Saturday, July 21, 2012

WOOT Day 3: 10-min Ballet Beauty


I was, for several months, a devote of the New York City Ballet workout.  I loved those crazy workouts, and keep telling myself I should go back to doing them.  Sadly, I only own them on VHS.  Did I just date myself there?  Woops.  Yep, VHS.  Plus they are insanely long - too long for this mama.  So, instead, I did a quick Google search and found this gem, the 10-min Ballerina Beauty workout by Tiffany Rothe.  It was fun, quick and easy, but I did break a sweat.  Do that three times in a row and you're arms will be burning!

This is Tiffany, by the way.  

Embedding is disabled for the video, but you can find it here on YouTube.

If  you want to know more about Tiffany, the creator of the video, check out her website, Tiffany Rothe Workouts.  The ballet workout is also there, plus a number of other freebies.


Thursday, July 19, 2012

Ugh.

Some days seem so hard.  Not just trying to eat right and exercise, just...everything.  The last two days have been like that.  I'm re-couping, though, and should be back on track tomorrow.  Sorry for the lack of WOOT Days.  Tomorrow, tomorrow...

Here's some inspiration, though.  I sure need it.


Tuesday, July 17, 2012

WOOT Day 2: Fat-Burning Yoga + Relaxation Bonus!



So today I wanted something gentle. My back hurt, I've been tight for weeks, and on top of it I have lingering gas pains (TMI, I know). So, I thought - Yoga! Oh, so wrong. This workout kicked my butt. I was a big puddle of sweat in 20 minutes. BUT, I'm looser, more relaxed, but also more rejuvenated than I've been in a long while, my back pain is better, and the aforementioned gas is better too. :)

The workout is called the 20 Minute Weight Loss & Fatburning Yoga Workout.  It's by renowned yoga instructor Sadie Nardini.  If you want to learn more about her or see if she's teaching a workshop near you, go to her website.  I'm totally hooked.

Oh, and she lost 40 pounds doing yoga, too.

The embedded video below is a playlist.  First, the workout, and second, a relaxation video to chill to.  I laid in corpse pose for nearly the whole relaxation video, and got up feeling like a new woman.  This one's a winner.  Enjoy.

 

Monday, July 16, 2012

WOOT Day 1

What's a WOOT Day, you ask?  Why, a Work Out Of The Day, of course.



Today's workout:  Trim your Tummy, 10 minute tummy toning workout by Suzanne Bowen at Women's Day (May 2012)

Here's the workout at Women's Day (annoying slide show)

Or the all-in-one-page downloadable PDF at my MediaFire

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

No Sugar, No Salt - Just Crock-Pot Applesauce!


  • 4-5 lbs. apples (about 12 cups sliced)
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon or nutmeg
  •  2 cups water
  • Tbsp. lemon juice



  • Peel, core and thinly slice apples and place in crock-pot.  Add cinnamon or nutmeg.  Pour in water and lemon juice. Cook the usual:  3-4 hours on HIGH or 6-8 hours on LOW.  Stir occasionally.

    Applesauce may be a little chunky. Mash with a fork or hit it with the immersion blender if you like smoother applesauce.  Yum!



    Recipe from The Humbled Homemaker; I've adapted it only slightly.

    Monday, July 2, 2012

    Watermelon Popsicles



    Watermelon Popsicles
    The water content in watermelon is so high, you don't have to add any additional liquid.  You can add some lime juice or mint, though, for extra zing.  Then, just blend, pour into molds, and freeze!

    *EDIT:  I just read you can do the same with papaya, or any of the other melons. - So gonna try it!

    Sunday, July 1, 2012

    7/1/12 Update

    Hours of Clean Eating: 
    10-11am
    2-5pm 
    8-10pm 
    11pm-6am

     I have been struggling this week. Struggling not just to add in hours of clean eating, but also just to follow the hours I already have set. I've been in this place, so many times before. The old habits call you back, and you say, "Okay."

     So I'm diving in, feet-first, to renew my commitment.

     I've added to my hours to cover all the mindless eating times I have for the day. I'll continue to work on this schedule for the week, then start to tackle one of the mealtimes, probably breakfast. I'm also continuing to add in exercise. I've been doing small bits of yoga and walking, but it's been way too hot here to do anything more (plus our central air is out). I may attempt a run today.

