Resolutions Revisited

As usual I totally agree and totally disagree with Iceman. I love resolutions. This is my favorite week of the year where I plan out my goals for the next year, determine what I would like to accomplish in the coming year and what I will do to accomplish those goals. But I appreciate that many people do get briefly excited about resolutions only to fail. Maybe the pressure of this one important moment in time is just too much.

I think the difference might be in the word "resolution" vs "goal". To me a resolution is something you "resolve" to do but doesn't necessarily include alot of planning, instead it is accomplished by sheer will. A goal requires planning and is accomplished with a slow stead plodding forward. If I simply resolve to "eat healthier" in 2010 there is no plan with that, no way to know if I am accomplishing my goal and therefore no motivation and nothing to do but fail. If, on the other hand, I decide to drink 8 glasses of water a day by filling up a pitcher at the beginning of each day and putting it by my sink and not going to bed until it is empty then I know what I need to do to accomplish this task and will know if I am successful or unsuccessful in meeting this goal.

Creating a plan to be better in my life gets me excited. And statistically people who have goals tend to accomplish more than people who just simply let life happen to them. Of course I don't accomplish all my goals but if I never had a dream or a plan I would probably be living in a cramped 2 bedroom apartment with my family because we never would have risked some of the career tracks we have been on, I might not have been able to stay home with my children and we certainly would not have taken a mission trip across the world to Africa. As I told my husband a few years ago when he was resisting goal setting talk, "this life did not just happen to us. I planned it!" He has since come to appreciate the difference goal planning makes in our lives even when we don't quite reach a goal. I would rather try and fail, I always end up further ahead than I started no matter how it ends.

SO...Here are a few things I am tossing around as goals for the new year:

I had been toying with training for a fall marathon to commemorate my 40th birthday but am unsure I am willing to commit to the training. Goose suggested an Iron Girl at her place in June and I suggested the same up here in September. This might be a better way to ring in 40 at this point in my life. Maybe I will put the marathon on my 45th birthday when my 4 year old is in school all day.

I recently read about a runner whose goal is to run 1000 miles this year. Not sure I want to run that many but like the idea of deciding on a number of miles I will go this year. It seems like something I could track all year and broken up would give me a sense of how much I needed to do each week. If I got behind I would need to catch up so I could still meet the goal at the end of the year. I might do this one.

I am also considering some ideas for meal planning this year. Creating a system which I am motivated to follow week in and week out is a bit challenging for me. It is easy to come up with ideas but hard to stay consistent with following them. I love it when I come across books where people have challenged themselves in some arbitrary way for a year. I read one about a couple that decided not to buy any consumer items for a year, no new clothes, books, home decor, etc for a year. There is an article in Women's Day this month about a woman who strove to do something to make herself happy every day for a year and of course the movie Julie and Julia about a woman who wanted to cook all the recipe's in Julia Child's cookbook (haven't seen it so I don't know if that was within a year or not but seems like the same idea). So I have been imagining what it would be like if my family committed to not eat out for an entire year. Realistically I know it isn't going to happen but it has me thinking if maybe we could put some parameters around our eating out habits and see what happens to both our health and our budget.

These are just a few thoughts I am having. Of course I can make changes as I see fit, it is my life, my goals, I can do whatever I want. And although I am not going to put Goose's detox plan for next week in my 2010 goals that doesn't mean I am not going to do it. Actually I have already planned out all my meals for January and have excellent choices to go with a detox diet on the list.

I am looking forward to an exciting and healthy 2010 challenging and being challenged by Iceman and Goose.

Happy New Year!

My New Year's Resolutions

I usually shy away (O.k. run away, shrieking) from New Year's resolutions. (For years I have dreaded my local fitness club in January, I have to endure the onslaught of all those New Year's Resolutioner's and then go on to enjoy my workout's for the rest of the year.) I've always thought that they are a waste of time. Why choose a date, that comes around only once a year, to start/ re-start a new habit or goal? So, if I fail, does that mean that I can't start over again until next year? What happens if I decide to tweak the goal/ habit. Am I, in-effect, still failing at my habit/ goal because I didn't accomplish what I had originally set out to do?

Plus, I avoid, like the plague, to do what other people are doing. Why do something that a BILLION other people have tried and failed at? (For instance, being a rock star groupy. There's nothing to set you apart and make you special if you're just another adoring face in the crowd.) Same with New Year's resolutions... I refuse to be a Resolution groupy.

ALSO I know it's the beginning of a new year. But, truly, what is that date the beginning of besides an arbitrary date on a paper calendar?! I can think of much more notable beginnings. The 1st day of school, the 1st day of the new week, the birth of a child, the start of a new day, graduation from highschool, the start of a new job,etc., etc., etc.

So, suffice to say, I won't be making any New Year's resolutions on a cold snowy day, smack dab in the middle of a cold and blustery winter.

Now, not to say that I don't make goals and resolutions. Au contraire! I think that they are quite important and needed in life. This is especially true in MY life.

I'm a stay-at-home Mom. The reality is that I NEED to do very little. I only NEED to make sure some calories are going in my children's mouths and that they have adequate shelter. The rest is a practice in self-discipline. I don't have a boss ready to fire me if I don't get my work done, I know, Mike, but that just proves my point. (He's way too sweet to every fire me) I need to be a self-starter, a self-disciplined, goal oriented person all-by-my-self. Which, unfortunately, I am not. I wish I was one of those self motivating people, but I am, simply, not.

This is where my goals and habits are so important to me. Homeschooling happens because I have a goal. I exercise early in the morning because I've worked on that habit. So I like to make my resolutions weekly, or even daily, sometimes hour-to-hour. For two reasons: One, so I can quickly jump back on that horse. And two, so that I can feel accomplished with just a little amount of work. :)

I, actually, AM looking at and revising my resolution's this time of year. But I am doing this all year long! So you won't catch me calling them my New Year's Resolutions. I just call them "my resolutions" and that gives me the freedom to visit, re-vise, and start over again, all-year-long.

--- Iceman Out---

a title for maverick

Goose here.

Back from our Florida Christmas vacation. The weather was not HOT and SUNNY, but it was pleasant enough. Since I could not languish at the pool all day like I wanted to do, I ended up being a walking and running machine, getting out a couple times a day. I ran the sidewalks, I ran the beach, I power walked the beach, I did sit-ups and push-ups. AND I hit my goal of 10 lbs lost by Christmas! :) yay me.

I am moving into that crappy week in my cycle when I want to eat everything in sight, so our drive home on Sunday I did not do too well eating. We ended the drive picking up Zaxby's chicken tenders and fries, which I heartily devoured. I also did not do too well on Christmas Eve when my MIL put out a buffet of nibbles which included specialty cheeses...my weakness. And then my husband made pure lump crabcakes. I gave in to temptation and ate much more than my fair share of cheese and crabcakes.

So Monday morning, despite the 35 degrees and wind, I doned my fleeces, scarf and gloves and headed out for my 3 mile run, and then did the Shred. After not doing the Shred for a week while in Florida, I felt I had definitely lost my mojo, my groove. I need to get back into it.

I am thinking that after New Years Day I should do another detox week blitz...anyone in? Hard core like the first two weeks when I began this journey. Only just for a week. I have 6 more pounds i'd like to lose. I'd take 10, but will definitely settle for 6. I am realizing now that I have been at this for almost 2 months, that my cycle really drives how successful I am on any given day or week. I may have to start a simple journal so I can better track my mood and energy during the month.

I have started to incorporate much more "normal" living habits, which is good, because that will be crucial to being able to maintain, but I am still in active lose mode so don't want to become too complacent just yet, which is hard when I am feeling so good and 10 lbs is significant and everything is fitting and looking good. I have caffeine a bit more regularly, and I have been having a bit of a sweet tooth in this week of my cycle so having more sugar than normal, which isn't normally my issue. I just need to keep the mindset that I've had the last couple months. New Years is a good time to regroup and keep steady the course.

Today is freezing here...29. I hope it warms up so I can get out for a run, I really prefer 40, but discovered yesterday that I can survive a 35 degree run.

So...how is my team?

