Keep Moving

No running. No walking. No biking. I'm so tired of hearing no. So my goal today was simple. Eat less than I wear off. But with no cardio allowed, how does that happen?

I just stayed in motion all day. Farmer's Market. Big Box home improvement store shopping. Bargain store shopping. Furniture store shopping. Grocery store shopping. Melon cutting. Cauliflower cutting. Salsa making. Up and down the stairs home decor crap hauling. Under the bed looking. And finally, some weight lifting, stretching and pushups.

I'm thinking the walking wasn't exactly a great idea, but I cannot sit another day. When I sit, I eat.

So movin' and groovin' is the new workout.

He's Baaaaack

Jim's back on the healthy eating horse.

And dropping pounds quickly.

What an asshole.

Ha! I'm mostly kidding. But it does make me mad that he eats well for two weeks and drops 10 lbs. It's so not fair.

There really is a difference in the way girls' bodies and boys' bodies work. I am trying to be happy for and supportive of him.

But I'm insanely jealous, too. And hate him just a little. Which isn't wrong, right?

Crack Me Up

Bonecracker visited! And I didn't pass out from the noise.

I wasn't worried about pain. I was worried about the noise; can you believe that?

I have never been to a chiropractor, as previously mentioned, so I didn't know what to expect. He listened to my story, poked directly at the most hurty spot. And confirmed bursitis. What he said after that made sense:

Bursitis is a reaction to another problem. The inflammation happens (airbags inflate) as protection when muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons aren't working right and gliding as effortlessly as they should. We will try to adjust the parts that aren't gliding properly to allow the airbags to deflate. You will stretch and apply heat and cold and take ibuprofen. You will not run. Or bike. You can swim.

Then some poking and twisting an a crack or two. And another appointment Monday.

That leaves the weekend for Jim to get on digging that hole for a pool.

Fish Plus Spinach Equals Delish!

Tonight's dinner was yummo, super easy, fast and, perhaps best of all, offered essentially no carbs!

Grilled Cod
Hunk o' frozen cod, thawed
Lemon pepper seasoning
Pam

Spray a fish pan with Pam. Liberally coat the fish with lemon pepper. Place fish pan on grill grates to get it good an hot. Plunk the fish on there. Turn once, letting it cook all the way through.

Sauteed Spinach
Bag of washed/prepped spinach
Olive oil
Sliced onions
Chopped garlic
Salt and pepper

Get a sautee pan hot on stovetop. Add a turn of olive oil. Add sliced onions and heat until translucent. Add a spoonful of chopped garlic from the jar (so sue me ... I cheat with garlic). Let it get all warmed through, but don't brown the garlic. Add a couple of big handfuls of spinach. Add one handful more than you think you'll need. It cooks down to nothing. Keep turning it in the pan as it wilts. Salt and pepper to taste. Sooooooo goooooood!

New Hill Workout

My new workout involves a hill -- albeit figurative -- to climb.

GaryAllenFan unknowingly inspired me today to go our on-site clinic and talk to the physician's assistant. You see, GAF is battling her own issues and, because she's smarter than me, decided to jump in and take care of it toot suite. (And I haven't heard the outcome, but I hope it was good!)

Spurred by her "git 'r done" attitude, I called for my own appointment.

I left with a bottle of 800mg ibuprofen, strict orders of no running/no biking and hip icing at every possible opportunity ... and a diagnosis of bursitis.

Doesn't that word sound positively geriatric?

A very quick web search showed me that lots of people have this. It can come and go or it can come and stay. It can require cortisone shots or draining of the extra fluid.

In other words, it's not going to kill me. But it's also likely to be a literal pain in the ass for the rest of my life. And it's going to put a stop to my running for another week at least. Or more.

And that's the part that scares me. I actually cried on the way home today at the thought of not running. I simply can't imagine my life at this point without it.

I'm sure I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. Injuries are simply part of the process and each little one is not the end of the world.

But to err on the side of caution, I'm going to schedule a chiropractic appointment and a sports med appointment for next week if possible just in case another week off doesn't seem to matter.

