Daily Yoga

That's me... just kidding! Maybe someday

I recently fell off the workout wagon and it is starting to show. I'm not gaining weight, but I'm not sleeping as well as I do when I work out regularly, and I've been waking up with seriously stiff muscles in my neck and back. This usually happens every year when we are under the time pressure of get-everything-setup-before-Thanksgiving-or-we-won't-be-selling-Christmas-trees.

I recently bought a hot yoga package which I am trying to find the time to use, AND I just realized that there is a workout channel on On Demand. DUH!!!! I can just do yoga in my living room! So that's what I'm doing everyday from now on. I'm going to do at least 20 minutes of yoga every day.

Today was my second day doing it... I'll keep you posted!

How many meals should we be eating a day?

I get asked this question from time to time so I thought I would explain my views on how messed up America's eating habits are.

When I was a kid, we ate 3 meals. Breakfast, lunch, and an early dinner (by 6 pm). If we were hungry at 8pm we had a choice of fruit or to wait until breakfast. Somehow since then it has become fashionable to eat 6 smaller meals a day. Where this came from I am not really sure, but it is definitely an American-made concept.

I have tried this at least a few times and have stopped almost immediately because I felt like the only thing I was doing was eating- all day long! It was like I spent so much time managing when I was going to eat that it was annoying and I felt like I couldn't get anything else done because I was always eating.

Since attending nutrition school, I have come to think that not only is eating 6 times a day a little ridiculous, it is completely unnecessary, and actually detrimental to losing weight (which is the argument that trainers use when they tell you to eat smaller meals more frequently).

In a nutshell, your body will not burn fat if it is constantly getting fed. Fat is stored to be used as energy, but it only burns it if there is no food in sight. So if you can train your body to go longer between meals you actually have a shot at burning your fat stores for energy.

This brings up another aspect of eating 6 meals a day: night eating. Inevitably if you are eating 6 meals a day, you are more than likely eating later than you normally would to get that last meal in. Night eating is the worst thing you can do if you are trying to lose weight. It's ideal to go to bed on an empty stomach (slightly hungry but not starving) because then your body burns it's fat stores all night long. Everyone is different, but the ideal time for me to stop eating is 6pm, and I usually eat a large lunch and smaller dinner. When I do not eat a large lunch I go into the late afternoon starving, ravenous, and capable of eating everything. This is what I have been working on...eating my big meal during the day.

I have been chipping away at this over the past few months, and have seen tremendous results (along with all the juice I drink). I gave up the idea that I need to kill myself at the gym everyday and little by little have changed my eating habits. I have seen more weight loss from changing my eating habits than I ever did from spending hours at the gym. Now, a few times a week I go for a six mile walk (more like stroll most days) and an occasional run if I do not have the time to walk.

Changing one's eating habits is tough stuff, especially if you are addicted to sugar, caffeine, etc., but I promise if you just start where you are and make little baby steps you can see lasting weight loss without killing yourself at the gym.

And the most important thing to remember is: IF YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY DON'T EAT! (regardless of what you think you have to do...you don't have to do anything...you are an adult...eat ONLY when you are hungry!)

Seeking Motivation

I've been in a funk lately. I am trying to pull myself out of it, but it's been a slow and not so pleasant process. By trying I mean I'm basically forcing myself to do things that I know I should be doing (working out, eating right, not sleeping my life away) and forcing myself to do the things I have to do (working, eating) and force myself to do the things I should want to do (being out and about).

I keep telling myself to "act as if" and eventually I will feel better. I guess it's working because I do feel better than I did a week ago.

I've also been looking for different things that I can do to get outside of my "box". Last night I went to a raw food group meeting with Victoria Moran as the guest speaker. I went specifically because she is an excellent speaker and very motivating. After 2 hours of listening to her I felt better. I feel more like myself again. Further proof that I need to seek out more people that will motivate me.

If you are in the Ramsey, NJ area and are interested in learning more about raw foods/healthier living there is a great Raw Food Support Network run by Karen Ranzi.

Anyone have a fix for a funky mood that you can't beat?

