A Little Sweat Won't Kill Me

It's Olympics time!  I could not be more excited.  I absolutely love the Olympics.  I always think that seeing all these amazing individuals compete at the highest level is so inspiring.  I sometimes wish I could be one of those people, but, let's face facts.  I am clutzy, have no eye-hand coordination, am slow, and am gettin' old.  Oh well!  That doesn't mean that I can't strive for my own version of physical excellence.

Weekly workout roundup:

Sunday:  Rest
Monday:  4.75 mile run
Tuesday:  Ripped in 30 - levels 2 & 4 (~60 mins)
Wednesday:  Rest
Thursday:  4 mile run
Friday:  Ripped in 30 - level 4 (~30 mins)
Saturday:  9.1 mile run (7.55 miles running, rest walking; 98 mins)

Total weekly hours working out:  ~4.43
Miles:  17.85

Yeehaw.  Okay, not my best week ever, but I am happy with what I was able to accomplish.  Some weeks are just more of a struggle than others.  I am shocked by my training run this morning.  I ran the first six miles straight - the longest I have gone thus far without stopping (60 minutes).  And you know what?  It really wasn't that bad.  The first mile was rough - and I felt slow throughout the run but who cares?  I did it!  Not too shabby for a girl that couldn't run the mile in school!

What I have been really struggling with is eating too much.  I'm not eating poorly and am still focusing on whole foods.  I have just been really hungry and eating a lot.  Calorie-wise, I am eating an amount that should maintain my weight so I am not stressed about this but I would like to get a little more control back.  Is it the running?  Stress of a new job?  Who knows.  I hope to adjust soon!

Random Topic of the Week:  If you look pretty when you are done working out, you didn't do it right

I give credit to my friend Renee for thought!

So, I typically work out in the morning.  I get up at a ridiculous hour (between 4:45 and 4:55am), wash my face, change, and get my butt either on the road or down in my basement for a workout.  I like working out this early for several reasons:

1. I feel better all day.

2. I don't have to think about an impending workout while I go throughout my day.

3. I am more likely to skip an evening workout than a morning workout.

4. It's so quiet and peaceful out at that time in the morning.  The only people I see on an early morning run are other morning exercisers, who are typically always super friendly and I'm starting to recognize the faces I've been seeing more often.
5. (and most importantly) I get to shower and go from looking like a crazy, sweaty, curly-haired mess to being a normal, professional person.

I see other people running when I'm on the road in the morning and they always look powder fresh.  HOW do they do this?  I just do not understand how you can be working out and not even break a sweat or mess up your hair.  Do they just not sweat?  I feel like if I don't have to shower when I come home, I didn't get a workout in.  I mean, this is what I look like after only a 38 minute run (imagine what I look like after my 9.1 miler this morning!):

Soaked through clothes, red in the face, puffy eyes (though this might be because it was 6am), headphones all askew, crazy look on my face.  Ah yes, this is what I should look like after a workout!



I used to feel so uncomfortable with this feeling and looking this way and didn't want to be in public like this.  What I have realized is that sweat is a badge of honor of sorts.  I worked hard for that and am proud of my commitment to my health no matter what I look like!  Now when people drive by and stare at me, I don't care and like to imagine that they are just jealous of my awesomeness (and dream about my impending shower).  :)

Back to the Olympics! 

The Second Time Around...Maybe

Happy weekend!  It's been a good but busy week and Saturday.  I, once again, met the majority of workout goals (5 days per week, 3 work mornings and 2 work evenings; I only missed one evening workout but I'm cool with that):

Sunday:  Ripped in 30, level 3 (30 mins) + 20 mins elliptical
Monday:  Travel for work (i.e. "rest")
Tuesday:  AM - 39 min run
Wednesday:  AM - Shed and Shred Levels 1&2 (cut slightly short due to lack of time; 65 mins); PM - Ripped in 30, level 4 (30 mins) - FYI this combo made my thigh muscles twitch for 2 days!
Thursday:  Rest
Friday:  AM - 43 min run/walk (mostly walk)
Saturday:  8.2 miles (91 mins; broken into 6 miles running, 2.2 miles walking)
5.8 hours working out total this week

What I realized this week is that I really, really, reeaaaalllly miss my half marathon training.  I miss the focus on something other than work craziness.  I miss working towards something challenging in my personal life.  I miss being that athletic and fit.  I miss that time to myself when I'm outside doing something productive.

Now, I am only 2 weeks into my new job and all signs point to things getting very, very busy come mid-August or so.  So am I crazy to think about doing another half marathon on September 23rd?  Probably. 

I have been worried about spending the money, especially since I'll likely need new shoes again in the near future.  But, I've decided not to join a gym in my new town and I justify the cost that I would spend on a bigger race based on the fact that I don't really have any other money-costing hobbies right now.

I've also been looking at my weight fluctuations.  I have been bouncing around with the same 5 pounds or so for the past 2 months and I'm sick of it.  With what I lost this week, I am only 12 pounds away from a healthy weight for my height and I am at a point where I need to kick my butt back into gear.  I am thisclose and I seem to have lost some of my steam. 

For comparison purposes, I lost 22.8 pounds during the four months of training for the GB Half (5.7 pounds/month average) and have lost 5 pounds in the last two months (2.5 pounds/month).  Yes, I lose slow and yes, this type of training is more intense than what most people probably want to do.  I enjoy it (otherwise, I wouldn't do it).  I'm not worried about meeting my weight loss goals during this training and I don't think it will happen but I do need a kick in the butt to get my calorie burn up a little higher.