Rules to Live By

1. Eat when you're hungry.
2. Sleep when you're tired.
3. Exercise when your muscles are twitchy. And when you're stressed out. And when you can't stop thinking about eating. And when you're pissed off about something. And when you're sad. And when it's nice outside. And when you have nothing else to do.  


What have you got to lose? 

He Never Lets Me Down

He's sleek and sexy. He's sturdy and strong. He's fast when I want him to be and slow when I need to catch my breath.

In fact, my husband encourages our relationship. So, me and Gary Fisher had a date this morning. 


We were together for 15 glorious miles. He was a little dusty. I was a little nervous. But by the end, I was sweaty and we were both VERY happy, if you know what I mean.


And for those of you that care, this is a photo of the real Gary Fisher (with my gorgeous and amazing nieces). The Gary Fisher I'm referring to is sliver and black, comes complete with a Home Depot water bottle  ...  and unlike its namesake, has no kickstand.

Pronounced Produce

After a week with no grocery shopping and a quick trip to New York, the cupboards were bare and I was in a fresh food deficit. So today's trip to the market was long overdue and eagerly anticipated.

I joined the 5983 other Woodmaniacs (Woodmainians?) today and spent a glorious hour in the produce section.

Watermelon, honeydew, three nectarines, three plums, a pound of grapes, one red pepper, one green pepper, two red onions, a bunch of green onions, a head of cauliflower, big bag of baby carrots, spinach, lettuce, cilantro, two avocados, sliced mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, two kiwi and four seedless cucumbers.

Whew.

Oh, and pineapple sherbet.

Chickpea primavera made. Vinegar cucumber salad made. Watermelon, kiwi and blueberries cut up and assembled. Cauliflower broken up for dipping. Strawberries sliced and sugared. Double whew.

We're set for a loooooooong time.

I So Want to Run

Amber and GaryAllanFan are running their first 5K tomorrow. I'm so excited for them.

And so jealous.

Day 10, no cardio. Going bat-shit crazy.

No doctor appointment made, either. Thought I had successfully self-diagnosed with help of the internet. Now I'm not so sure.

Fact or Fiction?

I think by now you know how I feel about what it takes to lose weight. Repeat it with me if you want to:

It's a simple math problem. You have to take in less calories than you burn. If you do the right things, often enough, good things happen. And, last but not least, you have to want to do it and make up your mind to do it. Your brain is the hardest muscle to train and your body won't follow if your head doesn't lead.

So when I started on my journey, I decided to get healthy first, and counted on the weight loss to follow, knowing that it came on slowly over time and that it would come off the same way. I also knew that I had to change my relationship with food and exercise and that this new way to live would have to be just that ... a new way to LIVE forever. I had to make sustainable changes.

So this week when I talked to a friend who is on the hCG diet, I had some mixed feelings.

In a nutshell, the hCG diet is where you take a fertility shot every day and go on a very strict 500-calorie-per-day diet for 30 days. Then you ease your body back to a more normal calorie intake.

The proponents say the diet "fools" your body into thinking you're pregnant which causes your body to metabolize the fat stored in places your body doesn't need to keep a fetus growing ... butt, arms, stomach ... while also having the side effect of no hunger.

Here's an article from the New York Times that explains it better than me: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/nyregion/08hcg.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

My friend looked fantastic. She is under medical care and lost a nice little bit of weight in a very small time frame. She's thrilled with the results and now her husband is trying the same thing with success.

I can't argue with that.

But I am not sure I can condone it either. I mean, who wouldn't lose weight on a 500-calorie-a-day diet? That's what an anorexic person consumes in a day! And when your relationship with food is off kilter to start with, I worry about that switch in your head flipping to a dangerous channel that will be hard to change later.

And let's be honest, if I only ate when I was hungry, I'd be a lot thinner than I am now. So I'm not sure the promise of fewer hunger pains would make a hill of beans difference ... FOR ME.

The second part of this is easing back into eating. Moving from 500 calories to 1000 to 1500. Again, the average woman needs 1800-2200 calories a day to stay weight neutral ... that's what your body needs to sleep, wake up, go about your normal day. So at 1000 and 1500, you're still on the deficit end of the math problem and losing weight, though slowly.

