Pretty Thing From My (Short) Walk

Day 8: Single Parenting

Jason's out of town for the week, so I am on my own with the kids and the dog. It's more than a little bit exhausting, and I can tell you right now that if I were a single parent, I would not have a dog. I swear, she's as much work as the kids are!

Anyway, what this means is that my #1 priorities this week are 1) survive, 2) try to make sure everything that's absolutely necessary gets done (meals, homework, dog walks, etc.), 3) exercise at home as much as I can manage with everything else, and 4) try not to let the eating descend into total madness.

Log:

Exercise:

• Day 6 of the 30-day Abs Challenge: 35 sit-ups, 15 leg raises, 15 crunches, 25-second plank
• 12 minutes of yoga stretching
• Walking the dog

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: steel cut oats with walnuts, dried cranberries, and milk, hot tea with milk and sugar
• Lunch: grilled BBQ chicken thighs, baked beans with bacon, corn salad, a couple of pretzels with hummus
• Dinner: breakfast for dinner--1.5 buttermilk pancakes, 3 pieces of bacon, 1/2 a cup of fresh strawberries, and 2 eggs
• Snacks: Starbucks grande iced chai tea latte

Stats:

• Steps: no idea--I forgot my fitbit!
• Calories:  consumed, 0 burned
• Weight: 193.5 lbs

Day 5, 6, and 7: Whirlwind Weekend

My logging over this past weekend was non-existent, and my exercising was sporadic. Here's the rundown of the craziness:

Friday was Kieran's birthday, and his class went on a field trip to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. How cool to get a cool field trip to one of your favorite places on your birthday? I went along as a chaperone, which was just great! Breakfast was steel cut oats with fruit and nuts and milk. However, I failed to pack my lunch so I ended up eating out after the field trip with my friend Rebecca, who was also chaperoning. Girl lunches like that are rare for me, so that was just awesome. We went to The Daily Planet, where I had a chicken salad melt (brie and chicken salad on whole wheat toast) and a cup of fruit salad. After school, we went out to the grandparents house for some family time, and Denise had made a big ham, sweet potatoes, and some of our favorite pea salad, so that's what was for dinner. Dessert was classic strawberry shortcake--so good. So--eating not perfect, but not terrible. No formal exercise time, but I walked a lot and I did my ab work.

Saturday was the party for K, so we cooked out and I made cupcakes after running all my normal Saturday morning errands (farmers market, etc). I forgot to eat breakfast, and then ended up eating half a ham and cheese sandwich while working in the kitchen--it was an insanely busy day. Dinner was a homemade burger with cheddar, lettuce, and tomato, baked beans, and my summer corn salad. Dessert was one blue velvet cupcake, and I am pretty proud of the fact that I have only eaten one of these. Kieran asked that I make both blue velvet with cream cheese frosting and chocolate with chocolate frosting, so I did. Again, there was no formal exercise time, but I spent literally the whole day on my feet.

Sunday, we got up from K's sleepover--his two best school friends, Marco and Julian (they're twins) stayed over--and I made brunch for both our families: buttermilk pancakes with duck eggs, bacon, chicken and sage sausage, cheesy scrambled eggs, and fresh strawberries. I actually felt kind of off for most of the day, so I didn't eat as much as I normally would have. I skipped lunch in favor of a nap, and then had some leftovers for dinner: grilled BBQ chicken thighs, corn salad, and baked beans. There was no way there was going to be any real exercise, and it was too rainy for a hike. Sunday was a true chill day--the first we've had in a long time.

Of note: we're hatching some baby chickens! We put the eggs in the incubator yesterday! In 3 weeks, we should have some babies!

Day 4: Rest Day

I woke up this morning tired, sore, and starving. This is the right thing, but I can honestly tell you that my body needed to rest. So--I let it. I am determined not to get sick again, and I am determined not to push too hard. I took things easy today, and I will do that whenever I need to.

Log:

Exercise:

• Day 4 of the 30-day Abs Challenge: Rest Day

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: steel cut oats with pecans and bananas and milk, 4 oz fresh OJ, and (a lot of) hot tea with milk and sugar
• Lunch:baked chicken breast, roasted cauliflower with garlic and rosemary, grilled asparagus
• Dinner: spaghetti and turkey meatballs with tomato sauce
• Snacks: 1 blueberry Kind bar, a little butter cookie with chocolate frosting on it

Stats:

• Steps:7023
• Calories: 1449 consumed, 0 burned
• Weight: 194 lbs

Day 3: Half Way Through Week One

Today was Administrative Professional's Day. So silly, these made up holidays. It's nice to be thanked for the work that I do all the time, but not really necessary for me. I never know when it is until someone gives me something, and I am all--what's this?

