Playing Catch Up

I cannot believe how long it's been since I've blogged! Since my last post I have run 2 more half marathons, I ran my first full marathon, oh and I got married!!! :) There have been so many life changes that have happened in the last 5 months! It's been a very exciting time for me. The only unfortunate thing that's happened is I have lost control of my good eating habits and willingness to work out. I've gained about 23 pounds. :( One weird thing that happened though, all of a sudden my willpower came back during my honeymoon. Kyle said it's because I don't have a million things to think about anymore. Now I can just focus on my weight loss again.

So since returning from my honeymoon I went food shopping for tons of healthy foods. It's nice to eat healthy and have control of my eating again. I've had a killer headache for about 24 hours now though so I think my body's detoxing. I've been tracking my food again. Honestly, I haven't tracked in about 2-3 months. I've been terrible. So I'm back to tracking and being strong with candy and other temptations at work. It truly feels like old Eileen is back and I'm happy she is. :)

So while I was on the cruise most of the dinners I ordered were the vegetarian option. Not because I didn't want meat but because it's usually the healthiest option. Also, I've never loved meat. I'll eat it, like I enjoy lean chicken and ground beef, but that's about it. I don't like lunch meat, meat on a bone, ham, sausage, turkey, and if I think the meat is undercooked in any way, I won't eat it. So I'm not a huge carnivore. While we were in Disneyland I noticed myself ordering vegetarian options again. It made me start thinking. What if I did go vegetarian. It would help me when I'm eating out because for some reason people are more accepting when you say "I'm a vegetarian" than when you say "I'm a healthy eater".

I've been giving this some serious thought and haven't eaten any kind of meat since Thursday. Last night I was reading a blog this girl writes of healthy dessert recipes. The girl who writes the blog is vegan and most of her recipes are vegan too. Now when I hear the word vegan, I can't help but also think of the word "weirdo". No offense to anyone reading this. I'm just uneducated about this topic. Well I was reading quite a bit about it and it has me intrigued. Being vegan is pretty much being vegetarian except you also don't eat dairy (and eggs but I'll get to that in a bit). Since I'm lactose intolerant I should be watching my dairy intake as well. I get cocky sometimes and think I can eat dairy and then I'm reminded when I lying on my bed in imense pain. So dare I connsider being a vegan?? Does this mean I have to stop shaving my arm pits?? ;)

So being vegan means no eggs. That is difficult. So many things contain eggs that you don't realize. I know there are options around it but I'm not sure. For now, I'll stick with the no meat thing and work on the no dairy. It's a fun challenge and helps me be aware of what I'm eating. So I guess I'm a vegetarian now. It's kinda fun. :) I like looking for new recipes and reading about how/when people made the change to being a vegetarian/vegan. I've been cooking with polenta, soy crumbles, and lots of beans.

I'm excited to announce that race season is in full swing and the great news is my husband has signed up to run one with me. I'm signed up for the Disneyland Half Marathon, the Tower of Terror 10-miler (that's the one Kyle's running with me), the Gingerbread Run 5K, and the Wine and Dine Half Marathon. I'm thinking of training for the Goofy next year. It sounds good right now but we'll see.