So, am I going to do it?  Maybe and most likely.  I plan to train as though I am going to complete the half in September but I am going to wait to spend the money on signing up until I know for sure I can get my body into shape in 9-ish weeks.  I completed 8.2 miles this morning and feel very good today so maybe I'm not as out of running/walking shape as I thought I was!  The jump from 8 to 13 is a big one though! 

There are several things that I will be doing differently this time around, including:

1. Being smarter about my nutritional choices
2. Being smarter about hydration - I dehydrated (and thus got very sick) a couple of times during my last training.  I would think I would be fine but really, I was not.  Water, water, water!
3. Much more cross training - I can easily bust out 30-35 miles per week but it results in overuse pain in my right foot, a loss of upper body strength, and major workout burn out.
4. Including running into training - I will not be running the entire half as my knees would never go for it but I would like to include more running as long as I am enjoying it.  If I stop enjoying it, I will walk.  No shame in walking the race! :)  BTW - I have been finding that running is much easier than walking at a clip of ~4.7 or higher for longer distances.  I have yet to figure out why this is.
5. Never training (specifically running) two days in a row.  This wasn't as big of a deal when I walked but my joints cannot handle intense running two days in a row.  This also forces #3 to happen.
6. I will not be setting any time goals - I might wear a watch during training runs but I am not going to be putting an emphasis on time.  I will be wearing a watch during morning runs as I need to be sure I get to work on time!  Why am I doing this?  I care less about being super speedy than I do about being healthy.  Being worried about time takes the fun out of it.
7. Less training time - 4 months vs 2 months, enough said
8. Listening to my body - if I start burning out between training and work, I will pull the plan and go back to basics and not run the race.  No big deal.  The goal is to be healthy not put so much stress on myself that I start faltering in other areas of my life.

So, here we go again.  We'll see how this goes!

A Little Something Different

Last week was rough.  But good.  And now it's over.  I'm happy about this.  My least favorite part about starting a new job (or a new semester when I was a student) is the first week.  Remember the stress of figuring out where you were supposed to be and what you are supposed to be doing?  I hate that.  Unfortunately, it looks like it will be another few weeks of that.  My new work is renovating a room for my new job and my office is not finished yet.  Hopefully it will be soon so I don't spend all my time this summer walking across campus in the 90F+ heat everyday.  I cannot wait to get settled in...and to have a coffee maker in my office.  Oh, yes, coffee will be needed mid-day with this job!

For the most part, I met my fitness goals for last week.  To recap, go here.  Here's what actually happened:

Sunday:  6.38 mile walk

Monday:  Level 1 (38mins) of Jillian Michael's Extreme Shed and Shred (AM)

Tuesday:  Rest

Wednesday:  Levels 1 & 2 (80 mins) Shed and Shred (AM); 3 mile walk (PM)

Thursday:  Rest

Friday:  Levels 1 & 2 (80 mins) Shed and Shred (AM)

Saturday:  Rest

That adds up to exceeding my morning workout goals (min of 30 minutes, three mornings), falling short of my evening workout goal (2 nights), and not quite meeting my total workouts goal (5 days/week).  I'm going to cut myself a little slack on this one.  I'm actually surprised and very proud that I accomplished what I did.  Let's face it, I actually got up at 4:45am three mornings to workout on my first week of work.  Of course, I was ready for bed at 7:30pm every night.  I was not expecting to be so tired at night.  I think 'non-functional' would have been a good description for how I felt at night and on Saturday.

I'm still dragging today but I need to get things done.  I need to clean and get a good workout in because I feel like it's important to start my week out strong.  I'm going to leave my workout goals the same for this week.  I'll likely refine this schedule as I start getting a better feel for how my weeks will go as time goes on but this works for now.  I need to cook today too! 

This morning, I made this egg bake.  I need something different in the morning.  I am a little burnt out on oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast, so eggs were on the menu.  I made a four-serving egg bake to cover this morning and three breakfasts during the week.  It's very low in calories, so I can add in a fruit or pumpkin smoothie to round out the meal.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this bake but it was very, very good.  Next time, I might add a couple extra eggs (I only had 6 on hand).  I would think that adding cheese would be very good but I have a hard time digesting eggs and cheese together.  Kalamata olives and feta would be excellent add ins!

Mediterranean Egg Bake

Serves 4; 140 calories per serving

Ingredients:
3 large leaves of kale, chopped
5 portabella mushrooms, chopped
2 scallions, sliced
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk of choice (soy, cow, almond, coconut, etc.)
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper

On the stovetop, sweat out the kale, mushrooms, and scallions until slightly wilted.  Add in 1/4 cup of water and continue cooking until the water evaporates (note: this helps reduce the bitterness of the kale); let this mixture cool for about 5 minutes.  In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, and spices until well combined.  When the kale mixture has cooled, add it to the eggs and stir to combine.  Transfer to a small baking dish.  Top the eggs with the slices of tomatoes and add a small amount of salt to the top of the tomatoes.  Bake at 350F for 35 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes, slice, and serve!

Review: Bob Harper's Ultimate Body Cardio Body DVD

Good snowy evening!  It's been a good, but busy, day!  Yesterday, I did a review of Bob Harper's Cardio Conditioning DVD that I worked through on Saturday.  Since I have been really working hard to incorporate variety into my half marathon training to avoid burnout and my body becoming too used to walking, I decided to do another workout DVD today.  Although I had only planned enough time to do a 30 minute workout, I ended up doing a 60-minuter and raced through the rest of my day.  :)

Today, I did Bob Harper's Ultimate Cardio Body DVD.  I bought this DVD at some point but have never done it (not sure why).

