That Good Kind of Tired

It's a tired kind of night, in a good way. In January I saw my doctor for my yearly checkup, and discovered I have a bit of a cholesterol issue. Part of it's genetic, as there are a number of people in my family who have high cholesterol as well, but I also knew that part of it was definitely my own doing.

So since then, I've been more or less successfully (depends on the day) making changes to both what I eat and how I exercise. More lettuce, less cheese. And far less butter, though that's still one I'm grieving. It's amazing how fondly I can think of a dairy product.

Part of what I've been doing is the Couch to 5K running program. Or in my case, jogging program. Slow jogging program might be more appropriate. And it's going well, I'm in week 4, but today kicked my butt. In a good way, yes, but I am exhausted tonight, and hopefully that means good sleep, which has been elusive lately.

It's amazing to me how things can slowly drift and change course. I did the Couch to 5k the first time I was in grad. school (it still feels weird to say that), and did the whole thing. I was in great shape, and significantly lighter than I am now. And slowly, over the years between now and then, I've become intimately acquainted with butter and bacon and have sort of forgotten my friends the fruits. So we're getting reacquainted, slowly but surely.

I'm also trying a few new things. My doctor said to limit my red meat, which is tough, since I rarely ate red meat before...maybe once a month at home. So I figured making more vegetarian meals couldn't hurt. And for the most part I'm a big fan of legumes and grains, and certain vegetables (sorry broccoli and cauliflower, we will never be a thing). I decided on fajitas one night last week, which I often make vegetarian, with just bell peppers and onions. Since I'm (re)discovering new things, I found a soy meat substitute at the grocery store.

As tempting as that may sound, DO NOT DO IT. At least not the meat-flavored ones. Seriously. It was bad. At least with tofu you know what you're getting, a flavorless, but high in protein block that can be manipulated to your own specifications. Faux fajita meat, however, had a texture that would have been fine for meat, but incredibly disgusting for a soy product. Along with icky seasoning, and some kind of smokiness that was out of place. I will not make that mistake again.