I'M TAKING A BREAK

For the past week or so it has been a struggle to eek out my daily posts. I've been pulling whatever I could out of my ass just so that I didn't leave you all hanging. I'm assuming I'm just in a writing rut right now and I will find my flow once again. So I've decided to take a small break from writing. I need to get my head out of all the seriousness that I've been working on. Don't be alarmed if you don't hear from me until next week.

I'm signing off and going to spend some quality time with myself, my family, and my friends. Everyone should take a mental break every now and again. It's no good to be so serious all the time. Get out and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Until next week...

GOAL: Live to 110 years of age

Cutest centenarian ever!
(Source) 

I just finished a book called The Blue Zone that talks about the four areas around the globe where there are the highest percentage of centenarians (people who live to 100 years of age). The four areas are Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; the Nicoya Pininsula, Costa Rica; and the Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda, Southern California. This book interviewed many centenarians and their families over the course of several years to figure out what were the characteristics that set them up for a long, healthy life.

I am interested in this because of a couple of reasons. Just recently I realized that I want to live to be a centenarian. I wondered how does one do that? Also, even if I don't end up living that long, I want to have the best possible quality of life for as long as I can.

This book touches on both of those topics.

In a nutshell, here are the principles that people in these Blue Zones lived by:

• Surround yourself with family and friends. Almost all of the centenarians interviewed lived with their children and grandchildren and also had a consistent social obligations from playing cards with friends, to morning group exercises, to going to church. Each area had different customs, but all of the four areas were consistent in that they all put a great deal of emphasis on being with other people everyday. 
• Don't let stress get the better of you. Maybe it comes with age, maybe these people were born with a stress-free attitude, or maybe it is part of their cultures. One thing is for sure, the centenarians had a very care-free way about them. They also had downtime, either everyday or every week. It was built into their lives. Costa Ricans would rest everyday in the late afternoon. The Seventh Day Adventists would have a day of rest every weekend. No work, no homework, just family and fun activities.
• Be active every day. The stories of the centenarians in this book tells of them chopping wood into their late 90's, riding bicycles, walking for miles everyday, gardening into their 100's, sitting on the floor cross legged and getting up and down with ease and grace. (How many elderly people do you know that can do that?) 
• Eat unprocessed foods. All of the four cultures ate completely differently. But they ate real food, food that was culturally theirs. They didn't eat fast food. They made just about everything. The centenarians in Costa Rica ate eggs, coffee, tropical fruits, corn and beans. In Okinawa they ate fish, rice, seaweeds, sweet potatoes, and vegetables. In Sardinia, the people ate a diet of whole grain breads, beans, garden vegetables, fruits, and goat's milk. The individual foods were different, but the principles were the same- whole foods cooked at home.
• Spend time in the sun. When the sun touches our skin it starts a chain reaction in our body that ends up producing Vitamin D. Vitamin D is not actually a vitamin but a hormone that controls the absorption of all other vitamins and minerals as well as the function of our immune system. These centenarians all lived in temperate to tropical climates that allowed them to get outdoors and get Vitamin D for a large majority of the year. Since they were accustomed to working outdoors (farming, shepherding, relaxing) their entire lives, they were inadvertently making plenty of Vitamin D. 

This book really struck a cord with me. It's so SIMPLE!!!  How did we stray so far from what seems to create a happy and healthy life? I feel like I have been getting back to basics as of late. I feel the need more so now than ever to be happy and healthy. I have been thinking recently that health is about much more than the food you eat. It's the whole picture. 

"People talk about curing cancer and heart disease, and of course it is an important and worthy goal that can happen soon enough. But there are simple things everyone could be doing right now that would save so much money and suffering- like drinking enough water everyday, exercise, and eating healthy food. But hey, " Wareham said, suddenly catching himself in is fervor, "everybody has his own idea about these things- it's their lives, after all. You can tell somebody what to do, but it's up to them whether they do it. But you can tell them how good you feel."

~quote from The Blue Zone 

5 Weeks til Memorial Day Weekend!

So I just realized it's 5 weeks until Memorial Day weekend!!!! This is by far my favorite weekend of the year because it's the start of the summer and you have months of warm weather ahead of you. I wanted to make a point of sharing one of my long-term goals with all of you because I think it's an important one that everyone can relate to.

