This Blog Post Has Been Interrupted ...

... by a trip to the ER.

And I'm too pissed off to write. I'm home. I'm on crutches. And I'm told I'll be "fine."

Again.

But I don't fucking believe it anymore.

Oh, and did I mention that the pharmacy was closed and that means no Vicodin until tomorrow? Going to be a long night.

The Psychology of Losing

First and foremost, losing is addictive. Once it happens, you want more. If you can manage small losses each week, you feel like you can go forever. People begin to notice and comment. It becomes this great challenge ... and you're winning. You're beating this evil that has messed up your life for a long time and it just feels good.

What you give up in food and what you take on in exercise is so completely worth it when you step on the scale and see victory.

Losing is also terrifying. There's a fear of NOT losing that eats at the back of your brain. On those days or weeks when you don't lose, the panic that descends can be overwhelming.

Having a few bad days in a row can also send you into a tailspin that end with you contemplating quitting. It's too hard. It's not worth it. I'm tired of this. They creep into your head and take up residence.

All of these things require a little intervention: 

• The power of the addiction can lead to calorie cutting that's too severe. Or working out that's too extreme. Check yourself and get someone you trust involved to keep you in check.
• Know that it's fear that leads to the thought of quitting, nothing else. Acknowledge it and don't give it power. 
• Be patient. If you're doing the right things often enough, good things happen. You aren't going to lose every day or every week. But you will lose ... as long as you're taking in fewer calories than you're working off. Simple math.

What's In Your Head

I'm trying to wrap my head around my head.

Yeah, you read that right. Trying to wrap my HEAD around my HEAD.

We've talked many times before about how your brain is the most difficult muscle to train. To engage. To push. It talks you out of working out. It talks you into thinking you need to eat something bad for you when you don't. It convinces you that you can't do this, even when you know you can.

The truth is you have to exercise your head, too. You have to override it when it's giving you grief.

But I think there's more.

There seems to be a different mindset at different points in this process. We're going to talk about them.

The Psychology of Starting
Starting isn't about starting. It's about deciding to start. I think people wait for some diving intervention to happen indicating, "Today's the day." I think they expect some sign from God or the planets to align ... or maybe a star to appear in the night sky.

They have some list in their head of conditions that must be met before they can begin: Vacation must be over, work must calm down, kids' schedule must be manageable, house must be clean, shoes must be new, bills must be paid, laundry must be done ...

They're all just excuses. And you have to recognize that. It's like buying a house or having a baby, there's no perfect time.

But there is danger in waiting.

One less day to live your life happier on the other side. One day longer to get to where you want to go. One more day to feel like shit about your current condition.

Hard to argue that today's not a good time to start when you look at it like that.

Key Considerations:

• Convince yourself that you're worth the effort. 
• You don't have to have it all figured out today; you'll figure out some of it as you go.
• Prep yourself for the fact that it won't be a cake walk. 

To come: The Psychology of Losing, The Psychology of Maintaining, The Psychology of Gaining

Tell Me What You Want

I'm struggling for topic, kids.

I have to believe you're tired of me yammering on about ME.

So tell me what you want to hear about.

Please?

Answers, Fantastic-ly

Last week, I told you a story about someone I know who publicly declared a 111-pound weight loss on Facebook. Her story resulted in some questions from CC readers. 

The answers are here. And, I'm giving her a CC name of Fantastic-ly. (Hoping her husband remembers the conversation we had before their girls were born so it makes sense.) 

Q1: Fantastic-ly, did you consistently lose?

I did consistently lose and that was one of the biggest keys to my success, that I kept being successful. I did not start out thinking I would be able to lose 110+ lbs. I started out thinking I was ready to make a change. And then the first week, I weighed in and I’d lost 6 lbs. I got a 5 lb. sticker in my WW at Work meeting and a little recognition and that was cool. Then the second week, I lost 4 lbs. I got another 5 lb. sticker and I thought, this is going really well. I think I’ll try to go for 5% lost, which for me was 13 lbs. When I made that goal over the next two weeks, I was hooked. I lost weight every single week I was on the plan, a minimum of ½ lb. each week. That success kept me going.

Q2: Ms. Fantastic-ly, were you pretty good about hitting WW Healthy Guidelines?

I was pretty good with the guidelines, except for the Healthy Oils requirement. I tried to keep my water consumption up and my consumption of fruits and vegetables. And after the first few months, I exercised every day.

