Wow

By Mrs Mom

So.. a funny thing happened the other day ago. As I was helping in setting up my mother in laws Christmas tree, she giggled.

"This is probably not the right time to say this, when your butt is sticking up in the air and all, but you've lost a lot of weight!"


Well guess what? In my eyes, ANYTIME someone says that is a good time, whether or not your butt is sticking up in the air, know what I mean?

I have lost weight. My mother in law asked what I was doing to drop the pounds and honestly? I have no clue. None. I eat what I want, when I want it. And as much as I want. But I've found.. I'm not eating MUCH. A bite here, a bite there, and I am good to go. Go we do too- I've had more energy, which means more is getting done, which makes me happier, which means going and doing more makes me feel even BETTER, soo.... the circle continues. And the pounds are dropping.

I wish I could say how much exactly, but we still do not own a scale.
I wish I could tell you exactly what to do or not to do, but I can't.

All I can say is rock on. Move. Find a happy. And see what happens.

Merry Christmas!

It was a trainwreck...

a sweaty trainwreck.
Have I mentioned that I'm a stereotypical "white girl with NO rhythm"?  And I can't dance?
Yep, I am.
Which is why this is tragically funny.  I've decided that first things first is to get my butt moving.  The best way to keep it moving is to have fun.  So I dug out the Wii

(I had 'grounded' myself from it until we got some unpacking/organizing done, which we have)

and put in the new game I picked up on my way home from work:

The result?  Fun, yep.  And a trainwreck.  But a sweaty, fun trainwreck.  And one that I will be feeling tomorrow.

Just gotta keep in mind to only play this 
when I'm home alone! lol

The Fruit of the Dead, but its good for you!

Pomegranates... It is fitting that they are in season from October - January (well at least around here, in supermarkets)
According to Greek mythology Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and taken to live in the underworld as his wife.  Her mother, Demeter - goddess of the harvest, was so grief stricken that in her mourning all the green, living things stopped growing.  Zeus commanded Hades to return Persephone.  However the Fates decreed that anyone who ate or drank in the underworld was doomed to eternity there, and Hades had tricked Persephone into eating 6 pomegranate seeds.  Because of this Persephone must return for 6 months every year and rule the underworld alongside her husband.  While her daughter is in the underworld Demeter goes into mourning and ceases giving fertility to the earth. 
That's how it all fits together, pomegranates are a winter fruit and the reason for winter... well at least according to the ancient Greeks ;)
Ok so that's why they are "the fruit of the dead" but why are they good for you?

There are a host of benefits to pomegranates: high in antioxidants (up to 3x that found in red wine & green tea!), combats LDL cholesterol, studies show it helps reduce risk of certain cancers, reduce the inflammation from arthritis, improves heart health & lowers blood pressure.  On average a pomegranate has 105 calories.

You can get the benefits of pomegranates by drinking the juice, however if you want to eat the fruit things can get a bit messy... to help keep things a bit cleaner my father-in-law taught me to do the following:
Cut off the crown and score the fruit, but don't cut all the way through!
Place the fruit in water (sink, plastic tub, etc)
Break apart the rind & membranes and discard
Scoop out the arils/seeds and enjoy!

Things to do with those arils... sprinkle them on your oatmeal, add them to cookies, bake them into muffins, add them to salads, use them in a salsa, add them to yogurt.  Seriously, there are SO many things you can use them in, just google pomegranate recipes!

Reboot time

Call me a slacker.  Or a procrastinator.  Or a 'fall off the wagon'er. 
Yeah, its time for me to say it again... I need to get my butt in gear and work on what I'm eating and on working out.
There are a few things lining up that will, hopefully, help things stay on track this time.
I think I finally have Pie on board.  He's always been supportive but also a stumbling block.  However he is a tad competitive and his brother joined a gym, now he's got it in his head that he needs to work out too and maybe eat a bit better (yay!)
We're still "on vacation" so I have more time to cook.  Because of that I hope to have a stock of freezer meals ready for when we go back to work and I'll set some time aside each week to keep adding to that stock once we're back to work.  That should help curtail the poor lunch choices.  I'll have to get back on track with my suppers at work, I have a few 'go to' meal choices there.  The problem is I start to get bored eating the same things over and over.  I'll need to take some time to plan better options that I can choose without pissing off the cooks.
Another benefit to the vacation time is that we have FINALLY had time to start getting our house organized, which means (insert drumroll) my treadmill is unburied and in a usable area again!!  Or I should say the area around the treadmill has become 'de-boxed' and I can use the treadmill again ;)
Something else is a motivator, it occurred to me that if I want to have any degree of success barrel racing then I need my horses to perform like athletes (duh).  And if I expect THEM to be athletes then I need to be an athlete.
So there ya go, I'm rebooting.  And if I fall off the path feel free to come boot me.

What the twit said

Hey guys, I know we're all busy and don't have a bunch of time to post... and some of us haven't had a lot of time to "work on ourselves".  So I've added a twitter feed to the sidebar and set it up to show tweets from some health/fitness/beauty/foodie twitter accounts. 
If you have any suggestions of accounts to follow let me know :) 
Oh and if you tweet you can follow _CLFC on Twitter (someone already had CLFC boo!) or send tweets to us.
The hope is that even if you don't have time to post or read a blog entry that you can pop by and see what The Experts are doling out as advice

October Orthodox Calendar

OK -- Here is the October Orthodox Fasting calendar -- now that the month is almost half over. This is an easy month -- just Wednesdays and Fridays.

I must confess, I haven't been doing a perfect job of sticking to this, but I think even following it inconsistently is helping.

Though I did have a big setback last week. It was potato chips. They are my downfall. I was down amost five pounds, then got one back.

Been trying to step up the exercise. Yoga seems to work best for me.

