How does July fly by like this? It isn’t fair…it already feels like the summer is slipping away!
Once again, I’m joining Hoho and Tricia for the Weekly Wrap! It’s such a great linkup where dozens of awesome running and healthy living bloggers participate and share what’s going on in their active lives each week! This week, I’m so excited to be serving as a Guest Host! If you’re new to my blog, hello, and welcome!
I’m also joining Courtney for her Weekly Training Linkup! While I’m officially not in training mode right now, I’m getting back to tracking my workouts so that I can keep myself accountable over the next few weeks!
[bctt tweet=”Time for the #weeklywrap – I’m so excited to be a guest host this week! How have your workouts and race training been going?” username=”Janelle_RWNR”]
Weekly Wrap: An Introduction and Kicking off My “Empty Calorie Challenge”
I wish I could say that I did a lot of running this past week, but…nope! I’m still in my running off-season, so I’m letting things “slide” just a little while longer before I get back into training mode! Of course, if you know me, you know I always find ways to keep myself busy! First I’ll share a quick introduction of myself, then talk about my Empty Calorie Challenge adventures!
Welcome to Run With No Regrets!
Being a Guest Host for the latest Weekly Wrap, I thought it would be a great opportunity to introduce myself to my fellow linkers that may not know me very well and say hello to anyone who happens to be a first-time visitor! My name is Janelle, I live in Philadelphia, and I’ve been blogging at Run With No Regrets just a little over 4 years – my blogiversary was on July 12! I started my blog to get motivated to run again after having an unfortunate stress fracture in my foot. Since then, so much has happened – my health has recovered, I’ve met some wonderful bloggers, run lots of great races, and had so many wonderful opportunities! And of course, I had my share of setbacks too, I’m not gonna lie! But I’m grateful to say that I’m in a really good place with my running right now. It’s a blessing.
Despite the evolution I’ve had over the past 4 years, the purpose of this blog remains the same – to talk about running and be a space for positivity and encouragement! I love talking about running to anyone who’s willing to listen, especially those who are new to the activity and may not know where to begin. I try my best to be a resource!
Right now I’m not training, but I will be picking things back up soon – I’m signed up for the Rock ‘n Roll Montreal Half Marathon in September and the Rock ‘n Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon in October. I’ll probably do a Turkey Trot for Thanksgiving and maybe a local Jingle Jog in December, but I already need to start planning for 2018 – will I sign up for my second full marathon? Try racing in more states? Time will tell!
Again, thanks for dropping by – the Weekly Wrap has always been one of my favorite spaces! Please be sure to see what everyone else is linking throughout the week!
Empty Calorie Challenge – Week 1
Last week I mentioned that after finding out I gained a few pounds, my dietitian encouraged me to do an Empty Calorie Challenge where I completely AVOID empty calories like desserts, junk food, alcohol, and white flour products. Well, I’m happy to report that I made it through the first week!
I’m not going to lie…I had my doubts that I’d be able to stick to avoiding empty calories, but it seems to be working! I’ve only been allowing myself one “unhealthy” meal per week. Here is a sample of the meals I’ve been eating over the past week:
- Breakfasts: Fruit smoothie (featuring beets, ugh!) and a bowl of whole grain cereal and milk
- Lunches: Egg salad with Greek yogurt, onions, carrots and avocado with corn tortilla with an apple
- Dinners: Southwest black bean burger (with some beets mixed in) on toasted low-calorie bread with roasted potatoes
- Snacks: Protein Chia Fudge (almond butter, honey, chia seeds, protein powder), Open Nature protein bars made with fruits and nuts
When it comes to meal planning, I’ve finally found myself doing the things that I’ve pledged to do each month as part of my monthly goals. I bought a meal planner and a food journal. I haven’t used the food journal yet because I’ve been using the meal planning inserts from my Passion Planner. I’ve also been tracking my water intake and trying to get those coveted 8 glasses a day. I’m still falling short, but I’m working on it! Writing things down really makes a difference!