Q3: Fantastic-ly, did you eat all daily and weekly points?

I did not. I never ate any of my weekly 49 points. In addition, I earned anywhere from 50 to over 100 activity points each week and I never ate any of those either. There were also days, especially early on when I had more daily points available, where I didn’t eat all of those points (I know, this is not WW-recommended).

Q4: OK, Fantastic-ly, did you drink Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi?

I drank Coke Zero and Diet Coke, primarily. Except for 1 point per day for ½ cup of orange juice in the morning, I never used any of my points for beverages (I gave up alcohol for the time being).

Q5: Well, then, Ms. Fantastic-ly, how much did you work out?

The only exercise that I did was walking. I have an office job and my daily number of steps when I started was about 3,000. Now I regularly earn 15,000+ steps per day. I walk during my breaks mid-morning and mid-afternoon (about 17 minutes and 1 mile). Then I walk for at least one hour every evening. I also modified my daily routine a little, parking further away in the parking lot and always taking the stairs to another floor to use the restroom.

Q6: Have you, Fantastic-ly, tried WW before and if so, why were you successful this time?

I am not a habitual dieter. This was the second time I tried WW (or any program); the first time was back in the early 90s. That time, I lost 33 lbs. and made it to lifetime. I kept the weight off for about five years but then it started creeping back on. I now weigh 40 lbs. less than I did at my wedding 16 years ago. I think the reason I was successful again this time is because I hate the idea of paying for a weight loss program and then not giving it my all.

Q7: Lastly, Fantastic-ly, What are the three biggest keys to your success?

Continuing to see success on the scale each week. Always making time to walk. Control, control, control.

Thanks, Fantastic-ly! And, congratulations again-ly. 

Knee, Knee Hooray?

Quick medical update: Knee MRI revealed a Baker's cyst, but no meniscus damage ... which means no surgery! I am going to have it drained and hope that takes care of the pain.

My online research says most Baker's cysts are NOT painful. In fact, oftentimes you don't even know you have them.

So apparently, my limping is ridiculous. And I'm not being woken up in the middle of the night. And I don't cry while sitting on the couch or in the car. Because they simply don't hurt.

That's a relief.

(The alternative is that I am the biggest faker, liar, wuss on the planet. Or the MRI didn't show something. I guess both are possible. Not sure which I'd prefer to believe.)

In any case, sports med doc said I can't really do any damage to it by running. That is good news. Let the training begin.

The Stomach Bug Strikes

How do I know when I'm sick?

I don't eat.

It's no secret that eating and me are good pals. Tuesday at 3 p.m., I was happily planning dinner. By the time I got home at 5:30 p.m. however, the thought of food was beyond disgusting.

After 3 hours on the couch, I hit my bed and didn't look back. One rough night and a not-so-terrific Wednesday, I think I'm on the road to recovery. Working out has also taken a bit of a hiatus.

Listen to your body. It knows what you need.

Two Pounds, 50 Weeks

Saw a post on Facebook yesterday that knocked my socks off.

I'll paraphrase: "Haven't talked about this before here, but now is the time. I reached my goal weight today. I'm 50 weeks in and have lost a total of 111 pounds with the help of Weight Watchers."

This amazed me. The person who posted it is the wife of a co-worker. As with lots of Facebook friends, she's someone I would most certainly recognize to say hello to on the street, but someone I haven't seen in person in a long time. I'd heard she was on the path, her husband was proud of the journey, but it was great to see the elegant and understated victory post.

It got me thinking.

Somehow, 111 pounds sounds impossible when you think of it as a whole. Yet when you throw in 50 weeks, and do the math, it seems so incredibly doable. Fifty weeks is just not that long. You can get your head around that time frame. Two tiny pounds a week sounds completely manageable. It's just not that much. Little changes add up to two pounds a week more easily than you think.

Are you willing to try something new for 50 short weeks? I dare you. And will be there to cheer you on every step of the way.

(Oh, and congrats to this lovely lady! Nothing beats that sense of accomplishment and pride. Revel in it. You earned it.)

Seriously ... Let's Do This!

Rock the Rock Challenge

Here are the reasons:
1. It's in my home town.
2. I need a half marathon to train for. You have time to get there from here, too!
2. You get a Tshirt that says Rock the Rock. For those of you who know/remember my maiden name and my dad's name, this couldn't be more perfect.

A Darling, Sweet New Addition!

Look what's been added to my workout room!