Still struggling.....

Time to Get Serious -- The Orthodox Diet

I believe I have mentioned here before that if I just followed the fasting schedule for my faith, that there would be no weight problem. My husband and I are Serbian (Eastern) Orthodox, which is the same faith practiced by Orthodox people in Greece, Russia, Romania, Ukraine....you get the idea.

We have a LOT of fasting days. The calendar given to us by the church shows those days in red. Every month the days are different, and at Christmas and Easter the fasting period is 40 DAYS.

The rules get complicated (see www.abbamoses.com/fasting), but basically on fasting days you do not eat meat, eggs, dairy, or drink alcohol (I believe you are not supposed to have sex, either!). On the days in red with the notation "Strict Fast," in addition to not having meat, eggs, and dairy you also cannot have fish (except shellfish) and oil. The idea is also to eat small amounts.

So here is the September calendar.....Anyone interested in giving it a try with me?

It is a lousy picture (sorry, I am not good with the camera). The strict fast days are the 11th and the 27th. Otherwise it is every Wednesday and Friday, plus the 11th and 27th.

I really think this will work.....I am going to give it a try.

Feeling Fat and Depressed Because of a Friend

I am going to try not to make a long story even longer.

I have not posted here in quite a while. But something has happened that compels me to unburden myself. Something that really affected me.....

We went to visit friends this weekend. They used to live near us, but have moved.

My friend, because of some health issues, and determination, has lost a LOT of weight. She has been transformed.

I have been happy for her on one hand; she lost weight and looks great, but on the other, she has serious health issues (which are under control, by the way).

We were out and about, and someone said something about how hot it was outside, and I thought I heard her say something like, "Yes, I am hot." It was said in such a way that I realized she was not talking about the weather. But no one seemed to notice, and the moment passed.

Then later, we were at a festival, and she went to a vendor's booth to ask about something. After leaving the booth, she tells me, "I went up to ask that really cute young guy about the ____. He was really nice to me -- he was nice to me because I am hot. I AM hot. I am over 50 and I am HOT!" She raise her arms above her head and struck a pose. I did not know what to say or do. I just sort of kept walking and mumbled something.....

Now this sent me into a tailspin. I know it is not logical, and I know I am being irrational, but this REALLY messed me up.

My emotional side felt like she was saying to me, "...you are a FAT loser..."

My logical side tells me that she is just thrilled that she has lost weight. She is really enjoying her "new self" and is proud of the fact (deservedly so) that she has attained a slim figure. She has always been a big woman -- NOT obese, just tall and proportionally big. But I feel she has probably always wanted to be smaller, and has had issues because of her weight. So now she is smaller, and is ecstatic. And she has a right to be.

But still......to hear her say that to me.......I just cannot describe the effect it had on me. I immediately became depressed.

Later, we walked by a vendor's booth at the festival where sun dresses were being sold. We were all looking at them. Her husband looked at one and said, "This would look great on XXXX (his wife's name)." She heard him and said, "Yes, that WOULD look great on me."

I wanted to disappear into the pavement.

What is wrong with me???? I should have said to her, "yes, you ARE great looking! I am so happy for you!" or "You have done a FABULOUS job with yourself! Congratulations!" and "You would absolutely look great in that dress, or in anything you want to wear!"

But instead I felt/continue to feel inferior. I feel fat, frumpy, and old.

I was disappointed in her for her vanity, and what I felt to be conceitedness (if that is a word). I felt feelings of friendship slip away because it seemed to me she was "tooting her own horn" which is something I despise in people.

I am totally depressed. I MUST lose 15 pounds.

How many times

... do I have to go back to Square Frickin One?!

**she asks as if anyone still reads here**

So yeah, I'm at Square 1... with everything.  I had my head hidden in the sand and then it hit me... I'm fighting the depression battle again.  So my exercise, food, everything has been shoved to the side.
The good news from all this is that I've caught the depression a LOT earlier than the really bad spell I fought through in my early-mid 20's

(crap I hope this doesn't turn into a regular thing to go through every 10 years or so)

And because I recognize it I can work through it, like I said I've done it before.  I know I have a lot to be thankful for, I'm very blessed.  So if I can start to work on me then I can tackle food & exercise which will in turn help fight back the depression... endorphins and all that.
So yeah, I'm still here.  Starting from scratch, again.  Anyone else still here?

Day 38

Well, I've lost 11# in the last 38 days since I started working out. Now, to be fair, I have missed/skipped quite a few workouts since taking Dude to swimming lessons and finishing up the end of school. I plan to fix that this week.

What am I doing differently? I'm NOT counting calories, just eating clean 90-95% of the time. I suspect the calorie counter I used to determine how many calories I need each day is not very accurate. That would also explain why I wasn't losing weight much at the farm in Oregon. Because...

(and listen up)

Regardless of the calories in-calories out theory, there is a point at which your body will think you're about to enter a period of starvation and it will stubbornly hang on to every last scrap of flab it can.

REALLY. Our bodies are designed that way since the dawn of time, to preserve life as long as possible.

Haven't you ever watched The Biggest Loser and wondered why someone didn't lose weight this week, despite their protestations that they did everything right? This is probably the reason behind that lack of loss (unless they were purposely throwing the weigh in by consuming salt water beforehand).

Your body needs fuel in order to burn calories. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it is what it is. No matter how much Jillian may scream in your face.

Bodybuilders already know this. When they're dieting and training up for a physique class, they do not cut their calories by more than about 500 per day from what their basal metabolic need is. In order to make up the rest of the calorie deficit, they workout.

Your basal metabolic rate is the amount of calories you need to consume per day to keep your body functioning at the weight it is and maintain the status quo. You can find a BMR calculator here.