Note: I only completed the 60-minute workout, not the 10 minute glute challenge, so I am not reviewing the second workout.

Despite this workout starting off with insane amounts of my least favorite exercise ever, lunges, I loved this DVD!  I felt challenged, though I probably would have been better off with two sets of weights.  This is a similar problem that I had with the Cardio Conditioning DVD as I am stronger at some exercises than others (this, by the way, is my own issue, not the DVD's - just something to be aware of). 

Although this workout didn't feel that much like a traditional cardio workout, my heart was definitely pounding at certain moments.  I loved that Bob took your heart "on a roller coaster ride."  I don't usually challenge myself this way as I tend to walk at the same speed for a long period of time and this left me feeling very energized after my workout! 

Although this isn't a traditional cardio workout, it is not a low-impact workout either.  It's not as high impact as other videos (like Jillian Michael's Burn Fat Boost Metabolism, which does not use weights) but you will be jumping quite a bit, sometimes with weights in hand.  The only thing that bothered my knees was the lunges.  Bob also ends the workout with a 2-3 minute crazy cardio shot that I loved.

Finally, if nothing else, you will get a kick out of Bob Harper's socks.  He wears black shorts, black shoes, and black knee socks.  I don't normally care that much what people are wearing (especially in a DVD like this) but it had me wondering the entire time who picked that out for him.  If you make it to the cool down, you'll get to hear his joke about it.

All in all, this is an awesome workout, perfect for adding a little variety into my workout schedule!  I plan to keep this in regular rotation as I really love to kill weights, abs, and cardio in one shot, especially on busy days like today.  It's too early to tell if I'm going to be sore from this but seeing as I was sore from the Cardio Conditioning video, I likely will be from this one as well.  We'll see tomorrow morning!

Review: Bob Harper's Cardio Conditioning DVD

I hope everyone is having an awesome weekend and staying warm!  I have been trying to incorporate more free weights and strength exercises into my half marathon training.  I am trying to schedule at least 2-3 days of cross training and/or free weights into my workout plan each week.  I just feel so much stronger and I am better able to support myself when walking for long distances when I my core, arm, and leg muscles are well conditioned.

I have several workout videos that include weights (cardio + weights = 2 birds/one stone) but I usually stick with Jillian Michael's videos like Ripped in 30 or 30 Day Shred.  I was looking for a bigger (and longer) challenge yesterday so I popped in Bob Harper's Cardio Conditioning DVD.  I got this DVD about a year ago and I did the 60 minute workout a few times but never made it through the entire thing.

Yesterday, I did make it through, so I thought I'd offer a review of this workout.

This is a fairly challenging workout and definitely worked muscles that I don't exercise on a regular basis (as made obvious by slightly sore upper arms and legs this morning).  I liked this workout for several reasons:  it incorporated different exercises than I usually do (varied workouts are so important to keep my body from getting used to my workouts), it was longer than most workout videos, it didn't contain lunges (oh, how much do I hate lunges?), and I was sweating pretty good throughout the majority of this workout.  I liked that you pushed yourself for about 45-50 minutes and then went into an ab workout and started cooling down.  There is also a countdown on the screen, which is really nice to know how much longer you have to go.  I believe there is a way to turn the countdown off.

This workout probably would have been more productive to me if I had two sets of weights (one light, one heavy), but I completed the entire workout with 5 lb weights and it was fine.

Now for what I didn't like:  this workout is extremely repetitive.  If you don't like squats, kettle bell-like swings, and dead lifts (with a weird squat included in these), this is not the workout for you.  I don't think I would do this more than once every week or two because I can see myself getting very bored with this and because I tend to get lower back pain with dead lift.  I have previously done the 25 minute workout included in the video (it's more like 23 mins) and felt like it was too short and I didn't get a good workout.

All in all , this is a good DVD, and will likely land in my weekly or biweekly video rotation.

Have a happy and healthy day!

Half Marathon - FAQ's Part I

I woke up this morning thinking about spring.  We've had a very easy winter and yet, I have such horrible spring fever!  I dug through the piles of coffee in my pantry and managed to find some left over orange creme from Door County Coffee!  The smell and taste of this coffee makes me feel like I could walk outside in a t-shirt (and not be cold).  So summery.  I'm looking forward to DCC releasing it again this spring (it's a seasonal coffee) because the stuff in my pantry was a bit stale and off tasting.  At least it still smelled good! 

A quick note - my camera has officially keeled over and only saves about 1 out of every 10 pictures appropriately (all the rest are "corrupt").  So I apologize ahead of time for not a lot of photos in my posts.  I am trying to decide whether I should get it fixed or upgrade.

I have been getting quite a few questions about my half marathon that I am currently training for.  Some have been from people that I don't know via e-mail (a first for me and very exciting - this is a pretty small blog!) and some from people I am very close to.  I thought it might be fun to do a couple of FAQ posts and also post updates on my training weekly as this will (hopefully) help keep me on track.  So here we go!  If you have questions that are not answered below, add them to the comments or shoot me an e-mail!

