For some reason, tonight, I decided to do a BUNCH of baking. We’ve been baking more recently – being on a team of girls who all love chocolate and sweets is lending to that trend. But tonight, what I thought was going to be sweet bread ended up just being…white bread. But, hey, it was in a fancy lookin’ braid. And it was still pretty good. Just…not what I expected, especially when I was already baking my nearly weekly two loaves of whole wheat bread.
I also did something more than just tacos or stir fry for dinner – pork chops with an apple-raspberry sauce on the side and veggies. I started subscribing to Taste of Home’s Healthy Cooking magazine, and I’m finding all sorts of awesome ideas and recipes…and I only have one issue so far!! It’s actually kinda fun to be in the kitchen now – and even grocery shopping is getting to be a bit more enjoyable. It’s not buying the same stuff every week and then staring at the freezer/fridge wondering what on earth to do that’s a little different.
For my cycling friends – I met a nother couple of cycling gals from church the other day! They were talking about rides they might be doing this year, starting this month in the Mt Vernon area. So – one more impetus to my getting back on the road! I’ve been picking up running again, too – did 4 miles total last week (2 miles a day – treadmill). It’s more like a jog, but it felt SO good to run then cycle. It’s making think of duathlons in the future, and it’s given me a new goal. I’m aiming to get up to 3 miles without dying, and within 30 minutes. That’s going to take me awhile, since I’m currently jogging 2 miles in about 24 minutes. I’ve never been fast. Even when my sisters and mom and I would go running 3 times a week, I still didn’t always get 3 miles in half an hour. Now and then, yes, but I had to be in a zone. This time, I’m aiming for consistency.
In that vein, I decided to see how well I could do cycling. I was surprised – I managed to do 5 miles in 20 minutes! Woohoo! Of course, that was indoors, on a spin bike, “flat roads,” but I was still pretty proud of myself. First, for doing it after a 2 mile run; second, for doing it twice during the week!
On a semi-related note…I’m back to tracking my eating and exercising. I’m very frustrated at the fact that, since Christmas time, none of my jeans have fit – every pair is extremely tight. I ended up buying new pairs of jeans that were a size larger. So, now they’re a little loose, but the size smaller won’t fit right. I got even more frustrated this last week when I put on a pair of jeans that were all right just a month ago, had washed them, and they were TIGHT! I mean, seriously people – I’m eating fairly healthy, and a couple of days of sugar (in the month) should really NOT put you over the top like that, especially when you’re burning an average of 800 calories a workout. But I’m trying really hard not to focus on that and just focus on being sure I’m actually eating enough, and eating enough of the right stuff. Though “frustrating” isn’t an adequate word to describe the incredible degree of annoyance I have with the pairs of jeans now waiting until I can fit back into them again (if that ever happens). Oh well – as my doctor back in the Tri-Cities told me, I really shouldn’t care as long as I’m actually in very good health and physical condition, right? Why care that I can’t fit those jeans if I can run 2 miles and do a spin class afterwards, or if I can make it through a Jillian Michaels workout without collapsing? Focus on the positive!