Archive for Eating

I’m a Pretty, Pretty Princess

{ September 15, 2010 @ 9:52 PM } · { 321, Eating, Exercise, Sara, Self Esteem }
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So, I have many different reasons why I am a Princess; My name and my ancestors. These fellas are actually distant cousins

But I’m picking a reason more along the lines that my three-year-old cousin, Emma, would choose

I started ballet today.  We’ve been told in Krav that we should take something like yoga for strength and flexibility.  So when Groupon gave discount dance classes and it listed ballet as one of the classes you could take, I signed up.  Strangely, the part of town that I take classes in makes me glad that I take Krav, which I wouldn’t be taking ballet if it wasn’t for Krav…

I hurried out of work after a long day of Deepwater Horizon reports, rail hearings, and hockey players (thank you Allison!)

For anyone wondering, this is what I want for Christmas and birthday...Columbus Day...it's the closest holiday

To the dance center which is 1.3 miles from work and for an hour, learned the basics of ballet.  I will give an update later on if I can’t move tomorrow.  But it was good.  23 of us were crammed in a small room with our perky teacher instructing us through the basic positions, that if nothing else, will help me drop it lower on the dance floor…you probably didn’t need to know that, although I do have mad skills, yo (other people can verify this claim).*

I am glad that I signed up for ballet.  I can tell after one class that it will help out a lot, in many different ways, and I will definitely make sure that I incorporate these moves more into my week. Other than that I will fess up that this weekend I had a bit of chocolate.  A small bit. über dark though (Trader Joe’s 85%) and there was cheese involved.  Fresh mozzarella…you know, I don’t feel that bad about it.  Maybe I need that slap on the hand.

Oh, and I managed three miles in 30m15s yesterday.  I was proud of myself. I’ll keep on working on it though.

*I am putting this under self-esteem because self-esteem can include cockiness.

Nom food nom.

{ September 13, 2010 @ 9:20 AM } · { 321, Allison, Eating }
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This was too good to pass up.

My parents were in town this weekend which is my excuse for a) not blogging and b) not getting enough exercise. I know that’s about finding the balance, but it’s hard when you want to spend time with dear ol’ Mom and Dad who you haven’t seen since Christmas. But this is not about the lack of exercise. It’s about the food.

I tried really hard to balance cooking healthy dishes and going to few places that I thought they’d like. Unfortunately, all the food made/ordered very heavy stuff. Barbecue, chili, pizza…ugh, I’m feeling tired just typing that stuff. It’s food that my parents appreciate and I appreciate, but being as hot as it was in Atlanta this past weekend, it wasn’t very smart. Or healthy. Last night, I did bake chicken, make barbecue sauce and steam some broccoli, so that was healthy at least. But it made me realize something: I don’t have any back pocket healthy recipes.

I mean, I have healthy recipes, but I don’t have anything that’s consistent; that I can say is a true regular. Sure, baked chicken is a regular, but that’s about it. I need something flavorful and healthy. I usually turn to the blogs at this point when I try and look for something. The Pioneer Woman, while I love her, does tend to use a lot of butter and cream–Tasty Kitchen is better with healthy, but the glut of contributors and recipes is a lot to sift through. SmittenKitchen is pretty healthy, but some recipes of hers I’ve made don’t quite work out. Closet Cooking is good, but his archive system leaves a bit to be desired I guess. My favorite food blog, Brown Eyed Baker, is a) predominantly a baking blog and b) but still awesome because Michelle is a Twitter friend who also loves the Pens.

Do you guys have any recipes? I’m not just talking to Sara and Ashley, but to everyone reading. I know that the three of us aren’t responsible for all of the views. 🙂 Anything that you rely on for a good, quick, healthy meal?

Le Sigh

{ September 8, 2010 @ 10:12 PM } · { 321, Bitching and Moaning, Did Ate Thought, Eating, Exercise, Sara, Self Esteem, Victories }
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So, the past couple of days, I don’t really have much to report.  Right now I am watching Bobby Flay make eggplant parmesan and lasagna. It’s making me hungry. Even though I already ate. I have to say I’m having a rather blah day.  One of those that even though I’ve worked out and eaten well, my hips and thighs have felt twice as large as they normally/I think they are.  I am my own worst enemy, for different reasons at different times. This was one of those days.  Sometimes it doesn’t matter how far I’ve come, I just don’t feel it.  But I have to get over that.  I think sleep will help immensely with this problem.

