I Stuffed My Face When Bored

I realized this weekend when I was trapped in my house sick that I am 100% a Boredom Eater. I think that was the bulk of my problem when I was 250 pounds. I would spend too much time on the couch, watching TV, bored…and what else is there to do when bored but eat? Being sick this weekend was the first time in a long time that I had nothing to do. I wasn’t working out, I wasn’t seeing friends, I wasn’t doing things with Michael. It makes so much sense! Thank goodness I didn’t give into those boredom snacking over the weekend. It was quite the eye opener.

QUESTION: Are you a boredom eater? How do you prevent it?

Last night I went back to the gym after 7 days off. Damn did I lose a little bit in those 7 days. If you remember, last time I worked out I was happy to have to increase the weights on the machines. Yeah…7 days of no weight lifting has me right back where I started.

I could tell half-way through my weight lifting that I was going to be sore! I took it easy, went light on the weight amounts, and told myself it was okay to take it easy after being sick.

I worked extra hard on the hip strengthening exercises.

I also went easy on the core work. No point in wearing myself out the first time back at the gym! I was able to hold the Plank for 30 shaking seconds three times!

I also did my Return to Running Program: Week 3. Week 3 and Week 4 means jogging — no walking — for 1.5 miles!

I set the treadmill speed between 3.8 and 4.0. It was a good jogging pace, nothing too extreme, and I honestly zoned out. I didn’t even notice that I was jogging! It felt good to be back at it.

I had no leg pain, my IT Band seemed okay. I was happy with that.

Jog Stats:

Time: 23:38

Distance: 1.5 miles

Calories Burned:  198

I had a good first workout after a week off.

Gym Stats:

Time: 1:18

Total Calories Burned: 561

When I got home, Michael had dinner ready (he’s the best). Annie’s Organic Mac n’ Cheese…but fixed up. He did a roux with white cheddar to jazz up the cheese sauce (like usual) and chopped up a hot dog. But this time? He did something even more awesome.

Cayenne Pepper!! Wow! What a difference that made! Dinner was awesome. Who needs regular mac n’ cheese now? I definitely endorse this new ingredient. 😉

You must try it. It was so fantastic. In case you were wondering, I still count my calories every day. I use the iPhone App called “My Fitness Pal.” After I entered all my food and exercise for the day, I finalized it and got this message:

I’m highly skeptical of that number, but a few pounds down would be nice! It also gave me a breakdown of how I ate for the day:

Not too shabby. And I love seeing where things add up. I definitely go over my sugar target each day. Part of that is the fruit that I eat for snacks. The app is really easy to use and it keeps me in check. It’s second nature now.

QUESTION: How do you track your food?