__goose out__

I heart Salads

Now that Maverick is IN I know you are all wondering "how is she doing?" Well it has been a week since my food hang over and although I have not been perfect I definately sense a shift in my attitude and thinking. I managed to get in 4 workouts this week, my yoga video at home plus 2 at the Y where my friend Julie is almost done with her guest passes and one at my old work where I boldly asked a former co-worker to bring me as a guest so Isabelle could play with her friends in the child center while I, bonus, got to work out and shower in peace.

Food wise I ran across a few mine fields but I believe made it out without much injury. I was out of the house for 2 entire days 9-4 on various activities and Christmas shopping tasks. One day Isabelle was begging for a grilled cheese sandwich and I was told they sold them at Dairy Queen. I managed to order a small wrap sandwich with grilled rather than breaded chicken. I was very proud of myself. I am not going to lie I had a bite or 2 of Isabelle's fries and ice cream sandwich but overall felt good leaving. The second day out I found a place where I could make my own salad. It was a little more expensive than I had anticipated but was tasty and I felt real good about it. The rest of the week we ate at home meals I had planned ahead. I have not started trying to eat on the Endo diet but am starting to think about my choices from that perspective and think I will be ready in January to try it out again for a couple months.

Since the rest of the Top Gun team has shared some of their favorite healthy meals I thought I would share mine today. The tried and true Salad. I love salads. I used to love them smothered in blue cheese, you know where I really only tasted the blue cheese, then when we cut out dairy I had to find new dressings and use less. In the processI learned that the ingredients in a salad are good by themselves! The various greens in salads have different tastes and are good even plain and the variety of toppings to add to lettuce is endless. The fun is in finding the perfect combination. I do still like dressings though and after trying several different store bought ones I have discovered that the best and healthiest ones are the ones I make at home.

Here is an example from today's lunch. I started with red lettuce. I think my favorite is butter lettuce but the heads are small and they are a little pricier. I often will mix a few kinds together and keep them ripped up in a large bowl in the fridge to eat for a week but today all I had was half a head of red lettuce that I ripped up in my bowl.



Next I added my cut up red onion. I love red onion so I put it on many things. If you don't like it use something else. Whatever makes you happy. Red onion makes me happy.



I have found that if I just put veggies and lettuce in a bowl with some dressing I am hungry pretty quickly after lunch. I really need some protein and a little better fat to keep me going. So I add some sort of meat. I try to use left overs whenever possible. Whatever meat we ate the night before I am always excited if we have some left over that I know I will toss on my salad the next day. Just cut it up and put it on cold. If you don't have left overs you can always buy canned meat. The canned chicken is pretty good, Salmon can be good too but I have recently discovered a love of Tuna. My dad doesn't like it so we NEVER ate it growing up. Although I had never tasted it I made the decision that I did not like it and only in the last couple years even tried it. As I have had success each time I have embraced it more and more until I can tell you that I like Tuna.

For a second serving of healthy protein and fat I like to add nuts. Their crunch also replaces my desire for lots of croutons on my salads. The almond/cashew/craisin mix from trader joes is my favorite but I also love soy nuts on salads and have a mix in the pantry that is spicy which adds a fun element to my salad.

Finally I add my dressing. The basic recipe is olive oil, balsamic vinegar (a little more oil than vinegar) and a squirt or 2 of Dijon mustard. I also like to add a little raspberry vinegar and honey sometimes to the mix. You can also add garlic or shallots or any thing you want. There are no rules in creating your own recipe. My SIL recently gave me this little dressing bottle for my birthday. It was as if she had been peaking in my kitchen because the one I had been using for years broke literally a week before and I was feeling lost.

I also added a little goat cheese to this salad. If you are a goat cheese lover buy it at Trader Joe's, it is literally half the price of the local grocery stores. I buy a couple when I go and they last a long time.

Other things that are fun to add: left over roasted veggies are good, I have a pasta topping that has artichoke hears, tomatoes and black olives that I have been known to put over lettuce. Or left over pasta over lettuce. Frozen peas, don't even defrost them just pour a little right out of the bag onto your lettuce, they add a fun pop to the mix. I just had beets for the first time a couple weeks ago and they aren't too bad. I am thinking of picking up a can to try out at home. Oh the options are endless.

What are your favorite lettuce toppings?

Keep Flying

-Maverick

Still In Flight.

Goose here. Thought I'd better check in to let you all know I am still well in flight even though quiet around here during the busyness of the holiday season!

I rang in another year 2 days ago. I am now 37 and so far so good. Had I not started my flight training one month ago, I think it would have been a much more depressing birthday. But I can see that old version of myself slowly starting to emerge as the layers peel back like an onion. I actually thought my shoulders looked a little "ripped" the other day! I love Jillian! hahaha.

I am trying to learn how to be more consistent than strictly regimented. So I have taken a day off here and there from the shred, and even took 2 days off in a row of exercising last week.

My husband and I got away for a weekend and, although I ran both days, I indulged in all the yummy food we brought up to celebrate...king crab legs, roasted veggies and potatoes, chicken tortilla soup, dark chocolate, wine, popcorn. I need to know that I can have a celebratory weekend without thinking that I've ruined the whole program. So I didn't go overboard, but I did enjoy.

After a 2 week wall of no weight loss, but definite inches, I checked again and finally broke through the wall with another 3 lbs. So 8 lbs total in a month, I think that is very good and healthy. My goal was 10 lbs by Christmas and I think I can still make that.

The biggest amazing difference is what the Shred video has done for my body. The running is great but I was realizing yesterday that I would not have had the same results yet if all I had been doing was running. Strength training is really key to go along with the cardio stuff. I am now a believer! I used to think I could just do cardio. But Jillian makes it so doable with an intense 20 min workout every day. I always tell myself, its only 20 min, you can do this!

So tomorrow my crew and I take flight (actually take pavement) to south Florida for the week. I will be running every day. Don't think I can bring the Shred as I have no desire to shred in front of my inlaws. :) So I think I am ready to add another mile and do 4 miles, and I think I will bring my little weights and just do the exercises Jillian makes me do, on my own.

Keep flying, my partners! We are already ahead of the game for the new year!

__Goose Out__

Might as Well Face It, I'm addicted to...

Since my families sickness last week, I have not jumped back onto the bandwagon of going off, cold turkey, sugar. But on Sunday night we were at a Christmas party and one of the husbands there looked noticeably thinner and said that he had decided to purge sugar from his diet and that's all he was doing. His example renewed my interest in my own sugar detox. Then, just to drive it all home, when I looked at my email that night, this article was in my inbox. So I'm going to take another stab at my sugar detox!

Here is the original article: Original Article

Why Do We Crave Sugar?

There are many reasons why we go for sweet things.

That appetite may be hardwired. "Sweet is the first taste humans prefer from birth," says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, a dietitian and American Dietetic Association (ADA) spokeswoman. Carbohydrates stimulate the release of the feel-good brain chemical serotonin. Sugar is a carbohydrate, but carbohydrates come in other forms, too, such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

The taste of sugar also releases endorphins that calm and relax us, and offer a natural "high," says Susan Moores, MS, RD, a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant in St. Paul, Minn.

Sweets just taste good, too. And that preference gets reinforced by rewarding ourselves with sweet treats, which can make you crave it even more. With all that going for it, why wouldn’t we crave sugar?

The problem comes not when we indulge in a sweet treat now and then, but when we over-consume, something that’s easy to do when sugar is added to many processed foods, including breads, yogurt, juices, and sauces. And Americans do overconsume, averaging about 22 teaspoons of added sugars per day, according to the American Heart Association, which recommends limiting added sugars to about 6 teaspoons per day for women and 9 for men.

How to Stop Sugar Cravings: 8 Tips to Use Right Now

If you're craving sugar, here are some ways to tame those cravings.

