Saturday, July 26, 2008

Let's talk about food a bit shall we? I just had a delicious salad and it took me maybe 3 minutes to throw together, making it much more likely that I will continue to make and eat the salad instead of driving down to S0nic for an extra long cheese coney. Ugh, that even sounds gross to me right now-must be a side effect of changing my mentality towards eating what is good for me.
What are the main factors that prevent people from eating nutritious whole foods? I can think of a few, the same factors that affect food choices in general whether you are aware of it or not: availability, convenience, time, finances, season of the year and taste-let's not forget taste though it is surprisingly not one of the top criteria running on most people's mental tapes. I'll share what I just made and ate and see how it fared with these points.

Roasted Chicken and Avocado Salad with Vine Ripened Tomatoes
Serves: ME (shrugs, or you-you know depending on who made it)

2-3 oz roasted chicken breast chopped, skin removed
1 large vine ripened tomato
1 and 1/2-2 c. organic baby spring mix greens (I hate to call it lettuce since it has so much more character)
1/4 sliced avocado
1 and 1/2 T. olive oil vinegarette dressing (I used Ken's Steakhouse Lite)
smattering of sunflower seeds (yes, a smattering)

Mix all together and eat. Ta da! I bought the rotisserie chicken yesterday and put it in the fridge still in its handy little carrying case. Very easy, not expensive, TASTY. We can pull meat off for sandwiches, salad, soup if I wanted to make it, etc. I also bought a container of Simply Potatoes mashed potatoes which I could eat with the chicken warm for a cheat meal, maybe with a side of green beans or big slices of tomatoe. I have not opened the potatoes but will probably serve that to Husband and Son at dinner while I enjoy half a plate of veggies. Anyway, super easy, no additives-chicken is freshly cooked, I bought it an hour after it came out of the oven and the potatoes are simply that, hence the name. They do have cream added to them hence the reason I won't be freestylin' those tonight. They are delicious and not overly salted or anything like that. Country Crock potatoes I'm looking at you. *scowl
I buy organic lettuce prewashed in a tub and just grab some anytime to put on sandwiches, tacos,or make salads. If I've bought spinach I also make fritattas with that but the last one turned out dreadful-we're on fritatta notta time right now. Tomatoes, carrots, apples, bananas, and berries I also buy organic-if you have the funds to go all organic and even better, local, please do it. However if you need to be a bit choosy and save a little cash get organic when you are eating the peel or if the product itself might have been sprayed such as lettuce. Banannas are actually probably fine to buy regular however I enjoy the organic ones for their taste. Regular ones hardly have any flavor to me now and even the skeptics that run the checkout lines always comment on the same thing. Bananas are harvested while still unripe and then shipped to where ever and THEN force ripened in chambers with ethylene gas. This does not hurt you as far as is known, but something seems to be lost in translation. Nature is best when it comes to many things and especially food. Berries are obviously eaten whole and I have found they taste better as well when I buy organic. I noticed Dole strawberries were lacking in flavor despite being a gorgeous red color and then when I sliced into one or bit into it, I saw the red seeped down into obviously white unripe fruit inside. Hrm, me thinks we are being fooled on that one. Unnaturally gorgeous ripe color on an unripe fruit. Bleh.
Organic strawberries taste way better and yet go moldy really quickly so I've just purchased frozen organic blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. I plan on having them with whole wheat pancakes and in my protein shakes. I can get out what we want and then put the rest back without them going bad so quickly-not as good to eat plain but great with other foods or in shakes.
So, super easy, not anymore expensive than a fast food meal and very tasty.
Amen.
Upping the 'bell to fifteen lbs definitely made a difference. I can still press that weight but it is much harder and I was struggling on the last few reps each circuit. The ten pound did the job for cardio but then it became manageable after about 3 workouts. The fifteen worked my core a lot harder and made it really difficult again. I'll keep on with the fifteen until it is no longer as difficult and then upgrade to the twenty. I can do swings and cleans with the twenty but pressing that much over and over would not be a great idea I think-would lead to bad form and possible injury (my shoulders are touchy, not unlike most people's).
Couldn't get the volume 2 disc at D!ck's Sp0rting G00ds-they just simply did not have either disc even though they're on the website. I did watch the disc that came with the new bells (old one did not work when we got it)and it showed the Turkish Getup and watching the Cleans on it made it more clear for me and I did it with good form and no wrist slapping today. I was doing it completely wrong like I thought, but now I have it.
"Cheat Meal" mentality last night led me to eat about 3-4 times as much as I normally would because it tasted so good but I won't keep doing that over and over...my normal mode is clean eating and I honestly like the foods I eat. Not a hardship just depends on your perspective.

