Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Mid Week
Finally finished cooking and freezing some food for the next few weeks. At least I made it to Zumba tonight, but I'm not sure how valuable it was. I usually really like Zumba, but this didn't feel like a very strenuous workout. I made it through the day with a bowl of multi-grain cheerios w/ 1% milk, coffee, a glass of milk, a salad with taco meat and veggies, a cookie, some carrots and grapes and a few tortilla chips. For dinner, I had some rib meat, steamed broccoli, and brown rice. Maybe tomorrow, I can improve that some.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Year, Old Me?
Embarrassingly, I've been living my fitness life by the adage "I don't hate my body enough to make a change" for quite a while now. I've become somewhat complacent with my size 12 (then 14, then 16) pants and the stretchy clothes that I wear to attempt to hide my body. I have a good job, good friends, a good family, a wonderful husband who loves me no matter what I look like, and a generally good life. It really took some awful pictures to remind me that my shape has changed dramatically. It's time to reclaim "me." I don't need to be the me of 17 again, but I need to have the best body I can at 27.
I've been watching that scale number rise now for a while. I "lived" with hitting 180, 200, 210, 220, and now I look at myself and see someone who isn't me. I've never been small- I'm 5'6'' and muscular with incredibly broad shoulders and a round face. My "best" weight was around 165 or 170, but I haven't seen that in 10 years. My goal is to lose 50 pounds but, more importantly, to change the way I deal with stress and what I put into my body. Right now, I eat almost whatever I want. If I want something fried, I get it. If the husband asks more than once to get a pizza, I cave. I go through phases where I try to clean up our eating and pack healthy lunches, but I can't seem to make that stick. The most successful diet I tried was a modified South Beach version, but I was miserable and lacked energy. I have a sensitivity to carbs (although I don't worry about it- ever), but when this was first diagnosed, I cut out the majority of them. I lost 15 pounds in about 4 weeks but I put that on and about 30 more pounds since 2007. I don't drink much, but when I do, I'll have more than I need. I eat out of boredom, like most people I know. I also eat to relieve stress and to celebrate.
For example, I woke today after a long night of drinking and general debauchery at 11:00 and had a cup of coffee. We got home, and I made some macaroni noodles with margarine, salt, and pepper. I had some Galliker's diet iced tea and laid around for the rest of the afternoon. I had this flash of brilliance at about 7 tonight that I should cook some things and freeze them for the week so I would have something to eat, so I made the following (with recipes):
Chicken Casserole- Your basic brown rice, 98% FF cream of chicken broth cans (2), broccoli, Purdue Short Cuts Chicken pieces, and shredded cheddar cheese.
Taco Soup- 3 cans of tomatoes (with onion and pepper), can of black beans, a small diced onion, a packet of Taco Seasoning, a packet of dry Veggie Dip mix, small can of corn, and some beef stew pieces.
Ribs- A pack of baby back ribs (my husband's favorite) with some herb and garlic marinade and barbeque sauce in a slow cooker.
Chicken Parm- Chicken breast with whole wheat bread crumbs- used margarine spray and a tenderizer to make the bread crumbs stick and cooked it in some light olive oil and margarine. Then, added it to a dish with sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
Potatoes- I had two that were getting ready to sprout appendages, so I sliced them up and pan fried them with a little olive oil and spray margarine, some cajun seasoning and some garlic salt. My husband loves them for breakfast, and I would eat them like candy.
Pecans- Speaking of candy, I threw together some candied pecans with some Splenda brown sugar, regular Splenda, margarine, vanilla extract and cinnamon. I put the nuts in the oven at 200 to release the flavor, and then doused them in this mixture. They will be a good snack (assuming I don't eat the entire thing at one time).
But of course, I found the leftover cookie dough in my freezer (white chocolate macadamia). So I scooped nine spoons full out and baked those, as well. There are six left, and I've put them in the freezer to make them harder to get to.
In terms of exercise, I do a little. I play volleyball 1-2 times per week, and I coach 2 seasons which gives me a little activity when I run around with the girls. I have a membership to a gym with courts, a pool, a weight room, and fitness classes, but I'm ashamed to admit that I rarely go. In the last few years, I have experimented with gyms. I've tried going in the morning before work, although I found that wasn't sustainable. I've tried evenings, but I find that once I'm home- I'm home. Weekends are tough because I have tournaments and a second job. I've done recorded workouts (Jillian Michaels, ChaLean, Wii Fit), and I've taken step, yoga, Zumba, and other aerobics classes. I like them- I just don't stick with them. I hate to run, but every now and again I'll go out for one or do a mile on the treadmill. My limit is about 3 at a time, and that's when I'm in decent shape. I like to ride trails on a bicycle, but that is limited to good weather and getting my butt down there, which is difficult. I play in a softball league, although it isn't as aerobic as I'd like it to be. I've tried swimming laps, but I'm not a great swimmer and I feel like I tire easily.
