"Make You Banana Pancakes, Pretend Like It's The Weekend Now."

Woah. Woah. Woah. Woah. Woah. Woah...Louis, this is not my Batman glass......Yes, I realize not everyone is familiar enough with "Family Guy" to understand that reference, but the 'woahs' from that is the best way for me to convey how much I want you to stop what you're doing and pay attention. I had THE BEST pancakes for lunch yesterday! Ok, remember my Pumpkin Pancake recipe? Here's a refresher. This is the same, but minus the pumpkin, replace with a banana. Woah! Right? It is literally the same recipe, same process, but instead of using the pumpkin puree, mash up an overly ripe banana in a bowl and add to the rest of the batter. It is AH-MAZING. I cannot even begin to describe how incredible these fluffy, thick, warm, banana-y morsels are. Ok, that was kind of a description, but you get what I'm trying to say. They're delicious! Yes, the calorie count goes up a bit because bananas are higher in calorie than pumpkin puree, but I felt more full after eating these than I do with the pumpkin version. And come on, they're still a bit healthier than regular pancakes, especially when using the low-calorie products that I swear by. Indulge. Guilt-free (almost).

I had these right after I came in from a really awesome run, so I know that my metabolism was up and running and ready for sustenance. Side note: banana is a really good food to eat pre and/or post run. The carbs and potassium give you lots of energy! Bottom line, I feel amazing right now. The run yesterday was about 60% better than the day before. I ran larger chunks of the route and didn't come in wheezing like an 80 year old smoker, and I'm proud of myself for pushing through the pain. For the first time since I moved, I feel like I'm finally getting myself under control. More importantly, I feel that I am the one in charge of my body. For the past couple of months, I've felt that FatRachel has been controlling my every move and not letting go of the reigns. I'm kickin' that chick's butt back into the background. She WILL NOT win. I ran again today and let me tell ya, my calves are furious with me. I have not been this sore in a really long time. Too long. It really is the best pain. 

Unfortunately, I'm still in the rebuilding stage in terms of distance and stamina, but I think that this week has been a big step in the right direction! I clocked my route today and found that it is about 1.3 miles. I'm running for about 20-25 minutes and, while I was down to about a 9:30 mile at my peak, I think that my time now isn't terrible when you take into consideration the long break I took. There are also 2 quite large hills on my route and I've never had to deal with that....That's definitely slowing me down which makes me feel like such a fatty. I have to walk a couple of portions of the hills, but I'm running the majority of the distance. In general, I feel really good about everything right now. I feel better about myself physically, mentally, and emotionally and this makes me want to keep being good. I want to keep not screwing up my eating. I want to keep on this track! I woke up today not feeling bloated, not feeling heavy, not feeling like a failure. Those are reasons enough to keep it up.

I hope, more than anything, that none of you guys have lost faith in me because I know there was a long period there where I was not living up to my own standards. That always makes me feel like I'm letting you down. I've said it before and I'll say it again: If I'm not behaving, I write less often. I don't like having to 'fess up about my wrongdoing, so I just kind of avoid it. So, when there are more breaks in between posts, you know that I'm not doing what I'm supposed to. Keep me accountable, man! Facebook message me, text me, call me, just do something to kind of slap me and say "hey fatty, where are your posts? What are you doing wrong? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Help a fatty out. I need your help just as much as anyone else.