Why a half marathon?
I started randomly saying last summer, "Wouldn't it be cool to do a half marathon next summer?"  It wasn't a serious suggestion, just something that I thought would be fun.  I decided to sign up for the 5-mile Turkey Trot this past fall and spent all fall working towards increasing my distance and speed (yes, it took that long!).  I was very happy with my time (averaged a 13 min 3 sec pace - walking the entire way).  I felt as though I had really pushed myself and accomplished something.

After the Turkey Trot, the weather got cold, finals came around, and I got lazy.  Right before Christmas, I started to seriously consider a longer distance race.  I started walking longer distances outside and on the treadmill and was surprised at what my body could actually do.  I really don't think we give ourselves enough credit - our bodies are capable of a lot!

A few people (including my pain management doctor) have called me an "athlete" in the past couple of months but this doesn't resonate with me.  According to the Free Dictionary, an athlete is:

"A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contexts."

 This is not me.  I have always thought that weight loss is a huge mental game and I still see myself as the chubby kid whose gym teacher used to tell her to skip forward and backward rolls because there was no way she was going to be able to do them (I could, by the way).  So, I have something to prove to myself.  I need to prove to myself that I am, in fact, an athlete and someone capable of committing to the training for this event and completing it successfully.

I think this is a good distance for me.  It's a challenging distance to maintain a good pace and I definitely need to train my body to be in good enough physical and mental shape to accomplish this, but it is not so long that the training takes over my entire life.  I am definitely moving towards being an endurance exerciser.  I feel like I don't hit a good stride until I've been walking 3-4 miles.  After that, I usually can just cruise along.  :)

What half did you chose?  Why did you chose it?
I am signed up for the Green Bay Cellcom (Half)Marathon.

My main goal for this race is to just finish it!  While I would like to complete the race knowing that I did my best, I'm not putting a time limit on myself.  If I trip and fall on my face (hey - it's known to happen) and I need 7 hours to finish this race, I can take it.  Most races that I have researched give you a time limit that you have to finish within.  Many require an average pace of 14-16 min/mile.  While this is absolutely doable for me, I want the super-cushy 7 hour limit that the GB race offers.  The timing worked out quite well too as I will be just finishing up the semester and I don't know what I will be doing this summer yet.

Why are you walking the half?
There's a few reasons:

1. I don't love running.

2.  Last spring I made it a goal to run a full mile without stopping as I had never in my life done that.  Once I met that (and was up to nearly 3 miles running without stopping), I started having major issues with my knees and hips.  These issues continued until I was forced to stop as I wouldn't be able to walk normally and without intense pain for two to three days after each run.  I don't see the point of hurting myself while trying to be healthy. 

While I don't love running, I LOVE walking.  It's calming and great exercise without all the high impact problems (especially if you can go at a decent speed).

If you're not running, why train?
I know that I am capable of going out and walking 13.1 miles.  I could probably finish this race in a respectable amount of time even.  I mean, I hiked 12.5 miles in Glacier National Park when I was ~60 pounds heavier than I am now.

I have a reason behind why I am training and why I'm training for so long:  I'm in this for the training more than the race.  I need something to keep me on track when I am tired (or being lazy) and really don't want to work out. 

For instance, on Monday, I was having a very bad workout day.  About two miles into my walk, I wanted to quit and just call it a day.  In the past, I probably would have.  However, just the thought that I was going to be doing the half really spurred me on.  I ended up completing six miles in an hour and 20 mins.  While I was tired and didn't want to do it, my body was capable and I taken a rest day on Sunday so I knew I could push myself.

How far into training are you?  What training plan are you following
My longest training walk so far is 9 miles.  Last week, I started working on putting together my own training plan.  Since I am training over quite a lengthy period of time and am already pretty strong, most training plans just don't seem like a good fit for me (see Hal Higdon's Half Marathon Walking Program and The Walking Site's Program for good examples).

To view my current training plan, click here.  I am using this doc as a way to plan my workouts for the week and then log in what I actually did.  While I have a semi-set plan for my longer training walks (which may or may not change a little depending on weather, fatigue, etc.), I am leaving the rest of my weeks open to planning the week before.  I hope that this will give me maximum flexibility for cross training and free weights and it will allow me to alter my workout schedule based on the weather.  Let's face the truth here:  I hate the gym and I'd rather workout outside. :)


Have a good Saturday.

Outside > Inside

After an excellent week, I thought I'd top the week off with a nice longer training walk!  More than anything, I really wanted to test out my foot to see if it would still hurt on long walks.  Since my foot started bothering me last Thursday, I rested on Friday and Saturday.  I then did Ripped in 30 both Sunday and Monday with no pain.  Then, finally, I was back to the gym to walk!  5 miles Tuesday and 4.75 miles (and a 75 min yoga class) on Thursday.  All in all - I think my foot is definitely getting better!  I had very little pain this week.  I have been thinking that some of the issue was walking on the indoor track, which puts pressure on one foot during your entire walk as you are constantly going in a circle (7 laps to a mile) and the treadmill.  Indoor walks just don't agree with my feet! 

Plus, let's face it, the gym is awful.  It is always so hot and stuffy and there are too many people around!  I love to get out in the fresh air!  So, since this morning was bright, sunny, and fairly warm so I thought I'd go check out the park! 

Beautifully sunny winter day turned cloudy...
(sorry for bad photo quality - I only had my cell with me.)

I was so happy to see that the path around the park was both plowed and salted!  I don't know if I have ever been so excited to see a cleared walkway!  I set out to do 4 or 5 miles but decided to seize the fresh air and sunny weather and do a longer training walk.  I have been stuck inside way too much lately!

