Days 24 & 25 Checkin

Hey!  Sorry for the delay in posting.

Here are my stats:

Wednesday November 24 
INPUT (food facts):
Calories: 1393
Carbs: 191
Fat: 46
Protein: 77

OUTPUT (exercise):
500 Calories burned - Biggest Loser Cardio Max, Levels 1&2 plus warm up/cool down.

Thursday November 25
INPUT (food facts):
Calories: 1599
Carbs: 201
Fat: 46
Protein: 72


OUTPUT (exercise):
672 Calories burned - Sprints/Walking 4.34 miles total (2 separate workouts)

It's been a wonderful week.  Time spent with family, and TONS of physical activity.  I log my activity/calories burned into Sparkpeople and I need to burn 1900 calories a week to stay on track.  So far this week I'm up to 2787.  I am going to update my profile on there to add more activity (which will add more calories) since this will be a typical work out week for me going forward.  I do plan to take a "rest" day tomorrow and hit some stores with my mom!

Thanksgiving doesn't fill me with the dread some face of gaining holiday weight.  I lost weight last Thanksgiving - and I'm pretty sure I will lose this week too.  It's not that I don't indulge or eat what I want - its that there is a good balance.  And I have TWO Thanksgiving meals to attend so I have to be extra attentive.

So this morning I started out by getting in a good 3 miles doing strictly speedwork.  I ran 20 sprints with walk breaks in between up to the 3 miles.  It was a great workout and I burned 465 calories.

Then we ate our first Thanksgiving meal at my inlaws.  See, the food is completely different at each place.  My husband's family is southern style and mine northern.  So at my inlaws, I know I'm going to have to have some sweet potato souffle, "dressing" (which I thought was salad dressing when they first mentioned it to me over a decade ago) and this year my MIL made a healthy broccoli salad.  I was in heaven!

Then we went for a walk - about 1.5 miles, beautiful weather and nice company.  We came back to my parents house and finished the prep for the meal there.  I had stuffing (my mom makes this incredible stuffing with bread cubes), a small serving of mashed potatoes (no butter), cranberry chutney and gravy made with turkey stock/wine.  It was amazing.  Oh, and of course pumpkin pie - crustless pumpkin pie that is.  I don't like crust and alot of fat is stored there so every year Mom makes me one without the crust!

I did have a little bit of turkey at both places.

Overall I definitely feel more full than normal but I don't feel miserable or disappointed in myself.  I had alot of activity today to make up for the extra calories.  That's the way to go, folks.  No regrets, no disappointment, no self-loathing.  I really enjoyed the time with my family and some of my favorite holiday food.

All that said, I hope you were able to enjoy your Thanksgiving meal and didn't have to unbutton your pants.  :)  This day usually starts a free for all for folks lasting into January.  Some people gain anywhere from 1 pounds to 10 during the holiday season.  And studies are showing that the issue with even 1 pound is that it is almost never lost from there...Yikes.  A pound a year would be 20 in 20 years!  That does not sound good to me.  So stay strong, keep up your activity and if you are trying to lose weight, the holidays are as good a time as any to practice will power and self-control.  I definitely feel I've learned a thing or two about both of those things in the last year and it has made my life and the journey that much easier.

Looking forward to finishing 2010 WELL with you as I reflect on all I have to be thankful for this year.  I'm truly blessed!

~Clara

PS - here is a sneak peek from the amazing photo shoot we had last weekend with Anwen Elizabeth Norman, an incredibly talented photographer.  Check out her blog in a few days as I will be guest blogging there and you'll be able to see more pictures like this one!  :)  Kind of a silly shot but I love how strong my legs look.  :)