But wait! Losing pounds is all well and good. But you want to lose fat, right? Then you really, really need to build muscle. Muscle is the powerhouse of the metabolism. It won't make you, as a woman, look bulky. Well, not the average woman. Now, if you're a competitive figure model, that's different.

Building muscle boosts your metabolism. The more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn and the less you'll store. Plus, it keeps your metabolic fires stoked while you sleep. You need muscle in order to diminish your fat cells. If you're not building and using your muscles regularly while losing weight, your body may very well break down your muscle proteins first. Then, you can be a skinny "fat" person. You won't get the sleek definition we all want at heart. You are likely to still be soft and mushy in all the wrong places.

So, what is it that I did differently to lose 8 pounds recently? I ate clean. It was pretty simple. I cut out a lot of the white flour, white sugar and processed foods (including diet foods) I'd been eating. No sugar substitute, no crappy cereal. No "dairy dessert" masquerading around as ice cream. Just plain and simple food. Ok, maybe not so "plain". :-)

I'm also cleaning stalls, moving hay and doing all those normal horse chores again. So, I AM still getting a workout! I'm eating 5-6 "mini" meals a day, balanced in carb and protein ratios. I'm eating lots and lots of fruits and veg. But mostly, I'm consuming them every 2.5-3 hours so that my metabolism doesn't slow down. And I'm measuring out my serving sizes by eyeballing them, which individualizes the serving to me and my needs, not some industry standard set by the FDA.

Here's how:

- A serving of protein equals the size of my palm (if nuts, then a scant handful).

- A serving of starchy carbs equals a single cupped hand (bread, rice, potato, whole grain pasta).

- A serving of vegetables and fruits equals both of my hands cupped together.

- A serving of healthy fats is one to two tablespoons (or a scant handful of unsalted nuts).

It's working. I feel better. My mood is improved (as long as I have some red meat weekly!). And my skin is clearer than it has been in the past 4-5 years. Let's not forget the weight loss too!

Next week, back to Power 90.

How about you? How are you doing? Do you have any questions?

P.S. Did anyone notice that I've lost 8 of those pounds in the past 2 weeks or so?

Another Progress Check!

Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment and I got to face th scale once more. I've been stressed at work and my eating habits have *ahem* been less than stellar this week so I was kinda worried about what would happen.

Well, looks like the gym is working it's magic and getting my metabolism the jump start it needed cause I dropped 6 more pounds!!!!

That makes 8 so far, I'm super thrilled!

My Curves announced that they would be closing (Pout!) but I've located another just 15 minutes away so I am going to transfer there at the end of the month. I will stick with this, I will !

I was feeling so good about my body that last week my Mom and I went on a shopping spree and I bought some DRESSES. Anyone who knows me personally knows that me and dresses aren't usually a good mix. But I was feeling so good about myself that I just went and did it and I couldn't be more happy!

Here's to making progress!

The Wagon

I didn't just fall off the dang thing, it circled back and ran right over me.

A year ago I was doing pretty good... eating not bad (not great just not horrible), working out 4-6 days a week on the treadmill, going to Curves regularly.
Then we moved, don't get me wrong it was exactly what I wanted and I wouldn't change things and go back to the city!  However the move threw me off completely. 
Our move was VERY disorganized.  I packed some boxes, some friends packed some boxes, the movers packed some boxes.  Only the ones I packed were labelled.  Add that my husband had a major shopping problem and was borderline hoarder and yeah it was a frickin mess... I had no idea what was in a box, the movers just put stuff wherever (I won't even START on the movers, omg what a joke).  To be truthful I still have a basement FULL of boxes.  However Pie is doing much better with his shopping problem, I think moving made him realize just how much stuff he had.
So that had me stressed, there went my eating.  Can't get to the treadmill because of all the dang boxes, going to the city for a gym or Curves isn't feasible, there goes most of my exercise.
Bottom line, I need to start eating better... which would be much easier if my husband would stop bringing so much junk into the house (and with his being diabetic he should for himself anyway!)
I need to get my crap together and get moving outside (hey it is summer now!) :) and hopefully get my boxes/unpacking situation sorted out so that when that darn cold weather comes I'll be able to get to my treadmill. 
SO if you guys don't hear from me posting over here nag me!  Remind me that I need to make myself a priority!
Thanks in advance :)

Things I've Learned

-or-

Diet Rage and The B*tch Unleashed!

In the last 5 weeks I've learned that I get grumpy if I don't have red meat once a week. I simply become a not-nice person come Week 2 (not that I've ever claimed to be nice). And downright homicidal come Week 3 sans red meat.

It is apparently just how I'm made. Some people do fine without red meat EVER. Some people are fine as Vegetarians. Me? Not so much. I used to be a Vegetarian until I was pregnant with Dude. He changed all that. After his birth, I still ate meat, but usually poultry and only on occasion.

Something has radically changed with me in the past 9 years, 10 months and 16 days. Must have red meat OR ELSE!

No, no, definitely not hormone related. I pay pretty close attention to that.

Anyways, diet rage is very real. Some people become very angry when they're on a diet. Sometimes, it's as simple as lacking something in their diet. Other times, it's the simple act of dieting alone.

Perhaps the problem is simply the word "diet". For me, I'm not dieting. I've made a lifestyle change and am Eating Clean. But, once in a while I get crazy ideas that I don't really want or need red meat in my diet. And if it goes on too long, the B*tch is unleashed and she makes the TOM Wench look like a pussy cat!

How about you? Do you or have you ever suffered from diet rage? Is there something you simply cannot do without as part of your everyday diet?

9.5#

No, that's not the amount of weight I've lost since my last post or weigh in. Rather, it's the weight of the dumbbells I'm working out with now. Instead of buying a set of 8# weights, we bought a pair of selectable weight dumbbells. We bought them 10 days ago, and since the weight adjustments are 3#, 6#, 9.5#, and 12.5#, I worked out with them for 3 days at 6#. Today, because I wasn't reaching muscle exhaustion, I decided to just try them at 9.5#. Know what? It was just right!