• Give in a little. Eat a bit of what you’re craving, maybe a small cookie or a fun-size candy bar, suggests Kerry Neville, MS, RD, a registered dietitian and ADA spokeswoman. Enjoying a little of what you love can help you steer clear of feeling denied. Try to stick to a 150-calorie threshold, Neville says.
• Combine foods. If the idea of stopping at a cookie or a baby candy bar seems impossible, you can still fill yourself up and satisfy a sugar craving, too. "I like combining the craving food with a healthful one," Neville says. "I love chocolate, for example, so sometimes I’ll dip a banana in chocolate sauce and that gives me what I’m craving, or I mix some almonds with chocolate chips." As a beneficial bonus, you'll satisfy a craving and get healthy nutrients from those good-for-you foods.
• Go cold turkey. Cutting out all simple sugars works for some people, although "the initial 48 to 72 hours are tough," Gerbstadt says. Some people find that going cold turkey helps their cravings diminish after a few days; others find they may still crave sugar but over time are able to train their taste buds to be satisfied with less.
• Grab some gum. If you want to avoid giving in to a sugar craving completely, try chewing a stick of gum, says nutrition advisor Dave Grotto, RD, LDN. "Research has shown that chewing gum can reduce food cravings," Grotto says.
• Reach for fruit. Keep fruit handy for when sugar cravings hit. You'll get fiber and nutrients along with some sweetness. And stock up on foods like nuts, seeds, and dried fruits, says certified addiction specialist Judy Chambers, LCSW, CAS. "Have them handy so you reach for them instead of reaching for the old [sugary] something."
• Get up and go. When a sugar craving hits, walk away. "Take a walk around the block or [do] something to change the scenery," to take your mind off the food you’re craving, Neville suggests.
• Choose quality over quantity. "If you need a sugar splurge, pick a wonderful, decadent sugary food," Moores says. But keep it small. For example, choose a perfect dark chocolate truffle instead of a king-sized candy bar, then "savor every bite -- slowly," Moores says. Grotto agrees. "Don’t swear off favorites -- you’ll only come back for greater portions. Learn to incorporate small amounts in the diet but concentrate on filling your stomach with less sugary and [healthier] options."
• Eat regularly. Waiting too long between meals may set you up to choose sugary, fatty foods that cut your hunger, Moores says. Instead, eating every three to five hours can help keep blood sugar stable and help you "avoid irrational eating behavior," Grotto says. Your best bets? "Choose protein, fiber-rich foods like whole grains and produce," Moores says.

But won't eating more often mean overeating? Not if you follow Neville's advice to break up your meals. For instance, have part of your breakfast -- a slice of toast with peanut butter, perhaps -- and save some yogurt for a mid-morning snack. "Break up lunch the same way to help avoid a mid-afternoon slump," Neville says.

How to Stop Sugar Cravings: 5 Tips for the Long Term

One of the best ways to manage sugar cravings is to stop them before they start. To help you do that:

• Skip artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners may sound like a great idea, but "they don’t lessen cravings for sugar and haven’t demonstrated a positive effect on our obesity epidemic," says Grotto, author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life.
• Reward yourself for successfully managing sugar cravings. Your reward could be large or small. Remember why you’re working on it and then reward yourself for each successful step.
• Slow down. For one week, focus on your sugar cravings and think about what you’re eating, suggests Chambers. Diet mayhem often results from lack of planning. So slow down, plan, "and eat what you intend to eat, instead of eating when you’re desperate," Chambers says.
• Get support. Many people turn to sweet foods when they're stressed, depressed, or angry. But food doesn't solve emotional issues. Consider whether emotions are involved in your sugar cravings and whether you need help to find other solutions to those emotional problems.
• Mix it up. You may need more than one strategy to thwart sugar cravings. One week you may find success with one tactic, and another week calls for an alternative approach. What’s important is to “have a ‘bag of tricks’ to try,” Gerbstadt tells WebMD. To tame sugar cravings, you really need to "figure out what works for you," Neville says.

Lastly, go easy on yourself. It may take time to get a handle on your sugar cravings. "It’s difficult to shift any system -- whether it’s the world economy or your eating," Chambers says.

The Hang Over

Maverick has not been making good choices.

I have a food hang over. Last night I went to the "Buena Vista Social Club" holiday party, (that is the fancy name the neighborhood women have given to our monthly get togethers.) We all brought either an appetizer or a dessert, put them on the center island in our hostess's home and stood around it for 4 hours mindless popping food into our mouths while chatting. I sat in front of fritos and 3 kinds of dip, a plate of Christmas cookies, a plate of chocolate truffles, cheese puffs and more. I also walked over to the other side for more goodies like the asparagus wrapped in cream cheese and meat as well as my offering of homemade vegetable won tons. (I did bring something healthy.) Add a couple glasses of wine and I went home with a bit of a tummy ache. And I was really thirsty. I downed a full glass of water and went to bed only to wake up at 4am feeling miserable, thirsty, back pain and acid stomach. As I lay there willing myself to fall back to sleep I realized something, I am not taking this flight school very seriously. I really need to pull it together.

Last January I made the decision to do an "endo diet" which I followed from the first of the year to about Easter. I am starting to see why it came to a head last December motivating the change, this is a horrible eating time of year. As this year comes to a close alot of the issues I was having last year that motivated that change are starting to return and I am wondering if I don't need to return to that diet again this winter. While I told many people I couldn't wait to be off the diet I would in the same breath acknowledge the fact that it was working. I could tell within a few weeks that it was making a difference in my energy levels, how I felt and my ability to manage my pain during periods. I even had a couple months this past year (after Africa where I ate little more than rice, beans and cabbage for 2 weeks) where my periods came and went with so little fanfare that I almost felt cured.

It is often in misery that the catalyst for change is born. I quit caffeine years ago because of bad stomach issues I had, after falling off the wagon and having them return I now diligently avoid caffeine (plus I am no longer immune to its powers to keep me up all night). When dairy went so did the low level nausea I had been experiencing for years. If I cheat too much that comes right back reminding me why I drink almond milk and use rice cheese. And so here I am a year later trying to tell myself I do not need to completely live the endo diet but struggling.

Today I wake up with my food hang over ready to change. Ready to take charge. Ready to work toward going to the top of the class in this Top Gun flight school.

In my mind I keep thinking I am mis-named as Maverick but really maybe it is right for me. Because of my past successes I tend to think that I am better with my diet and knowledge and therefore don't need to put as much effort in as others. In the mean time everyone else is shooting past me while I get stuck in a rut. (and then kill Goose with my cocky attitude...I'll try not to actually do that)

With Christmas less than 2 weeks away I still have plenty of time to make lots of great choices before the holiday meals descend. I don't have any more parties on my calendar (except the one today with Iceman, I assume she will provide some appropriate choices for us,) so I will feel great on my way to the various Christmas gatherings. I pulled out a 40 day book I did with Iceman several years ago called "Extreme Makeover" something, something. Anyway, the author has you eating a diet pretty similar to the endo diet by the end of the book but still acknowledges that we can't be perfect all the time and allows for what he calls "vacation meals". So I am going to work hard for the next couple weeks and then allow for a couple vacation meals over Christmas and New Years before returning "home".

Let's get started!

Maverick finally IN

I Love Tortillas!

(I wrote this post last spring, but I think I still really like this post and wanted to share!)

--Iceman--

What a person can do with a package of Tortilla's is amazing. I know they've been around for almost all of history, and no wonder why! Here are the many different things that I do with a Tortilla. I buy the "La Tortilla Factory" Tortilla's. They are 1 pt. Which is amazing in and of itself. But they are BIG and 1 pt. Which makes them, almost, the perfect food.

Hummus Tortilla Wrap:
I have this for lunch a lot. Most of the time I just do lettuce and cucumber.






1 La Tortilla Factory Tortilla
2 T Hummus
1 T Sunflower Seeds
2T Fat Free Feta Cheese
1T Light Ceasar Dressing
Lots of Vegetables (Lettuce, Cucumber, Red Onion, Red Pepper Strips... just about anything you have around)


Calories: 232
Fat: 14g
Fiber: 12g
Points: 5 pts

Free Pizza Friday Hawaiian Pizza:
(In my family we have Free Pizza Friday every so often. Which has been the death of my week more times than I would like to admit. BUT now I make this at home and then bring it with me to whomever's house it's at. The genius of bringing my own personal pizza is portion control)

1 La Tortilla Factory Tortilla
1/4 C Pizza Sauce
1/4 C Reduced Fat Colby Jack Cheese
2 oz Ham diced
2 T Crushed Pineapple

Calories: 271
Fat: 13g
Fiber: 13g
Points: 2 pts for 1/2 pizza. 6 pts for whole pizza

Here are some other ideas:

Taco Salad Wrap, Toasted Tortilla Crisps, Breakfast Burrito, Bean & Cheese Burrito, Cinnamon Curls, Ceasar Chicken Wrap...


