This week I have tried even more to use what is in the cupboards and pantry for meals. Monday while cooking a simple dinner of veggies, chicken, and wild rice, I also took the time to make a pearl barley soup. Super simple, and made for the next day - a big workout day for the both of us. It was actually fairly delicious in its simplicity.
Take 6 cups of beef broth or one container, bring to a boil and add 3/4 cup of pearled barley. Bring this down to a simmer, cover, and let it go for about 45 minutes. Add in half of a diced onion, some carrot rounds, and a few spices. We are partial to cumin and paprika in all that we do, so that was gladly added to the pot. Boil for another fifteen minutes or so till everything is tender. Voila! done. Serve with a piece of toast.
There has also been a little bit of forward movement in my fitness. My weight seems to be somewhere around 165. Hard to tell, but at least it is not around 170. I am also enjoying the mini high I have after working out at the gym three times a week. It helps alleviate some of my stresses from work, and clear my thoughts. Work has been a source of stress and complication for sometime. It is painfully obvious that this place is detrimental to my overall well being and forward progression. I never planned on staying here, but have found myself stuck because there is little to nothing that pays on the same scale. It is not great pay, in fact it is hardly good pay, but this region has a profound lack of jobs that pay between 12-20 an hour. I have kept a weathered eye on the horizon, so to speak, for new job opportunities. In the last year and a half I have applied at nearly 100 different places. Nothing has come of it. Until recently.
I have applied for a position that would not only double my pay, but would give me full benefits and actually challenge me. Open applications ended last Friday, and of last night they have eliminated 6 of the 30 applicants. I am still in the running, and it is nerve wracking to say the least. I tried to speak about myself in a positive light. Touch on the good and wonderful, and unique parts of myself. Only time will tell if I can at least get the interview. Right now that is my goal, get an interview. Till then I am trying to believe in Karma, and only send out positive things into the universe, act positively towards others, and simply keep an upbeat attitude.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
inspiration from where?
Kid President has this to say.....
and I agree.
20. Thank You - And not just on Thanksgiving. Yes, I should say it more, for random things, for little things, and big things too, to the people that are closest to me, and those that are strangers.
19. Excuse me - and I am working on not saying it sarcastically. No more 'excuse me' with the wrong inflection and head wobble that really means "I can't believe you just f'ing said that".
18. Here is a surprise corn dog I bought you because you are my friend - okay... insert anything where it says corn dog. Point is, I need to be even more giving.
17. I'm sorry - I have been working on this one. Saying it more, but not saying it without feeling.
16. I forgive you - meh, I am a pretty forgiving person, so yay! One full point for me!
15. You can do it! - Work on this everyday at practice. Working on saying it to myself too.
14. I've got bbq sauce on my shirt too - humility, humble, compassionate, whatever you want to call it, I am working on being more understanding of others situations.
13. Please - simple word with so much power, need to say it in a good manner.
12. Everything is going to be okay - yep, again, need to remember that sometimes people are having a bad time, sometimes they don't show it.
11. Ah you got me a corn dog too!? - Be appreciative of the little things people do for you.
10. I don't know - this is hard for me, I am ready to admit when I don't know, but people fail to see it for what it is. Instead of seeing it as me being open to learn, and actively showing that I am not bs'ing you to your face, they see it as a weakness and dismiss me.
9. You're so awesome I named my dog/boat after you - meh, my dog is pretty cool. But, take away from it that I should think about how little moments can inspire others. How you never know who will name their kid after you, because of one moment over a decade ago. (happened to me)
8. Hello person I never met before, here is a high five - YES!
7. My sports team is not always the best sports team - yah..... but we are some of the funnest and classiest out there!
6. Nothing - ____________________
5. Fart sounds - hahahahha remember to laugh....
4. I disagree with you but I respect you [shortened version] - I try to keep this in mind all of the time, about how to compromise and become better as a whole, not just myself.
3. SCREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM - YEP
2. Life is tough, but so are you. - YES YES
1. something nice - yes, yes yes yes. Thank you kid president!
and I agree.
20. Thank You - And not just on Thanksgiving. Yes, I should say it more, for random things, for little things, and big things too, to the people that are closest to me, and those that are strangers.
19. Excuse me - and I am working on not saying it sarcastically. No more 'excuse me' with the wrong inflection and head wobble that really means "I can't believe you just f'ing said that".
18. Here is a surprise corn dog I bought you because you are my friend - okay... insert anything where it says corn dog. Point is, I need to be even more giving.
17. I'm sorry - I have been working on this one. Saying it more, but not saying it without feeling.
16. I forgive you - meh, I am a pretty forgiving person, so yay! One full point for me!
15. You can do it! - Work on this everyday at practice. Working on saying it to myself too.
14. I've got bbq sauce on my shirt too - humility, humble, compassionate, whatever you want to call it, I am working on being more understanding of others situations.
13. Please - simple word with so much power, need to say it in a good manner.
12. Everything is going to be okay - yep, again, need to remember that sometimes people are having a bad time, sometimes they don't show it.
11. Ah you got me a corn dog too!? - Be appreciative of the little things people do for you.
10. I don't know - this is hard for me, I am ready to admit when I don't know, but people fail to see it for what it is. Instead of seeing it as me being open to learn, and actively showing that I am not bs'ing you to your face, they see it as a weakness and dismiss me.
9. You're so awesome I named my dog/boat after you - meh, my dog is pretty cool. But, take away from it that I should think about how little moments can inspire others. How you never know who will name their kid after you, because of one moment over a decade ago. (happened to me)
8. Hello person I never met before, here is a high five - YES!
7. My sports team is not always the best sports team - yah..... but we are some of the funnest and classiest out there!
6. Nothing - ____________________
5. Fart sounds - hahahahha remember to laugh....
4. I disagree with you but I respect you [shortened version] - I try to keep this in mind all of the time, about how to compromise and become better as a whole, not just myself.
3. SCREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM - YEP
2. Life is tough, but so are you. - YES YES
1. something nice - yes, yes yes yes. Thank you kid president!
Monday, January 27, 2014
Wins, Wine and Wattles
It was a good match, and our girls did admirably. Not only did we win, but we stayed together, played well, and had a great time. I may be officially jealous of our opponents practice space. Being a smaller and less established team then us, it simply baffles me how they are able to support such a large overhead. But, as a good friend points out, being envious is not a suitable use of time. They will either be unable to sustain themselves at the facility, or they will and we can learn something from them. Sometimes I do not want to be the bigger person, I don't want to be the person that bites my tongue and offers only encouragement. Sometimes I want to be the petulant immature gal that feels envy and says nasty things. It seems like it would be so much easier. After the bout I went with a few friends to Seattle and spent the evening drinking wine and dancing at one of our usual hangouts. It is funny to call it our usual hangout when it is so far away, but we make a point of going once a month and just being us and doing our own thing. While it was a lot of fun, it did mean that I didn't get home till about 3:30 Saturday morning, and my body was exhausted. The boy and I did some shopping, and some minor chores.... ok... actually he did most of the work, I just napped in the glorious afternoon sunshine. That evening it was off to the neighbors for a little friendly get together, replete with more wine.