As for my weigh in, the scale hasn't budged in 2 weeks. I'm trying not to stress about it.

My First Curves Measure Day...

So, some of you may have heard about my measure day at Curves on my other blog but I thought I would share it here as well. It went very well, not crazy exciting like I dropped 20 lbs. or anything like that but just good, solid progress.

I dropped 2 lbs, I lost a quarter inch from my arms and my quads and the best part of all... I lost 2 INCHES from my belly! My belly is a MAJOR issue, 3 weeks prior I had a lady ask me if I pregnant. Now if that isn't a kick in the pants, nothing is. I've been able to tighten my belt an extra hole and my shirts fit way better around my middle section. It feels good to put on a shirt and not see the "tight around the belly" look.

Yesterday at work I had on an outfit that I thought looked stellar. It was flattering, my belly wasn't a distraction and I actually looked taller and leaner than I have in a long, long time! It felt AMAZING! And, all I am doing is modifying my diet slightly and going to the gym 3 days a week!

I'm hoping to keep up the progress!

Day 18

I meant to blog about this earlier in the week,but as of Day 14, I've lost 4 lbs and 3" of my waist (2.5") and hips (.5")! Bad Pants has lost 8 lbs and a whole pants size! Men! Go figure!

In addition to working out, today I washed the dogs, which is a workout on it's own! On Tuesday, I also cleaned our master bedroom, unpacked 15 boxes and got us more organized. Now that we've decided to stay, I'm making up for the lack of any cleaning/unpacking/doing we've been neglecting. Plus, I'm tired of living out of boxes! (We'll be getting dressers this weekend).

I'm finding that my workouts are getting easier and yet more intense. Often, I'm pushing myself to the point of wanting to throw up. I can do 3 sets of 10 push ups now, instead of the original 3 sets of 5, which were a struggle. I've increased my weights from 3 lbs to 5 lbs and will be increasing again next week. At this rate, I'm hoping that I'll be ready to move onto the next level of Power 90 soon!

I'm going to sit on my laurels, eat my Clif bar and enjoy McLeod's Daughters for a bit. I think I've earned it, don't you?

Go Figure...

Have I bothered to tell you guys that I have no rear? I mean, it's flat. No, really, it's F.L.A.T. I often have trouble keeping my pants up sort of flat.

Anyways, with all this working out I'm doing, I've unofficially lost 4 lbs this past week. Unofficially I say, because tomorrow is the official weigh in day. But, perhaps the scale will deceive me and say I gained instead of losing. I suppose that it will depend on what time of day I officially weigh in.

With that unofficial weight loss, I also lost 1/2" off my hips. Not my waist, my hips. My rear is melting off of me. I am really, really not pleased by this. I'm puzzled as to how I will keep my pants on if this trend continues. A belt won't help. It will just slide on down too!

So, there you have it. I have no ass and I'm losing my ass. What's a girl to do?

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

When my cat, George, passed away, I admit I sunk into a bit of a funk. I quit eating well. I skipped my vitamins. I quit caring. Or, at least for a little bit. really haven't worked out at all since last August, when it was more of an intense desire to keep myself busy instead of potentially crying over my dog. There's no excuse. Injuries shouldn't have stopped me completely for so long. So, I decided to do something about it. It helps that on my husband's 35th birthday, Bad Pants also decided that he, too, needed to get into shape. Because while round is a shape, it's not the shape either of us want to be in for our 40th.

We bought a scale. Guess what? The Wii board has been lying to me, by about 12 lbs. I knew I'd gained some weight back since we moved to Georgia, but I had no idea how much. Our new scale is calibrated and accurate to within one tenth of a pound. And, when I weighed myself, I was in for a huge shock. I'd gained back all the weight I'd lost when I lived on the farm in Oregon. More, I was within 1.8 lbs of my all time high, which is about 4 months before any of you met me online, before my venture into Wordpress blogland.

I am horrified

I can't even punctuate that sentence I am so shocked and upset with myself. But, no matter. I am back on the wagon.

Our first step was to re-evaluate how we eat and switch it up again. Finally, after 3 years of effort, I have my husband on the same page with me. We are "eating clean", meaning if God didn't make it, we won't eat it. No store bought processed foods allowed. We even took it an additional step and are following Michi's Ladder from the Beach Body website.

Yes, we joined the Beach Body party. We have started Power 90, although, I know my body won't be bikini ready in 90 days. We are hoping to move to P90X once we're done with this one. But, that's beside the point. I digress...

For almost a week now, we just changed our eating habits. We followed the tiers on Michi's Ladder and decided to start off by eating only from the first three tiers. As we adjust, we'll move to just Tiers One and Two, the Pious and Happy tiers. For us, this isn't a "diet", but a lifestyle change.

It works like this:

Find what you normally eat on the ladder and then substitute something similar on the tier above. A near perfect diet would only consist of foods on Tiers One and Two. There are no calorie restrictions, unless you impose them on yourself. You just simply clean up your eating habits and replace what you used to eat with more nutritious foods. That simple.

While it's not always easy, I do have to say that in almost a week, I've already lost a whole pound. Without exercise.

Now, we're eating from Tiers One, Two and Three, because I can't justify throwing out the rest of the Tillamook cheese Bad Pants brought back from Portland and that AKPonyGirl sent me from Alaska. I just can't do it. And, well, a little extra fat in my diet from the cheese might just help me avoid diet rage since I am counting calories a bit. Quite frankly, Tillamook cheese makes me happy and I'm not going to completely deprive myself. Instead, I will measure my servings so I'm not going overboard.