     However it goes, I need to press on - to keep making progress. I don't want to slip backwards AGAIN in my life. I've used this hourly breakdown plan before, to quit smoking. I know it works. I also know that this happens - moments of weakness, days of struggle, and that powerful pull to just throw in the towel and go back to the old ways. I'm so so so happy I quit smoking, and even though I miss it once in a while, and even relapse once in a great while (like once every other year), I'm so glad not to be a smoker anymore. Cigarettes no longer have their control over me, and I know if I keep at it, soon food won't have its pull on me either.

     Message for today:

    Friday, June 29, 2012

    Reality Check

    One of the hardest moments in any overweight person's life is the reality check. It's that dreaded moment – you know the one – when all of your defenses come crashing down and you get an unedited glimpse of yourself. It's that unexpected reflection, or first attempt at exercise, or shopping with skinny girlfriends for a swimming suit. In a split second, you see yourself for who you really are, not the you clouded by your imaginary impressions. In that reality check moment, you see the you the rest of the world sees everyday.

    In my case, I was sitting on a small footstool I use as a perch while my toddler takes his nightly bath. My husband had temporarily leaned a full length mirror against the bathroom wall, and I caught a glimpse of my reflection. That vision – me sitting on the stool, slouching, stomach scrunched down, bulbous fat rolls hanging out – took a minute to sink in. I couldn't stop looking at the image in the mirror. This was me – my body, my stomach. I was so used seeing myself with the little tricks I'd learned over the years (stand up straight, turn your body on an angle, suck in the stomach), that I was completely caught off guard. That can't be right, I thought. But it was. This was an every day, plain Jane, full length mirror – no tricks of reflection or light to blame. Nothing to blame, really, but myself.

    The biggest danger in these reality check moments, is they may so terrify us that we become paralyzed. It's certainly happened to me in the past.  We do nothing but slip deeper into the comfort zone of our imagination, and in many cases, just keep on getting bigger and bigger. What is the comfort zone? It's the place you go to in your mind to feel better whenever your vision of life is threatened. Your comfort zone could include tricks like mine – how to sit, how to stand, how to dress to present a slimmer looking you. It will certainly include things you tell yourself everyday – "Sizes are getting smaller, I'm not getting bigger," or "No one likes the way they look in a swimming suit." The comfort zone becomes a way to feel okay as our pants size goes up. It makes it everything better (usually with chocolate) when we feel down or depressed about our size. The comfort zone voice is the one that tells us to go back to our old habits when we've had a bad day, or a binge, or are just plain crabby.  It tells us we are exactly who we want to be; it tells us we are happy. The reality is, though, it's all a big fat lie.

    A few years back there was a movement for the overweight person to "embrace your size" which fueled what became known as "fat pride" and the anti-thin movement. There were a number of benefits to this movement, particularly in the advertising world, and one result is we see more diverse body shapes in magazines, movies, and on television. But there were also negatives, the biggest being an attitude that one can be extremely obese and also be healthy. Now, I am a testament to the fact that you can be overweight and still relatively in shape. My numbers are good: cholesterol (156), blood pressure (116/ 80), miles run without stopping (almost 3). Those numbers were the "proof" I used to convince myself I was healthy. What the full-length reality check helped me to see was just how much I was hiding behind those numbers, and just how unhealthy I am.

    (PSSST! This woman is a plus size model).

    No matter how you spin it, excess fat is not healthy. Of course, neither is hating yourself for not being a size zero, or refusing to enjoy life because you think you're too big. These polar opposite beliefs – you should be a size zero and you should embrace yourself for who you are – lead us down a roller coaster path toward self-loathing and dangerous habits, and that's not good health either. Here's a reality check of a different kind: A woman can be a size six and be classified as a plus-sized model. So, many of the women we see in plus sized advertisements are actually thinner than we are led to believe, and as a result we perceive ourselves as thinner than we actually are. What's the danger in that? The danger is in letting your mind trick you into thinking you are slimmer (or heavier) than you actually are. It exposes you to an endless game of cat and mouse, and guess what? You're the mouse. The cats are those companies coming after your money by challenging your vision of yourself. You become bombarded with reality checks that interrupt how you see yourself – a glimpse in a window here, a tight-fitting seat in a restaurant there – reality checks that when combined with ads depicting the "perfect" body can lead you on a desperate search for self-satisfaction.   The reality is plus size women generally do not carry much (if any) excess body fat.  They are in remarkably good shape, often in better shape than their straight size counterparts.

    (Also a plus size model).