Being comfortable in your own skin. 

This has been an ongoing struggle for me for years. Growing up I would always compare myself to others and wishing I had what they did. I'm talking specifically about being thin, which looking back I was, but in my mind I was bigger than my friends. This is actually ridiculous because looking at pictures of myself, I was a toothpick.

In high school I ran track and life guarded. I was still a toothpick, and still thought I needed to be thinner, although I do remember at certain points feeling really good about myself and knowing that I was thin. There were always things to improve though. Looking back at pictures, I was COMPLETELY ridiculous feeling this way about myself. I was in the best shape of my life!!!

Enter college, learning to cook, drinking a lot, and becoming "comfortable" in a long term relationship. Looking back I can't believe I let myself go like that. I mean I didn't gain 100 lbs or anything, but I was dealing with some serious chub- for the first time in my life.

I didn't really start to lose it until about 2 years ago when I started changing my diet and working out consistently. Before I would binge workout, lose a few lbs, and then go right back to what had made me gain weight in the first place. It's a vicious cycle. But really I think the working out had much less to do with it  than the food did mainly because the weeks I had great results were the ones that I drastically changed what I ate while keeping my workouts the same.

I feel better about myself than I have in a long time, however those feelings of being uncomfortable still creep in. I still have "problem" areas that just aren't going away fast enough (haha nothing ever happens fast enough for me). But what is different now is I know how ridiculous I was, I know that I have a lot of things going for me, and I know that I am on the right path to making sure my body is healthy and my mind is happy. I want to be comfortable in my own skin.

So why does Memorial Day have to do with any of this?

Because summer is the time to wear little dresses and bathing suits. It's when I've tended to feel down on myself more because I haven't been comfortable in my body and I couldn't cover up in a sweater and jeans. I always felt like I was stuck with the weight and didn't know why it wasn't coming off.

I'm glad to say I don't feel like that anymore and I am actively working on it. And if you feel this way about yourself, there are very simple things you can do to make changes so you feel better about yourself. I think most of us have a comfortable weight we would like to be at. Whether we are there or not depends on a lot of things. But I promise you that being happy in your skin is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your long-term health.

If you feel that you need some help to get back on track in time for summer check out my breakthrough programs.

Love you all!

The Reality of NYE Goals

Looking back is always funny. For whatever reason, your lofty ambitions always seem so realistic and attainable. But ahhh how reality has a way of changing everything. Over the past few months I have been very productive. However, I would have to be productive 100% of the 24 hours in each day in order to get done what I had wanted to get done December 31st of 2011. Lets take a look at what I had planned for myself:

December 31st, 2011- My specific goals for 2012 are:

• finish my book (I just finalized scope) I am not ready to write a book I keep going back and forth, plus I am starting Raw Generation so everything else pretty much took a backseat 
• figure out which publishing route I am going to take obsolete
• grow my readership to 10,000 reads per day (I am at 1900+ this month) I had a huge month in February where I had over 28,000 reads IN ONE MONTH!!! Now I am averaging 432 per day, which is a huge jump from 69 per day in December!!!
• create and sell and app for android/iPhone (details TBD) Still in my radar for later on this year.
• work towards seeing 40 health counseling clients per month (starting in March) Wow, that was serious ambition. I am still working on getting 4 clients haha. Slow and steady wins the race :)
• vacation at least once (Rincon, PR is calling my name) Got out to Los Angeles which was on my list for a while, still haven't planned a big trip yet. Maybe in the fall.
• start saving $ to buy land/design & build a house (not ready yet, but want to have $$ by the time I am) Definitely not able to do this yet. Maybe once Raw Generation gets off the ground. 
• running the NYC Marathon Still haven't heard if I got an entry yet, although I am not so secretly hoping that I don't get a number because I know that this was me being over ambitious. But just in case I am training. 

So, some things I hadn't planned for were going raw and starting Raw Generation. These came about in January & February, and am so excited to be launching soon! May 1st we are hoping to go live. Vegetable juice for everyone!

Continued...Workout Goals for 2012

Remember about 2 weeks ago I wrote about my workout goals for 2012? Well, since I made an unofficial commitment to run/walk 1000 miles in 2012 I have had this nagging thought..."maybe I should run the NYC marathon..."

