Walking Beast

Making steady progress with my switch to healthy eating!  Am on day 55 and have now lost 33 pounds! Have been dedicated to my walking, even when it rains!

Typically, long walks are scheduled for the weekend.  Today decided to take a different route - walked on Westside Highway next to the Cowlitz River then headed uphill to Columbia Heights.  Well, it was longer than I estimated and the hill was a bit steeper than expected.  My feet felt like they were encased in cement galoshes!  At one point I paused to take a breather and thought "what have I gotten myself into?"

In the end my determination was stronger than my will to breathe!  Once I reached the top, I knew it would be all downhill from there.  Reached home and the total mileage walked was 6.75 miles. Whoo hoo!

One thing that keeps me going is the hidden treasure that may be discovered. If I had a nickel for every single glove on the ground, I'd be set for life. Walked by a Carhartt beanie (tempted but too wet), license plate, Rubbermaid container, t-shirts, and assorted odds and ends. Filled my pockets with acorn lids and a walnut shell as these are handy for crafts.  Will even make a stop in the middle of a crosswalk if I spy change - usually pennies and nickels.  Biggest treasure found was a gold and red ring that reads "You are not one of us" inscribed around the band.

Along with potential keepers, there have been a few surprising items, including several loaves of French bread, tampons, pencils, and shoes missing their mates.

I've also thrown in some daily (mostly) dumbbell lifting in an attempt to tone my arms and get rid of the "batwings."  

Happy April to everyone and let's cross our fingers for sunny weather!

Fasting for the Win!

Decided to tackle my eating habits to cut out the sugar and late night snacking. Ran across an intermittent fasting tracker and decided to take the plunge. 

It's been a little over a month and I've eliminated 95% sugar from my diet, along with white carbs, pasta, rice, and potatoes.  I also started walking every day (weather permitting) and lifting dumbbells.  I drink more water and black coffee with no more flavored creamer.  My eating now consists of veggies and fruits, protein, very limited cheese, wheat bread on occasion, avocado, seeds, almonds, and homemade protein shakes once in awhile.

The fasting portion has been relatively easy, especially since a good portion of the fast you are sleeping.  Was doing a 16-hour fast with an 8-hour eating window but I just switched it up to 17-hour fast and 7-hour eating window. I usually eat breakfast/lunch around 11am then eat dinner between 5pm and 6pm and start my fast, which has eliminated my evening snacking.  If I want a snack during the day, I eat celery with hummus - in fact, made from scratch hummus with less salt and it turned out incredible!

And the great news is so far I've lost 23 lbs! Also feeling much better without all that sugar in my system!  I don't feel hungry and don't have the cravings for crap food.

I plan to continue with this program until I meet my goal. And of course I'll have to buy a whole new wardrobe which will make this all worth it!!