Another great thing is that I’ve been able to resist temptation very well! I had a staff meeting last Thursday over lunch and they had free pizza for everyone. Surprisingly, I was able to avoid the pizza and eat my own lunch after the meeting. I felt weird being “that person”, but I’m proud that I was able to keep my commitment.
On Friday night, I finally had my “cheat meal” – a burger with bacon, cheese, and a side of fries, and two cocktails. We even had bread and butter at the start of our meal! The funny thing was at the end of dinner, I felt like I ate too much! It wasn’t as satisfying as I thought it would be.
ECC Week 1 Report Card
I still need to do a better job of planning my dinner options in advance, but I’m really happy with how things have kicked off for this Empty Calorie Challenge! I’ve been avoiding the junk foods, my afternoon snacking has been MUCH more fulfilling, and I’m drinking more water and eating more veggies than before! I’ll give my first week a B+!
Workouts for the Week:
Sunday 7/9: Bret invited me to join him for a 4-mile run through the trails on Sunday morning. While the temperature wasn’t too hot, the humidity killed me and I was huffing and puffing for most of the run. I had to take a walk break after 3 miles, but we still ran up the big hill to finish “strong” before walking home. The whole thing was a struggle and I wasn’t too fun to be around, ugh! Not too long after the run, I cleaned up and went to barre class! I don’t know how I survived, but we did some interesting new circuits and I got a great workout!
Monday 7/10: I went for a 3 mile run at the crack of dawn before work. The temperature was so cool, but once again, the humidity came out to play! I took it easy on this run but was happy to have negative splits, especially since the second half of my run is all uphill!
Tuesday 7/11: Track Tuesday with the City Fit Girls! Now that I don’t have softball, I could finally hit the track. We did the following workout: 2 x 100m strides, 3 x 800m at 10K pace (~9:30), 2 x 400m at 5K pace (~9:00). I didn’t push myself too hard since it was my first time going, but it was a great workout and I met some really nice people!
Wednesday 7/12: No workouts; I was supposed to have yoga class but I had a meeting conflict over the lunch hour.
Thursday 7/13: Complete rest day.
Friday 7/14: It was my day off! While I didn’t get to run, I had an awesome workout called Yoga Pulse, which is a fusion of yoga and barre work with light weights. It was 45 minutes of torture! I unwisely grabbed the 3-pound weights for class and really struggled to hold them while doing the Warrior 2 pose! We did lots of vinyasa flow but also worked our core. It was a good class but I was sweating like crazy!
Saturday 7/15: I went down to Maryland to help my sister pack. She’s moving back to Philly in a matter of days, so I helped her with a few boxes and tried to take as many trips to the trash and recycle bins as I could!
How was your week of working out? Anyone else working on dropping a few pounds this summer?
Congrats on totally rocking your empty calorie challenge this past week!
I love that you are incorporating beets for the smoothies! They are definitely an acquired taste, but great for energy and inflammation!
I’m also starting to look toward the 2018 racing season. I applied for the London Marathon lottery but if I don’t get in, I have decided to give my body a rest and will not do a full marathon in 2018. So far I know I’m definitely doing the Cleveland Half Marathon in May! 2018 will be all about running in new states!
Thanks, Kim! Our farm share has given us so many beets, it’s been hard to use them all up! Drinking them has been a good way to go lol.
Ooh London would be so exciting, I hope you get in! I’d love to do an NYC race next year and hit more states in New England if possible!
Sounds like a great week! I bet you will be glad to have your sister back in Philly. I have become known for being “that person” at office lunches. Usually my lunch is better than what is being served anyway!
Thanks, Coco! It’s great having her back. And you’re right, there’s nothing wrong with being “that person” at lunch!
You do have some fun races on your calendar for fall. Not eating empty calories is hard!