I am pretty tired here at mid-week of the first week back to working out full force, so I don't have a ton to say today. I got in all my steps, my class, and my ab work. I went out to lunch without eating badly, and I resisted eating ALL of Kieran's un-eaten hot dog instead of just stealing two bites of it. A good fitness day.

Log:

Exercise:

• Day 3 of the 30-day Abs Challenge: 25 sit-ups, 10 leg raises, 10 crunches, 15 second plank
• Zumba with Tiffany at the Cary gym
• Quick evening walk to finish steps: .78 miles

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: 2 eggs over easy, 2 links of chicken sage sausage from Applegate Farms, 1 slice of whole wheat toast with a bit of butter, 4 oz fresh OJ, and hot tea with milk and sugar
• Lunch: lunch with my friend, Lisa - chicken and spinach quesadilla from Chelsea Cafe
• Dinner:1 slice of whole wheat bread with Big Spoon Roasters peanut-pecan butter and a sliced banana
• Snacks:2 bites of Kieran's too-good-not-to-try hot dog (grass fed organic hot dog from Fickle Creek Farm on a whole wheat bun from Whole Foods), 1 Gouda Babybel, and 1 oz of roasted cashews

Stats:

• Steps: 11,341
• Calories: 1389 consumed, 881 burned
• Weight: 195 lbs and holding for now

PS: In Zumba tonight, Tiffany played a cover of Chaka Khan's song, "Ain't Nobody," which will now be stuck in my head for all time. That's now on the soundtrack of my fitness journey for sure.

New Gear: Upgrading the fitbit

I work for a company with excellent health benefits and a wellness program that is actually quite motivational. By completing a yearly health survey, you can earn a discount on your yearly benefits contribution--100% worth it. And by doing other health-related activities, you can earn points toward other rewards as well. I love this program for a number of reasons, including the rewards themselves as well as the fact that it covers nutrition, exercise, mental well-being, financial planning, and preventive care. This year, by doing the things I need to be doing anyway, I earned a $50 Amazon gift card, and a new fitbit.

Now, as y'all know, I LOVE my fitbit, and I have been using my One for a few years. I am not a huge fan of wearing things on my wrists because I have to type all day and because it always seems to get in the way when I cooking things, which is pretty often. However, that said, I really wanted to try out the heart rate monitor, to get an idea of both what zones I am in when I am exercising and to find out what my standard resting heart rate is. After researching and talking to people who have them, I picked up a Charge HR.

So far I like it pretty well. In the past few months, I learned that, when I walk, I am solidly in fat-burning mode, and that when I am doing Zumba, I go between endurance and anaerobic training. I also learned, to my great surprise, that my resting heart rate is between 59 and 61 BPM, which is WAY better than I expected and very much an indicator that I am on the right path here. My only regret is that I kind of wish I had gotten the purple one instead of basic black. I wish I could justify having two of them, because, look how cute:

It would be nice if you could change the band color on the Charge HR the way you can on the flex, but that's not an option. Oh well--you can't have it all, right? I'm still glad I got one!

Pretty Things From Today's Walks

Day 2: Stepping Up

Today was surreal. Running on about 5.5 hours of sleep, I dragged myself to barbell class this morning. Then I ended up with Finn hanging out in my office for part of the day, so he went with me on my lunchtime walk, which wasn't quite at the same pace I've gotten used to. But hey--we were still moving, so it counts. The dog had surgery and needed to be picked up. The boys had swimming lessons. There was nothing but running around all over the place.

And also today, my good friend's husband, who is 42 years old, slim and fit, and an all around healthy-seeming guy, had a heart attack and had a stent put in. Sobering and frightening. Yet another reminder that the time to do things is right-exactly-fucking-now.
Whew.