So....8.5 miles in 1 hour, 57 minutes!  Much better than my last 8-miler, which was around 1 hour, 56 mins.  While I'm not super concerned about my half marathon time, I would be super happy if I could finish at the pace I walked at today (4.36 mph - about 13 mins, 45s).  I can do faster (one of my miles today was around 12 mins, 30s) but I don't want to worry about burning out early on in the half so I'm attempting to learn pacing.

Tomorrow is cross training!

Mullings on Late November and Early December

Good evening folks!  I've been meaning to post for a while - life has been busy.  I've also been feeling not so great, so sitting on the computer hasn't been at top of my priority list.  I always think it's good to look back at the last month as see where I've gone wrong, right, and what I've learned.  So, a few things...let's start with the good:

1. I have been focusing on health, not weight loss, and it's awesome.  I feel great!  This is something that has been morphing in my life for a while now.  I try to eat mostly whole foods with some treats here and there.  I find when I focus on being healthy, I can more easily maintain or lose weight.  If I am obsessed with weight loss, I lose nothing and likely gain.  It's too much pressure.  What I really want is to be healthy, no matter what my weight is!
2. Even with fibromyalgia, I am able to keep up my workouts and increase my intensity.  :)  I'm just as active now as I was before diagnosis.  I find that if I do something cardio and/or free weights every day, I can hold off on pain a bit or at least the pain isn't as severe.
• Stretching is a huge thing with me right now too.  My muscles get super tight very quickly.
3. (Knock on wood...) I haven't gotten sick this fall!  I've had fibro pain, sure, but no colds or flu...nothing!  I'm no doctor, but I am going to guess this is because of two things:  (1) I have been working out outside for most of the fall (fresh air!) and (2) being healthier and more on top of my issues which likely causes my immune system to function better.  Either way, I'm happy!
4. I don't need caffeine to function.  I've had to severely reduce my caffeine because of my fibromyalgia.  I really do think it's helping.  I'm currently either drinking one (max) 1/2 caff cup of coffee in the morning or only decaf.  I know, decaf does have caffeine in it, but I love a hot coffee in the morning.  I'm working on it...

Now the weird weight loss discoveries that have come up in the last month:

1. Are you aware that your feet lose weight?  Yep, it's true!  I used to wear a 9.5 or 10 sized shoe and now I'm more in a 9 or 9.5 in dress/workout shoes (my feet swell).  My right foot is also now smaller than my left.  :/  When I put my work shoes on for the first time this fall, I thought it was odd that they kept slipping off (they are slip ons).  I didn't really think about it until I went to buy shoes a few weeks ago.
2. You are cold all. the. time.  Seriously.  I never understood why people were cold all the time.  Now I know.
3. Losing a lot of weight has caused massive hair loss for me.  I have been steadily losing tons of hair since the beginning of June.  I talked to my hair gal and she said that this is actually pretty normal when you lose higher amounts of weight.  Who knew?
4. You suddenly find bones you never knew existed!  I still have a good amount of weight to lose and I'm already finding new bones poking out.  Score!

And finally, the bad stuff:

1. Eh...not much worth talking about.  Besides a few slips in eating and a few extra days off working out, I've been going pretty strong.  Might as well stay positive!  I've been hanging out around 73lbs gone for a while now (which is not a bad thing!).  I think it's a mental thing, so I'll keep working on staying healthy!
2. The caffeine thing:  I gave up my regular morning joe right after Thanksgiving and it took about 10-12 days to really feel clear headed without caffeine.  That was not fun.

So, my thoughts for the rest of December is that I would really like to hit that 75lb mark.  I mean, I've been working at it for what feels like forever.  But, more than that, I would like to make excellent choices throughout the holidays.  Not too many gluten free cookies, not too much chocolate, and keeping up with workouts at least 4-5 days a week (6-7 days a week when the semester is over).  Last year, I was just trying to maintain my weight throughout the holidays and I feel like I can do better than that this year.

Sorry for the lack of awesome photos.  :)  I'll work on breaking out the camera for the next post.

Thanksgiving & Fibromyalgia

Well, Thanksgiving break has officially wrapped up and it's back to work!  I was able to be on break at my parent's house for nearly a week, which was much needed.  My break promptly started out with a trip to see a rheumatologist to figure out what is going on with all the muscle/joint pain that I've had all fall, as well as my everyday headaches.  I had a ton of bloodwork completed in October, including every rheumatological condition that could include muscle aches.  I was also tested for Lyme and various flu's and whatnot.  All that came back was that I showed inflammation. 

So, after a long exam, the rheumatologist came up with an answer:  fibromyalgia.  Great, right?  But at least I have an answer.  More fibromyalgia info is here and here.

The rheumatologist didn't seem to be the most knowledgeable (I felt like I knew more about fibromyalgia) and decided that I didn't need any medications.  She felt as though my blood pressure (108/57 mmHG), resting heart rate (52 bpm), and other stats were too healthy and that she didn't want to mess me up with any sort of medication.  While I am not a fan of medication (I take it as a last resort), I asked her what I could do to relieve some of the pain and she had no answer.  Literally.  So, it's back to my primary doctor to see what she says and then potentially (hopefully) a pain management doctor who can help me look into treatments like acupuncture instead of medications.

So, that was the lows.  I felt crappy and super achy all week and weekend.  I am cutting way back on caffeine, staying active, and trying to get enough sleep in hopes of avoiding any really horrible days before the semester ends in a few weeks.

