I can't believe it's been two months since I began this journey! This morning, I woke up and pulled out the scary scale. Before I hopped on, I repeated to myself, "I am more than a number on the scale. I am more than a number." And then I stepped on....and I wasn't impressed. I had only lost 2.2 pounds! In an entire month! Before I let that number drag me down, I asked myself my prepared questions. "How do I feel aside from this number on the scale? Stronger? Happy? Healthier?" My quick answer to that was, "Yes, I feel stronger, happier, and healthier."
I then quickly got out my measuring tape because if I learned anything from my time at Green Mountain, it was that the measuring tape tends to show a clearer picture of your month. Here is what I found:
Arms - lost 1" in a month for a total of 1.75" over two months
Chest - lost 0" (thankfully) for a total of 1.5"
Waist - lost 3" for a total of 6"
Hips - lost 1" for a total of 3"
Thighs - lost 1" for a total of 1.5"
Overall, I have lost 11.7 pounds and 13.75" over two months! To be honest, the 6" off my waist gets me the most excited. It's the part of my body that I have struggled with the most over my life and the part that experts often say is the hardest part to lose. What a victory!!
After talking with Joe this morning, he has suggested that the number on the scale may not be entirely accurate since I am probably retaining water after yesterday's hike and he has some doubts about our scale. So tomorrow before swimming, I will check my weight at the scale in the locker room, but honestly, I don't care about that number. I care about what the measuring tape has told me and that I need to dig out some of my older, smaller jeans!
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
My Hiking Fun
By the time you finish reading this post, you will understand that the title of this post is sarcastic. Apparently, when choosing a hike out of a "Hike Colorado" book, I am much more ambitious then my body is ready for. While I read something along the lines of, "This moderate 4 mile hike (one way) takes you through lovely ponderosa pines and then to breathtaking views of the North Cheyenne Canon from the top." What that is really saying is, "Your first mile will be at a slight elevation through some trees, then you will go straight up a mountain for two miles in the sun to see some rocks and cool views, but you won't notice because you will be dying. Then you will go back down the mountain only to turn around and go back up and down to get back to your car. Bring some water."
When I told Joe about the hike I chose, he asked me if I was sure I wanted to walk 8 miles and I said confidently, "Yeah! I looked at the 'easy' hikes in the book, and I think I would rather do a hike that has a little more of a challenge." Looking back, I now see how naive I am about Colorado hikes. I grew up in Indiana! A moderate hike had some hills here and there, but nothing as consistent as 2 miles straight up.
During the first mile, it was quite nice. We walked through those lovely trees along a babbling creek. We saw cute families and dogs playing in the water. We were in the shade and oohed and ahhed at the pretty scenery.
At about .75 miles, Joe and I encountered a switch back incline and I tackled it without fear! "This isn't too bad," I said to Joe. "We must already be at the Mid Columbine Trail because the book said we would rise for a little at that point!" (We started at the Lower Columbine Trail, went through the Middle Columbine Trail and then up to the Upper Columbine Trail.) Man, if we had a video camera on us, my idiotic statement at that little climb would be in the You Tube hall of fame when the camera watched me climb the ACTUAL Mid Columbine Trail. Before we actually hit the Mid Trail, Joe did some spontaneous rock climbing because we were feeling great!
Near the beginning of the actual Middle Columbine Trail, I took this picture below. Little did I know that that was where we were heading! Up!
I wish I had taken a photo at the actual bottom of the Middle Columbine Trail. I don't think I could have though because my heart stopped when I realized what this 'fun' hike I had chosen actually entailed. So we began to climb. I wasn't going to give up because this hike was my choice, the day was beautiful, and Joe and I were so happy to be outside experiencing new parts of Colorado.
The trail was practically constant switchbacks as it rose and rose and rose up the side of the mountain. I was able to average about one length of a switchback before my polar heart monitor beeped at me that I had gone above my target heart rate and I physically had troubles breathing. Some steep inclines had me stopping probably every 50 feet. My will was there, but my body just wasn't ready yet. At one point I thought back to when my friend Amanda and I went to Greece and we walked up a volcano in Santorini to see the top (the volcano hole? I don't know what that's called). I was about 90 pounds lighter on that trip than I am now, and I remember being able to walk up the volcano easily. As I looked at Joe and the other hikers, I saw that they weren't struggling like I was. I have been active for 2 solid months, but at the end of the day, my extra body weight hinders me from what I want to do. It really emphasized why I am on this journey that I am on. I want to be able to do things without my excess body weight holding me back.
This next photo is after a particularly hard/steep consistent incline. My 'catch my breath' breaks did help me to stop and look around and see the beauty.
When the trail finally leveled out for a little bit and went back into the shade of the trees, I celebrated that I had made it through the ridiculously hard incline! I looked forward to enjoying some flat trails for the rest of the hike. (Oh, I forgot to mention that the hiking book I had made it look like we would go through an incline and then enjoy some flat trails until we reached a waterfall! It or I was wrong in my interpretation.) In the flat part of the trail, we met some locals. See below.
After our visit with the locals, we turned a corner and low and behold, we began to rise again! At this point, it wasn't just my THR and lack of breath that slowed me down, but it was also my legs and feet were beginning to ache. But we kept going. I wanted to see a waterfall! And we thought we could hear it. Surely it was just around the next bend. Right? Wrong. Every bend just brought more switchback inclines. Though, one brought a decline and then another incline, which just seemed to piss me off because that meant I would have to incline again on my reward trip back to the car!
I took this next picture to show just how far we had gone up and looking at it now, I still can't believe that we continued to climb after this point.
After a few flat trails and another incline, I was starting to use some bad language. Literally 50 feet from the top of the mountain/cliff/trail/climb we ran into a man who had passed us going up and then back down. We asked him if we were close to the falls and he said, "Oh no, that's still another two miles away! You are at the top of the climb, but then it goes back down and then the falls are another mile from the base." With tears about to fall from my eyes, I said to Joe, "I hate this!!"
So we climbed the remaining 50 feet to the top and sat down to have our snack and to decide what to do next. The snack of cheese, crackers, and grapes helped to renew some of my energy, but I said to Joe, "If we go down this mountain to see the falls, I will not be able to climb back up it to get back to the car." At this point, we had been hiking for 2.5 hours and we had gone 3 miles (2 of which were up hill/mountain.) We knew there was a visitor center near the falls and a road that led to it, so we actually talked about trying to hitch a ride with someone back to our car, but it was 5PM and we were worried the cars would be few and far between by the time we got down there. (Oh, did I mention that I did my aquatics class BEFORE this hike? Hence the hike later in the day. Also we had driven to Colorado Springs for this hike.) So in the end, we decided to start heading back to the car. Before we began our decent, Joe took this picture of me at the top of the mountain. Though I am trying to smile, you can probably see my exhaustion and hatred of this mountain in my face.
Joe guessed that we could get back down to the car by 6:30PM. The decent was much quicker. I only had to stop a few times when I needed a sip of water or when my shins and toes throbbed from the new movement. When we reached that part when I had to incline again, I took the first steepest part at full speed. Joe told me he was impressed and I told him that I was just ready to be done with this hike. After we passed the point where we saw the deer, I could sense the end, though we were still a good mile and a half away from the car. I knew the steep, consistent, switchback decline was coming. In my mind, that half mile of straight down meant victory was near.
Most of the trail was dirt and loose rocks. We cursed the loose rocks going up the incline, but in going down, Joe pointed out the helpfulness of the really loose parts. If we stepped on a harder surface with few rocks, our feet would slip, but if we dug our heels into the loose rocks, we had more control. A number of times, I used Joe for balance down the steep parts. At one particularly steep decline, I stopped in my tracks, cursed, and said, "I can't do this! I hate this!" Joe simply took my arm and led me to safety. At another time, my foot slipped on the hard surface and rocks and I yelled out, "Effing A!" The decline, though faster, wasn't exactly easier. I was definitely much more tense than I was going up.
Finally, we reached the bottom of the mountain! My prayers to God, Jesus, Buddha, Allah, and the Spirit of the Cheyenne Canon had been answered. I made it back to level ground in one piece. We had one more mile to finish before we made it to our car, but my breathing evened out and the promise of more water (because we had run out at this point) in the car kept me going. And finally, at 6:15PM we made it back to the car.
As part of my master plan of the day, I had researched where to eat dinner, so we drove into downtown Colorado Springs for dinner at Poor Richard's. I chose them because they have a reputation for using all organic foods. Joe and I shared a whole wheat crust pizza with peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, and basil. With my side salad with homemade dressing, it was glorious. And since this was my night to eat out for the week, I also got a large peanut butter cookie for dessert.
Now that it is the next day after the hike, how do I feel about the whole trip? Well, my polar heart monitor is telling me that we were on the trail for 3 hours and 48 minutes and I was in target heart rate for 3 hours and 40 minutes. My average THR was 156 (my range is 129-176) and my max THR was 181 and I burned 2136 calories. My body isn't nearly as sore today as I thought it might be. The hike was beautiful and very difficult for me. I am glad I did it and proud of myself for hiking 6 miles and making it to the top. While I don't plan to repeat this hike anytime soon, I look forward to PERHAPS trying it again when my body is more prepared.
I am thankful for the patience of Joe and his constant encouragement and positive attitude. I may not have continued the hike were I with anyone else. He quietly motivates me because I want to keep going for him. He could have gone down to the falls and back easily, but he understood my struggles and without question turned around when I needed too.
We are already talking about what adventure to go on next Monday...so stay tuned.
When I told Joe about the hike I chose, he asked me if I was sure I wanted to walk 8 miles and I said confidently, "Yeah! I looked at the 'easy' hikes in the book, and I think I would rather do a hike that has a little more of a challenge." Looking back, I now see how naive I am about Colorado hikes. I grew up in Indiana! A moderate hike had some hills here and there, but nothing as consistent as 2 miles straight up.
During the first mile, it was quite nice. We walked through those lovely trees along a babbling creek. We saw cute families and dogs playing in the water. We were in the shade and oohed and ahhed at the pretty scenery.
At about .75 miles, Joe and I encountered a switch back incline and I tackled it without fear! "This isn't too bad," I said to Joe. "We must already be at the Mid Columbine Trail because the book said we would rise for a little at that point!" (We started at the Lower Columbine Trail, went through the Middle Columbine Trail and then up to the Upper Columbine Trail.) Man, if we had a video camera on us, my idiotic statement at that little climb would be in the You Tube hall of fame when the camera watched me climb the ACTUAL Mid Columbine Trail. Before we actually hit the Mid Trail, Joe did some spontaneous rock climbing because we were feeling great!
Near the beginning of the actual Middle Columbine Trail, I took this picture below. Little did I know that that was where we were heading! Up!
I wish I had taken a photo at the actual bottom of the Middle Columbine Trail. I don't think I could have though because my heart stopped when I realized what this 'fun' hike I had chosen actually entailed. So we began to climb. I wasn't going to give up because this hike was my choice, the day was beautiful, and Joe and I were so happy to be outside experiencing new parts of Colorado.
The trail was practically constant switchbacks as it rose and rose and rose up the side of the mountain. I was able to average about one length of a switchback before my polar heart monitor beeped at me that I had gone above my target heart rate and I physically had troubles breathing. Some steep inclines had me stopping probably every 50 feet. My will was there, but my body just wasn't ready yet. At one point I thought back to when my friend Amanda and I went to Greece and we walked up a volcano in Santorini to see the top (the volcano hole? I don't know what that's called). I was about 90 pounds lighter on that trip than I am now, and I remember being able to walk up the volcano easily. As I looked at Joe and the other hikers, I saw that they weren't struggling like I was. I have been active for 2 solid months, but at the end of the day, my extra body weight hinders me from what I want to do. It really emphasized why I am on this journey that I am on. I want to be able to do things without my excess body weight holding me back.
This next photo is after a particularly hard/steep consistent incline. My 'catch my breath' breaks did help me to stop and look around and see the beauty.
When the trail finally leveled out for a little bit and went back into the shade of the trees, I celebrated that I had made it through the ridiculously hard incline! I looked forward to enjoying some flat trails for the rest of the hike. (Oh, I forgot to mention that the hiking book I had made it look like we would go through an incline and then enjoy some flat trails until we reached a waterfall! It or I was wrong in my interpretation.) In the flat part of the trail, we met some locals. See below.
