Long Weekend Success

I went in with a game plan... and I mostly stuck to it. Big improvement from the last time that I went home to visit my family in Jersey. 

I knew we'd be eating out at various yummy restaurants throughout the weekend, but I made sure I checked the nutrition info where possible and at least picked something healthy. I ended up with a yummy salad at Panera, a Paradise Chicken salad from Applebees, and spanakopita at the diner with a side salad and soup. And because I was behaving with my meal choices, I let myself have the occasional Jersey treat. A delicious cookie from the Italian bakery, a frozen yogurt at the boardwalk, and a slice of pizza (what else IS there to eat on the Jersey boardwalk anyway?) And I don't feel guilty. Plus we went strawberry picking and I have an entire container of them in my fridge now. YUM!

And as for the exercise, well thank goodness for my in-shape sister! She got a gym membership for the summer and we went on Monday morning for a good workout. 30 minutes of cardio in the movie room (so cool! They were playing The Hangover and I ran on the treadmill) and then 30 or so minutes on the strength machines that her boyfriend taught her to use properly. She gave me a good workout! Plus we walked quite a bit this weekend between the outlet mall and the boardwalk. It was nice to get some gym time in tho, I didn't feel like nearly the slacker I was last time I went home.

So I think I've at least straightened my mindset out a bit. I know I want to go further with losing a bit more weight and toning up. But my body is making me take it at my own pace. I think I've gotten a better balance with food and  living a little (but not too much too often!). And fitting in exercise is possible, it just takes a bit of planning and effort. This is something I can keep up, and hopefully I'll see some results as the summer gets going. I'm trying to think back to what I was doing this time last summer when I was losing weight much quicker (and was about 4 sizes bigger too). I was eating more fresh food, drinking my delicious smoothies, and weight training was much more frequent. So I'm going back to that like I planned. And I stuck with it this past week. Now to make it a habit! I'd love to at least get sqaurely in the 140s enough that I don't bounce back up into the 150s when I have a bad day. And it's time to break out the bikinis that I've been stockpiling all winter and spring, the pool is open!!! Time to really enjoy a tinier me!