Here’s what I could have done instead:

1. I could have watched DVR’d episodes of The Following, Hannibal, Parks & Rec (because I need Leslie’s waffle purse).
2. I could have gone to Nieves and picked up a fruit cup.
3. I could have taken a nap. I love naps.

But, instead I walked home after dropping off my car at the shop, then walked to the gym and did interval workouts on the treadmill and the elliptical. It was magical. I’m a super cute sweaty mess. And while I was on both machines, I thought of reasons why going to the gym for an hour was better than any of the reasons to not go:

1. YOLO.

2. Because I had crawfish and a beer for breakfast at The Monterey. It was delicious.

3. What if I wake up and I’m in the Hunger Games?

4. Fiesta calories aren’t imaginary. All the delicious goodness I ate at Taste of New Orleans and all the goodies I’ll eat at Oysterbake…all end up somewhere.

5. Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.

6. Because I like going? And I was due? And I feel like high-fiving strangers after I’m done?

Off to get ready for Fiesta <3 Viva!

Here are my thoughts on the race:

Photobombed! Before the race.

It’s actually very organized. I was impressed by how the event organizers kept everyone entertained even though we were there at least an hour before our wave was scheduled.

Well, except for when we all lined up facing the wrong direction.

Did I mention it’s messy?  There’s several color stations throughout the 3.1-mile course of either water color stations or powder. The powder is just colored corn starch. More on this later.

This. Stuff. Gets. Everywhere. It’s almost as bad as sand. I got it in my mouth, my ears, my nose. It’s a special kind of awesome when you blow your nose and the results are an odd mish mash of every color combination…ever. I used make up wipes to remove most of the color off my face, but it wasn’t enough. We were quite the spectacle at brunch.

I ended up tossing the whole race day ensemble which was fine. The shoes were old, so were the pants, and the shirt wasn’t much of a keepsake.

Would I do it again? Probably! It was so much fun! The color bomb parties after the race, the free stuff that we didn’t get, the people watching — all of it was a blast.

I’m already thinking of signing up for the Color Me Rad race in San Antonio. It’s right in the middle of the summer, but I’m sure it’ll be just as good as the Houston race.

I should probably try training for the next one, though. I have little to no interest in ever doing a half marathon or a full (just not my cup of tea), but the idea of running a 5K does seem appealing. While I came away with no injuries (thank goodness), I am incredibly sore. Seems I need to actually stretch after physical activity…

The one con? I’m still trying to take the color off my shoulder, and my “Rad” tattoo isn’t coming off at all.

So, here’s the post where I tell everyone I’ve been seeing a therapist. Full disclosure: My parents don’t know I’ve been seeing said therapist on a biweekly basis — there are things your parents don’t need to know.

I started seeing G (that’s what I’m calling her) in February and she’s amazing. She was highly recommended by a very trusted mentor of mine.

I’ve talked to her about everything: work, family, boys, weight. She’s figuratively held my hand through several ah-ha moments, and while there are still a few more sessions to be had, there have been several big takeaways.

Without spilling most of my guts (this isn’t The Walking Dead), here are a few things I’ve been focusing on lately.

• Most of my problems are temporary. This isn’t forever. This is actually a good thing.
• Grief really does have several stages, and you have to go through the motions of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. I’ve rocked this cycle several times over. Couldn’t have done it without G.
• Celebrate. Instead of beating myself up with the amount of work left to do in my self-discovery/shrinking journey, why not celebrate the positive choices I’ve been making? I’m going to celebrate the little things (this includes a four-pound weight loss since heading to San Francisco in January)!

Regardless of your issue (or issues), talking to a trained and impartial professional is worth a shot. Ask around, find one you’re comfortable with, and don’t be afraid of that tissue box. It’s there for a reason.

I’m taking  a page out of one of my friend’s blog (hi, Stef!) and posting a quote today.

This quote has been my Lock screen for about a month now. I look at it whenever I feel overwhelmed, or anxious or sad. It’s about being in it.

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”-Theodore Roosevelt

Brene Brown used it while riding her TEDx vulnerability hangover. I’m using it to cope with a few “This is it” moments, instead of eating all the cupcakes. There is definitely dust on my face. There’s been puh-lenty of tears. But, I’m in the arena. At least there’s that.

Time for bed. Gym time in the AM.

It was an interesting read. I’m not really down with fat-shaming. I already do that on my own every time I say I’m eating my feelings. It’s not my favorite thing in the world, but he does have a point. Being open about this did have it’s advantages, you know, when I actually blogged regularly. It’s nice having someone or someones to be accountable with besides myself.

So.

Having said that, I’m going to try a little something different this time around. I’m going to post weekly weigh-ins. I don’t think I ever really did a number last time around…for really good reasons. Most of which involve other people learning my weight. More specifically, my guy friends knowing what I weight is terrifying. Weird, I know! We grow up with women being so secretive about some silly number, so much so that we’re terrified of hopping on a square-foot piece of plastic.

But I need to see it. I need to keep track. I need to know that there’s something I’m working toward, slowly, but surely.

This isn’t for everyone. I’m pretty sure there are a TON of magazine articles and what-nots about not stepping on the scale. But, I’m giving this a shot.

276. That was the big (ha!), scary number. I’m off to think of 276 awesome reasons why I’m doing this…

Feel free to add your own number in the comments below, or better yet, why you wouldn’t want to share it.

I signed up for the Color Me Rad run on March 30 in Houston. I’ll be jogging it with two great friends from UTSA. It’s going to be a blast, I just know it (Clearly, I’m working on that fake it ’til you make it business).