Log:

Exercise:

• Barbell Strength Class with Tracy at the Apex gym
• Lunchtime walk: 1.71 very, very slow miles with Finn
• Evening walk to knitting:1.98 miles
• Day 2 of the 30-day Abs Challenge: 20 sit-ups, 8 leg raises, 8 crunches, 12 second plank

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: 2 fresh farm (thanks, Sharon, my farmer friend!) eggs over easy, 2 links of chicken sage sausage from Applegate Farms, chopped fresh tomato, 1 slice of whole wheat toast with a bit of butter, 4 oz fresh OJ, and hot tea with milk and sugar
• Lunch: wasabi tuna wrap from Chelsea Cafe with LOTS of veggies inside--so good,very nutrient-rich, and not too many empty calories: win!
• Dinner: knitting at Panera: 1/2 soba noodle and chicken salad and a small Fuji apple
• Snacks: This was cleaning up after Kieran because 1) I can't resist whatever crack the Chick-Fil-A people put in their chicken, 2) I hate wasting food, and 3) I was STARVING before I took them to swimming class: 1/3 of a chicken sandwich and 3 or 4 fries

Stats:

• Steps:15,009 (BOOM!)
• Calories: 1401 consumed (stupid Chick-Fil-A),961 burned
• Weight: 195 lbs--bleh, but I'll fix it

Pretty Thing From My (Evening) Walk

Day 1: Let's Just Start Over, Shall We?

I am really re-setting over here. I am going back to Day 1, because it really feels like I have gotten so far off track that I just need a new track. Something about that feels refreshing and motivational to me, so I am just going with it. How far can I get toward my personal goals in the next 90 days? I can't wait to see!

Log:

Exercise:

• Lunchtime walk: 1.71 miles
• Day 1 of the 30-day Abs Challenge: 15 sit-ups, 5 leg raises, 5 crunches, 10 second plank
• Yoga class with Vicki at the Apex gym
• Evening walk to finish steps: 1.45 miles

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: Kashi Oatmeal Flakes with Blueberry Clusters with 2% milk, tea with milk and raw sugar
• Lunch: roasted chicken breast, about 1.5 oz. of good hard aged gouda cheese, a pear, a few Trader Joes raisin rosemary crackers, and half a homemade cupcake*
• Dinner: smoked Gouda and tomato sandwich on La Farm's Asiago Parmesan bread. Holy crap, it was good!
• Snacks: yeah--I finished Finn's half-eaten cupcake.

Stats:

• Steps:11,347
• Calories: 1659 consumed, 631 burned
• Weight: I didn't even think about weighing this morning--we'll see how bad the damage is tomorrow.

* This was truly to see if they were good or not--I made a new recipe for Jason's co-workers and brought a couple of extras in for work friends. I made my friend Lisa eat half so I didn't eat the whole thing. They were really good, by the way--homemade cupcakes are The Best.)

Catching Up Again: Pretty Things From My Walks

Mental and Physical Re-Set

I am again re-setting my fitness goals. I am not apologizing for the gaps--this is just life, right? This whole journey is about making long-term lifestyle changes; not JUST working to lose some weight, but working to be a healthier person overall. I've changed the header of the blog to reflect this. What started out as a 90-day challenge has definitely morphed into something greater than that, which was the whole idea from the beginning. And life will cause periods of inactivity or over-eating or sickness, or any one of a thousand things that can get you off track. I will be glad to re-set as many times as I need to to keep heading toward the goals.

It's been a tough year for getting in shape. I've been sick a LOT, which has been quite frustrating. And then March--well--that was a wash in the name of high end eating and eating. It wasn't intentional to cluster so much high end dining all together, but that's just how it worked out. I can't say I regret that part--food and food experiences can be amazing, and Jason and I have been to Poole's Diner, Chef and the Farmer, The Boiler Room, Beasley's Chicken and Waffles, Mother Earth Brewing Company, and The Oakleaf, all during the month of March, in addition to a few trips to our local pub and out for good local sushi. Whew! April has been about getting back to cookingand eating at home, but we've been really off-schedule, which affects everything. Here's some of what's happening right now:

• You'll see that I've posted all of the pretty things from walks that I've taken since my last post. I like having those recorded here for posterity, and they make the blog way prettier than all my words do.
• I am back to the farmers market every weekend for fresh veggies. Yay for Spring! It makes such a difference in how I think about food, and how I cook and eat to have this wealth of local produce and meat available to me!
• We took the kids for a hike yesterday for the first time in a couple of weeks--we ALL needed it, and it was glorious to be in the woods! Hiking on the weekend really motivates me to keep moving during the week!
• The boys have started swimming lessons. I am giving that a little bit of time to see how it goes, but it sure would be cool if I could swim laps while they have their lessons. Something I am considering.
• This week is Make-It-To-Your-Classes week. I am seriously going to try to get them all in. I have been slack about that the past month because of some relentless stuffiness that MUST be allergies, even though I've never had them before. I can't let whatever it is stop me, though--I am starting to feel gross and sluggish again, and I DO NOT LIKE IT ONE BIT!

