12.01.2011

12 Days of Gym Christmas Recap Part 1

This year I'm participating in Djillian's 12 Days of Gym Christmas (you can read more about it here and on her blog).

I've decided that in addition to exercising 12 times from now 'till Christmas, I will write down what I eat for each of those 12 days. It won't be a consecutive log of food (I don't work out every day), and it's mostly for my own entertainment. So here's my recap for the first half.

December 1.
Exercise: 30 minutes on the stationary bike, 20 minutes of stretching that included 13 push ups (boo ya!).
Food: bowl of cheerios with milk; 2/3 cup cheerios without milk; apple; orange; "thin-tini" with an avocado; banana; peanut butter cliff bar. Quiche for dinner (spinach, mushroom, feta), bowl of cheerios with milk again; 2 oz egg nog; one sip of 2 oz egg nog + 1 oz rum (gross!); 1/2 bowl of gingersnap oatmeal from cheap healthy good (pictured below...also gross, but my fault. Didn’t mix spices right, tasted weird).























December 2: Ran 5 miles.

Food: green machine smoothie (based on Kira's recipe here but without protein powder or frozen berries, and adding 2 tbs peanut butter) , slice of leftover quiche, bowl of cheerios with milk, Bartlett pear, chocolate chip cliff bar. Christmas potluck: second slice of quiche, big hunk of a veggie/cream cheese biscuit…thing someone else brought; 1/2 cup beans and rice; 5 crackers and cheesy dip; 8 parogies (sp?) with potato and cheese; can of diet root beer; 4 grapes; slice of apple pie with vanilla ice cream.

December 4: 45 minutes yoga/strength training including 14 push ups and some exercises from physio last summer.

Food: green machine smoothie, thintini sandwich with Gardein meatless breaded chicken strips (must stop eating these, very greasy but tasty), mayo and spinach; apple; 1 square of fudge with pretzels; 3/4 cup pasta with marinara sauce, mushrooms, and zucchini. Bowl of cheerios with milk; Bartlett pear; banana with 2 tbs pb.


December 5: Ran 3 miles.

Food: green machine smoothie. Lots of water. 4 almonds. Blueberry bagel with butter; 11oz can of mandrin oranges, syrup drained off; handful of pretzels; tea; 1 stuffed grape leaf; amazing Mexican salad with 3 cornbread biscuits from Vegan Brunch (did I eat a bowl of cereal that night? Probably but I didn't write it down).

December 6: 45 minutes of yoga and 15 push ups. Also, physio exercises from last summer.

Food: green machine smoothie; thintini with peanut butter; apple; lots of water. Leftover Mexican salad. Party at Grad Club, so 1 piece veggie pizza (so good!), probably 10 or so cheese cubes, 8 crackers, 5 red pepper slices with about 1 tsp dip, 1 triangle of spanikopita. 1 pint Mill Street Organic beer. Tea. Chocolate chip cliff bar. Bowl of cheerios with almond milk. 1 cornbread biscuit.

December 7: Ran 4 miles, stretching and foam rolling.

Food: bowl of cheerios with banana and almond milk. Tea. Green machine smoothie. Thintini with an avocado, mashed on top. Two 6” tortillas. Peanut butter cliff bar. Banana. Bowl of Thai soup with coconut milk and veggies. Bowl of cheerios with (dairy) milk. 1 left over cornbread biscuit.



This is the first time I've logged my food and I'm sort of surprised at how much of the same thing I eat day after day, and just how much I eat in general. It's helpful to look back through these days since I'd like to adjust things to help me loose a couple of pounds before Christmas actually gets here. I know this time of year makes it hard to eat well, since there is at least one potluck every week (still 3 potlucks to go before Christmas). But it's also helpful to see the times when I made good choices. For instance, after the potluck with the apple pie and ice cream, I did NOT eat a piece of cake offered to me later that evening. I'm grateful to Djillian for having the 12 Days of Gym Christmas, though, since it helps me keep both the exercise and the indulgent food in perspective. The first 6 days of this flew by, and I hope to officially finish well before the 24th.

I know this sounds crazy, but I kind of love running in the winter (as long as it's not too icy) so I'll keep running past the 12th day. Maybe a few extra days of Gym Christmas will help make up for the...extra baked goods I consume at each potluck.

What about you? Is this the time of year to indulge and rest, or do you try to maintain some exercise during the holidays?

2 comments:

  1. Abby! You inspired the Jewsrochs to participate! Thank you for the idea! Chad has been going to the gym before work and I tag along when I don't have class and do Body Rock at home. We're shooting for 12/24.

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  2. That's great! It was all my friend Jillian's idea, and it's really helped me find the motivation to keep working out so often this close to the holidays. Yay for 12 Days of Gym Christmas!

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