Danielle's post inspired me to think about what I should be working on...
In talking with a friend last night (thanks Gina!) the questions she asked last night were:
What do you think was the highlight of the last year?
Without a doubt this would be my job. I've entered a really nice phase of my career, where I'm doing something I really enjoy. It's just enough of a challenge to keep me on my toes, and all the big "problems" that arise are fun ones.
What do you most regret about the last year?
That I haven't gotten further with the yoga teaching that I really enjoy doing.
So today I'm spending some time planning out what I want to do over the next year.
I mean, 40 is only 6 years away. My 30's need to be good ;-)
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Happy Birthday to Kristy
Happy Birthday, Kristy!
There is a lot to be said about turning 34...none of it good, of course (just kidding!). I think being 34 has made me really start thinking about the future. There is something about turning 35 next year that just freaks me out. I won't be able to pretend I'm young and (as) ignorant any more. Of course, I type that as I'm pretending I'm a baby so my daughter will feed me pretend pancakes and cookies.
There is a lot to be said about turning 34...none of it good, of course (just kidding!). I think being 34 has made me really start thinking about the future. There is something about turning 35 next year that just freaks me out. I won't be able to pretend I'm young and (as) ignorant any more. Of course, I type that as I'm pretending I'm a baby so my daughter will feed me pretend pancakes and cookies.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Kristy's Painful Cheeks
The fact I exercised earned me the right to post. Kristy inspired me to lunge while watching the news...lunge while walking back from putting some towels away...lunge on my way past the dryer. I've never appreciated the lunge before. But I do admit, this was kind of a nice feeling. Maybe I'll try it again tomorrow. If I stop sweating.
I've started another 12 weeks of WW@W today. I lost a whole pound last 12 weeks. I'm still in the interested vs. committed phase. However, I'm planning on changing that this 12 weeks. There is my health at stake and a $250 gift card for the biggest loser (percentage of weight loss). I like money. And I like life, too. We are almost a diaperless family...exciting times!
I've started another 12 weeks of WW@W today. I lost a whole pound last 12 weeks. I'm still in the interested vs. committed phase. However, I'm planning on changing that this 12 weeks. There is my health at stake and a $250 gift card for the biggest loser (percentage of weight loss). I like money. And I like life, too. We are almost a diaperless family...exciting times!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Painful cheeks
Twice a week, i make myself do lunges....this is an exercise in which one stands with feet together, then steps about 3-4 feet forward and brings the back knee to just within a few inches of hitting the floor. then one curses and stands back up, repeating the process on the other leg.
I absolutely love this exercise for two reasons.
1- whenever i do it, someone in the gym will go..."Gonna be sore tomorrow!" or "Oh those are really a killer". Meaning I'm tough. I do two sets of 15 now, each time
2- they seem to re-align my knees and hips and strengthen them up.
I hate them for one reason. My hips are deeply sore for 2-3 days following each exertion.
that's all :-).
I absolutely love this exercise for two reasons.
1- whenever i do it, someone in the gym will go..."Gonna be sore tomorrow!" or "Oh those are really a killer". Meaning I'm tough. I do two sets of 15 now, each time
2- they seem to re-align my knees and hips and strengthen them up.
I hate them for one reason. My hips are deeply sore for 2-3 days following each exertion.
that's all :-).
Sunday, June 21, 2009
More Deepak is awesome
Mind-Body...we all hear this when we look into Yoga or Pilates classes, right? "Develop your mind-boyd awareness" or "Explore the mind-body connection".
It's soo simple, when you think about it. Specific exercises that alternately soothe and challenge different areas of the body, while you focus your mind to these experiences.
Experienced yoga teachers know to combine specific exercises to enhance/combat effects of the external environment, and bring their students to "center" which is really a way of saying bringing them back into balance from stresses of life such as emotional happenings, daily stress, physical stress, overeating, etc.
With time and enough awareness to your body and mind, you can start to view life in a more objective way and actually choose your reactions (mental and emotional) to different situations in life.
Cultivating the ability to choose your reactions to life situations will lessen the stress on your body and health...
How to cultivate?
Via the right diet (for you), good mental stimulation and relaxation, meditation, and proper exercise.
Woot!
It's soo simple, when you think about it. Specific exercises that alternately soothe and challenge different areas of the body, while you focus your mind to these experiences.
Experienced yoga teachers know to combine specific exercises to enhance/combat effects of the external environment, and bring their students to "center" which is really a way of saying bringing them back into balance from stresses of life such as emotional happenings, daily stress, physical stress, overeating, etc.
With time and enough awareness to your body and mind, you can start to view life in a more objective way and actually choose your reactions (mental and emotional) to different situations in life.
