Today is a new day! I woke up and did 5.9 miles, during the run I ran up and down the 1 hill in my area 4 times. A guy walking up the hill to work said, “That’s a good work-out.” It made me feel very proud of myself!

I run as much as my chubby little Mexican legs can take me. This morning when that guy told me that I thought to myself…”This is ridiculous, I bust my ass trying to run. Fuck if I’m going to ruin it all with my eating.” I can’t workout any more than I do right now, I don’t have the time & it would just make me hate working out! But, I really need to improve my eating habits.

I’m thinking about going to talk with a professional. More on that to come…

After my run I had a waffle with PB& naner.

And a protien shake with blueberries, protein powder & water. It needed more ice, but was good

It’s my friend Adriel’s b-day & I have a birthday surprise for him later! I can’t post about it yet, because he reads R.E.R. I’m excited!

Thank you to everyone for your super supportive comments and emails It’s great to be a part of this amazing blogmunity (blog + community). I made that up

That is my thought on tonight’s eats. I came home and snacked and snacked and snacked while making dinner. By the time dinner was ready I wasn’t even hungry anymore. I ate some of it and went for a walk. Now I’m eating ice cream and making myself blog for accountability and honesty.

I don’t need any encouragement, I just need to get it together.

I am truly convinced that if I ONLY eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full I will lose weight & get my body to a good weight for my height. But, I keep eating out of habit when I get home & eating when I’m not hungry. This sounds so stupid that I keep doing this.

Tomorrow is a new day. See you then.

It’s still Monday… and I’m still at work. I’m sad when I think about all you east coasters out there that are already home But, I am barely getting to work when you are all eating lunch!

Lunch : great salad topped with hummus. I love using hummus as dressing, but this one (I found at WF’s yesterday) is a little to thick and grainy to be able to mix well.

Barney Butter and Apple Jam sammie

Grapes

I didn’t pack an afternoon snack, but realized I had strawberries and a box of cereal (no pic) that I brought from Ben’s.

I also bought a few of these the other day when they were on sale…

See you for dinner

So, I finally broke down and bought some of the infamous Barney Butter. I had resisted for months now despite the raves around the blog world. Ben wanted to go the Borders and there is a Whole Foods nearby, so I had a lot of time to just walk around and see all the very expensive and delicious goodies I shouldn’t buy. A jar of this stuff is $9.00! That is ridiculous. But, I had to at least try it and see what all the hype is about.

1. First I tried it straight up, out of the jar. Good stuff It’s been a while since I’ve had any Almond Butter, so it was a nice little surprise to taste it again.

2. Then, I put it on a piece of bagel, because bread and (Barney) butter just go together.

3. Since I was trying it right after dinner and calling it dessert I added a piece of dark chocolate and melted it in the micro. Amazing. But, what combo of nut butter and chocolate isn’t amazing?

4. This morning I put some BB on my oats. This was a nice, and subtle change from my usual PB.

Final Review -

Pros - I got the crunchy kind and I love the big pieces of almonds in it. It tastes good There is no oil on top & no need to stir it. It’s made from California almonds. Again, it does taste good

Cons - The price! That alone will probably keep me from buying it on a regular basis. Also, I am perfectly happy with my natural PB where the only ingredients are : Peanuts and Salt. Barney Butter has evaporated cane juice and palm fruit oil. I know this is part of what makes it taste so good, but I’m used to plain old PB or almond butter with no added ingredients and would not want to get myself used to added stuff.

I really liked it, but I don’t know if I can put it on regular rotation in my shopping cart. I will definitely be enjoying this jar though!

It doesn’t help that I also bought this at Whole Foods too…these suckers are expensive, but I love them! I was forced to pass by the hot food/salad bar because I allowed myself to buy these things Boo.

P.S. – I did 5.6 miles this morning and didn’t have time for any repeats. I managed to turn off my alarm and fall back asleep for another 20 minutes.

P.P.S – If you visit the Barney Butter homepage you can request a free sample!!! It’s on the front page, left hand side.

Have a great week!

I went to yoga first thing this morning It was the Power Vinyasa Flow class and I had never done it before, so I was a little scared. Luckily, I did okay and enjoyed myself.

Before I left I had a big bowl of oats

I received my great robe/slippers/granola bar pack from the great oats company – Quaker. The robe has a hood and it made me feel like a boxer. I wanted to show off the new trail mix granola bar too, but I couldn’t hold it while doing my boxer pose.

I had my brother try the new Quaker Simple Harvest Trail Mix bars for a second opinion. He normally doesn’t like things with berries, but he liked it

I think these universally appeal to all audiences since they taste good, aren’t too “fancy” (use common ingredients) and are low enough in cals to be a snack not meal replacement.

I was terrified when I first saw the plane we would be flying in to Santa Barbara. It was tiny!  Ben is still studying for his license so the instructor was with us (thank God!). The views were amazing! I know I’m partial, but Southern California is so beautiful – I love it.

