Week 14 Update

Well, folks, here we are: it's almost over, only one week left in my challenge!  Since losing the 15 pounds, I have tried to stick with my plan and see if I can lose any more weight, but I have to admit I've been particularly lax, especially last weekend.  I had friends in town visiting, went to a beerfest, and it was cinco de mayo.  I may have partied a little too hard because of those things, but really I only have myself to blame for my week 14 results.

Physical Fitness:
-5/4/13: ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes
-5/6/13: went on the elliptical for 30 minutes and then ran 1 mile on the treadmill
-5/7/13: BODYATTACK
-5/8/13: BODYSTEP
-5/9/13: ran outside for 35 minutes, went 3.2 miles
-5/10/13: ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes

I tried to work out extra hard to make up for my weekend fun.  I've been doing a lot of running and it's grown to be much more bearable than it was in the beginning.  I used to hate running, now it's something I tolerate.  After all, it's one of the best forms of straight up cardio you can do.  So far the spring weather has been perfect for running outside, but I'm concerned that once the DC summer weather really kicks in it'll be too hot and I'll be relegated to the treadmill.  Or maybe I'll try to force myself to get up earlier more often to fit in morning runs before work, and before the temperature rises too much for the day.

Food:
I did a good job with food during the week and ate pretty much all the normal things.  The problem during week 14 came from my weekend partying.  In particular, on cinco de mayo my friends and I all went to a beerfest and despite my best intentions, I let the alcohol influence my food choices and I wasn't strict enough about it.  The beerfest was followed by a cinco de mayo dinner, complete with margaritas.  I know I've talked about this before, but alcohol really is just completely terrible for you if you're trying to lose weight.  Not only is it empty calories with little to no nutritional value, but alcohol itself slows down the fat burning process, and influences you to make poor decisions food-wise.  That's why as of the seis de mayo, I decided that I wouldn't drink any more alcohol until my challenge is over and I'm at the beach with my friends.  The Outer Banks trip that I'm taking over Memorial Day weekend was what inspired me to start losing weight in the first place and marks the end of my weight loss journey, so what better place to celebrate my success and end my detox than a sunny beach vacation surrounded by my friends?  God, I can't wait to have a gin and tonic...

Cooking:
Once again I didn't use my time efficiently enough to schedule in a night to cook something new.  I am making up for it by making 2 new recipes during Week 15, though!  One of them was a healthy tuna macaroni salad that I made last night - recipe to follow.

Weigh-In:
Thanks to my partying ways last weekend and depite my attempts to make up for it with 6 workouts throughout the week, last week I lost...

0 POUNDS!!!

That's right, once again I have stayed the exact same.  It would have been nice to lose another pound, but I'm still very pleased with making my 15 pound goal so it's good to know that I didn't derail all that progress by gaining weight back last week.  I also think at this point my body has completely gotten used to my new lifestyle in terms of diet and exercise so I'm hitting that plateau I've been dreading.  I'll try and push through that to see if I can lose any more weight in the last week of my journey.  I'm motivated and ready to move forward through the 15th and FINAL week of this challenge!!!