Cultivating the ability to choose your reactions to life situations will lessen the stress on your body and health...
How to cultivate?
Via the right diet (for you), good mental stimulation and relaxation, meditation, and proper exercise.
Woot!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
I ate a quesadilla on Friday
And something in the combination of cheesy happiness and the heat wave caused it to be a painful proposition.
I spent the whole night burping and feeling a nasty burning sensation in my tummy. damn the quesadilla.
I did, however get time to read some more of the Deepak Chopra book, "Perfect Health".
DEEPAK ROCKS.
He explains the Ayurvedic system of doshas, and that if you are in touch with your "home base" you can avert and/or ward off most unpleasant physical problems through diet, exercise, yoga, meditation and herbs.
Morgan Spurlock's girlfriend says that i need to be very careful of all non-organic food.
I spent the whole night burping and feeling a nasty burning sensation in my tummy. damn the quesadilla.
I did, however get time to read some more of the Deepak Chopra book, "Perfect Health".
DEEPAK ROCKS.
He explains the Ayurvedic system of doshas, and that if you are in touch with your "home base" you can avert and/or ward off most unpleasant physical problems through diet, exercise, yoga, meditation and herbs.
Morgan Spurlock's girlfriend says that i need to be very careful of all non-organic food.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
up again, down again
I'm pretty well set on not eating sugar and refined carbs...and that's going pretty well. no seriously. I'm resisting the candy kisses on the desks, not eating bread yada yada. I'm kind of used to it (for 2 days :-).
But i weighted myself and I'm up 2 lbs. ..Guess the beer and fried chicken this weekend did it to me ....
I'm not completely depressed, because it was an awesome weekend, and...hey, i'm just gearing up my workouts...but it does make me a little sad.
Ok that's my note for the day. Beer + Fried Chicken and stuffing and such increases weight gain :-).
But i weighted myself and I'm up 2 lbs. ..Guess the beer and fried chicken this weekend did it to me ....
I'm not completely depressed, because it was an awesome weekend, and...hey, i'm just gearing up my workouts...but it does make me a little sad.
Ok that's my note for the day. Beer + Fried Chicken and stuffing and such increases weight gain :-).
Monday, June 15, 2009
My rant and plea against artificial sweeteners.
My frustration with this has been building for a while. And while I will continue to refrain (mostly. sorry, Murphy) from maligning your soft drinks in front of you, i've got to say something.
When on earth did we decide that aspartame, NutraSweet, Splenda, Sweet n' Low, and a bevy of other shitty products were tasty, delicious, and something we wanted to put in our mouths 2-20 times per day?
Everyone i know drinks Diet soda, and they don't just have one. At work I see people keep a bottle of diet coke next to their desks all day. In the Cult of Diet Coke a woman states that she drinks her first D.C of the day in the shower. She would drink 10-15 a day if she could...another woman said that when she dines, if the restaurant doesn't have Diet Coke, she drinks water, but then crosses that place off of her list of acceptable places to go.
I used to drink at least 5 diet sodas in any given meal in a restaurant. I have a friend, whom I won't name, who once almost walked out of a very nice restaurant because they served their Diet Cokes one can at a time. No Free Refills...she was very upset, and it was going to mess up her whole day.
To me it's enough objective proof, at least, that diet soda is an addictive substance. I define those as anything that you feel you need to ingest, but gain nothing nutrition-wise from taking it in. Sugar is on that list too...along with white carbs...yum..er, i mean ADDICTIVE SUBSTANCE!.
I invite you to take a test. Sit down somewhere quiet. Taste diet soda a like you would wine. It tastes sweet at first, but then there's a bitter part to it, and it tastes metallic.
Gross.
When on earth did we decide that aspartame, NutraSweet, Splenda, Sweet n' Low, and a bevy of other shitty products were tasty, delicious, and something we wanted to put in our mouths 2-20 times per day?
Everyone i know drinks Diet soda, and they don't just have one. At work I see people keep a bottle of diet coke next to their desks all day. In the Cult of Diet Coke a woman states that she drinks her first D.C of the day in the shower. She would drink 10-15 a day if she could...another woman said that when she dines, if the restaurant doesn't have Diet Coke, she drinks water, but then crosses that place off of her list of acceptable places to go.
I used to drink at least 5 diet sodas in any given meal in a restaurant. I have a friend, whom I won't name, who once almost walked out of a very nice restaurant because they served their Diet Cokes one can at a time. No Free Refills...she was very upset, and it was going to mess up her whole day.
To me it's enough objective proof, at least, that diet soda is an addictive substance. I define those as anything that you feel you need to ingest, but gain nothing nutrition-wise from taking it in. Sugar is on that list too...along with white carbs...yum..er, i mean ADDICTIVE SUBSTANCE!.
