After I gave birth to my twins, I didn’t really care what I looked like. I had something that was much more important to tend to, actually two more things that were more important than myself. I would forget to eat, I would eat all day and only the quickest, easiest things around. Months passed, and I mean months before I took a moment to look at myself. What had these children did to my body? I tried to remember back to what my body looked like before I got pregnant……….I wasnt that fond of that body either. But I would still rather be looking in a mirror at that body than what was reality. Can I really blame my children for what my body looks like? Yes, but they are not responsible for it all, I am also responsible as well.
After my kids turned one, I realized that I needed to make some changes. I was too big, I would get tired running after them and I was always running after them. I dusted off my treadmill and found out if it still actually ran, it had taken almost a two-year vacation, so who knew if it would work or blow up. It started beautifully, and I began walking. Just walking, no running, I could barely keep up with a fast pace walk. But I did it. Now my children are three and exercise has become part of my routine. I now weigh less than I did when I got married and when I look at my wedding pictures I wish I would have starting caring about myself more than so I looked a little better in these photos that I will have forever.
How did I do it? Well I still havent gotten where I want to be, but I will get there. I eat better than I ever used to. I am aware of what I am putting in my mouth and I make better decisions when I snack. I changed little things first so that I didnt go crazy, and today I still let myself have treats. I will eat ice cream or eat a cookie, you need to or you will go crazy.
I also make sure that I have fruit in my diet and lots of it. I also add dried fruits to my recipes for a lot of extra flavor without tons and tons of extra calories. Dried cherries to chocolate chip cookies, dried cherries to a salad, various dried fruits in my trail mix. I new found love is cherry juice concentrate, I add it to water post workout and I don’t have the joint and muscle pain that I once used to have post workouts. Its something so simple, but it has HUGE results. Its called the Red Recovery Routine and its in my routine for sure. You should add this routine to your routine, go to www.choosecherries.com to find out how.
I often have a hard time with coming back from retreat to the circumstances of mail, making the bed, litter boxes, the expectations of other people. When my retreat time has come to an end in the past I have felt any combo of sad, anxious, conflicted, and tight. Alas, this time is no different.
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As much as I was concerned about… well, everything at this retreat (the food, the people, having a roommate, getting enough alone time, having to share…), by the end I just adored these sweet, quirky characters who have such immense, tangled stories. Sometimes it was enough to make my heart crack.
And Havi created this fun, spacious, intentionally awkward container where we could really let the Monsters go. She gave so much permission around doing, not doing, not feeling bad about doing or not doing, letting other people do or not do… it was brilliant. She is amazing at what she does, even though I haven’t quite figured out what that is.
The pull of old patterns is strong today.
In some ways I want to write and talk and tell about everything that happened; in other ways I want to curl up in the corner and cry, pretending like it never happened.
Maybe my biggest fear is that after a couple of days, maybe a week, I’ll be exactly the same. All this work, all this time, all this sharing… and I’ll be stuck in the same. old. rut.
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This here is resistance—part pattern, part stuck, part monster.
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But nowwwwww I have a Negotiator. Maps. A metaphor (yes, even fairies get sad sometimes). And a little pink monster to talk to. Truly, nothing is the same. Just remembering that I have those tools means nothing will ever be the same again.
Today was a train wreck for me. In the sense of eating healthy and working out that is. The day itself was GREAT.
I slept in until after noon. So I missed my first like 3 meals of the day. I then met up with an old friend from high school and had lunch at Panera. It was great seeing him and catching up on old times. I ate 1/2 a chipotle chicken sandwich and a bowl of broccoli & cheddar soup. Also, drank some sweat tea. We talked for a long time and then I noticed it was getting late. I ended up not doing my workout for the day because I was pressed for time. I also forgot to take out any food so it was all frozen. I ate a grilled chicken breast sub on wheat from subway. But with it I had baked lays chips and a sweet tea. I am going to a party with some friends soon and I am sure I will have a few drinks. I will try to limit it as much as I can.
Check back tomorrow because I will be doing Sweat 1-2 and Ab Ripper 100 on what is normally my rest day. Plus I will be cooking to boot!