I know there are lots of paths to weighing less. I know that everyone has to pick the one that works best for them. I know that I am in no position to pass judgement on anyone's choices.

But I also know this: 


I had to learn HOW to eat. And I had to PRACTICE eating in this new way. I had to EXPERIMENT with my intake and output to see what worked best for me ... did carbs early or late in the day matter ... was a cookie a week ok ... did fat grams matter more or less than protein grams? I had to see how I felt, how the scale responded and most importantly what I could really execute day in and day out for the rest of my life. 

I also know I'm leery of any "magic" answers. If losing weight was as easy as taking a pill or snapping your fingers, no one would be big.

I am happy for my friend. I am also happy for me.

I hope you find happy, too, and that your happy includes HEALTHY because that's more important than skinny any day of the week.

Cruising a Grocery Store

New York, New York! The city that never sleeps! Broadway, boroughs and bedlam!

What would you do with your free time in such an exciting place?

I cruised a grocery store.

In full disclosure, I was on Long Island, not in Manhattan. And my "free time" consisted of 40 minutes after dinner at a sushi/hibachi restaurant  in a strip mall. So the grocery store wasn't exactly competing with Times Square. But even if it had been, I would have preferred it.

The store is Uncle Giuseppe's and the flagship store in Smithtown NY is where we stopped. And, holy cannoli! What a place.

Now, obviously I couldn't bring home much in the way of groceries. But I wanted to! This store had an amazing ready-to-eat or heat-and-eat hot and cold "deli" experience that puts grocery stores in my area to shame. Cheeses? Can't begin to describe the cheeses. And, a chocolate fountain or two to boot!

But I spent my time in the cold deli aisle ... looking for recipes to steal. The one I can't wait to get home to try is a Chick Pea Primavera. It looked like chick peas, red onion, green/red pepper, maybe some dill and a vinaigrette.

My meal preparation regiment has gotten a bit stale and I need to shake it up a bit. This little tour might have sparked a fire. Call me weird.

Do you do this kind of thing, too, or is it just me?

Shop at Maurice's

Not exercising properly. Not eating properly. Not sleeping properly. I'm traveling for work and it's all out of whack.

I feel fleshy and puffy, as previously mentioned.

And yet, today I wore a pair of 7/8 pants that are sort of too big.

Looking for a spirit lifter? Pick up a pair for yourself at Maurice's and feel good, for just a split second, before the reality of such a obviously, completely and totally bogus sizing system sets in.  

Inside the Injury

Injury sounds like a big word for what might be a muscle pull. But it's the right word, I think. It's different than "sore" .. we all get sore. And we all know the difference between good sore (yeah, I can tell I did 100 extra sit-ups yesterday ... I can feel it in my abs!) that you wear like a badge of honor and a bad sore that signals a problem.

I'm giving this injury three more days before a trip to the doctor. Until then, this is what I know:

1. Every workout is important because you don't know when an injury will sideline you. So, phoning one in is kind of stupid. It might be your "last" for a while,so to speak. (And this sounds way more dramatic than I intend it to. I'm sure I'll live this time, LOL!)

So you should really make it a good one, right? But if you do have a bad workout, it's still better than no workout.

2. Working out smart is really important ... perhaps more important as we get older ... and creaky-er, and achy-er. I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out "what" I did wrong with this hip deal. To be honest, I'm not sure.

I know that my training schedule for the half worked in three rest days per week and in the past two weeks, I was on a two-rest-days per week pace. But at the same time, the official training had me logging in many more miles than I have been putting in recently. I also tried some new moves on my exercise ball the night before the hip event, but that simply couldn't be it ... I think.

3. Heed the warnings. I had some achiness (is this a word?) in my hip a couple of weeks earlier. And, I did experience an overall stiffness after consecutive running days, which had never happened before. But I assumed it was because I was trying to ramp my miles back up. I should have paid more attention and slowed down, taken days off, Adviled up ... something. I should not have ignored it or brushed it off.

