So Becca got to attend a major premiere tonight with her boss. I’m trying not to be jealous. Instead I went to the gym, reinstated my membership, did some cardio, then came home and waxed my mustache. I’m terrible at waxing my ’stache and I really should just pay for it since it’s so much quicker. I had planned to try today but alas, I didn’t make it. So anyway, back to the premiere. See Becca has bosses that are cool. She enjoys spending time with them and they do things for her, like say take her to a TV set for a taping, a table read, or like tonight a premiere and star-studded after party. Meanwhile, my lip is as red as a devil and I’m sitting with our cats blogging. I make myself feel better due to the fact that I make slightly more money than her. I’m trying not to be jealous. I should be happy for her. Isn’t this what assistants aspire to? Premieres and Oscar screeners?
Well I suppose that’s it for tonight. I am watching United States of Tara after just finishing off a garden burger and a strawberry blonde wheat beer. Yes, I had a beer and it was delicious. Don’t judge me. I said cut back, not quit…
I have asthma. I have had it since the time I was a little girl. Over the years it has gone up and down in terms of severity. I can remember a time several years ago when I was eating really healthy and training with a personal trainer that I had a long stretch of a couple of years where I rarely had to take my puffer or any other medication. But since then it seems to be steadily getting worse, and this past December was pretty bad. I’ve had allergy tests and I’ve been told that I am allergic to dust and animals. I control the dust in my house as much as possible, and I am never around animals so this is irrelevant. So this doesn’t explain why the symptoms would fluctuate so wildly. It was my mother who first began to suspect that things that I eat could be causing my asthma to act up. I guess I didn’t want to own up to the fact that my eating habits needed to be changed. I know people who are allergic to dairy products but they love them so much that even though they feel sick, they continue to eat them. I suppose I’m a bit like that. Because I am starting to realize how much my eating and exercise habits affect my breathing. It has not even been a week since I’ve cleaned up my eating and I already notice a huge difference. Last night I did not have to take my inhalers before bed OR when I woke up this morning. It’s amazing! I’ve also increased my cardio (I did 40 minutes again today instead of the planned 30 minutes). This past fall I probably didn’t do enough cardio. I really love weight lifting so when I’m pressed for time I sometimes end up skipping the cardio!
I suppose it may be too early to tell yet, but I’m excited by the thought that I may be able to reduce my asthma medication and breathe better! This is what I will encourage myself with on the days that I’m tempted to go back to my old chocolate bingeing ways.
I dont think we realize how the food we buy at the grocery store is not “real”. I highly reccomend the book titled “In Defense of Food: An Eaters Manifesto“. This rule is directly from it. It’s all about the Western Diet. It gives you a new look on how to eat food that is actually good for you body, not just the basics that are keeping you alive. About how most foods now are super refined so it will stay on the shelfs for long periods of time, and by doing this they take all the “good” stuff out of our food because thats the stuff that molds faster. About how ingredient lists should only contain 5 or less items. If you can’t pronounce an ingredient in the item, you shouldn’t eat it. About how we shouldn’t HAVE to look at the nutrition labels, since what we shouldn’t be eating crappy things anwyas. My favourite rule is that you shouldn’t buy anything in the super market your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize. Imagine her in the cereal/cracker isle. She would be so confused. This book is actually life changing. Organic ORGANIC ORGANIC!! I’ll probably bring this rule up over and over.
In other news, I had a great swim today, and ate 90% organic food. Excellent day
L.A. Story: Look for Jennifer DeJoya to be a contender at the California Pro this spring.
Desire, determination and a sheer love of competing paid off for Jennifer DeJoya when she earned her figure pro card at the ‘08 Nationals. After a pair of top ten finishes to highlight a very respectable first year on the pro stage, she looks to gain even more ground in her sophomore season.
For starters, the Los Angeles native plans on returning to the California Pro on May 29th, site of her IFBB debut last spring. According to her blog, she’ll follow that up with stops at shows in Hartford, Connecticut (Europa Battle of Champions in July) and Dallas, Texas (Europa Super Show in August).
But things could get interesting in a hurry if she improves enough from what was previously a season-best, seventh-place finish in her home state. If Jennifer can make the top three at the Cal — certainly a possibility for this consistent, tremendously conditioned competitor — she’ll qualify for her first Olympia.
One week ago I was a mere 6 pounds away from my goal weight. A goal I have been steadily working towards for two years. Actually, I guess it’s only been 15 months since I threw it all out the window the 9 months I was pregnant with my second child. I have spent as much time as possible in muscle torturing, make Jillian Michaels proud, sweat inducing workouts. I have counted calories, weighed food and kept a journal of all that I put in my mouth. I tried many different “diet” things to lose weight. I drank half my weight (in ounces) of water daily. Which made me really have to pee a lot, but not much else. I ate plain chicken breasts for dinner. I even tried eating Lean Cuisines. Yuck. Finally I found something that worked well. I made food completely boring, meaning I spent about 6 months eating exactly the same thing pretty much every day for breakfast and lunch. Which gave me the freedom to eat just about whatever I wanted for dinner and still be within my allotted calories for the day.
