Running to the Gym + Buffet Buster

Today was a school holiday, and boy was it relaxing and productive!  I got so much done today, and even had time to relax, as well as work out!

Before I share my post for the day with you, I wanted to let you know about the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge put on by Run to the Finish.  I just signed up, thanks to a post from Katie at Peace Love & Oats, and you should too!  It looks like a great way to extrinsically motivate yourself to stick to your exercise/healthy eating routine throughout the holiday season!  Shameless Plug: If you decide to sign up, put my name down as referring you.  If 5 people use my name, I can win some compression shorts (and who doesn't love free stuff?!?).

Now, on to the rest of the post:

Today's Training
Once again, I went to BodyPump at the YMCA.  The Y is only .65 miles from my house, so I decided to run to/from the gym.  There's a park right next to the Y, so before the class, I ran a loop around the pond (only an additional .5 miles).

My muscles were definitely pre-fatigued heading in to the class and I found that I wasn't able to do as many pounds.  But, it really did feel good to run there and run home, as well as get in my weight training!  I plan on making this my regular routine on Mondays.

Diet Tip of the Day
Once again, Joe and I took advantage of a free meal for veterans and headed to Golden Corral.  We went around 7:00 (after Bodypump) and thought we'd walk right in and go to town on the buffet.  Boy, were we wrong!  The line stretched the length of the building, and we wound up waiting about 40 minutes to get seated.  We discovered that this was one of only 2 Golden Corral's in our county, which makes the line make more sense.

The diet tip for the day is how to eat what you want at a buffet, but not completely overindulge.

I started with a decent-sized salad of spinach and mixed greens topped with tomato, carrots, green peppers, hard-boiled egg, cheese, and those crunchy things.  I figured I'd start with something healthy before going for the rest of the food.  (No picture because we doubled up with another party in line to get seated faster and I didn't want to seem weird...#bloggerproblems)

I found that after my hefty salad, I really only had room for one more plate (and some dessert, of course!).  I highly recommend getting a good-sized, satisfying salad to begin with, then only choosing those foods that you know you must have for your second helping.  That's what I did, and I am full and satisfied, but not overly stuffed (as is usually the case for me at the buffet).

It's getting late, and I need to get myself together for school tomorrow!

Question for the Day: What's the one item you HAVE to have when you go to a buffet?
For me, it's the soft-serve ice cream with rainbow sprinkles.  I just love it! :)