Let me elaborate on my love/hate relationship with running. I signed up for the high school cross country team when I was in eighth grade. Before that, the only running I did was through backyards in our neighborhood when we would play manhunt. Cross country freshman year was uneventful....except for the fact that I hurt my knee and never properly took care of it, thus I still have a stabbing pain when I run more than 6 miles at a clip. I continued to do indoor track and outdoor track. Indoor was by far my favorite (when I say favorite I mean I didn't completely dread it) for the sole fact that I hated running around the outdoor track. I can't really explain why, but I just did. But when I think back to why I hated it, I think part of it was the competition. I hated competing. The stress just did not do anything for me. Also, I knew I was not going to be one of the top runners because I didn't have the drive to be.

I think my last season on the track team was spring of my junior year (can't remember if I did it senior year, but I'm leaning towards no) which consisted of me and a certain friend- who will remain nameless- hiding in the cafeteria until the track bus left. Then we would go back to her house, eat bagels and Oreos, and play softball in the back yard.

That was my illustrious high school running career.

Running has always been my go-to workout though. Before I started with my trainer, I didn't lift weights- EVER. I did yoga every once and a while, but I didn't consider that a workout (until I found hot yoga).

When my trainer asked if I wanted to do 1000 miles in 2012 I said yes right away. Something about it just felt right. For the past two weeks I have been mulling over signing up for the marathon in my head. I talked to everyone about it. I tried visualizing running 26.2 miles. I what-if'd myself. I told myself that if old people and fat people can do it...I certainly can. I just have to train properly so that I don't blow out my knee.

Today I signed up. My entry number is 906642 and I will be picking a charity to raise money for when they are all announced in March.

I am excited, and going to keep plugging away at my 1000 miles for this year. At the end of last week I had completed 32.25 which is about 30 miles more than I would have done had I not made this commitment to myself.

Anyone have any advice for training for a marathon?

My workout GOALS for 2012

Well I did it again...signed myself up for another workout challenge. Except instead of only lasting 5 weeks, this one is a year long. A few weeks ago I had made one of my goals to workout 5 days a week (M-F). I figured the best possible way to achieve this is to put it in my calendar and to go immediately after work. Last year I had made it my goal to workout twice a week with my trainer, which I accomplished (for the most part). Time to up the ante. 

This is what I had planned before I got wind of the challenge:

• M- 1 hr lifting and 20 min cardio
• T- 1 hour cardio
• W- 1 hour lifting and 20 min cardio
• Th- 1 hour hot yoga
• F- 1 hour cardio

The challenge I just signed up for is to run/walk 1000 miles in 2012. That rounds out to 2.75 miles per day (or 20 miles per week). So I am going to have to run/walk at least 5 days a week. This is what it is going to take:

• M- 1 hr lifting & 2 mile run
• T-  2 mile run & 3 mile walk
• W- 1 hour lifting & 2 mile run
• Th- 1 hour hot yoga
• F- 2 mile run & 3 mile walk
• S- 6 mile walk

Does this sound too ambitious??? Do you have workout goals for 2012?

Reflecting on the Last Year

I used to get hung up on 'not getting enough done'. I would beat myself up mentally which never resulted in better results, just more negative feelings. I started to look at things differently when I put myself through the Midwest Center for Stress & Anxiety. It was  a 15 week program which I started in October of 2010 and ended in January of this year (2011). One of the things that this program teaches is how to change your thinking, which will ultimately change the way that you feel. And it works. I was a walking billboard for chronic anxiety, self-doubt, anger, and worrying. But now I'm perfect! Haha just kidding!!!

One of the things I did to help me get over the 'not getting enough done' way of thinking was to write down what I actually accomplished. I sat down and thought about everything that I had done over the previous year. And you know what? When I actually took a few minutes to think about it (and write it down in black and white) I was proud of myself. I had done quite a bit. I did this exercise every week for a few months to try to build the habit.