I am 5 foot 3 and when I began this journey in January of 2008, I weighed 204 pounds. That weight was BEFORE I’d tacked on another thirty with my first pregnancy. After my daughter was born, I went right back to my “pre-pregnancy weight” which I thought was incredible, but in hindsight was just an excuse not to do anything about how heavy I’d become. I told myself I must be pretty healthy, since I’d been able to drop the pregnancy weight so quickly. After I saw photos of my daughter’s 1st birthday, I realized it was time to make some serious changes. I joined my local YMCA, set some goals and for additional encouragement and a little competitive motivation I formed a “Biggest Loser” group with my friends.
I stayed focused on my goals and became a little obsessed at the gym, but I dropped 40 pounds in the next year. Then proceeded to get pregnant and gained it all back. This time, the weight wasn’t going anywhere fast. When my son turned 6 weeks old last January, I was right back to pushing the 200 pound mark at 195. So, it was back to the gym – but since I was breastfeeding, my diet consisted of trying to find 2000 calories a day in healthy, protein rich foods rather than stuff my face with bread and cheese all day. Which was very difficult for me. Actually, knowing I needed to eat a lot, but couldn’t fill those calories with the foods I actually craved was utter torture. Even more so than the first time, I hit the gym’s weight machines hard. Slowly but steadily, the weight came off (again). By July of 2009 I’d plateaued at 145, fifty-nine pounds from my (non-pregnant) high weight.
The last fifteen pounds have been extremely difficult to drop. Partly because I fractured both legs and couldn’t exercise (or walk properly) for about two and a half months. Beyond that, I’m just tired. Tired of feeling sore and exhausted from my workouts. Tired of saying “no thanks” to dessert. Sick and tired of watching my string bean husband eat whatever he wants and never gain an ounce. But finally, last week I reached 136…just six measly pounds away from the goal I set for myself two years ago. Then came the eight parties/get-together/eat lots of awesome food events that are typical of my week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. This morning I was back to having 14 pounds between me and my goal.
Today, I’m feeling very frustrated. In this week of renewal and goal setting, I feel like forgetting I ever had a picture in my head of what I could look like. I know if I’d worked out today, I probably would feel a little better about the whole situation, but there’s a voice in my head that is telling me a large pizza would do the trick as well. See, one thing I’ve learned in the past two years (besides a huge appreciation for deodorant) – is that I’m a food addict. Flat out. I love food. I’ve mentioned this addiction in a blog before, but since it’s a huge struggle in my life, you get to hear about it again. No matter how much I reevaluate my feelings about food, they still consume me regularly. I do not have weight issues because I’m inactive. I have always loved sports, and truly enjoy any kind of outdoor activity. My struggles are fought with cheese. And bread. And just about anything that is sweet, salty, chocolatey or served with some kind of dipping sauce.
For all my successes this past couple years, I feel like a failure. Ultimately, I know if I cannot figure out my bottom line addiction to food, I’m going to put every single pound back on. That is terrifying to me. I know I’m going to reach my goal weight. Probably in the next 7 weeks since I’m going on a Mexican cruise at the end of February and that is a HUGE motivation currently. But what then? Reaching my goal is scary. It means I have to start maintaining. I won’t have the encouragement of people seeing me and commenting on the weight I’ve lost. The way I look will become how people know me. The accomplishment of dropping all the pounds will fade as I sustain my new figure. I won’t get the joy of shopping for new clothes because I’ll have completed that new wardrobe I’ve been building lately. I know that what will matter most is finally besting the monster of my addiction, not what size pants I’m wearing. I just have no idea how to do it.
My New Year’s Day started just as pretty much all my others have.. watching the Rose Parade! I was happy not to sleep in too late after going to bed around 2:30am, because I’ve been trying hard to keep my sleep schedule relatively normal over break. So I curled up with a cup of coffee and my laptop with the Parade.
While watching, I saw a preview for the new season of ‘The Biggest Loser.’ I’ve mentioned my general opinion of the show (not a tremendously positive one), but there is something I really like about this season (and I think they’ve done it before).. they’re focusing on family. Last night, I was in a conversation with a few friends about how America got into its current health state. Naturally I have some pretty strong feelings about this, and I always love hearing others perspectives & opinions. One of the topics that came up was the debate over the extent to which one’s diet and exercise habits are influenced by how they are raised, and the potential difficulty in overcoming such habits. I’m happy to see that Biggest Loser will be addressing this issue. In the preview, a mother takes the blame for her son’s obesity. I agree that she would be partially to blame, but the son she’s speaking of is full grown, and clearly well aware that the health choices he’s been making, for probably the past decade, are very detrimental. I haven’t come to a conclusion on this issue. Generally, I think it is pretty common knowledge that eating fast food hamburgers/fries/burritos/fried-anything everyday is unhealthy. In America today, with the extensive variety of food we have at our fingertips, you can pretty much find a relatively healthy option anywhere, including fast food establishments (I can’t in good conscious call them restaurants.. strong feelings much? :p ). So, I have trouble giving into the excuse that unhealthy eating habits are the result of an addiction or insurmountable. If you know it’s bad, and you continue to do it, maybe it’s your fault. And I include myself in this. My unhealthy tendencies have never been fast food related, but there are certainly things I’ve done, over and over, knowing they were negative to my overall health. This is a difficult topic to address so briefly because there are sooo many components and influential factors that go into it; namely sociological, economical, psychological, etc. As I continue my education, through both IIN and my own personal reading and exploration, I look forward to delving into this more.
