I love that a number of you are with me on the Third Quarter Melt Down! It’s so important to have goals – long term and short term – so I think this will be good for everyone. I’d love to hear about your progress as the weeks go on, so please feel free to keep me updated in the comments, on Facebook, via Twitter (@_kimbolina), or send me an email if you prefer (kimberly@watermelonwaistline.com).

It’s now one week into the Third Quarter, which also means I’m one week into P90X. When I started, my weight was 177. This morning, I was 174.5. A 2.5 pound loss this week? I’ll take it!

While I’m sure that has a lot to do with the hour-long intense workouts I’ve been doing each day, I know the other part of that is my diet, which I’m thrilled to announce has been hugely improved over the last few days. I’m once again logging my food (thank you, My Food Diary), which really keeps me accountable for what I put in my mouth. I’ve found that much of what I’ve been eating has been fine, but definitely not everything. Also, many of my portion sizes have been out of whack in the last few months: I’ve reverted to eating as much as my 6’2″ husband. Not cool.

The Third Quarter Melt Down starts off with a bang! If this rate of loss keeps up (I don’t expect it to, but it would be a nice surprise!), I may have to up my goal! Right now, I’ll just enjoy the fact that I only have 10.5 more pounds to go.

How are the rest of you doing? Anyone else want in on this? I’m not staging a contest with rules or anything: The Third Quarter Melt Down is just a personal challenge to use the next 3 months to step up your weight-loss and/or training efforts. Set a goal for yourself and then take the necessary steps to reach them. For me, it’s lose 13 pounds by my birthday (October 5) and I’ll be focusing on my diet much more closely and continuing with P90X.

Let’s do this!

I’m so excited: I bought a watermelon yesterday for just $3.99, which means it’s officially Watermelon Season in my book! Watermelon is one of my all-time favorite fruits… I don’t want to look like one, but I love to eat them!

I cut half of it up to enjoy with dinner tonight, and it was finger-licking, lip-smacking, melt-in-your-mouth delicious. When I fed a bite to my husband while he manned the grill, he said “Holy crap! That’s quite possibly the best watermelon I’ve ever had!” I couldn’t agree more. Sweet, juicy, bright pink – simply perfect.

Run out and buy yourself a watermelon – and then eat it. It’ll fill you up with its delicious fiberifficness!

How to Choose a Watermelon

• Look the watermelon over: You are looking for a firm, symmetrical watermelon that is free from bruises, cuts or dents.
• Lift it up: The watermelon should be heavy for its size. Watermelon is 92% water; most of the weight is water.
• Turn it over: The underside of the watermelon should have a creamy yellow spot from where it sat on the ground and ripened in the sun.

Health Benefits of Watermelon

• Watermelon is the Lycopene Leader in fresh produce, having higher concentrations of lycopene than any other fresh fruit or vegetable. In fact, fresh watermelon contains higher levels of lycopene than fresh tomatoes – a 2-cup serving of watermelon contains an average of 18.16 mg and one medium-sized tomato contains 4 mg.
• Watermelon has heart healthy properties because it is naturally low in saturated fat, total fat and cholesterol.
• Watermelon is practically a multivitamin unto itself: A 2-cup serving of watermelon is an excellent source of Vitamin A (important for optimal eye health), Vitamin B6 (used by the body to manufacture brain chemicals [neurotransmitters], such as serotonin, melatonin and dopamine, which preliminary research shows may help the body cope with anxiety and panic), and Vitamin C (which helps bolster your immune system’s defenses against infections and viruses and is known to stimulate the immune system and protect against free radical damage.

For more information on watermelon’s health benefits – and all things watermelon! – visit www.watermelon.org.

My husband and I recently returned from a mini-vacation to Arizona. He won a big award at work (yay!), and his company flew him and “a guest” out for a banquet*. Since we have friends there, as well, we decided to stay a few extra days.

Much fun was had by all. However, the four days we were away were detrimental to both my eating habits and my half marathon training.