Isn't she adorable? Thinkin' about naming her Big Red.

My husband spotted her on super-duper sale at Farm 'n Fleet and snagged her. He hung her while I was traveling last week.  Now all there is to do is hook the Wii up down there and I'll be ready to do the Gold's Gym boxing workout for realzzz!

Something tells me this will come in dang handy after a crappy day at work, no?

Now, let's hope I don't break anything in the process. I'm mostly worried about my fingers.

I Feel Better When I Do It

It's simple, and it's true: I'm a different person when I exercise. I noticed it this past week in Las Vegas.

By the third day of the show, I was dragging. You know how it goes. You never sleep well in a hotel. You're eating at odd/late hours and you're eating a little off program. Your body is adjusting to the new time zone, but it's not quite there. In my case, being at a show requires me to be "in public" all day ... which is not my favorite thing or best skill. I have to work at being cheerful and chatty ... natural me is sort of crabby and quiet.

The fix? A workout.

Luckily, there was a window between the morning rush and the lunch break that allowed me to sneak away for a quick 4.5 miles, a second shower and yet another session with the curling iron.

But it was worth it.

Running made me feel more awake. Working out made me feel more cheerful. (There was dancing in the booth, y'all.) It was noticeable.

I love how that works.

Win Some, Lose Some

My first trip of the trade show season is over. Eating right and exercising enough are always challenging, no matter how long I've been at this. Here's my scorecard for this trip:

Wins:

• Took enough Fiber One bars, apples and oranges for "complete" breakfasts every morning, preventing me from eating bad show food.
• Packed enough snacks (mini ziplocks filled with craisins, almonds, Cheerios, Frosted Mini Wheats, sunflower seeds, wasabi peas and Dove chocolate) to get me through four flights, midnight snacking and booth noshing. 
• At a vendor dinner, managed to order only a side salad and appetizer crab cake instead of a calorie-laden, too-late-to-eat meal. 
• Found a little lunch spot that offered fresh fruit and veggie options. 
• Bought a pass for the fitness center and ran two days. Plus I did a version of Jillian in my room one morning. 

Losses:

• Enormous portions of nachos, mushroom risotto (that was sooooo freaking good) and Snickers.
• Too much bread at the too-late-to-eat vendor meal.
• Paired a delicious veggie burger with a huge pile of sweet potato fries. Whoops. Just because they say sweet potato doesn't cancel out the fact that they're DEEP FRIED.
• One day with no exercise and a skip this morning, even though I was home, because I was too tired. 
• Took too many little bags of snacks ... I could have gotten by with less.
• Did I mention the Snickers?

It wasn't a great trip. I could have done much better. But I didn't totally blow it, either. That's what this is all about. You have to get it right more than you get it wrong. 

1

You get one life.

You get one ride. One trip. One shindig.

You have one body to do that with.

You have one chance to live the life you want to live. To show the world who you are. Who. You. Really. Are.

One opportunity for them to see you. For them NOT to see the the layer of insulation you're carrying first.

It's a short trip. There's no time to waste.

236

This is a number I've never shared before. Mostly because it embarrasses me. It's a number I didn't want anyone to know ... a number I didn't want to know myself, to be honest.

I knew saying it out loud, or typing it here, would make it real. And I didn't want to admit that it was real.

But it was real.

I weighed 236 pounds.

The very numbers 2 and 3 and 6 sound big and round, don't they? They're not angular and thin like 1 and 4 and 7. The only thing worse would have been an 8 in that mix.

You and I both know that my driver's license never said 236. In fact, I didn't even know how much I weighed because I didn't own a scale. I didn't get one until we were a couple of weeks into this process, so I'm assuming I actually weighed more than that when I started. Stepping on the scale that first time was one of the scariest things I ever did. I promise you tears followed. Lots of them.

How could this happen? How did it get this far? When did I become a professional football player? Or a husky 6'4" man? How is this all me?

Doesn't really matter how it happened. It did. And 236 was the new "start line."

It's not a number I will ever like. But it's a number I have to own.

40 ... or 70

Chocolate.

I live for chocolate. 

I eat chocolate every single day. Sometimes three times a day. 

I know how much it "costs" me in calories. And I'm happy to make room for those calories in my daily intake by burning just a few more calories in my morning workout.

And I know that good eating wouldn't be possible for me without this one, simple, delicious reward.