After our visit with the locals, we turned a corner and low and behold, we began to rise again! At this point, it wasn't just my THR and lack of breath that slowed me down, but it was also my legs and feet were beginning to ache. But we kept going. I wanted to see a waterfall! And we thought we could hear it. Surely it was just around the next bend. Right? Wrong. Every bend just brought more switchback inclines. Though, one brought a decline and then another incline, which just seemed to piss me off because that meant I would have to incline again on my reward trip back to the car!
I took this next picture to show just how far we had gone up and looking at it now, I still can't believe that we continued to climb after this point.
After a few flat trails and another incline, I was starting to use some bad language. Literally 50 feet from the top of the mountain/cliff/trail/climb we ran into a man who had passed us going up and then back down. We asked him if we were close to the falls and he said, "Oh no, that's still another two miles away! You are at the top of the climb, but then it goes back down and then the falls are another mile from the base." With tears about to fall from my eyes, I said to Joe, "I hate this!!"
So we climbed the remaining 50 feet to the top and sat down to have our snack and to decide what to do next. The snack of cheese, crackers, and grapes helped to renew some of my energy, but I said to Joe, "If we go down this mountain to see the falls, I will not be able to climb back up it to get back to the car." At this point, we had been hiking for 2.5 hours and we had gone 3 miles (2 of which were up hill/mountain.) We knew there was a visitor center near the falls and a road that led to it, so we actually talked about trying to hitch a ride with someone back to our car, but it was 5PM and we were worried the cars would be few and far between by the time we got down there. (Oh, did I mention that I did my aquatics class BEFORE this hike? Hence the hike later in the day. Also we had driven to Colorado Springs for this hike.) So in the end, we decided to start heading back to the car. Before we began our decent, Joe took this picture of me at the top of the mountain. Though I am trying to smile, you can probably see my exhaustion and hatred of this mountain in my face.
Joe guessed that we could get back down to the car by 6:30PM. The decent was much quicker. I only had to stop a few times when I needed a sip of water or when my shins and toes throbbed from the new movement. When we reached that part when I had to incline again, I took the first steepest part at full speed. Joe told me he was impressed and I told him that I was just ready to be done with this hike. After we passed the point where we saw the deer, I could sense the end, though we were still a good mile and a half away from the car. I knew the steep, consistent, switchback decline was coming. In my mind, that half mile of straight down meant victory was near.
Most of the trail was dirt and loose rocks. We cursed the loose rocks going up the incline, but in going down, Joe pointed out the helpfulness of the really loose parts. If we stepped on a harder surface with few rocks, our feet would slip, but if we dug our heels into the loose rocks, we had more control. A number of times, I used Joe for balance down the steep parts. At one particularly steep decline, I stopped in my tracks, cursed, and said, "I can't do this! I hate this!" Joe simply took my arm and led me to safety. At another time, my foot slipped on the hard surface and rocks and I yelled out, "Effing A!" The decline, though faster, wasn't exactly easier. I was definitely much more tense than I was going up.
Finally, we reached the bottom of the mountain! My prayers to God, Jesus, Buddha, Allah, and the Spirit of the Cheyenne Canon had been answered. I made it back to level ground in one piece. We had one more mile to finish before we made it to our car, but my breathing evened out and the promise of more water (because we had run out at this point) in the car kept me going. And finally, at 6:15PM we made it back to the car.
As part of my master plan of the day, I had researched where to eat dinner, so we drove into downtown Colorado Springs for dinner at Poor Richard's. I chose them because they have a reputation for using all organic foods. Joe and I shared a whole wheat crust pizza with peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, and basil. With my side salad with homemade dressing, it was glorious. And since this was my night to eat out for the week, I also got a large peanut butter cookie for dessert.
Now that it is the next day after the hike, how do I feel about the whole trip? Well, my polar heart monitor is telling me that we were on the trail for 3 hours and 48 minutes and I was in target heart rate for 3 hours and 40 minutes. My average THR was 156 (my range is 129-176) and my max THR was 181 and I burned 2136 calories. My body isn't nearly as sore today as I thought it might be. The hike was beautiful and very difficult for me. I am glad I did it and proud of myself for hiking 6 miles and making it to the top. While I don't plan to repeat this hike anytime soon, I look forward to PERHAPS trying it again when my body is more prepared.
I am thankful for the patience of Joe and his constant encouragement and positive attitude. I may not have continued the hike were I with anyone else. He quietly motivates me because I want to keep going for him. He could have gone down to the falls and back easily, but he understood my struggles and without question turned around when I needed too.
We are already talking about what adventure to go on next Monday...so stay tuned.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Various Thoughts
1. Thank you for all of the comments on my risotto dramatics. I MAY try it again one day.
2. A number of people have had a hard time commenting on my blog, so I have adjusted the settings for the comments. I hope it is easier and it allows everyone to comment!
3. I had quite a workout yesterday cleaning the apartment and doing 5 loads of laundry! I certainly got my sweat on.
4. I cut my left index finger yesterday with a knife...hazards of cooking all of my own meals. Thankfully I didn't faint and fall into the oven as has happened before in my life. Mom, you'll be happy to know that I had band-aids on site this time. No paper towels and duct tape.
5. I have been cutting back my meat consumption these days and went three days without any meat and I feel really good! I haven't felt deprived or hungry. Today for lunch I made the Healthy Chicken Nuggets and they were very good. I am going to continue to have meat only 2-3 times a week. I've enjoyed finding new non-meat options for lunch and dinner. I'll update the meal plan page with some of the dinners I am going to try this coming week.
6. I had a small nugget of success today when I took a look at myself in the mirror and only had positive thoughts. I've been on this new journey for almost two months and it's nice to know my daily affirmations are making a difference in the way I talk to myself!
7. Joe and I are going for an extended hike tomorrow at the North Cheyenne Canon near Colorado Springs. We are very excited to get out there and see some new beautiful scenery! I hope to have some awesome photos to share tomorrow.
8. I had a delicious spinach/feta/pumpkin seed salad today with raspberry vinaigrette. I suggest you have one yourself.
2. A number of people have had a hard time commenting on my blog, so I have adjusted the settings for the comments. I hope it is easier and it allows everyone to comment!
3. I had quite a workout yesterday cleaning the apartment and doing 5 loads of laundry! I certainly got my sweat on.
4. I cut my left index finger yesterday with a knife...hazards of cooking all of my own meals. Thankfully I didn't faint and fall into the oven as has happened before in my life. Mom, you'll be happy to know that I had band-aids on site this time. No paper towels and duct tape.
5. I have been cutting back my meat consumption these days and went three days without any meat and I feel really good! I haven't felt deprived or hungry. Today for lunch I made the Healthy Chicken Nuggets and they were very good. I am going to continue to have meat only 2-3 times a week. I've enjoyed finding new non-meat options for lunch and dinner. I'll update the meal plan page with some of the dinners I am going to try this coming week.
6. I had a small nugget of success today when I took a look at myself in the mirror and only had positive thoughts. I've been on this new journey for almost two months and it's nice to know my daily affirmations are making a difference in the way I talk to myself!
7. Joe and I are going for an extended hike tomorrow at the North Cheyenne Canon near Colorado Springs. We are very excited to get out there and see some new beautiful scenery! I hope to have some awesome photos to share tomorrow.
8. I had a delicious spinach/feta/pumpkin seed salad today with raspberry vinaigrette. I suggest you have one yourself.
Friday, April 26, 2013
The Risotto Workout
When I woke up this morning, I knew I would be engaging in one, possibly two fitness activities. I did not expect three. The first was my aquatics class in my supersuit, the second was a hike with Joe at Red Rocks for 50 minutes (40 of which I was in THR), and the third was making dinner tonight.
I have been planning to make Butternut Squash Risotto since last week but I had to put it off because of my Florida trip. Though Joe had to work tonight, I thought I would go ahead and make it. O M G it was difficult! First let me show you the two pictures of my meal so you can see how deceiving it is...it looks very simple. (And yes, this glass of wine was necessary after I finished cooking.)
I have been planning to make Butternut Squash Risotto since last week but I had to put it off because of my Florida trip. Though Joe had to work tonight, I thought I would go ahead and make it. O M G it was difficult! First let me show you the two pictures of my meal so you can see how deceiving it is...it looks very simple. (And yes, this glass of wine was necessary after I finished cooking.)
So the first challenge was in the butternut squash itself. Are we positive that humans are meant to eat this plant food? It was so hard to cut into that I wonder how the first person ever got into it enough to know that it was edible! I tried three knives and worked my muscles to the brink cutting that sucker into chucks and peeling it. When I felt I couldn't go any further, I re-read the recipe and saw that I only needed 1 cup of puree, so I gladly stopped hacking into the remainder of the squash. The chunks had to then be boiled and put into a blender to puree. Did you know that not all blenders have a puree mode? I didn't and mine does not. The pieces just kind of sat in the blender looking at me like there was no way in hell they were going to go get pureed. I added a little water and that kind of helped, so I then used a spatula to push the softened chunks closer to the blade. Wouldn't you guess that I pushed that spatula too far and out popped the spatula and a squash chunk that landed too close to comfort to my cat. He wasn't happy.
Once my ordeal with the stupid squash was done, I went on the recipe. I had measured everything out into cute little bowls while the squash was boiling, so I was all set to be like a cooking demo and casually dump all ingredients into the pot. Of course, it couldn't be that easy. Did you know that risotto has to be stirred constantly until it absorbs the broth/puree mixture one ladle full at a time? I didn't. Did you know that process can take 25-30 minutes? I didn't, but my hand sure as heck knows it now! I'm exhausted!
Plus, the recipe said, "SERVE IMMEDIATELY!" Maybe not in those cap letters, but once I finished the process of cooking it, I rushed to the table, got my spinach salad and wine ready, dumped too much dressing on my salad, took my pictures and starting eating it entirely too quickly. Eventually I reminded myself to eat mindfully and I slowed down to enjoy it.
How was it? Good. Worth the effort? Heck no. I think any risotto in my future will have to be artfully crafted for me by someone else. Takers?
My Supersuit!
I have often dreaded the ubiquitous swimsuit. I have despised shopping for them, wearing them, putting them on, realizing I have to go to the bathroom while in one and the challenge that brings, seeing other people look good in theirs, washing them, drying them, thinking about my body parts that will be exposed while wearing one and shaving/lotioning/covering up accordingly.
This is a challenge because I love to swim. I don't know at what point in my life the swimsuit became such work and stress. I'm pretty sure that when I was young, my mom would pull out my swimsuit and I would jump for joy and boy, I couldn't get that thing on fast enough! Because that meant that it was time to swim. I loved going to the pool with my cousins and sisters. We would play so many games and wouldn't stop until it was time to refuel with lunch or our mothers would drag us out because our lips were blue. My grandparent's house in Massachusetts had it all. The pool WITH the diving board. The shallow AND the deep end. Victory was rewarded each summer to whomever could get the penny in the deep end and to whomever had the best, most stylish jump off the diving board. We played Marco Polo, went 'skiing' off the deep end slopes, had jumping competitions, had a mascot in a little boat that we called Baby Georgina...it never ended. We never got bored in that pool.
I believe I was in seventh grade when I attended a pool party at a friend's house and I decided that I needed to wear a t-shirt over my swimsuit. Why? Because I didn't want everyone to see me so exposed as in a swimsuit. A chaperon called me out and made me take off the t-shirt in front of everyone. Now, I don't think anyone made fun of me when I took off that shirt (maybe they did...I don't remember thankfully), but I was exposed and embarrassed. Isn't it amazing how quickly my favorite thing to wear in the whole world became my least favorite? All because of my own self hating? For years after seventh grade, I danced around whether or not I was going to be seen in a swimsuit. I became so self conscious that I stopped engaging in my favorite activity.
A few times in my adulthood was I able to reconnect to my love. Once in college when I took a Swimnastics class for credit and once in my mid to late 20's when I joined a gym to take their water aerobics class. But eventually I graduated college and I lost interest in the class at the gym. I started to make excuses like, "Well, I don't want to get wet." "It takes too long to get there and get into my suit after work." Etc.
While at GM, we were asked to think of an activity that we loved doing as a child. Mine was easy to come up with: Playing in the pool. So while at GM, I tried to go to most of the Aquatics classes and I found my love of the pool once again. And it was down right rude to feel self conscious in my suit there, because everyone at GM felt the same way and if I was to verbalize my self doubt, it would trickle among the group and the next thing you know, no one is swimming. One person's self doubt can lead others to think everyone else is judging them as well.