Mostly, I joined this blog to force me to be accountable for my actions. I'm going to try to clean up what goes into my body and exert more energy to improve my shape and cardiovascular health. Financially, I'm struggling to keep up with bills and expenses, so buying new clothes to fit my new body is not an option. I use the excuse that I'm too busy to workout between my full time job, coaching, graduate classes and several part-time employments, but I know that's a cop-out. It's also my excuse for not cooking regularly. When I am actually home and could cook, I'm too tired or lazy or something to do it. I hope that this isn't just another fad for me, and that it provides me the outlook I'm looking for to make a change. I'm not going to be sharing this with people I know- I'm far too embarrassed to pass that around, but I would appreciate the advice from anyone who has overcome this rut or words of encouragement from those who might be working out of theirs.
I've been watching that scale number rise now for a while. I "lived" with hitting 180, 200, 210, 220, and now I look at myself and see someone who isn't me. I've never been small- I'm 5'6'' and muscular with incredibly broad shoulders and a round face. My "best" weight was around 165 or 170, but I haven't seen that in 10 years. My goal is to lose 50 pounds but, more importantly, to change the way I deal with stress and what I put into my body. Right now, I eat almost whatever I want. If I want something fried, I get it. If the husband asks more than once to get a pizza, I cave. I go through phases where I try to clean up our eating and pack healthy lunches, but I can't seem to make that stick. The most successful diet I tried was a modified South Beach version, but I was miserable and lacked energy. I have a sensitivity to carbs (although I don't worry about it- ever), but when this was first diagnosed, I cut out the majority of them. I lost 15 pounds in about 4 weeks but I put that on and about 30 more pounds since 2007. I don't drink much, but when I do, I'll have more than I need. I eat out of boredom, like most people I know. I also eat to relieve stress and to celebrate.
For example, I woke today after a long night of drinking and general debauchery at 11:00 and had a cup of coffee. We got home, and I made some macaroni noodles with margarine, salt, and pepper. I had some Galliker's diet iced tea and laid around for the rest of the afternoon. I had this flash of brilliance at about 7 tonight that I should cook some things and freeze them for the week so I would have something to eat, so I made the following (with recipes):
Chicken Casserole- Your basic brown rice, 98% FF cream of chicken broth cans (2), broccoli, Purdue Short Cuts Chicken pieces, and shredded cheddar cheese.
Taco Soup- 3 cans of tomatoes (with onion and pepper), can of black beans, a small diced onion, a packet of Taco Seasoning, a packet of dry Veggie Dip mix, small can of corn, and some beef stew pieces.
Ribs- A pack of baby back ribs (my husband's favorite) with some herb and garlic marinade and barbeque sauce in a slow cooker.
Chicken Parm- Chicken breast with whole wheat bread crumbs- used margarine spray and a tenderizer to make the bread crumbs stick and cooked it in some light olive oil and margarine. Then, added it to a dish with sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
Potatoes- I had two that were getting ready to sprout appendages, so I sliced them up and pan fried them with a little olive oil and spray margarine, some cajun seasoning and some garlic salt. My husband loves them for breakfast, and I would eat them like candy.
Pecans- Speaking of candy, I threw together some candied pecans with some Splenda brown sugar, regular Splenda, margarine, vanilla extract and cinnamon. I put the nuts in the oven at 200 to release the flavor, and then doused them in this mixture. They will be a good snack (assuming I don't eat the entire thing at one time).
But of course, I found the leftover cookie dough in my freezer (white chocolate macadamia). So I scooped nine spoons full out and baked those, as well. There are six left, and I've put them in the freezer to make them harder to get to.
In terms of exercise, I do a little. I play volleyball 1-2 times per week, and I coach 2 seasons which gives me a little activity when I run around with the girls. I have a membership to a gym with courts, a pool, a weight room, and fitness classes, but I'm ashamed to admit that I rarely go. In the last few years, I have experimented with gyms. I've tried going in the morning before work, although I found that wasn't sustainable. I've tried evenings, but I find that once I'm home- I'm home. Weekends are tough because I have tournaments and a second job. I've done recorded workouts (Jillian Michaels, ChaLean, Wii Fit), and I've taken step, yoga, Zumba, and other aerobics classes. I like them- I just don't stick with them. I hate to run, but every now and again I'll go out for one or do a mile on the treadmill. My limit is about 3 at a time, and that's when I'm in decent shape. I like to ride trails on a bicycle, but that is limited to good weather and getting my butt down there, which is difficult. I play in a softball league, although it isn't as aerobic as I'd like it to be. I've tried swimming laps, but I'm not a great swimmer and I feel like I tire easily.
Mostly, I joined this blog to force me to be accountable for my actions. I'm going to try to clean up what goes into my body and exert more energy to improve my shape and cardiovascular health. Financially, I'm struggling to keep up with bills and expenses, so buying new clothes to fit my new body is not an option. I use the excuse that I'm too busy to workout between my full time job, coaching, graduate classes and several part-time employments, but I know that's a cop-out. It's also my excuse for not cooking regularly. When I am actually home and could cook, I'm too tired or lazy or something to do it. I hope that this isn't just another fad for me, and that it provides me the outlook I'm looking for to make a change. I'm not going to be sharing this with people I know- I'm far too embarrassed to pass that around, but I would appreciate the advice from anyone who has overcome this rut or words of encouragement from those who might be working out of theirs.
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