Eat, Drink, Be Running!: My Very First Post 1/11/10

Metamorphasis

How fun it was to go back and read my first post (which I have included at the bottom here)! And even better, I can honestly say in the last year I have made a huge transformation. While I still enjoy desserts and cocktails, and really good meals, I have made many changes. I rarely center my dinners around meat anymore. I cannot remember the last time I had a pork chop or steak for dinner. We used to go to Costco, buy bulk meat, and break it down and separate it into 3 portions (for Chip, Monkey and I as the Buddha was still on the boob) in freezer bags. I know we have saved a ton of money and have been kinder to our environment by cutting this out. Now our dinner "meat" consists of the occasional ground turkey or cut up chicken breast tenders that we mix in a pasta or stir fry. We eat meatless meals very frequently.

I have also fallen into a new fitness groove. OMG, I totally remember being at the point a year ago where I felt so helpless being back to work and not having any time to work out. Now I have resolved to get up early (it took me months to get here, as I am not a fan of mornings), run dark and early a minimum of 3x per week, and do yoga DVD's 2x per week.

My work situation is alsot different - I have been in a new job for the last 9-10 months, and almost everyone brings their lunch. We all eat healthier because of this, although being in an office all day, I admit sometimes we try to beat the doldrums with occasional (sometimes frequent) snacking. To think of all the money I am saving not spending $7-10 on lunch every day!

2010 was actually a pretty crappy year for me for other reasons. I experienced a lot of financial stress early on in the year and we went through the loan modification process on our house which was just a bloodbath. So much of my attention had been focused on this that it was so great to come back to this blog and read the good things that happened. I did accomplish something positive. And of course I look at my husband and two happy, healthy kids and know that all is right with the world today.

Thank you for sticking with me, this blog has been a life saver! And happy-almost-blogoversary to me! Read my first post if you are interested:

The Relationship Between My Body and What the Fork Brings In

I am not skinny. I am not really fat either. My weight has always been what I think is pretty average in my adult years. I love to eat, and I enjoy desserts and cocktails. Fortunately I really enjoy working out which has always helped to balance things out.

I have never had to really exercise incredible willpower to lose weight. I am not bragging, its not easy for me to shed pounds when I need to...its just that I don't have any crazy vices like some people I hear about. I don't stash candy between my mattresses for those times of weakness. I don't have a few good days of dieting and then go on "a bender" where I indulge in so many forsaken foods that I wake up feeling ill... with traces of nacho cheese in the corners of my mouth. I just get to the point where I am disgusted, and then make a vow to do something about it. That usually means I have fallen off my workout wagon and I just need to get back on. I will also adjust my eating habits so I cut out some stuff. But I never go on deprivation diets. I just eat less and pass on dessert and fried foods more.

I just really enjoy eating well. I like healthy food, but also just really GOOD food. Sometimes I forget to keep my portion size in check. I do go through phases where pizza "just really sounds good" a little too often, or indulge in a bacon avocado cheeseburger (with fries, of course) because I haven't had one in a while. And wine....oh,wine...its pretty darn good stuff. I like reds...zins, cabernets, pinot noirs...and well, you can't squander away a good bottle of wine on a crappy meal. So that leads me to my steaks, pork chops and other yummy things I like to have for dinner. I love baked potatoes, but typically my "sides" for dinners are artichokes (which I do enjoy best dipped in mayo) and asparagus. I like salads, but am typically do lazy during the week to put all the toppings on that I enjoy the most. Which doesn't really make sense because they all come out of a can (garbanzo beans, kidney beans, black olives) for the most part, except croutons...and blue cheese dressing. So I still eat salad but usually something easier, topped with tomatoes and croutons only.

So to fast forward, I am turning the big 4-0 in a couple weeks. I want to turn 40 feeling fit and fabulous. I am the mother of two small children, a 3 1/2 year old boy and a 1 year old boy. While they do keep me pretty busy, I also find that its hard for me to take time to exercise as much as I'd like. I have also gone back to work after being off for a year and have actually put on weight. When I was home I led a much more active lifestyle...walking to the store with the boys in a stroller, taking them to the gym, riding my bike with them in a bike trailer. I also pretty much ate the same boring things all the time. I didn't get out to lunch or dinner more than maybe once every couple of weeks with my friends. Now here I am working in an office, and I am a free woman out on the town with big decisions to make like, "Where are we going to eat today?" and "Oh, you brought donuts in this morning? I think I'll take one, thanks." I have gained 5 lbs in the last few months, and on a short person like me (5'2) it shows. Not to mention the muscle mass I have lost since I have not worked out regularly since I started this job last July. Oh, da horrah!

My husband works most nights so I am left to my own devices as to what to make for dinner. I think I typically make good choices. He is totally supportive of me leading a healthy lifestyle. He is dedicated to working out nearly every day and likes to eat pretty healthy. He has a wicked sweet tooth though, and I try to help him out by not keeping any sweets in the house at all. But he's one of those "binge" people. If he's got a craving, he will dig high and low through every cabinet and the freezer in search of a treat. So, occasionally I throw the chocolate candy from goody bags my son gets at birthday parties in the freezer so if I hubby is having one of his fits, he can find a small something there.

Today a group of five of us from work are starting our version of "The Biggest Loser" challenge at work. We are all geared up to improve ourselves, and hope to support one another. Since we are together 5 days a week, and these are the people I typically make my eating decisions with (good and bad), I think this is going to work out well for us. We all went today to Wolf Fitness Systems to get our body fat tested because one of my co-workers works out there. I have never had my body fat tested before in my life! I thought I was going to get pinched in a few places but it turns out its a little more high tech. John, the owner, put some type of gel on my skin (resembling ultra-sound gel) and put a little sensor gun on specific areas: on my belly, on my waist/hip area, and the back of my arm. After a few beeps, it uploads information into a software and gives your overall body fat percentage. Mine was 28%! I was quite surprised that it was that high, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, since my discontent with my body lately is what brought me there in the first place.

I am not a calorie counter, but instead I just hope to keep track of all the exercise I do and put it out "there" (meaning, here) so it will keep me honest. I hope to lose between 7-10 lbs. Our challenge goes from today until March 11...so I'm sure there will be ups, as wells as downs. And hopefully all the downs will be the numbers on the scale!