When I returned to Denver and found my aquatics class that I attend every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I really tapped into that love of the pool that my inner child has been begging to feel again. I love it so much that I can't wait to get on my swimsuit once again! I now call it my supersuit because of how strong I feel when I am in it. My arms and legs and core are so strong in the pool that I sometimes feel like I am flying. My heart beats fast, but my breath remains calm in a way it cannot do on land. When my muscles ache, I know I can just let go and relax and let my body float until my muscles recover and are ready for more.
I actually feel like a different person in my supersuit. I feel thinner, happier, stronger, lighter, amazing. And you know what else is exciting? My supersuit seems to be getting a little too big these days...I look forward to buying my next one in the near future. Do you think I can get mine with a cape?
This is a challenge because I love to swim. I don't know at what point in my life the swimsuit became such work and stress. I'm pretty sure that when I was young, my mom would pull out my swimsuit and I would jump for joy and boy, I couldn't get that thing on fast enough! Because that meant that it was time to swim. I loved going to the pool with my cousins and sisters. We would play so many games and wouldn't stop until it was time to refuel with lunch or our mothers would drag us out because our lips were blue. My grandparent's house in Massachusetts had it all. The pool WITH the diving board. The shallow AND the deep end. Victory was rewarded each summer to whomever could get the penny in the deep end and to whomever had the best, most stylish jump off the diving board. We played Marco Polo, went 'skiing' off the deep end slopes, had jumping competitions, had a mascot in a little boat that we called Baby Georgina...it never ended. We never got bored in that pool.
I believe I was in seventh grade when I attended a pool party at a friend's house and I decided that I needed to wear a t-shirt over my swimsuit. Why? Because I didn't want everyone to see me so exposed as in a swimsuit. A chaperon called me out and made me take off the t-shirt in front of everyone. Now, I don't think anyone made fun of me when I took off that shirt (maybe they did...I don't remember thankfully), but I was exposed and embarrassed. Isn't it amazing how quickly my favorite thing to wear in the whole world became my least favorite? All because of my own self hating? For years after seventh grade, I danced around whether or not I was going to be seen in a swimsuit. I became so self conscious that I stopped engaging in my favorite activity.
A few times in my adulthood was I able to reconnect to my love. Once in college when I took a Swimnastics class for credit and once in my mid to late 20's when I joined a gym to take their water aerobics class. But eventually I graduated college and I lost interest in the class at the gym. I started to make excuses like, "Well, I don't want to get wet." "It takes too long to get there and get into my suit after work." Etc.
While at GM, we were asked to think of an activity that we loved doing as a child. Mine was easy to come up with: Playing in the pool. So while at GM, I tried to go to most of the Aquatics classes and I found my love of the pool once again. And it was down right rude to feel self conscious in my suit there, because everyone at GM felt the same way and if I was to verbalize my self doubt, it would trickle among the group and the next thing you know, no one is swimming. One person's self doubt can lead others to think everyone else is judging them as well.
When I returned to Denver and found my aquatics class that I attend every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I really tapped into that love of the pool that my inner child has been begging to feel again. I love it so much that I can't wait to get on my swimsuit once again! I now call it my supersuit because of how strong I feel when I am in it. My arms and legs and core are so strong in the pool that I sometimes feel like I am flying. My heart beats fast, but my breath remains calm in a way it cannot do on land. When my muscles ache, I know I can just let go and relax and let my body float until my muscles recover and are ready for more.
I actually feel like a different person in my supersuit. I feel thinner, happier, stronger, lighter, amazing. And you know what else is exciting? My supersuit seems to be getting a little too big these days...I look forward to buying my next one in the near future. Do you think I can get mine with a cape?
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Getting There
I felt a little better today. I woke up early, had my toast and went to get the Colorado plates for my car. Two and a half hours later, I had them.
Back at home I had my pineapple-orange-lime juice and I made chickpea salad for lunch. It is like tuna or chicken salad but with chickpeas instead. I liked it and the mayo just kind of made it taste like chicken salad. I added avocado and tomatoes and put it on crackers. I had my mid-day salad as well and it was pretty filling! Photo below.
Later in the day, Joe and I went on a leisurely stroll in the sunshine. Back at home I made a batch of maple balsamic vinaigrette dressing. It turned out a little too tangy in my opinion, but I can try again later.
Tomorrow morning starts with aquatics, so I will continue to get back to my path! It's certainly closer. More tomorrow.
Back at home I had my pineapple-orange-lime juice and I made chickpea salad for lunch. It is like tuna or chicken salad but with chickpeas instead. I liked it and the mayo just kind of made it taste like chicken salad. I added avocado and tomatoes and put it on crackers. I had my mid-day salad as well and it was pretty filling! Photo below.
Later in the day, Joe and I went on a leisurely stroll in the sunshine. Back at home I made a batch of maple balsamic vinaigrette dressing. It turned out a little too tangy in my opinion, but I can try again later.
Tomorrow morning starts with aquatics, so I will continue to get back to my path! It's certainly closer. More tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Are There Shortcuts Back to My Path?
After two full days of being back to my life after my trip to Florida, I still feel like I am in a fog. I did get up and go to aquatics this morning and I did stick to my organic, real foods today, so why isn't my energy and mood back to where it should be?
Well, for one, the day didn't go as easily as I had hoped it would. Joe and I went to the DMV to get our Colorado licenses and plates. First of all, you can't do both at one location in Denver. It's one or the other. So we went to get our licenses first. Unfortunately because my Indiana license didn't have my full middle name, I had to drive the 40 minute round trip back home to get my passport. What a pain. Not to mention that this all happened roughly around lunch time and my bad mood over the inconvenience of going back home did not help my hungry body. While at home, I had a half turkey sandwich while standing in the kitchen, far from mindfulness, and that was it. I did have some seeds and nuts in my bag, which helped. I missed having my lunch at my table with my big salad.
When Joe and I finally returned home for good, I was just tired, so I took a nap...longer than I had hoped. I was big into naps before I started on my new path, so I don't like being back to this place. For dinner I made beef sliders, potatoes, and salad. I had decided to cut back on our red meat at dinner by cooking it only once every two weeks. Well, now I am ready to cut it back to once a month. I had two sliders, a big salad, and one bite of potato and I feel drained again.
I know it took me a whole month at Green Mountain to get me to where I was before Florida, but is it possible that 4 days away really threw me this off track? The book I am currently reading is "Women Food and God" by Geneen Roth. She has a chapter about our desire to bolt when things get hard. There is a section where she writes, "I don't want to do what I need to do to work with it. I thought I did but now that I'm here I've changed my mind. I'd rather go on another diet, I'd rather pretend that this is all about willpower and eating the right foods."
This section really spoke to me because I was actually having that thought yesterday! Well, I don't want to start over...I'd rather just do a little diet to kick start me back to my path. Once the diet makes me feel better, I will be good again and listen to my body and eat natural foods and so on. Talk about the wrong way of thinking! It's like someone is selling me a map to get back to my path, but that person is scamming me and their map isn't even in the right state. It's amazing how quickly my diet mentality can creep up on me. And why shouldn't it? I've been feeding into it since I was in elementary school.
I guess what I am really trying to say tonight is that I can't hop back onto my path when my detour took me so far away. I do know that I am heading back in the right direction and it won't take me the whole month I had at GM to get there again, but it might take me a couple more days. Until I am there, I am continuing to give myself ridiculously small goals and I am seeing that every moment is a choice. Tomorrow I will continue to eat my organic foods, but will cut out meat for my lunch and/or dinner or both. I have to go to another DMV to get my car's plates, but when I finish, I hope to go for a walk. Even if it is short. It is supposed to be sunny and I think my body is craving that fresh, sunny air.
I hope my fogginess will be lifted soon and I will be back into my stride. I am thankful for small steps because they stop me from just falling down in the mud and quitting on myself. Spring is coming and my shiny path can be seen in the sunlight. It's calling to me. I'm coming!
Well, for one, the day didn't go as easily as I had hoped it would. Joe and I went to the DMV to get our Colorado licenses and plates. First of all, you can't do both at one location in Denver. It's one or the other. So we went to get our licenses first. Unfortunately because my Indiana license didn't have my full middle name, I had to drive the 40 minute round trip back home to get my passport. What a pain. Not to mention that this all happened roughly around lunch time and my bad mood over the inconvenience of going back home did not help my hungry body. While at home, I had a half turkey sandwich while standing in the kitchen, far from mindfulness, and that was it. I did have some seeds and nuts in my bag, which helped. I missed having my lunch at my table with my big salad.
When Joe and I finally returned home for good, I was just tired, so I took a nap...longer than I had hoped. I was big into naps before I started on my new path, so I don't like being back to this place. For dinner I made beef sliders, potatoes, and salad. I had decided to cut back on our red meat at dinner by cooking it only once every two weeks. Well, now I am ready to cut it back to once a month. I had two sliders, a big salad, and one bite of potato and I feel drained again.
I know it took me a whole month at Green Mountain to get me to where I was before Florida, but is it possible that 4 days away really threw me this off track? The book I am currently reading is "Women Food and God" by Geneen Roth. She has a chapter about our desire to bolt when things get hard. There is a section where she writes, "I don't want to do what I need to do to work with it. I thought I did but now that I'm here I've changed my mind. I'd rather go on another diet, I'd rather pretend that this is all about willpower and eating the right foods."
This section really spoke to me because I was actually having that thought yesterday! Well, I don't want to start over...I'd rather just do a little diet to kick start me back to my path. Once the diet makes me feel better, I will be good again and listen to my body and eat natural foods and so on. Talk about the wrong way of thinking! It's like someone is selling me a map to get back to my path, but that person is scamming me and their map isn't even in the right state. It's amazing how quickly my diet mentality can creep up on me. And why shouldn't it? I've been feeding into it since I was in elementary school.
I guess what I am really trying to say tonight is that I can't hop back onto my path when my detour took me so far away. I do know that I am heading back in the right direction and it won't take me the whole month I had at GM to get there again, but it might take me a couple more days. Until I am there, I am continuing to give myself ridiculously small goals and I am seeing that every moment is a choice. Tomorrow I will continue to eat my organic foods, but will cut out meat for my lunch and/or dinner or both. I have to go to another DMV to get my car's plates, but when I finish, I hope to go for a walk. Even if it is short. It is supposed to be sunny and I think my body is craving that fresh, sunny air.
I hope my fogginess will be lifted soon and I will be back into my stride. I am thankful for small steps because they stop me from just falling down in the mud and quitting on myself. Spring is coming and my shiny path can be seen in the sunlight. It's calling to me. I'm coming!
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Post Travels Funk
I was awake by 7:30AM this morning and was happy to have my groceries that were delivered yesterday. I had my peanut butter on toast with a delicious pineapple, orange, lime juice. Then...well, I would like to say I ran some errands and did my strength training, but I did not. I was really in a funk today and didn't want to do much of anything.
I did some various work and research on my computer, watched some movies, and took a nap. I would like to blame the snow outside for not wanting to go for a walk, but really, I just didn't want to do anything. So I didn't. Joe and I did go to our friend, Issac and Courtney's, place for dinner and games and had some fun. Now that we are back home, I yet again feel tired.
So before I get down on myself, here are my successes for the day:
1. I woke up when my body told me to wake up and didn't force it to sleep another 4 hours.
2. I easily got back into eating my healthy organic foods that were waiting for me.
3. I ate a good number of fruits and veggies today.
4. We had fajitas for dinner and I made myself one with chicken and one with just veggies.
5. Before I go to bed, I am going to prepare my gym bag for aquatics tomorrow.
You see, while I know today wasn't perfect, I have to continue to forgive myself a little more. Getting back on track isn't always easy and sometimes it's better to focus on the little successes first. Tomorrow, I look forward to getting back into my activity. I can't wait to go to aquatics. It's so much fun, and I have missed it. I hope the early morning class will motivate me throughout the rest of the day, but I will make sure to keep my hopes at bay and go with the flow. I also plan to rewatch the documentary, "Hungry for Change". For some reason it really motivates me and I think tomorrow will be a good time cue it up on Netflix. I also plan to get back into reading again. Motivation takes many forms and I plan to expose myself to a number of them to get myself back on track.
