Our long weekend in Memphis

I've gotten a few requests to do a Memphis recap.  Oops!  Forgot about that given the chaos of the last few days.  So here's a few pics for you!  (Okay, more than a few)

The last time we went to Memphis, I took one look at the booths and chickened out because I wasn't confident I'd fit in them.  I wish I'd known they had a whole side room full of tables with armless chairs!  Oh well, note for others and am proud to say we slide in and out of booths with ease!

These are Arcade's Sweet Potato Pancakes, a Food Network Favorite according to their menu.  A big favorite according to my hips.  I ate them 3x over 5 days.  Don't judge me.

We went to the National Civil Rights Museum where Martin Luther King Jr was shot.  The Lorraine Motel was kept the same on the outside and a wreath placed on the balcony where he was shot.  They also purchased the building across the street and recreate the room of the shooter.

The black window behind it is part of the museum where you can actually look out over the spot where MLK was shot.  This is made 100x more heart wrenching after viewing the magnificent documentary The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306.   Every human being should be required to go here.

Every little taste counts

How many times have we spread a condiment on a sandwich, cream cheese on a bagel or stirred spaghetti sauce and without thinking licked the utensil?  Or you're making brownies or cupcakes for a potluck and you lick the big spoon or the bowl?  Most people don't track those calories but believe me, they add up!  You can have 100 calories just in licking the delectable brownie batter off of that big ol spoon.  Most don't pack that kind of punch but 10 calories here, 20 calories there can end up making a bigger difference than you might think over the course of weeks, months and year in the form of an extra pound or two.  (More if you're a taste as you go cook or chef)

Licking the spoon was one of the first habits I broke.  When I am preparing something I turn the hot water on and get the bowls and utensils immediately washed off or soaking so I'm not tempted to sneak a taste.  In the olden days, there was no way I could have extra anything lying around.  Frosting?  Forget it.  A spoonful here, a spoonful there which is at least 100-150 cals depending on how heaping.  As I was trying to get things together, I would put chili powder in it when I threw it away because I honestly didn't trust myself not to take it off the top of the heap if I was having a desperate moment.  Now?  I rarely have it in the house but when I do, it often ends up in the back of the fridge and forgotten about for months.  I never would've believed you if you'd told me that a few years ago.

So as the holiday season approaches, try to break this habit if you find you're a taste-as-you-cook/bake person.  Your waistline might thank you for it!

Are you a member of the clean utensil club or is it not a temptation/reflex?

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Overcoming my fear of the Brussels sprout

I always thought it was brussel sprout not Brussels sprout but was quickly schooled when doing a search for recipes.  Anyway...as I kept perusing blogs for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday the theme of Brussels sprouts kept coming up. I began to feel like I was the only one who'd never tried them and believe me when I tell you the hubby was not happy that I picked up the bane of his childhood to give a try.  (I believe his mom boiled them)  When we first got them, he stuck them straight into the freezer.  Ruining them.  Sorry sir, I can buy more and it came with the warning that if they went anywhere other than the fridge, he'd be running out for more.

So I've seen you can roast them in olive oil with a little seasoning or add a little bacon for flavor.  I am anxious to try Colin Cowie's recipe for this slaw kind of thing but am hoping y'all can give me some tips for your favorite ways to prepare them before I delve in.

What's your favorite way to prepare brussel sprouts?

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Why I'm cool with the gain - Weigh In

Up 3 lbs.

Given the morning after we got back the scale had me up 9 lbs (which I know from past experience is water weight from ungodly amounts of sodium) so getting 8 lbs of the official vacation gain off in in 4 days is awesome.  I will take that!  That's with only having 4 "formal" workout sessions over our usual 5, my system being completely screwed up with no release until today after weigh in if you get my drift AND a Thanksgiving holiday thrown in there that was much more carbalicious (but not over the top) than our usual Thursday fare.  We came back got right back to exercising, eating right and getting in the water.  We even stopped at the grocery store on the way home from Memphis after a horrific, long drive to get fruit for the rest of the week for lunches.  So I'm officially declaring it a success even if no one else does!