I have several weeks to train…which yes, I have to do for a 5K. Baby steps, guys.

Found this article on how to run a 5K on Pinterest, and I thought I’d share.

Here’s to an injury-less training and 5K!

Putting my sneaks to good use.

And it’s going to be a good thing.

Yeah. I’ve been guilty of saying that in the past, and that was the excuse being targeted in tonight’s episode. For starters, the teams had an obstacle-filled challenge where they would knock down doors with correct answers to health-related questions. Wrong answer doors led to mud pits! Thankfully, because this episode was only an hour long (thank you, State of the Union), we breezed by the challenge and red team was declared the victor.

The spoils? Full and exclusive access to the BL gym while the Black team was locked out. This led to A LOT of footage of the teams working out both inside and outside the gym. Bob had to find ways to train them without using elliptical machines or treadmills while Dolvett played around with all the “toys” in the gym.

A few highlights:

• Mrs. Claus, AKA Chris, threw a hissy fit after losing the challenge. She wanted to go home, but somehow Santa and Bob talked her out of it.
• Nancy was finally shown working out!
• A check-in with the Aqua team in Chicago by Dolvett. The team has to lose 50 pounds by next week if they want to go back in the ranch. During Dolvett’s visit, they learned about the Biggest Loser Slim Coach, a fancy doodad that monitors the user’s activity throughout the day. I’m interested to see if they’ve lost the weight, I feel like they could add something to the house.
• Conda breakdown…or breakthrough!? Dolvett had to deal with Conda’s sassy self and it was exponentially worse than in previous episodes. She was being so bratty and rude that Dolvett kicked her out of the gym. In Biggest Loser fashion, the producers asked Conda if she felt like she was being disrespectful; She argued that Dolvett was pushing buttons on purpose. OF COURSE he’s pushing buttons! He’s trying to get to the bottom of what she hasn’t in the last 23 years. After a chat, Dolvett laid down the law and told Conda she has to figure out why she’s there and why she’s doing this. (A big, big step for anyone trying to lose weight, IMO)

Time for the weigh in! Black team weighed in first.

Emily -9

Chism-12

Cassandra -6

Jeremy -11

Gail -5

Chris -7

Megan -2

52 pounds in total. Read team needed 49 pounds to win the weigh in.

Buddy -10 (He was at home because his wife gave birth but lost a whole 10 pounds!)

Santa -6

Kimmy -6

Mark -11

Kim -10

Nancy -5

Conda -10

WOW. I was totally not expecting that. I was already thinking she’d gained weight based on the reactions from Dolvett before they cut to commercials. Alas, I was wrong. Conda pulled through, yay breakthoughs!

At the end of the night, Black team voted Gail, Lauren’s mom, off the ranch. It was a pretty close vote between Gail and Mrs. Claus, but we got to see Gail at home. She’s down 58 pounds, has been diagnosed with hip tendonitis and will be trying different things like swimming to lose the weight.

I’ll try to post next week’s preview when I find it. We’ll see if the Aqua team makes it back into the ranch!

Have you had a breakthrough recently? Multiple breakthroughs? If not, what’s the biggest thing holding you back?

Anywhoo, for last week’s episode, Bobby decided to re-do Paula’s shrimp and grits. Paula’s grits were originally filled with cream, butter and salt, so Bobby added a few ingredients while taking away others to lighten the recipe. Instead of grits, which require a lot of ingredients to taste better, Bobby used polenta (after a quick visit to chef Manu Malparta) which need no cream or butter. He added onions, peppers, garlic, crushed tomatoes, adding a whole other layer of taste to the dish.

And suddenly, out of nowhere, Daphne Oz showed up at Bobby’s door. I’m not opposed to guests, but there’s yet to be an episode where BD hangs by himself, I’m looking forward to that one but I feel like brother Jamie and girlfriend Kate are bound to make a cameo. (I can already see the themes: Bro Day and Date Night, respectively.)

Good ol’ Daph, yes, Dr. Oz’s daughter, stopped by to catch up with Bobby, and sample the lightened dishes. And, boy were they light. The shrimp-and-grits-turned-shrimp-and-polenta went from 1,422 calories and 47 grams of fat to 258 calories and 4 grams of fat.

The thing I love about Bobby is that, even as a dude who’s not really into sweets, he still adds a dessert to the 30-minute show!

For episode three, BD lightened Paula’s Fried Apple Pies into No-Fry, Baked Apple Pies. The butter usage went down to about 1 tablespoon (BONUS TIP: Daph says you can replace butter with coconut oil to cook up the apples), along with 3 tablespoons of sugar. The rest was just apples and spices in a flax-and-pecan-filled whole wheat dough. The pies went from 841 calories and 60 grams of fat to 190 calories and 5 grams of fat.

I’m going to take a minute to talk about Paula’s announcement from last week. After three years as a diabetic, PD went public on her disease. Unfortunately, she did this while endorsing a diabetes drug and launching a new site with healthy diabetic recipes (this is also a point of contention). Basically, she’s banked from sharing butter-heavy recipes with Southern food lovers and she’ll be banking as she promotes a “healthier” lifestyle, using drugs to regulate diabetes and not acknowledging any changes to her diet.

As one of the first TV chefs I latched onto while learning how to cook back during my second year at UTSA, I have to say I’m disappointed. You never want to think of someone you learned something from as manipulative. It’s just a little sad.
Anyway, what are some substitutions or additions you make to lighten meals? What are your thoughts on Paula’s announcement?