I did some various work and research on my computer, watched some movies, and took a nap. I would like to blame the snow outside for not wanting to go for a walk, but really, I just didn't want to do anything. So I didn't. Joe and I did go to our friend, Issac and Courtney's, place for dinner and games and had some fun. Now that we are back home, I yet again feel tired.
So before I get down on myself, here are my successes for the day:
1. I woke up when my body told me to wake up and didn't force it to sleep another 4 hours.
2. I easily got back into eating my healthy organic foods that were waiting for me.
3. I ate a good number of fruits and veggies today.
4. We had fajitas for dinner and I made myself one with chicken and one with just veggies.
5. Before I go to bed, I am going to prepare my gym bag for aquatics tomorrow.
You see, while I know today wasn't perfect, I have to continue to forgive myself a little more. Getting back on track isn't always easy and sometimes it's better to focus on the little successes first. Tomorrow, I look forward to getting back into my activity. I can't wait to go to aquatics. It's so much fun, and I have missed it. I hope the early morning class will motivate me throughout the rest of the day, but I will make sure to keep my hopes at bay and go with the flow. I also plan to rewatch the documentary, "Hungry for Change". For some reason it really motivates me and I think tomorrow will be a good time cue it up on Netflix. I also plan to get back into reading again. Motivation takes many forms and I plan to expose myself to a number of them to get myself back on track.
Monday, April 22, 2013
I'm Home!!!
Did you miss me? I certainly missed updating my blog on a regular basis. So, the important question at hand is, how did I do with my first trip away from home? Well the short answer is that it went well. The longer answer is that it wasn't easy.
On Wednesday, I went to aquatics, out to brunch with Joe (cinnamon scones from Dozens!), and stopped at Whole Foods. I bought some multi-grain english muffins, Justin's peanut butter, yogurt pretzels, and a bag of mixed nuts and seeds. By 5 AM the next morning, I was in the car and Joe was driving me to the airport. When I landed in Orlando, I met up with my sister, Megan, and my parents. Meg and I took the first rental car and found the nearest Whole Foods so I could get something for lunch. They had a juice bar, so I had an orange-pineapple (my favorite to make at home these days, but I always add a lime) and a turkey sandwich.
And then the weekend progressed. I was thankful I had brought my english muffins and peanut butter for breakfast. I had it all but one day while in Florida and it helped me to feel like I had a tiny bit of control. There were a number of occasions when I didn't have much choice when it came to my food. There were food platters and appetizer buffets and boxes of pizza and bag of chips....all at different times, different days, different meals. At the funeral, there was some food for the family, but by the time I got to it, it was mostly gone. At the reception afterwards, the appetizer buffet consisted of meatballs, mini sandwiches, fruit, and desserts. Later that evening when the whole family was starving, pizza was the only option. The next day before dinner was ready at my aunt's house, potato chips were the only thing available. Now, I'm not complaining about all of this free food I got over the weekend, I'm just painting a picture of how quickly and easy it is for someone to go off track.
For the most part, I was able to forgive myself of these situations where I had little to no choice, but that was made complicated one evening by some unnecessary comments from an extended family member. I did not need my food choices pointed out to me seeing as I was already feeling a little bad about what I was eating. It's difficult to explain to someone that it doesn't matter what I eat on occasion as long as I listen to my body and get back to my own routine when I can. It wasn't like I could walk out of certain situations, get my hands on a juicer and an organic spinach salad. I am acutely aware of my actions (active and eating) these days and I don't need someone to point out my behaviors.
While the comments set me back for about 24 hours (i.e. me ruminating on them and allowing myself to feel guilty and be full of bad self talk), I finally came around to see how lucky I am in the grand scheme of things. I have such a big support system in the rest of my extended family, my immediate family, my friends, my new Green Mountain friends, and most importantly my boyfriend, Joe. Most people aren't as lucky as I am. Joe has been 100% behind me as I have made drastic changes in our food at home and my family and friends check in often and say things like, "You are inspiring me!" and "Keep up the good work!" How can I possibly let one person's comments completely derail me? The only person who would lose then would be me. I am on my own journey and I am the one in charge. No one else. No one else can tell me what to do or how to feel about myself. It's all me.
As a side note, on Sunday, I drove down to Palm Beach Gardens to have lunch with my good friends, Laura and Kristin. Laura lives in Hollywood, FL and Kristin was visiting her from Wisconsin. Both of them are vegan and Kristin is gluten free as well. So we went to this lovely restaurant called Christopher's Kitchen. They offer raw, vegan, dairy free, organic options. It was amazing. I had the Sun Burger which was made up of walnuts and pumpkin seeds on 7 grain bread with avocado, tomato, sprouts, and sauces. And for dessert I had a chocolate mousse that was heavenly. It was great to see them both and to get some ideas for more vegan options. Like I said before, I'm not looking to go vegan, but I am interested in cutting back on my dairy and meat consumption.
Finally, I was only able to get one day in the pool in Florida, so I wasn't as active as I would have liked to be. I have also noticed my energy levels slowly creep down as my eating and activity levels change. (Not to mention the emotional aspect of the weekend.) I am looking forward to getting back onto my path this week. Before I left town, I did put together my meal plan for this week and had my groceries delivered this morning. Tomorrow begins a new day and I plan to make it a good one!
On Wednesday, I went to aquatics, out to brunch with Joe (cinnamon scones from Dozens!), and stopped at Whole Foods. I bought some multi-grain english muffins, Justin's peanut butter, yogurt pretzels, and a bag of mixed nuts and seeds. By 5 AM the next morning, I was in the car and Joe was driving me to the airport. When I landed in Orlando, I met up with my sister, Megan, and my parents. Meg and I took the first rental car and found the nearest Whole Foods so I could get something for lunch. They had a juice bar, so I had an orange-pineapple (my favorite to make at home these days, but I always add a lime) and a turkey sandwich.
And then the weekend progressed. I was thankful I had brought my english muffins and peanut butter for breakfast. I had it all but one day while in Florida and it helped me to feel like I had a tiny bit of control. There were a number of occasions when I didn't have much choice when it came to my food. There were food platters and appetizer buffets and boxes of pizza and bag of chips....all at different times, different days, different meals. At the funeral, there was some food for the family, but by the time I got to it, it was mostly gone. At the reception afterwards, the appetizer buffet consisted of meatballs, mini sandwiches, fruit, and desserts. Later that evening when the whole family was starving, pizza was the only option. The next day before dinner was ready at my aunt's house, potato chips were the only thing available. Now, I'm not complaining about all of this free food I got over the weekend, I'm just painting a picture of how quickly and easy it is for someone to go off track.
For the most part, I was able to forgive myself of these situations where I had little to no choice, but that was made complicated one evening by some unnecessary comments from an extended family member. I did not need my food choices pointed out to me seeing as I was already feeling a little bad about what I was eating. It's difficult to explain to someone that it doesn't matter what I eat on occasion as long as I listen to my body and get back to my own routine when I can. It wasn't like I could walk out of certain situations, get my hands on a juicer and an organic spinach salad. I am acutely aware of my actions (active and eating) these days and I don't need someone to point out my behaviors.
While the comments set me back for about 24 hours (i.e. me ruminating on them and allowing myself to feel guilty and be full of bad self talk), I finally came around to see how lucky I am in the grand scheme of things. I have such a big support system in the rest of my extended family, my immediate family, my friends, my new Green Mountain friends, and most importantly my boyfriend, Joe. Most people aren't as lucky as I am. Joe has been 100% behind me as I have made drastic changes in our food at home and my family and friends check in often and say things like, "You are inspiring me!" and "Keep up the good work!" How can I possibly let one person's comments completely derail me? The only person who would lose then would be me. I am on my own journey and I am the one in charge. No one else. No one else can tell me what to do or how to feel about myself. It's all me.
As a side note, on Sunday, I drove down to Palm Beach Gardens to have lunch with my good friends, Laura and Kristin. Laura lives in Hollywood, FL and Kristin was visiting her from Wisconsin. Both of them are vegan and Kristin is gluten free as well. So we went to this lovely restaurant called Christopher's Kitchen. They offer raw, vegan, dairy free, organic options. It was amazing. I had the Sun Burger which was made up of walnuts and pumpkin seeds on 7 grain bread with avocado, tomato, sprouts, and sauces. And for dessert I had a chocolate mousse that was heavenly. It was great to see them both and to get some ideas for more vegan options. Like I said before, I'm not looking to go vegan, but I am interested in cutting back on my dairy and meat consumption.
Finally, I was only able to get one day in the pool in Florida, so I wasn't as active as I would have liked to be. I have also noticed my energy levels slowly creep down as my eating and activity levels change. (Not to mention the emotional aspect of the weekend.) I am looking forward to getting back onto my path this week. Before I left town, I did put together my meal plan for this week and had my groceries delivered this morning. Tomorrow begins a new day and I plan to make it a good one!
My Uncle Jack, may he rest in peace. (I've forgiven him for liking the Pats.)
My support team: Aunt Sue, Me, Dad, Megan, Mom, and Ellie
(Number one supporter, Joe, not pictured)
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
I Make Muffins for My Roadblocks
Today my family and I had some very sad news. My uncle, Jack, passed away after a 10 month battle with pulmonary fibrosis. The last month has been a roller coaster of emotions for us all when one day would bring hope and the next day would bring despair. I am thankful he is at peace now and he will be greatly missed by his family and friends. On Thursday, I will be flying down to Vero Beach, Florida for the funeral and will return to Denver on Monday.
While I know my eating and activity levels will be lacking, I am thankful for what I have learned thus far because it tells me that I don't have to be (nor can I be) perfect all the time. I can take my time in Florida to focus on my family and the life of my uncle. If I happen to make a few good food decisions or am able to walk or swim while I am there, then that will be a happy bonus.
I do plan to go to my aquatics as normal tomorrow because I know it will help put my stresses at bay. I will then go to Whole Foods and see what kind of snacks I can come up with and take with me on my journey. After laundry and packing, I am also going to try to fit in working out my meal plan for the next week. I'd like to place my food order before I leave and have it delivered to Joe on Monday morning so when I return Monday afternoon, I will be able to relax knowing my healthy food choices will be waiting for me.
After I heard the news of Jack's passing, I bought my plane ticket to Florida and then I was antsy and hungry. But I didn't seem to be physically hungry for food. Rather, I felt emotionally hungry. At one point in the day, I said to Joe that I wanted some chocolate and peanut butter. We didn't have any in the house, so I just ruminated on that feeling for a while. Eventually, I had a bowl of grapes and strawberries. As I ate them, I knew I wasn't physically hungry for them...but I ate anyway. We can't eliminate our bad habits over night and emotional eating is definitely one of my bad habits. I was glad to have at least acted in a way that wouldn't make me feel guilty later.
Another thing I tend to do in these type of situations is bake. Not only is it a comforting experience for me, but the end result is a comfort food. Joe and I went to a bookstore yesterday and he bought me three new cookbooks. One is full of meatless recipes, one focuses on beans, and one is about high altitude baking. I had been thinking about making blueberry muffins this week because I had bought blueberries earlier and I really don't tend to eat fresh blueberries. So I decided to go ahead and make the muffins.
I used organic flour, real blueberries, and organic cane sugar, just to name a few ingredients. Thankfully, the recipe called for a very small amount of sugar (my biggest trigger) and the muffins turned out beautifully. They aren't very sweet at all (not blueberry cake as most American muffins are these days) and the sweet comes from the blueberries themselves. Plus, Joe loves them because he has never been big on sweets anyway. They are enough of a comfort to me that I can have one, but they aren't packed with sugar so I don't crave a second one.
While I know my eating and activity levels will be lacking, I am thankful for what I have learned thus far because it tells me that I don't have to be (nor can I be) perfect all the time. I can take my time in Florida to focus on my family and the life of my uncle. If I happen to make a few good food decisions or am able to walk or swim while I am there, then that will be a happy bonus.
I do plan to go to my aquatics as normal tomorrow because I know it will help put my stresses at bay. I will then go to Whole Foods and see what kind of snacks I can come up with and take with me on my journey. After laundry and packing, I am also going to try to fit in working out my meal plan for the next week. I'd like to place my food order before I leave and have it delivered to Joe on Monday morning so when I return Monday afternoon, I will be able to relax knowing my healthy food choices will be waiting for me.