I invite you to take a test. Sit down somewhere quiet. Taste diet soda a like you would wine. It tastes sweet at first, but then there's a bitter part to it, and it tastes metallic.
Gross.
New books.
I'm working on understanding where my line is.
Whenever I eat vegetarian for more than a couple of days, I get extreme chapped lips, and twice now i've had puffy, scratchy eyelids breakout.
But when i don't focus that heavily on what I'm eating, i slide into the other direction completely. I eat lots of crappy food, and I feel heavy and gross most of the time.
I know there's an in between, and i'm determined to find it! I went to the library and took out a couple of books (in addition to the Guts and Glory thing I bought)
Here's what I got:
Whenever I eat vegetarian for more than a couple of days, I get extreme chapped lips, and twice now i've had puffy, scratchy eyelids breakout.
But when i don't focus that heavily on what I'm eating, i slide into the other direction completely. I eat lots of crappy food, and I feel heavy and gross most of the time.
I know there's an in between, and i'm determined to find it! I went to the library and took out a couple of books (in addition to the Guts and Glory thing I bought)
Here's what I got:
- Perfect Health by Deepak Chopra - this is the one I'm most excited about. Deepak talks about how to bring the mind and body together, and explains Ayurvedic techniques. He's very good at explaining his systems that combine eastern and western medicine.
- The Great American Detox Diet - Remember "Super Size Me" ? Remember the super vegan chef girlfriend who designed a diet for Morgan Spurlock to come back to health? Well gosh darned if she didn't write a book about it! This book will plunk me back into uncomfortable Alternative Health land...and the place where I have to decipher what's real for myself. The good thing is, Alex (you know, Morgan's Girlfriend) seems to have a very sweet way of writing.
- 15-Minute Vegetarian- Dammit. I'm going to learn how to make this food so that I don't wind up with crusty dried skin all over my face and STILL feel light and happy when I'm done eating (as opposed to heavy and like a rock is in my stomach).
Monday, June 8, 2009
Change
I needed a change tonight...seemed like Kristy and I may have been having some commitment issues since we have had the blog for six months and had not changed the look or named.
I'm in a reflective mood. My baby (my only) turns THREE tomorrow. Not only does that make me sad for sentimental reasons (she's growing soooo fast!), but it makes me think of lots of other things:
So ~ what to do, what to do? Obviously nobody here is getting younger. Although Ryls did tell me tonight that I was too little to give blood...sweet, innocent child. Do I commit? Do I stay miserable and never buy another pair of underwear again? Only time will tell. Sounds evasive, yes -- it's the daughter's b-day tomorrow. I have to help eat the candy from the pinata (hey, it's the only thing she asked for!!!)...then I'll think harder.
Yes, yes -- I definitely have a commitment issue. However, I'm pretty sure I'm close to getting back on track. After all, my baby (my only!) is (nearly) three. If I'm going to have another, I really need to focus and get in gear. I would like to think great things happen while I'm lounging on the couch...but that doesn't seem to be the case.
(I don't know where the whole job thing came into this...except I blame my job for making me fat. And, there's me eating too much and exercising too little...details, details.)
I'm in a reflective mood. My baby (my only) turns THREE tomorrow. Not only does that make me sad for sentimental reasons (she's growing soooo fast!), but it makes me think of lots of other things:
- Wow, I've really put on a lot of weight over these three years.
- My goodness I would kill to even fit into my maternity pants!
- In eight weeks, I'll have been at my job for three years.
- I haven't bought a new pair of underwear in three years - oh my!
So ~ what to do, what to do? Obviously nobody here is getting younger. Although Ryls did tell me tonight that I was too little to give blood...sweet, innocent child. Do I commit? Do I stay miserable and never buy another pair of underwear again? Only time will tell. Sounds evasive, yes -- it's the daughter's b-day tomorrow. I have to help eat the candy from the pinata (hey, it's the only thing she asked for!!!)...then I'll think harder.
Yes, yes -- I definitely have a commitment issue. However, I'm pretty sure I'm close to getting back on track. After all, my baby (my only!) is (nearly) three. If I'm going to have another, I really need to focus and get in gear. I would like to think great things happen while I'm lounging on the couch...but that doesn't seem to be the case.
(I don't know where the whole job thing came into this...except I blame my job for making me fat. And, there's me eating too much and exercising too little...details, details.)
Alternative Health...and Oprah.
Stumbled upon this article today. Awesome! Who's right? Who's wrong?
A scientist details how upset he is with Oprah's messages regarding alternative health therapy.
Fascinating!
Btw. I haven't had any sugar or refined carbs today. Sigh...i mean...I'm LIGHT as a feather. :-)
A scientist details how upset he is with Oprah's messages regarding alternative health therapy.