What do YOU like to make with a Tortilla?

Calling all sweet tooths!

Hot off the presses discovery of a sweet, crunchy treat that tastes like dessert!

I went to have my usual morning cereal and discovered we were out of skim milk. So I decided to try the Silk "Very Vanilla" soymilk that we buy just for fruit smoothies. Oh my Yumness! It will be my new dessert snack when I am feeling the need for something sweet!

The full "recipe" is Kashi 7 whole grain and sesame cereal flakes, 1 sliced banana, 1 cup of Silk Very Vanilla soymilk. The banana flavor with the vanilla flavor of the soymilk tastes like some kind of creamy banana pie flavor + the crunch, which I love! Enjoy!

Silver Lining to the Ice Cloud

Well, I don't know how long its supposed to take to recover from an illness. But this one has taken far too long. Finally today I am feeling somewhat normal. Though I wouldn't go so far as to call it "energetic".

But there have been some silver linings to this sickness. I belong to Weight Watchers and last night was my weigh-in/ meeting night. I didn't stay for the meeting because, frankly, talking about food for a 1/2 hour sounds disgusting to me at this point. But the scale was very kind to me and I squeaked under the goal Mike and I had set for me. I was to lose 5 lbs by this weigh-in in order for me to continue with Weight Watchers. And I did. :)

This sickness has done kind of like a reset in my brain when it comes to food. The cravings and obsessions have all died down currently and I'm able to make some good choices without a lot of struggle. I know part of that is because I'm still recovering and haven't gotten my appetite back yet.

My goal right now is to be vigilant in what I'm eating, RIGHT NOW. Sickness has been for me, in the past, almost an all-you-can-eat ticket for a couple of days. Which would always, of course, stretch into more than just a couple of days. I started tracking already again, yesterday, even though I was still not eating much. Just to not let myself lapse into apathy about what I'm putting in my mouth.

So that's what going on. Working out has not been a big priority yet. That will come, though. My workout bug bit a long time ago and it one of the few habits that I have that I feel I can rely on when my body is ready for some focused physical exertion. Besides I'm scouring, cleaning, and in general, de-germing my home today. If that's not a workout, I don't know what is.

Back to scrubbing those bathrooms...

Iceman out---

Menu Planning

This week I have a plan for healthy eating:

Tuesday (yesterday)-Spaghetti. Brunch out with friends (I split a slice of veggie quiche and some fruit with a friend. yes it had dairy but my other option was a sugar filled muffin or scone.)

Wednesday - breakfast, grape nuts. lunch, Tomato shrimp soup with half a ham sandwich. dinner--stuffed salmon from trader joes with salad.

Thursday - breakfast, smoothie (going to cookie exchange where there is bound to be snacks, will resist cookie temptation) lunch- soup and sandwich. Dinner- Thai Chicken Wraps. (Bring spaghetti to a friend with a new baby.)

Friday - breakfast, smoothie before body pump class. Lunch, salad or rice and beans. Dinner, bbq chicken pizza with rice cheese (going to neighborhood holiday party so might not eat any)

Saturday - breakfast, eggs or pancakes with maple syrup. Lunch, cobb sandwiches. Dinner, Chili with Iceman at Caleb's 1st birthday party.

Sunday - breakfast, cereal. Lunch,(entertaining) pork roast with red potatoes, cauliflower mash, salad. Appetizer of baked veggie wantons. Dessert is tentatively sorbet with fruit and a cookie. Dinner, left overs.

Monday - not fully planned but I do have fish and a pork tenderloin and a few other things in the freezer should I not get right on planning next week.

I have actually been planning menus most of my married life. When John and I first got married we would wander the grocery isles putting random stuff in our carts and then get home and wonder what we had for dinner. At first we started simply by standing over our cart and counting out a few meals before we left but when I became a full time homemaker I started making lists and getting more serious about feeding the family. Over the years I have added in many new meals to the rotation and removed a few as well. Some weeks the list comes together in minutes and other weeks I am challenged to come up with 7 meals I really want to eat. I can get stuck in a rut.

Last year I decided to help myself out by brainstorming every meal I could think of that I make and would want in the rotation. This list has helped when I get stuck and can't think of anything new to make.

I have also planned out whole months of menus before. While this seems harder it is easier in some ways. Rather than just sitting down and thinking up 30 meals I think up 4 meals in 7 categories. You can choose any categories, here are some ideas: chicken, beef, pork, veggie, soup, misc, international, casserole, crock pot...anything.

Once that is done my grocery list goes much faster. Of course I still don't like to grocery shop so I can still drag my feet. I have experimented with many different approaches. Shop for the whole month, a couple weeks, a week, a day or two. The whole month is expensive. More than a week and you can't buy all the fresh veggies. A day or two is nice because it goes quickly but you have to be able to return often. This is fine in warmer weather but I loose motivation to "quickly run out" anywhere when it gets cold. So typically I try to do a weeks worth at a time.

Of course I am here, posting with Goose and Iceman, because I slide. Because I should go weekly but I still go sporadically. I know what to do because I have been successful. Now is the time to make that change in thinking for good. As winter has definitely arrived here and my motivation for leaving the house is quickly waning it is the perfect time to establish a routine that is done despite motivation. I will not let my "feelings" rule me but will act according to what I know I need to do. I will shop weekly even if I don't feel like it because I know I need to do it for my family and for myself.



Exercise is getting a little tough here this week. Holiday activities on top of regular activities have me out of the house often. And while I was able to run outside still last week when it was 10 degrees I am not even willing to try running outside when it is snowy with a negative wind chill. I am really missing my club membership today...Will do a video this afternoon.



--Maverick

The Iceman Sicketh...

warning, truly yucky story to follow, read at your own risk:

________________________________

Well, I must relay my story, because it's too horrendous not to:

Saturday I had a wonderful day! I made my family eggs, bacon, and hash browns for breakfast, not eating it (OK! I had a BITE of the hash browns). And then I made myself my breakfast of choice here lately. An egg sandwich. For lunch I had a salad and some cottage cheese and pineapple.

I was feeling so on top of it all.

That afternoon I headed out with some family members to do some Christmas shopping and had a wonderful time. We rounded out our shopping trip with Chipotle and my incredible fit and thin cousin helped me to navigate the menu so that I wasn't eating one of their 2-days-worth-of-food burrito. Life was blissful.

Since I was gone for the afternoon/early evening my husband decided to be a stellar Dad and took the kids to a Christmas Talent Show held at the local Community Center. As a treat afterwards, he took them to a local pizza joint. He is SUCH a good daddy.

Well when I got home from my fun I went downstairs to find my husband and 2 of our 4 children just laying on the couch. All were miserable and saying that their stomach's hurt. The precocious 3rd born was also saying her stomach hurt, but was still playing. A little while later my husband went to bed. And by 8pm I had all the kids in bed.

Then the mayhem started. The vomiting, the puking, and the throwing up. It was like clockwork. My husband would puke, then on down the line, 1, 2, 3. Next round - husband 1, 2, 3. This went on, round after round, about 6 or 7 times, maybe more, truly, by 3 am, I had stopped counting.

I was just waiting for the baby to join in, but my husband told me, somewhere around 2 am when I was remarking that that the baby hadn't gotten sick yet, that he was the only one who hadn't eaten the pizza.

Ugh, what a bad night, right? Can't get any worse, right? Wrong- about 3 am the baby does wake up, but not with puking. He is struggling to breathe. Come to find out later he has croup/ strider virus. But at that time I don't know what was going on. I crash through his closet to find the nebulizer machine leftover from when his 5 year old brother was a baby. Find a, most likely expired, nebulizer treatment, set it up and wake up my husband with, "Baby can't breathe, are you well enough to sit here and hold him while he breathes this?" Because, you guessed it, someone was puking again and needed my help.