After I heard the news of Jack's passing, I bought my plane ticket to Florida and then I was antsy and hungry. But I didn't seem to be physically hungry for food. Rather, I felt emotionally hungry. At one point in the day, I said to Joe that I wanted some chocolate and peanut butter. We didn't have any in the house, so I just ruminated on that feeling for a while. Eventually, I had a bowl of grapes and strawberries. As I ate them, I knew I wasn't physically hungry for them...but I ate anyway. We can't eliminate our bad habits over night and emotional eating is definitely one of my bad habits. I was glad to have at least acted in a way that wouldn't make me feel guilty later.
Another thing I tend to do in these type of situations is bake. Not only is it a comforting experience for me, but the end result is a comfort food. Joe and I went to a bookstore yesterday and he bought me three new cookbooks. One is full of meatless recipes, one focuses on beans, and one is about high altitude baking. I had been thinking about making blueberry muffins this week because I had bought blueberries earlier and I really don't tend to eat fresh blueberries. So I decided to go ahead and make the muffins.
I used organic flour, real blueberries, and organic cane sugar, just to name a few ingredients. Thankfully, the recipe called for a very small amount of sugar (my biggest trigger) and the muffins turned out beautifully. They aren't very sweet at all (not blueberry cake as most American muffins are these days) and the sweet comes from the blueberries themselves. Plus, Joe loves them because he has never been big on sweets anyway. They are enough of a comfort to me that I can have one, but they aren't packed with sugar so I don't crave a second one.
Aren't they beautiful?
Finally, Joe and I were supposed to go to a friend's house this evening for dinner and games, but I wasn't feeling up to it, so I made the dinner I was planning for tomorrow. I made chicken nuggets, roasted sweet potatoes and green beans. The chicken nuggets were a big hit and didn't need any sauces. They were incredible by themselves. I actually enjoyed eating a nugget and sweet potato together, which kind of mimicked nuggets with ketchup because the sweet potato filled that sweet need...and it was way better than ketchup. (The perfect bite.) The nugget recipe is to the right of this page and I highly suggest you try it.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Road Blocks
I know I've said this before, but the easiest way for me to explain or visualize this journey that I and others are on is to say that we are walking along a path to health. During our walk, we will experience many road blocks along the way. The road blocks can come in different forms. They can be happy like celebrating a birthday, going on vacation, or a simple social night out with friends. They can be stressful like relationship problems, moving, work stresses, or financial concerns. They can be debilitating like a sickness or a fitness injury. They can be simple like the cupcake you didn't expect to magically appear on your desk. Or they can be devastating like a death in the family.
When we hit these road blocks, we often need to detour off of our path. (Unless of course the road block is small enough for you to use your new, stronger body and can hurdle over it. Good for you!) But let's be honest...most road blocks will require the unexpected detour. We can be on this detour for minutes, days, weeks, or months.
Happy, small, and stressful detours generally have a timeline so you know when they will be over and you can see the original path easily enough that you can hop back on your path. As if your road block simply put you on that little gravel path that's a foot away from the paved path...the ones the runners take. You can say to yourself, "I am going to hop off my path tonight so I can enjoy this time with my friends." Or, "I cannot even think about my path right now until this project/move/conflict is over." But when those things do end it's just a little jump back over to your paved road.
Debilitating and devastating road blocks are much harder to overcome. Especially if you have an extended sickness or injury, or your loved one is in the hospital or sadly passes away. Not only are you no longer on your paved path, but the road block forced you to take a 90 degree turn away from your path and you just keep moving further and further away from your path. The longer you are on this new path, the harder it is to look back and see your nicely paved path. Trees, houses, and other people block your view and it begins to feel like you will never get back.
But here is the good news. That new path you are on is not a one way street. It is also not a train track that you are tied too. You can turn around! You can stop walking when able, pivot your feet, and turn your body 180 degrees and just start walking. I know that it will seem impossible to walk that whole way back to your path, but you know what? You've done it before. Before you found this nice paved path, you were wandering aimlessly through the woods trying out other people's paths and tripping or falling down on the jagged rocks. But one day you saw the nicely paved path and you started to move toward it. It probably took you a while to get to it, but you did. And that is what you can do again.
Before you know it, you will have your stride back. You may not even notice the moment you made that 90 degree turn back onto your paved path, but that is because while you were walking back to your path, it was slithering back to you. It missed you and it will come back to you...every time. Especially if you let it.
When we hit these road blocks, we often need to detour off of our path. (Unless of course the road block is small enough for you to use your new, stronger body and can hurdle over it. Good for you!) But let's be honest...most road blocks will require the unexpected detour. We can be on this detour for minutes, days, weeks, or months.
Happy, small, and stressful detours generally have a timeline so you know when they will be over and you can see the original path easily enough that you can hop back on your path. As if your road block simply put you on that little gravel path that's a foot away from the paved path...the ones the runners take. You can say to yourself, "I am going to hop off my path tonight so I can enjoy this time with my friends." Or, "I cannot even think about my path right now until this project/move/conflict is over." But when those things do end it's just a little jump back over to your paved road.
Debilitating and devastating road blocks are much harder to overcome. Especially if you have an extended sickness or injury, or your loved one is in the hospital or sadly passes away. Not only are you no longer on your paved path, but the road block forced you to take a 90 degree turn away from your path and you just keep moving further and further away from your path. The longer you are on this new path, the harder it is to look back and see your nicely paved path. Trees, houses, and other people block your view and it begins to feel like you will never get back.
But here is the good news. That new path you are on is not a one way street. It is also not a train track that you are tied too. You can turn around! You can stop walking when able, pivot your feet, and turn your body 180 degrees and just start walking. I know that it will seem impossible to walk that whole way back to your path, but you know what? You've done it before. Before you found this nice paved path, you were wandering aimlessly through the woods trying out other people's paths and tripping or falling down on the jagged rocks. But one day you saw the nicely paved path and you started to move toward it. It probably took you a while to get to it, but you did. And that is what you can do again.
Before you know it, you will have your stride back. You may not even notice the moment you made that 90 degree turn back onto your paved path, but that is because while you were walking back to your path, it was slithering back to you. It missed you and it will come back to you...every time. Especially if you let it.
Other's paths that often have jagged cracks and stones for you to trip all over. It's easier to stick to your own nicely paved path. Your pace is the pace!
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Health at Every Size
Today I finished reading, "Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight" by Dr. Linda Bacon. You may recall that I purchased this book at Green Mountain and I am thankful I did. The book is very much in line with the teachings at Green Mountain and I enjoyed spending the last three weeks to really process and ruminate on these teachings.
I must confess that there were parts of the book that frustrated me. The idea behind "Health at Every Size" is that we can be healthy, literally at every size. Um...what? Aren't we supposed to lose weight to be healthy? Well, the truth of the matter is that some of us are genetically predispositioned to be a little heavier than others. And at the end of the day, it is the people who have body fat that are generally healthier than our thinner neighbors. Body fat helps to defend us against diseases, it's important if you are trying to have a baby, and it literally protects us. So does that mean that my current weight is my set point?
Set Point was another confusing concept to me. The basics are that our bodies have a 10 to 20 pound weight range where it is happiest and that is our body's set point. This was difficult for me because my body has been hovering around this high weight range for so long...so does that mean my set point is way up here? No. It means that I haven't allowed my body to work as efficiently as it needs to so it has had to create a new higher set point...for the time being. Now that I am feeding my body real foods, mostly plant based, and I am moving in ways that make me happy (i.e. aquatics and walking), I am giving my body a chance to heal itself and hopefully go back to it's ideal set point. That also means that I don't have a say so in where it goes. If I find myself hovering around a certain 10-20 pound range for an extended period of time, then I have to accept that as my new set point. Even if it isn't my ideal number on a scale or pants size. I have to focus on the bigger picture and whether or not I feel happy, healthy, and strong.
For those of you considering reading the book (and I highly suggest you do), go into it with an open mind. Wide open. It is not a weight loss book. It does not promise that you will lose any weight. But it will help you to open your eyes to the Diet Myths we have been told our whole lives. It will help you to accept the body you have. It will help you understand what it means to enjoy a wide variety of real foods, primarily plants. It will help you to listen to your body's needs such as hunger and it's desire to move. It will help you to hold your head up high in the body you have RIGHT NOW. It will help you to free your mind of the restrictions we have been giving ourselves for years and it will help you to enjoy food and movement once again.
Join me in being free. You won't regret it.
I must confess that there were parts of the book that frustrated me. The idea behind "Health at Every Size" is that we can be healthy, literally at every size. Um...what? Aren't we supposed to lose weight to be healthy? Well, the truth of the matter is that some of us are genetically predispositioned to be a little heavier than others. And at the end of the day, it is the people who have body fat that are generally healthier than our thinner neighbors. Body fat helps to defend us against diseases, it's important if you are trying to have a baby, and it literally protects us. So does that mean that my current weight is my set point?
Set Point was another confusing concept to me. The basics are that our bodies have a 10 to 20 pound weight range where it is happiest and that is our body's set point. This was difficult for me because my body has been hovering around this high weight range for so long...so does that mean my set point is way up here? No. It means that I haven't allowed my body to work as efficiently as it needs to so it has had to create a new higher set point...for the time being. Now that I am feeding my body real foods, mostly plant based, and I am moving in ways that make me happy (i.e. aquatics and walking), I am giving my body a chance to heal itself and hopefully go back to it's ideal set point. That also means that I don't have a say so in where it goes. If I find myself hovering around a certain 10-20 pound range for an extended period of time, then I have to accept that as my new set point. Even if it isn't my ideal number on a scale or pants size. I have to focus on the bigger picture and whether or not I feel happy, healthy, and strong.
For those of you considering reading the book (and I highly suggest you do), go into it with an open mind. Wide open. It is not a weight loss book. It does not promise that you will lose any weight. But it will help you to open your eyes to the Diet Myths we have been told our whole lives. It will help you to accept the body you have. It will help you understand what it means to enjoy a wide variety of real foods, primarily plants. It will help you to listen to your body's needs such as hunger and it's desire to move. It will help you to hold your head up high in the body you have RIGHT NOW. It will help you to free your mind of the restrictions we have been giving ourselves for years and it will help you to enjoy food and movement once again.
Join me in being free. You won't regret it.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Juice Attempt #2
This morning I woke ready to try my second juice. I felt really good about it and knew it would be good. I used 3 carrots, an orange, an apple, and about 1/2" of ginger root. Here is what it looked like fresh out of the juicer and in my fun pink cup.
It was much more enjoyable than yesterday's juice and I was able to finish it easily with my toast and honey peanut butter. I do think that while the smell of fresh ginger is really awesome, I think it's throwing me off in my juicing. I won't be putting it into my juice tomorrow and will see how it goes.
If you notice in the first picture, you can see all of the pulp that is left behind. I know some people prefer to have those fibers in their smoothies, but I chose a juicer because I didn't want that pulp in my drink. I was afraid that it would really turn me off and I wouldn't drink the smoothies. So by using the juicer, my beverages are pulpless and easier for me to drink. I decided to hang onto today's pulp because I'd like to make a carrot cake with some orange and apple flavoring this week. So I put the pulp in a baggie and took out any seeds I could see or feel and put the pulp in the freezer. I think it will make a kickass healthy carrot cake.
After lunch, I got my groceries delivered and took this photo of how beautiful and colorful they all were together! So delicious.
Joe and I went for a walk today and took our books and a snack and hung out in Cheesman Park. It was lovely. For dinner we had some pasta with sauce and I added the veggies you can see sauteing below. Onions, zucchini, yellow squash, and mushrooms.
It was much more enjoyable than yesterday's juice and I was able to finish it easily with my toast and honey peanut butter. I do think that while the smell of fresh ginger is really awesome, I think it's throwing me off in my juicing. I won't be putting it into my juice tomorrow and will see how it goes.
If you notice in the first picture, you can see all of the pulp that is left behind. I know some people prefer to have those fibers in their smoothies, but I chose a juicer because I didn't want that pulp in my drink. I was afraid that it would really turn me off and I wouldn't drink the smoothies. So by using the juicer, my beverages are pulpless and easier for me to drink. I decided to hang onto today's pulp because I'd like to make a carrot cake with some orange and apple flavoring this week. So I put the pulp in a baggie and took out any seeds I could see or feel and put the pulp in the freezer. I think it will make a kickass healthy carrot cake.