I had to wear headphones to be able to hear what they were saying.

There were no in-flight refreshments, but I brought my own…

We got to SB safe and sound and had lunch at the Elephant Bar.

I had a great salad…

and Pad Thai with tofu

I couldn’t stay away from Ben’s sweet potato fries!

Dessert, this candy plus a bite of chocolate chip cookie

The rest of the day was random eats, nothing worth taking pics of..and I had to have dessert since I have been on the verge of pint diving any second so got the biggest Yogurtland I’ve ever gotten!

All the stars aligned this morning and I finally had a great run! I am so happy because I felt very beaten down from a week of bad runs. I guess it happens. I have said in the past that all the stars have to align in order for me to have a good run since I’m not “made” to be a runner. So, I need the perfect weather, rest, fuel, shoes, etc - in order for me to do just okay!

15 great miles today!

Before I left I had one of these english muffins.  People have commented that I don’t eat enough before my runs, but I usually start running within a half an hour of getting up so I’m not hungry yet. And I eat pretty late before going to sleep – which I am working on so I will wake up with hungry instead of going to bed FULL. Trust me, I make up for it later in the day.

Here is me when I got back. I wanted to show off my new fuel belt. A review is coming soon!

It makes me feel like I’m wearing a gun holster.

After the run I had yogurt/cereal/naner/other good stuff.

My middle toe nail is fading fast here folks This blog has really turned into a creepy freak show where I show you my gross toe nails…Sorry. My pedicure lady actually told me I need to quit running as that’s the only way my toe nails will get better. I guess I’m gonna live with tragic nails, too bad…

I am way late, so I’ll see ya later!

Oh, and I was a guest blogger over at For The Love of Oats today! Check it out

This is Friday night’s dinner & a movie & dessert…

I threw together this - Chicken-less strips!

and this with  some TJ”s peanut sauce and spinach…

to make this -

Plus some CA rolls on the side.

Oh, and a cocktail with my squiggly straw, cause I’m classy.

We saw I Love You Man, it was funny That’s my review.

I really wanted dessert after, so we walked into WF to find something sweet. My willpower was fighting with me so I walked out empty handed and angry When Igot home I had a granola bar and some cereal with milk. I should have just gotten a little treat instead of this stuff, since it would have been a lot  more satisfying…

I forgot to tell you that Friday is my weekly weigh in day (or did I?). I am the same as last week, which is okay since I didn’t really make any effort this week to cut back on things. It’s a struggle with trying to lose weight, but also focusing on intuitive eating, you know? I’m hoping next Friday shows a loss!

Yoga was great It wasn’t too difficult at all except for the part where she tried to get us to do headstands. Yeah, right. I made a weak attempt to do it and decided I would rather make a fool of myself at home for my first time.

Lunch was the winner of the Guinness Book of World Records Biggest Salad -

I am not messing around with salads – this is a serving bowl. If I am going to eat a bowl full of veggies it better be BIG. I topped it with a veggie chik’n pattie (that I overcooked in the micro) – I love those things!

Oh, and I almost forgot – a TJ’s brown rice CA roll (the rest of these are for dinner).

On the side I had 8 grain crisps – a lot.

And for dessert – some cereal with milk. I was super full, but was really craving this so I just ate it and moved on.

Ben and I are going to the movies tonight. So I have to finish up work and throw something together for dinner. I need some salty carbs since I’m going to be doing a long run tomorrow morning. I really need a good run since I had bad runs all week It’s really messing with my head at this point and I feel really discouraged. I will let you know how it goes…

Since Fridays are rest days from running I was in no rush to get up this morning. I think I took too long though, because I took a quick walk to the store to get milk and on the way back I was starving! I wanted milk to have cereal for breakfast, but I knew I needed something more filling, so I ended up making oatmeal.

This is Ben’s oatmeal, mine always look the same and I made his with a Cherry Dried Cranberry on top!

I just ate some mango and grapes – I don’t think I was really hungry, but more concerned that I will be hungry during my lunch hour yoga. There is a class nearby I’m gonna do during lunch and I will end up eating late.

The lunch hour class is Level 1-2, I really  prefer Level 1 since it’s still challenging, but relaxing at the same time. I feel like anything higher is not relaxing, but I love this instructor so I’ll go for it.

I am so excited it’s Friday! Ben and I have a very busy weekend planned – including a flight to Santa Barbara!  Ben is getting his pilot’s license and this is one of the exercises he has to do. I’ve never been on a flight with him as the pilot, so I’m a little nervous. The instructor will be with us, so hopefully I won’t die… If I live to tell the tale I’ll be back with a full report! We are just landing down in SB, eating lunch, then flying back. Not nearly as exciting as it sounds, but a new experience right?

I’ll be back post yoga with a very happy face on!