    With each reality check, you either need to accept the reality or dig deeper into your distorted thinking, and that's what so many of the "get fit quick" schemes are counting on. Because really you know. No matter how deep into the imaginary comfort zone you are, you know. You know when you are not who you want to be. You know when your favorite jeans don't fit. That thought, that belief that something is not quite right, fuels the endless cycle of diets and fad pills many of us know so well, a pitfall which is never healthy. 

    Sometimes it feels hopeless. You're not supposed to feel bad about being heavy, but you're also not supposed to want to be heavy. Size six is plus size, but the average American woman is a 12. You're not supposed to eat unhealthfully, but it seems every restaurant serves gargantuan portions loaded with fat. The cycle continues because as long as you avoid those reality checks, you can fool yourself into whatever seems most convincing at the time. The answer, the only way to break the yo-yo cycle, is to find your reality. Embrace it. And by that, I don't mean pretend that you are happy when you're not. Start by ignoring all the hype – the ads, the pills, the books – anything that uses excessive exclamation points is suspect. Ignore anyone who tells you what you "should" feel, or do, or think. Dig into who you are, and try not to be afraid. Buy a full length mirror and use it. Think about people you know (people you actually know, not celebrities or models) whose physique you admire. Find out what size they really are. I was shocked to know a friend of mine who I always thought of a very slim was actually a size 10. Did knowing that make her heavier? No, and that's just it.

    (Yep, "plus" sized as well).

    Reality has to do with how you see yourself, and who you actually are. It has nothing to do with all those numbers we throw around. People who are fit and healthy know it, whether they are a size 0 or a size 16. So stop fooling yourself if you are not at the fitness level you want. You really can become the person you dream of being – inside and out.

    Telling yourself you are happy and actually being happy are very different things. Don't beat yourself up over your size – you are who you are and there's nothing wrong with that. Sitting around feeling bad about they way things are is a waste of time. But using tricks to convince yourself you are happier, thinner, or healthier than you actually are is no good either. All that does is keep you stuck.

    Remember my own reality check? I used that moment as inspiration. Inspiration to get started on a path to a new and better way of eating. Inspiration to become better – for myself, for my health, for that girl looking back at me in the mirror. Better may or may not mean thinner. I mean, I've tried everything imaginable with no progress. It's a long road to tread, but I already feel better, knowing the me I see is the real me, and that every day I am a little closer to being the person I always wanted. At the end of the day, heavy or not, I want to have in my head a real picture of who I am and where I'm going. This is my reality, and it is good. What will you do today to embrace yours?


    Thursday, June 28, 2012

    6/28/12

    6/22/12: 3-4am 
    6/23/12: 4-5am
    6/24/12: 5-6am
    6/21/12: 2-3pm
    6/20/12: 3-4pm
    6/28/12: 4-5 pm
    6/25/12: 8-9pm
    6/26/12: 9-10pm
    6/27/12: 11-midnight

    I'm inching toward the place where I will have to come up with some alternative food options, not just avoid eating altogether.

     We fear change.

     Eight million things to do today, so I'll be back later with an update.

    Wednesday, June 27, 2012

    6/27/12

    6/22/12: 3-4am 
    6/23/12: 4-5am
    6/24/12: 5-6am
    6/21/12: 2-3pm
    6/20/12: 3-4pm
    6/25/12: 8-9pm
    6/26/12: 9-10pm
    6/27/12: 11-midnight


    Today, my goal time is 11pm to midnight.  My goal for this is not only to follow the clean eating diet, but also to prompt myself to skip the nighttime eating and go to bed early.  Staying up late accomplishes nothing.  I rarely get anything done that validates the lack of sleep, and my sweet little boy rarely sleeps past 7 am.  So, it's one of those, "Duh, go to bed early," moments.  But staying up late is one of my favorite bad habits, and it's going to take some work to break.


    I've done a bit of yoga today as well, and want to incorporate it into a morning ritual.  I'm also printing off the Elimination Diet sheet, a few copies to keep with me for reference and reminder.  Staying positive that I can incorporate these changes into my life, and that by the end of summer I will have a whole new set of (healthy) habits.  And by next year, a whole new body.



    Tuesday, June 26, 2012

    Plan Progress

    6/22/12: 3-4am
    6/23/12: 4-5am
    6/24/12: 5-6am
    6/21/12: 2-3pm
    6/20/12: 3-4pm
    6/25/12: 8-9pm
    6/26/12: 9-10pm


    Ah, hit-or-miss.

    Miss.

    No, hit.  Mostly.  I've done okay, but I keep forgetting that I'm supposed to be following the plan.  Ironically, I still do okay when I forget.  Today, I caught myself at 3:15 pm eating some mini Reeses Peanut Butter cups.  I stopped.  It's all a person can do, right?