After lunch, I got my groceries delivered and took this photo of how beautiful and colorful they all were together! So delicious.
Joe and I went for a walk today and took our books and a snack and hung out in Cheesman Park. It was lovely. For dinner we had some pasta with sauce and I added the veggies you can see sauteing below. Onions, zucchini, yellow squash, and mushrooms.
Finally, I spent most of the day catching up on the book "Health at Every Size". It's really interesting and I hope to have a full review later this week. Happy Weekend Everyone!
Friday, April 12, 2013
Juice, The Great Unknown
This morning began with aquatics and Joe joined me! I think he would have preferred to just swim laps, but he was happy to be in the pool. I was glad he came with me. It was fun. When we got home, guess what was waiting for me at my door?! My juicer! Woo!
So Joe and I had lunch first and then went walking at the Denver Botanical Gardens (pictures at the end of the post) and then we stopped at Whole Foods so I could pick up some ingredients for my first juice. Joe left for work and I got busy unpacking and starting my first juice.
I decided to make the Mean Green Juice from the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead". I followed the recipe and first noticed the wonderful smells that came with each fruit addition. Second, I noticed how powerful the juicer was! It was so cool. I had no idea an apple could disappear so quickly! I was quite enjoying my new machine. Third, I quickly realized that I made too much...that part is going to take some practice. Below is the picture of my juice and juicer before my first taste.
I made sure to add my ice because everything is better cold. And I took the inaugural sip and....um....gross. All I could taste was the kale. So I added some more ice and some honey and set it aside while I cleaned out the machine. Then I tried the juice again and it wasn't as terrible this time. It took me about an hour to drink and finish my juice and during that time I contemplated ways to make it better (less kale, smaller sample, more fruit, etc.) and I was enjoying it a little more near the end. Plus, I spent a lot of that time reading the book I got with my juicer so I can learn better recipes that I might enjoy more.
I did read in this book that those who are new to juicing probably shouldn't start out with strong flavored plant foods like kale. Oops! I should be starting with easy fruit juices and as my taste buds get used to fresh juice, then I can get more adventurous. So perhaps tomorrow for breakfast I will try a fruit only juice and I will try the Mean Green recipe again next week. I am going to put together my meal plan now for next week and order my foods and get more fruits and veggies! I won't give up on juicing yet. I need to play with my juicer more anyway...it's fun. Also, the book had some cool recipes for using or freezing the pulp to make things like apple sauce and carrot cake. Cool! Now, enjoy some lovely pictures I took at the Botanical Gardens. Do it! Now!
So Joe and I had lunch first and then went walking at the Denver Botanical Gardens (pictures at the end of the post) and then we stopped at Whole Foods so I could pick up some ingredients for my first juice. Joe left for work and I got busy unpacking and starting my first juice.
I decided to make the Mean Green Juice from the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead". I followed the recipe and first noticed the wonderful smells that came with each fruit addition. Second, I noticed how powerful the juicer was! It was so cool. I had no idea an apple could disappear so quickly! I was quite enjoying my new machine. Third, I quickly realized that I made too much...that part is going to take some practice. Below is the picture of my juice and juicer before my first taste.
I made sure to add my ice because everything is better cold. And I took the inaugural sip and....um....gross. All I could taste was the kale. So I added some more ice and some honey and set it aside while I cleaned out the machine. Then I tried the juice again and it wasn't as terrible this time. It took me about an hour to drink and finish my juice and during that time I contemplated ways to make it better (less kale, smaller sample, more fruit, etc.) and I was enjoying it a little more near the end. Plus, I spent a lot of that time reading the book I got with my juicer so I can learn better recipes that I might enjoy more.
I did read in this book that those who are new to juicing probably shouldn't start out with strong flavored plant foods like kale. Oops! I should be starting with easy fruit juices and as my taste buds get used to fresh juice, then I can get more adventurous. So perhaps tomorrow for breakfast I will try a fruit only juice and I will try the Mean Green recipe again next week. I am going to put together my meal plan now for next week and order my foods and get more fruits and veggies! I won't give up on juicing yet. I need to play with my juicer more anyway...it's fun. Also, the book had some cool recipes for using or freezing the pulp to make things like apple sauce and carrot cake. Cool! Now, enjoy some lovely pictures I took at the Botanical Gardens. Do it! Now!
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Stop Pressuring Me, Scale!
I committed to myself around week 2 of my stay at Green Mountain that I would stop weighing myself as often as I had been. How many of you have woken up in a great mood, gotten on the scale, and then watched your mood fall quicker than the Drop Zone ride at the local amusement park? It's so disheartening! Especially if you are weighing yourself in daily.
We aren't meant to weigh-in so often. Our bodies fluctuate often and any little thing can make those stupid little numbers go up or down. Your body is retaining water! You had too much salt 2 days ago! Your muscles are growing and muscle weighs more than fat! You're PMSing! Your body just hates you today for no reason! Way too many things to be thinking about.
It is so much harder when you are trying to lose weight to see those numbers on the scale. It could be that you only lost 2 pounds in 2 weeks, you gained 0.5 pounds in a week, you stayed the same, you gained 2 pounds...all help to put you (well, me at least!) in a bad mood. And for what?! Wasn't I feeling good before I got on the scale? Why can't that be my 'weigh-in' for the day? If I were to weigh in on my feelings, mood, strength, energy, happiness, wouldn't that give me so much more information? I (YOU) are more than a number on the scale.
Have you ever seen The Biggest Loser on TV? I stopped watching it a few years ago because it just made my own journey seem impossible. You mean, I have to work out like a maniac for 8 hours a day and starve myself to lose 15 pounds in a week? No thank you. One thing I learned recently that surprised me was that the contestants don't weigh in every seven days as the show has you believe. It's closer to every 15 days! Because they know that the numbers on the scale will be more 'exciting' after 15 days than 7 days. And don't get me started on how quickly many of those contestants gain back all of their lost weight....
Anyway, so I have realized that when I have been getting bored, my mind starts to say, "Hey Beth...shouldn't you weigh in? The scale is right there! I bet you've lost so much weight!" And I have to say back, "Stop pressuring me! I feel great today! I have so much energy. I'm waking up before 8:30 AM on my own everyday. I really enjoy my aquatics class. My muscles feel strong. I'm happy with all of the new organic food in my life. That scale will NOT say what I want it to say." I know curiosity will get the best of me, so I am allowing myself weigh in at the end of every month. Weighing a month apart will give me a more accurate idea of how I am doing. I will just need to recite to myself, "I am more than a number. I am more than a number." Over and over again so I can see what the scale says and MOVE ON.
When I left GM and got my monthly check up, I wasn't (not surprisingly) that excited about the new number on the scale. I was super excited about the inches I had lost on my body. Because if you think about it, that is something tangible that myself and others can see. So I have ordered myself a measuring tape and will be checking my measurements at the end of the month as well. But again, I will need to see the results and let it go.
I feel strong. I feel energetic. I feel happy. I am open to the possibility of accepting myself as I am today.
We aren't meant to weigh-in so often. Our bodies fluctuate often and any little thing can make those stupid little numbers go up or down. Your body is retaining water! You had too much salt 2 days ago! Your muscles are growing and muscle weighs more than fat! You're PMSing! Your body just hates you today for no reason! Way too many things to be thinking about.
It is so much harder when you are trying to lose weight to see those numbers on the scale. It could be that you only lost 2 pounds in 2 weeks, you gained 0.5 pounds in a week, you stayed the same, you gained 2 pounds...all help to put you (well, me at least!) in a bad mood. And for what?! Wasn't I feeling good before I got on the scale? Why can't that be my 'weigh-in' for the day? If I were to weigh in on my feelings, mood, strength, energy, happiness, wouldn't that give me so much more information? I (YOU) are more than a number on the scale.
Have you ever seen The Biggest Loser on TV? I stopped watching it a few years ago because it just made my own journey seem impossible. You mean, I have to work out like a maniac for 8 hours a day and starve myself to lose 15 pounds in a week? No thank you. One thing I learned recently that surprised me was that the contestants don't weigh in every seven days as the show has you believe. It's closer to every 15 days! Because they know that the numbers on the scale will be more 'exciting' after 15 days than 7 days. And don't get me started on how quickly many of those contestants gain back all of their lost weight....
Anyway, so I have realized that when I have been getting bored, my mind starts to say, "Hey Beth...shouldn't you weigh in? The scale is right there! I bet you've lost so much weight!" And I have to say back, "Stop pressuring me! I feel great today! I have so much energy. I'm waking up before 8:30 AM on my own everyday. I really enjoy my aquatics class. My muscles feel strong. I'm happy with all of the new organic food in my life. That scale will NOT say what I want it to say." I know curiosity will get the best of me, so I am allowing myself weigh in at the end of every month. Weighing a month apart will give me a more accurate idea of how I am doing. I will just need to recite to myself, "I am more than a number. I am more than a number." Over and over again so I can see what the scale says and MOVE ON.
When I left GM and got my monthly check up, I wasn't (not surprisingly) that excited about the new number on the scale. I was super excited about the inches I had lost on my body. Because if you think about it, that is something tangible that myself and others can see. So I have ordered myself a measuring tape and will be checking my measurements at the end of the month as well. But again, I will need to see the results and let it go.
I feel strong. I feel energetic. I feel happy. I am open to the possibility of accepting myself as I am today.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
New Exciting Things Are Happening
Joe and I had a really productive couple of days. We ran some errands, unpacked a number of moving boxes, hung up our artwork, and really spiffed up the apartment. The place looks great and so much more like home now. What a great feeling. And since we were so excited about our updated place, we invited some friends over for a game night! I made my lentil soup and a salad for dinner and we had the leftover frozen cornbread that I made last week. For dessert we had chocolate zucchini cake with strawberries. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the dinner and no one said, "Hey! Where's the meat!" Thankfully, because I am trying to cut back on how much meat Joe and I are eating these days and the lentil soup was filling, perfect for four, and inexpensive to make!
This morning I went to my water aerobics class and man, they really worked us out today! I was in the pool for 52 minutes and was at THR for 43! I don't know if it was the pool or the busy couple of days I've had, but after lunch I was tired....so I napped. (I know, I know...Beth, stop bragging that you get to work from home.) Sorry. But it was great and apparently what I needed. Listening to my body is a new way of living for me, so it felt good to give it what it wanted.
Another thing that it wanted was those damn Reese's Eggs. But Hallelujah! I have found a replacement. Last week I ordered Natural Peanut Butter and Natural Honey Peanut Butter from my online grocery delivery and it was a brand called, Justin's. I'm sure some of you have seen their products because they are sold nationally at Whole Foods. Well, they are a Boulder, CO company and what I bought last week has been absolutely delicious! I have the Honey Peanut Butter every morning on toast. It keeps me full during my aquatics and I crave it when I wake up...it's that good. So when I put in my order this past weekend, I noticed that Justin's has all natural peanut butter cups! In both dark and milk chocolate. So I bought a pack of each and just had the dark chocolate ones. OMG! Amazing! I'm never having Reese's again (blanket statement that may turn out to be false in the future...don't judge). I encourage you to go out and try these if chocolate and peanut butter is one of your triggers too. Delicious, and so much better for you because there is no fake ingredients in it. They are still high in fat like Reese, but so much more worth it. I really took my time on them because I wanted to enjoy every bite. And I am sad to say that Reese's generally makes me feel like crap after I am done, and Justin's made me feel great. Worth. It.
Finally, I just purchased a juicer on Amazon.com. It comes on Friday, so plan to read about that next adventure around that time. It's my plan to replace my morning glass of milk with juice in the mornings so I can start my day with a rush of good nutrients. I will start with the Mean Green Juice from "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and will have it with my toast with peanut butter. Once I comfortable, I will branch out and see what happens next! Stay tuned!
This morning I went to my water aerobics class and man, they really worked us out today! I was in the pool for 52 minutes and was at THR for 43! I don't know if it was the pool or the busy couple of days I've had, but after lunch I was tired....so I napped. (I know, I know...Beth, stop bragging that you get to work from home.) Sorry. But it was great and apparently what I needed. Listening to my body is a new way of living for me, so it felt good to give it what it wanted.