Fascinating!
Btw. I haven't had any sugar or refined carbs today. Sigh...i mean...I'm LIGHT as a feather. :-)
Sunday, June 7, 2009
What to eat?
I love and I hate Alternative Health (AH).
On the plus side, the world of AH provides answers to dietary medical problems and muscular medical problems that Medical Doctors, traditional nutritionists, and your average personal trainer cannot provide. Things like:
But because AH practitioners are on the fringe of the medical world, and are largely unregulated they are scary. Add to that the distrust from traditional medical doctors and the zealot like followings for diets like Atkins, herbal remedies, strange cayenne pepper diets ...and frankly it all looks like a lot of bullshit...and requires some shrewd studying to determine how to proceed.
So as I've been thinking about this Candida experiment, I decided to visit my local health food store and get information.
The lady there recommended a $20 cure that I can take for 30 days...much like the lovely Asian woman I talked to a couple of weeks ago.
She also recommended acidophilus for my unhappy tummies. I decided to take a pass on all that for now, use up my $28-30 day remedy first...THEN see about her stuff.
Instead I bought a book called "Restoring your Digestive Health".
Imagine my sadness and surprise when I opened it to find a program called..."Guts and Glory".
Tomorrow I go with safe, and eat lovely brown rice and whatever doesn't turn my stomach. and I'm going off of liquor and tv all week...until i know what it takes to get "Guts AND Glory".
On the plus side, the world of AH provides answers to dietary medical problems and muscular medical problems that Medical Doctors, traditional nutritionists, and your average personal trainer cannot provide. Things like:
But because AH practitioners are on the fringe of the medical world, and are largely unregulated they are scary. Add to that the distrust from traditional medical doctors and the zealot like followings for diets like Atkins, herbal remedies, strange cayenne pepper diets ...and frankly it all looks like a lot of bullshit...and requires some shrewd studying to determine how to proceed.
So as I've been thinking about this Candida experiment, I decided to visit my local health food store and get information.
The lady there recommended a $20 cure that I can take for 30 days...much like the lovely Asian woman I talked to a couple of weeks ago.
She also recommended acidophilus for my unhappy tummies. I decided to take a pass on all that for now, use up my $28-30 day remedy first...THEN see about her stuff.
Instead I bought a book called "Restoring your Digestive Health".
Imagine my sadness and surprise when I opened it to find a program called..."Guts and Glory".
Tomorrow I go with safe, and eat lovely brown rice and whatever doesn't turn my stomach. and I'm going off of liquor and tv all week...until i know what it takes to get "Guts AND Glory".
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Awe Sugar...Awe honey honey.
I'm having such a hard time believing that any of this working out will help me lose weight.
This week has continued my run as the candy-crazed woman @ work who cannot pass the candy dish w/o helping myself.
And once again, i am eating food that makes my stomach hurt.
I've also been toying with yet another new diet to snap me out of my bad habits. this one is the Candida diet.
According to an Asian woman who runs O.R. Smoothies in the Central West End, she can see AND feel that I very likely have systemic Candida which makes it hard to lose weight, increases likelihood of yeast infections, and slows a person down. Which is a problem that natural health practitioners feel 80% of the population has, and 100% of traditional MDs will not treat.
And I love natural practitioners. There's just enough truth in each suggestion they make to make me believe...and is a solution is less than $50, and involves mostly a change in habits, I'm sold.
"The yeast crave the sugar...make you eat more. This kill the yeast, make you slim and beautiful.".
Ah well, we'll try it for 7 days and see what happens. 7 days never killed anybody. I did almost diet that time I tried a 1700 calorie diet for 7 days though...i let you's know when i decide to do it and what happens.
This week has continued my run as the candy-crazed woman @ work who cannot pass the candy dish w/o helping myself.
And once again, i am eating food that makes my stomach hurt.
I've also been toying with yet another new diet to snap me out of my bad habits. this one is the Candida diet.
According to an Asian woman who runs O.R. Smoothies in the Central West End, she can see AND feel that I very likely have systemic Candida which makes it hard to lose weight, increases likelihood of yeast infections, and slows a person down. Which is a problem that natural health practitioners feel 80% of the population has, and 100% of traditional MDs will not treat.
And I love natural practitioners. There's just enough truth in each suggestion they make to make me believe...and is a solution is less than $50, and involves mostly a change in habits, I'm sold.
"The yeast crave the sugar...make you eat more. This kill the yeast, make you slim and beautiful.".
Ah well, we'll try it for 7 days and see what happens. 7 days never killed anybody. I did almost diet that time I tried a 1700 calorie diet for 7 days though...i let you's know when i decide to do it and what happens.
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