Current Weight:  215.2 lbs

Total Weight Loss: 19.2 lbs

Last week, I discussed my struggles with refueling after my long Saturday runs (6+ miles).  As we all know, being completely ravenous and eating everything in sight isn’t very Weight Watchers-friendly.  Well, I’m happy to report that I seemed to figure things out…for this past week at least.

Pre-run I ate my usual banana with a little bit of peanut butter which is usually sufficient for any of my runs up to about 5 miles.  Sometimes if I wake up extra hungry, I’ll have a whole grain waffle with peanut butter and a banana.  I just sort of go by how I’m feeling in the morning.

During the run, I ate a couple of Clif Shot Bloks for a little added energy around mile 3 or 4 with some water.  It really seemed to help out my energy level for the last half of my run.  Personally, the Gu gel stuff sort of freaks me out, so I like the gummy bear-esque quality of the Shot Bloks.

Post-run, I did a cool down 10 minute walk while drinking some water.  Then I had a protein shake mixed with a banana and unsweetened almond milk right when I got home.  Then I stretched/iced my knees for about 30-45 minutes and followed that by eating a hard boiled egg with some fruit since I was still a little hungry.

The routine definitely took some time, but my body seemed to return to normal.  I was able to carry out my day like a normal person and didn’t feel the need to eat everything in sight.  Victory!  I plan to keep up the routine and hopefully get similar results here on out.

Now since I’ve been talking running a lot lately, I thought I could also share some of my favorite (food) products of late with some of you non-runners.

Chobani 0% Apple Cinnamon Greek Yogurt 

I know I’ve mentioned before how much I love Greek yogurt, but I was never really in love with how it tasted by itself (I typically use it as a sour cream replacement).  Then I discovered this particular flavor.  So. Good.  Oh, and did I mention it’s only 3 PointsPlus?  Yeah.

KIND Bars

My cousin actually introduced these amazing things to me.  Basically it’s just your basic fruit/nut bar, and it’s crazy good.  So far I’ve only had the Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew bar and the Peanut Butter Chocolate bar, but wow.  They’re a little higher on the PointsPlus scale (5 and 6, respectively), but they will definitely fill you up…and the extra chocolate is always a bonus.  They’re also REALLY easy to keep in your purse or desk drawer for a food emergency.

Evol Food Products

The Evol food line is a pretty recent discovery for me.  I typically try to stay away from frozen meals just because they can typically be high in sodium and I find most to be fairly disappointing.  But sometimes you’re in a pinch or just too tired to cook, so having some frozen meals on hand can easily keep me from going through a drive-thru.

If you aren’t familar with Evol (which you can find in the freezer section of the organic food section of your grocery store), they claim to make all their products with natural ingredients (so no artificial flavors, colors, additives, etc… and all their meats, eggs and cheeses are from US family farms from 100% vegetarian animals raised without hormones and antibiotics), package with recycled and compostable materials and use green manufacturing practices.  Not going to lie, it’s nice looking at a frozen food and knowing every ingredient on the food list and thinking “hey this is something I could have made in my own kitchen”.

So I’ve tried both the Chicken Enchilada Bowl and the Cilantro Lime Chicken Burrito.  The Chicken Enchilada Bowl (10 PointsPlus), though a bit mushy, was quite good.  Definitely a lot better than any other low-cal enchilada frozen meal you’ll find in your grocer’s freezer.  As for the Cilantro Lime Chicken Burrito (11 PointsPlus)?  Well, topped with a little salsa…YUM!

I’m hoping to have a few recipes for you for next week, but you never know.  :)