random updates…

Eating options in Marfa were slim, but we did have a kitchenette, and they did have a nice little healthy-choice-available market, The Get Go. There were more healthy, organic options crammed into this small place than I had imagined and it would have been fine if none of the eateries in town were open (many are only open Thurs-Sat and we were there Sat-Mon).

One of the places we found was called squeeze marfa: a swiss cafe. It’s a small place that has breakfast and lunch options and makes fresh juice blends and smoothies. The owners brother is also a Swiss chocolatier and squeeze sells some of his yummy chocolates. I had a waffle there with banana on the side and some honey ginger tea, as well as one of their juice blends, Digestive Delight.

Juicing is fairly new to me and I am always looking for new blends. The Digestive Delight was intriguing to me given my less than stable digestive history, and the ingredients are all things I like so I tried it. Kiwi, pineapple, apple, mint and ginger. It was very good, so at the store this week I stocked up, and tonight I am going to experiment with ratios. I also grabbed one of squeeze’s menus so I can try their other blends.

Also this past week, I talked with one of my coaches and he took my numbers and gave me a more personalized calorie allowance. I was targeting 1700 as a daily goal and I find the number quite manageable. I have been targeting 1700 for the last 6 weeks or so and have had zero movement on the scale, which is good in that there hasn’t been a gain, but is a little frustrating when I have been actively seeking a loss and part of that being exercising moderately (but still way more than recently). Greg increased my calories to 1800-1900 daily and asked me to not go under 1800.

200 more calories a day…what’s not to like?

Meal time…

I can’t really say meal time is a challenge, that isn’t quite right. We have been trying to eat more healthfully, and I think that has been a success. Whole foods are being consumed at least 90% of the time. I think a 90/10 split is pretty responsible.

Ideally, I am leaning toward vegetarian and I think we will ultimately have at least a 90/10 success in that, too. My current plan is to use up the meat that is in the freezer and from that point on, only buy meat when there is a pointed craving for it. To me, if I am going to be tuned in to listening to my body, such a craving means something, and shouldn’t be ignored. In addition to that, there are some specific things that I like well enough to not forever banish…like fried wontons at our favorite Chinese restaurant (the only one we go to anymore). I also like meat. A lot. But I have definitely begun treating it as a side item, and it isn’t consumed daily.

My niece Crystal sent me a link to a vegetarian egg casserole that uses some whole eggs and additional egg whites, lowfat milk and cheese, and morning star farms grill crumbles (I think that is what they were called), along with some sauteed onion and peppers, and some shredded potatoes. I followed the recipe for the most part using an onion and red pepper, but subbed a poblano pepper for the green one. It was tasty, but I didn’t really care for the texture. It was a little too spongy to me which I attribute to the egg whites. The upside of this for Crystal is that it freezes and reheats well so it is breakfast she can take on the run to work and not be eating something processed, which I agree is a good plan.

If I make this again, I will likely use a dozen whole eggs to see if it is a better texture. I have made plenty of egg casseroles over the years, but always with whole milk and cheese or sometimes even half and half or cream. Using the low fat counterparts brings this in at about 250 cals per serving and that is the matter of import at this time. I think for me, it is just as easy to saute up the veg and then just scramble an egg or two into it, so I don’t know if this will become a staple or not.

There is a huge learning curve for me and my cook’s brain when it comes to thinking vegetarian. It’s like learning another language. My friend Patti recommended the book Veganomicon which I downloaded straight away to begin reading this weekend on vacation in Marfa (which for those who don’t know is sorta like The-middle-of-nowhere, TX). Now I am wondering what Marfa might offer us to eat…should be an adventure!

With a 5k on the horizon…

February first was time to step it up a notch. I have been consistently using the bathroom at work a floor below and on the first, I started going two floors below. That’s right. Two flights of stairs for every trip to the bathroom. Forty-four stairs. At least five times a day.