In the end, the injuries are part of the process, unfortunately. And you learn to deal with them, plan for them in a way, as they cycle in and out. And overcome them ... hopefully increasing the time between them and the severity of them.

Jonesing for Motion

OK, I haven't had a real cardio workout since Tuesday and it's starting to drive me bananas.

I mean, could I get used to waking up at 6:30 a.m. or later? Yes. Could I grow accustomed to lazing around the house, leisurely eating breakfast and checking Facebook? Yes. Could I learn to enjoy not doing an extra load of stinky, sweaty workout clothes laundry? Yes.

But I can't get used to the way I feel.

I feel sluggish and bloated and out of sorts. And I hate it.

Are you able to MOVE today? Consider it a blessing and go do it!

Benefit of Being Thinner #31

The reflection of me I see in the side mirror of my car as I'm sitting in the passenger seat is one that doesn't make me cry.

On long trips, Jim usually drives and I ride shotgun. Back in the old days, I'd catch a glimpse of myself in the side mirror and all I could see was the rolls above/below my bra line and roll that separated my head from my shoulders. It always made me feel so bad inside. I could never quite believe I looked like "that."

I will admit to being a little narcissistic about the me that flashes in that same mirror these days. She always surprises me. And I probably stare at her a little longer than I should. Or find reasons to sneak another peek.

I hope that's not conceited. It's honestly and purely just ... wonder.

Three Down, One to Go

1. Left knee? Hurts. Always.
2. Right hip? Hurts now. New. Not getting better.

Last night, in an attempt to get SOME exercise, I whip out my old friend, the Gold's Gym Boxing Wii game. Forget to stretch. Attack with vigor. Right jab, fine. Left jab, fine. Right hook, fine. Left hook ...

3. Left shoulder? Pulled and achy.

Now if I could just slam my right hand in the car door or something, I'd be all set.

Fruit Salsa

The last time I had swordfish, I was stuck in Philadelphia with approximately 10,000 nurses gone wild and bad weather. The hotel gave my room away and we had to stand in line for hours at a bursting-at-the-seams airport. Dinner came late at night and the exotic-sounding-to-me-then swordfish wasn't so good.

We had dinner with dear friends on Friday and I ordered the swordfish with mango salsa. After approximately 18 years, it seemed like time to give it a second shot.

It was delish and the mango salsa was the bomb.

Here's my attempt at duplication without the mango. Jim grilled us up tuna steaks last night and this was the perfect accompaniment.


Fruit Salsa
4 nectarines, chopped (or mangoes or papaya or peaches or whatever?)
1 small red onion, chopped
Handful of cilantro, chopped
1 small jalapeno or Serrano, chopped (truth is I didn't have a fresh one, so I used a pickled one from a can in the pantry)
Couple pinches salt
Couple dashes of Tajin spice mix

Adjusters: Too hot? Add a squirt of honey. Or some watermelon. Or some pineapple. Not hot enough? Add more pepper or a shot of Tabasco.

Step, Drag, Step, Drag, Step, Drag

My morning runs usually start with some stretching in the house and then a twisty, cat-stretch walk down my crunchy gravel driveway and today was no exception.

Out in the road, I sauntered past my neighbor's driveway and began my run. My feet hitting the pavement sounded like this:

Thwaaaap, thwaaaaap, thwaaaaap, thwaaaaap.

After warming up, I picked up the pace:

Thwap, thwap, thwap, thwap, thwap, thwap, thwap, thwap, thwap.

A mile-and-three-quarters in, I caught myself straying off pace, so I kicked it up a notch:

Twapthwapthwapthwapthwapthwapthwapthwapthwapthwapthwapthwapthwap.

Then I turned a corner and headed down a hill and all of a sudden I felt a catch in my right hip. Surely it's just a hitch in my get-along. My brain is saying, "Run through it." So I kept thwaping, wincing with each step.

I stopped to stretch and tried to walk it off. But it kept getting worse. By now I was two miles away from home and my gait sounded like this:

Step, ouch, step, ouch, step, ouch. My brain was saying, "Holy $hit. You're two miles from home and you have to get back there."

