Week 4 - The sodium chronicles

At my week three weigh-in of the Biggest Loser at work, I came in two pounds under the last time I weighed in. I can not weigh-in daily because it's frustrating to see the scale NOT move. In talking with my doctor, you should lose more than one pound a week so I was happy with those results.

A few weeks ago, I started having ankle pain in the ankle that I twisted over the summer. Turns out, I tore the muscle and the scar tissue is causing the pain after I run. I was ordered to three weeks of physical therapy and to back off on the running. FABULOUS. PT isn't so bad though I get to lay down for 30 mins while my ankle gets massaged, then scrapped and then fun exercises. YAY! I usually feel pretty relaxed after but after running lately, my ankle hasn't been in pain at all. I just have to remember to do stretches and just take it easy when I run. I was hoping to add .5 mile this week but I decided not to push it. Maybe next week?

The physical therapist also recommended I don't spend all my energy running and add something to the mix. I've been intrigued by the water running class and gave it a shot. It's harder than it looks but at the same time was pretty low-impact on my ankle. The instructor and swim mates were welcoming and the next day I was so sore. Maybe I can run down the Deschutes River during the triathlon?

I'm beginning to doubt my triathlon abilities. I know it's in July but I'm getting pretty scared -- mostly of the swimming part. Good thing time is on my side!

As for food, I've been doing pretty well and the weekends are really really hard though but I allow for some fudging but in moderation.

We'll see!

Week 1 - The sodium chronicles

As you remember, I'm divorcing sodium to lower my blood pressure and lose some weight. This is something I can not fail at because if I do, I'll have to be chained to blood pressure meds and I really don't like spending my time in line at the Fred Meyer Pharmacy. Week one of logging my calories/sodium intake went well on Livestrong.com. My first day back at work after our vacation started with a weigh-in for our company's Biggest Loser challenge. I was happy that I was at least down 10 lbs from last year.

For the most part, I stayed on course with keeping my sodium in-take in control. One day I went over because I didn't realized that the low sodium burrito I was eating was actually two servings. Seriously, who splits a burrito? (OK, I have been known to split a mondo sized breakfast burrito but this burrito was not small). I did have pizza this week as well. I didn't eat half a pizza, just two slices. That's an improvement, for me.

The biggest hurdle has been getting my husband to realize that we have to plan meals out and can't just wing it. I'm getting a lot of  "I don't want that" and I have to gently remind that well, I need to watch my sodium in-take in order to keep the blood pressure down. He then becomes supportive.

Today is my cheat day. I try hard NOT to go completely overboard. I started the day with a vanilla mocha from Thump and then some awesome cinnamon rolls that my friend Jen made. That was followed up by a mimosa. Did I mention that after that I went to Costco and indulged in a hot dog?  The rest of the day will be relatively low on the sodium spectrum.

The other hurdle ... finding gourmet low sodium recipes.  I love Everyday Food Magazine BUT they don't put the sodium content on their nutrition contents so I have to enter all the ingredients into a calculator and divide it by the servings to figure it out. I did send them an email and got back a lame response. So far, EatingWell.com and EatBetterAmerica.com and the South Beach Diet cookbook have become places for safe recipes. If you have any suggestions for places to find gourmet recipes that are low in sodium, I would love to know.

As for exercising, I think I need to visit a physical therapist. In July, while running the river trail, I twisted my ankle. I spent a month not running and walked instead.  Since I'm back to running, I've developed some ankle pain. I am hoping that my new shoes will correct the problem but if it doesn't I hope I'm not sidelined again. I want to do a triathlon so I need to figure out what to do to keep running. I have developed this love of running and I don't want to abandon it.  This week I've run/walked 11 miles. I need to change it up and I'm interested in trying water running and I do have to start spinning which I'm dreading.

Well, onto week 2.

New year. New goals.

It's a new year. I think I've gained 10 lbs in the past week with all the out of control eating. I ate my final linzer cookie until next Christmas season. I've had an alcoholic beverage everyday since Christmas and I have not exercised. My husband and I were talking about goals last night for 2010. He is working on his freelance business since jobs are scarce at the moment. I NEED to cut down the salt to 2300 mg. Everyone keeps telling me, use Mrs. Dash. The salt shaker is not my problem -- I just need to eat less processed foods and more fruits, veggies, dairy and lean proteins.  Along with cutting down on the sodium, I am also going to train for a triathlon in an attempt to do one in July. If I can run 3 miles, I am pretty sure by July I can do a triathlon. I'm calling it the tryathlon challenge. GULP. Wish me luck.

As a family, we need to be better about a few things with Lil B. Brushing teeth, reading, getting him with some play friends.  The other thing is we need to start going to church. We keep talking about it but we're not doing it. We'll be exploring that avenue in the next couple of months.

So, in a nutshell, that's some of the goals for 2010. I'll check back and let you know how they're going.