I didn’t run a single time we were gone. This means I missed 2 mid-week runs, and Sunday’s long run. I would have done the long run today, but I got terribly sick last night after getting back home, and – though I’m much better today – I was definitely not up for running 11 miles. Or any miles…

I have a sneaking suspicion that getting sick was my body’s way of telling me it was unhappy with the food I had been giving it. Obviously we ate out a lot – that’s what you do on vacation – but I didn’t even try to make good, healthy decisions. I ordered whatever I wanted, and then ate the entire thing. Every single time.

I don’t know why I was going so crazy with the food. It was like I couldn’t help myself. I gorged myself over and over again, to the point of feeling bloated and gross. And then I did the exact same thing at the next meal.

It bothers me that I could go so ridiculously overboard – and for so many days in a row. I’ve overindulged before, but typically that’s for a meal or a day, not 4 straight days. AND without much** exercise!

I’m happy to report that at least I’m back on track today. It feels good to eat food not prepared by a restaurant. I didn’t run today, but I went to hip hop, and that was good. Mostly.***

*This banquet required that I buy a fancy dress. More on that later.

**We did climb the to the top of Camelback Mountain on Friday, which was both difficult and tons of fun. Photos and story to come!

***More to come on that later, too.

Neither my husband nor I had to work on Friday. We had a lovely morning together, walking around our neighborhood to run some errands and get breakfast.

A BIG breakfast.

Too much food. Delicious, greasy food. Enough food to hold us over until about 3pm. When we went out for lunch.

A BIG lunch.

Too much food. Delicious, salty food. Enough food to hold us over until after 9pm. You know you ate too much for lunch when you’re still not hungry at 9pm…

Regardless of my cuisine carelessness, I had to run 5 miles that day. I was waiting for the food to settle before going out, but at 7, I had to reevaluate that plan, as the day’s food was still churning and the sun was preparing to go down. So I went out anyway.

It was a terrible run. I felt bloated and gross the entire time. I had a cramp for the first 3 miles. My overall pace was more than a minute slower than usual. I wanted it to end before it even started.

Learn from my mistakes, folks: Bad food = Bad workout.

I know what works for me. I know what I have to do to lose weight. You don’t lose 92 pounds accidentally (which is ironic, because you can certainly gain it accidentally!).

So why haven’t I been doing what I know works and logging all of my food and exercise? Because it’s time-consuming. And it means being accountable . It means NOT sneaking a few extra crackers or automatically having a chocolate-covered banana every night. And I like crackers and chocolate-covered bananas…

Clearly I have the maintenance thing down: Without putting in extra effort to lose weight, my normal eating habits – combined with my exercise – keep me at roughly the same weight, give or take 3 pounds.

But I don’t want to stay the same weight – I want to continue to lose weight! Yes, I’ve lost 92 pounds, but I’ve got 20 more to go to reach my goal! You’d think that this close to my goal I’d try harder, but it hasn’t worked that way.

Once I hit about 180, I felt so much better about myself. I was finally comfortable in my own skin, and didn’t feel like the biggest person in most rooms… I wasn’t the biggest person in most rooms. Even though I ‘want’ to get to my goal, I haven’t had the same drive that I had before, because it’s not as dire as it was before.

So for months – a year now? – I’ve been half-assing my attempts to actually lose weight.

But today, I decided enough was enough. I logged on to My Food Diary and recorded my food and exercise for the day (for the first time in months). It’s funny too: As soon as I did it, I felt great! Completely re-energized. Like I’m actually going to hit that elusive 150.

Of course, I first have to get back into the 160s first…

Yes, “back into.” Excuse time:

I’ve been super hungry lately. I keep blaming all the running I’ve been doing, which actually is the likely culprit. Since I’ve been running so much, I’ve also just been eating when I’m hungry, figuring that it’s ok because I’m burning so many calories with the exercise. Hunger is my body’s way of telling me I need to eat, right? I make good food choices, too, but I think I’ve been overdoing it, eating too much, too often.

So yes, even though on February 19th I finally made it into the 160s (at a meager 169.5), on February 20th I made it out. I then proceeded to work my way back up to 172 and I’ve been struggling the last few weeks to reclaim my place in the 160s. Today I was at an even 170, so it’s coming. I know it is. Especially now that I’m back to basics and logging my food.