Friday, July 25, 2008

36 minutes of Wii Fit today-I did yoga and cardio mainly trying to stretch out my legs from the kettle workout yesterday-not very sore which confirms somewhat my feeling of needing to upgrade the weight. I'm going to get a fifteen and a twenty lb bell tonight along with the 2nd dvd that shows the Turkish getup etc. I really like following along with a video-I have NEVER done that with weights and it makes me feel like I'm in a class which is apparently something that really works for me. I didn't know that because I've never been able to consistently attend any fitness classes other than the handful of power yoga ones I did at night with my mom. We LOVED doing that.
On to what I've been using: Iron Core Kettlebell dvd volume 1. Here is a link to their website along with their bells and videos, etc. I'm resisting buying the wristbands because if I control the movement enough I don't get smacked that badly on the arm but then again I am still a little lost on exactly what I am doing wrong on the Clean. Still working on it-I think I was doing too much of a one arm swing motion and need to keep my arm closer to my body-watching some videos of various people doing it cleared it up a bit for me.
Speaking of videos, there are tons on you tube and something I learned during last night's insomnia episode-people are just as silly and immature about kettlebells as they are about traditional free weights. A great deal of the comments on the videos were highly irritating but such is life. Why would you watch someone do a Turkish Getup with a 45 kg kettlebell and then say, "Now let's see you do it with a barbell." RAWR makes me want to smack people.
Purchased my old standbyes of cottage cheese, Fiber One, carrots, etc and am puzzling out the eating side of things. I want the heavier KB to do my workout tomorrow-Husband brought up starting himself today and I could have danced a jig. Yay for non pressuring my spouse and him figuring things out on his own. It is a bit irksome that one of our male friends started a long time back and I think that is partially why he is receptive to it-nothing I have ever done and showed him has been any interest to him. Let's not overthink things here.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Just a quickie, I do NOT have time as I am supposed to be walking out the door in 15 minutes with my son awake, shoes on and stuff packed to go for his three yr checkup. Yesterday was his birthday!
I did all three circuits off my KB dvd and do not feel like I will die this time. Definitely still a workout but not nearly as bad as it was that first time. I'll need to upgrade to a heavier bell soon-maybe get one tomorrow and get an even bigger one for Husband. Yay that makes me excited!
I will post links about KB stuff later, like my dvd and their webpage and other blogs that have been talking about it.
PS I need to name my bell, I saw that over at MizFit and loved the idea. Suggestions?
I gotta say it is a little bizarre how I manage to do something new when the rest of the world is doing it too without my knowledge. Honestly I've been lusting after the kettlebell concept for a good long while now and I finally go by one and start and I've read at least ten or more blog posts about others doing it too. Crazy! *I certainly do not have the ego to think it is because of me, just noticing how strange life can be.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

I'm sitting up, hoping that this damned ibuprofren kicks in sometime soon so that I can go to sleep without my knees exploding. Not sure which activity I engaged in did this to my legs but they are aching, aching, ACHING. I did 35 minutes of Wii stuff today including hoola hooping, skiing, soccer, running in place, boxing against a heavy bag and some yoga and stuff like lunges and plank. I know the hoola hoop one can do a number on my knees but who knows. My appetite has gone crazy, I am sitting here hungry right now and I've had plenty to eat over the day-in fact I had a hambuger steak at my mom's and managed to lodge part of it up in my nose-back of throat-area. In case you were wondering if that feels nice...no.
I'm super excited that my husband is using the Wii and also interested in doing kettlebell workouts, the more stuff I read about them the more amazing I realize they are-so time efficient yet fun and interesting. Tomorrow I'll do all three circuits-my legs are sore but not that bad from doing the two circuits so I'm fairly confident I can bump it back up.
Hrm, legs are still hurting. Boo.

PS Regarding tattoos oh wonderous Marla-I've wanted at least onoe for years but we shall see if that happens. Part of me isn't so sure anymore-I've changed so much but I definitely want to be a badass instructor.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Just completed two of the three cicuits on my kettlebell workout dvd. Last time I did all three and was jelly the rest of the day and could barely walk for almost three days. This is with a ten pound bell even though I've read to start with a 15. Apparently I am more out of shape than I thought! Part of me says, "Why didn't you do all three even though your body was telling you to stop?" but I am ignoring that voice and taking care of myself. Wore my HRM today and burned 371 calories in 37 minutes with an avg HR of 156 and a high of 182!
I've eaten yogurt with almond slivers and had plenty of water-I got up late so don't think I am trying to starve myself.
On the sick front: almost better, well enough to workout and just take breaks to hack up stuff and blow my nose. I know that is part of why the workout was so hard-the first time I tried it I was coming down with this junk so it will be interesting to see how I progress. I have a new motivation and it came to me with the KB workouts and my desire to go further with them: I've said it before regarding being an RD, you need to look the part or no one will want to pay you lots of moola, haha, but with teaching KB workouts I will REALLY need to look the part as it is not as mainstream yet and it's a different way of doing things. People are visual creatures. That may seem depressing but for me it is actually uplifting, I can't seem to really focus when the goal is purely my vanity but when it comes to being successful in business, that I can focus on and vanity is just a side project. I don't say my "health" because despite my pudgy appearance now I am quite healthy and won't lose site of that. My arms are tired and I'm stopping now that I just sort of opened a can of worms. Love me.