Over dinner they told us they were going to be trimming up the apple trees in the orchard. I quickly jumped in and said I would love to have the long thin sticks they would be removing. It would be perfect for the wattle fence I want to install along the bottom of the garden to keep the bunnies out. YAY!
a
Friday, January 24, 2014
Frustrations and First Bout Preperations
Last night right before practice there was a nice little convergence of emotions that resulted in a little personal downward spiral. Yes, I have been working out and doing my best to stay motivated, but I have not seen any tangible improvement. So the negative-nelly side of me is saying that it is a pointless endeavor, and that no matter what I do it wont work so just give up. The positive-polly side is quiet, but the rational.... uhm ralph side of me says: "Ok, Break it down bitch!" I am not seeing improvement, so there is only one of a handful of possible explanations. (or a combination of them)
1. I am simply not doing enough and need to work harder
2. I am lying to myself about how hard I am working, and in fact am sabotaging myself
3. There is an unknown chemical/biological factor
Sound like deja-vu? No? Well it should, I talked about it a few posts ago. It isn't far from my brain, and I keep trying to think only constructively. Last night tho, the negative side was winning the internal battle, and I was just feeling down and frustrated. Add on to it noticing that a few of my peers were seeing drastic improvements. I realize that I should not compare myself to others and their progress, and also realize that people lie to themselves as much as to everyone else. For example one of them was a person who is grossly overweight (I am going to assume in the 270 range at my height) and has just recently come off of a major knee injury. She is proudly boasting that she ran a mile and a half in 15 minutes. Or the overweight binge eater that is at least athletic, but thinks Cheetos are a meal, and boasts how she lost 5 pounds in the last two weeks. I know .... I know it isn't rationale for me to even think about comparing myself to these obvious lies, but it is hard when I feel as if I am actually working for it and not seeing any result. Add in to this little convergence, the same feeling of 'no reward' across a few other aspects of my life and I just felt like throwing in the towel.
I am ever so thankful that my guy has shown nothing but support for me, he makes a point of telling me how beautiful I am, and that he sees both my struggle and my progression. I can only imagine how difficult it is for people in the same position with a person in their life that is not as supportive.
But that is all behind me, because today I am in my bout preparation mode. It is time for me to think of my motto "calm, humble, compassionate", and our team motto "strong, focused, together", and about goals. It is also where I need to step up and be a leader on the track. I hope to do that tonight, I hope to be the strong person that people need to be around, I hope to inspire people, and I hope that I live up to my own expectations.
1. I am simply not doing enough and need to work harder
2. I am lying to myself about how hard I am working, and in fact am sabotaging myself
3. There is an unknown chemical/biological factor
Sound like deja-vu? No? Well it should, I talked about it a few posts ago. It isn't far from my brain, and I keep trying to think only constructively. Last night tho, the negative side was winning the internal battle, and I was just feeling down and frustrated. Add on to it noticing that a few of my peers were seeing drastic improvements. I realize that I should not compare myself to others and their progress, and also realize that people lie to themselves as much as to everyone else. For example one of them was a person who is grossly overweight (I am going to assume in the 270 range at my height) and has just recently come off of a major knee injury. She is proudly boasting that she ran a mile and a half in 15 minutes. Or the overweight binge eater that is at least athletic, but thinks Cheetos are a meal, and boasts how she lost 5 pounds in the last two weeks. I know .... I know it isn't rationale for me to even think about comparing myself to these obvious lies, but it is hard when I feel as if I am actually working for it and not seeing any result. Add in to this little convergence, the same feeling of 'no reward' across a few other aspects of my life and I just felt like throwing in the towel.
I am ever so thankful that my guy has shown nothing but support for me, he makes a point of telling me how beautiful I am, and that he sees both my struggle and my progression. I can only imagine how difficult it is for people in the same position with a person in their life that is not as supportive.
But that is all behind me, because today I am in my bout preparation mode. It is time for me to think of my motto "calm, humble, compassionate", and our team motto "strong, focused, together", and about goals. It is also where I need to step up and be a leader on the track. I hope to do that tonight, I hope to be the strong person that people need to be around, I hope to inspire people, and I hope that I live up to my own expectations.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
First test of the season - Leadership
Tomorrow is the first bout of the season for my roller derby team. Last year we grew so much that we have been able to split the team into a rough version of 'varsity' and 'junior varsity'. Since there is not truly a full amount to field full rosters for both teams, there are a few of us that are floating between the two. While I am officially an 'A' team skater (varsity), I will be stepping in to help some of the B team bouts here and there, and this first bout of the season is actually a B team bout against our nearest neighbors. Those of us veteran skaters that will be rounding out the roster are not supposed to be superstars of the B team, we are supposed to be the support for our up and coming skaters. It's a mindset that will benefit everyone, both A and B.
The division of the teams and my personal position has caused me to think about my personal motivations and goals a little bit more keenly. Thus explaining part of the last ten posts all from this year about motivation and fitness. I am an incidental leader. Rarely am I the first to offer up myself to lead a group or take charge in a certain direction. I do not sit idly by, but I realize that there is a position for me as second in command, or slightly behind the scenes. When no one steps up tho, I willingly offer my services and try to help in a leadership position. In the past it has come relatively easily, but I recognize that it is in part because I am stepping up into a vaccum, and the bar is set moderately low.
In the last few months, I have had a 'slump' in my leadership capabilities. Part of it stems from a series of events last spring and summer that really shook my confidence and emotional stability. Dealing with a narcissist that nearly destroyed the team (or at least it felt like it at the time), followed by a devastating injury that made me question if I would be able to continue playing derby, left me shattered and sustaining the position instead of progressing it.
Tuesday night on my drive home from practice I was listening to my local NPR's TED talks Radio hour. The focus for that evening was 'Leadership'. A quote really stood out for me:
"It is so scary to think of ourselves as that powerful, it can be frightening to think that we can matter that much to other people. Because as long as we think leadership is something bigger than us, as long as we keep leadership as something beyond us, as long as we make it about changing the world, we give ourselves an excuse not to expect it everyday from ourselves and from each other. "
I am not sure why this triggered some things in my brain. It is not that I have not been aware that my leadership skills are lacking, and that I need to up my ante. I just have been living in a stasis up to this point. Still thinking, but hopefully actually acting.
The division of the teams and my personal position has caused me to think about my personal motivations and goals a little bit more keenly. Thus explaining part of the last ten posts all from this year about motivation and fitness. I am an incidental leader. Rarely am I the first to offer up myself to lead a group or take charge in a certain direction. I do not sit idly by, but I realize that there is a position for me as second in command, or slightly behind the scenes. When no one steps up tho, I willingly offer my services and try to help in a leadership position. In the past it has come relatively easily, but I recognize that it is in part because I am stepping up into a vaccum, and the bar is set moderately low.