I hobbled home. Step, drag, step, drag, step, drag. Wince, ouch, wince, ouch, wince, ouch.

And I spent the day doing the same around work. Afraid of what tomorrow will bring. This had better be a muscle pull that rest, ice and ibuprofen will take care of.

Mood Follows Action

Read an interesting article on CNN.com today.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/08/living/fat-dad-to-fit-dad/index.html?hpt=hp_bn11

I'm drawn to these stories about people have turned their lives around, so this one grabbed my attention. And while I admire this dude's ability to go from "fat to fit," completing an Ultraman race (essentially two Ironman races at once ... swimming 6 miles, biking 260 and running 52) and something called the Epic 5 (which is finishing five Ironman races in less than a week), that wasn't the thing that got me in this article.

It was this quote:


" ... remember that mood follows action. I think it's very easy to say I'll get to that when I feel better or when I'm in the right mood, then I'll do that, or when the universe aligns and everything is perfect, then I'll dust off that dream, but it never happens. The action has to come first. You have to take the action before you know where it's going to lead you without knowing the outcome and irrespective of your mind-set or how you feel at the time."


I couldn't agree more. Your brain is the most difficult muscle to train, right? Get up, get moving and the rest will follow. You'll feel better for moving and want to move more. 


Inertia is an under-rated motivator. 


(Oh, and CHEESE AND RICE! Two Ironman races in one and five in five days? I'm pretty sure that means I can drag my rear end out of bed tomorrow morning for a nice four-miler.)

Produce Overload

What happens when my fridge goes "bare" of fresh fruit and veg? Well, I go the the grocery store, of course.

And then I get in trouble.

I'm so starved for good stuff, that I load up. Too much.

My fridge is now bursting and I'm not sure how we're going to actually eat it all before it goes bad. And then Jim reminds me he won't be home tomorrow night.

Uh oh. Anyone want to come for supper?

The Refrigerator Challenge

While I love a well-stocked refrigerator, bursting with healthy, fresh green stuff, I also love a fridge that has a bunch of odds and ends at the close of the week.

I call it, "The Refrigerator Challenge!"

Tonight was a night like that. Between the fridge, the freezer and the pantry, we whipped this up:

Turkey Quesadilla-nini
Slices of Jennie-O roasted turkey breast
Slices of Muenster cheese
Low-carb whole wheat tortilla
Panini press

Assemble and drop the lid. Voila!

Lima-Licious
Frozen lima beans, nuked to room temp
Frozen corn, nuked to room temp
Red onion, chopped
Feta cheese crumbles
Black olives
Grape tomatoes
Orange bell pepper, chopped
Dijon vinaigrette

Add all veg to bowl. In separate bowl, mix 1T Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, diced garlic, salt and pepper. Pour dressing over the chopped veg. It gets better as it sits.

I actually didn't have a quesadilla-nini myself (Jim did), but instead chopped up some turkey and fresh spinach and mixed it with the Lima-Licious. Yummmmm!

Dress, The Sequel

I wore a new dress to work today.

For the record, I have decided dresses are the flippin' fastest way to get ready in the morning and the easiest way to live in the world. You don't have to match anything when your head is still foggy from sleep. You don't end up tugging on shirt tails or pockets or whatever is twisted up and squiggly all day long. And, you don't have to deal with buttons, snaps and zippers every time you hit the head.

So, in that spirit, I've been on the lookout for simple, cheap, work-appropriate smocks. And a few weeks ago, I found one I couldn't pass up.

You see, I had a relationship with it's big sister two years ago.

Yup. A relationship. With a dress.

What I mean by that is while I was just beginning to move from plus sizes into "regular" sizes, I spotted this size 14, copper/gold/brown-toned simple sleeveless sheath dress. It had an all-over paisley print that was not too big, not too tiny ... just right. I loved it on the rack at a Burlington Coat Factory store and took it to the fitting room immediately.

It was too tight. Not a lot too tight, but a little too tight. And I bought it anyway. Because I knew I was headed in the right direction and that it would fit soon.