I think the fall is going to be so much fun! I’m excited :). I’m really enjoying making healthy snacks…I need to buy some more almond butter to try some more recipes!
I still drink wine and have chocolate as dessert. I enjoy those and I don’t have the will power to skip those. Sometimes I won’t drink wine, but thats when it would go with what I’m eating. I stay healthy most of the time, but chocolate is a must.
I think it’s important to know what works for you vs. completely eliminating. For me, if I start eating certain sweets, I can’t stop lol. I haven’t had any good chocolate in a long time!
Great job with your challenge! Beets are definitely an acquired taste – I haven’t been able to find a way to use that works for me.
Thanks for co-hosting!
Thanks, Michelle! I’m happy to have made it through the first week, now to keep this thing going…lol! I need to find a good lunch recipe for this week!
I’m pretty good at avoiding empty calories except for wine. That is my weakness. Good on you for trying to avoid those things!
Thanks, Wendy! Sometimes it’s nice to have a glass of wine or a beer in the yard…I’ve given up the sauce before, but the summer is definitely a challenge!
Great job with your empty calorie challenge! I just love Philly. We went there last year for the marathon. Great race and a lovely little city to explore. We stayed right across the street from Reading Terminal – so good!
What’s your favorite thing about Philly?
I definitely need to start watching what i eat – i was just thinking of starting next week, so we’ll see how it goes!! Great job so far!
Oh track Tuesday! I’m starting those soon myself with my running group. Looking forward to them! Good job sticking to your empty calorie challenge plan. I’d have had a hard time staying away from that pizza.
Well, you’re certainly staying busy for it being the off-season 😉 That class with the barre and hand weights sounds tough!
Great job with the Empty Calorie Challenge! I don’t think I have the willpower to be very successful with that but love to see people who are! Have a great week. 🙂
Sounds like a great week! Way to go on your Empty Calorie Challenge! I would have a hard time with that but it is a great idea to lose some pounds. I may have to do something like that when I get back from our road trip.
Its so hard to say no to things in group settings at work, right? Like there are times when I honesty do not want cake, and everyone is like “come on, eat some cake…” and I have to say no multiple times and it feels so weird. Great job sticking to your plan this week!!
The yoga pulse class sounds awesome! I love yoga and barre so combining the two is genius. Have a great week!
What an interesting challenge, its one that I’ve never specifically heard of before. Cutting the empty calories is so hard, but definitely necessary if you are trying to loose weight. Here’s to continued success with keeping up with the challenge!
Also, I see that RnRPhilly isn’t on your short list for the fall. Are you not running it this year? I plan to be there again.
Great job in your first week of the empty calorie challenge! I guess it isn’t hard to do as it sounds. But I would have given in with the pizza because I LOVE PIZZA.
I haven’t really planned much for 2018 but hopefully I can run in a few more states.
I copied your list of empty calorie foods and told my husband we were doing the challenge. It worked for a few days and then he came home with a sub on a white roll! I told him that was a “no no”. I guess we’ll have to have one “cheat” per week!
Great job with your empty calorie challenge! I really need to eat better. I’ve been indulging since I wasn’t in training mode. Nice job on your workouts too.
I’ve been loving all the new bloggers I’ve come across this summer through the weekly posts! Looks like you had a great week! I’m not so good at eating healthy these days but also aware of what I am eating. Trying to balance it all out!
Happy blogiversary! Wow that empty calorie challenge sounds daunting and awesome at the same time. I need to board that wagon! Now sounds like an excellent time to not be training. Enjoy it!
Sounds like a great week! That empty calorie challenge seems to be going well. I’m intrigued by the smoothies with beets in them. Did it taste like beets or was there enough other stuff in it to cover the taste? I actually like beets but I’m not sure I would like that taste in a smoothie.
You must be so excited to have your sister moving to where you live!
The humidity is not fun, that’s for sure. It seems as though the only way to escape it is to run in the blazing heat in the middle of the day! Which is why you’re smart to have your off season now . . .
