Engine 2 Diet: Who's Tried It?

It's that time of year again. Duke's employee wellness program is promoting another "Get Moving Challenge," starting on January 23. Employees across campus can sign up and join teams, tracking weight loss, exercise minutes, and/or walking steps for 10 weeks, ending April 1. Once we start recording in those three categories, we can see how we fare against other teams, so there's a bit of the competition element going on, too. Our team is called the Bookworms, because we work for the campus library system. :-)

Meanwhile, our local Whole Foods Market is starting a Engine 2 Twenty-Eight-Day Challenge, and it happens to start-guess when-on January 23! You have to register by January 15, and I'm thinking about it. It's a vegan diet, which can be a challenge, but I've done it before, so I'm pretty intrigued by the thought of trying it again. 28 days. Hmmm. Apparently this 28-day challenge is something promoted on the Engine 2 Diet website, and they've (smartly) teamed up with Whole Foods.

So, I've bought the Engine 2 Diet book by Rip Esselstyn, and it's the first Kindle version of a book that I've purchased, which adds to the fun. (I received an iPad 2 for Christmas from my awesome sister, Lisa, and the Kindle app on the iPad makes me feel like I'm reading on a Kindle!) I've also been exploring the website, as well as YouTube, which has a number of videos about the Engine 2 Diet. In fact, I watched one this evening, done by the author of the book, where he discusses "Prep Week." Much of Prep Week involves cleaning out the pantry and refrigerator of bad foods. He also suggests, in the video, a kitchen gadget he calls the Microplaner, which is actually a Microplane zester/grater. I looked it up on Amazon, and was about to order one, when I decided to check our kitchen drawers. Lo and behold, I found one! It's in great shape, too. :-) While I was going through the drawers, I decided to go ahead and toss some stuff and get them more organized. It's a start.

Here's the "Prep Week" video (click on the blue hyperlink to view), which has motivated me to start organizing the kitchen. (Hey, that's worth it, right?!) Meanwhile, I'm hoping the contest at work, and maybe this Engine 2 Challenge, will help with the winter-time (cold+dark early) motivation to eat right and exercise through the weeks ahead. My plans to run or walk the Tobacco Road Half Marathon are in jeopardy. Here's to a jumpstart!

Feel Like a Million!

Today is the start of a new 12-week health incentive program through Duke's Live for Life (employee health) office, called "Feel Like a Million." I'm excited this has started, and I'm looking forward to being part of the "Bookworms" team again! The employee health office offered a similar program last year, and I created a team called the Bookworms, and 7 fellow library employees joined me. This year, 6 of us have signed up for the reconvening of the Bookworms, but we have the end of the week to "recruit" new team members! :) We have a good team, but "the more, the merrier," right?! I think the team concept will help me stay a little more motivated and focused during these winter months!






Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

Two workouts

Last night I went to the Duke Fitness Center and walked for 30 minutes. Since it was my second workout of the day, it was nice to take it a little easier. I saw a couple of ladies for the Rice Diet there, which was nice.

This morning I was back on the elliptical for 65 minutes. I was a little tired and sore when I woke up this morning, probably from the extra exercise. (I also had two 15 minute walks at work yesterday.) But I went ahead and did a full workout. I'll probably head to bed a little early tonight.

Hour-long workout and snacking opportunities

This morning I got back to an hour on the elliptical machine! It felt good, and I was surprised, since I had a Junior League meeting last night and didn't get to bed til nearly midnight (so I was tired!).

Okay, okay, so it wasn't totally the meeting's fault that I was up late. The Duke-UNC basketball game didn't start until 9:00, and the game was on TV, so I stayed up watching it. Duke was ahead for most of the game, so I was psyched to watch a Duke win, but they let it slip away, and Carolina stayed the course. Bummer.

By the way, survived the eating table at the Junior League meeting, and I even took one of my favorite things, homemade pimento cheese (and crackers to put it on). I did have three pieces of celery (no pimento cheese on them, either!), but no harm done when I got on the scales this morning. (Big surprise!) I did more socializing with a glass of water in my hand. I couldn't compliment anyone on how good their dish tasted, but I was able to find other things to talk about! :-)

I felt like snacking during the basketball game on TV (old habit) and after the loss (to feel better), but passed. This morning I felt better for skipping the late night snacking.

Weekend workouts

Saturday morning, I worked out for a hard 70 minutes, starting with a 5-minute warmup on the treadmill, followed with a hard 65-minute workout on the elliptical. I really pushed myself, and felt it the rest of the weekend! Both yesterday and this morning, I did 30-minute workouts each. I think I'll be back to my normal workout hour in the morning.

Mom and I had a fun shopping spree Saturday afternoon at the Streets at Southpoint, which resulted in two tops and a pair of pants in the next smaller size down! That was exciting!

Saturday night, George and I went to the Duke-NC Central basketball game. Talk about a high level of fitness! Those kids on the court are in great shape! It was fun to see both teams in action.

More weekend exercise

I continue to get up every morning to exercise for an hour. Even with hard workouts, I feel like I get on with my job and other responsibilities okay. It's a great feeling to have that accomplishment under my belt every morning.

Yesterday after supper, I walked on the Duke cross country trail for 3o minutes. It's in Duke Forest, and part of it goes along the Duke golf course. It's quite beautiful, lots of trees and woodland sounds. There were a number of athletes out, mostly runners and bikers whizzing by. I felt a little too bashful to try jogging among the fit company around me, but in time, I will. There are some good hills on this trail, so it's a nice workout. The whole thing is 5K, which is a distance I'm trying to improve on. I would LOVE to be able to jog the whole thing some day. I WILL run the whole thing one day.