Someone's a little backed up on the new book and DVD reviews -- just sayin'.

Oh, for cryin' out loud, I'm sorry! I know it's K-E Dollar Sign Ha, but this song is awesome for ramping up my run. (And James van der Beek? What are you doing in this video?)

That is the inside of my upper right arm and a ridiculously colorful and large bruise. I got it after falling off my Bosu ball Saturday morning.

It's also the exact moment when I decided to stop punishing myself because the scale wasn't moving. I've been beating myself up the past few months and now I've got the black and blue marks to prove it somewhat metaphorically (I also have a bruise on my left calf and my backside).

I've been absolutely wonderful on the exercise component and good on the food component, but nighttime snacking was probably unraveling all the work I did with exercise. We all know that too many calories can completely undo any fitness plan.

I've been so stressed about "performing" on the scale that I believe (definitely not scientific) my body was hanging onto every pound. When I decided to not worry about the number on the scale and just eat and exercise like a normal person, I stepped on the scale this morning and lost a pound.

I tend to make my diet far too difficult than it needs to be. Did I eat protein? Is it time to have a snack? Am I even hungry? Should I wait until I get hungry?

Gaaahhh.

Meal time became too complicated and fraught with indecision. So I'm going back to The Simple Diet -- Dr. James Anderson's book and plan that came out in January. He realizes that his eating plan isn't a lifetime thing -- just something brainless to get the weight off. And I really, really like smoothies and protein bars, so it's something I can live with and not have to engage my overactive brain. (You can read more about Anderson and his plan HERE.)

And heck, even my beloved Arctic Zero can figure into the plan -- a pint of it is 150 calories and 15 grams of protein, which would count as a meal-replacement shake.

So that's where my head is at this week, and it feels much better.

Just watched the documentary Hungry for Change and it's really eye-opening. So much so that I'm headed to the store for juicing supplies. You can watch it, too, for free, starting today and through the end of March. It's either at Gaiam.TV or at Hungryforchange.TV. You can check out a sneak peek below:

This was part of the Souled Out mix from Rock My Run, so the version I ran to was torqued up a bit to 130 bpm. Still, it's a fun little song to sing to while running (as long as no one's in earshot).

Ever have one of those weeks, weight-loss wise, that sorta slops over into the next week, then it has you all stressed out over the lack of progress so you start poring over diet books and workout DVDs looking for the "magic one" which stresses you out even more and you just do one of those now-outdated record turntable scratch sounds in your mind...

 

Yeah. That was me.

Birthday party leftovers, stressing out over my kid's dental X-ray that turned out to be nothing, a healing back strain -- all of that conspired to throw everything off. Exercise, meal planning went out the window and my arm went elbow-deep into a bag of pita chips (it was a big bag).

But I'm back in control today. I kicked off the day with a Perfect Foods Lite bar (have I mentioned how much I love those?) and had a Shakeology for lunch after I went running for the first time in a couple weeks. I had been doing other workouts in the interim but I hadn't run and I really missed it.

I'm heading to a Pilates class in an hour and will follow that with a Greek yogurt and later, a sensible dinner.

And after dinner? That's Public Enemy No. 1 for me, but I bought a couple pints of Arctic Zero and I know I can have a big ol' bowl of it for only 75 calories (the chocolate-peanut butter flavor is amazingly good). And bedtime will be at 11 -- college basketball be damned (I'm a late-night sports viewer).

In golf, a mulligan is a retaken shot on the tee box, usually due to a previously errant one.

That's what we'll call last week.

Once again, I tip my hat to Rebecca Regnier of Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat?, who inspired my ridiculousness with her Stuff Dieters Say graphics and hilarious videos. Go check her blog out!

Frankly, I was out of ideas for this week, so I checked my "most plays" on iTunes and this one came up really high. The song is great to listen to when walking, running or otherwise racking up the miles.

(Oh, and an update on Monday's post: I'm already down 4 of those pounds. Be gone, false fat!)

How quickly can you gain weight? I'm asking because I stepped on the scale this morning after a weekend of birthday party food and the ensuing leftovers.

5 pounds. Zoinks.

In the past, I'd mope around all day lamenting the gain and wondering how I'll ever get back on track, given that we still have pizza, taquitos, potato chips, birthday cake and assorted evil dips lingering in the kitchen.

But not now. I realize that some of the gain is the "false fat" of sodium and starchy carb bloat (the rest is pizza grease). It's not how I normally eat and I've gotten the thrill of the food out of my system. So that 5 pounds should disappear pretty quickly.

Pretty evolved thinking for a "career dieter." But getting my head in this place took a lot of work, talking things out with my Weight Shrink.

Yet, the thought that someone's healthy eating plan can go so far off the rails in such a short period of time boggles the mind. This is why I can't take my eye off the ball for one second. I did and 5 pounds flew on.

But they will come off.

So, the Pilates part of the headline, what's up with that?

I've avoided Pilates for awhile because of my non-curvy neck.  A lot of the moves are just impossible because I don't bend that way. But after a trip to the Cleveland Clinic walk-in clinic last week for back pain, I knew I had to attack my core strength and stabillity. I don't usually have back pain but this little twinge was bugging me and I was obsessing about it. I mentioned the Pilates to the physician's assistant and she agreed that it'd be good for my core, and in turn, my back. (Don't you love when medical-types suggest exercise instead of drugs?)

I've always wanted to do a "real" Pilates workout, in a studio with the reformers and boxes and barrels. So as a birthday present to myself, I bought 10 sessions at a local studio.

Wow, what a workout.

I had no idea what to expect, and frankly, I thought I'd be in pain after the first session. But it was the opposite of pain. I swear I felt taller and more limber. I also was surprised that my body could do some of the things the instructor was demanding (yes) of me.

I can't say my technique was fabulous or that I could even do all the moves, but the reformer and all the other tools made it easier to keep proper form and not throw anything out. The first class was free and I have nine classes left on my account, so I'm looking forward to see what changes I can make in my core.

And taquitos are not part of the equation.