I started Power 90 today too, modifying it for my ankle so I'd have no real impact. And, I plan on continuing this trend, modifying as needed until my foot fully heals for the next 90 days.

Bad Pants and I took our "before" photos today. No, I won't share them because I have a long, long way to go. I am more than a bit embarrassed and ashamed that I'm back at my starting point for weight loss all over again. Let's just say I won't be riding Casey for a while yet because I don't think I should put him under that kind of strain, knowing my balance is poor as well. No horse did anything to deserve lugging my lard butt around.

Hopefully, I'll have a different opinion at the end of 90 days. I'd like to be ready to move to just eating from Tiers One and Two by then, if not before. And with luck, I'll not be suffering two steps back again for this step forward. I am under no delusion that I'll have a "beach body" in 90 days. It will probably take a lot longer than that.

But, I started today. I took that first step forward.

Well, Hello Again.

I've been pondering this post for a while, I totally dropped off the posting wagon. I could blame a million different things but I think it all boiled down to motivation and my distinct lack of it.

I fell into a bit of a depression and picked up some bad habits. But, now that I have moved I am happy to report I am picking up some new ones!

Take-out became my friend during the latter part of my stay in Oregon. Not cool. My stress levels were up and motivation to craft meals was WAY down.

Two different health issues (one for me, one for the fiance) snapped me out of it. Now, I am working towards less take-out and more home cooked meals. I am also eating salads at dinner. Those who know me personally know this is a MASSIVE step. I absolutely despised salads for YEARS... just the thought of biting into lettuce made dry heave (gross but true!).

Then came the realization that my fatty/carb heavy diet wasn't doing me any favors, I needed something lighter and better for me as a side for my dinner proteins. I gave it more more shot, promised myself to eat salad for one week religiously just to see what would happen.

You know what?

I like it! I don't slather it with dressing or bury it in croutons and bacon bits. A light topping of low fat salad dressing, a few croutons and a sprinkling of low fat cheese and I've got myself a great dinner. Who'd have ever thought??

I've also joined Curves. I wasn't sure about it at first, but it turns out I like it! The workout is simple, yet effective. They say thirty minutes there equates to an hour and a half at a regualr gym. Pretty good deal! Everyone is super supportive. Tomorrow I go back for my second workout, can't wait!

Just Do It

I want to share a short article and a video attached to the article. It's time we Americans wake up and look at what's in our food.

Please go here. Your health is worth the time and knowledge. Please watch the video too. It's long, but worth it.

Holy Cow.. *pantpantpant*

That is what Jo the Wonder Nanny Dog was saying (saying? more like SCREAMING) today as we walked.

Many of you know things have been difficult to say the least at The Asylum, and we are slowly starting to bring things back to a more normal state. However, what many do NOT realize is, NORMAL has been a state of chaos for so long now, we no longer know what any other way of life IS. Seriously. Normal for so long has been living in a literal state of readiness that "letting down" is darn near impossible.

So today, we walked. I dragged the Locust Brothers and Jo out for a 20 minute walk. By the five minute mark, Jo's tongue was almost on the ground and her (rather *fluffy*) sides were heaving. But as long as I kept trucking, Jo did too.

I am pleased to say no, MY (rather *fluffy*) sides were not heaving, nor was I panting and dragging my tongue on the pavement. (Dude... the aftertaste!!!) My hamstrings were abused yesterday by short horses, so THOSE had a few choice words for me, but I cussed back and on we went.

Maybe soon various portions of my anatomy will not be cussing at me, and THAT can be a new state of normal.

~MM

Forever Ago

Is where I left y'all hanging. Sorry 'bout that!

The old adage "one step forward, two steps back" applies to me. I fell off the wagon Superbowl weekend and am just now climbing back on. Yes, I ate all sorts of things I shouldn't have. My salt intake went up and I swelled up like a blimp, which left me hurting the next day. Funny thing is, my bp is beautiful. I only avoid salt to avoid water retention. And the less I have, the less my body swells at night.

The other interesting thing I noticed is that right before Superbowl weekend, our beautiful, low humidity weather gave way to rain. Before that, I was energetic as all get out! I felt great! I had surplus energy to spare! Rain hit, I hurt. Correlation? I think so! That would explain why my pain levels increased when I moved down from Alaska. So... We will have to see how I feel here this summer!

I'm going to run down a quick list of things that have happened since I last blogged and the resulting consequences.

1. Forgot to take vitamins for 5 days in a row- massive chocolate cravings returned
2. Had soda- the salt I ate beforehand made it taste good= cravings= tummy pain from the carbonation.
3. Went to Olive Garden- low sodium diet made everything taste too salty. I'll stick with a couple bread sticks and salad with dressing on the side from now on.
4. Had a few chips on Superbowl Sunday- lots of swelling in hands and feet the next day.
5. Had alcohol on Valentine's Day- did fine.
6. Made adult coffee the next day- muscle cramps in calves (need to drink lots of water if going to have adult beverages).
7. Had a bowl of icecream every night for a week- upset tummy.

So, what did I learn? EAT BETTER! DRINK MORE WATER! DON'T FALL OFF THE WAGON!

If I cheat a little, it snowballs and I don't feel good. I can't cheat and expect to feel good the next day.

Oh, and store bought bread? Um, no. Can't do it. Something in it that's not wheat IS affecting Dude's behavior. Homemade bread, he's fine. Store bought bread, no way. Maybe it's the dough conditioners. WTH is a dough conditioner anyways? Are they massaging something like hair conditioner into the bread to make it look pretty?

I'm getting back on the wagon. I did my yoga back therapy dvd today. I just did the beginning, short session. Guess what? I feel better in my lower back and sacrum! Now, I'll just have to find the motivation to continue it!