I will say that I have realized a great point of this blog.  Going out to this past weekend, how good would that chocolate pie be…no, I don’t need it and I don’t want to tell that I ate it.  How good would a blondie be as a snack…no, I’m not hungry, don’t need it, and don’t want to tell I ate it.  So, blogging is curbing some of my bad habits already. Thank you, Ladies.

Did:  Yesterday and today, I ran, did ellipticals, and weights.  Today I threw in a bit of bikes.  I had Krav last night, which besides making me a bit flustered, gave me a large bruise on my hip, but I assure you that I came by it in a completely badass manner…I think.  I’m not entirely sure what I did to get it… Ate:  My usual cheerio breakfast, parfait snack, spinach salad lunch. Pumpkin ravioli last night and salmon and eggplant tonight.  There were a few munchies in there.  A hard-boiled egg when I got home from Krav. Cantaloupe before dinner and a bit of sorbet (hey, it’s fat-free and low in sugar!) when I got home from walking (arond 4 miles) to get my new coat. You know, the one I showed you before.  How is it you ask? Besides fabulous, a size small, and really hot (I can remove a layer).  You wonder how it looks on me?

Roller Coaster of Good and Evil

{ September 6, 2010 @ 5:08 PM } · { 321, Eating, Sara, Victories }
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Starting Saturday night I have gone through a series of good and bad moments.  I have a good friend in Eastern Market that makes the most wonderful sorbet on Earth.  He sells it throughout the region and during winter heads to warmer climates.  Since I moved to DC, I could be found circling his stand on the weekends.  I still see him every weekend, but to catch up with each other as well.  Saturday I made him gooey chocolate cookies (and I made chocolate chip cookies too).  First victory ~ I didn’t eat any of them or lick the bowl clean.  I took them to the Market the next day, where they were a big hit.  He gave them out to some of the other customers and…. it turns out, they’re marketable.  So, I am going to be baking stuff and it’s going to be sold! Who knows where this can go?! I did get a quart of sorbet out of this, which I am happily getting through.

I picked up some ground bison from the butcher.  When I got home, unsure what to do with it, I made a hamburger helper type dish. We all need some comfort food once in a while. But, I made sure that it was mostly healthy. Bison is much better than chicken.  They only thing that would get me is the cheese.  At dinner that night, I went out with a friend.  Shrimp po’ boys were on the menu.  Yeah, I went there.  There was a twinge of guilt. But I was going to go running the next morning before meeting a friend for breakfast, right?  Nope.  And as I was sitting in The Diner eating my pancakes, there was no guilt, no remorse, no regrets. Just syrupy pancakes and I would do it again. I did end up walking six miles around the city today.

Now, I did have another victory.  One that involved shopping at Express.  (Always a victory I think.) I bought four shirts (There was a sale. And I had a money off coupon thingy. And stop giving me that look!) and they were in a size small.  I also tried on a nice coat (which I am still deciding on.) because most of my coats are too big and I’m going to have to get some new ones this year. Which brings me to this:

 I found this coat back in December.  I fell in love with it, but it was God-awful expensive. One of the features is it can withstand temperatures of -30 degrees, which after a winter that looked like this:

Is one of the reason why I wanted it.  But it was not meant to be. Until it was put on massive clearance and I could get it in a smaller size. 

So, yes.  I did not eat that well in the past 24 hour and I’m definitely going to have to work out, but I am feeling better about size small appearing in my closet.

On a bicycle built as a death trap.

{ September 5, 2010 @ 1:26 PM } · { 321, Allison, Eating, Exercise, Victories }
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Yesterday was quite the day. There was a lot of running around in anticipation for my parents’ visit this week (on Wednesday) and we were able to fit in some quality bike riding time. Billy’s a big proponent of our bikes. I’m not. I’m not the most graceful gear shifter in town.

When I was younger, I had only one bike. That was a bike I bought myself. It was this wonderful Huffy bike with white tires and a late 80s/early 90s muted color scheme of purple, pink, orange and green all over the frame. I loved that bike. I rode it everywhere. I rode it all around our subdivision and to the Wegmans (still the greatest grocery store ever) that was outside our subdivision. I got in trouble for that last one; no seven-year-old should ride to the grocery store without telling your parents, kids.

Anyway, that bike served me well for years. Over time, I obviously outgrew it and we moved to Georgia where it was too ridiculously hot to ride bikes. Plus, this was a big advent for mountain bikes in my life. Mountain bikes have gears. Mountain bikes don’t brake when you pedal backwards. Mountain bikes were EVIL. So, I never got another bike. Ever.