This is a delayed update for Day 19 (Friday January 26th 2010)…
Sculpt 1-2
I don’t know what it was tonight but I blew through my resistance workout. I did 15 reps of everything, all the push-ups (off the wall), and all the chair dips (off my bed in the sitting position) in less time than the DVD takes. It was a good workout but if this happens again I am upping myself to the medium resistance bands and/or moving push-ups to the floor.
Food Intake
Eating today was not very good. Since I went out the night before I didn’t have any lunch. I had a grilled chicken breast whole wheat wrap from the work cafe. Not awful for me but not the best. Dinner was my leftovers from IHOP mentioned in my previous post. Absolutely horrendous for me I know but I spent like $8-$9 on it! I wasn’t going to waste it. I went out again that night with friends to Riverside and ended up drinking some. Only 1-2 drinks though.
This is a delayed update for Day 18 (Thursday January 26th 2010)…
Sweat 1-2
Cardio always kicks my butt. It wasn’t too bad tonight. I got through all of Power Yoga just still very slowly. I didn’t do Jumping Jacks because I was upstairs. Instead I just added more Running In Place during that portion. Was running off low sleep so I wasn’t putting as much behind Kicks and Punches as I would have liked but was still a good session.
Ab Ripper 100
I did all 100 reps again. Had to break a few times like normal and still can’t get my legs straight up for Superman Crunches. But all in all I am improving.
Food Intake
My eating was great until around 3am. I went out to a local club with some friends for a birthday. I didn’t drink a whole lot but I did have a Long Island. When we left we went to IHOP and I ordered a breakfast platter because I was starving. I was so tired I only ate a few bites.
The link below connects to a recent report issues by the New Economics Foundation on how the value of work is calculated. It can be dowloaded in .pdf format, or ordered printed and bound.
Thank you for passing this my way, Monika!!
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This report takes a new approach to looking at the value of work. We go beyond how much different professions are paid to look at what they contribute to society. We use some of the principles and valuation techniques of Social Return on Investment analysis to quantify the social, environmental and economic value that these roles produce – or in some cases undermine.
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Pay matters. How much you earn can determine your lifestyle, where you can afford to live, and your aspirations and status. But to what extent does what we get paid confer ‘worth’? Beyond a narrow notion of productivity, what impact does our work have on the rest of society, and do the financial rewards we receive correspond to this? Do those that get more contribute more to society?
Our report tells the story of six different jobs. We have chosen jobs from across the private and public sectors and deliberately chosen ones that illustrate the problem. Three are low paid – a hospital cleaner, a recycling plant worker and a childcare worker. The others are highly paid – a City banker, an advertising executive and a tax accountant. We examined the contributions they make to society, and found that, in this case, it was the lower paid jobs which involved more valuable work.
The report goes on to challenge ten of the most enduring myths surrounding pay and work. People who earn more don’t necessarily work harder than those who earn less. The private sector is not necessarily more efficient than the public sector. And high salaries don’t necessarily reflect talent.
The report offers a series of policy recommendations that would reduce the inequality between different incomes and reconnect salaries with the value of work.
If you checked out the narrative, then you know that I’ve been a vegetarian for about 18 years. Recently a friend asked me, how could he become a vegetarian? He has thought about being a vegetarian for a while but never knew how exactly to do it. Why do you think that is? According to him he doesn’t know what he would eat once he takes meat out of the equation. From his vantage point, if stopped eating what foods would be as filling and curb his hunger. It’s well known that most Americans eat far too much protein from animal meat; plant proteins are just as filling as animal protein minus the saturated fats and cholesterol. I’m going to share with you how much good and satisfying foods are out there, besides animal protein. This article is for those who either want to reduce or cut out meat entirely.
First, a little background, why did I become a vegetarian? To be very honest, initially it was more because I just didn’t like meat. However, overtime as I became more health and environment conscious I knew it was the right decision for me. The first step in my journey was excluding red meat (beef), pork, chicken, and fish. I still ate eggs and dairy products. There are many variations of vegetarians. For instance, some people will only exclude red meat, which is considered a lenient vegetarian. Whereas a strict vegetarian is called, a vegan – they don’t eat any food that comes from an animal or animal product i.e. beef, fish, chicken, cheese, butter, etc. I’m won’t go into great detail on this but if you’re interested email me and I will send you more information on the various types of vegetarians.