Here's what I have realized: I have to track. And the emphasis there should be on the word, "I." Some people don't need to do it. Some people HATE doing it. Some find it DE-motivational instead of stimulating. But for me, tracking brings discipline. For me, if i don't track my workouts and my eating choices, then I somehow don't feel like I am getting credit for them. This may go back to my childhood and my need to get points for all my right answers. I don't know. What I do know is that, when I am actively tracking everything, the self-inflicted accountability keeps me motivated, and it makes me not want to mess it up. So prepare to be re-inundated with everything. I will never meet my goals if I don't record my actions.

With all the craziness of the past few months, I've re-gained some weight. My goal is to get that back off, get headed back in the right direction toward the weight I want to be, and most importantly, to get to a place where I feel strong and healthy!

Catching Up: Pretty Things From My Walks

Rising Up

Goodness. What day is it? I've lost track!

After all my good intentions, I was brought low once again by a bout of acute bronchitis. I am still coughing, but it's finally starting to get better, and I have been trying to ease back since the weekend by walking and walking and walking. And stretching--I went to yoga class on Monday night, and it felt amazing to stretch out my very stiff muscles. I am trying so hard not to over-do it, but that's not really in my nature. I tend to be all in, or not in at all--and i am trying hard to accept that this is not always the right way to do things. I think I keep getting sick because I keep trying to jump back in full throttle before I am really better. Walking and yoga, I can do, though, so I am. And I am trying to rest and make decent eating choices. It's very frustrating! I am finally to the point where I WANT to exercise, and my body is pretty much betraying me.

So. I am walking and walking and walking. And I am stretching and stretching and stretching. And that's it for right now. Next week, I am hoping I can add back all my classes, and really get back at it.

As part of catching up, I posted all the pretty things from the walks I have taken since the last post. And I'll tell you, we went for a huge hike this past weekend that was just amazing. The boys made it 6.24 miles, which is just great! We have come a long way as a family since we started with a mile and a half at a time last January. I hope we can hit 10 by the end of the summer. Still loving getting us all out into the woods, and I certainly plan to do more of that.

For the next week or so, I am not really logging things, but I am moving. I am working my way back to being back on track. I am trying to kick out the last of my lingering congestion. And once I jerk all the wheels back on the bus, I'll be back to writing more regularly as well.

I am so glad spring is in the air!

Cathing Up: Pretty Things from My Various Walks

February 28, Trout Lily at Hemlock Bluffs

February 28, Blossoms from Lunchtime Walk

March 6, Blooming Mosses from Raven Rock

March 7, Pansy from Lunchtime Walk

March 8, Japanese Magnolia from Lunchtime Walk

March 8, Sunset Glory from Evening Walk to Knitting

Day 202: Back in the Saddle

Whew! What a long hiatus that turned into, and not on purpose. The cold Finn gave me has been so very hard to shake, and then it turned super cold for a few days, which kept me indoors, and suffice it to say--not a lot has been going on. yesterday was my first real day back in the saddle after what feels like an eternity. Today, though sore and tired, I feel like things are getting back on track. Moving feels good. And, in spite of some tiny lingering remnants of congestion, I am tried of waiting to get going again! I weighed in this morning and was delighted to discover that my lack of activity hasn't utterly destroyed previous efforts--I have only re-gained a couple of pounds since my last weigh-in, and I haven't crossed back up into the 190s again. What a relief!

Being off like this has left me a little weak and pathetic, but I know I can catch back up. I made it to barbell class yesterday, and I made it through class, though I did have to take a small break at one point when I got super light headed. I also walked with my friend Jenn to and from knitting last night, which is a little over 4 miles. I somehow finished yesterday with well over 14,000 steps, which was am excellent discovery last night at bedtime!

I am backing up and punting on the 30-day Abs front. I don't want to go all the way back to day one, so I picked the most recent day I had completed that feel after a rest. Today, I am doing day 9, and then I'll just keep going from there.

I had every intention of going to Tiffany's Zumba class tonight, but Kieran's school project and my incredibly sore quads decided otherwise. K has this enormous economics project that's due Friday, and we were behind on both it and regular homework because of a snow day this past Monday. Sometimes, family needs must win over all else.