Fast forward to 2008. I have a good job with a co-worker who’s big into bikes. When I say big into bikes, I mean BIG into bikes. His enthusiasm made me reconsider bicycling and eventually, Billy and I decided that we should make the investment of buying a couple of bikes. But instead of going to Target and picking up a couple of cheap bikes, Billy wanted to go whole hog. Behold, my bike:

I want to ride my BIcycle...I want to ride my bike.

I want to ride my BIcycle...I want to ride my bike.

This bike is made by Trek, a godsend of cycle makers. This particular model is considered a hybrid of mountain and road bikes that’s perfect for bike paths. Great for beginners. Slightly more expensive than bikes you find at Target. Has gears.

Damn.

The first couple of times out that I was on this bike were laughable. Billy was fine. He was perfect on his bike rolling around with one hand on the handlebars. Me? I couldn’t even steer straight with both hands. I hated thinking about the gears. I didn’t want to ride. So, the bikes mostly sat in our apartment as beautiful art piece. Beautiful, expensive art pieces.

Usually, when Billy wants to ride the bikes, I bitch and moan and say that it’s too hot (which, we’re in Atlanta…it usually is) and we don’t ride. Yesterday, when Billy mentioned it (as I foretold in my last post…PSYCHIC!), I didn’t waffle. I said, sure. Let’s ride.

It was gorgeous bike riding weather yesterday. Good breeze, sunny. And there I am, trying to go up a hill and figure out my gears all at once. This sucks. But eventually, I’m starting to get the hang of it. And it starts to get boring. Because we’re just riding around in our apartment complex. We stop, because I’m ridiculously parched, and Billy threatens (once again) to sell the bikes because we never use them. I see his threat as an ultimatum and I keep riding. We rode around for about 30 minutes total even going out of the apartment complex on the little trail that borders our apartment complex. The best part? The little hills that made me feel like I was back on my Huffy bike getting into trouble in my neighborhood. I liked that.

I hope, for the next month, we’ll be able ride the bikes more. It is actually fun and we might hit up a trail too. I see me getting better at switching gears on my bike a small victory, so this goes in the victory category for me.

As for C25K…um…yeah. Still on day 2. Oops. We’re actually stopping at Dick’s Sporting Goods today to see if I can find something that’ll make me feel more comfortable about running. Hint: it has to do with the ladies in front. Target’s not cutting it for me in that department.

Food has been hit and miss. Yesterday, I had no breakfast, Zaxby’s for lunch (hate me all you want, but it was GOOD) and tilapia with green peas for dinner. Today was a bowl of Chocolate Cheerios (this is starting to look bad) and for lunch, I had a turkey sandwich with pepperjack cheese, green peppers, banana peppers, olives, lettuce, tomato and salt and pepper. There was one Coke yesterday, a sweet tea, couple of glasses of water and now I’m downing a lemonade/Sprite mix. So yeah. Food needs some work.

I need to call the batting cages and see if they’ll be open tomorrow. I would go today, but we’re heading up to Waleska to see Billy’s family for a Labor Day cookout.

How are you guys doing? 🙂

Did, Ate, Thought: Day 3-4

{ September 4, 2010 @ 9:22 PM } · { 321, Ashley, Bitching and Moaning, Did Ate Thought, Eating, Exercise }
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I got too wrapped up in lazy to post last night, so voila! 2 days in one.

Day 3, Friday

Did: Painted the last coat of the desk

Ate: Bowl of Multigrain Cheerios, 2% organic milk; the rest of the leftover Red Beans and Rice (local/organic andouille sausage, jasmine rice); sweet tea; 5 slices of CPK BBQ Chicken Pizza and 1 slice of CPK Sicilian pizza; 1 fill of my Camelpak (!)

Thought: I need to work out, but it’s 11 pm and I’m just now getting to the grocery store. Don’t think it’s gonna happen.

Day 4, Saturday

Did: Walked around a shopping center. …that counts, right?

Ate: Bowl of Multigrain Cheerios, 2% organic milk; Qdoba Vegetarian Burrito (cilantro lime rice, black beans, guac, sour cream, cheese); Diet Coke; 2 fills of my Camelbak

Thought: Today could have gone so much better than it did.

Ugh, so okay, this weekend hasn’t been great so far in terms of being healthy. Not as terrible as it could have been, or has been in the past, but definitely could have been much better. Part of this weekend’s crappiness was beyond my control–the sudden change in the weather has wreaked havoc on my body, and my fall allergies are swooping down for the kill, which means I’m not getting any sleep and I generally feel like crap. Also, Dustin was supposed to have the day off today, but got called into a 3-hour training session, so I drove up to Southhaven and spent the day with him. It was a great day, but just not in my plan.