Each flight of stairs is broken into two sections of eleven stairs each and as I increased from one flight to two, I was feeling okay about it. The first thirty-three stairs are a breeze. The next few, not so bad. But somewhere between thirty-eight and forty, they start to really kick my ass. But yes, I am committed to getting healthier, and three days in I am seeing an improved recovery time for my heart rate’s return to normal.

On Wednesday, my first trip to the bathroom, as was my habit, I went to the fifth floor. While in the bathroom, I realized it was the first of the month and I should have gone to the fourth floor. I went back to the elevator and down to four and proceeded right to the stairs and up, up, up…yes! a non scale victory (NSV) of no excuses!

While the scales is choosing not to budge, these little NSVs are important. I am not getting put out about the scale because I am seeing my clothes fit better and have even had to add a few favorite items of clothing to the donate bag because they are too big. But still, I’d like the scale to cooperate, too.

This week, I learned about True Lemon products. The lemonade and raspberry lemonade are sweetened with stevia and are an all natural alternative if you like to add some flavor to your water. I don’t care for the aftertaste of diet sweeteners, and these are acceptable to me, but in all honestly I prefer water, so these will be reserved for when I specifically want something different.

On the 5k front, I have been increasing my step count. In part, it is increased because of the fourth floor ritual, but in addition to that I am drinking more water at work thus requiring more stairs, and I am also trying to walk more otherwise. My goal is to go to the park track three times a week and while I didn’t go there last week, specifically, I did manage to walk the equivalent on the convention floor while out of town last week for work. Also, last weekend we walked a mile of a trail on the esplanade on Heights blvd.

This week, when I go to the park I will do a lap and a half and see what that is distance wise (to know for the sake of increase), and on the weekend I am thinking maybe the zoo or a museum. Or maybe the path at the Japanese gardens.

I also have a few other 5ks on my mental agenda as distinct possibilities. The Hair of the Dog (at a winery and we will be in/near the area) is one my niece Crystal is considering in May and if we can tailor our trip to include this, we will. The Frank Lloyd Wright Races are being considered by Good Friend Deborah and depending on the dates are a definite maybe for this October. These make me feel a little ambitious but I know they are achievable, so we shall see.

a 5K…for real…

I went and did it. I signed up for a 5k, though admittedly, the more I read about various races in the greater Houston area, this one seems rather timid. Of course that is what makes it perfect for me. There is a 10k that is an official qualifier for the Houston marathon which is chip timed. But the 5K is a fun run, so low key in its officiousness.

To train for this event, I have set a goal of walking at Knob Hill Park 3x a week minimum. The track there is .63 miles so not at all too challenging. The path is around a good size park with a big play station in the middle and there is a path through the middle of the park too, so it will be easy to add more distance which is what I will do next. I will do a loop and a half for a week or two and then two loops and so on.

Our company’s annual conference is next week so that is usually a lot of walking also. I was thinking I might fall behind on the walking but upon further consideration, I will likely get in more than is normal.

I am still trying to get a good read on what normal is with my fitbit. I wasn’t getting a consistent number of steps so I have lowered my daily goal and right now it is 3500. Once I am consistent with that I will raise it to 5000 and I think that will happen 2/1, so relatively soon. I am trying hard to not take it too slow and easy and balance that with not doing too much to where I just stop doing it. Crafting a new normal balance is a challenge.

In part, this is why I signed up for the 5k. I have no delusions about becoming an athlete as many on the fitness path seem to find. I just want to be healthier. That’s all.

I have been going down a floor to use the bathroom at work and I take the stairs when I come back. The recovery time once I sit at my desk again is pretty immediate, so as of 2/1 I will also take that up a notch and start using the bathroom down on the 4th floor.

Baby steps.

As 2011 comes to a close…

I have had my Fitbit for about a week and a half now and I have to say, it’s a wee bit addicting. The first week I basically used it to see what my baseline number of steps per day are. I was all over the place, anywhere from 3k to a little over 6k. The Fitbit comes preset to a goal of 10k per day which seems to be the recommended average most people should aim for. I think it would be a little extreme for me to just all of a sudden be manic about getting 10k a day, so I have adjusted the goal to get consistent with 5k a day and if I make that this first week (on track so far) I will add 1k per week until I am at 10k. I think if I made the jump less gradually, it would likely end up discouraging me.