How are YOU doing?

One of the challenges that I’ve always faced when it comes to my weight-loss efforts is a simple truth about myself:

I like to eat. A lot.

This creates some serious difficulties considering I’m trying to limit my food intake. What I have to do to accommodate this penchant for eating is 1 – find foods that are low in calories so I can eat a lot of them, or 2 – foods that take a long time to eat. That way I can prolong the eating process as much as possible to feed this weird passion.

One thing that does not fit into either of those two categories is crackers. As you may know, crackers are evil. And silly me, I continue to buy them. They’re fine if you can limit yourself to 5 or 6, but I have an extremely difficult time doing that. I love them. And again, I love to eat. Therefore, I inevitably end up stuffing my face with cracker after cracker, until I’ve eaten hundreds of calories worth of them… or finished the box. It’s like I have this insatiable urge to munch and even though my head says “Enough, already!” my fingers and mouth say “Shut up, Head – crackers are delicious!”

It’s gotten to the point that I have forbidden myself to purchase any more crackers until further notice. Maybe in a few months I’ll try them again and test my resolve. For now, though, I know having them in the house is just asking for trouble.

It’s far easier to avoid temptation in the grocery store than in your kitchen.

Remember that.

I weigh myself a few times each week. Friday is the day whose weight I actually count, and the other numbers I use as a gauge to see how I’m doing.

You may be aware that today is Friday. My weight today was 174.5. That’s not awful, but it’s not good, either. I say that it’s not awful because on Monday, I was 178.5. It’s not good though, because last Friday I was 173.5.

This has been a common theme for me, unfortunately. In fact, my weight has yo-yoed between 174ish and 178ish on Fridays and Mondays, respectively, for roughly two months. TWO MONTHS!

Let me paint you a picture:

On Friday I weigh myself. It’s a decent number – I’m not horribly disappointed or upset with myself. Then it’s the weekend! I go out to eat, and get basically whatever I feel like eating. I go out of town, and am not in charge of preparing my own meals, and therefore eat basically whatever is available. I slack on my exercise.

And then it’s Monday and I weigh myself. It’s a terrible number – I’m horribly disappointed and upset with myself. Then it’s time to get down to business! I stay in town, don’t go out to eat, and instead, cook something healthy and delicious. I go to kung fu. I go to my aerobics class (or now Hip Hop). I go to the gym. I go running.

And then it’s Friday again. The scale shows a decent number – I’ve basically made up for last weekend’s indulgences, so I’m not horribly disappointed or upset with myself. Then it’s the weekend!

You get the idea.

I recognize that this is insane and not all that difficult to fix. I simply need to stop throwing a week’s worth of effort and positive actions out the window for a few moments of gratification on the weekend. And to be honest, much of what I’ve yielded to food-wise hasn’t even been all that tasty. Just convenient.

This two steps forward – two steps back B.S. has got to stop.

So here it is: I’m not going to go crazy this weekend on the weekends. Difficult as it will be at times, I will keep myself in check and not indulge in food that is not good for me… or my waistline. And I’ll keep up the exercise on the weekends, too.

Mark my words, internets!

I’m what you could call a planner. (Except when I don’t plan at all, but we’re focusing on the planning bits for now.)

Before I started caring about things like calories and saturated fats and preservatives (oh my), it was not a rare thing for me to be out and about, get hungry, and stop at McDonald’s or Wendy’s for a quick ‘pick-me-up.’ Not necessarily for lunch or dinner, either. I’ve been known to stop for a 700-calorie snack on a whim.

The thing is, people get hungry. I get hungry… legitimately hungry! And what’s a girl supposed to do when you’re in the car running from one place to another for hours on end without accessibility to your healthy snacks?

Exactly! You bring a snack with you! An apple or a granola bar (I love all things Kashi). That way, if you get hungry on the road, you have a healthy option available. Without that, it’s a lot harder to resist pulling into that drive-thru.

So that’s the idea, at least. And for a long time, that worked for me: I would bring a snack when I knew I would be gone for a long time, and eat it only when I was truly hungry.

