Saturday reboot

No worse for the wear from last night's shenanigans and I was up and at 'em this morning. This is a new program for me in general because I have never really committed to exercising for the sake of losing weight and being fit. One or the other, but never together. This may well be the key because I have multiple goals both dependent on my getting my ass out of bed/off the couch/out of the chair.

I was out the door like I didn't have an option this morning and only chose my destination. Today, it was the wharf. Our community wharf is exactly .8 miles from my house and I knew this meant 1.6 miles total (because I do know basic math, much to the disagreement of my husband). A great way to start the morning on a Saturday (a notoriously out of control calorie day for me). 

I walked to warm up and repeated my trick from yesterday where I picked a spot in the distance and jogged until I got there. I found myself saying "I will stop at that mailbox and then seeing a sign a little further and choosing the sign instead."

Finally, there was a point where I said, I will jog from this mailbox to the water (not the wharf, the water). I did this and found inspiration there.

Jogging at a pace that can only be described as bouncy walking, an elderly Asian couple were making their way around the wharf (the wharf is square and approximately 30-40 feet on each side). They seemingly effortlessly kept going, she ahead of he and neither panting or puffing. They were dressed oddly for exercise (both wearing dress slacks and loafers). They both wished me a good morning and kept on their path, around and around and around... I rested, panting from my "sprint" and hoped they assumed I had just ran 2 miles rather than 2000 feet. They were exercising for purpose, seizing the moment on a crisp January morning, making use of their space and lengthening their lives together. SO INSPIRATIONAL!

Also inspired was my breakfast. I got back home by way of a low and slow walk - still my feet did it :). I made this for my breakfast:

Reboot Omelet:

Break two eggs into a bowl and fish out one of the yolks, just dig right in there, you can do it.

Scramble them up with a fork and set them aside.

Chop beet greens (or any greens you have on hand, I bought beets with tops so I just pulled them off - I am hard core)

Chop green bell peppers

Chop green onion

Chip 4 mushrooms

Saute the veggies in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil and set aside the cooked veggies.

Spray the pan with cooking spray and pour in the eggs.

Using a spatula/turner, move the eggs around a bit and then spoon in the cooked veggies on one side of the eggs. Using the spatula/turner, lift the side of the eggs without the veggies and fold it over top of the veggies, plate it up and eat.

I enjoyed it with the other half of the banana I used on my cereal yesterday.

Did you know that your nerve cells from your brain send messages to your muscle cells to tell them to move by shifting sodium and potassium within the cells to change the electrical current? Eat bananas, your body needs that potassium if you are using your muscles!

Lunch date with the kids and hubby at a -eek- Mexican restaurant. I ate the delicious salsa with a fork! No chips! I also had tilapia al tequila with roasted mixed veggies. IT WAS DELICIOUS! I even left the yummy-but-off-limits rice. A medium light latte was my dessert. No afternoon snack today.

Chris treated me to dinner which I asked that he keep within the parameters of my new lifestyle and he handily complied with Asian chicken tenders on skewers, brown rice with Asian flavors and mixed steamed veggies. It was delicious and I kept my rice portion really small. I also am enjoying my second glass of a nice sippable white wine.

I will be back at it tomorrow with more exercise and good eatin' 

Whine about Wine

It is a mere 3.5 hours since I posted about the day. I have eaten my last meal and the last food to part my lips was the dreaded and uncontrollable "snacky supper".

I put together a smorgasbord of leftovers and general snacks for the family - AND WE ATE IN FRONT OF THE TELEVISION! As per the norm, there was a plate of raw veggies on hand. This was the largest of all the plates. I also did a plate of protein which consisted of New Years Day turkey slices, turkey pepperoni slices, sliced salami, and slices of the flank steak that we had last night - oh and some cheddar cheese for good measure. I saw this as the "off limits" platter (though I snuck a taste of the turkey). We also had hummus and some of the laughing cow cheese spread. I made myself a small plate of olives, shrimp, and some salmon spread to make up for the "off limits" protein tray. I had more than I should but it was of the good stuff, so I am not beating myself up about it.

I had a delicious glass of a malbec I had been holding on since Christmas - (just realized that doesn't make it seem like long...but for us, it is - trust me, this is a check for the "win" column). I also am reserving the last half of my last glass of wine to sip on after the kiddos go to bed.

Then, I will be done for the day in my path of consumption and diet distruction. I plan to jog/walk in the morning which will set me up to be back on track.

Nighty, night! Let dreams of waterfall hikes, mountain climbing, and rowing in a quiet inlet on the bay fill your heads tonight.

Day 4 - Inspiration to keep going

I want so much for this to be a poignant post and believe my creative writing skills will fall short in describing how I feel right now. I want this to be an inspiration for change for everyone who reads it and I want it to be motivational for myself when I need it most. I truly want all of those things so I will do my best to convey the idea of just making up my mind.

"It was easy once I made up my mind to do it". Well, it is always easy when you have done that. Everything is easy. You make a choice and you don't look back. You make up your mind to go to school, buy a car, call a friend, order the fish instead of the burger. You make up your mind about the clothes you wear and the neighborhood you live in. Those are choices you make and they are done. Making up your mind to change your lifestyle is more complex. That is a decision you make and then you have to alter every decision in your life after that to comply with the new rules/restrictions/regulations, etc.