    What this week has illustrated for me is just how much I DON'T think about what I'm putting into my body.  It's kind of crazy.  I've always seen myself as a fairly healthy eater.  Just goes to show how wrong a person's perceptions can be, especially when it comes to ourselves.  But, I am down 3 pounds, so yay.  It's just 3 pounds, so I'm not jumping for joy just yet.  I will get there.

    I will get there.

    I will get there.

    And so will you.




    Monday, June 25, 2012

    Your Excuse is Invalid




    Here it is, my list of excuses. I know they will come, eventually, and probably more I haven't even thought of yet. I figured this time around, I'd bust my most common excuses before they happen.

     1. I'm too tired to get up and exercise. I'll do it later.  If I don't get up and exercise I won't do it. I know I'll wake up once I get going, and I'll feel better all day long.

      2. I have a headache/ PMS/ something hurts.  I'll just do my best. I won't push too hard, and I'll feel better overall when I'm done.

      3. I've got too much to do. I'll just take my rest day early. This day off will just lead to another day off. Exercise is my priority for three months. Whatever "needs" to be done can be fit in later, or it really isn't that important to begin with.

     4. I am not going to make it through the day without a cup of coffee. I did it every day that I was pregnant, and I survived just fine. If I really need a jolt later in the day, a cup of strong black tea will work just as well as a cup of coffee filled with sugar and cream, and without all the extra calories.


    5.  All my sports bras are dirty. I'll wear a regular bra with a workout tank over top. I'll live with a little bounce.


    6. My little boy was up late/ I couldn't sleep. I managed on an insanely small amount of sleep for weeks after he was born. I can do it for just this one day and be fine.


    7. There's this recipe I really want to try. The recipe will be there when this round of P90X is over, if I still want to try it.


    8. But it's Thanksgiving/ Christmas/ someone's birthday! There are lots of healthy food choices available. Me and my thin new body can have dressing and pie next year.


    9. What a long day! I could really use a glass of wine. The wine may lift my spirits for a minute, but I'll be crabby and probably miss my workout tomorrow, and then I'll be disappointed in myself to boot. I'll take a hot bath and enjoy some relaxing tea instead.


    10. I skipped a workout! I ate something awful! It's all over - I quit~ That is just my perfectionist diva talking. So, I messed up? Okay. Get up, get going, push play. At the end of 90 days, it won't be terrible if I fail a few times. It will be terrible if I am still in the same shape then that I am now.



    Just Imagine...

    John Lennon encouraged us to, "Imagine there's no heaven; it isn't hard to do."  Now, I'm gong to have to disagree.  It is hard to imagine a thing, if that thing is different from what you've been taught your whole life.  Flashback with me for a second to high school, when I thought myself completely obese, when in fact I had a rockin' body.  It's just that I was a muscled machine from summers on the farm, and the "in" chick then was Kate Moss.  So, yeah.

    In my head, and in the mirror, I added 100 pounds to perceive myself as completely different from what I was.  The body I saw then, is the body I have now.  Ironic?  Or just imagery at work.  There's an author called Shakti Gawain, whose book Creative Visualization I bought ages ago.  It's a little book, and very inexpensive.  I absolutely recommend it to everyone, no matter what you seek in life.  I struggle still to put visualization practices into play on a regular basis.  It's a strange thing to do, sit still and imagine what you want, and stranger yet to write these things on paper, but there must be something to it, or legions of people throughout history wouldn't have touted the practice as a means of achieving everything you want in life.  Or everything you are afraid of.  It's all about what you put your mind to.

    So, I will renew this practice in my life, starting with this:


    The Elimination Diet


    Friday, June 22, 2012

    Post Four: If only I was a celebrity...

    My thoughts for today...

    Wouldn't it be nice, if I were a celebrity, and had my own chef, and my own personal trainer, and a weight loss program willing to pay me - not that I'd need it, because I'd already be independently wealthy?


    Wouldn't it be great, if I could take off the next three months, and hide away at a "spa," and emerge a new, thin, fit person, who only eats tofu and fruit, and drinks organic juice?


    Wouldn't it be awesome, if I were one of those granola girls, who lived for yoga, and ran 3 miles every day, and wore only organic cotton tank tops, and volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, and baked chocolate chip cookies (but didn't eat any, ever)?