I've told you before, that even when my eating was at the "strictest" ... when I was following my Mediterranean Pyramid to the letter ... I still enjoyed one Dove square a day. I savored it. I made eating it a ritual, nibbling at the corners, letting the silkiness melt over my tongue. I'm sure there are a million dieting books that say food should never be a reward, but I used it that way.

Doing so made me feel like I wasn't denying myself. That I wasn't "roughing it" so much. And knowing that helped me stay on course, stay in control.

Being healthier is about enjoying my life more, not less. Good eating allows me to enjoy the chocolate I love so much. There's a nice ying and yang to it all. 

One Dove Square: 40-ish calories.

One Ghiradelli Square: 70-ish calories.

My favorites? Dove Dark. Dove Dark with Caramel. Ghiradelli Pumpkin Spice. Ghiradelli Dark & Sea Salt Caramel.

You have to run approximately one mile to burn 100 calories. In my world, that's worth it.  

6 mph

It's not fast, my run pace. Six miles per hour, or a 10-minute mile, will never win a 5K. In fact, some would argue that it's not really a "run," but more of a "jog."

But that's OK.

It suits me just fine.

I know that it's much faster than it used to be. When I first started this journey, it was all I could do to keep up a 4 mph or 15-minute mile pace for more than a half-hour or so. Every day, I'd try to go a little bit longer, a little bit faster. I walked as fast as my legs would carry me. And when I couldn't walk any faster, running seemed like a logical next step. My run pace was a whopping 4.5 mph, mind you.

I know that it gets my heart pumping ... and it's sustainable. When I'm done, I'm sweaty and winded. But I also know I can do it again tomorrow. The first part of that equation is the easier one. You know when you're sweating. It's harder to know how much is enough ... and how much is too much.

I know it's improvable. I ran my first ... and only so far ... half marathon in 2 hours and 9 minutes. That's ever-so-slightly under 6 mph. By just a skosh. When I ran that race, I thought my pace was about 5.5 mph and I was surprised by my time. I'd like to give it a shot now just to see what might happen.

In the end, the point of this number is that I know that it changes. None of this is about counting how many miles are covered or how long it takes to do them.

It's about doing them. And it's about letting yourself learn that you can do it. And it's about getting better.

Getting better, literally and figuratively, feels really good.

110/66

I used to dread two parts of the trip to the doctor. The first, and most obvious, was the weigh in. Still not a big fan of that one, to be honest.

The other one that gave me minor palpitations, literally, was the blood pressure cuff.

While I was never on medication for high blood pressure, I did have high end of normal readings that required rechecks. Not a great feeling.

As I sat in the sports med office this week, the nurse was going through all the normal questions. "Why are you here? Is this a work injury? Do you still live at this address? Is this your insurance provider? What is your birth date?"

And then she reaches for the cuff and peels it open as it makes that unmistakable Velcro sound.

My breath catches in a split second. I was running behind for the appointment and had to hustle to get here. I chose the stairs vs. the elevator. I know I'm probably a bit nervous. There are little warning bells going off in my head saying, "Relax! Take a deep breath! Stay calm!" It's as if I think I can somehow control my blood pressure in the three seconds it takes for her to wrap that thing around my arm and pump up the plastic bulb.

"110 over 66," she says with a smile. "Wow. That's great!"

And it is.

5:16 a.m.

The house is dark. It's pitch black outside. Jim left late last night, so I've got the whole bed to myself. The dog's bed is next to mine and her snoring seems so loud because everything else is so quiet.

My alarm is set for 5:17 a.m.. I'm almost always awake before it goes off and this last minute before it does is my most favorite and least favorite moment of the day. I love that it's all mine. Me alone with my thoughts, snuggled under the covers, free to sprawl out in the dead center of the bed. I also hate it because I know that sleep is over. That I have to leave the warmth, throw on my workout clothes and start sweating.

I'm always amazed at the number of times I argue both sides of the coin in 60 seconds.

"You're tired. Stay in bed and sleep."
"You know the right thing to do is to get up and hit the stairs."
"Your knee hurts. You'd better take a day off."
"Have you looked at the scale? A day off benefits no one."

Good usually beats Evil as the alarm starts blaring.

Up and at'em.

It's All About the Numbers

I've been working on a new "series" for CC. This is a preview. Hope you like it.