Well, recently I have fallen back in that trap. It happens when I have a lot on my plate and am feeling scattered. My health coach (yes I have a health coach; one of the perks of going to school to get certified as one) worked it out with me so that my goal is to focus on one or two big things I have to do every week and put everything else out of my field of view so I do not overwhelm myself. In addition to that, I thought I would make a list of all of the things that I have accomplished this year. Here I go:

• started a blog
• enrolled in school to become a holistic health coach (and passed the 1st test)
• improved my diet by leaps and bounds
• lost weight (approx 10 lbs)
• reconnected with 5 old friends that I had fallen out of touch with
• came up with 2 different business ideas that I will be pursuing after Christmas
• learned 2 new computer programs (it would have been 3 if WordPress wasn't such a pain in my ass)
• made a raw cake
• took 2 vacations
• made a lot of progress in the LOVE department

I think that is pretty good for one year. I urge you to do the same. Sit down with yourself and make a list of all of your accomplishments over the last week, month, or year. It's shocking right?

What is an accomplishment you've made over the past year?

My advice to college girls

Ladies... as someone who was able to party her way through college and grad school and still get almost straight A's, unfortunately I was not able to party my way through college and avoid gaining weight. I have some advice for you that I wish someone had told me when I was in college. While I know that there are so many fun things that involve drinking, nothing is fun about how long it takes to loose weight. 

• Everyone will notice that you don't look as hot as you did when you graduated high school- but no one will be nice enough to give you a heads up so that you can start working out. People talk about other people. That is a fact of life...and I would rather know that they are talking about how good I look instead of how much weight I've gained.
• You absolutely CANNOT try to keep up with guys when you are drinking. They will try to peer pressure you, but nothing good comes of trying. Guys do not gain weight like we do (nor do they get drunk as fast as we can). They can drink beer all day long, go for a quick run, eat pizza and still look hot. 
• If you have a spare tire that sticks out as much as your boobs do- GO TO THE GYM! And absolutely DO NOT wear tight shirts until that S-H-I-T is taken care of.
• Alcohol is processed by our bodies differently than food and other liquids. We do not get any nutrients out of it so it just depletes us and makes us tired, hungover, and FAT. 
• If you do not want to workout, join a club or something that is activity oriented. It will get your lazy, hungover ASS off the couch. Or...DON'T DRINK LIKE AN ANIMAL!
• If you start cooking for yourself, experiment with a lot of vegetables. Eat a lot of fruit in general. The more raw foods you eat, the easier it will be for you to keep the weight off or loose it. If you have a meal plan, and all of the food is over-cooked or greasy, eat all of the salads, vegetables, and fruit that you can. 
• Designate at least an hour a day for working out (at least a few times a week). This will ensure that you are working off all those beers. 
• Everyone is capable of gaining weight- even the "hot" ones you went to high school with.
• Once you get out of college, all of a sudden your free time dries up and your motivation to workout after a long day at work is close to zero (if not negative). It is that much harder to loose weight. Trust me, I am still working on it and I have been out of grad school for 4 years now. 

At one point during college my Nani said to me 'Jessie, you are finally not skinny anymore." That should have been my cue to hit the gym and change what I was eating. But I thought she was just being an asshole. Well when I look back at pictures from high school and college there is a HUGE difference- and it's called my ass. 

You will know you are gaining weight if:

• Your belly hangs over your jeans when you sit down
• You constantly have to pull your shirts down to cover your stomach
• You are white and getting hit on by black guys
• You start to feel like you are stuffing yourself into your clothes
• You used to be an athlete, but now it's uncomfortable to workout because your jiggly parts are getting in the way 
• You have jiggly parts

Not only is gaining weight disastrous for your self-image, self-esteem, and level of attraction, it is also really bad for your health. I know your health isn't even in your radar right now because you think you will always be young and invincible, but trust me you won't. Time is going to start going faster and faster and all of a sudden you will be creeping up on 30 and realize that being slim, healthy, and beautiful is even more important to you. 

It is much sexier to take be hot and care of yourself than it is to impress guys with your record breaking keg stand. AND...most importantly, it is much easier to maintain being thin than it is to loose weight. Just saying...I wish I had someone who wasn't my mother's age tell me what's up. It isn't really believable when your mother is telling you these things. (sorry Mom)

Do you have any other advice for college girls?

