back it up

let me set the record straight here: the cleanse i'm doing IS PERFECTLY SAFE. you go about your exercise and healthy eating as usual, but take 2 cleansing pills each morning and 2 each evening for 15 days. this is the exact one i'm doing. it's all herbal and there are no laxative-like properties. it's so gentle that i don't really notice much of a difference because i consume a fair amount of fibre and things like flax seed which are known to flush out the system anyway. so really - it's more for fun than anything else. i do feel less bloated ... sort of. it's hard to tell.

i haven't weighed myself in a while so i don't have anything to report on that front. perhaps i will weigh myself on friday. i don't want to know but it won't be that bad i'm sure. i know i probably am above my happy maintenance zone but it's definitely not by more than 1 to 5 pounds.

the good news is that i have been running again and consistently. i go three or four times per week (not on consecutive days) and have run 3 or 4 miles each time. sometimes i have to stop and walk and sometimes not. i'll regain that endurance if i keep it up. last week i ran monday, wednesday, friday and yesterday (sunday). i went swimming on tuesday and today (monday). i think if i keep up with the running and throw in some cross training activities AND watch my diet on weekdays i'll be able to get down to wear i feel the best.

tomorrow at work we are having a potluck for an upcoming cookbook we are putting out. if you remember last month i spent some days at a food photo shoot. so now we are all testing recipes and recording things like prep time, taste, ease, etc... just to make sure. i made these oatmeal banana bars with walnuts and crazy flours like brown rice flour, barley flour, spelt flour and kamut flour. it's very tasty and my mission tonight is to AVOID EATING ANY MORE so i have some to offer tomorrow.


my other mission for this week is to think about my hunger after exercising. i am in the mindset where i eat after every workout, regardless of whether or not i'm hungry. i think this affected me less in the past because i always worked out before a meal, but now that i work crazier hours it's harder to do that. maybe i should just try to work out before a meal ... thoughts?

do you eat something after every workout? you are supposed to eat protein after a weight training workout, but what about cardio?