    And then I realize...no, that wouldn't be great.  I'd hate being a celebrity, with a camera trained on me 24/7, always worrying about what the world thinks.  It would be awful to hide away at a spa, or anywhere, without my family.  And, most of all, I really like chocolate chip cookies.

    This journey isn't about becoming some over-idealized version of myself, nor does it do me any good to sit and fret over what I don't have in my life.  Life is work - whether you're a celebrity or not.  And I like making my own meals.  I'm pretty sure I won't become one of those people who never eats anything unhealthy ever, ever, ever.  I don't think I'd like myself if I did.  What I want, what I hope to accomplish through this path, is to get control over my eating habits - to get my portions back to normal, to cut out the mindless or emotional eating, to reduce my fat-sugar-carb intake, and to get to a place where I can enjoy eating, knowing that 90% of the time I eat super healthy.  I want to get back into exercising everyday, not because I have to, but because I want to, because I really enjoy the feeling of lightness and strength that daily workouts bring.  


    My goals for today are simple:  To eat clean from 2-3pm (so with yesterday's goal that equals from 2-4pm) and to go for a walk.


    This journey is about becoming the person I want to be, the person I've always dreamed of being - not a celebrity or super-fit mega-star - but just me.  The very best possible version of me I can be.  So I guess the lesson for today is...



    Thursday, June 21, 2012

    Post 3: Does it Count if you Forget it's a Problem?

    Today's time frame was 3-4 pm.  I remembered at 4:20.  I succeeded, but only by default.  Is that the story of my life?

    What is success, really?

    If it is the accomplishment of a goal, does it matter if that achievement was accidental?  If  you set ridiculously low goals for yourself, is it still a success if you achieve them?

    In my life, there are remarkably few things I have worked very hard for and achieved.  1) Going back to and graduating from college.  2) Quitting smoking.   3)  Making all payments for my last vehicle on time and paying it off early.  4)  The super healthy pregnancy of my son.  5)  My marriage - constant work, but worth it.

    That's it.  35 years old and that's it.  It seems like a very sad little list, no?

    Everything else, all my other wishes, goals and dreams remain in a little box marked unfulfilled.  These are things as simple as "Devise a daily yoga practice," to "Finish novel."  These two, and all the others in between never seem to get completed because there is always something, or someone, else to attend to.  Life has a crazy way of sneaking up and taking over, you know?

    The only way I know to achieve something is to make it a total and complete priority, and not allow for any excuses or diversions.  And it is very hard to accomplish more than one major goal at a time, which just flat out bites, as there are always a hundred different things I want to accomplish - and all of them seem valid.  But to make this thing happen - to lose 100 pounds (yes, I said 100) - will take total dedication and commitment, and I really don't know if I'm there.  The negative voices are rallying and it's only the first day.

    So I have to remind myself:


    Post 2: As I Begin

    As I begin on this journey, there are a million thoughts running through my head.

    What if I can't do it?


    I'm so excited to be free of my cravings... (as I drink a soda)

    How many times have I tried this before?  And failed.


    Maybe I should just accept the fact that I will always be heavy...


    Really.  Why am I doing this again?


    I want this so much, but I just don't know if it's possible.  Is it possible for me?

    Most of my thoughts on the matter are negative.  It's in these moments I try very very hard to yell at those thoughts:


    SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!






    Wednesday, June 20, 2012

    Post 1: The Plan

    Step one:  Get myself ready for the CLEAN program.

    How am I going to do this?  One hour at a time, baby.  It's how I quit smoking, and if I can do that, then I can do this.

    How it works.  There are 24 hours in a day.  This plan will take 31 days to complete - the first 24 days, plus one maintenance week.  In the first 24 days, I will pick one hour per day to only eat foods from the Elimination Diet.  Then, once I pick that day, it will remain clean, and I'll build from there - point being - 24 days to 24 hours CLEAN!

    Of course, there are hours of the day that are usually spent for sleep.  These hours are good for days when you just can't stand the thought of adding in any more clean time, or when you are too busy to even think about it.  OR, if you planned an hour and then cheated, thus failing that hour.

    Day One is tomorrow, June 21st.  I don't suspect it will get tough for a while.  I'm totally going to take it easy in the beginning.  I'm not quite ready to give up my evening wine or my morning coffee.

    Day One time = 3-4pm
    This is the time I start thinking about dinner, and generally get caught in the trap of munching because I'm thinking about food, even though I know I should just wait.

    I've also been re-reading French Women Don't Get Fat, which is a great book to remind oneself about portion control and plain old common sense when it comes to food.

    And last - but never least - I am exercising a bit every day.