In the last few months, I have had a 'slump' in my leadership capabilities. Part of it stems from a series of events last spring and summer that really shook my confidence and emotional stability. Dealing with a narcissist that nearly destroyed the team (or at least it felt like it at the time), followed by a devastating injury that made me question if I would be able to continue playing derby, left me shattered and sustaining the position instead of progressing it.
Tuesday night on my drive home from practice I was listening to my local NPR's TED talks Radio hour. The focus for that evening was 'Leadership'. A quote really stood out for me:
"It is so scary to think of ourselves as that powerful, it can be frightening to think that we can matter that much to other people. Because as long as we think leadership is something bigger than us, as long as we keep leadership as something beyond us, as long as we make it about changing the world, we give ourselves an excuse not to expect it everyday from ourselves and from each other. "
I am not sure why this triggered some things in my brain. It is not that I have not been aware that my leadership skills are lacking, and that I need to up my ante. I just have been living in a stasis up to this point. Still thinking, but hopefully actually acting.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Status Update
In my check off grid at work (a 7x12 grid) I have 20 boxes filled in since 12/13/13. Ten of those are since the new year. Since today is the 21st, that means that I have been working out nearly every other day. Starting weight at the beginning of the year 168-170. Current weight 166-168. It is difficult with the fluctuations in my female body to tell if this is true weight loss or if this is 'water weight'. Lets assume that things are positive.... and lets assume that it is a structural loss of 3 lbs. That means that I have lost about a pound a week, and overall that is keeping on par, but slightly below what I want. Right now I am aiming for 1.5 lbs a week.
(Taking a break to look at my 1/2 gallon jug of water, and drink a full glass worth in one shot, about 8oz and do ten explosive squats)
I would like to say that I am celebrating this as a success. That I notice a difference, but I don't. It is really difficult to not attribute the weight loss to my normal fluctuation associated with my menstrual cycle. During the summer I can fluctuate about 4lbs, and during the winter I have seen that go as high as a ten pound difference. It has also only been 20 days, so it is hard to say that I would feel or see any significant improvement without drastic measures. What I have been doing is hardly drastic, it is sustaining.
Next step, cut down heavy grains even more, and up the work out intensity by 10%.
Today's meals: Breakfast - 1/4 cup of Butternut squash, less than a 1/4 cup of rice, 1/2 serving of ham sauteed and salted with a tortilla. Coffee
Lunch: 1 serving of vanilla yogurt (120 cal) with a drizzle of agave nectar (20 cal) and some home made granola (250 cal), two cups of tea.
Snack: 1.5 servings of chips, 4 small pieces of toast with spinach & artichoke spread
Dinner: 1 serving of crab Ravioli, 1 cup of steamed veggies.
(Taking a break to look at my 1/2 gallon jug of water, and drink a full glass worth in one shot, about 8oz and do ten explosive squats)
I would like to say that I am celebrating this as a success. That I notice a difference, but I don't. It is really difficult to not attribute the weight loss to my normal fluctuation associated with my menstrual cycle. During the summer I can fluctuate about 4lbs, and during the winter I have seen that go as high as a ten pound difference. It has also only been 20 days, so it is hard to say that I would feel or see any significant improvement without drastic measures. What I have been doing is hardly drastic, it is sustaining. Next step, cut down heavy grains even more, and up the work out intensity by 10%.
Today's meals: Breakfast - 1/4 cup of Butternut squash, less than a 1/4 cup of rice, 1/2 serving of ham sauteed and salted with a tortilla. Coffee
Lunch: 1 serving of vanilla yogurt (120 cal) with a drizzle of agave nectar (20 cal) and some home made granola (250 cal), two cups of tea.
Snack: 1.5 servings of chips, 4 small pieces of toast with spinach & artichoke spread
Dinner: 1 serving of crab Ravioli, 1 cup of steamed veggies.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Nearly forgot it was January
This little rash of cold weather reminds me that we have roughly a cord of wood at the house left to burn to keep us heated through the winter. Since sadly the home we live in, while beautiful and overlooking an amazing landscape, was built as really only a summer home, it means that the heating bill can be upwards of $300 a month during the coldest months. As you can imagine this is a horrible strain on the pocket book, when the summer months only cost us $30. (and that is WITH a green energy purchase) There is nothing we can realistically do about it, other than burn wood instead of burn electricity via the base boards. As a house warming gift when we moved in over a year ago, mom and J gave us a set of finely sharpened axes. A welcome addition to when you need to do a bit of splitting for kindling. Tonight I will be working up a sweat when I get home by splitting a weeks worth of kindling, before heading out for Roller Derby practice.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Weekends are f'ree?
This weekend we were out of town, which usually means that eating habits get thrown out the window. Add in to some personal issues and I was perhaps at my most grumpiest when it came to food. All I wanted was a steak, and some deep fried goodies, and if both were smeared in dark chocolate, I would be all the better. In the previous post I mentioned how there was some forethought to preparing and taking food along with us, and generally we did good. (I fought those cravings! and maybe splurged a little). Food issues aside, I was happy to find that there was a gym in the hotel we were staying at. 5 min warmup on the elliptical followed by a shortened version of Zuzka's HIIT workout. I felt the squats later during our pairs kite performance.
Anyways, lets bring this blog back to the gardening side of the house; as I am sure by this point you are simply annoyed with my fitness and weight posts. It is winter, what can I tell you.
Friday evening before we left there was a nice package on the doorstep from Territorial Seed Company. Since we were in a rush I didn't get a chance to open them, but they were waiting for me when we returned. I am not sure how to describe how it feels to open up the package and neatly arrange each little seed packet. Each with it's own beautiful hand drawn picture of the vegetable on the cover. Yes this is about $55 of seeds, which seems like an awful lot for so little, but this represents potentially 2 years of vegetable garden growing. Or put in a different light, nearly 300-400 lbs of food.
In the next month we will be building the raised garden beds, and starting some of the hardier starts indoors.
Anyways, lets bring this blog back to the gardening side of the house; as I am sure by this point you are simply annoyed with my fitness and weight posts. It is winter, what can I tell you.
Friday evening before we left there was a nice package on the doorstep from Territorial Seed Company. Since we were in a rush I didn't get a chance to open them, but they were waiting for me when we returned. I am not sure how to describe how it feels to open up the package and neatly arrange each little seed packet. Each with it's own beautiful hand drawn picture of the vegetable on the cover. Yes this is about $55 of seeds, which seems like an awful lot for so little, but this represents potentially 2 years of vegetable garden growing. Or put in a different light, nearly 300-400 lbs of food. In the next month we will be building the raised garden beds, and starting some of the hardier starts indoors.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Caloric intake and couscous
So, by best guess using various BMR calculators I use between 1400-1700 calories a day just living. To get to my target weight of 154, that means I have to consume about 1500-1700 calories a day. There is a lot of actual research behind this, but for simplicity sake we will say that I need to eat a sustaining diet, but work out to deplete the reserves. Then my little muscles get bigger and eat the fat. Fairly simple right?