Once I made up my mind that I would eat better, eat less, exercise for purpose, and drink fewer of my calories, it has been *okay*. None of it is EASY. NOT ONE BIT OF IT!

I don't tend to embark on things simply because they are easy. A lot of things do come easy to me but I like to conquer mountains sometimes and create challenges for myself. Learning new things for the purpose of passing a test has been a recent series of mountains I have worked to conquer and that will continue. I also am focusing on some personal financial goals (savings goals are always exciting for me) so we can buy a new house, send the kids to college, and one day retire comfortably. All of this is fine a good: sharper mind with more knowledge and greater compensation opportunities - good; more money in the bank and becoming financially sound - good. All of this while carrying around an extra 25 pounds of fat and the lung capacity of an asthmatic - BAD!

What is the point of saving for the future and sharpening my brain if I wont be physically fit enough to enjoy any of it? Yes, I am aware that I could die of something else - right. I could also not die of something else and just be a big fat blob of an elderly person being pushed about by someone working for the weekend. No thanks!

I want to be that other woman. You know who I am talking about. The one who gets up early and rows her kayak in an inlet of the Bay. The one who makes her own granola and tends a garden because she can still get up from a kneeling position. I want to be the lady who teaches her grandchildren the same things she taught her own children.

Right now, I want to be the person who can run around a track - at least once - with out feeling like I will die. NBD...right? Ugh, this is such a first world problem! I am excited particularly today because, in spite of the fact that I didn't get up with the alarm, don my workout clothes and have my vigorous walk, I did stop at the park after dropping off Rhys at preschool and had a "coming to Jesus" meeting with myself.

There is a park with a football field and a paved track. It is a rural park so the track actually dips down behind one of the goal posts and has a decline and then incline back up the other side. It is good because, while there are flat areas, this little incline interval makes it challenging. My short-term goal is to run/jog around that track 1 lap by Valentine's day. I was able to do a little over half today and walked and jogged around it 5 times (which turns out to be a little over a mile). This is a big deal. I puffed and panted. Forced myself to keep up a pace for just a few more strides. Each time, I picked a destination and didn't allow myself to cheat. I heard the voices of friends and many cliche' lines play in my head encouraging me to keep going. Mind over body. I made up my mind. It was not easy.

Breakfast was Fiber Cereal with freeze dried peaches and half of a sliced banana

Post workout snack was sugar snap peas with hummus

Lunch was a wrap filled with a microwaved pre-seasoned frozen filet of some white fish (pretty tasty) with about 6 wasabi peas and a fistful of baby mixed greens. There wasn't enough flavor in this one but sometimes that just happens and we move on.

I had 5 pretzel M&Ms - don't hate me

I also had about 1/2 cup of freeze dried fruit

I made a big cup of half caf coffee and put a teaspoon of lowfat caramel apple dip (not a terrible choice)

I did 50 jumping jacks

I jumped rope 65 times

It is only 4:00 but I am going to go ahead and publish this. I will post a separate update with what pans out for food for today.

I will go ahead and tell you that a glass or two of wine is in the cards. I allow myself 2 adult bevvies on non-work nights...TGIF!

Day 3

This is the new breakfast:
Egg whites, broccoli, red onion, bell peppers, garlic, feta cheese. Whole wheat English muffin.

 

Lunch is a rendition of the Day 1 wrap with shrimp, cucumbers, laughing cow cheese spread, sriracha sauce, and organic mixed greens. Always in a Mission Carb Balance tortillas.

 

 

 

 

 

Snack is plain ff yogurt, chia seeds, raspberries and a drizzle of male syrup. All in less than 1 cup.

Hunger strikes in mid-afternoon so I have a bowl of cherry tomatoes, bell pepper strips, and sugar snap peas.

Dinner is the last of the leftover collards, an actual portion of flank steak and a giant portion of broccoli with a crumble of feta cheese and a 12oz glass of skim milk.

I end the day with some water and a plan to take a vigorous walk in the morning. I set my workout clothes and shoes at the bottom of the bed.

Day 2

Enjoying planning good food choices. Hoping to carve out some real exercise tomorrow.
Two boiled eggs and fruit salad for breakfast
Snack pack of peanuts and a banana for lunch
Clementine for snack
Leftover turkey, collards, black eyed peas and cherry tomatoes for dinner.

The way it is now:

I am switching "a" for "i" and changing fat to fit.

1. Daily walks and regular exercise
2. Healthy food and less of it
3. Weekend-only beer/wine and less of it

Breakfast:
Egg white breakfast sandwich!
Whole wheat English muffin
Egg white
Avocado
Grilled red onion
Salt and pepper

Snack:
Oloves

Lunch:
Shrimp wrap!
Mission Carb Balance tortilla
Laughing cow spreadable cheese
Chopped cucumber
Chopped cooked shrimp
Drizzle of srirachi sauce.

New years dinner heavy on the greens and light on the protein and carbs.

My office

I work in downtown Bethesda. Here is my office!