Monday, July 21, 2008

The time has come to be inspired again. To fee motivated and to be active and to take ownership over how I feel and what I do and what I don't.
I've been drifting for months now and feeling at loose ends. Lost, half-hearted, confused about what to do with myself and how to get back to feeling good.
I've been sick more time out of the past two weeks than I have been well but I'm hoping to wake up tomorrow feeling ready to face the day instead of hacking up nastiness and laying there until after noon.
Food has been more of an issue than ever and I am deciding here and now to take charge again and to honor the principles that got me into nutrition in the first pace. How terrible I would feel if I finally became an RD (which I will in less than a year!!)and I no longer took proper care of myself or my family regarding what we put in our mouths each day. I've become overwhelmed and squirmy about making dinner, planning things, even grocery shopping. Hallmarks of depression for me and the only way to get out of it is to make a plan or heck, plans.
I tried basically eating the paleo diet for about a week and saw my weight dropping (about 4 lbs in less than a week) and my stomach flattened out. I also had zero energy and felt like total shit, unable to workout much or do really anything. That resolved itself when I started eating more carbs again out of desperation (I had inlaws descending on the house and it was a mess and I needed energy to correct that in a hurry!). I liked having rules again though and some sort of plan but it fed into disordered thinking too much. I found this out when I went veg and I found it out again when doing paleo-restricting an entire food group that is not exactly harmful does my head in. I can restrict alcohol or dessert-whatever, but food that I feel deep down should be okay makes me sort of crazy. I must make a plan and I am not sure what but it is happening tomorrow. I will lay it out as I think it out.
Exercise: I finally did the hour long kettlebell workout and it was absolutely amazing and exciting and it was like a key turning in a lock for me. I actually had the thought in the back of my mind, "This will be what does it for me, I have finally found my niche." I even looked around to see if I could find a place to become certified. After one workout. I still want to teach yoga too, my ideal would be to teach yoga and kettlebells and lead intuitive eating workshops with a focus towards nutrition. I don't believe you have to separate the two, nutrition and eating "normally" can meld together but I have to figure that out for myself first, right?
We bought a Wii Fit and I absolutely love it, I cannot say how much I love it and I've been using it as well. So I haven't totally gone anywhere of a warm clime riding in a handbasket but I've had that lost feeling and I am ready to be found.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Ahhh Marla you make me laugh. I can say Marla now not M@rla! Somehow that looks strange but I am sure we will all adjust.

Where the hell have I been, eh? I like to say I am a work in progress instead of possessing a broken down junky ass psyche. Been depressive this week, sleeping a lot, extremely fatigued, etc. Let me back up...
July 1sst started our vacation and then we left for Mexico the next morning (waking up at 3am to catch our flight) and got back on the 6th. Yet again I packed my travel yoga mat and did not do even one Downward Facing Dog yet I was pretty active and had a great time. Went to the Mayan Riviera again and came back with increased calf strength from deep sand walking (to get to the bar some of the time I admit) and sore back muscles from snorkeling in high waves over a reef. Fantastic. I never used flippers before so learning to manuever those things was interesting, once I stopped trying to manhandle the durn things and just swam with them higher in the water I shot off like a rocket. Once again trying to force things to go my way instead of going with the flow wore me out but I am learning to go with the flow.

Since we returned our son has been in Oklahoma all week and I miss him like crazy and that has not helped my blues. I didn't want to return to the real world and then to be missing his sunny little face made it even worse. So I stuck my head in the sand and even avoided my online class, resulting in a big module test I have to make up and a quiz and my instructor wondering what the hell was going on-I thought I would vomit last night when I finally logged in and saw what I had done by avoiding. It is not a surprise that I was procrastinating, that's a hallmark of depression and I've been at least moderately depressed for several years.

I think my grandma going in to the hospital with her organs basically shutting down from the methadone buildup, fighting with my dad and subsequently not speaking to him for the first time in my life and then just the exhaustion of traveling from the wee hrs of the morning all day with an almost 3 yr old got to me. Let's add in of course the experiments I've been conducting that are dying a short lived death.

I have been TRYING to follow the Paleo diet the last few days which has not been that hard but I have had so litle energy no workouts have occurred which in my book is a big FAIL. I have to workout, see: depression. We purchased a Wii and have been playing the sports and also got a Wii Fit. I am firmly in the overweight category again and my Hubby is way above where he wants to be too (not my place to publish his stats, that's his biz though I share my nitty gritty with you). This game thing is FUN and I have yet to do even a fourth of what it offers. My tricep and shoulder on my right arm is SORE though and I had to switch to left handed swing to play the tennis game last night.

I have also purchased tennis raquets (real ones) and a kettlebell with workout dvd to show me stuff from Iron Core. I want to try that today even though I am a bit concerned that the only 'bell they had for me to buy might be the wrong weight for a beginner. It's a ten pound one which is nothing for me as far as normal free weights go but I read to start out with maybe a 5 lb one to learn the moves. I'm not your average unconditioned female though, I would say just a bit better than average so maybe this will be alright.

I have Fit Tv vids running out my ears, a new toy (kidding, I know a kettle bell is a serious mamma jamma) and a Wii Fit with a trainer all waiting for me. I should be in stunning Amazonian shape in about 5 minutes, brb. *wink

Talk to me people! Am trying to break out of being reclusive again. A chickpea is neither a chick nor a pea, discuss.