1500 calories as all the intake!? Good lord, has my world just ended? I am a person that is susceptible to that horrible disease that manifests itself as me being 'hangry'. Not familiar with this term? Well, it is what happens when someone is so hungry, they are angry. Symptoms can range from an inability to focus on tasks and be productive, to downright mean and ready to stab people for a bagel. (I am known for being horribly hangry when I tried to go gluten free for 2 weeks) Still don't know what I am talking about? Replace the word 'hangry' with PMS, and perhaps it will make more sense. WOO!
Wednesday I made couscous for dinner, then used some for lunch on Thursday. It left about 2-3 cups left over in the pot. Healthy? Yes. Good base? Yes. Too much? yes. Crap.
So recipes to use all of the left overs before the end of the week.
1/2 cup of Couscous - 1 cup of steamed vegetables - tab of butter - spices
1 cup of Couscous - 1 egg, and 1 egg yolk, spices, some parmesan, sprinkle with flour - mold and fry in cakes
1/2 cup of Couscous - scrambled eggs, sauteed onions/mushrooms, spices,
Today after work we leave on a road trip for the weekend, and that means that eating usually goes out the window. Frustrating, but, as always I am preparing and trying to do my best. I packed some road snacks, mindful that for simplicity sake they are carbohydrate heavy. The pack list for two:
Baggie of home made jerky, and spiced nuts
Baggie of tortilla chips
Baggie of carrots
some cheese and crackers
Blueberry juice for me, v8 fruit juices for him.
1500 calories as all the intake!? Good lord, has my world just ended? I am a person that is susceptible to that horrible disease that manifests itself as me being 'hangry'. Not familiar with this term? Well, it is what happens when someone is so hungry, they are angry. Symptoms can range from an inability to focus on tasks and be productive, to downright mean and ready to stab people for a bagel. (I am known for being horribly hangry when I tried to go gluten free for 2 weeks) Still don't know what I am talking about? Replace the word 'hangry' with PMS, and perhaps it will make more sense. WOO!
Wednesday I made couscous for dinner, then used some for lunch on Thursday. It left about 2-3 cups left over in the pot. Healthy? Yes. Good base? Yes. Too much? yes. Crap.
So recipes to use all of the left overs before the end of the week.
1/2 cup of Couscous - 1 cup of steamed vegetables - tab of butter - spices
1 cup of Couscous - 1 egg, and 1 egg yolk, spices, some parmesan, sprinkle with flour - mold and fry in cakes
1/2 cup of Couscous - scrambled eggs, sauteed onions/mushrooms, spices,
Today after work we leave on a road trip for the weekend, and that means that eating usually goes out the window. Frustrating, but, as always I am preparing and trying to do my best. I packed some road snacks, mindful that for simplicity sake they are carbohydrate heavy. The pack list for two:
Baggie of home made jerky, and spiced nuts
Baggie of tortilla chips
Baggie of carrots
some cheese and crackers
Blueberry juice for me, v8 fruit juices for him.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Motivational Woes
It has been a month since I started the new workouts at the gym, and there are about 17 checks in my daily check off grid. A simple way to remind myself of how far I have to go, and how I am getting there. That equates to roughly a workout every other day, of some sort or fashion. I wish I could say I have seen improvement, but I haven't. I feel some improvement, like having cut down some of my run time on the treadmill. There is doubt that it is true improvement. It would be nice to chalk that up to my working out and getting faster and stronger. The more likely truth is that my body was just figuring itself out and tuning in accordingly. So it isn't that I got faster, I just got a little better.
When I was at my top physical condition and taking run clinics to improve my form, the best I had on a track was around a 11 minute mile. I run like a duck, my joints do not align, and it takes a heap of concentration to keep proper form. (waddle waddle waddle QUACK! shit... I fell) People talk about a 12 minute mile being exceptionally slow, and shocked that people can't meet that standard. I keep silent, and die a little inside. Sub 12 minutes and I am sprinting for nearly that whole time; ending the run not in a triumphant blaze of glory, but a sweating mess attempting to hold back some projectile vomit.
There has also not been any weight loss or reduction in my 'size'. It is disheartening. If I work out this much, and relatively watch what I eat ( no fast/junk food, moderate portion control, and basic ingredients) then my first response is WHAT THE HELL DO I NEED TO DO? So overwhelming and frustrating, but after a sip of coffee and a look at the fog rolling across the field outside and I find myself a bit of clarity. There are two options I face.
1. I either need to up my game and push myself harder
or
2. I am lying to myself about the level of work I am doing.
or
3. Both 1 and 2
I loathe to admit that chances are it is 3. The thought of placing more energy into this endeavor makes my head hurt and the proverbial towel begging to be thrown towards the 'in' bin. At the same time, I think of the food I am eating, and the amount of working out I am doing and wonder if I say I am doing more than I physically am doing.
Writing this, helps a little with my motivational slump. Not a lot, but enough. Here is to the next 15 days, lets hope by the end of the month I see a 5 pound loss, a two inch drop, and a speed increase.
Meals for today: breakfast was tortilla, two strips of bacon, 4 asparagus, and an egg with a cup of coffee.
Lunch: 1/2 a serving of red meat, 1/3 cup of couscous with a pad of butter, 1/3 cup mixed veggies.
Afternoon treat - 1 piece of fudge 2 cups of tea
Dinner: 1 cup of coucous mixed with onion, carrots, peas and zucchini. Dash of curry ketchup. and 1 vanilla yogurt, coconut milk, blueberry smoothie.
When I was at my top physical condition and taking run clinics to improve my form, the best I had on a track was around a 11 minute mile. I run like a duck, my joints do not align, and it takes a heap of concentration to keep proper form. (waddle waddle waddle QUACK! shit... I fell) People talk about a 12 minute mile being exceptionally slow, and shocked that people can't meet that standard. I keep silent, and die a little inside. Sub 12 minutes and I am sprinting for nearly that whole time; ending the run not in a triumphant blaze of glory, but a sweating mess attempting to hold back some projectile vomit.
There has also not been any weight loss or reduction in my 'size'. It is disheartening. If I work out this much, and relatively watch what I eat ( no fast/junk food, moderate portion control, and basic ingredients) then my first response is WHAT THE HELL DO I NEED TO DO? So overwhelming and frustrating, but after a sip of coffee and a look at the fog rolling across the field outside and I find myself a bit of clarity. There are two options I face.
1. I either need to up my game and push myself harder
or
2. I am lying to myself about the level of work I am doing.
or
3. Both 1 and 2
I loathe to admit that chances are it is 3. The thought of placing more energy into this endeavor makes my head hurt and the proverbial towel begging to be thrown towards the 'in' bin. At the same time, I think of the food I am eating, and the amount of working out I am doing and wonder if I say I am doing more than I physically am doing.
Writing this, helps a little with my motivational slump. Not a lot, but enough. Here is to the next 15 days, lets hope by the end of the month I see a 5 pound loss, a two inch drop, and a speed increase.