Does a bear S-H-I-T in the woods?

Yes. Do I have to S-H-I-T every time I am running in the woods? YES. What the hell? I mean, lately this has been happening quite a bit. Like every time I get a mile and a half from my car/house/gym I get the 'Oh-my-god...is this really happening?' pains. My workouts lately (few-and-far-between) have been cut short and I have to walk all the way back.

Today, I got as far out as I possibly could and all of a sudden...sharp pains, heavy breathing, bent over, racing thoughts. WTF? Why does this always happen to me? This time I made it all the way back to my car (running) before the really bad pains started. I chugged a water and raced back to my office.

Whew!! I missed a major malfunction by a few minutes.

I used to think that I was the only one that things like this happened to, but recently I came to the conclusion that there is no way that I am the only 29-year-old who sometimes comes close to crapping in her pants while working out. You know who you are! I actually haven't had an Oops-I-Crapped-My-Pants episode since I stopped taking Metamucil a couple of years ago.

Don't let it discourage you if this happens to you. If you have to crap in the woods, on the beach, or on the side of your house, just make sure no one is around, pop a squat, pull up your big girl panties, and afterwards run like hell to the closest bathroom. *Advice- do not wipe with leaves unless you are 100% positive you know what poison ivy, oak, and sumac look like.

These types of things will seriously teach you how to laugh at yourself. Does this ever happen to other people?

Working Myself Up to Workout

As many of you may be aware, last weekend was the NYC Marathon. I had the opportunity to spectate and cheer on my friend (and fellow rhino) Colleen. I am no longer allowed to complain about my 1 hour workouts. It was really mind blowing and awe inspiring to see so many runners. We were posted up at 59th and 1st which was right were they came off the bridge and were back in Manhattan.

Run Colleen Run!!

To see many of the runners who were older than I was (some by at least 40 years) and fatter than I was accomplish this (and look damn good doing it- I only saw 1 man crying) made me realize that...I AM A BIG COMPLAINER AND I AM NOT ALLOWING MYSELF TO DO IT ANYMORE.

Some of the highlights that I saw (which I unfortunately did not get on camera) were a lady dribbling a basket ball, a guy juggling, a giant chicken costume, and a guy running past drinking a beer motioning for all of the ladies to "call him".

As I start another workout challenge this week, I am going to try to keep in mind all of the smiling faces that were whizzing past at mile 16. If they can do that then I can push myself to get to the gym more often and not complain about how I HATE to work out.

Working out is so good for you on so many levels. First, it is a better way to build strong bones than to drown yourself in milk. If you are worried about osteoporosis, start working out, lifting weights (with guidance if you are new to it) and eat more dark green leafy veggies. SIDE NOTE: there is more bio-available calcium in dark greens than there is in dairy products. You will also loose weight which is great for your physical health, but also for your mental health. It will help you sleep better, digest your food better, have more energy, and feel better about yourself.

Here is a link to an the 20 most common exercise myths 20 Fitness Myths Slideshow. I used to believe several of these.

I wish....I would need to run 4 miles for this to make sense for my body.
(substitute gin for wine & minus the bong hits)

BONUS: If your reasoning behind your lack of workouts is not enough time, I have the perfect solution for you. A friend just introduced me to this website called BodyRock.tv. She said that she knew of a few people who had done it or were in the process of doing it and were getting AMAZING results. The best part about it is....the workouts are all designed to complete in about 15 minutes. So NO MORE EXCUSES ABOUT BEING TOO BUSY!

I am going to do this (modified because I am not going to buy the equipment right now) on the days that I am not in the gym (2-3 days a week). I'll let you know about my results. I started taking my measurements so I can track my progress.

Operation Damage Control

Congrats Laura & Tom!!! Such a fun wedding!

Wedding + old friends + copious amounts of wine + White Castle = HUNGOVER!

Snowy Saturday + no motivation + more wine + Chinese food = OPERATION DAMAGE CONTROL

I'm sure that you can relate. It was a fun filled weekend with childhood friends, lots of wine, unhealthy food, and cigarettes. Yes cigarettes. I hate to admit it, but sometimes when I drink wine I smoke a few cigarettes. You may be saying, "How can you do that? You are supposed to work on being healthy!"

