School exercise + diet

Every morning, I've walked 20-30 min. I only stop walking after 20 min if my feet hurt. My feet are getting used to walking for long distances without wearing Earth shoes (that extensively pad the front of the foot, which is where it hurts when I walk a lot). Today, I walked for 30 min for 3.0 mi/hr and at a 3.0 incline to burn 152 cal. My goal is usually to burn at least 150 cal and 1.5 miles, so this was my minimum. Walking in the morning before class definitely wakes me up and makes me pay attention during class. It seems to speed up my metabolism too—I sweat more easily and I've been losing weight at the rate of 1 pound every two days.

I'm down to 143 pounds—I still have twenty pounds until I am back to where I used to be.

For eating, I mostly feed my cravings. They're especially bad this week because this is my PMS week. I've been trying to drink PMS tea (from Traditional Medicinals) daily, but I haven't had it today or yesterday. I craved first underripe bananas, then dates with almond butter. I ate several dates with almond butter today, and that craving is now satiated. I think part of it is a sugar craving, but also because dates are known in Chinese medicine to be good for replenishing your blood supply and should be eaten during your period (or maybe a bit before) to warm up your body. I made an interesting salad today—I sliced half of a huge zucchini (only 79 cents!) into noodles and blanched them. Then I sautéed half a red onion, an orange tomato, and more zucchini together. I was trying to fry an egg and have the yolk nice and slippery to form a sauce over the salad, but I've had my eggs too long, so the yolk didn't hold its shape. I really wanted a gooey texture, so I melted some cheese over the whole thing. It was satisfying. I could tell I was satisfied after I ate that salad and those dates because my jaw was sore from chewing and I wasn't hungry anymore.

I went to a super circuit class today. It was a bit awkward, because I was easily the largest person there (they were naturally skinny or athletes), but my energy level, coordination, and my movements were up to par, or better than theirs. I felt more comfortable after the teacher said that she had lost 80 pounds in two years, so I feel like I'm not alone (though I don't have THAT much weight to lose).

She told us to eat and drink water after the class, so I made a green smoothie ^^ I also ate half a slice of bread with cheese and tomato (I really love tomatoes!)

It's good to be active again (and to be at school)!