Now, for the highs!  Of course, I got to spend tons of time with family and friends.  I always miss having that time and I wish I could see everyone more often. 

Also, remember me saying that I was going to walk the 5-mile Turkey Trot run in my hometown?  Well....I did!  And I beat my personal record!  By a lot!  My goal (since I had been so achy and the wind was high) was to come in under 70 minutes.  My previous record was 68.5 minutes for 5 miles.  Here's what I ended up with!

Yep, you read my time right!  65 minutes, 12 seconds; average of 13 minutes, 3 seconds per mile.  There were 524 participants, I placed 500 overall.  This seems a touch sad however this was a run and I walked the entire thing and finished ahead of a number of run/walkers.  I am 98% sure that I was the first person who walked the entire race to cross the finish line so I'm pretty proud of myself!  I was so happy when I was done. 

I set out to just beat my own record but my competitive side really came out mid-race.  With fibromyalgia, I have been told and read a lot about how hard everything is going to be with all the pain associated with it, but I feel like I showed myself that I am still a very healthy person and I can keep fibromyalgia in the background instead of letting it run my entire life.  I would love to walk another race! 

Walking this race really helped me stay on track with exercise this fall.  Even with all the pain I was experiencing, I forced myself to get out and get a walk in, knowing that I wanted to beat my personal record.  Now that the race is over and I am heading into the last few crazy weeks of the semester, I plan to tone down my workouts a little and get in whatever I can whenever I can.  So, my goal for working out for the next three weeks is do something five days a week.  I need to start working with weights again, so maybe a little Ripped in 30?

Pumpkin Risotto

Although it is technically still fall, we woke up to this last Wednesday:

I love snow.  Well, it's a love-hate relationship.  I love watching it fall from my nice, comfy couch, all curled up with my kitty.  I hate, hate, hate driving in it.  I didn't use to be so bad.  Two years in Tennessee for grad school turned me into a wimpy driver!  On the upside this year, I walk to work, so no daily winter driving required.  On the downside, I am a total klutz, so I'm not sure this is any better.  Let's all cross our fingers and knock on wood that I don't slip and break a bone this winter!  :/

The weather has turned around and, happily, I was able to get out for some good walks this weekend, which I was sorely in need of!  I trekked 4.2 miles yesterday in 57 minutes, which is my fastest time ever!  Today, I was super achy and only managed 3.7 miles, which I did not time, but felt super slow.  Oh well, going for a slightly slower walk is better than no walk at all!  I see a rheumatologist during Thanksgiving week, so hopefully, we can figure out what's causing all this crazy achiness!

Since it was a bit warmer (and not at all snowy) today, I decided to make my favorite fall supper: pumpkin risotto!  This recipe is based off of a Rachael Ray recipe, but I make it risotto style because it's less work and it cuts down on calories and fat considerably while still giving you that creamy, pasta-y taste that made the original dish so good.

People always say that risotto is so hard to make.  It's actually very simple, you just have to have a little patience and stay near the stove for a while.  I have no interest in standing over a stove all day and I have no patience and even I can make this!  So easy.  So good.

Some general tips that I have found that create good, creamy, and healthier risotto:

1. Toast your Arborio rice before adding liquid.
2. Use unsalted stock!  Since you are concentrating the flavor of the liquids you are adding, I recommend using unsalted stock.  Salted stock could make your risotto super salty.  It's smarter to just salt it to taste.  I will usually use 3 cups of stock and then water after that if the rice needs more liquid (and it usually will).
3. Wait until the rice has fully absorbed the previous addition of liquid before adding more.  Patience pays off!
4. Stir, stir, stir.  Be sure to fully stir the rice every time you add more liquid.  Go back and stir at least once between additions of liquid.  Stirring is what makes it creamy without the cream!
5. Instead of melting and mixing cheese in, sprinkle a little bit on top.  You get the same cheesy bite without all the calories.

When I make this for my mom, I will typically add 2 links of turkey sausage.  I like it both with and without it, so when I make it just for myself, I don't go through the trouble of breaking out the meat and instead add mushrooms.

Pumpkin Risotto

4 servings

Ingredients:

1 small onion, finely chopped

3/4 cup portabella mushrooms, chopped, -OR- 2 links turkey sausage, browned, drained, and set aside

3/4 cup Arborio rice

1/3 cup dry white wine

3 cups chicken -or- vegetable stock

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried sage

Nutmeg

3/4 cup pureed pumpkin

Parmesan cheese for topping (optional)

Add the onion, garlic, and mushrooms (if using) to a pan and sauté on medium heat until soft. 

Add Arborio rice and let toast for a few minutes.  When you start to smell the rice and see that the grains are slightly browned, add in the wine.  Note:  I only had a sweet white and red on hand, so I had to use this, which makes the risotto a little sweet, but still delicious:

Let the wine cook out completely and then add 1ish cup stock.  Add bay leaves, sage, salt, pepper, and browned sausage (if using).  Stir thoroughly.  Allow the stock to cook out.  Once the stock is absorbed, add another cup of stock and stir.  Make sure you go back and stir at least once between each addition of liquid.  Continue this process (using water or additional stock as needed) until the rice is soft and creamy.

Wait until liquid is absorbed before adding more!

Remove bay leaves and add pumpkin and a small amount of water to keep the risotto from becoming too thick.  Add a few sprinkles of nutmeg and additional salt and pepper, if needed. 

