in. I refuse to give up on my C25K program. I AM A RUNNER. I repeat that to myself over and over while I'm on the treadmill. It will be my reality.

And just to show I mean business, I decided to enter the Legs Love Lunges Challenge over at 5 Miles Past Empty. I'm coming in a week late, but I guess that's better than not coming to the party at all, right? Here's the scoop:
Take a picture of your legs right now (these were taken on Tuesday) and then do lunges three times per week from now (it started Aug 10) until Sept 10 and then take another picture of your legs and see if we can see the difference. Sept 10 just happens to the be Friday before my first official 5K so this is perfect timing for me!
Let's get this party started!!

My knee surgery 8 years ago evidently left my knee cap a little deformed. I just discovered through physical therapy a few months ago that its likely that my knee surgery wasn't even necessary. My problems were simply a symptom of a bigger issue. That made me happy. No really. I love going through agonizing surgery and recovery just for fun.