90: Pounds lost
8: Pounds up from "normal" low
2.5: Years into the journey
52: Heads of cauliflower I eat in a year
4, 6, 8, 10: Sizes of pants in my closet right now that fit
200: Approximate number of steps in a tenth or a mile
Under 550: Calorie count in "healthy" meals at Applebee's
5: Pair of shoes worn out by hitting the treadmill and pavement
849: Number of posts on CC ... some published and some not

The point? There are a lot of numbers that have meant something to me in this process. I'm going to talk about a few of the most important in the coming days.

Fiesta Soup

Another non-recipe recipe.

Trying to use up odds and ends in the fridge and get back on track from the holidays meant we had big salads the past two nights for dinner. And, as you can imagine, after serving salad two nights in a row, I have to give my studly, truck driving husband something more substantial tomorrow night or he'll wander to the neighbor's house in search of manly sustenance.

This isn't a recipe. It's a suggestion for using up stuff, with a twist. Think vegetable soup meets Juanes' abuelita. (Feel free to Google Juanes. I'm throwing that in here for my sister.)

Fiesta Soup
1 small onion, chopped
Handful of baby carrots, chopped
1 sweet potato, chopped
1 box of vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
Leftover turkey
1 can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1T or so of chipotle in adobo, finely diced
Glob of jarred salsa verde
Cumin, Tajin seasoning, salt

So the point here is you can sub in or out anything you like. Want garlic? Add it. Don't like chipotle? Use a jalapeno. Or not. No sweet potato? Use a normal potato. Pinto bean, black bean, black eyed peas? Who cares! Mix and match. This is bubbling away on the stove right now and it smells so good. (Tastes pretty yummy, too.) Tomorrow night we'll serve with some cheese grated on it, a handful of crushed baked chips tossed in and a diced avocado on top. Maybe a spoonful of light sour cream if we're feeling frisky.

Move Your Ass, Prevent Cancer?

I have been thinking about this all day and you know what that means.

You get to hear it.

I want to believe it. I want it to be true. I want to be able to prove it. So here it is.

This morning as I was rushing to get ready, this guy stopped me in my tracks:
CBS This Morning Interview with Dr. David Agus

He's a professor of medicine and engineering and wrote a book called, "The End of Illness." Today he was talking with Charlie Rose about the very small decline of cancer deaths in the US from the years 2000-2009.

The point of the story was that with all the amazing advances in early detection and treatment and all the money that goes into research, cancer deaths have fallen by less than 2% in 10 years. A measly 1.8% or something like that.

Dr. Agus said that is simply not enough of an improvement. I agree.

He said the trick isn't to cure cancer. But to prevent it. And he offered these solutions: Take a baby aspirin every day. Eat real food. And last, but  not least, MOVE YOUR ASS.

Well, he didn't say it like that, but he did say that not moving was as bad as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. That even going to the gym for an hour every day doesn't cancel out the 8 hours a day we spend sitting ... at our desks, in front of the TV, etc. That if you want to be healthy, you've got to move.

I'm no doctor. And I'm not suggesting you follow his advice.

I'm just saying I like it.

Yeah, It's Going to Suck a Little ...

But then it's going to get easier. Because you're going to get stronger. And you're going to learn that you CAN do it.

You can eat better. You can get faster. You will go farther. Your body will learn how.

You just gotta stick with it. Get through it today. Do it one more time.

And when you do, tomorrow is better than today.

I promise.

Free to Good Home

In an attempt to change things up a bit, I'm in the midst of what I'll call, "Exercise Exploration 2013."

You see, I'm in a rut. My hip and knee are back to hurting beyond normal (back to sports med doc on Wednesday) and I'm back to hating swimming. That leaves me with biking and every-other-day-at-best-running/walking. And I'm getting bored.

So in an effort to shake things up, I bought some exercise DVDs this weekend. I picked up Jillian Michaels' Ripped in 30, a CorePower Yoga for Beginners and a double feature Dancing with the Stars workout thing.

I tried them all this morning.

The Dancing with the Stars deal is available to the first person who tells me they want it. Free of charge.

I think I'm really going to like the Jillian one. It's a 4-week program and I'm going to do it at night, trying to keep cardio going in the mornings. I have to modify some of the jumpy-jump stuff because my knees just can't take it, but that's OK.

And, I'm pretty sure Yoga and me aren't going to get along either, but the jury is still out.

What DVDs do you have/use/like/hate? Maybe we can do a little swap via CC.

Frozen Pizza Flurry

My weekly trip to Woodman's happened today. Ugh. Nothing more hideous than Woodman's on a Saturday afternoon, right?