Log: 

Exercise:

• Lunchtime walk: 1.91 miles
• Day 9 of the 30-day Abs Challenge:45 sit-ups, 30 leg raises, 30 crunches, 38 second plank

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: Kashi Heart to Heart Oat Flakes and Blueberry Clusters with 2% milk and a small banana, tea with milk and raw sugar
• Lunch: Multigrain and flax seed wrap with homemade tuna salad and red leaf lettuce, cut up fresh veggies, and a few Kettle Chips
• Dinner:Baked chicken breast, roasted broccolini, and Trader Joes Harvest Grains cooked in the delicious, lemony broth from the chicken
• Snacks:one Girlscout Lemonade cookie, a small handful of pistacios

Stats:

• Steps: 7637
• Calories: I am honestly too tired to add this up.
• Weight:189

Coming Back up for Air

Life happens sometimes.

Since the headache from January 28th,  I have been off. We had house guests for the weekend of January 29th, and a sick kid at the same time. I cooked things like lasagne, and there were biscuits and beignets and beer. Then a friend came for Sunday dinner, and there was a cream sauce and a pie. And what there wasn't was a hike. And well--I am not really all that sorry for that insane, fun, but completely off the chain weekend. However, since then, I have been sick--it's impossible not to catch your little guy's funk when he's sneezing all over you and coughing all the time. It's been at least a week and a half since I have gotten a good night's sleep, thanks to a hacking cough that's been plaguing me. Rest is so important, and I have not had nearly enough. I've managed some bits of activity here and there, but not enough. But the cough is abating, thank goodness. I am so hoping I can make it to at least a couple of classes this week. I have gotten the food part back on track, but I have been a little afraid of working out with this persistent congestion. Here's hoping I can make it to Zumba tonight at the very least--I am playing it by ear.

I find this so frustrating, by the way--I feel like, since the holidays, I take one step forward, and then two back. Every time I start to get a little bit of momentum going, something just derails it all. I am happy to report that my weight is holding through all this, but I want to work on it continuing to go down. I want to get stronger and not keep having to restart! But all that is just whining. I am still determined as ever.

And here's a little bit of inspiration I stumbled across today. For all that this is a Pepsi commercial, of all things, it sure does make me want to get in great shape! (Also, how was this around in 2011, and I just saw it today???)

Pretty Thing From My Walk

Alta

Hmmmm. I am sick and can't stop coughing, so this week has been a total wash for working out, updating, or anything else, really. However, I am keeping up with what's happening in the fitness world, even though I am down for the count. I got an email yesterday about the new fitbit Alta, and I admit, I am intrigued. While I don't really like wearing things on my wrists, I might be willing to for this thing. It has all my favorite Flex features and all of my favorite One features, and I might just have to give it a shot. My job has a wellness program in which you can earn points by walking, exercising, eating well, and doing a whole host of other activities that are designed to help you improve your overall lifestyle. The points can earn you an Amazon gift card, a fitbit, or, if you are really lucky, a year of paid healthcare benefits. I am only a few points away from a new fitbit, and i think this may be the one I get.

Day 182: Accidental Rest Day

Today, I woke up with an annoying throbby headache--this happens to me every couple of months. That means I missed yet another class this week. Joy's going to think I don't like her class, but it's really just that Thursday is my hardest day to get up because I work out so late on Wednesday. This headache has been haunting me all day, accompanied by a general malaise that makes me feel like I may be fighting something off. Ugh. When I feel like this, all I want to do is sit down and knit and eat whatever is available and not a lot of effort for me. Thus, I didn't say no when offered a beautiful sour cream doughnut. And when the kids wanted Chick-Fil-A for dinner, I ate it, too. Today is an accidental rest day, and a bit of a fitness waste.I'm going to go to bed early and get back on track tomorrow. Whew.

Log: 

Exercise:

• Day 12 of the 30-day Abs Challenge: Rest Day

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: a slice of Great Harvest honey whole wheat toast with Big Spoon Roasters' Mission Almond Butter and half a banana, tea with milk and raw sugar
• Lunch: Leftover pan seared pork chop with mushroom gravy, basmati and wild rice with herbs, Swiss chard gratin
• Dinner: Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich and fries dipped in Chick-Fil-A sauce
• Snacks: half a homemade sour cream doughnut (People at work need to stop giving me things like this! At least I just ate half...)

Stats:

• Steps: 5688 (pitiful)
• Calories: I can't even face this, plus I have no idea how to calculate lunch.
• Weight:186.5