Meals for today: breakfast was tortilla, two strips of bacon, 4 asparagus, and an egg with a cup of coffee.
Lunch: 1/2 a serving of red meat, 1/3 cup of couscous with a pad of butter, 1/3 cup mixed veggies.
Afternoon treat - 1 piece of fudge 2 cups of tea
Dinner: 1 cup of coucous mixed with onion, carrots, peas and zucchini. Dash of curry ketchup. and 1 vanilla yogurt, coconut milk, blueberry smoothie.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Time..... keeps on ticking
It has been a busy week. With the start of my roller derby teams season, we are in full swing for recruiting, strategizing, and getting back up to speed for our first bout at the end of the month. It also means that if I didn't give myself some leeway, my schedule would look like this: (these include travel times)
Sun - 10-11 meet with derby girl, 7-9pm indoor practice
Mon - work 7:30-4, 4-5 gym,5:30-8:30 meeting
Tue - work 7:30-4:30, derby 6:30-10
Wed - work 7:30-4, 4-5 gym, 6:30-9:30 meeting (not going so I can spend quality time with the boy)
Thur -work 7:30-4:30, derby 6:30-10
fri - work 7:30-4, drive to Long Beach, WA for the weekend.
sat-sun Performance
EEP! It isn't technically a ton of things, but it is a lot of time. Especially when you consider my sleep schedule has me in bed from about 10-10:30pm to 6:50am. This means that I have to use most of my time for multiple things. If my body is doing something, my brain can do another.... right? Yes and no. If I am doing derby, I better be focused on my skating or I get hurt. Yet, I can use my work out time at the gym to decompress from work and think about things for the immediate future. A double edged sword since working out makes me naturally happier and more positive, and being positive helps solve some problems creatively. While I am at work, I tend to spend most of my down time doing research for the garden, flipping through images, and working out some of the details of running the business side of the derby team. (Being president has it's advantages and disadvantages, mainly it takes a LOT of my time)
Work takes up the majority of my day, and there are various issues I have with it. The pay isn't great, there are virtually no benefits, and I am stuck staring at a computer all day. It is very easy for me to get trapped into a negative cycle and feel down about it. Down right hate it at times, yet, I keep trying to stay positive. I hate sitting all day, so I took away my chair and instead stand at my desk. Next to the computer screen sits a jar of mini exercises that I can do at my desk in a minute; that keeps me active. The other upsides? Big picture window that looks across the pavement to a field that during the spring and summer is full of sheep, my dog is sleeping on a pillow next to me, and.... I have free internet to do all of my research.
In this above situation it is difficult to eat healthy, downright a pain in the ass sometimes. Breakfast is easy enough, and I have taken to really enjoying making it every morning. While it is cooking away I try to make lunch for both the Dutch Boy and myself. Usually it is a mix of leftovers, or nuts and jerky, or cheese and crackers. ( I try to make salads for myself) Dinner, is a crap shoot. We have gotten a lot better, and generally we make dinner 3 nights a week if not four. Considering we are both gone two nights a week, that really isn't all that bad for our lifestyle. Sadly tho, bread, pasta, and other wheat products are the backbone of most of those meals. While I love a bagel, and nearly killed people the two weeks that I tried to be gluten free, the amount of heavy carbs in our diet is troubling and we are trying to cut down. It is so difficult tho! All of the 'other meals' require either lots of time, or degrees in chemistry with a dash of alchemy. Sigh. Planning ahead a month in advance helps a little bit, and I am trying to chip away here and there. Like with this homemade jerky. The market had this meat on sale for $2 a pound, for a total of $9. Plus the roughly $7 in seasoning and marinade, and we have enough jerky (finished product on the right) to last for a few months. Lets for simplicity sake say that it cost $20 to make. Supposedly a 'serving size' is 1.5 pieces. Most bags of jerky purchased at the store have about 10-15 pieces. Each bag can cost anywhere from $5-$10.
So homemade jerky: Cost $20, Store bout equivalent: $40 *super rough estimate.
Next up, I am going to try and make a few one pot meals and freeze them ahead of time for the month. Research to do: Once A Month Meals.
Sun - 10-11 meet with derby girl, 7-9pm indoor practice
Mon - work 7:30-4, 4-5 gym,5:30-8:30 meeting
Tue - work 7:30-4:30, derby 6:30-10
Wed - work 7:30-4, 4-5 gym, 6:30-9:30 meeting (not going so I can spend quality time with the boy)
Thur -work 7:30-4:30, derby 6:30-10
fri - work 7:30-4, drive to Long Beach, WA for the weekend.
sat-sun Performance
EEP! It isn't technically a ton of things, but it is a lot of time. Especially when you consider my sleep schedule has me in bed from about 10-10:30pm to 6:50am. This means that I have to use most of my time for multiple things. If my body is doing something, my brain can do another.... right? Yes and no. If I am doing derby, I better be focused on my skating or I get hurt. Yet, I can use my work out time at the gym to decompress from work and think about things for the immediate future. A double edged sword since working out makes me naturally happier and more positive, and being positive helps solve some problems creatively. While I am at work, I tend to spend most of my down time doing research for the garden, flipping through images, and working out some of the details of running the business side of the derby team. (Being president has it's advantages and disadvantages, mainly it takes a LOT of my time)
Work takes up the majority of my day, and there are various issues I have with it. The pay isn't great, there are virtually no benefits, and I am stuck staring at a computer all day. It is very easy for me to get trapped into a negative cycle and feel down about it. Down right hate it at times, yet, I keep trying to stay positive. I hate sitting all day, so I took away my chair and instead stand at my desk. Next to the computer screen sits a jar of mini exercises that I can do at my desk in a minute; that keeps me active. The other upsides? Big picture window that looks across the pavement to a field that during the spring and summer is full of sheep, my dog is sleeping on a pillow next to me, and.... I have free internet to do all of my research.
In this above situation it is difficult to eat healthy, downright a pain in the ass sometimes. Breakfast is easy enough, and I have taken to really enjoying making it every morning. While it is cooking away I try to make lunch for both the Dutch Boy and myself. Usually it is a mix of leftovers, or nuts and jerky, or cheese and crackers. ( I try to make salads for myself) Dinner, is a crap shoot. We have gotten a lot better, and generally we make dinner 3 nights a week if not four. Considering we are both gone two nights a week, that really isn't all that bad for our lifestyle. Sadly tho, bread, pasta, and other wheat products are the backbone of most of those meals. While I love a bagel, and nearly killed people the two weeks that I tried to be gluten free, the amount of heavy carbs in our diet is troubling and we are trying to cut down. It is so difficult tho! All of the 'other meals' require either lots of time, or degrees in chemistry with a dash of alchemy. Sigh. Planning ahead a month in advance helps a little bit, and I am trying to chip away here and there. Like with this homemade jerky. The market had this meat on sale for $2 a pound, for a total of $9. Plus the roughly $7 in seasoning and marinade, and we have enough jerky (finished product on the right) to last for a few months. Lets for simplicity sake say that it cost $20 to make. Supposedly a 'serving size' is 1.5 pieces. Most bags of jerky purchased at the store have about 10-15 pieces. Each bag can cost anywhere from $5-$10.