So, where was I? Ah, yes. I had cut out meat and fish. I can recall the first few months were brutal because of my Mother’s weekend morning ritual – – grilling sausage and bacon for breakfast. It took every ounce of my will to turn down my Mother’s offers. It took me some time to get over my love of beef jerky. That was probably the hardest meat product to exclude from my diet early on. It probably didn’t have anything to do with the fact that my grandfather owned and operated a beef jerky factory. Thankfully, in the recent years “soy jerky” has been available as an alternative to beef jerky, which has filled that void.
What I’m trying to convey is that everyone will have weaknesses during the meat elminitation process. Luckily for us, today there are so many soy, rice, and vegetable-based replacements it makes the journey far more realistic and attainable. For instance, if you love hot dogs on the 4th of July you can find soy-based hot dogs that taste just like the real thing. Even with the range of alternative products you will likely hit the wall at times and maybe even cheat but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on your goal. Look at eliminating meat from your diet like ending a romantic relationship. The decision to take deliberate action and seriously end the relationship is often the most challenging; same with ending your relationship with meat. Obviously, you can say you ended the relationship and next week invite that person to be your date at you’re cousin’s wedding. On the same note, you can say you will no longer eat animal meat and scarf down an order of hot wings at happy hour next week. It takes sincerity coupled with deliberate action to change any aspect of your life, regardless of what you’re changing.
So you know you want to eliminate meat as much as possible or even become a bona-fide vegetarian but still uncertain if the foods you replace meat with will fill you up. Be careful not to overload on one particular food or food type. It’s easy to fall into a high-glycemic trap once you exclude meat from your diet if you’re not mindful. There is a tendency to replace meat with an abundance of simple carbohydrates: pizzas, loads of potatoes (baked, fried, scalloped, etc.), white bread or white flour products. I fell into this trap when I first became a vegetarian. Eating a baked potato, French fries, a grilled cheese sandwich, and a small side salad for a meal wasn’t unusual at the early stages of my vegetarian passage. This type of change is anything but healthy, on the contrary this type of change is unbalanced and it will make it difficult, if not, near impossible for anyone to reach their protein quota of the day. With that said, make sure you still get your Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of protein even when is coming from plant protein. This is doable by eating a wholesome and balanced vegetarian diet excluding most if not all simple sugars and/or carbohydrates. But first, do you know what your RDA for protein is? RDA for protein for both adult men and women is set at 0.8 grams for each kilogram (kg) (or 2.2 pounds) of body weight1.
To figure your protein RDA:
Find your body weight
Convert pounds to kilograms (pounds divided by 2.2.lbs)
Multiply by 0.8 g
Example.
*Weight equals 110 lbs
110 lbs / 2.2 lbs = 50 kg then take 50 kg x 0.8 g = 40 g amount of protein daily to eat
Each of the following provides about 7 grams of protein which equates to 1 ounce of lean meat, chicken, or fish:
½ cup of legumes (kidney beans, lentils, black-eyed peas, lima beans, split-peas, and soybeans)
1 cup of egg noodles (if you haven’t excluded eggs from your vegetarian diet)
1 cup of broccoli or Brussels sprouts
7 ounces of milk or yogurt
1 ounce or 1 slice of cheese
¼ cup of cottage cheese
2 tablespoons of peanut, almond, or cashew butter
¼ cup of nut or seeds
¼ cup of tofu
This is what a typical day of eating looks like for me as a vegetarian and how I include plenty of plant protein in my diet.