I KNOW! But knowing is half the battle. I know I shouldn't be eating White Castle, but when it's 2 am and I'm drunk...White Castle wins. The cigarette craving is leftover from college (which was when I smoked A LOT when I drank). 

The moral of this story is that you can't be perfect 100% of the time. But when you are done being imperfect...put on your healthy girl panties and go for a run, make a green smoothie, and file those fun times away until next time. 

Quick Lunch & Out the Door

It's finally soup season! I am a soup/stew/casserole/big-pot-of-pasta-sauce fanatic during the colder months. Today, unfortunately, I did not have the time to make a big pot of something warm. So I opted for a can of Amy's Organic Soups; this one is the vegetable barley. I haven't found one that I dislike yet. I just added a little thyme (something I am running short on today), heated it in the microwave, and sucked it down. It is a little pricey, but worth it in my opinion if you want to eat something, warm, healthy, and quick. I promise to put up my recipes as I start making them...definitely over the weekend.

Last night I bought new running shoes. Did I ever mention before that I hate working out? Well, I hate it. The only way I have found to successfully build a habit of working out is if I know I am paying someone a lot of money to train me (force me). Don't get me wrong, I know full well the health benefits (both physical and mental) of regularly working out, and I do feel better about myself now than I did even a few months ago, but every day that I am not scheduled to meet with my trainer is a STRUGGLE to get myself to workout. Well, after yesterday's monsoon, I woke up to a beautifully sunny, fall day (and I fear it may be one of the last). So I am going to force myself to put on my new running shoes and get outside for an hour or so. It has taken me over 2 hours to successfully get my ass out from behind my desk and go for a run (fast walk).

Hopefully there will still be butterflies everywhere. They only come around the beach in the fall when these beach weeds (not sure what they are?) bloom.

Wish me luck! (It's really windy out there)

CHALLENGE Day #28- That went fast!

Well, today is the last day I am going to be formally tracking my smoothie-ing progress. I am still, however, on the quest to feel the best I can. This is a life-long process, so trust me, there will be plenty more self-imposed challenges to come.

Four weeks really does go by in a flash! It was summer when I started this, and now it is beautifully fall. As much as I love fall, it makes me sad when summer ends. Hopefully we won't get as brutal a winter as last year.

Afternoon canoe ride with my dad!

These fall flowers were everywhere.

The weigh-in this morning went so so I would say. The machine told me I am up 2.3 lbs of muscle and also up 1/2 a lb in fat. This does not surprise me though. Before I started this challenge 4 weeks ago, I looked at all of my weigh-in sheets and it was very common for me to fluctuate (be down one week and up the next). I am happy that I gained muscle though. My next goal will be to focus on loosing fat and keeping the muscle I have gained. Not sure if it is going to happen this weekend with all of the birthday dinners, drinks and Sunday brunch- but I will try not to do any more damage. :)

After comparing today's sheet with my first ever weigh-in exactly one year ago, I am very pleased with myself. It is too easy to beat yourself up over the short term ups and downs, but the real story is told over time. One year ago on October 4th I weighed in at 162.7 lbs, today I am 157.6 lbs. I have lost 10.2 lbs of fat and gained 5.1 lbs of muscle. My percent body fat started at 34.2 and is now at 28.8- that's a 5.4% reduction! That is pretty good over the course of 1 year if I must say so myself. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!! Every year I buy myself a present, but this year I think I feel good just knowing that the 10 lbs of FAT is gone...that is my gift to myself.

Some people would say that I should have been able to get down to my ideal weight by now, but I am more concerned with making long lasting habits than quickly loosing weight. I have done that before and it does not stay off. I am very conscious of making sustainable changes now. For instance, I go to the gym now as much as I can (sometimes it's 5 days a week, sometimes its 1 day), but I still go out and party whenever the need strikes. There is no point in me being strict with myself, because at the end I am going to over compensate and undo all of the progress. I am a true Libra...all things need to be balanced.