So homemade jerky: Cost $20, Store bout equivalent: $40 *super rough estimate.
Next up, I am going to try and make a few one pot meals and freeze them ahead of time for the month. Research to do: Once A Month Meals.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Moan-day, Rainy-day, blues-day
Was a rather active weekend. Thinking more about the garden, finally sending the check in for my seed order ($60), and pricing out options at the local hardware store. Sometime last week I had posted on the local craigslist that I was in search of 5 gallon buckets. Today I checked my email, and there were a few responses as to where I could find free ones, both 5 and 8 gallon size! My thought process is that they can be used for safe container gardening of highly reproductive and invasive plants like Jerusalem Artichoke. (a nutty tuber that is actually related to a sunflower, and has nothing to do with it's pokey namesake) It will also expand the garden growing space outside of the actual garden, without requiring any buildup.
As the garden now stands -excluding the containers on the deck and the potential 5 gallon buckets- I will have, at best, 190 sq feet of growing space. This really is not a lot. In fact, this hardly is enough for a simple cottage summer kitchen garden. While it alleviates some of my issues about complexity and multi-season gardening, it wont meet the needs that I have set out for myself. At best guess for our household, we need about 1,000 sq ft of garden space to provide enough vegetables for the majority of the year. We do not own the property and in combination with the HOA rules bootstrapping us, this simply is not a realistic size for me to achieve. (albeit we would no longer have a yard that needs mowing, and instead a garden that needs eating!)
So I am breaking down my basic issue here: SPACE, and we are not talking about the final frontier. How do I create more growing space, without taking up more ground space and potentially pissing off the neighbors? Well, let me be honest, we have GREAT neighbors. In fact they were over for a little potluck at the house on Saturday, and we just chatted, hung out, and I told them about the bees that will be coming soon. It was so nice to have a relaxed friendly time with those that physically live so close to us. I also know a secret weapon in the good-neighbor-relations that my grandmother taught me - sharing your bounty and not your workload will bring you closer together. This is not to say to not share the workload, but when your neighbor says "eat as much as you want from my garden that I worked so hard on", they think nothing of coming over and giving you a hand when you need to split a cord of wood.
This means that my neighbors mean a lot to me when it comes to the planning of the garden. B and M's bedroom is about ten feet from it, and B and A look down on it from their home. So a sloppy haphazard garden is out of the question. At no point do I want them to look out their windows and see 50 buckets and a bunch of blue tarps holding things together. I would care less if we owned the land and were up in the middle of the woods.
My plan is to line the south side of the garden with the buckets of Jerusalem Artichokes, and to build up vertically along some of the fence posts. While I will reserve a fence post spot for the bee house, I am looking into building simple rails between the posts to support some flowers and herbs. Please excuse this horrible drawing of what I am talking about.
As the garden now stands -excluding the containers on the deck and the potential 5 gallon buckets- I will have, at best, 190 sq feet of growing space. This really is not a lot. In fact, this hardly is enough for a simple cottage summer kitchen garden. While it alleviates some of my issues about complexity and multi-season gardening, it wont meet the needs that I have set out for myself. At best guess for our household, we need about 1,000 sq ft of garden space to provide enough vegetables for the majority of the year. We do not own the property and in combination with the HOA rules bootstrapping us, this simply is not a realistic size for me to achieve. (albeit we would no longer have a yard that needs mowing, and instead a garden that needs eating!)
So I am breaking down my basic issue here: SPACE, and we are not talking about the final frontier. How do I create more growing space, without taking up more ground space and potentially pissing off the neighbors? Well, let me be honest, we have GREAT neighbors. In fact they were over for a little potluck at the house on Saturday, and we just chatted, hung out, and I told them about the bees that will be coming soon. It was so nice to have a relaxed friendly time with those that physically live so close to us. I also know a secret weapon in the good-neighbor-relations that my grandmother taught me - sharing your bounty and not your workload will bring you closer together. This is not to say to not share the workload, but when your neighbor says "eat as much as you want from my garden that I worked so hard on", they think nothing of coming over and giving you a hand when you need to split a cord of wood.
This means that my neighbors mean a lot to me when it comes to the planning of the garden. B and M's bedroom is about ten feet from it, and B and A look down on it from their home. So a sloppy haphazard garden is out of the question. At no point do I want them to look out their windows and see 50 buckets and a bunch of blue tarps holding things together. I would care less if we owned the land and were up in the middle of the woods. My plan is to line the south side of the garden with the buckets of Jerusalem Artichokes, and to build up vertically along some of the fence posts. While I will reserve a fence post spot for the bee house, I am looking into building simple rails between the posts to support some flowers and herbs. Please excuse this horrible drawing of what I am talking about.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Workouts and workins?
This isn't a new years resolution, this is something that has been in the works. The fact that the season for my roller derby team happens to be coinciding with the new year.... means that I can ride the tide of other peoples motivations. It does mean that the gym is full of people that are striving to be stronger and better, and being around that is intoxicating and uplifting in a way.
I also know I am not a crazy workout person, although I have been in the past. There was a point when I was in the Navy that I weighed nearly 200 pounds. My weight was a symptom of a bad mash up of a horrible sleep schedule, moods and emotions were fluctuating across the board, and eating all of the foods of the deep south. After being bored on a deployment to the middle east, I started working out, and I did it all the dang time. Fast forward to the my return to the states and I worked out at the gym like crazy. BAM, the pounds melted away and I was hovering around 154. Happy, and eating a ton. Fast forward again nearly a decade and while I do derby twice a week, my fitness is not where it should be.
The input is being worked on, and that is being kept in separate posts, but the working out is focused around simple stuff I can do. At least three times a week I go to the gym, hit up the cardio warm up for 10-20 minutes, and do some crazy HIIT exercises. Examples of those workouts can be found here, with my inspiration: ZuzkaLight. I do not hold any preconceived notions that I will be as fit as this chick, she is freaking crazy. Perhaps, I should take it as a warning that for as fit as she is, she is exhausted in the middle of these workouts. Lets just say that I fully know, I will die doing these. YAY!!!
I will post updates as I go.
Currents stats:
weight: 164-167 - depends on if I use the dial scale at home or the freight scale at work.
waist: 30 inches (am i sucking in?)
hips: 43 inches
Belly: 36 inches
I also know I am not a crazy workout person, although I have been in the past. There was a point when I was in the Navy that I weighed nearly 200 pounds. My weight was a symptom of a bad mash up of a horrible sleep schedule, moods and emotions were fluctuating across the board, and eating all of the foods of the deep south. After being bored on a deployment to the middle east, I started working out, and I did it all the dang time. Fast forward to the my return to the states and I worked out at the gym like crazy. BAM, the pounds melted away and I was hovering around 154. Happy, and eating a ton. Fast forward again nearly a decade and while I do derby twice a week, my fitness is not where it should be.