Via the Fitbit website, you can also track food, exercise and sleep. I have used a few other food and exercise journaling programs and most of them are either too geared to someone more active (or athletic) or too busy on the page. The Fitbit website is rather clean and uncluttered and almost seems dumbed down in its simplicity. I like it. It gives me the info I want and really not much more.

I find it terribly charming that such a tiny gadget is making a difference. Fitbit has an altimeter that tracks flights of stairs climbed. 10 per day is the preset goal and since I don’t in general have any stairs to climb, I have decreased my initial goal to 5 per day. To make this happen, every time I have to use the ladies room, I go down to the fifth floor to do so and then take the stairs back up. And since I refill my water cup or tea cup after each trip to the ladies room, said trips will never be in short supply. I have been getting my 5 flights of stairs per day this way, and I think that to increase that, I will start going down to 4 next week which will automatically double my stairs. I might even get wacky and go down to 3 after a few weeks. Who knows, by mid year, I might not be using the elevator at all. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.

Another thing I am going to do, and I think I am going to do it tonight, is go buy a copy of Best Easy Day Hikes Houston at Barnes and Noble. Yes, I could order it from Amazon right now, but if I go buy it, I am getting in more steps. Did I mention the fitbit is addicting? As Dear Sweet Elizabeth says, “Gotta feed the Fitbit…”

Well, that’s just not happening…

The that to which I refer is the initial goal of 30 pounds down by the end of the year. And really, I am not at all put out about it. It could be I have lost some pounds and our scale is a piece of crap, but I am not saying that as an excuse.

I have been something less than diligent with the food tracking, and equally less than perfect with the yoga, but I have been at least doing both somewhat consistently, just not 100%. I don’t see any movement on the scale, but I have noticed all of my clothes fitting better. Looser. And in a few cases, big enough to purge/donate. That is a result I can live with. There has been a bit of ‘eh, it’s the holidays” going on and in a relative few days, that won’t be the case, so since there has been no gaining, I’m okay with it all.

Another improvement I see is an overall feeling of betterness. I am sleeping better (though not terribly long) and my intestinal crud is almost non-existent. My energy is also greatly improved. All results that matter and are the reasons for even talking about this at all by way of a blog.

I have done two things proactively for the new year. I signed up for the NOVO Wellness teleclass mentioned in the previous post, and I have bought a Fitbit (which is a fancy pedometer). These tools will hopeful help me to better root the new habits I wish to cultivate. The pedometer can also track sleep cycles and stairs climbed, and via their website I can track food and calories needed/consumed/used. Let’s hope it’s just the thing to finish turning this corner toward healthier living in 2012 and beyond.

Still here working on it…

I have to say that when I started this blog a couple of months ago I felt more motivated than I do currently. I have been working at finding consistency with a morning yoga practice. Three or Four mornings a week is what it has been, but ideally, I’d like it to be every day, or nearly every day. I know the overall health benefits I receive from a committed practice and as I already said, I am working on it.
Yesterday, I signed up for a 10 week webinar with Novo Wellness and Greg Hottinger and Michael Scholtz. I discovered them via the awesomeness that is Patti Digh and the community she is building (called life…) Here are links to the webinar should anyone be interested with a discounted price for the remainder of 2011:

Special Offers: 10-Week Coach Yourself Thin Webinar starting January 25th at 6PM EST or 9PM EST
· 10-Week Coach Yourself Thin Webinar – $115 (Regular price: $145)
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=4RMBKUV4LP8BQ

· 10-Week CYT Classes + Copy of Coach Yourself Thin $125 – (Regular price: $160)
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=FDLLD52SJQZQW

4 flights of stairs didn’t kill me…

Last night we went to the Arena Theater and saw Willie Nelson. I didn’t have popcorn. I didn’t have beer. That’s a little unheard of. It isn’t that I was being all virtuous, no. I just didn’t want any. Hmmm.