The workouts have been really taking their toll on us this week.  It's not like we were inactive on the trip.  I don't call walking 4-7 miles per day inactive but there you have it.  I have no doubt I'll be back to my low weight and beyond soon.  Life is about loosening the reins every now and then and knowing that you have to tighten them right back up and that's what we did.  So I'm good with it.

Welp, hope everyone has a great weekend!

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

How I know this is a TRUE lifestyle change

Sorry I'm late today but what can I say Black Friday translates to lazy Friday for me.  Anyhoo...

Wednesday night was a close one.  I was running around like a chicken with it's head lopped off and things were taking longer than they should have.  By the time it finally slowed down and we got the Christmas lights up and the things for Thanksgiving as pre-made as possible, it was about 7pm.  We were both SOOO tempted to skip exercise.  We still had a few small things to do but we went downstairs and did our Tae Bo.  We both felt much better for it and I didn't think I was going to burn much but I got 900 calories in.  But the true way I knew this was a lifestyle change was we got up Thanksgiving morning with muscles SCREAMING in pain from the previous 2 formal workouts after getting home from vacation and dreading it we chose Power 90 Original since it's short and sweet and got a 1000 calorie burn on.  I was in such a good mood for a few minutes afterward you know before reality set back in but it was so worth it!  I was able to have everything I wanted and even dinner later on when I got a little hungry.  For the first time we even went on a walk after dinner with some cousins.  It was really hot in the house so the cold felt nice and it helped get the food moving instead of sitting like a lead balloon.

I know for most of our lives we never exercised on days surrounding holidays much less the holiday itself.  But if it's a normal exercise day for us, it's getting done.  I am so thankful for that.  It puts me in a much less stressed state of mind even taking that 30-40 minutes for myself to focus on ME and not everything else that needs done.  Speaking of which, I have a Turbo Fire 55 calling my name and a Christmas tree asking to be put up before a holiday concert tonight.  Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Do you exercise on holidays or allow yourself a 'skip day?'

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!  May your turkey be moist, your potatoes fluffy and your pumpkin pie flavorful!

Enjoy your time with family!  (Unless you have one of those families then may your sentence time go quickly!)

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Back to it

We are back from a short but fun filled trip to Memphis.  I'll go more into that next week since I know many people are probably not reading blogs right now...well unless you don't celebrate Thanksgiving then you might be going "where is everyone?  I'm bored!"  I'm not going to say how much I'm up just yet because my system is not used to that kind of sodium or being plugged up with Arcade's heavenly sweet potato pancakes or BB King's delectable pork chops on a typical non-high cal day so I always do a quick weigh in under the worst of conditions and then if we have almost a full week, I count whatever is hanging around as my "true" gain.  Of course this week is a little different since we have an eatin' holiday tomorrow so who knows what the scale will hold.  I won't get up in arms about it until the FOLLOWING Saturday if my body is still hanging on to anything.  I don't believe in going to a place with great regional food and saying "no thanks, I'll have the boiled fish and steamed broccoli with water."  Food is part of the experience.  It's part of life and I'd be a damn fool if I didn't partake in that.  Some people don't subscribe to that philosophy.  Good for them.  They can sit on their moral high horse while I eat a Santa Baby cupcake from Muddy's Bake Shop.

But as soon as we were home, it was right back on the wagon.  I drowned myself in water, ate my "usual" for the weekdays and that was that.  It wasn't always that way, especially on the long vacations for 2 weeks.  We'd come home still in vacation mode and say "we don't go back to work for 3 days, we'll restart then."  Then we'd be so overwhelmed at work that we didn't want to exercise that night because it was a crappy day.  (If only we knew then that exercise was a great stress buster)  Then the next day we'd hem haul around about going down or not eating something up to par for people trying to get back "on the wagon."  Before you know it, a month or more had passed us by and what could've been a temporary gain was firmly plastered on the thighs and gut.  Then depression would set in over gaining and blah blah blah.  Yeesh.  Sounds so foolish now but it's so easy to do if you're not in the right head space.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!  (Or Happy Thursday, depending)

Do you get right back on track when you've indulged on vacation?