Well all that's very bad, right? Can't get any worse, right? Wrong - about the same time the baby is struggling to breathe I'm getting VERY sick to my stomach and having hot flashes, waves of nausea, the sound of blood pumping in my ears. Yup, I'm getting sick to.

So about 4 am everything "calms" down. We've gone through every towel, blanket, sleepwear in the house. The cries of distress have died down, and I can't respond now, anyway. I'm trying not to puke myself.

Sunday was spent in a haze of my sickness and my families recovery. I didn't get, whatever it was, nearly as bad as everyone else, but I had it none the less.

I finally felt slightly strong enough to take the baby to the Dr. this morning. Where I learned it was croup/ strider and he also has double ear infections.
______________________________

So I just had to relay my horrible story. Why? Well I'm still pretty traumatized, two days later, and it's cathartic to share. :)

As for diet and exercise? Well, right now, I'm still weak enough that walking up the stairs makes the blood start pumping in my ears again. And I've eaten a grand total of 1 can ginger ale, a packet of Ra men Noodles, and a Nutrigrain bar in the past 48 hours (all consumed in about the last 3 hours).

Tomorrow, tomorrow maybe things will be back to normal...

--The Iceman, down, but not out---

Stress eating

OK I admit it. I made bad choices this weekend. Not even sure I was trying not to. It wasn't that the temptation overcame me. I really just didn't even try. That is when it goes wrong for me. When I go into auto pilot and don't think about what I am doing.

I have been stressed this past week. Money. Which also caused me to stress spend money this weekend. Nothing horrible, all things we needed to spend money on because of the holidays. Well almost all things, I really didn't need to spend money on a ho ho mocha from Caribou. I am not sure I even wanted it but my hubby got one...

Part of this process is about understanding triggers. I know that planning helps me eat better and I know that when I am stressed I just react rather than planning or thinking through my actions. It all comes down to being prepared for the inevitable. My entire family and I need to eat 3 times a day. Why do I act like it might be different tomorrow? I will experience stress in my life. I will be tempted.

I have heard organizers say, "Just in case you don't know, Christmas is on December 25th this year." Of course it is every year but somehow when the holiday season comes we act surprised and rush to get ready. Just like we should be preparing for Christmas all year long, we need to prepare for the inevitable stressors that come into our lives and throw us off our healthy track.

So what can we do to prepare for our stressors? Today I am going to plan and shop for my menu for the week. I will post it tomorrow. I also need to plan for some healthy snacks to carry with me should I be out and tempted. I am thinking if I stock up on a few quick and simple basics then when we are feeling a money crunch and I am stressed I can toss together something quick and healthy rather than spending money on something quick and unhealthy. And finally maybe I need a new water bottle in my Christmas stocking I can carry with me (mine leaks) so I always have something to drink and am not tempted to spend money on a coffee drink that amounts to a meal replacement.

What else can I do?

As an update, I did my second body pump class this morning. I limped all weekend after the first one. This was not nearly as bad and I actually think I feel better than I did when I got up this morning. I am even tempted to try a run this afternoon when my son gets home. It does feel good to feel strong.

Still Kickin...

Goose In...

Had a great weekend, let myself get a little loose, but I am telling myself it is prep for how to live normally within reason. I figure I will be out of "losing and toning" mode by Jan. and into maintenence mode, so I need to learn how to be able to indulge in those times that are important, while being careful the majority of the time.

So, Friday night we had my bible study dinner with spouses. It was a lovely time. These are my girls. I love them and trust them completely. It was so wonderful to spend the evening with them and their husbands. We had delicious appetizers, dinner, dessert, and wine. And I enjoyed all of it...I believe within relative reason. I had worked out earlier in the day and had been careful about eating before the evening.

On Saturday, I was busy all day and decided that would be my day off for the week of exercising. I am trying to only take one day off a week during this hard core hitting towards my goals. The day was filled with kids activities, and I ate well.

Sunday....oh boy. I had a mini binge. I can see where it all went wrong from the start of the day. I did not have time to eat my breakfast before heading off to church...not a good idea. By the time we got home it was 12:30 and I was famished. I had the potato-skins I had made from the left over twice-baked potatoes I had made for Friday night and popped them in the oven "for CJ". Then he wanted me to pop in a cheese pizza and pepperoni pizza "for him and the girls". He also came home with wings and blue cheese dressing. Ugh. I decided I would have 2 of the skins for lunch. They were yummy. I decided I would have one more, and a square of cheese pizza. And then I decided to have one more and another square of cheese pizza. Geesh.

Then I headed to my friends to help with her daughters birthday tea party. I managed to only eat two very small dark chocolate truffles there, because, you know, dark chocolate is good for the heart.

When I got home around 5pm I felt desperate to work out! So I headed out and ran 3 miles and then came home to shred. I was so glad I got the workout in. I felt much better and didn't eat anything else the rest of the day, so I figured even though I had a mini binge, it was all I ate all day so it probably averaged out in calories okay.

Today I am back on track, feeling good. My irritability seems to have passed finally. Kicked off the day with whole wheat english muffin with organic peanut butter and a banana and glass of milk.

Am thinking of beginning level 3 of Shred today and wondering what new kinds of sick torture Jillian can put my body through.

I was so happy this weekend to discover that I have lost a pant size and fit into all my pants that have been collecting dust the last several months. I am trying to aviod the scale for now as it doesn't seem to be agreeing with the fact that the smaller size fits me. I can only attribute it to all the exercising and tightening. Realistically I suppose it is normal and healthy to lose only a pound a week, so I am going to get over myself.

I'm feeling pretty good overall, and believe I will be completely at my goal and needing to learn to maintain around January.

Goose Out

IT WAS HORRIBLE! I think I will do it again Monday.

Today I went back to the Y with my neighbor for "Body Pump". She talks about it all the time so I was looking forward to trying it out.

I arrive late and we sneak in just as they are already "warming up", doing a few squats with a weight bar in their shoulders. We proceed to go from squats to chest presses to triceps to biceps to shoulders to lunges, because the squats weren't evil enough, to back to abs. After an hour of pain they let you go. Of course I could hardly walk afterward.

I had told Goose I would weigh myself while there today since I don't have a home scale and therefore no idea where I am. I figure as long as my clothes are comfy I am fine. I will simply say I am in the zone I seem to always be in and that is just fine. I would be lying if I said I didn't want to weigh 5-10 less but I would just have to buy all new pants so why get too excited. My goal here is primarily health and not weight loss and I definitely feel like I made some improvements to my health today.

On the way home from the Y I was talking with John and had to get off the phone with him because I literally could not hold the phone up on my ear any longer. It is only a 3 mile drive! I probably should not go downstairs again today since I have almost fallen when my leg muscles failed me. I am afraid to think of how I will feel in the morning.

I would like to do a walk/run tomorrow and am mentally trying to prepare to do so in the frozen tundra. I have done it before, have the correct clothing and don't plan to do more than 2 miles. I even think I can convince my winter run loving hubby to join me. It should be good.

In keeping with my desire for health and not weight loss I will confess to some very yummy, extra crispy french fries last night on date night. My goal is to be able to live my life. I realize that french fries don't really fall under the healthy category any more than the weight loss category but I am just saying that if overall I am healthy then a few fries once a week won't throw me off too much. John and I go out every Thursday night and split a snack of some sort. Often it is the brownie Sundae which is quite yummy but when I am off sugar we do the french fries. Truth is I am more of a salt than sugar girl so it is satisfying to me. I knew I had worked out yesterday and knew I was going to go again today and so I didn't feel guilty about it. So there.

With all this extra energy and clarity in my brain from getting back in the exercise kick I realized this week how lazy I have gotten and unfocused with my time. After picking up the house I tend to wander. Today with a noon workout I might have been tempted to bum around all morning and not start my day until mid afternoon when I had finished the work out, eaten and showered. But instead I picked a task I wanted to work on, wrapping gifts, and got started. I feel great to be almost done wrapping all the gifts I already have and armed with a list of wrapping supplies I need to complete the rest.