I was right. Rather quickly, it fit. Unfortunately, I didn't actually wear it that long because it became too big too fast ... surprising no one more than me.

But I loved it. I loved it because it was pretty and flattering. And I loved it because it represented a milestone. An accomplishment. A new world where I could shop for clothes in normal sizes.

Fast forward to May 2012 and I'm in Marshall's at Greenway Station in Middleton (See a pattern here? Bargain Hunters Unite!) and I spot the same freaking dress. But this time it's in a purple palette and a few sizes smaller than a 14.

Fitting room, checkout, closet ... bing, bang, boom!

And today, a pretty good feeling inside.

Keep It Simple, Silly!

There's a certain CC reader who has made a choice to do things a little differently. And I think she's on the right path.

What's she doing, you ask? Get ready for this big news ...

She's eating healthy stuff and exercising. And she's dropping the lbs.

As in, 8.6 in two weeks. No fancy medicines. No late-night TV plastic exercise equipment. No costly gym programs.

She's eating the right amount of healthy food and exercising a little.

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT MIRACLE CURE?

I'm going to share a few of the "rules" she's following from Bob Harper's "The Skinny Rules" book to help you with this revolutionary concept. There are 20 in total. Simple rules, simple ideas ... take a shot at it and let me know how it works!

Rule 1: Drink a large glass of water before every meal -- no excuses!
Rule 3: Eat protein at every meal ... or stay hungry and grouchy.
Rule 11: Make one day a week meatless.
Rule 14: Eat a real breakfast.
Rule 19: Sleep right.

There are some other tidbits Bob shares that are really worth checking out. I like his no-nonsense approach and clean, easy ideas.

And most of all, I love that our CC friend is being successful. GO YOU!

The Real Angry Birds

I don't have a fancy cell phone, so I don't play the "Angry Birds" game. But I am connected enough to the  more tech savvy world to know what it is.

Not that I need to know about a silly online game ... I've got the real thing on my early morning running route.

Red wing blackbirds. Yellow finches. Robins. Barn swallows. They're all out and about in the a.m., doing bird things. Flying. Swooping. Chirping.

And, apparently, protecting their nests.

For a good half-mile stretch today, I had birds squawking loudly and chasing me down the road. They flew 10 or so feet above my head, behind me, and herded me on down the line. I assume they were trying to keep me away from their adorable little babies, all wrinkly looking with beaks as big as their heads.

If they actually dive bomb MY head tomorrow, I'm going to be pissed.

Angry Birds have never met Angry Runner.

A Good Night for a Walk ...

... So I think I'm going to go take one. How 'bout you?

Two Things

There are two things I cannot do standing up.

The first is obvious to all us girls. Men definitely have an advantage in this department. And it's also basically irrelevant to the CC discussion.

So I'll move on.

The second thing I cannot do standing up is pedal. As in, pedal my bike.

Remember how it felt as a kid to get on your green and white three-speed and pump up and down on those big, fat, plastic pedals? How free and light and fast you were, as the bike handles swooped powerfully side to side with each push, your hair flying in the wind?

I can't do it now. I mean, I've tried. I just can't. It's like I don't have the coordination or the strength or something. I can't put my finger on it. I feel awkward and heavy and slow.

So I just slide my butt way back on my seat, hunker down and dig all the way up those tough hills. I imagine myself to look like a long-haired, leather-jacketed bad ass on a custom chopper with my arms on ape-hanger handlebars, with the wind in my face ...

Ride it like you stole it.

A Part of the World

What a completely beautiful day. Not too hot, not too cool. Sunny. Windy enough, but not too windy.

It was a perfect day to be outside. 

And I was out relatively early for a weekend. Had my 6.5 miles in before 8 a.m. 

I love how my morning excursions make me feel like a part of the world. I can feel the day. Smell it. Sometimes it's sun on my skin or a cool dampness in the air. It comes in through my nostrils and moves into my lungs. The day surrounds me and runs through me, all at the same time. 

Some mornings it's pleasant. Some are not so nice. But either way, I take it in and breathe it out. 

We're working together.