The congestion never ceases to amaze me. (And the amount of people that have NO awareness of the fact that there might be people behind them when they choose to stop in the middle of an aisle, blocking all others also astounds me, but you really don't want to hear about that.)

In the frozen pizza aisle today, I counted no fewer than 47 people.

That's right. 47 people.

I have no point. I just found it interesting.

Go Pack Go.

The Power of Walking

If you read yesterday's post, I hope you followed the link to Michael Moore's post about walking.

I think walking gets a bad rap every once in a while. It's not as flashy as running. Doesn't sound as sexy. "Yeah, I run ... I'm training to run a half marathon ... I ran 7 miles yesterday in that heat!" That sounds cool, right?

"I went for a walk," just doesn't sound as impressive.

But here's the thing about walking: Anyone can do it. You need NO equipment. It can be done anywhere ... on a treadmill, outside, in the mall, on the beach. You can do it alone, or you can do it with others. And did I mention that it's free?

What I think is the very best thing about walking is that it gives you time in your own space. It gives you time to think. To hear your own breath. To feel your heart beating and your feet hitting the pavement. It's so imminently doable. Achievable. Conquerable. It gives you the confidence to keep going, to keep trying.

It just makes you feel good. When you know you're doing something good for you, you FEEL GOOD. And when you feel good, you do better.

I think I've written this post before. (Accessible Exercise, Just WALK)  But I believe it so much that it's worth repeating.

Walk. Just walk.

This Guy Gets It

I'm not sure if you remember this post, That's It? The Big Secret? I wrote it after I posted the Mediterranean Food Pyramid that we started to follow when we wanted to get healthier. The line I like is, "Eat more vegetables. Eat less junk. And though it doesn't say it implicitly, it implies: Exercise a little."

I was reminded of the concept today when my sister sent me this Facebook post from filmmaker Michael Moore's page: I am now in week 42 of my walks ...

He gets it. And he says it better than I could. 

So I'm going to shut the hell up and let you read his words. Feel free to hear me throwing in an "Amen!" every once in a while. 

Simple Roasted Potatoes

I swear, this is the last recipe for a while (if you can call what I plop on these pages "recipes"), but there was a lot of eating and cooking over the holidays and if I don't write it down here, I'll forget how to do it. (And, yes, there will be no formal measurements here. Sorry.)

Simple Roasted Potatoes
3 enormous sweet potatoes or yams
4 big "baker" Idaho or Russet potatoes (or any mix of potatoes/squash you like, I suspect)
Olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 of one of those clear plastic containers of fresh Rosemary
1/4 to 1/2 of one of those clear plastic containers of fresh Thyme
1/2 to 1 full head of garlic (or several cloves)
1 sweet onion, big dice
Salt and pepper

Peel and chunk up the sweet potatoes/potatoes. If I had to guess, 1 inch-ish pieces. Put them in a big kettle, cover with water. Bring to a boil on stove top, adding an ample amount of salt as water comes to a boil. Let them roll away for 15-20 minutes, depending on how big your chunks are. You DO NOT want them totally fork tender. The idea is to just give them a head start on the stove so you don't have to roast forever in the oven.

While they're boiling, prepare your herbs. Rosemary looks like pine needles. Pull the green part off the stems and chop finely. Thyme leaves are really tiny already. Pull them off the stalks and give them a quick once-through with your knife, allowing them to release the essential oils. Separate one head of garlic. Smash each clove with the back of your knife so the papery peels come off easily. Then give the whole pile a rough chop.

When the potatoes are done, drain and spread in a single layer on cookie sheets/jelly roll pans to let the potatoes cool a little so you can handle them. Make sure there's some room for the heat to circulate ... two pans is better than one crammed full pan. Then drizzle some olive oil over the potatoes, drop your herbs, garlic, salt and pepper over them. Add the onions and mix it all up. Spread back out to one layer, roast at 375 until done fork tender. I took mine out once and flipped them around just so the bottom didn't get too burnt.

This will make your house smell SOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOD!

Starting, Stopping and Renewing Habits

Habits to start: Training plan for upcoming races. More cheerful attitude. Carbless days. Slow, careful ramp up in miles to prevent injury.

Habits to stop: The constant nibbling. The "requirement" of something sweet after every meal. The sleeping in late. The staying up late.

Habits to renew: The Med Food Pyramid. No eating after 8 p.m.