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Counting your blessings

This time of year, amidst the chaos, it's always good to count your blessings.  I think of the things that mean most to me and it fills me with such gratitude for this life.  Here are some of the things I am thankful for:

1)  My Mr.  I am so lucky to be on this adventure with him.  There is no greater joy than being able to share the highs and lows of this whole thing.  He has been my shoulder to cry on and high fived me more than one should be required.  I am so proud of him.  He's my hero.

2)  My Family.  I have some wonderful people in my family.  I realize how lucky I am as a woman my age to still have my grandparents around.  There have been health problems popping up here and there with some people and you realize that the people who have been around since you were little won't always be there.  Cherish every moment, take too many pictures even if it annoys people and never forget to tell people what they mean to you.

3)  My readers.  You have no idea what it means that you give a squat about what I write!  *laughing*  I am grateful if I have touched just one person or made someone feel like "if she can do it, so can I!"  I know I'm nowhere near as entertaining as other bloggers but if you keep coming back, are a recent subscriber or stumbled upon me by some obscure link from a friend of a friend's blog...I say thank you for reading.  I hope you'll stick around and watch me rock dis shizz!

4)  Travel.  This world is so big and when I was at my biggest, so much of it was unattainable to dream I would ever see it.  Long plane rides overseas just weren't even in my thought process but rather put on the "someday" list knowing it wasn't really a list, just a broken promise I made to myself.  Now, we have a trip to Tahiti, Paris, Italy, Costa Rica and American Samoa simmering in our minds that are actually possible.  Goal trip is Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora.  I can think of no better way to reward ourselves for our hard work that to not have to sit on either side of the puddle-jumper to even out the plane ride.

What are you thankful for?

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Thanksgiving traditions

We all know the eatin' holiday is Thursday.  Oh sure you want to pretend it's about being thankful but we all know that comes a close second to that comforting scent of holidays past wafting through the air.  I used to do 2 plates back in the day.  When we started this weight loss adventure, we said we would eat one plate of anything we wanted in moderation and only if we were truly hungry would we have more.  I haven't been able to put more than a plate away since which just tells me we were eating it because it was there.  We still watch it on that day but ain't no way I'm missing my grandma's noodles!  Life is meant to be enjoyed.  I intend to savor every bite of the things I love.

These are the things that will be on my plate, *my* turkey because I make it good! (herbs and shallots under the skin), a normal sized scoop of mashed potatoes, grandma's homemade noodles on top, my stuffing (which is actually healthy and awesome!), green beans, a brown and serve roll and 2 crackers with a tablespoon of cheeseball.  For dessert, I'm making my Light Pumpkin Pie Cups like I do every year.  (I can't stand store bought pie which is what we end up with if I don't bring our own.)  We'll have a healthy breakfast and water to drink throughout the day.  After the meal, the ladies will sit at the table looking through ads making their Black Friday lists (not this lady, I'm done with my Christmas shopping and leave Black Friday to the nutbags.  We'll see how many nutbags read my blog) and the men will watch football while trying not to go into a tryptophan induced nap. Eventually someone will say they're leaving and if it's too early there will be more merriment and more desserts then someone else will say they're leaving and that is the cue when everyone will suddenly get up at the same time and clear out.  We come home and plug in the pre-strung Christmas lights and if I'm feeling ambitious, we bring up the Christmas decorations so we can get going early the next day with decorating for Christmas.

What will be on your Thanksgiving plate and do you have any traditions you do every year?  I'm always interested to see what the staples and rituals are for others!

