Once again my mind has said "Nikki, get off your lazy ass and get going." I wish my mind and body would both cooperate with each other. I had some medical issues for a few months. Nothing too major, it is better now. Over that time I realized that what I was putting into my body and how I was just sitting on my couch was affecting the way I lived and felt.
This week, after feeling that post holiday bloating feeling, I decided that it is officially time to change. When I met with my Dr. a couple of weeks ago we talked about some healthy eating habits. She hates the word "diet" and refuses to use it. She instead uses the phrase "healthy eating". Same thing just doesn't sound as horrible as "diet". When I met with her she gave me a few tips that I have been trying to follow. One of them was to try and eat one fruit of vegetable from every color of the rainbow each day. Sounds hard right? NOT. I started this week with this. I went to the grocery store and loaded up on colorful fruits and vegetables. I took a risk and bought a sweet potato. I have never cooked my own sweet potato, but I have had sweet potato fries and thoroughly enjoyed them. When I was younger I never liked sweet potatoes, so I have just stayed away from them unless they were fried. So on Tuesday I chopped up my sweet potato into cubes, lined a baking sheet with tin foil ( I always use tin foil on my baking sheets.... easier to clean :)), drizzled a little olive over them, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and placed it into a 375* oven for 30 minutes (flipping them over about half way through). Once they came out of the oven I put about a teaspoon of butter over them while they were still warm. OMG!!! THEY WERE DELICIOUS AND IT MADE A TON! They were delicious and I had some left over to bring for my lunch today. I have to admit it, I have been converted! I love potatoes, but know how there is not too much nutrition in them. I mean they are not horrible, but there are better options. Next I want to try to mash them! Everyone says I make the best mashed potatoes, let's see if they have the same reaction when I make sweet potatoes.
OK, now I went off on a little sweet potato tangent there. Sorry... we all need a little sweetness in our life though right? What I really wanted to talk about in this blog is my new goal/challenge. Running a 5K. Yes, my fat ass did just say "RUNNING". I've always kind of wanted to run, and I have seen so many people doing these couch to 5K's, and I know that interval work outs are great for weight loss. I have done two days of the workout so far. The first day I was at my parents' house, so I used their treadmill. I was so impressed with myself. I did the whole workout without cutting anytime off, and I was still able to hop on the elliptical for 20 minutes when I was done! The second workout I did yesterday. Since I don't have a treadmill at my house, I went outside. HOLY CRAP! I don't know what it was yesterday, but I had to cut back on my running time. I don't know if it was the difference between running outside or running inside, but man was I dying. I didn't quit, I just altered. Instead of do intervals of walking 90 seconds and running for a minute, I did intervals of walking for 2 minutes and running for 30 seconds. Doing that I finished the workout and so pumped to be done with day two and still be able to walk today!! Tomorrow will be day 3, and that is usually the hardest. I will let you know how it goes!