I think I'm going to start incorporating some strength training in a couple times a week. I've heard a lot of Fibro people swear by it. So, I'll give it a try! I have a dinky kettle bell I want to try out anyways.

Back to low sodium for me! I know my body will thank me for it.

What've you guys been up to?

Don't have a cow man

I have to say it, there's no way I'd be going vegitarian any time soon... I love meat.  However you can only eat so much chicken.  Fish, while good for you also has some pitfalls.  And we all know that red meat isn't something we should go crazy on either.
So what about bison?  Its lower in fat than beef, turkey, chicken and fish.  It's also higher in protein than beef.  And it tastes awesome!
Check out these stats, per 3.5 oz (100 grams):

BISON                           Fat 2.42   Calories 143  Cholesterol 82

BEEF *choice*               Fat 10.15 Calories 210 Cholesterol 86

CHICKEN *skinless*      Fat 7.41  Caloires 190  Cholesterol 89

PORK                            Fat 9.66  Calories 212  Cholesterol 86

VENISON                     Fat 3.20  Calories 158  Cholesterol 112

SOCKEYE SALMON     Fat10.97 Calories 216  Cholesterol 87

OSTRICH                     Fat 3.00  Calories 140   Cholesterol 83

VEAL                             Fat 6.94  Calories 176   Cholesterol 106

LAMB                           Fat 9.64  Calories 200  Cholesterol 87

    

Bison can be used in place of beef in most recipes, although because there is less fat it tends to cook quicker.  In fact you can eat less bison than beef and still feel as satiated.  Also because it has 40% more protein you get more edible meat per serving.  And don't worry it doesn't taste "gamey"!

From the info I've been able to gather bison are also a much more 'natural' food; raised on grass, not in a feedlot. And you can forget the antibiotics, growth inducing hormones, steroids and genetically modified feed!
Some other interesting bison info... bison meat is non-allergenic.  And I kept running into this one, bison are the only mammals that don't contract cancer.   

I haven't cooked bison at home myself, yet.  But I am planning on trying.  There are plenty of on-line tips for cooking, the most repeated being do not overcook!  Also recommended is to cook over a low heat for a longer time. 
I have had bison before.  Marrer of fact I indulge in a bison burger whenever hubby & I go to my favourite local burger place for a 'treat day' (with sweet potato fries... mmm)         

Reality - a dish best served cold

(oh wait, it's supposed to be "Revenge, a dish best served cold..." lol)

Anyhoo...

I haven't posted here in awhile, as I haven't really had much to report since my last post waaaay back on December 3rd! I've kind of been in a holding pattern just to get through Christmas and my latest vacation.

As I was looking through some pictures from my trip - there was one of me that really highlighted my weight - and it really shocked me. Now, it is no big surprise that I need to lose some weight, but seeing myself as others might kinda had me at a loss for words. That photo will be my motivation to start making some changes to my diet, as well as my attitude!

I feel that this coming week is my "new year". I was so busy over the holidays and most of January that I didn't have time to get things organized. Now that I am home and all of the big stuff is done and taken care of, I can get down to business. And that business is taking care of me. Me, myself and I -nothing else to draw my attention away from this all-important task. It might be a bit scary and get a bit messy, but it has to be done.

I like OS's idea of implementing one or two changes a week to help things "stick" a bit more. My first change is bringing my lunch and snacks to work every day, except Fridays. I often go out wtih some friends on Fridays, so that is a free day for lunch. I brought my lunch for 9 days in a row after Xmas and I have lunch for today as well. This one is a big deal for me - it impacts my finances, as well as my diet.

It isn't hard to spend $5 for a coffee/tea/muffin for a snack and $10-15 for lunch everday. That could be almost $100 (or more!) per week!!! Ouch! Not to mention the fact that eating out is rarely healthy - the closest places to me are Subway and McDonalds. Not the greatest options for me on a regular basis.

So, next week is my first full work-week and I will be planning out food, shopping and cooking this weekend to get things in order.

The other change that I've been working on since Christmas is a small one, but important for my health. I have been flossing my teeth every day - I always flossed before, but never consistently, so it's just something that I've worked on adding to my evening routine. I'm sure my gums will thank me for it!

I think next week's change will be something to do with exercise - I need to get rolling on that, as I want to be in good shape to start riding in a couple of months (if it ever warms up around here!) I have a few more changes I want to start implementing, but I'll write about them later on.

I hope everyone is doing well with their own changes!

Changing

So, I've noticed a change. Actually, it's kinda a big change. My chocolate cravings, which bordered on demonic, have decreased*. I attribute this to my vitamins! According to Dr. Joe M. Elrod, the dude that wrote my fibro book, most chocolate cravings are your body's reaction to not getting enough magnesium. Don't know the logic behind it, but ok! Anyways, he says that approximately 75% of the US doesn't get enough magnesium. Now, that doesn't mean all those people are chocoholics, but probably a goodly percentage of them are. I've been hesitant to say that I am no longer a member of that club as it's not been very long at all. BUT, I can say, my little, and I mean little chocolate craving that hit because, well, it was that time of the month, was very minor compared to usual. A little bit of chocolate (ok, 2 candy bars worth) was all it took to tame that savage beast. In the not so distant past, it would have been more like an entire bag of Hershey's Kisses instead. So, an improvement made! One that should help initiate weight loss too!

I have not reacted to our hay beyond the normal got-scratched-and-felt-a-bit-itchy reaction. So, I have re-started the Valerian. We'll see what happens this week! I took it last night. I woke this morning earlier and feeling more rested than I have been recently.

I have increased my water intake. I fill a 32 oz cup every morning and try very hard to have drank two of them through out the day. This is in ADDITION to whatever else I drink that day. Coffee, smoothie, juice, etc. I don't see any difference really yet. But, maybe I'm not really supposed to? I'll have to go look up WHY I'm supposed to drink that much since the government monkeys say that we need only 64 fl oz of liquids, not specifically water, per day.