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Sorry Folks...

No weigh in today...the moose out front should've told ya!

(You know you want to watch Vacation now!)

Have a great weekend!

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Transition is expensive!

I'm not one to hold on to my fat clothes.  Before someone throws the PJ pants from the coat post in my face I'm getting those altered, dammit!  ;-P  As soon as an outfit is baggy on me, it goes in the donation pile.  I've got a nice lot of shirts to go to my mom that I actually bought with her mind when I got them because I knew I could hand them down to her so I got some that were more her style that I could dress up.  Kind of a two pronged approach when I was going from that size into a new one.

Over the summer I bought this great black shirt from Avenue that was a little more than I wanted to spend but the Mr loved it and I got it along with a few other pieces.  I felt settled since weight loss was going slow as hell.  I grabbed that shirt out of the closet last weekend and put my red waterfall cardigan over it and I was shocked to see it was getting baggy!  Seriously!?  I just bought that thing like 3-4 months ago!  I know I'm no longer in 22/24's at the big gal stores but some of them run smaller and I thought that was one of them.  Those big old PJ pants I'm altering?  It feels like yesterday that I couldn't wear them, matter of fact it was the beginning of the year.  Now they're so huge on me that they look like clown pants despite my leg measurements not changing much.

It is so expensive to have transition clothes until you get to your goal weight.  You have to have clothes that are flattering and I thank God I am getting close to the size where I am teetering on being able to go try on things at Old Navy or similar stores instead of relying on their plus sized depts online and hope they fit.  I picked up 2 long sleeved shirts for $10 at ON that would've cost me at least 3x that at Avenue.  Granted Old Navy has thin material they use but these made perfect around the house or layering pieces. I can't wait until I can get some good deals and have that mean $10 not $20.  Transition is expensive and I can't wait until I'm set in my weight and I can just get new clothes because something is cute not because they're falling off my butt and I need 3-4 new pairs of jeans or all new shirts for hot and cool seasons.

What do you do with your "transition clothes?"  Do you donate them?  Give them to a family member?  Keep them "just in case?"

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

People amaze me...

...and often not in a good way.

There are few things more personal to someone than their own weight loss adventure.  What works for me/us, may not work for you and you know what?  That's okay!  There is no one right way to eat.  (Obviously the Twinkie diet or 'diets' of dangerous meds that have been proven to have unsettling side effects are not the route to take for long term results)  I saw where someone jumped on another blogger for "sneaking" healthy things into their Thanksgiving side dish.  Are you serious!?  I am so sick of people jumping on the latest food diet fad or just getting started with their plan, lose a few pounds and preaching to others that they aren't eating correctly.  This blogger has lost over 90 lbs, I think she knows how to do this without your help Ms. Nosey!  Or the whole veggie people vs. meat eaters.  I totally respect both sides.  I could never be vegan because it's just not for me but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy eating vegan dishes.  Does this make me some kind of traitor to my meat lovin' brethren?  No!  It just means I like the diversity that being open to any kind of eating brings.  It's FOOD people.  Have we really gotten so self righteous about food that like politics and religion we can no longer discuss food in polite company?  I am sorry for this midweek rant but it had to be said.

I get that we all have opinions and are excited about the way we eat but when you force your opinions on others and make it an issue of right or wrong, you will always be wrong.  If we all were clones and had the exact same metabolism, genes, environmental circumstances and were basically drones then yes, we would all follow the same regimen to lose weight.  But thank God we're all different and while it may be frustrating that everyone else seems to be losing faster than you are and it may take longer than someone else to reach your fitness goal, as long as you can honestly say you're doing everything you can to go in the right direction, that's all you can do.  You need to be open to new ideas when things stall but you don't need to listen to someone try to chisel at your self esteem because they feel the need to have a pissing contest.  I'm urging all of us to remember that while you can be excited about your plan because it's working for you to remember that your plan is not for everyone and there is no "right and wrong" when it comes down to it.  In the end, we all have the same goal which is good physical and emotional health and the eating plan that gets us there is our own.