Cook for 2-3 minutes and serve!  Top with Parmesan cheese for an extra kick of flavor.

Enjoy the last few weeks of fall!

Checking In

Hey folks!  Sorry it has been so long since my last post.  Things have been good yet crazy busy.  The good news is that I have lots to report so if you've been wondering how my healthy crusade is going, this post is for you!

For the most part, everything has been going well.  I have, however, been slipping on eating from time to time.  Too many sweet and crunchy things.  In times like this, I feel like it's important to check in with myself and see what up.  When I look at all that's going on, eating wise, I think I have just been too busy to make good choices.  I don't think of this as a cop out as I have been trying so very hard.  Stress, however, tends to result in bad choices for myself.  Also, I have been too busy over the past 2 months to spend weekend time cooking.  I am still working on strategies to combat these issues.  However:

Stress + no time = bad news!

Exercise, however, has been going well.  I have been skipping the gym in favor of walking outside for the past month and a half.  I am planning to walk the 5-mile Turkey Trot run on Thanksgiving.  I wanted to run this but every time I run regularly, I end up with sore knees and left hip for weeks and it just isn't worth it.  You can walk the 5-mile Turkey Trot but you have to finish it in 90 minutes.  So, I've been working to figure out if I can do it.  I have spent the last 1.5 months working myself up to 5-mile walks that I can do on a work day (as in, I don't exercise and spend the rest of the day sleeping and tired). 

Now that I've worked my way up to 5 miles, I am also working on speed.  The Turkey Trot requires a pace of 18 minutes per mile.  I didn't want to sign up without being sure I could do this and started timing 1 or 2 5-mile walks per week for a few weeks now.  Here are the times/speeds of my timed 5-mile walks (note that the majority of my walks are untimed as I tend to get a little obsessive about it):

Oct 1st (based on 6 miles):  90 minutes, 4 mph

Oct 4th:  74 minutes, 20 seconds; 4.04 mph

Oct 8th:  72 minutes, 30 seconds; 4.14 mph

Oct 10th:  75 minutes, 40 seconds; 3.97 mph

Oct 16th:  68 minutes, 30 seconds; 4.38 mph

Oct 17th:  70 minutes; 0 seconds; 4.29 mph

I'm pretty happy with this, especially since I am seeing improvement.  I had some sort of flu or other issue that has been causing me to be up all night with widespread muscle aches.  I don't know what's going on with that, but I'm happy that I am still progressing.  I took a number of days off last week when the achiness was particularly bad, thinking that I was perhaps stressing my body too much, but it did not help.  The mystery of this continues...

So, since I am checking in with myself and not entirely happy with what I see, I think it's important to look at how far I've come (plus I've had 7 people ask me to do this in the last week).  ;)  I seriously committed and started working towards my goal of being healthy around April-May 2010 but I'm going to list my stats from my most unhealthy point, which I think was around Dec-Jan 2009-2010.  First, a couple of photos.

October, 2009.  My mom and I at the Memory Walk.
2XL shirt here!  :(



October, 2011.  My mom and I at the Memory Walk.
L shirt here (and in desperate need of a haircut)!  :) 
Take a look at my mom - she is doing amazing
on her own journey!



















Okay, so a couple stats for those who have been asking:

Total pounds lost:  66 lbs (as of yesterday)
Inches lost around waist (the only one I can remember):  8.5"
Dress size:  down ~4 sizes
Clothing size:  down ~ 3-4 sizes (depending on brand)
BMI change:  down 11 points*
Walking mph change:  went from 3.3 mph to 4.4 mph when working out

I think those are all of my major changes and, wow, seeing those things written down and the photos side by side gives me quite a bit of motivation to get back on track with my nutrition.  I should have done this sooner!  The craziness in my life is starting to calm down (hopefully) and I plan to get back into meal planning and cooking every night or at least making sure I have enough healthy leftovers for the entire week if the week is going to be busy.

*For those of you who really hate the BMI scale, I understand the reasons.  However, this is what all doctors I have been to use.  Also, it gives you a good understanding of how far away from a normal weight you are.  Seeing such a huge change is so motivating, even if you don't like the scale.

Cardio Saturday

It's "Cardio Saturday"!  I really like using my Saturday mornings for long and/or hard cardio workouts.  I have the time and it makes me feel refreshed so I can enjoy the rest of my weekend!  Often, like this morning, I am so tired on Saturday morning, but a quick breakfast and cup of coffee can usually get me going.  So, today, I dragged myself out of bed at 7:30, warmed up some leftover baked oatmeal, made a cup of pumpkin coffee, and hung out with my lonely cat for a little while.  Then, I headed to the gym!

It's about a 1/2 mile walk to the gym (I consider this my warm up) and I stopped in my office in attempt to find my arm band for my Zune.  No such luck!  It may be gone forever!  Then, jetted over to the gym and hopped on the treadmill.  It's nice to be able to walk to the gym as then I don't have to spend my time warming up on the treadmill.  I started by pounding out 3 miles in 42 minutes on the treadmill (including a one-mile run to start and inclines the rest of the time) and I finished my cardio morning with another 5 miles on the bike (20 minutes).  Then, the walk home to cool off and 10 minutes of stretching out my achy muscles.  I feel so good, endorphins rock!

