This weekend was an interesting set of milestones. Or in my case 1/4 mile stones. Saturday morning I woke up and stepped on the scale, like I usually do, to find that my weight was somewhere around 160. It is hard to tell since it is one of the standard scales with the dial, not a digital read out. If this is really the case then it means I have made some progress since a month ago. Structurally I have lost about 8 pounds. YAY! The working out is paying off, if only a little bit. Still, if I want to see any real change in my physique, I need to not only continue what I am doing, but up the ante.
Another positive side effect of the working out, in the roller derby bout that I had Saturday night I played in nearly half of the game, and didn't notice any tiredness, any fatigue, or any other issues. In general I was under control (mental stuff aside), and my body did well. This is in part because of the team we were playing -they are clean/safe players- but it is also in part because of my own fitness. I took a few BIG hits that sent me flying through the air spread eagle, but it was just a bounce and roll and I was back on my feet no problem.
Last nights dinner was simple and easy, and I am kind of proud of it. One of the local grocery stores has started a bulk buy section. A perfect place for me to find whole grains, beans, and other things that are silly to buy in one cup increments. There, in a new plexi-glass bin was Forbidden Rice, which is something that I used to eat when I was in California. A dark purple almost black rice that is very nutty, and said to be a super food packed with more of the good stuff per grain than any other rice. This rice has so much nutty flavor and texture, that a pad of butter is all that is needed in rounding out the taste. I cooked up a batch of forbidden rice, some simple vegetables, and had the guy do a pork tenderloin. Round it all out with a Spire Dark and Dry Hard Cider, and it was a perfect meal.
Showing posts with label meal planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meal planning. Show all posts
Monday, February 10, 2014
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.
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.
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!
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