Has anyone ever tried to tell you what to eat?  How do you handle it?

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Life Lessons from unlikely places

You never know where lessons will pop up.  From our own experiences to a well written phrase on a tv show, something can be said that will make you think differently.  Those are great moments.  I was catching up on Hung last night and the episode had Ray having trouble accepting that the woman he was being paid to be with used to be a man.  She wanted to go to her high school reunion.  Ray was recognized by his old high school sports prowess and quite proud to relive his glory days.  When the woman's classmates finally realized who it was, Ray watched as they shunned her one by one and ridiculed her and then turned their backs on him.  He was no longer worthy of their praise simply because of who he was with.

He said something as he chose to take his crying date to the dance floor and show all of the classmates he wasn't ashamed to be with her that will probably stick with me the rest of my life.  (I'm paraphrasing but am sure I'm close)

"When you're young all you care about is what everybody thinks of you and then you get older and say f*ck that, what matters is what you think of yourself."  Never have truer words been spoken!  I haven't heard anything profound like that since Six Feet Under.

Have you ever had a quote from a TV show stick with you and help you better your attitude or change the way you look at things?

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Lesson learned

We had a day out with a friend out of town over the weekend.  My smell/taste is still on hiatus with this cold and I hate that I didn't change my high cal day habits to accommodate that.  All I could think of is that it was a normal high cal day and I wanted what I wanted.  Apparently I forgot that I couldn't taste it.  Now it was a lower high cal day than normal but still I found myself not enjoying a single thing I ate and later wondering "why the hell did I eat that if I couldn't taste it!?"

I guess note to self for any future colds that I shouldn't bother with a high cal day.  Well I didn't really have a choice for the most part because we were out of town but still.  No matter how long you've been at it or how many lessons you learn, there are always more to be tucked away for future use.

Do you change the way you eat when you're sick?

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Cold week- Weigh In

Nada.

I'm a little disappointed in that one because I was immediately back to weigh in weight at the beginning of the week which usually means big loss that week.  But I guess between the cold and eating less calories, the bod wasn't on board.

Still have my cold which well, sucks, because we have a road trip today so tasting anything is pretty much out of the question.  But we have much bigger plans the following week so as long as I'm well for that is all I care about right now.  I won't have a weigh in next week so literally the next time I'll weigh in officially is Thanksgiving weekend.  THAT should be interesting.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

When did THAT happen?

I bought this jacket last year. I've only lost 40 lbs this year (yes, when you have as far as I have to go and workout as hard as I do, "only" applies) and my measurements haven't changed drastically at the measure points so how does this phenomena occur?

This jacket looks like I have would have to smuggle a bedroom pillow or two for it to fit and I don't remember losing 2 bedroom pillows this year so I just don't get how a jacket gets that roomy in a year's time. Okay maybe the pajama pants too.  I wore these to Hawaii in 2002 and then I grew out of 'em and couldn't wait to wear them again.  That happened in the spring and now they looks like clown pants on me.  My leg measurements have only changed by like 2" if I'm lucky.  Does fat redistribute or something!?  So now I have to go buy a new outdoor winter activity coat that doesn't have the word "puffer" in it because note to the obese, it's not cute no matter how bad you want it to be.  The coat will get washed and go to a friend and the pajama pants, well, I'm seriously considering keeping them and having them altered when I get to goal because I love them THAT much.  (It's hard to find tropical pj's without looking like you belong in Trader Vics)  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Do you ever have denial that an outfit or certain clothes are too big to wear anymore?