Another thing that it wanted was those damn Reese's Eggs. But Hallelujah! I have found a replacement. Last week I ordered Natural Peanut Butter and Natural Honey Peanut Butter from my online grocery delivery and it was a brand called, Justin's. I'm sure some of you have seen their products because they are sold nationally at Whole Foods. Well, they are a Boulder, CO company and what I bought last week has been absolutely delicious! I have the Honey Peanut Butter every morning on toast. It keeps me full during my aquatics and I crave it when I wake up...it's that good. So when I put in my order this past weekend, I noticed that Justin's has all natural peanut butter cups! In both dark and milk chocolate. So I bought a pack of each and just had the dark chocolate ones. OMG! Amazing! I'm never having Reese's again (blanket statement that may turn out to be false in the future...don't judge). I encourage you to go out and try these if chocolate and peanut butter is one of your triggers too. Delicious, and so much better for you because there is no fake ingredients in it. They are still high in fat like Reese, but so much more worth it. I really took my time on them because I wanted to enjoy every bite. And I am sad to say that Reese's generally makes me feel like crap after I am done, and Justin's made me feel great. Worth. It.
Finally, I just purchased a juicer on Amazon.com. It comes on Friday, so plan to read about that next adventure around that time. It's my plan to replace my morning glass of milk with juice in the mornings so I can start my day with a rush of good nutrients. I will start with the Mean Green Juice from "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and will have it with my toast with peanut butter. Once I comfortable, I will branch out and see what happens next! Stay tuned!
Monday, April 8, 2013
Food food food
It was back to Aquatics today. Another fun workout. I'm really glad I invested in the Polar Monitor. When I am in the pool, I have no idea if I am working hard or not. I don't sweat the same way I do on land and my breathing seems to be different as well. Now, all I have to do is look down at my wrist and pop! there it is. Right away I can see if I am at THR (target heart rate) or not. Love it. Today, the workout was 45 minutes long and I was at THR for 35 minutes. Perfect.
When I got home, the lovely Fooducopia delivery man was here with my groceries. I put them away and got right down to making lunch. I made open faced chicken salad sandwiches with avocado and tomatoes (see my how I make the chicken salad by clicking on the link on the side of this page), spinach salad, and strawberries and iced tea. So easy and delicious.
When I got home, the lovely Fooducopia delivery man was here with my groceries. I put them away and got right down to making lunch. I made open faced chicken salad sandwiches with avocado and tomatoes (see my how I make the chicken salad by clicking on the link on the side of this page), spinach salad, and strawberries and iced tea. So easy and delicious.
Lunch
Later in the day, Joe and I ran some errands and then when I got home, I started dinner. We had enchiladas, spanish rice, and fajita style peppers, onions and mushrooms. I used Fontera's Red Chile Sauce and filled three tortillas with shredded chicken and three with fajita veggies, covered them with the sauce and baked them for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. Again...amazing. Here's a photo.
Dinner
Finally, after an email from my cool Aunt Sue, I decided to start putting some of the recipes I use on this blog so others can use them. You will find a number I have cooked so far on the right hand side of this page. I've also put a page called "Meal Plans" so I can keep track of the different meals I have been making. This way, in a month or so when I say to myself, "I don't know what to cook!" I can look back and remake things. I hope these are helpful to some of you! And let me know if I haven't put up something you would like to make and I'll add it. Enjoy!
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Sundays Are Full of Options
When working out my meal plans for the week, I plan to cook dinner 5 times a week. I then plan for one night of leftovers and one night out to eat at a restaurant. This makes it the easiest for me to control what I am putting in my mouth all week, plus as Joe and I are trying to stick to a budget, eating out only once a week (a opposed to the 2-3 times a week we were doing before) really helps.
Part of my new life style is that nothing is off limits. No foods are prohibited and we aren't supposed to deny our bodies anything as that can lead to overeating on that item later. While this is all liberating and good, I'm not about to fill my house with chocolate chip cookies. In order to stay being healthy, I need to continue to eat balanced meals and then allow myself 'fun options' every now and then. So my plan is to not have the fun options in my house but to allow myself a fun option when I go out to dinner once a week. (You may remember that I did also go out to lunch on Wednesday with a friend, but I won't try to have my fun option at lunch because to me, dessert should be a dinner thing.) That way, I am not denying myself of desserts completely, but now I have a more special night out once a week.
Tonight Joe and I went to Steuban's. It is probably my favorite restaurant in Denver. It is best known for its comfort foods and cool atmosphere. My favorite thing to get there is the pulled pork sandwich that comes on texas toast and has coleslaw on top. They give you a choice of two BBQ sauces on the side that you get to put on yourself. I learned years ago that this sandwich is best eaten with a knife and fork, so when I ordered it tonight, I took off the top piece of the texas toast and ate my sandwich open faced. In the past, I have eaten the entire sandwich as well as a few sugar rolled hush puppies (yes, they are as good as they sound). Tonight, I only ate until I was full (leaving a whole piece of toast and about a 1/4 c. of meat) and I ordered the green beans instead of my hush puppies. While the hush puppies could have been my option, I decided that I would rather have a real dessert. Plus, I haven't had any fried food in a month and was afraid the hush puppies wouldn't sit well with me.
The dinner was delicious and filling, but I totally left enough room for dessert. After looking over the dessert menu, I chose a chocolate cupcake that Joe agreed to share with me. Thankfully it was a normal size and not one of those huge cupcakes. We asked for a knife, cut it down the middle and oh man....it was soooo good. I was really glad that Joe wanted to take half of it, because I don't think I could have stopped myself even though I wasn't tasting the last bite of my half. He saved me from eating something I wasn't going to fully enjoy because that half would never be as amazing as my first bite. Isn't that the same thing Meth addicts say? Chasing the first high? Well, I'm not embarrassed to say that finishing any dessert is like chasing the high of the first bite for me. It'll never be the same...at least not for the next 30 minutes. Another reason I am glad I don't have fun options available to me at home.
Hello my name is Beth and I am a sugar addict.
Part of my new life style is that nothing is off limits. No foods are prohibited and we aren't supposed to deny our bodies anything as that can lead to overeating on that item later. While this is all liberating and good, I'm not about to fill my house with chocolate chip cookies. In order to stay being healthy, I need to continue to eat balanced meals and then allow myself 'fun options' every now and then. So my plan is to not have the fun options in my house but to allow myself a fun option when I go out to dinner once a week. (You may remember that I did also go out to lunch on Wednesday with a friend, but I won't try to have my fun option at lunch because to me, dessert should be a dinner thing.) That way, I am not denying myself of desserts completely, but now I have a more special night out once a week.
Tonight Joe and I went to Steuban's. It is probably my favorite restaurant in Denver. It is best known for its comfort foods and cool atmosphere. My favorite thing to get there is the pulled pork sandwich that comes on texas toast and has coleslaw on top. They give you a choice of two BBQ sauces on the side that you get to put on yourself. I learned years ago that this sandwich is best eaten with a knife and fork, so when I ordered it tonight, I took off the top piece of the texas toast and ate my sandwich open faced. In the past, I have eaten the entire sandwich as well as a few sugar rolled hush puppies (yes, they are as good as they sound). Tonight, I only ate until I was full (leaving a whole piece of toast and about a 1/4 c. of meat) and I ordered the green beans instead of my hush puppies. While the hush puppies could have been my option, I decided that I would rather have a real dessert. Plus, I haven't had any fried food in a month and was afraid the hush puppies wouldn't sit well with me.
The dinner was delicious and filling, but I totally left enough room for dessert. After looking over the dessert menu, I chose a chocolate cupcake that Joe agreed to share with me. Thankfully it was a normal size and not one of those huge cupcakes. We asked for a knife, cut it down the middle and oh man....it was soooo good. I was really glad that Joe wanted to take half of it, because I don't think I could have stopped myself even though I wasn't tasting the last bite of my half. He saved me from eating something I wasn't going to fully enjoy because that half would never be as amazing as my first bite. Isn't that the same thing Meth addicts say? Chasing the first high? Well, I'm not embarrassed to say that finishing any dessert is like chasing the high of the first bite for me. It'll never be the same...at least not for the next 30 minutes. Another reason I am glad I don't have fun options available to me at home.
Hello my name is Beth and I am a sugar addict.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Some Days Are Harder
There are just going to be days that will be harder than others. I wouldn't classify yesterday as a 'hard' day, but I would say that I just didn't want to do everything at 100%. While I did go to aquatics in the AM and make a kickass pizza from scratch for lunch, I think that is where my motivation left me for the day.
I was supposed to do my Upper Body Strength Training in the evening and I was supposed to have a balanced dinner, but neither of those things happened. Joe had to work late yesterday, so instead of my usual healthy dinner, I really just wanted and had toast with peanut butter and a glass of milk. No veggies, no variety, and actually the same thing I had for breakfast. But you know what? It was exactly what I wanted and so I ate it and felt completely satisfied. (Though I do believe my stomach wasn't too happy with it in the middle of the night because I didn't sleep well and I dreamt about magical boxes that transported cheese snacks to you whenever you gave it a gummy bear.)
The second thing I neglected was my upper body strength. Instead I watched, "Gandhi". Now I know that it is a 3 hour movie and I could have easily worked in my 30 minutes of upper body while watching it, but you know what? I just didn't want to. Apparently my inner child was full of opinions last night about my activities and eating. And sometimes you need to just listen to your inner child and be the rebel you want to be and not do those adult things.
I am happy to report that I survived these setbacks and I didn't gain a bazillion pounds over night and no Green Mountain Police showed up at my door to reprimand me. Today I veered back onto my path and had balanced lunch and dinner and did both my upper and lower body strength.
For dinner I made Turkey Meatloaf in handy little perfectly portioned sizes, roasted sweet potatoes drizzled with honey, and a spinach salad. Below is a photo of the colorful meal.
Tomorrow is a new day and who knows what it will bring!
I was supposed to do my Upper Body Strength Training in the evening and I was supposed to have a balanced dinner, but neither of those things happened. Joe had to work late yesterday, so instead of my usual healthy dinner, I really just wanted and had toast with peanut butter and a glass of milk. No veggies, no variety, and actually the same thing I had for breakfast. But you know what? It was exactly what I wanted and so I ate it and felt completely satisfied. (Though I do believe my stomach wasn't too happy with it in the middle of the night because I didn't sleep well and I dreamt about magical boxes that transported cheese snacks to you whenever you gave it a gummy bear.)
The second thing I neglected was my upper body strength. Instead I watched, "Gandhi". Now I know that it is a 3 hour movie and I could have easily worked in my 30 minutes of upper body while watching it, but you know what? I just didn't want to. Apparently my inner child was full of opinions last night about my activities and eating. And sometimes you need to just listen to your inner child and be the rebel you want to be and not do those adult things.
I am happy to report that I survived these setbacks and I didn't gain a bazillion pounds over night and no Green Mountain Police showed up at my door to reprimand me. Today I veered back onto my path and had balanced lunch and dinner and did both my upper and lower body strength.
For dinner I made Turkey Meatloaf in handy little perfectly portioned sizes, roasted sweet potatoes drizzled with honey, and a spinach salad. Below is a photo of the colorful meal.
Tomorrow is a new day and who knows what it will bring!
Friday, April 5, 2013
Look What I've Made!
Yesterday I finished my "This Month Belongs to Me!" calendar. I'm pretty proud of it...here are some pictures of the cards and the cork board I have hanging by my kitchen table/work space.
I can't figure out how to rotate this picture in blogger...sorry.
On my board, I have my fitness schedule on top, the Rec Center's schedule on the bottom and the photos are my visualization pieces to help me visualize where I want to be.
And I wanted to post a couple pictures of what I've been eating.
This was lunch yesterday. Salad with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette, open faced turkey sandwich with tomato, 10 Grain bread slice, and cheddar and a side of strawberries, raspberries, and grapes. Unsweet iced tea on the side. Very Good.
Today for lunch, I made this pizza. I made the whole wheat dough from scratch and used an organic veggie pizza sauce. I first sauteed mushrooms, yellow squash, and onions and put it on the pizza with mozzarella. It was awesome.
This morning I went to my second aquatics class and then bought an annual membership. I'm very excited to continue my aquatics classes and try other classes in the future. Must get my upper body strength training in today...more tomorrow.