I didn't do yoga last week. Instead, I started some PT for my elbow and shoulder. I will start yoga this week and see how my elbow, knee, and ankle do.

I think I've made most of the simplest changes now and I need to go back and re-read the book for the ones that don't stick in my brain.

How about you? Did you make any changes this week?





*For the record, until my pregnancy with Kitty, I did not care much for chocolate. Hmm... I can almost draw a correlation there!

On pins & needles

I'm back at square one, again.  The weight is creeping back on.  Partly because I'm making poor food choices and partly because I'm not very good at portion control.  You see if I'm eating with someone that eats small portions I tend to eat a smaller portion.  If I'm with someone that eats a lot so do I.  Unfortunately my hubby is a big guy and eats enough for two people.  I have a hard time reminding myself that I do NOT need to eat as much as I do when we eat together.
So I'm planning on making 'freezer meals'.  Stuff I can cook in big batches and put in portions to freeze.  That way when I'm in a hurry (ummm, pretty much all the time lol) I can take out A portion for me and however many Pie wants for him.

Then there's the fact that I haven't been working out.  My treadmill is buried behind a stack of "get to it whenever" boxes.  Its been too damn cold out to do much outside.  And let's see we're 19 days into the new year and I've ridden ONCE.  The yoga I've been planning on doing (on my spiffy, new, purple yoga mat) has been put on hold.
Now why the no yoga and no riding?  Because my dang shoulder is FUBAR.  About a month ago I fell when I landed on the deck after coming off the roof (I did NOT fall OFF the ROOF, I fell when I landed after CHOOSING to let myself off the roof... there is a difference)
I've been getting chiro done on it regularly, and its helped a lot.  The pain is more or less gone, well as 'pain free' as I ever tend to get.  However the range of motion is limited and my chiropractor is concerned that we may have to worry about 'frozen shoulder'.  Hence the post title... we're moving on to trying acupuncture.

Sooo, let's hope the acupuncture and stretching works.  Then I can start the yoga, and saddling my pony!  And yes now that I've been able to admit to myself (and y'all!) that I need to eat more consciously I hope to get back on track with that too.

Learning Curve

So, I did not start yoga this last week. With the ice storm here in Atlanta, I was getting enough of a workout hauling water, shoveling ice off the driveway and practicing my ice walking skills where I couldn't shovel it off. (To illustrate, our house sits on a corner. The driveway comes up one side and wraps around the corner to go out to the other road. Additionally, it leads 100 yards down an incline to the barn (which I don't have use of- *grumble, grumble, gripe*- and down to the pasture gate).

Instead, I continued doing what I was doing with a couple exceptions. I quit the chamomile and valerian combo as I broke out into hives. Now, this could have been from a switch in hay from rounds to squares (TG! I couldn't have gotten a round into the pasture with the ice we had!). The squares are a finer, greener hay. They're different than the Bermuda rounds we had been feeding.

I will be testing myself over this next week to see if it's the hay causing hives or not. I've never taken valerian regularly so that could be it. Or it could be the chamomile. If I don't react to the hay this week (short sleeved, that is), I'll add in chamomile or valerian the next, watching reaction then adding the other. Pumping myself full of allergy meds is counterproductive here.

I did order this yoga dvd and will start using it this week. My understanding is that with daily usage, I should see improvement in my back pain within a month. If you don't follow my blog and already know, I was in a horrific car accident at 19, in which my head shattered the rear windshield of a hatchback (I was a backseat passenger, wearing my seatbelt) and f*ed up my lower back. I was so swollen that when the ER released me, they didn't know if my back was broken. And we never found out. Now, I have issues with my sacrum, which causes the ligaments that wrap from your sacrum, around your hips and go down your legs to become tight and painful. I am hoping, really, really HOPING this dvd will help A LOT.

Anyways, I digress.

For the most part, we eat very little processed food. Part of it is an effort to cut back on the grocery bill, and part is for health. We rarely eat fast food. But the other day, I had the weirdest hankering for Taco Bell. Now, we've been to Taco Bell exactly 3 times since we moved here nearly 7 months ago. It's far away, about 18 miles. We tend to forget it's there, even though we drive by at least once a month on our way to Tractor Supply. In Oregon, TB was our go-to place since there was something for everybody, including my vegetarian stepdaughter.

So, Bad Pants and I ordered our usual. Dude did too. However, Bad Pants and I quickly realized our food tasted like sheet rock. Yeah, yum. Dude didn't, but the pallet of a 9 yr old is circumspect anyways. Spiced sheet rock isn't very appetizing. YUCK! I am now cured from wanting to eat TB any more.

Soda was also an interesting adventure. I don't drink much soda as I found the carbonation leaves my insides hurting. But, I hadn't had soda in about 3 weeks. First I tried this lovely peach soda we like. It tasted salty to me. It had an aftertaste of salt. I attributed it to just having the tail end of a cold and tried a different soda a few days later. Nope. Same issue. Even though it was low in sodium, it tasted like salt and left me an aftertaste like I'd swished with salt water several minutes ago. Mind you, I quit drinking diet a year ago because aspartame isn't good for you. I spent about 3 days trying different sodas. Cans, bottles, fountain, all to the same effect. Salt. Yeah, not what I want.

I had planned on giving up soda this week since it causes me intestinal distress anyways. But now, I'm giving it up because it.just.doesn't.taste.good. If I want to taste salt in my drink, I'll drink salt water, tyvm! It's not just me either. Bad Pants noticed the same thing. So, why don't you try it? Go soda-less for about 3 weeks and then pay attention to the aftertaste of your soda. Generic, brand, the competitor's brand... It was all the same. Salt.