Breakfast:
¼ cup of steel cuts oats (Country Choice Organic Irish Style) – 5 grams of protein
Strawberry smoothie with scoop of soy protein powder (recipe can found in “Breakfast is King: Importance for Weight Control) – approx. 27 grams of protein
Snack:
½ of Roasted, unsalted walnuts – 5 grams of protein
2 tablespoon of almond butter with roasted flaxseed on one celery stalk – 7 grams of protein
Lunch:
Tomato & basil pizza burger on Ezekiel bread with 1 slice of provolone, two slices of roma tomatoes, and mixed salad mix (spinach, red leaf lettuce, and arugula) – 19 grams protein
Homemade corn chowder – protein content not significant
Snack:
Apple pie Lara bar – 4 grams of protein
Dinner:
Large spring mix green salad with handful of sugar plum tomatoes, 1 Persian cucumber, 1/3 green bell pepper, 1 oz feta cheese, small handful of walnuts, 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and finally a dash of black pepper – 11 grams of protein
So for those of you out there that have contemplated becoming a vegetarian I hope this article makes that path look appealing and palatable. Make it easier on yourself by rummaging the cookbook section at Borders, which has an awesome vegetarian selection that will help broaden your knowledge of vegetarian dishes. To sustain a vegetarian life you must think outside the box when it comes to food otherwise the ride will be bumpy and success short-lived. Not everyone is up for the challenge.
1) Hamilton, E.M.N., Whitney, E.N., Sizer, F.S., Nutrition Concepts and Controversies, 5th ed. (St. Paul: West Publishing Co., 1991)
The Madonna del Ghisallo (patron saint of cyclists) medallions arrived in the mail this week! I attached them to the stem on my bike and the seatpost on Carrick’s bike. Thanks to Greg at Greg’s Soapbox for the tips and pointers. So now we’re set. May the force be with us.
On the stem of my bike.
On the seatpost of Carrick’s bike.
Today’s starting weight: 152
Food journal:
Breakfast: – Organic whole wheat english muffin with Nutella = 294 cal.
I started the Real Age Diet on Monday. I am not supposed to weigh in until Monday. (I totally cheated) I will say that I know it is working. I hope it is doing as much for my cholesterol numbers as it is for the numbers on the scale. I have struggled a bit trying to make the diet work. I am learning a whole new way of cooking and putting meals together. Tonight’s was super delicious so I thought I would share it. Here is a picture and I will post the recipe. Enjoy!
I am totally not a photoprapher… so I promise it looked so much better than what I was able to capture.
APRICOT CHICKEN & GREEN BEANS WITH ALMOND SLIVERS 2 servings
Green Bean Ingredients:
1 cup thin green beans
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon wine vinegar
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1/4 cup slivered almonds
Salt and pepper (optional)
For chicken, heat oven to 375F. Place chicken in glass baking dish. Saute remaining ingredients together until tender; transfer to blender (or food processor) and puree. Spoon over chicken and bake until chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, for beans, steam or blanch beans until tender but still firm and bright green. Sauté shallots in olive oil, vinegar and maple syrup until translucent. Add almonds and brown slightly; toss with beans. Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired. Serve alongside chicken.
Today, i woke up way early. i have crazy sleep patterns. i woke up around 4 and went to the gym at like 6, i walked for 20 minutes and did 50 crunch things on the machine.
BUT. i went back to sleep before class, and i guess i should have stretched or something, because i slipped something in my neck as i was getting out of bed to take a shower. so i took some medication, but apparently it wasn’t non-drowsy. so i spent the entire class not really doing much and falling asleep.
i had a bowl of special k for breakfast, and two glasses of water. for lunch, i ate at the cafeteria and now i weigh more than i did yesterday. this morning i was 167, and in the afternoon i was like 169. i guess that’s the nature of food. i did gorge myself at lunch, but i was much better than i have been in the past. i only really ate one sugary thing which was mostly peanut butter, and apparently peanut butter can be okay for you. i came home and passed out for four hours, so dinner of a bowl of cauliflower was a little late, but not too late. i have another glass of water to drink. i think for the next couple days i’m going to take it easy, and just do some yoga in my apartment.
having hidradenitis suprativa doesn’t help at all, my skin hurts like a mother fucker. even though i’m not a pool person, i think it’ll help when the weather gets warmer and it opens up again.
i’m going to try not to be obsessive over this weightloss number thing, it’s going to be hard though. i want results! now!!