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

No patience for this

The first 2 days of this cold really have taken it out of me.  Sore throats are just like the worst to me, followed a close second by extreme sinus/ear pressure and a close third of losing your sense of smell/taste.  Basically the whole thing sucks but those are my biggest irritations when I have a cold.  Thankfully the sore throat is gone.  There is just nothing that will make me feel more sorry for myself than having a cheese grater stuck in my throat every time I swallow.  If I had a dollar for every tissue I've used, I could buy a car.  I do not enjoy playing the nose trumpet in the Honker Sonata.  I did the Mr. a favor and slept on the couch Sunday night so he could get a good night's sleep.  He said he was but I could hear him stop snoring when I'd cough or blow my nose so I knew even if he didn't remember waking up, his body would.  I got these weird feelings when I stumbled down to the pitch black living room like there was something in there with me.  I think I might have watched Celebrity Ghost Stories that night or the night before.  :-)  At that point, I didn't care.  The poltergeist could've picked me up and thrown me against a wall and I wouldn't have cared.  This is assuming it didn't get a polter-hernia trying to lift me but it would serve it right.

I've worked out every day and that's basically been the most activity I can muster for the day.  I have been trying to not take anything for as long as it's comfortable.  I'm popping my ibuprofen 90 minutes prior to workouts, I'm doing the neti pot 3x a day, popping my 500mg of vitamin C to reduce duration (it does nothing to prevent it) and the past 2 days I ate the homemade chicken noodle soup I just froze.  I originally froze it for The Mr. but apparently I must've known I'd need it.  When I could taste it, it was good, it just stinks I couldn't taste it when I had it.  I'm getting antsy though, I just want to be better like, oh, now.  But this is the girl whose colds lasted 10-14 days.  Since doing those things during my last cold, I was able to cut my cold length in half so I'm praying for the same thing.  I have a road trip with a friend to kick off the Christmas season this weekend and I really want to be completely better for it.  I have higher hopes for today since I'm kind of over the traditional hump in my cold which is the first 3 days of misery.  I am going to incorporate the treadmill back in today even if I can't run it, I'll walk to add some extra calories in because I'm not going to hit my calorie burn goal otherwise.  The one thing I notice is my calorie burn is cut by 100-200 calories per workout with this irritating cold and I don't like that.  I find myself getting distracted mid-workout and losing my place.  I'm all business when I'm down there and I hate feeling like I'm screwing it up because my mind wanders or I have to blow the schnoz.  I just want to be done with it already with my weight still on a downward trend.

What are your rituals when you get a cold to make yourself feel better/reduce the duration?

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

What's Been Popping Up in My Browser

Here are some links to what I've been reading so far this week.  Might be boring to y'all but they all got my attention for one reason or another and I thought I'd share!


The 5 Best Spots for Plus Sized Workout Clothing

9 "Diet" Foods that Make You Hungrier

The Truth about Aloe Vera Juice

What Food Labels Really Mean

Kettlebell Workout: Take Hold of a Hot Bod

10 Spices/Herbs That Aid Weight Loss

7 Ways to Prepare Kale

====================

Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Takin' care of bidness

Well, I'm sick with a delightful head cold, which in this house means busting out the proper attire:

This will make the FIFTH one this year!  Yeah, how that happens when I eat more fruits and veggies than I can manage some days as well as a multi-vitamin is beyond me.  Actually I know how it happened, the damned cable guys.  I remember the exact moment they both shook my hand and I thought "I need to go wash my hands NOW" and we got to griping and I didn't until maybe an hour later.  It's only contact I had in the incubation period so just another reason for me to loathe them since they were also the reason I didn't get my regular workout in that night.