Oh Walgreens, You Temptress
I'm sad to say that I have been avoiding places like Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid for 5 weeks. They honestly scare me. For years, I have been giving myself excuses for why I need to enter one of these stores so I could go in and buy some kind of candy. The holiday seasons are the worst. And I'm not talking Thanksgiving through Christmas, I'm talking Halloween through Easter. The time when the various 'Reese's Eggs' shapes are out. It used to be that we would only get those big ol' gobs of extra Reese's Peanut Butter Cups at Easter. Hence the name "Reese's Eggs". But the geniuses at Reese's realized that they can make those addictive little guys in the shapes of Pumpkins! Christmas trees! Hearts! So now they are available 6 months out of the year! Hurrah!
Needless to say, I have wanted to avoid them since my time at Green Mountain. Given that it was a week after Easter and to be honest, those things aren't as good stale, I decided it was time to enter a Walgreens. I had to go get a prescription and we were almost out of toilet paper in our apartment. I used the nice, sunny day as an excuse to walk the few blocks. Once I entered the store, I mindlessly took the candy aisle to get to the back of the store. Bad idea. While I didn't see any Reese's Eggs calling out to me, I did see Ghirardelli Caramel Filled Milk Chocolate Squares...another chocolate vice. I picked up the bag that contains like 10-12 delicious squares and turned it over to look at the ingredients.
Surely my high-end chocolate wouldn't deceive me. It has to be all natural ingredients, right? Wrong. The first few words that popped out at me were Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Hydrogenated Coconut and Soybean Oils, Sorbitol, Artificial Flavoring....the list went on and on. "Well, I thought to myself....the squares are individually wrapped. So if I bring this bag home, I could just have like one a day..." So I picked up the bag and continued to the back of the store to pick up my toilet paper and then I hopped in line at the pharmacy. Thank goodness the pharmacy line was long and slow. While in line, I was surrounded by all kinds of medicines and not too healthy looking people. I looked closely at some of the people around me and just noticed how tired they all looked. Then I looked back at the chocolate in my hand and I started to remember what I feel like when I come down hard from a sugar crash. I remembered getting chocolate from Walgreens the last time I was there before my GM month. I brought it home, ate it, and then I didn't not have the energy to move from the couch the rest of the day.
So I decided to bid farewell to the chocolate and put it back. Unfortunately, I didn't want to lose my place in line, so I sneakily put the bag on a shelf among some allergy medication and then looked up at the surveillance camera and saw myself doing the sneaky move. I half excepted the Walgreens manager to seek me out and force me to buy the chocolate since I didn't put it back where it belonged, but thankfully he didn't.
I got my two things I needed, left, and walked home, forgetting all about the chocolate squares. I decided to have some of my Chocolate Zucchini Bread I bought from Foodcopia when I got home instead and felt great after I had it with some strawberries.
Success!
Needless to say, I have wanted to avoid them since my time at Green Mountain. Given that it was a week after Easter and to be honest, those things aren't as good stale, I decided it was time to enter a Walgreens. I had to go get a prescription and we were almost out of toilet paper in our apartment. I used the nice, sunny day as an excuse to walk the few blocks. Once I entered the store, I mindlessly took the candy aisle to get to the back of the store. Bad idea. While I didn't see any Reese's Eggs calling out to me, I did see Ghirardelli Caramel Filled Milk Chocolate Squares...another chocolate vice. I picked up the bag that contains like 10-12 delicious squares and turned it over to look at the ingredients.
Surely my high-end chocolate wouldn't deceive me. It has to be all natural ingredients, right? Wrong. The first few words that popped out at me were Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Hydrogenated Coconut and Soybean Oils, Sorbitol, Artificial Flavoring....the list went on and on. "Well, I thought to myself....the squares are individually wrapped. So if I bring this bag home, I could just have like one a day..." So I picked up the bag and continued to the back of the store to pick up my toilet paper and then I hopped in line at the pharmacy. Thank goodness the pharmacy line was long and slow. While in line, I was surrounded by all kinds of medicines and not too healthy looking people. I looked closely at some of the people around me and just noticed how tired they all looked. Then I looked back at the chocolate in my hand and I started to remember what I feel like when I come down hard from a sugar crash. I remembered getting chocolate from Walgreens the last time I was there before my GM month. I brought it home, ate it, and then I didn't not have the energy to move from the couch the rest of the day.
So I decided to bid farewell to the chocolate and put it back. Unfortunately, I didn't want to lose my place in line, so I sneakily put the bag on a shelf among some allergy medication and then looked up at the surveillance camera and saw myself doing the sneaky move. I half excepted the Walgreens manager to seek me out and force me to buy the chocolate since I didn't put it back where it belonged, but thankfully he didn't.
I got my two things I needed, left, and walked home, forgetting all about the chocolate squares. I decided to have some of my Chocolate Zucchini Bread I bought from Foodcopia when I got home instead and felt great after I had it with some strawberries.
Success!
Thursday, April 4, 2013
I'm Going to Swim Gosh Darn-it!
On Wednesday morning, I was full of energy and excitement to attend my first aquatics class in Denver. I woke up early, had my breakfast, drove Joe to work, and found the Rude Recreation center. The building was fairly new and beautiful. I walked up to the lady at the desk and told her I wanted to take the Deep Water Aquatics class and she, rather rudely as the name of the facility suggested, informed me that the class had been cancelled due to a sick instructor. I asked if I could just swim on my own and she flat out said no.
Completely bummed, I hung my head low and walked out the door back to my car. Didn't that lady know how much this meant to me? Being able to swim in my own home town away from the comfort of Green Mountain?! Didn't she know that she was dealing with a fragile woman who handles her emotions with food? My first thought when I got back to my car, and I'm not going to lie, was "I guess I'll go home and lounge on the couch and eat whatever I want because my plan has failed...." But then my second thought was of anger and I just couldn't let that stupid lady and the stupid sick instructor (I honestly hope she feels better soon) derail me after only being home for 3 full days! So I got out my iPhone and looked up the schedules of other rec centers that were near by. Thankfully, the rec center at 20th Street had a class starting at 9:30 AM. It was 9:05 AM, and I was going to make it!
And I did. The rec center is located on the outskirts of downtown in an old building. The locker room and pool aren't nearly as nice as I assume the Rude Center's were, but I paid my $5.50 and got in the pool. I was with 4 older ladies who knew each other very well and the instructor. The class consisted of a lot of water walking and jogging, which I love, and I had my polar monitor on the whole time, so I could keep track of my heart rate. The class was 50 minutes long and I was in THR for 30 minutes! Perfect!
After class, I picked up the schedule and asked about the rates. I think I will go ahead and buy a yearly membership. In the end, it is most cost effective and comes out to about $20 a month. Much more affordable to me than the nearby gym. Plus, as a Denver 'Local' I will have access to around 20 rec centers with my membership.
I went home, showered, had an orange, and then prepared to join my friend for lunch. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant called P17 and it was great. I got a lunch special that included chicken pot stickers, tomato bisque, and a salad. The food was delicious and the company was awesome.
Once back at home, I worked on a few projects around the apartment and did my Upper Body Strength Training. I picked up Joe from work and it was so nice outside that we decided to go for walk to Cheesman Park. We were gone about an hour on a leisurely walk and when we returned, I started making dinner. We had baked mahi mahi, sauteed summer squash and mushrooms, and long grain herb & butter wild rice. It was a hit and Joe requested fish more often....deal.
By the time dinner was over, I was pretty exhausted. So I neglected my blog and went to bed. :0) Back at it this morning!
Completely bummed, I hung my head low and walked out the door back to my car. Didn't that lady know how much this meant to me? Being able to swim in my own home town away from the comfort of Green Mountain?! Didn't she know that she was dealing with a fragile woman who handles her emotions with food? My first thought when I got back to my car, and I'm not going to lie, was "I guess I'll go home and lounge on the couch and eat whatever I want because my plan has failed...." But then my second thought was of anger and I just couldn't let that stupid lady and the stupid sick instructor (I honestly hope she feels better soon) derail me after only being home for 3 full days! So I got out my iPhone and looked up the schedules of other rec centers that were near by. Thankfully, the rec center at 20th Street had a class starting at 9:30 AM. It was 9:05 AM, and I was going to make it!
And I did. The rec center is located on the outskirts of downtown in an old building. The locker room and pool aren't nearly as nice as I assume the Rude Center's were, but I paid my $5.50 and got in the pool. I was with 4 older ladies who knew each other very well and the instructor. The class consisted of a lot of water walking and jogging, which I love, and I had my polar monitor on the whole time, so I could keep track of my heart rate. The class was 50 minutes long and I was in THR for 30 minutes! Perfect!
After class, I picked up the schedule and asked about the rates. I think I will go ahead and buy a yearly membership. In the end, it is most cost effective and comes out to about $20 a month. Much more affordable to me than the nearby gym. Plus, as a Denver 'Local' I will have access to around 20 rec centers with my membership.
I went home, showered, had an orange, and then prepared to join my friend for lunch. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant called P17 and it was great. I got a lunch special that included chicken pot stickers, tomato bisque, and a salad. The food was delicious and the company was awesome.
Once back at home, I worked on a few projects around the apartment and did my Upper Body Strength Training. I picked up Joe from work and it was so nice outside that we decided to go for walk to Cheesman Park. We were gone about an hour on a leisurely walk and when we returned, I started making dinner. We had baked mahi mahi, sauteed summer squash and mushrooms, and long grain herb & butter wild rice. It was a hit and Joe requested fish more often....deal.
By the time dinner was over, I was pretty exhausted. So I neglected my blog and went to bed. :0) Back at it this morning!
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Budget in Cooking Time
This morning I started off with natural honey peanut butter on toast with an orange and a glass of milk. It was nice because that is what I had taken to eating at GM. I then took a trip to Target where I managed to spend a healthy amount of money...as always. I bought my eight pound weights, my supplies to make my "This Month Belongs to Me" calendars, and a dry erase Menu board for my kitchen so I can keep track of my meal plans during the week.
By the time I got home and made lunch, it was close to 2:30 PM. Today I made turkey sandwiches for me and Joe. I toasted the bread, added cheddar cheese, avocado and tomato and really delicious turkey breast from a local farmer. We also had a cup of fruit (strawberries, raspberries, and grapes) and a salad. By the time lunch ended and I started working on my month cards, I started thinking about dinner.
The thing about being away from GM that really sticks out right away to me is the lack of personal chef's in my apartment! Joe and I had plans to go to trivia tonight with some friends, so I needed to think about, prepare, and eat dinner before a certain hour. So it felt as though as soon as lunch was finished, I was on to the next meal. Luckily, I work from home right now, so I know this can be managed.
Tonight I made Veggie Mac & Cheese and green beans. Very good and helpful in my quest to cut back on my meat consumption. Here is the link to recipe for the Mac & Cheese if you are interested: http://networkedblogs.com/JHlZG I'm sure it's great for kids because it hides veggies in the cheese sauce! Plus, I used whole wheat pasta and both Joe and I really enjoyed it.
Tomorrow starts my at home fitness routine. I am going to my first Denver aquatics class at a local community center in the morning and plan to do my Upper Body Strength Training DVD after my lunch with a friend. I hope the class is good! Looking forward to getting into my fitness routine.
By the time I got home and made lunch, it was close to 2:30 PM. Today I made turkey sandwiches for me and Joe. I toasted the bread, added cheddar cheese, avocado and tomato and really delicious turkey breast from a local farmer. We also had a cup of fruit (strawberries, raspberries, and grapes) and a salad. By the time lunch ended and I started working on my month cards, I started thinking about dinner.
The thing about being away from GM that really sticks out right away to me is the lack of personal chef's in my apartment! Joe and I had plans to go to trivia tonight with some friends, so I needed to think about, prepare, and eat dinner before a certain hour. So it felt as though as soon as lunch was finished, I was on to the next meal. Luckily, I work from home right now, so I know this can be managed.
Tonight I made Veggie Mac & Cheese and green beans. Very good and helpful in my quest to cut back on my meat consumption. Here is the link to recipe for the Mac & Cheese if you are interested: http://networkedblogs.com/JHlZG I'm sure it's great for kids because it hides veggies in the cheese sauce! Plus, I used whole wheat pasta and both Joe and I really enjoyed it.
Tomorrow starts my at home fitness routine. I am going to my first Denver aquatics class at a local community center in the morning and plan to do my Upper Body Strength Training DVD after my lunch with a friend. I hope the class is good! Looking forward to getting into my fitness routine.
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