But most of it was all me. I’m not good at adapting, at going off plan and being successful. But isn’t being adaptive part of this game? As much as I’d like the universe to cater to my goals, that’s just not going to happen. I tried to make better food choices today on the run, and while my vegetarian burrito at Qdoba isn’t exactly healthy (about 1150 calories! 40 fat grams, 158 carbs, but 26 g fiber), it’s better than the Arby’s we almost got. (Which would’ve been ~1230 calories, 60 grams of fat, 121 carbs, and only 10 grams of fiber, with far worse quality ingredients). There’s still time to get in a weight routine, but I’ll be honest, I’m totally not feeling up to yoga or Jillian or anything else. Tomorrow will be better. I’ll make sure of it, with or without a plan.

Did, Ate, Thought: Day 2

{ September 2, 2010 @ 5:21 PM } · { 321, Ashley, Did Ate Thought, Eating, Exercise }
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Still didn’t tackle C25K today. I will, one day, I promise. Instead, I upped my dumbbell weights (the 5-lb ones just weren’t making me exhausted at the end of each rep, but the 8-lb ones definitely delivered) and I did about 20 minutes of yoga. Let’s talk about yoga for a minute. I love it. It’s the one exercise that doesn’t feel like exercise (yet I still wake up the next day sore and miserable). It makes me feel strong, sexy. And at the same time, I feel like I can ALWAYS get better at it. So why did I stop doing yoga? I don’t know. But I’m getting back into it. It was a pretty good day for eating, too. I ate when I was hungry–only  a small candy snack. I honestly considered just letting Dustin pick something up for dinner–something I wouldn’t have second guessed before I had to write it here. He gets home at 11 pm, when the only things open are fast food. Instead, I made a delicious, healthy stir fry, with LOTS of green. Yummy, yummy green. Feeling pretty good, today.

Did: A super-quick dumbbell routine while cooking dinner with 8-pound weights (bicep curls, tricep extensions, lateral raises); YogaDownload.com’s Yoga for Weightloss #1

Ate: Organic oatmeal with 2% organic milk, Pomegranate-blueberry juice (~8 oz.); Bowlful of leftover Red Beans and Rice (jasmine rice, organic and local andouille sausage, organic kidney beans); a handful of Sweethearts; Beef Stir Fry (whole grain, whole wheat spaghetti; sirloin tip beef; broccoli; snow peas; green onions); 4 fills of my Camelpak (~100 oz), a 20-oz Coke Zero

Thought: I feel STRONG today! I look cute today. I may be going a bit overboard with a nautical themed outfit. Screw it, I’m cute anyway. I don’t want to cook, but I need to. These veggies are actually really yummy. I used to be good at yoga. My belly gets in the way of doing any proper bends in yoga.

Source

Here I Go Again (NOT On My Own)

{ September 2, 2010 @ 12:15 AM } · { 321, Ashley, Eating, Exercise }
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I feel like I’ve written this post a thousand times, because that’s how many times I’ve tried to lose weight, be healthy, or just lose a dress size. So yeah, I’m doing this again. I’ve got a few things going for me this time. I’ve got the benefit of my experience, the things I’ve learned from losing weight (and the things I learned from gaining it back) all those times. I’ve got a husband-to-be who is as supportive as someone can be. And I’ve got Sara and Allison, who know far too many things about me, and have the pictures from high school to prove it.

So, things about me:

  1. I hate “working out.” For real reasons, like I get nauseated and headachy every single time I do cardio. For not-so-good-reasons, like it makes me tired and achy and embarrassed.
  2. I adore food. I love cooking and eating and thinking about food. I eat a mostly healthy diet of local and/or organic whole foods, and try to eat 1-2 meatless meals a week. I’m far too addicted to carbs and diet coke.
  3. Inside me, there is a yoga master. I just haven’t met her yet.
  4. I’m at my heaviest weight (again), but ironically, I feel healthiest. Let me clarify: clearly, my body is not healthy, but I feel like my attitudes towards my body, towards my health, and towards food are healthy. (I feel kind of silly writing this; I feel like if my attitudes are really this healthy, I shouldn’t be overweight).

So my plan is fairly simple. To practice intuitive eating (eating when hungry, stopping when full); to eat a more healthful balance of foods (less carbs, more greens), and to begin the dreaded workout.