Speaking of workouts, I do not use being sick as an excuse to skip a workout.  I have worked out through colds for 3 years and quite honestly, it's the only time I feel better.  Laying around whining, holding my head, listening to my heartbeat in my temples, feeling as though someone has jammed a bike pump in my sinuses and  is trying to see if they can shoot my eyes out of the sockets from the inside out is not my idea of fun.  Standing up and sweating is the only time I can breathe and focus on something other than how miserable I feel.  I just pop an ibuprofen an hour prior to workout time so any sinus swelling goes down and I'm more comfortable.  I  also don't believe in taking cold medicine because after a good talk with the doc, she said it extends your colds by 2-4 days.  The whole reason you have symptoms is because its your body's way of trying to fight things off.  By suppressing the symptoms, you just end up suffering longer, at least that's been my experience and my colds last long enough as it is.  (Also, why do people tell you to go to the doctor when you have a cold?  Hello, nothing they can do about it!  I'm not down paying a co-pay for her to tell me to pop pain reliever, wait it out and come back to give her more money if the mucus turns some technicolor green)  Sorry...side rant.

While doing workouts while sick makes me wince a little in the motivation department, I do like the feeling of envisioning my creepin' crud escaping in my sweat during a hard workout.  I know that isn't possible, don't feel the need to chastise me in the comments section and I'm also smart enough to know that working out with chest congestion or a chest cold is a big no no so no need to mention that either.  Obviously it's a personal choice for everyone but I do see far too many people who while they deem themselves "too sick" to workout and need to rest then talk about all of the other stuff they did that day instead of resting up.  Mmm hmm.  So I've got a pretty decent schedule on tap for this week so hopefully yesterday and today are the worst of the congestion pain and I'll adjust workout intensity as needed.

Do you workout when you have a cold?

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Bloated - Weigh In

I'm down another pound.  I will SOOOO take it given I'm so bloated from Aunt Flo (sorry) and sleeping in one spot all night long so I am literally a huge puff ball.  That beautiful tiny ring I got back last night after being resized doesn't even slide over my knuckle this morning!!  Oh yeah and the effin' cable guys left me with a souvenir cold!!  I should hunt them down and breathe on them.  Oh well I guess better now than over the holiday.  But still, GRRRRR!!!

Anyhoo, hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

A wrench in the plan

Yesterday was the day from Hell.  About 9:15am, boom, no internet, TV or phone.  I go up and reboot everything under the sun and nothing.  I figure it's an ISP issue so I go to call the hubby to tell him to call the ISP and no cell phone.  Oh gee, let me guess where it is...in his car at work.  We were getting our bed replaced so I had to stick around.  Once they left, I hopped in the car and drove around town looking for a pay phone.  Good effin' luck people.  I drove for 5 miles and nothing!  Back home I went.  It was the first day of Aunt Flo's visit, no contact with the outside world and my blood was boiling.  Finally I decided to just accept I was going to miss the background noise (my soaps) and popped open the first season of Six Feet Under (affiliate link) and fell in love all over again.  (As well as bawled my eyes out like a hormonal beast)  I left a note on the garage door for The Mr. proclaiming all of the events of the day and to bring the cell phone in from his car and to approach me with caution.  After hour four of SFU, I was much more mellow but needed him to call the ISP so we could get things resolved.  They gave us a 3 hour window.  Not acceptable.  I told him to call back (it would not end well if I called) and ask them to call before they came.

See, we had a nice hike on the schedule and now we couldn't do it because we needed to be within 20-30 minutes of being back home due to the impending 5 HOUR ordeal we were going to have to endure.  So I strapped on the heart rate monitor and said "let's walk the neighborhood!"  I didn't need to burn much more for the week but I wanted at least 400 calories and that's what I got.  I'm glad we got to fit that in because they were at the house from 6pm to 11pm.  The guys were all nice enough...all four of them when all was said and done, but there was no way in Hell I was going to let this situation dictate whether or not I got scheduled exercise.  If I had to start at 11pm with the tension migraine I developed, so be it.  It was on the schedule, it was getting done.

When an unexpected situation pops up before you are able to get your workout in, how do you handle it?  Do you skip it altogether, make it up later in the week or find a way to fit it in no matter what?