So I mentioned that I ran.  I was feeling really good this morning and really missing running so I decided to see what I could do.  I only ran a mile so as to not aggravate my knees and hip any more than necessary.  BUT, that mile was run in under 11 minutes!  10:30 to be exact!  Heck yeah!  I have never run a sub-12 minute mile.  I know 10:30 is probably still pretty slow, but I'm super happy with that!  I will say that my knees and hip are a little achy now but I am icing them so that they hopefully don't hurt too much later today and tomorrow.

I am really loving the stationary bike as well.  I have never, ever been a cyclist (or casual biker) and have one heck of a time getting up hills.  I was hoping to start road biking this summer and went on a few rides but I just couldn't get into it.  Too many hills!  So, I am dedicating my winter to using the stationary bike and building up my cycling muscles!  Hopefully next spring I can put the rubber on the road and give cycling another try!

Have a happy Saturday!

Fresh Start

Fall is in the air, as evidenced by where my cat has been hanging out for the past few days:

There are a lot of great things about my job as a college lecturer, but I would say my absolute favorite thing is that I get a fresh start every few months.  Have a bad semester?  No problem, there's a new one coming!  Never fails.

The fall semester is just beginning this week and I am hoping to kick a few problems that I've had in the past.  I also had a bit of a health scare (well, it was scary to me!) this past week.  Everything is going to be okay but I have to keep a close eye on my health.  So, I have a number of goals for this fall semester.  It's always best to write this stuff down as it feels more official and it adds motivation when other people know about it.  Here we go!

1.  Make more GOOD food!  I've gotten into the habit of cooking very healthy food and processed foods are really losing their appeal for me.  This is a good thing, but it also means spending a lot more time shopping and cooking.  A few recent concoctions:

Touch crooked - sorry!   Combo of carrot juice and dad's apple cider.



Quinoa, tomatoes, white beans, and steamed kale.


Currently, since I JUST went shopping, my fridge looks like this:

In my defense of the crazy bottom shelf, I cannot put anything in the back 6-8" of my fridge or it will freeze and I will have wasted money on spinach and whatever else is back there!

My fridge is packed!  This means I had better get cooking!  I also am starting an autumn CSA this fall and the roster of veggies I will be getting for the week looks great!  I need to keep up with this.  Since Wisconsin will soon be entering what I call Root Veggie Season, I am taking advantage of getting varied produce at decent prices while I still can!  I am also becoming a huge fan of green smoothies.  Check out recipes here:  http://greenmonstermovement.com/.  I know they look gross, but you cannot taste the spinach or kale and they are so healthy and delicious!

2.  Keep up with my workouts.  I joined the gym at work a couple of weeks ago and have scheduled my workouts into my day, which means walking home at the end of the day, taking a quick nap, having a quick snack, and walking back to the gym.  I plan to workout at the gym at least 4 work week days a week and at least one weekend day for a total of 5-6 days a week.  This will depend, of course, on what else is going on in my life but seems fairly doable.  My workout shoes and weights at my house need to see the light of day more often than they have recently!

I also plan to keep a set of workout clothes in my office so that if works runs late, I can just go hit the gym instead of using the excuse that I can't go because I don't have my workout stuff.  I already keep a set of shoes and my pass there since I hate carrying them to and from campus.



3.  Read more often!  It is not unheard of for me to start a book at the beginning of the fall semester and not finish until May because I am so busy and too tired at night to read longer than 5 minutes.  I have this stack of books that I am going to get through before June!

4.  Computer is off by 7:30pm, TV is off by 9pm.  And, I say this, but it's 9:45pm and I'm blogging with the TV on for noise.  I will be working on this though!  I need to get away from these activities a little bit.  I, for some reason, feel the need to check my work e-mail before going to bed.  While this is somewhat a casualty of the job and I know my students appreciate it, I need to respect my personal time a bit more.  This leads to #5.

5.  Work during work time and play during play time.  I seriously have a problem setting work boundaries and, as a result, have worked 7 days a week every semester for the past 2 years.  Now that I'm entering my third year of this job, I am much, much more comfortable with what I teach, how my schedule runs, what I need to do for prep, and how often I need to contact my students.  No more work e-mail on Sundays!  No working Saturdays or Sundays unless it's midterms/finals, extreme circumstances, or working with the Circle K club on campus (my new service activity for the year!).

6.  Make more time for hobbies!  Since cool/cold/frigid/tundra-like weather is coming, I need to pick up my crocheting again.  I started this afghan a long time ago with my grandmother and is the first serious crocheting item that I have stuck with worked on occasionally for the last 10 years. 

6.  Get ready for work the night before!  This means packing workout clothes if I am not coming home after work, pack my lunch and 2 snacks in my new giant thermal bag (below), ironing my clothes if I'm not going to be outside romping with my students, and packing up my work bag.  I hate doing this stuff but it's necessary to do it the night before because it takes up so much time in the morning.

7.  Finally (but probably not finally because I'm sure I'll find more stuff that I can improve on), reduce caffeine intake asap!  I love coffee.  Love, love, love.  I also love tea.  A great deal of my precious counter space looks like this on a good day (and much more messy/cluttered on a bad day):

This does not account for the shelves in my pantry that are filled with coffee and tea.  I have a problem!  I've managed to wean myself down to one cup of coffee a day.  I plan to start replacing coffee with tea at least three days a week.  I'll work my way down from there.  I don't know that I'll ever be able to enter my classroom to teach without coffee in my system but I can try!

So, there you have it!  The 7 things that I need to work on this year!  It's going to be a battle but I think anything I can do to make a healthier choice is worthwhile.