I love Beets! Although, I have to admit, I’ve never had them for breakfast, nor does that sound super appealing. That Empty Calorie Challenge sounds like something I should do myself – I have seen the scale creep up a bit more than I like. I’m upping my workouts but I do know that diet is like 80% of the work, so I need to figure out a plan!
Oh my goodness ….the empty calorie challenge would be the death of me!!! My evening glass of wine is a must. I know that I could lose a few pounds if I’d just drink wine on the weekends, but …I think I’d rather be a little fluffy! 🙂
Good luck with the challenge and YAY!!! for the sister moving back to Philly! Thanks for guest hosting Janelle!
welcome hostess! Seems like we always want to lose a couple pounds over the summer but it seems so dang hard! I am starting the ZOOMA summer challenge this week- I hope it keeps me motivated!
Love your post title. I agree 100%! I’ve never tried beets, but I see them featured in so many “healthy” recipes. I’m afraid to try them, honestly.
Great job this week toughing out the humidity workouts! There isn’t ever a break in Central VA – it stays muggy, stagnant, and hot. I just try to keep moving lol
Great job on your eating plan! I have been logging forever on my Lose it app, it does help to see how the little extras add up, but I still have a hard time prepping and sticking to it lol I stay in calorie budget really well,but getting the fat and protein percentages right are always tough!
Good job on the empty calorie challenge… that is a helpful way of thinking about the things we put in our mouths, I like it! Lots of great activity for you this week!
Love your empty calorie challenge. In fact I just started mine today. So nice to see someone doing it alongside. Will make it easier. Enjoy your time off running. I did that after my first half. Just signed up for my second…so the grind is beginning 🙂
Your no empty calorie challenge sounds like something I need to do! I’ve not been eating very healthy all summer! Sounds like you have some fun races on your calendar for fall!
Yep, you’re definitely keeping nice and busy in between your training cycles! Sounds like you got some cool races on your schedule for the fall. Yoga Pulse sounds tough but fun. I save money by having my own gym, but I definitely miss the fun classes a gym offers. Good luck on your empty calorie challenge!
Sounds to me like you’re doing your off-season just the right way. 🙂
I love how you have the 3 days of running all in a row. My schedule often looks like that during summer…sometimes I do it intentionally to try for the least hot weather, but sometimes it just works out that way!
I can’t wait for summer to be over! I feel like I’m the only person who really hates summer! It’s so miserable in Florida…I much prefer winter and spring when the humidity is down a bit.
I haven’t yet had an “off season” so I’m still training hard core! It’s great to be able to take a break and run only when you want to though and not because you’re trying to follow a plan.
for someone not training, you still had a week of activity and the ever importance rest!!
I would love to drop a few pounds but I have had to stop tracking for a little while simply because it’s making me crazy. I think my hormones are playing up (I’m 48 and I have signs of “the change”…) But it’s good to actually be aware of empty calories and to think a bit more about our choices.
last week was ok, but it could have been better. I’m tired and struggling a bit with slight depression. I’ll get over it, hopefully sooner than later!
I like the idea of a no empty calorie challenge. I should probably try something like that just to be sure I replace the empty calorie snacks I have with more whole foods. I’ll admit I eat dessert most every night and lately, it’s been bowls of ice cream instead of say, a little square of dark chocolate. It looks like you had a great week of training and workouts as well!
Great week – and yay track Tuesday (although I had a ROUGH track Tuesday today, lol) 🙂
no empty calories – wow!!!! Good for you. I couldn’t do it!
Thank you so much for being our guest host, Janelle! I hope it will result in new connections for you. I love egg salad. You’ve inspired me to try making it with Greek yogurt as I’m guessing ranch dressing would be considered an empty calorie! I bet you will enjoy having your sister close by. I’ve been begging my sister to move. I only get to see her a couple of times a year.