This is why we get healthy. Not just to look good but to be able to engage in our lives, get things done, be productive people. I don't want to spend my life on the couch. I want to live it!

Maverick Out

Loosey Goosey

Workout is done for the day.

I am feeling Iceman's pain...I too am feeling sluggish and unmotivated even though I am still doing what I am supposed to be doing and have zero confessions to make as of yesterday and this morning. :)

It was cold here this morning for the South. It was 42 degrees when I finally got my gear on. I went a little overboard with my double layer long sleeved t-shirts and heavy zip up fleece, gloves, scarf and hat...had to peel off the fleece about midway.

I walked one and ran 2.

Got home and did the Shred that I so did not want to do. What kept me going was that we have a christmas dinner with my bible study and spouses tonight and I want to be able to enjoy the food and a glass of wine. I had to self talk through the workout "Its only 20 minutes, its only 20 minutes" and then suddenly it was done and I was like "you did it, you did it".

I've eaten my uncle sams with a banana, and had a handful of almonds and an apple after the workout. Have drank 2-3 big glasses of H2O today.

I woke this morning with my vertigo symptoms. I got it a couple years ago and it was so bad I couldn't raise myself out of bed. I thought sure I was dying of a brain tumor and a trip to the ER revealed that I would survive but had vertigo. Luckily I still have some medication left from another brief bout last fall and so took a pill this morning and moving on with my life. Dehydration seems to be the trigger for it, so I will be extra cautious of my water intake today.

I agree with Iceman on the betrayal of the scale. After shedding 5 lbs the first two weeks, and not supposed to weigh until tomorrow, I tested myself, seeing as how my jeans fit me yesterday. It does not appear that my scale is agreeing with my jeans. Don't quite get that. But I persevere because obviously changes are happening if the jeans fit now...tightening in the right places at least, the scale will get on board eventually.

Goose Out for now.

The Literal Ice Man

This morning as I donned my workout clothes, making sure to choose the capris instead of the shorts I'm so fond of, I felt a wave of sadness. Wasn't I just in much warmer weather?! I know I was running in 40 degree weather just a week ago. Now I'm bundling up in my warmest winter coat to dash from door to door in 20 degree weather. At 5:30 in the morning.

Anyway, I've had a great 3 days. I've eaten well. Stayed away from sugar. Eaten A LOT more fruits and vegetables. (I might turn into a Clementine before it's all over.) I've been feeling tired and out of gas, but I know it's from the sugar detox.

I weighed myself at the Club this morning, I was feeling slimmer! ... and I'm up about 1/2 lb. What up!!!!! I have been eating well, but I haven't been doing my Weight Watcher's tracking. So today I'm going to start back up with my tracking and see if that doesn't reveal to me some excesses that I'm not realizing.

My only confession is that I did take one bite of the crumbles that fell of the knife of the triple chocolate cake that everyone was eating at Small group last night. The WAVE of addiction was powerful, but I busied myself with getting my family dressed and out the door. About 1/2 way home the panicky, must-eat feeling subsided. :)

Anyway, feeling tired but healthier here in the Frozen Tundra

---Frozen Woman Out---

Giddy Up

--Goose in the house--

I've had a successful day. I felt sooo much better attitude-wise than I did all day yesterday. I did ressurect the evening after a mini-binge by taking another brisk walk outside while talking to Maverick on the cell phone as she did the same in the frozen tundra. Wow, it really improved my mood to move!

Getting dressed I decided to try on my jeans that have not been fitting me....they fit! And they fit even, dare I say, a bit loose! I am glowing!!

Kicked off this morning with bible study and my favorite soul sisters on the planet. Just drank coffee....all decaf, but ended the morning with one cup of caffeinated...wow! What a kick in the pants! When you are totally decaf, one cup of the real joe really pumps you up! I was positively giddy!

Enjoyed my black bean burger that I posted about for lunch.

I was literally craving getting out for my run by the afternoon! (who is this mad woman??) I did my three miles and came home to hit the Shred.

I didn't hate Jillian quite as much today. But I still strongly disliked her.

I felt a bit dehydrated during the Shred and even a little dizzy. Knew I had not eaten enough or drank enough water throughout the morning...must make sure to stay on top of that.

Finished Shredding and drank a big glass of water and had a bowl of my uncle sam's and a banana, which I should have eaten for breakfast this morning...this was around 4pm so it is staving off my late afternoon desire to eat everything in sight.

I have no idea why today is so different than yesterday. I was so cranky and irritable yesterday. I made late day bad choices. But I also managed to resurrect those bad choices with a brisk run and getting my laundry hampers emptied that had been plaguing me (and my wingman) for days.

Must move on...carpool to drive...I am in the carpool phase of life, always in the car. Life is good. Today anyway. :)

--Goose Out--

You spin me round, round baby

I took my second spin class today. Since my knee won't let me do the runs I like to do I am in search of new forms of cardio. I like the idea of a spin class because I dream of doing a mini triathlon so I can tell myself this is part of that training.

My first class last week was OK. My quads were burning almost the entire time, I turned on the monitor wrong so I never knew my speed, I wore sweat pants which flopped around, made me quite warm and had no padding on my butt and I had no sense of what kind of resistance or exertion I was supposed to be experiencing. At the end of the class I don't know if I did anything right but at the same time I was unsure I would be able to walk up the stairs to go home.

Today I was a pro. I knew what to expect. I wore my bike shorts with the padded butt, correctly turned on the monitor and was more aware of how much or little resistance I wanted during each transition. It felt like a real workout and I imagine that I will be better at keeping up with my hubby next summer.

This class is at the YMCA near my house. My neighbor has quite a few guest passes she needs to use before the end of the year and has invited me to join her. We are discussing taking a different class tomorrow called "body pump". She talks about this class all the time and I am interested to see how confused and uncoordinated I can be during that one.

Isabelle loves the childcare at the Y. She starts off in one room where they do some sort of cute craft each day and by the end of the class she is in the kids gym where they have the usual plastic slide experience but also lots of mats around to roll around on and a rope hanging from the ceiling that the kids can swing from. I have to drag her out of there every time.

I spent the last year working in childcare at a different health club and I can tell you the kids didn't have nearly as much fun. No structure at all just a bunch of free for all play. I am trying to get my job back starting in January but if it doesn't work out I definitely think I will join the Y. If my daughter is happy my workouts will be so much more enjoyable.

So day 3 of my body feeling sore and I am loving it. I feel stronger. I feel more in control. I feel like I will be able to regain my health. And I am finding myself feeling capable in other areas of my life as well. I can imagine myself finishing some projects in my office closet. I can imagine myself being more disciplined with my quiet times and bible study materials. I can imagine myself taking on more responsibilities at our church, in John's business. I can imagine myself taking charge of a 4 year old who is really starting to wear me out.

I haven't begun to plan dinner yet but I know that needs to be my next step if I am going to continue to be successful. If I don't know what we are having for dinner in the next 20 minutes I likely will make a bad choice when the time does come.

Chipotle Black Bean Burger

--Goose, In--

You must get these!...




I got them from Costco, they are amazingly delicious and satisfying for lunch with some salsa on top! Pull one out of the freezer, 2 minutes in the microwave, top with salsa, and presto, a fast, delicious meal that packs a whopping 17 grams of protein, 7 grams of fiber and only 210 calories, so what the heck, throw in an apple!



--Goose, Out--

Ice Ice Baby

Thankfully, yesterday I did better than I have in a long time, and today is starting off smashingly as well. My craving for sugar is a screeching banchee in my brain, but my resolve is firm. Hopefully the addiction will crack before my resolve does.

My shining glory yesterday was that we took my baby boy to Famous Daves for his 1st birthday dinner. (You know, 'cause that's what all 1 year old boys want to do.) I was dreading it because what kind of healthy food is there!?!?! But when I looked at the menu they had this salad with meat on it. Way too large and way to many "extra's" that are not part of eating healthy. But I realized I could get a side, garden salad and just cut up some meat and put it on there! So I got the salad, cut up some chicken from the platter that the rest of the family shared. And voila! Actually a VERY healthy meal! I didn't even need the dressing because there was flavor from the chicken.