Something of this journey is taking root. My weight hasn’t moved, but my clothes are all loose, so I feel I am doing something right. I have gotten back into the habit of tracking food, so that might show something.

At the theater, we ended up on the 4th floor of the parking garage and normally, I am all about the elevator. But my knees have been feeling pretty good so I decided to try the stairs knowing I could just find the elevator on any floor between 4 and the ground if I needed to. After the concert, the same logic applied and that’s right. It didn’t kill me. In fact, it really wasn’t that bad. I was breathing normally before our car made it to the third floor (though that did take a few minutes).

Willie Nelson was awesome. There isn’t really more to say than that because he just is.

I started doing yoga in the morning using the time my body thinks is awake time (thanks to clocks going back). I have been up around 445 each morning and I am trying to reestablish a morning yoga routine. My desire is that this will eventually just be the morning routine every morning because I know I feel better in general when this is so. But for now, I want three mornings a week minimum. I don’t really think of yoga as exercise and with one week down, I am feeling it more a wellness essential. Definitely one of the best hours of my day.

No yoga this week…

Tomorrow is another day. That’s the best I’ve got. No excuses because frankly, it’s TMI…Aunt flo and all that is associated with her is all you need to know.

getting started all over again…

Vacation was most excellent. As I already said, I got off track with the tracking, but I know I didn’t go overboard in any area, and I actually did a lot more exercise (walking mostly) than I normally do. The result is basically that I didn’t lose any ground and that is okay with me. My weight didn’t budge, but a pair of shorts that were more snug than I care for actually fit perfectly right now, so something is going on.

This week has been a lot of catching up and trying to just find my space to be where I am supposed to be. That included picking up a few groceries and getting back to preparing foods and not stopping for the convenience, although I do feel that our convenience stops by design are not all that terrible a choice.

If it is breakfast, it is usually El Rey, a Cuban/Mexican local chain. I get their potato and egg tacos and they come in at somewhere under 300 calories each and are made with all fresh ingredients. I could make these at home but there would inevitably be a lot of waste. Before getting on the current plan, I had a bit of an El Rey obsession and was going nearly every day for a while.

If it isn’t El Rey, it’s Old Towne Kolache. Their kolaches are made fresh and I have a ham ranchero or 2 sausage and cheese. Again, this comes in around 300 calories, and they are made fresh in the store. I think the ranchero is the better choice since the sausage in the others are processed, but the ham ranchero is the only variety I like and all too often, they run out (hence the sausage and cheese). They can be a little hit or miss though, so we tend to go here less frequently than in the past.

I not limit going to either of these places to once a week. That’s a little bit of discipline on my part, and it’s early in the plan, but I think this is a pretty sure thing.

I also really like the Honey Buttered Chicken Biscuit from Whataburger but it comes in a little closer to 600 calories, so I limit them (or plan to) to about once a month and I make certain that it is what I really want.

As for *bux, the other guilty pleasure of my morning hours, a chai latte falls under 300 calories, but violates my desire to be drinking water only til the end of the year. On vacation I think I had 4 of them. I might have had 5, but I don’t think so. The problem with chai isn’t so much the calories as the frequency. I could easily have one every day, which in itself isn’t such a big deal. What makes me feel a need to limit this is more from the desire to reel in excess. I usually get a grande and this comes in at just under $4. Even is I went every day, I don’t feel $28 a week is excessive…I am totally worth it, but when I extrapolate that out further to $120 a month, there are other things I might rather do with $120. So what would I rather do with $1440 at the end of a year? Yes, let’s reel in some excess and limit *bux to twice a week (once during, and once on the weekend) or less.

Food on vacation was a challenge in that I wasn’t cooking. Mostly I handled this by deciding what on my plate seemed reasonable and stopping once I ate that much even if it was too good to not finish. Not once did I leave the table uncomfortably full and that is getting a little easier each time I realize I am doing it.

The next step on the journey is getting my ass back to yoga class and that didn’t happen this week, but it definitely (ahem) will next week.