Then, slowly but surely, it turned into taking a snack with me just about every time I left the house, no matter how long I would be gone.

I never bring a snack home with me, either. They get eaten, every time. Usually within minutes of pulling out of the driveway.

Hungry or not.

Damn my 4H-taught preparedness! This is bad. It’s true that a 130-calorie granola bar made with 7 whole grains containing loads of fiber and tons of protein is a much better choice than a McHeartattack and fries. However, eating granola bars – for no other reason than they’re delicious – is not good either.

At this point, it’s just a habit: Upon leaving the house, I grab a snack, and upon leaving the driveway, I eat said snack.

I know I need to reign in this problem before it becomes more serious than it already is, but it’s tough. I can’t just say ‘No more snacks in the car’ because there are times that I really do need to have a snack with me. Just not every day.

Maybe I have an oral fixation and I just need some gum. Thoughts? Does this happen to anyone else or is it just me?

Let me tell you, it’s a good thing pie isn’t very portable.

(mmmm… pie…)

We’ve all heard the old adage “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Well there’s some real truth to that. From Suite101.com:

The Health Benefits of Apples

• Help protect bone health
• Help prevent asthma, heart disease, and cancers such as lung, breast, colon, and liver
• Research also suggests that the phytonutrient called quercetin may help to prevent Alzheimer’s and Parkinsonism
• Pectin in apples can help to lower LDL cholesterol
• Good for diabetes and weight management
• Good source of vitamin C
• Good source of soluble and insoluble fiber
• Excellent source of flavanoids and antioxidants

Besides the health benefits, apples are great because they’re portable, highly versatile, inexpensive and delicious.

My favorite apple variety is the Pink Lady. They’re the perfect combination of sweet and tart, incredibly juicy, nice and firm, and not the least bit gritty. I hate gritty apples.

Pink Ladies are in season right now! Do yourself a favor and pick up a bunch – they make a great snack! When selecting your apples, keep in mind that the pinker, the better.

I heard somewhere that when you’re hungry between meals you should eat an apple… And if you can’t bring yourself to have an apple, you’re not that hungry.

I fell off the wagon so hard this holiday that I have a bruised bum. Figuratively speaking, of course.

I’m not entirely sure what happened. The trip up to Buffalo for Thanksgiving started out well enough: I brought healthy snacks and was armed with multiple sets of workout clothes, but apparently I forgot to pack my resolve.

As you know, the Turkey Trot went well, but that 5-mile run was not enough to combat the immense quantities of food I ate that day. Turkey (with stuffing), squash (with butter and brown sugar), mashed potatoes (with gravy), cranberry sauce (sweetened with sugar), croissants (with butter)… And that was just for dinner. After dinner, there was pie, pie and more pie.

Man do I love pie…

I just had very little control. Not only did I eat more than I knew I should (or needed) while at the table, I also found myself falling into habits I thought I kicked a long time ago. Habits that were a serious cause of my obesity in the first place.

While helping to prepare meals, I found myself tasting the food far more than necessary. While helping to clean up after meals, I found myself sneaking leftovers as I packaged them up for the refrigerator. I used to sneak food like this all the time as a child – there were always far fewer leftovers on days that I was asked to put them away than when my siblings put them away.

Not only was the actual day of Thanksgiving rough for me food-wise, the days following it I was terrible, too. We ate out. A lot. And I did not make healthy choices. Pizza and wings and fries and chinese food etc etc etc. And of course, leftover pie. There was also quite a bit of wine, which certainly doesn’t help matters, in more ways than one.

Yesterday we drove home, and in the car I got physically ill. At first I thought it was my body rejecting all the crap I had shoved into my mouth over the previous few days. I actually think it was just a response to the speed with which I ate my MTO chicken sandwich. So stupid.

I’m really mad at myself for my poor willpower over this holiday. It makes me sick to think that I could so quickly and easily slide back into old habits when I’m not paying full attention.

I guess I still have a lot to work on. I sincerely hope I’m not the only one who struggled so much with food this holiday.

Here’s to a more successful Christmas!