So I walked out of Famous Daves (of all places) feeling comfortable, but not overly full and no sugar anywhere. When we got home I had a banana and life was good.

But, as journey's like this go. A new day brings new struggles. I'm feeling pretty tired this morning and just didn't have it in me to make my usual healthy breakfasts for the kids. So cereal it was. Though I can not eat cereal. One taste and I'll be eating it all day.

So I ate a banana (can you tell we have banana's in the house right now? Not for long...) and then made myself an egg sandwich. I'm feeling quite proud of myself. :)

All right, on to the rest of my day.

Iceman out.

The Name Game

We need a new name!!!

Something that incorporates our desires to live healthy lifestyles. Something that is about diet, exercise, nutrition and whatever else we come up with along the way. Maybe something that ties in this weird Top Gun theme we have going on. (if you have seen the movie in the last 20 years you are probably more familiar than any of us with the lingo. We need a refresher course.)

If we chose your name you get...nothing! We will mention your name here on this blog that nobody reads. Maybe Goose has a fat free something in her pantry to send you, I might have a gluten-free mix laying around, Iceman might be able to find a weight watchers bar of some sort in her cupboard. Unless we eat them all before we decide on the new name. Do it for the excitement of helping create a new blog experience. Do it because you know this will become your favorite blog, do it because you are sitting around with nothing else to do but stare at the ceiling for a few minutes contemplating the options. Do it for the thrill of knowing we will receive your idea and discuss it amongst ourselves. Do it because you love to enter and win contests

I know what I am doing

Let's face it, Goose, Iceman and I have done this before. We have all led healthy lifestyles where we made good decisions about food, exercised regularly and felt so good we couldn't imagine living any other way. But then something happens, we get off track for a moment and it all spirals out of control. The good news is that since we have done it we know what we need to be successful. We just need to do those things.

Today I decided to pull it together with one of the many tricks necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Plan ahead. Today as I was boiling up some hard boiled eggs for my lunch (egg salad sandwich) I decided to just boil up the rest of the carton. While they were cooking I made up an entire package of brown rice, started my spaghetti sauce recipe simmering and baked a few chicken breasts. In 30 minutes I was able to put at my disposal the ingredients for some quick, delicious and simple lunches. Rice and beans, egg salad, and chopped up chicken breasts go in salads, wraps and on pizza crusts. My spaghetti sauce is the quick and healthy answer to dinner whenever I am stuck and I like to have several small containers of it in my freezer.

So today I am feeling good having had a bowl of Grape Nuts for breakfast, egg salad sandwich for lunch and planning spaghetti for dinner which I will serve over gluten free pasta I have on hand. I will NOT sprinkle on any Parmesan cheese even though I love it but will probably have a slice of garlic bread. But just one.

I am feeling sore today after yesterdays workout. Have done nothing today and want to say I can work out every other day but that is not the plan I set for nor the plan I want to be part of my lifestyle. My son will be home in about an hour and I am planning to get in a 30 minute walk when he gets home. (he can watch the 4 year old) Might do a little running as well but not sure the knee can handle 2 days in a row of running. Tomorrow I am hoping to get to the Y for another spin class with my neighbor. I will report back on the experience.

Last night I was watching the biggest looser. There is a man that has been thin and fat more than once in his life and while happy to be back down is worried about whether he can break the cycle this time and stay thin and healthy. Although I am not ballooning up to over 400 pounds between healthy and unhealthy habits I certainly feel frustrated by the constant changes and worry that I will fail again too. But one thing I have learned over the years is that we all fail but we just have to keep starting over and eventually our habits will stick so that we don't fail for years or months or weeks but we can just fail for a moment, stay on the path and keep going. There will always be failures but we cannot let them put us in a tail spin and spiral out of control.

The Iceman Cometh

I need to watch Top Gun again. I'm sure I could glean some insights into these "handles" we have all chosen. Am I Iceman? Does Iceman slip up and make mistakes? Has he started and stopped so many times that he can't count that high? Well it's definitely me.

Yesterday was a non-start for me. Feeling every one of those 21 hours that it took to get home. I was exhausted. I slept in, didn't work out, and I ate copious amounts of cereal throughout the day. I was so cranky about my failures that by the time my husband got home. I was a bear.

But somewhere in there, my attitude shifted again. Maybe it was the realization that I ALWAYS feel this crappy when I disappoint myself. Maybe it was having to confess to my husband, ONCE AGAIN, why I was so cranky. Maybe it was the guilt of snapping at my children during their marathon of a school day.

Either way. I pulled myself together. I forced myself to make a weekly grocery list, I forced myself to make good food choices on that list, and then I forced myself to get to that grocery store at 7pm and do the weekly grocery shopping.

When I got home the world seemed better. I day that had felt like a total loss was redeemed and I felt very accomplished. I sat down and ate some carrots, pea pods & hummus for my supper and felt very good.

So today is a new day. I got up and ran about 3.5 miles at the club and I've have stayed away from any sweets that are not fruit.

So what is my goal? To rid myself of the sugar noose that is around my neck. I seriously think I am addicted. Seriously. My goal till January 1st (minus 3 days for Christmases) is to eat nothing sweeter than fruit. It's funny, even as I write this I start making exceptions in my brain. "Well I can have one glass of egg nog" is the one that it popping into my head right now. See?! It is a sickness.

I'm ready for this challenge. I'm ready to make GOOD habits that I can rely on each day to get me through.

Iceman out.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR..........

--Goose, in--

It was a bad morning.

A verrrrrrrry bad morning.

I woke to rain and heard on the radio that it would continue all day long. How am I supposed to work off those four Zaxby chicken tenders and Zax special sauce?

Then the willful child melted down on the floor of the kitchen for 1/2 hour over her pants while I scrambled to help everyone get ready.

Then the dog pooped in the family room. And, yes, I kicked her, sue me.

As I was getting more agitated I flung open the pantry door to grab a ziploc baggie and knocked over an open box of thin spaghetti...spilled all over the floor.

It is the middle of my cycle and I feel particularly unstable with controlling my emotions.

The willful one continues to be excessively difficult, and then it happened. I snapped. And it was a spectacular snapping.

By the time I stormed to the car everyone was thoroughly upset. I sped them to school and the older ones got out with a look of disgust and contempt for me on their faces. A sweet face who loves the willful one and was ushering in the kids stood there and I told her the willful one might need some love from her, but to not hold against me whatever she says about me this morning.

I speed home.

But this blog isn't about my stellar parenting skills, its about exercise and eating healthy, so lets get to it...

I decide on my way home that I need to get a grip, and really, is it raining so hard? I could just take a quick brisk walk in it to get my heart pumping and my mind cleared and then go straight to the Shred.

I lace up, and don a raincoat, zipped to the top and hood up and head out. Not so bad. Refreshing, really. Its blowing a little and hitting my face, but, hey, its invigorating! Does the rain seem a bit heavier all of the sudden? Up ahead I see a lone walker with her dog. As we pass eachother I wonder if she had a bad morning too, or if she was just a really good dog owner, braving the elements for her dogs daily walk. I settled for "glad to see I am not the only insane person out today!" She laughed and commented that the rain had gotten significantly harder.

I am contemplating turning back as I notice the rivers flowing down the sides of the roads. Where at first I felt certain that I would be seen by passing cars as "charmingly insane", now, instead I feared I will be judged "institutionally insane". But then it seems to lighten just a bit. I decide to finish the loop and keep going.

I start to pray. Confess what an ogre I was this morning, how I am sure my pre-teen is at school thinking about what a psycho, out-of-control mother I am--because that is what I'd think about my mom when she'd lose it--ask God to help me have control over my hormonal upheaval every month, and then sensed the message from the Lord that I am to set a humble, human example to my children and go over to the school later and pull each child out of class to apologize to them, hug them and tell them I love them.

Feeling fresher I finally see my home in sight. I am on the main road now and many cars are passing on their way to work. I dread the potential for a good puddle splash right at the tail end of the walk. But, who am I kidding, at this point I am soaked to the skin anyway.

I make it home and peel off my pants which could have been wrung out if I so chose. I quick change and head downstairs to be brutalized by Jillian on level 2 of shred. I hate level 2. This was my 3rd day of it and I still don't like it. I hated Jillian today.