The input is being worked on, and that is being kept in separate posts, but the working out is focused around simple stuff I can do. At least three times a week I go to the gym, hit up the cardio warm up for 10-20 minutes, and do some crazy HIIT exercises. Examples of those workouts can be found here, with my inspiration: ZuzkaLight. I do not hold any preconceived notions that I will be as fit as this chick, she is freaking crazy. Perhaps, I should take it as a warning that for as fit as she is, she is exhausted in the middle of these workouts. Lets just say that I fully know, I will die doing these. YAY!!!
I will post updates as I go.
Currents stats:
weight: 164-167 - depends on if I use the dial scale at home or the freight scale at work.
waist: 30 inches (am i sucking in?)
hips: 43 inches
Belly: 36 inches
Thursday, January 09, 2014
Dump dump sprinkle cooking
So, if you saw the previous post you know that food is a big driver for most of our decisions. Last night I tried something new, and reinforced something else that we have been trying. The boy is a good meat and potatoes kind of man. Don't get me wrong, he loves other food, strange foods even, and is willing to try anything once. (including fermented shark when we were in Iceland) The key thing that makes a meal for him tho, is a bit of meat. So guess how that was for me when we first started dating and living together and I am coming from a nearly vegetarian lifestyle. (meaning I had red meat twice a month, and maybe a bit of chicken once a month) There was a part of him that was hoping that I would help expand the more vegetarian side of his palate, and I was.... well... I was in meat heaven.
In no way am I faulting my previous life -or speaking badly about it- it just was what it was. Out of respect for my partner, and simply because it was easier, I generally did not have meat products in the house. So when I moved into the new place, it was a cornucopia of meat; stuff that I had not been eating on a regular basis for a long time. GRRRRR that little ravenous predator inside of me took over and I slapped bacon on everything. :)
It has taken some adjusting, and in the interim I found out that some of my favorite foods to make that are super simple happen to also be of pleasure to my guy. Potato hash for breakfast, one pot noodles with veggies and meat, egg salad sandwiches etc... Generally it isn't a problem; it is food that makes us happy, and is easy to make. Like so many of my generation, I am not a fussy cooker. The thought of spending an hour in the kitchen for a meal that will be devoured in ten minutes bothers me, but I love when other people do it. Ok, I lie, I will gladly spend an hour in the kitchen if we are spending it together, cause lets be honest ladies and gentleman, the quickest way into my pants, is via food. Making it together is sensual and fun, and some of the greatest foreplay out there.
But, I digress. So, over the last few months we have been thinking about not the act of cooking food, but what ingredients we are using. From that it all returned to the 'vegetarian meals' are lacking in our diet. Now, it is easy to cook a vegetarian meal for a vegetarian, it is difficult to do so for someone that expects meat to be in the meal. There are two approaches; 1.trick them into thinking there is meat, 2. make it so tasty and flavorful that they don't realize it is lacking meat. Last nights meal was veggie lasagna and a new recipe for roasted carrots. The lasagna had been made in batches a few weeks ago and frozen. Lasagna has always been one of those things that has hardly worked for me, usually ends up either dry or is swimming in sauce, yuck! This time it worked. I made my own sauce (can of diced tomatoes, maybe two, a can of tomato paste, and seasonings galore. No measurements just dump dump sprinkle. That is honestly the way I cook)
I didn't think that would be enough for our meal, so I wanted to do some roasted carrots. Small problem, all of the recipes I found either had parsnips in them for extra punch, or were sweet. That just wouldn't do with hearty lasagna. So... I made it up on the spot. Here is roughly the recipe that formed on the go.
1. Handful of carrots, peeled and cut to bite size. I cut the carrot into inch or two inch rounds, then quartered them.
2. 3 or 4 onion wedges - take an onion, slice a wedge out of it, shove it in pan
3. head of garlic - well, maybe half a head after all of the trimming away of the bad parts. Whole cloves and half cloves, just shoved amongst the carrots
Take all the ingredients, place in a pyrex dish, coat with spices. I was partial to paprika, a cocoa/citrus mix that I have for roasts, and a touch of garlic salt. Then drizzle like mad with olive oil. Bake that shit till the veggies are tender.
I did it alongside the lasagna, so I guess it takes 30 minutes in a 380 deg oven... maybe it takes less in hotter? I don't know.
The real test came as I plated it up and placed it in front of the dutch boy. As I bit into the first carrot, I literally jumped up, so happy that they worked out. (I already knew the lasagna had as it was the last of the frozen batch) After a bit of joking around and teasing me, even the carnivore agreed and thought they were rather tasty! So hows that for a haphazard vegetarian meal! YAY!
now back to my egg salad sandwich for lunch today.
In no way am I faulting my previous life -or speaking badly about it- it just was what it was. Out of respect for my partner, and simply because it was easier, I generally did not have meat products in the house. So when I moved into the new place, it was a cornucopia of meat; stuff that I had not been eating on a regular basis for a long time. GRRRRR that little ravenous predator inside of me took over and I slapped bacon on everything. :)
It has taken some adjusting, and in the interim I found out that some of my favorite foods to make that are super simple happen to also be of pleasure to my guy. Potato hash for breakfast, one pot noodles with veggies and meat, egg salad sandwiches etc... Generally it isn't a problem; it is food that makes us happy, and is easy to make. Like so many of my generation, I am not a fussy cooker. The thought of spending an hour in the kitchen for a meal that will be devoured in ten minutes bothers me, but I love when other people do it. Ok, I lie, I will gladly spend an hour in the kitchen if we are spending it together, cause lets be honest ladies and gentleman, the quickest way into my pants, is via food. Making it together is sensual and fun, and some of the greatest foreplay out there.
But, I digress. So, over the last few months we have been thinking about not the act of cooking food, but what ingredients we are using. From that it all returned to the 'vegetarian meals' are lacking in our diet. Now, it is easy to cook a vegetarian meal for a vegetarian, it is difficult to do so for someone that expects meat to be in the meal. There are two approaches; 1.trick them into thinking there is meat, 2. make it so tasty and flavorful that they don't realize it is lacking meat. Last nights meal was veggie lasagna and a new recipe for roasted carrots. The lasagna had been made in batches a few weeks ago and frozen. Lasagna has always been one of those things that has hardly worked for me, usually ends up either dry or is swimming in sauce, yuck! This time it worked. I made my own sauce (can of diced tomatoes, maybe two, a can of tomato paste, and seasonings galore. No measurements just dump dump sprinkle. That is honestly the way I cook)
I didn't think that would be enough for our meal, so I wanted to do some roasted carrots. Small problem, all of the recipes I found either had parsnips in them for extra punch, or were sweet. That just wouldn't do with hearty lasagna. So... I made it up on the spot. Here is roughly the recipe that formed on the go.