Sleep-wise, I am doing ok. Just ok. Without the valerian, I am apparently back to my wiggle, combine-like self. (It's BAD when you resemble a combine!) Bad Pants reports that a couple nights I whacked the wall behind the bed pretty hard a couple times. I have no memory of this, but it explains why my wrists hurt so badly the next morning. I am also waking up more stiff and sore than the couple weeks I took the valerian regularly. And I feel less rested.

My elbow has skin again. I'm starting to slowly get some strength back. However, there is tendon damage and I am using a tennis elbow brace as needed. Not constant, or I'll over-use my arm, making things worse rather than better.

I've remembered my vitamins most every day, only missing a couple days total so far. No giant burst of energy as the bottle promises, but perhaps my stores aren't built back up yet. Maybe in a few months. And I'm still juicing, when I remember/have time/feel like it. I'm also drinking bottled juice that doesn't have tons of chemicals in it. I've lowered my protein levels, so I'm not struggling to eat more protein. And this seems to be easier on me. I'm not counting the percentage, but I'm not forcing myself to try to get XX number of grams a day either. And lastly, we have decided to only make our own bread now, thereby avoiding most of the preservatives and chemicals we consumed before. And yes, it's white bread. I have a theory on that, but I'll share it another time.

So, yoga this week. Hay test this week. No soda.

That's all for now. Is there something I'm missing or something you guys want me to talk about more specifically?

So, I lied...

I started more than one thing this past week.

1. My vitamins got here by Wednesday and I couldn't resist starting them immediately. No sudden boost of energy. But I doubt that to be expected if my own vitamin stores are low.

2. I also started the chamomile tea and Valerian capsule bedtime combo. I forgot the tea 3 days and skipped the Valerian 2. I'm not sure my Valerian is helping. I think it's properties became damaged and lost potency when we moved this past summer. So, I will replace this bottle on Friday.

3. I gave up alcohol for a month. Not that I'm a big drinker, but we do have a drink occasionally. Being how my youngest daughter, Doodle, decided to share her cold with the rest of us and I'm currently sick, this seemed as good a time as any. Then, once the month hiatus is up, I can enjoy that bottle of sparkling Pinot in my fridge for Valentine's Day.

4. I played with my juicer. I made juice 5 days out of 7.

I made:
papaya and pineapple
pineapple and mango
straight Gala apple
Gala and Granny Smith mixed
Pear
Tangerine

I like one or two blend apple juices. They taste REAL. And so much better than the bottled stuff at the store! That stuff is made with all the bruised and blemished apples from a region mixed together. So it's not even a consistent mix!

You cannot store fresh juice overnight. It tends to taste bitter the next day, especially when it comes to pineapple juice.

All citrus fruits need to be peeled first or a bitter compound is released from their skin. This is really, really time consuming. It's probably easier to slice the citrus and use a reamer than to peel and run it through the juicer.

Pear juice needs to be drank right away or it starts to become bitter too. So, don't clean your machine first and drink it afterwards. Drink first and clean later!

Apple and pear pulp won't go to waste if you toss it in your soaking beet pulp for your horses. The horses enjoy it!


Things still on the agenda:

1. Give up sugar. Not yet, please! I've cut back though.
2. Exercise.
3. Give up caffeine.
4. Change carb/fat/protein ratios.
5. I'm sure there are more, but I'm not going to go get the book out and look them up right now.

Ok, this next week, I pick #2! My elbow is doing better. I do have tendon damage that will take forever to heal. But, there is no reason I can't start working on regaining some strength back in my hand and arm. So, I plan to start with yoga daily and work more at drinking my chamomile tea. Yoga, tea. Yoga, tea.

I'll check back in with you next week about how I'm faring.

How about you? Did you make any changes this last week? How did you do at sticking to them?

The First Day

So...

I'm supposed to be only making one change a week, right? My planned first changes have fallen apart and been pushed back. The liquid vitamins won't be here until next week most likely. We've been wait-listed for Kendo. That means I need to pick something else.

So, let's see... Things I'll be doing over this next year...

Drink more water- at least 64 and preferrably 72 oz a day. Juice and other liquids are to not count.

Give up sugar- this one is going to be so hard for me! I need to do it as fully as possible for at least a month. Not quite ready for this one yet.

Eat more whole foods and less food with additives- already mostly doing this, going to fine tune it more.

Get better sleep- this is multi-part and I'll discuss it in depth later. For now, a simple start might be drinking a cup of chamomile tea daily half an hour before bed.

Exercise 6 days a week- I want to start with yoga, but need more healing time from the alien and robot attack that happened before the holidays. I'm sorry. I don't feel like walking until I replace my worn out shoes from last Christmas.

Stretch 7 days a week- um, yeah, see above.

So, I think I'll start with drinking a cup of chamomile tea daily before bed. Chamomile has been used for centuries to help alleviate anxiety and promote sleep. Some studies seem to show a correlation between the flavonoids chrysin and apigenin contributing to these effects. The aroma is often thought to be soothing. Plus, we all know a warm cuppa something is relaxing.

It's a place to start and I'll blog more about sleep when I find some, hopefully soon!

Self Sabotage

This is something I've been meaning to bring up for awhile.  Kept forgetting until tonight at work I overheard some ladies talking and heard an excuse for not losing weight that I thought was sooo lame...
"I know I should lose some weight, but all my rings fit" says the largest of the 3 plump ladies.

It has been my experience that I will sometimes sabotage myself, often subconsciously.  Things like I would notice that my very absolute favourite summer time pants were almost too big.  A few weeks later, after I'd indulged in a few too many treats and they were fitting fine.

That is why as this new year starts I plan to try to be more conscious of myself.  Of my body, my feelings and my mind.