* Please note though, that I am speaking of people who are otherwise physically & mentally capable.
Coincidentally, I also came across this article today: How We Became a Society of Gluttonous Junk Food Addicts (linked to this from a cool site called Wellness Uncovered), which talks about how fast foods and generally chemically created products really are addictive. Who knows.. for every article claiming one thing, you can find another saying the opposite. So I just try to do my best to gather information from as many different sources and perspectives as I can.
And lastly, have you seen those ridiculous ‘Taco Bell Diet’ commercials?! omg! I think I might end up throwing something at the TV, gah! ..
Musical Musings
On a completely different note.. you know when a song totally just clicks with you, and not necessarily because it tells your story, but you just instantly like it.. I love that. Here are a few songs I’m totally diggin a few songs right now:
John Mayer – Perfectly Lonely
Dave Matthews – You & Me
Flipsyde- Angel
FITNESS
I had all sorts of motivation today.. unfortunately my physical self didn’t seem to get the memo. I hit the gym to work back & core, but was just feeling.. blah. I felt heavy and sluggish. I got through okay, but it wasn’t my best. I know it’s mainly the repercussions of my not-so-clean eats yesterday. I didn’t go crazy or anything, but I did have (my last lil bit of) sugar, and quite a few cheese & cracker based appetizers. I was a little bummed leaving the gym, but I know just getting in there and starting to work out the ickiness means that I’ll feel tons better tomorrow!
Sunset Yoga
I did a relaxing Flow class later in the evening. I hadn’t been to this location before.. it’s actually at the spa of a really nice resort. The class started right around sunset, and oh my goodness, I wish I had my camera! The spa balcony looked out over Camelback mountain, and the unbelievably gorgeous sunset of reds, pinks & golds made for a truly inspiring yoga backdrop. Growing up in the Northwest my sheltered view of scenic beauty generally involved green trees, snowcapped mountains and ocean views, but the desert has won me over. I’ve lived here over a year and a half and the sunsets still blow me away every time. What a perfect way to start 2010
For example, tonight it was something like this..
A friend of mine took this pic of one of our fairly typical sunsets.. wow!
NUTRITION
Off to a lovely ‘10 start!
The best part about making those cookies yesterday, was that it left me with a almost empty peanut butter jar So breakfast was, naturally, Pumpkin Oats (1/4 c Oats, 1/8 c Oat Bran, 1/4 c Pumpkin, 1 tbsp Wheat Germ). Twas delicious, though I totally spaced on adding Protein Powder, oops..
Post-workout I went with my go to mid-day snack of late.. Protein Yogurt with Maple Apples, then topped it with a couple tablespoons of TJ’s Omega Trail Mix.
Squash Sluttery
Today I slutted myself out to multiple squashes.. and I’m not ashamed to say it! First, there was my true love, Kabocha, which teamed up with 1/2 c Cottage Cheese for a pre-Yoga snack.
I’ve had a Spaghetti Squash sitting around for weeks now, and tonight was its night to impress me.. and I swoon :p Foreplay involved me cutting it in half, scooping out the seed and roasting it cut-side down in a 375 F oven for 40.
Next, I used a fork to scoop out the “meat” into this lovely noodle looking form. To spice it up, I mean you never want to let things get dull, I topped 1 cup of the squash strands with 3 oz Wild Coho Salmon and 1/2 c Cottage Cheese.
Wow! I am completely a new member of the Spaghetti Squash fan club. It has a slightly nutty flavor and went so well with the salmon. 1 cup was the perfect serving size, and now for the ridiculously happy news:
What a perfect low cal substitute for starchy carbs like pasta and rice.
Nightcap
I was low on protein for the day, so a high protein snack was in order to cap off the night. I’ve pretty sure you can mix a good protein powder with egg whites &/or pumpkin, pop it in the microwave and it’ll be eatable.. if you like that sort of thing :p This was only ok, but I add a little Walden Farms Chocolate Syrup and UVAB and was good to go..
Thankful
Perhaps I was just more attentive to it because it’s the 1st of the year, but today little things kept reminding me of how incredibly fortunate I am, and how truly thankful I am very everything that happened in 2009. When life gets hectic it’s so easy to speed through life stressing about daily activities & responsibilities. So I’ve added another resolution: to take a moment everyday to simply be appreciative, and to be better about sharing my thanks. I know that sounds pretty cheesy and simplistic, but I know I’m guilty of taking components of my life for granted, or perhaps more accurately, failing to express my gratitude. Life’s too short!