I’m not looking for crash diets or to run my body into the ground with exercise. I’m not going to count calories, because I hate, loathe, and abominate doing that. It feels like punishment to me, it feels unhealthy and sadistic (to me, it works fabulously for lots of people). What I am going to do is shop at the farmer’s market more, eat more produce (leafy greens, baby!), and work out gently. I’m starting C25K, and on my off days, I’m doing a quick and dirty free weight routine, along with yoga. I’ll also throw in some Wii Fit days, too. Basically, I’m practicing self-love.  Because we all need a little more love in the world.

Chocolate and Beer

{ September 1, 2010 @ 10:29 PM } · { 321, Eating, Exercise, Sara }
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I, along with two of the bestest gal friends (of ten and fifteen years), am thrilled to be doing this blog as well.  It will be nice to get some extra support and to be kept in check since I will be held accountable.  I didn’t really get motivated until college to start dropping the weight.  Since then I am proud and embarrassed to say that I have dropped over 55 pounds.  Yeah, now that’s out there.  But I still have a ways to go.  I would ideally like to drop one more size.  I also, like Allison, have a couple of reasons:

1. Southern food is a deeply-held, long-standing tradition in my family. So is heart disease and diabetes.

2. I am an adrenaline junkie.  As my fellow bloggist can attest, I have an obnoxious amount of energy which allows me to work out insanely.  Which is a good thing since at times I need the most chocolatey substance on the planet or the darkest beer possible (which is awesome when you go to German restaurants and it comes in liters). Therefore, I guess you can say, I need the occasional slap on the hand.

So, my work-outs are already set, I just need help to stay focused.  I get up in the mornings to go the gym to work. I do the ellipticals, some running, the bikes once in a while, and weights.  I take  Krav Maga three times a week. I plan to start ballet (Don’t worry, there will be details later) soon and try to walk as much as I can and take stairs. It’s thing like this that are extra help.  I am also hooked on the Superfoods diet when I’m not mainlining chocolate and/or beer*.  There is a lot of information on superfoods and I highly recommend it.  You’re kept full longer and it helps you lose weight while having a ton of health benefits. 

I am hoping to meet my goal of one less dress size by the end of the year.

*Just to put it out there, I’m not really a lush or eat chocolate regularly.  It’s just when I do, I don’t believe in moderation.

~Sara~

New beginnings are hard when it hurts to walk.

{ September 1, 2010 @ 9:11 PM } · { 321, Allison, Eating, Exercise }
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I’m thrilled that we’re keeping this blog to add that motivation to get our butts in gear. I’m a victim of no motivation, laziness, procrastination, Type-A personality perfection (sometimes) and general aversion towards anything that hurts a body part in the process.

There are a few reasons though why I feel like this time I can be successful. They are, as follows:

  1. My doctor told me to get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. And when they say that a few times during your appointment, you know something’s up.
  2. Impending wedding. I don’t want to feel like a fat ass on what’s supposed to be the happiest day of my life. And yes, there’s some time, but you have to remember all the things in play I mentioned before. Yeah.
  3. I don’t want my parents’ health problems. They’re not morbidly obese or anything, but I know their weight hasn’t helped any.

Today was the first day of C25K for me. And it was that brutal realization that I’m horribly out of shape. It’s not just about eating healthy; it’s about working out too. By the end of the run, I was gasping for air (wearing my freshman year band shirt WHAT WHAT!) and so upset at myself for getting to this point. Billy and I were talking about the Presidential Fitness Test that we took in elementary school. Why aren’t these around for adults? Are we saying it’s okay to be unhealthy and inactive once we reach the ripe old age of 13?

That almost started to sound like a rant so my bad. But how cool would it be if President Obama was like, “Dudes and ladies. Go to a prearranged place with facilitators and take the test. It’s badass. If you do well, you get some serious kudos and can win stuff! I got sports players there too!” Sara, get on that. But make sure I get some credit when you tell him.

So anyway, this morning (woo tangent!). It was painful but it made me realize I have to hold myself accountable and not just have other people kick my butt. That’s why I started the food Twitter account at goodereats. It’s like Weight Watchers, but free and I don’t have to go to meetings. I typically eat a lot of junk and it’s just got to stop. Going to Zaxby’s is not an option! (But I wish it was…)

My goal is to lose 25 lbs. It’s a small goal, but I’ll keep working my way down the scale as I go. I’m just happy I have friends along the way. 🙂

Thanks, guys! We’re going to OWN our lives!

–Allison

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