What I learned about myself:

• I can do just about anything for 4 weeks. 
• I really do not need to give myself anxiety over finishing things.
• My body is loving all of the fruits and vegetables I have been giving it.
• I cannot eat the same volume of fruit as I can when I drink a smoothie. 
• I still feel the need to "eat" real food. I cannot smoothie my way into health just yet.
• I want my next goal to be to start making raw meals. I think I will start with lunches.
• I pee a lot more when I drink smoothies.
• I stopped my need for coffee every morning. 
• I feel the need to make better food choices throughout the day when I start my mornings off with a smoothie. 
• I don't need to take fiber any more if you know what I mean
• I am craving healthy foods!

I really encourage everyone to go out, buy a blender (if you do not already have one), and start experimenting with making smoothies for breakfast. I promise, you will feel so much better, and it will springboard you into making healthier decisions. 

CHALLENGE Day #21- Woohooo!

a beautiful surprise delivery

This week's weigh-in really clarified for me what my body is capable of if given the proper food- and I even had to weigh-in a day early.

My notes are scribbled. My body fat need to be in the low 30's and kept
under 28% of my total weight.

This is what I have learned and observed:

• I didn't loose any weight, actually I gained half a pound, however, I lost 2.3 lbs of body fat and I gained 2.8 lbs of muscle! 
• The one thing that I did differently was I ate more protein. I still ate fruit and vegetable smoothies for the first half of the day with a cooked dinner consisting of either fish or eggs with veggies and/or carbs. 
• I went to my trainer 3 days which equates to 3 hours of working out last week.
• It's nice to be complemented by my trainer for a job well done!
• I DID NOT EAT LOW FAT ANYTHING, in fact I ate full fat foods like butter and olive oil. 
• I ATE A LOT OF FRUIT. 
• I ate homemade bread. 
• I DRANK WINE, not a lot, but a few glasses on a few different occasions. 
• I have had 2 cups of coffee in the last 2 or 3 weeks. This is amazing because I used to start every morning off with at least 1 huge cup of coffee. It wasn't a morning if I didn't have my coffee. 
• I did not try to loose weight.
• Protein powder does not taste good in fruit and vegetable smoothies.
• I'm still just as enthusiastic about using coconut oil instead of lotions and creams.

I'm pumped!

I wrote in my last update on CHALLENGE Day # 14 that I bought a brown rice protein powder to see about adding it into my morning smoothies. Well, protein powder and fruit just don't mix in my opinion. I tried and no matter what I did all I tasted was the vanilla flavor protein. I did however come up with a smoothie that I'm sure is not new, however I had forgotten about how much I loved it.

PROTEIN SMOOTHIE

• 2 heaping tbsp. natural peanut butter
• 1 frozen banana
• 2 fresh bananas
• 1 heaping tbsp. raw cocao nibs (a powerful anti-oxidant)
• 1 tbsp. brown rice protein powder
• coconut water to desired consistency (you could also use almond or rice milk)

So good!

Have a great weekend!

CHALLENGE Day #7- Feeling Good

Well, after 7 days of eating alot of fruit and raw vegetables, I feel great! I went to my trainer to weigh-in this morning and lost 1 lb. I lost more lean mass than fat :( but I know that this is because I am not eating as much protein as I need to be.

This is what I have learned:

• I need to look up some actual recipes for smoothies, as I am getting tired of the mish-mosh that I have been making
• I find that the days in which I eat fruit and veggie smoothies (vs. just fruit) I crave salt/carbs less
• I am finding it a little more difficult on the days that I am not in the office (i.e. especially the weekends, traveling back and forth to the boyfriend's apartment)
• I have better workouts if I eat a little protein a couple hours before. On the days I ate nothing but fruits and veggies before hand I felt sluggish with little motivation.
• I feel more alert and I do not get the afternoon "dragging ass" feeling where I want to bury my face in a pillow
• I feel like I am getting slimmer with out really trying. Before if I wanted to loose weight I would have to restrict my diet down to nothing but protein and workout for 2 hours a day. NOT SUSTAINABLE!
• I actually got a compliment from one of the trainers (something that doesn't happen unless it is actually warranted). She actually asked "are you eating healthier?" YES! I AM (SMILING)!
• I need to eat more protein, as I am finding I am craving it.

Gotta keep going! 

No Cure, Big Problems