====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Chicken Pot Pie

I love comfort food, especially this time of year.  The air gets a chill, you put on a pair of fuzzy socks, a sweatshirt and jeans and just want some comfort food to put in your tummy.  It can be hard to find a decent meal to fall under the term "comfort food" and still be considered healthy.  Even if the calories are low, the sodium can be ridiculous.  Not this time.  I dove head first into chicken pot pie and was pleased with the results.

Now I will tell you that this does taste like a low sodium pot pie but I'm a firm believer in starting with the lowest salt content possible and each person can add table salt as necessary to taste.  I was good with the recipe as is, the Mr preferred a dash of salt.  Regardless, we both really loved it and the innards of the "pie" aren't just great as a pot pie but also ladled over rice or quinoa for a hearty dinner.  It's a highly customizable recipe where you can swap out the veggies of your choice, just remember the nutritional info will change.  This does freeze well so just ladle out what you need and freeze the "guts" for another time.  (I probably shouldn't use the word "guts" to refer to a recipe I'm trying to convince you to try, eh?)

For the printable version of this recipe, click here.

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

Jumping Jack Flash

Last night we did Tae Bo Volume 3 Live.  This workout is like 12 years old but still one of our relied on favorites.  We have had to modify certain moves for as long as we've been doing Tae Bo which is 13 years.  One of the things I've always had to modify are jumping jacks.  My gut seriously could not take it.  I swear I'd pull a fat roll attempting to do those things and if I was lucky I'd get 2 in before I'd realize it ain't happenin' and I finally settled on the low impact version.

We were doing our warm up last night and it was time for jumping jacks so we did them.  10 minutes later I said "uh...I did jumping jacks, when the hell did that happen!?"  We did that 2 or 3 weeks ago and I didn't feel the need to do them but it was like there was no thought process in it, I just did it.  I smiled and kept on going.  I don't know where that automatic switch came from but I can't wait for other things to come naturally.  I've still got a lot of gut to lose so burpees are about 20 lbs away if not more but I can't wait for the day that I can do one without feeling like I'm going to blow out a knee or face plant into the concrete.  For now, I'll enjoy my new accomplishment.  Just call me Jumping Jack Flash!

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!

What's ahead for the month

Happy November!  The beginning of a new month always brings a sense of a clean slate, even if you don't need one.  This month must be planned out meticulously for us as we have some traveling as well as a holiday so I want to make sure getting into the 2's isn't a fluke and I don't spend the whole month teetering back and forth.

I made out the workout schedule for November.  I made sure that I put the hotel gym on the exercise schedule for our jam packed trip out of town.  For those who know me, you know if it's on the schedule, it gets done.  We haven't missed a scheduled workout for 2 1/2 years and now that these are on the schedule, we have to do it or we blow the streak.  That ain't happenin'.  A few months ago, The Mr said he challenged us to get to the gym twice in addition to the walking we'll do while away.  I hope he was serious because the gauntlet has been thrown down, yo.

In paying attention to Thanksgiving, I think we'll do what we did last year and just eat a hearty, healthy breakfast and we have all the fixin's at Thanksgiving.  We still lost a pound last year so I'm hoping we can have a repeat for that.  I'm making the stuffing this year and it's a great low sodium, high fiber homemade stuffing.  I already did a test run and it turned out well.  We always have leftovers that Saturday so we're still on track Friday and try to flush out any sodium that day to please the scale Gods Saturday morning.  We have lots to pay attention to this month and I've got everything written out in black and white so there is no grey area for us.  We have found the past 2 winters that our weight loss seems to slow like hibernating bears despite us not slowing down so I'm hoping to break this winter curse as cold weather is getting ever so close. So that's the plan, man!

I did want to thank everyone for the sweet comments on my previous post!  You guys rock!

Do you plan ahead for getaways/holidays?  If so, how do you maintain accountability to yourself?

====================
Like this post? Never miss another one...subscribe by email or RSS feed at the upper left of the page!