But now I am done! I did it! I worked out and its finished. Yay me, I can't believe I persevered with my bad attitude this morning. I drank a glass of water, had a bowl of Uncle Sams with frozen berries, and am now blogging with a cup of coffee.

It is now time to shower, clean myself up and get over to the school to give my precious kids some hugs.

--Goose, Out--

Crashed and Burned but taking off again

Somehow after asking my sister to "talk to me Goose", I became Maverick. Not sure the personalities of each of these characters will help you to correctly identify and understand us but we are going with it anyway.

Unlike Goose and Iceman I have a very different and more subtle approach to well...everything. I am not obsessive and driven. I am not in competition with myself or anyone else. I do like to improve, I like to learn new things, accomplish new tasks and in general feel successful with who I am and what I am accomplishing in life. Becoming an "adult onset athlete" has taught me that maybe pushing myself a little isn't a bad thing. Maybe I make more excuses than I realize for not accomplishing things or reaching goals. This has been a great realization in my life but still has not made me nearly as obsessive compulsive as Goose and Iceman. When we run together they leave me in their dust and I do not even try to keep up.

2 weeks ago as Goose was taking off on her flight to better health I must admit to a complete crash and burn followed by a holiday week of not even trying to pretend I was going to take off again and make good choices. All last week I read status updates of Goose and Iceman's daily runs and Shred workouts. Their sore muscles. Their good diet choices. I admit I was jealous. But somehow stuck in a failure loop.

I think my motivation to make these changes comes from several things. One, my daughter has horrible eating habits and I feel like if I am going to change how she eats I need to serve as an example. Two, I have some health issues I know I can control with diet. Three, after years without getting more than the occasional cold I have gotten 2 infections requiring antibiotics in the last month. I started November with Strep Throat and ended it with a bladder infection. I can't help but note that as my diet has taken a dive my bodies ability to stay healthy has gone with it. And finally, I am nearing 40. I noticed in my late 20's that my body started responding differently to my lifestyle and promptly gained about 5 pounds a year for several years before making some changes. Although I am not gaining weight at the end of my 30's I am noticing other changes. The weight I have is getting harder to get rid permanently. I am experiencing aches and pains I do not recall even a year ago. I want to make the changes necessary to enter my 40's feeling and looking great, ready to send my teenager off into the world while having the energy to help my pre-schooler navigate her childhood.

Yesterday I did my yoga video and made cookies, ate way too many of them. Today, fresh on the high energy week of my cycle (since goose shared similar information), I did a 30 minute run/walk (I have an injury but that is another post) and then did 30 minutes of strength exercises in my basement. I had oatmeal for breakfast, salad with salmon and half a can of veggie soup for lunch, a bowl of vanilla yogurt with frozen raspberries for a snack. I will admit that in the oven is a Chinese casserole because my husband mentioned craving it the other day and I realized I could use up some cream of soup that somehow ended up at my house from my MIL. So dinner is going to create a little turbulence in my otherwise smooth flight today. But that is my point, unlike my co-pilots I tend to be slightly more balanced (or less committed depending on which side of this conversation you are on.) I just want to be able to live my life in a way that creates a mainly healthy lifestyle but also allows for occasional deviations from the flight plan without getting me completely off course.

My diet plan consists of no dairy, this has been a lifestyle for about 10 years but somehow recently I have gotten lazy and cheese has slipped back into my fridge ever so subtly. Because of some health issues I have gone through extreme diets that included gluten free, sugar free, red meat free, caffeine and alcohol free. Not to mention processed foods free. It is amazing how easy those diets can be if you are committed and how quickly you forget about them when they are over. My feeling is that sugar is a major contributor to some of my health issues along with the dairy and caffeine I have been off for years. I also want to incorporate much more water and more whole foods into my diet.

My exercise plan consists of...??? Did I mention the injury and fact that it is getting colder here every day? My current plan is to do 30 minutes of cardio 5 days a week, my yoga video once a week and the strength exercises twice a week. I enjoyed my 30 degree and sunny run/walk outside today. I will also do a kickboxing video I have had since Iceman's wedding and I have a friend bringing me to the YMCA this month for weekly spinning classes. I am in search of a health club to join for the winter so I will be touring several clubs which all have one week free options and will update you on each of them. So far I am liking the casual and low pressure feel of the Y plus the excellent childcare they provide.

So there it is...How about you Iceman?

Tail Spin...

My first epic failure. I stared temptation in the eye, and lost.

Turns out, I am human after all.

I have been feeling weak resolve all afternoon. Its the ovulation, it makes me voracious.

Then, husband brought home Zaxby's chicken tenders and Zaxby's special sauce (picture Homer Simpson salivating while moaning in pleasure here). The girls started attacking. I hovered back. Then thought...I have been so good, working out so hard, I could have one...or two. Just "dab" the sauce lightly on each piece. One piece. Two pieces. I step back. Control yourself, woman! The girls finish and there are two more pieces left. And lots of sauce. I go in for the kill. Yum. Really Yum.

I want to give myself 50 lashes and mentally trash myself with character assasinating thoughts. But, this is a good thing, right? Because, I tend to become insane during these little episodes of pulling myself together. A machine. Focused. Resolved. Neurotic. Control Freaky. I scare everyone around me.

So, I will just tell myself...yum! That was fun! And get back out there tomorrow with my exercise and eating well and not let it derail me. And to also pay attention to the fact that my stomach feels pretty yucky right now since it hasn't had any kind of greasy, fatty, gross stuff in 17 days. So, while the moments of the food passing by the tastebuds was delightful, ultimately is it really worth it? So many good for you foods offer the same taste delight without the tummy yuck.

I will not let this derail me. I saw this coming from about 4pm on today. If it wasn't the Zaxby's it would have been something else in the house. Darned ovulation, messing me all up!

Maverick, Iceman...I need you! I'm free-falling! Save Goose! Save Goose!

--Goose, out--

Top gun

It all started when I'd had it with myself, 2 weeks and 3 days ago.

I went to buy jeans. Now, why that was the final straw, I do not know, but as I stood in the dressing room with a pile of discarded jeans around me, my misson became clear.

It was in an email reply I received that our theme was born. The end question?

"Talk to me, Goose."

Thereby I was known as Goose, and my partner as Maverick. We have recently added Iceman to the mix. We are on a top gun mission to detox our bodies and reinvent them with exercise.

So far so good for me. I have managed to lose about 5 lbs in my first 17 days...very satisfying. My first detox week was perfect, and my eating since then has been darn near perfect, with allowing myself to enjoy Thanksgiving without going crazy.

Iceman was here all last week keeping me motivated to ratchet up the exercise. I am currently running about 3 miles a day and then going right into Jillian Michaels "Shred" workout. It is killer. Certain I cannot keep up this pace forever, but I am blitzing right now when I am so determined and ready to make some major changes in my body, which has decided to betray me in my late 30's.

My main focus is currently drinking lots of water, eating whole foods--fruit, nuts, whole grains, lean protein; virtually eliminating all sugar--except for the 3 pieces of the delicious pumpkin roll given to me on Thanksgiving!--, and hardcore eliminating my trigger foods--cheese, chips, cheese, wine.

I am moving into the ovulation portion of my cycle. Always tends to whack me out. I get irritable, fatigued and HUNGRY during my ovulation time. Today, I only ran 2 miles and walked the 3rd because I didn't have Iceman pushing me and I felt tired. But I went right into level 2 Shred and Jillian had me dripping and begging for mercy by the end.

I had a delicious veggie and havarti cheese omelet that my husband surprised me with this morning for breakfast. I had half a ham sandwich on whole wheat with stone ground mustard, and a mcintosh apple for lunch. After I worked out I had a banana and a small handful of almonds. Right now I almost ate some leftover turkey tetrazzini but instead I chewed some gum and then poured a cup of decaf coffee and put some fat free cinnamon vanilla creamer in it to delude myself into thinking I am having a coffee drink treat.

My quads hurt.

I am sweaty and gross and hate having to wash my hair every day!

How is my team doing today?

--Goose--