1. Handful of carrots, peeled and cut to bite size. I cut the carrot into inch or two inch rounds, then quartered them.
2. 3 or 4 onion wedges - take an onion, slice a wedge out of it, shove it in pan
3. head of garlic - well, maybe half a head after all of the trimming away of the bad parts. Whole cloves and half cloves, just shoved amongst the carrots
Take all the ingredients, place in a pyrex dish, coat with spices. I was partial to paprika, a cocoa/citrus mix that I have for roasts, and a touch of garlic salt. Then drizzle like mad with olive oil. Bake that shit till the veggies are tender.
I did it alongside the lasagna, so I guess it takes 30 minutes in a 380 deg oven... maybe it takes less in hotter? I don't know.
The real test came as I plated it up and placed it in front of the dutch boy. As I bit into the first carrot, I literally jumped up, so happy that they worked out. (I already knew the lasagna had as it was the last of the frozen batch) After a bit of joking around and teasing me, even the carnivore agreed and thought they were rather tasty! So hows that for a haphazard vegetarian meal! YAY!
now back to my egg salad sandwich for lunch today.
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
Lets be honest
Lets be honest, I love food, and I REALLY love food. All that is food around me will most likely end up in my mouth. It is as if I never grew up past that infantile stage of trying things with my mouth, and once I place it there and taste it... a ravenous predator takes over. Ohm NOM NOM NOM. Let it be said that you will never find the same person that is both ridiculously fit and in love with food. Yes they may say they are, but the truth is that they have a love-hate relationship with food. They love it, but know that enjoying it makes them not fit, and thereby they hate it.
I have struggled with my weight my whole life, which is a somewhat ironic statement for those that know me well. I have a great body image, I love my chunk and my curve, I love the way that my body is both taught and jiggly, I love when a bit is a bit and that is what it is. This is not to say tho, that I don't want to change some parts. I want to be more fit and trimmer, simply cause I know it will help a lot of things. It will help with my life, my health, and my hobbies. So how do I accomplish that?
Well lets start with some basics that I am not willing to compromise on.
1. I love food, and want to be able to eat what I want when I want, whether that is a chocolate cake or veggie lasagna.
2. I do not have the dedication to commit to working out in a gym two hours a day ad nauseum.
3. I like variation, I like to play, and I like that I don't have a six pack.
So this means that realistically if I want to make a change in my fitness, it isn't going to be by going on some fad diet, or doing some challenge. (not knocking it for others, but I know myself) Drinking protein shakes every day made from a concoction of chemicals in powder form and eliminating all dairy (or insert other food group) from my diet will last all of a week before I say "what the hell! Give me a chunk of cheese and some real food before I murder someone!"
So the way this is going to get done is by changing some of the inputs and outputs. Inputs wise, I am trying to change the food we eat a bit. It just so happens that the best place to get the best input is from the garden. More Ohm nom noms. We are taking as many meals as we can back to the basics. Lots of veggies, a small portion of meat on some, and some grain. (that is a hard one for me and I am trying to work on cutting back my grain intake).
Outputs are simple, I do derby twice a week (about 4-5 hours) and go to the gym for about 3 hours a week. When the weather warms I will be swimming again twice a week. Nothing is set in stone, but things are getting tweaked here and there to hopefully make a difference. I am also trying to remind myself to put as much energy into other things as I am into the garden. Love and luck!
I have struggled with my weight my whole life, which is a somewhat ironic statement for those that know me well. I have a great body image, I love my chunk and my curve, I love the way that my body is both taught and jiggly, I love when a bit is a bit and that is what it is. This is not to say tho, that I don't want to change some parts. I want to be more fit and trimmer, simply cause I know it will help a lot of things. It will help with my life, my health, and my hobbies. So how do I accomplish that?
Well lets start with some basics that I am not willing to compromise on.
1. I love food, and want to be able to eat what I want when I want, whether that is a chocolate cake or veggie lasagna.
2. I do not have the dedication to commit to working out in a gym two hours a day ad nauseum.
3. I like variation, I like to play, and I like that I don't have a six pack.
So this means that realistically if I want to make a change in my fitness, it isn't going to be by going on some fad diet, or doing some challenge. (not knocking it for others, but I know myself) Drinking protein shakes every day made from a concoction of chemicals in powder form and eliminating all dairy (or insert other food group) from my diet will last all of a week before I say "what the hell! Give me a chunk of cheese and some real food before I murder someone!"
So the way this is going to get done is by changing some of the inputs and outputs. Inputs wise, I am trying to change the food we eat a bit. It just so happens that the best place to get the best input is from the garden. More Ohm nom noms. We are taking as many meals as we can back to the basics. Lots of veggies, a small portion of meat on some, and some grain. (that is a hard one for me and I am trying to work on cutting back my grain intake).
Outputs are simple, I do derby twice a week (about 4-5 hours) and go to the gym for about 3 hours a week. When the weather warms I will be swimming again twice a week. Nothing is set in stone, but things are getting tweaked here and there to hopefully make a difference. I am also trying to remind myself to put as much energy into other things as I am into the garden. Love and luck!
Friday, January 03, 2014
New year and new garden
The new year is here, and I am excitedly flipping through the pages of my Territorial seed catalog hand picking the babies that will be growing in my garden come spring. With each moment I add another to-do to the big list, research a bit more, and flush out a few random ideas. Do I want to do french intensive gardening, or square foot, or classic rows, or maybe haphazardly sprinkle the seeds everywhere and see what the hell comes up?
This year I will be trying to fix some of the mistakes from last years garden. Primarily the Tomatoes. What an awkward disappointment. They grew and grew, and got bushy and bolted even after I whacked off tons of growth, and gave me only a few handfuls of mushy fruit. I had such high hopes for them, only to realize that I wasted about 25 bucks on set plants of various determinations and flavors, to get maybe ten tomatoes. Thinking back on it over the past few months I have come to realize that the conditions were never hot enough to give a good crop. So, this year, that is priority number one. FIX IT! I am going to make the soil warmer by installing raised garden beds, and black plastic around the tomatoes. For a little bit I toyed with the idea of doing them in tires, but I couldn't get past the hobo looking factor.
This year, along with other new things, and changes, I have thrown my hat in and signed up to be a beekeeper. Right now I have a small Mason Bee Box on reserve that will be delivered sometime in spring. These natural little pollinators will be helping with all of the plants in the garden, and I am trying to plan accordingly. I want them to be happy and have lots of little flowers and buds to enjoy while they flit and fly and pollinate all of the vegetables. They also need mud -which I am not worried about since it will be a garden with a sprinkler- and sun. So excited! Will update weekly with my thoughts.
This year, along with other new things, and changes, I have thrown my hat in and signed up to be a beekeeper. Right now I have a small Mason Bee Box on reserve that will be delivered sometime in spring. These natural little pollinators will be helping with all of the plants in the garden, and I am trying to plan accordingly. I want them to be happy and have lots of little flowers and buds to enjoy while they flit and fly and pollinate all of the vegetables. They also need mud -which I am not worried about since it will be a garden with a sprinkler- and sun. So excited! Will update weekly with my thoughts.
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