Home is Where the Heart Is

Well I am home in NY for the holiday. Tom drove us back to the tri-state area last night like a trooper -- rain + rush hour + heavy Thanksgiving traffic is not a good combination. Luckily we had some Jeopardy trivia to pass the time. Did you know you can access all of the Jeopardy questions and answers EVER here: http://j-archive.com/listseasons.php. So freakin' crazy!

Now I am home and half working, half trying to avoid the massive amounts of food everywhere. This is what I am dealing with here...

So far so good though. For breakfast I had 1 egg and 2 egg whites scrambled with an apple on the side. I spent the next few hour chugging water to keep my hands off the reeses cups. For lunch I tried to keep portions small while still enjoying some of the "treats" my mom bought for me:

A few pieces of turkey, salami and provolone, small bit of pasta salad from my favorite deli, cucumbers and tomatoes.

Before lunch, I decided to take a break from work and do some exercise in the basement! Go me. I made up this crazy long total body workout and really pushed myself throughout. It took me just under an hour from start to finish.

Warm up:
30 second arm crosses
30 second neck rolls
30 second jumping jacks
30 second leg kicks
30 second jumprope
30 second leg kicks

Work out:
30 second jumping jacks
30 second butt kicks
30 second jumping jacks
30 second high knees
REST
Sarah Fit arm routine
REST
15 squats
30 second jumping jacks
15 squats - lifted right heel
30 second jumping jacks
15 squats - lifted left heel
30 second jumping jacks
15 squats
30 second jumping jacks
REST
15 pushups
15 pushups
REST
15 lunges right leg
30 second box stance punch w/ weight R
15 lunges left leg
30 second box stance punch  w/ weight L
15 lunges right leg
30 second box stance punch w/ weight R
15 lunges left leg
30 second box stance punch  w/ weight L
REST
1 minute scale hold (I can't get my leg anywhere near that height -- the key is keeping your hips straight, which is way harder than it sounds) right 1 minute
1 minute scale hold left 1 minute
REST
Up and down stairs 5 times (skip steps going up)
15 calf raises on step
Up and down stairs 10 times (skip steps going up)
15 calf raises on step
REST
Sarah Fit arm routine
REST
30 second plank
15 side plank L
15 side plank R
15 bicycles
15 bicycles
15 crunches
15 leg lifts
15 crunches
15 leg lifts
30 second superman hold
STRETCH

That looks crazy long. I really like changing up the moves constantly..it keeps things from getting boring. It was an awesome workout and I was definitely pretty sweaty once it was done.

I know my mom has a healthy dinner on the menu. I just have to last through today then I can splurge on Thanksgiving. Ahh!!

Feeling Strong

Hello there! It is almost time to leave for Thanksgiving weekend! Woo hoo! Can't wait to have a few days off from work. Then, I get back, have a crazy week and my big event for work, and then it is smooth sailing until the end of the year. Cannot wait.

Last night I went to the usual total body strength class at the gym. I've been going to this class for two months now, and I'm excited to say it was the first time I really felt strong. I used heavier weights for many of the exercises, and was able to complete almost everything we had to do. I was really pushing myself and was often surprised I could make it through all of the sets. We didn't have to do the 100 lunges (we only did 30 on each leg) so we'll see how I do with that next time!

My exercise routine has been going great and I really love having my stand up desk at work! I feel like I stretch more, move around more, and just generally feel better throughout the day. Here's my workouts from the last 10 days:

11/17 - rest
11/18 - standing: 3.5 hours, total body strength class
11/19 - standing: 2.75 hours, cardioboxing class
11/20 - standing: 3 hours
11/21 - standing: 3 hours, 50 minute run/walk on treadmill (3.5 miles), 10 minutes of abs
11/22 - standing: 1 hour, 30 minute run/walk on treadmill, 1 round 7 minute workout, 5 minutes of arms
11/23 - walked 1 mile, 45 minutes gardening
11/24 - rest
11/25 - standing 1.5 hours, total body strength
11/26 - aiming to stand for 4+ hours today since I'll be sitting in the car for the evening

I can't believe I got back on the treadmill last week. I can't remember the last time I ran, and it actually wasn't that bad! I even went ahead and signed up for a 5k this Sunday! I don't know what I was thinking, but the race sounded fun. Worse case I'll just walk the whole thing.

I'm so excited for Thanksgiving but a little nervous about the food situation. I've been doing really well with eating (besides Sunday, where I ate whatever I wanted for dinner -- a burger and fries). I don't care about splurging on Thanksgiving, but I'm always worried about going to a house where there are endless snacks, cheese, pretzels, candy and diet coke. Weirdly, I'm not at all worried about the diet coke -- I know I'm not going to drink any -- but it's just the whole environment where there is food all over the place. Hopefully I will be fine! I just have to find ways to keep myself busy.

Experiment Early & Often

Well I'm feeling much better after last night's post. I haven't felt that introspective in a while. Sometimes it helps to just get it all down and out of brain, even if I don't have the answers yet.

I've been doing pretty well with my food attempts since I last updated. I had a couple of rough days last week but am totally back on track now. What I'm finding is most important is to enjoy my planned nights out but to make sure all my meals on my own are as healthy as I can manage. Here's a bit of the "balance":

Tom had his annual pumpkin party last weekend and it was so fun! We had a ton of pumpkin beer and everyone had to bring a food item that either tasted like, was shaped like, or was the color of pumpkin!

I made pumpkin shaped quesadillas and cut the tortillas into these shapes!

Orange buffalo chicken dip

17 different pumpkin beers!

All the yummy food

Last Sunday I attended my friend's pop-up dinner called Kitchen Kibitz. I wrote a lot about it on yelp so I'll stick to the photos here.

This past weekend I went out to dinner with my friends to Tip Tap Room and ordered this amazing lamb dish with goat cheese mashed potatoes. I decided to take it easy on the drinks and instead order what I wanted at dinner. A good decision all around!!

And now, for the balance. Here's what I've been eating on the regular:

This last picture was dinner last night and I am super proud of it! I went food shopping on Sunday and did a lot of prep work over the past few days. I made:
- mashed cauliflower (head of cauliflower, a tsp each of butter and olive oil, garlic, thyme and chives)
- hard boiled eggs
- roasted sweet potatoes
- homemade larabars (same receipe as last time + honey)
- lunches for the week
- crockpot pulled pork (pork loin + 1 can of beef broth in the crockpot on low for 9 hours, bbq added to taste after shredding)

I've also been pretty happy on the fitness side lately, despite my complaints last night of how long it's taking to feel in shape. I've been trying some new things and keeping up with the old things:

- 11/5: tried a cardio boxing class at the gym. It was awesome! I was the only new person in the class (there was only 5 of us) so the instructor was on top of me. The best part was getting to punch the bag as hard as possible while he held it and yelled at me. Hah.
- 11/7: tried a free barre class at Athleta on Newbury Street. This was a lot harder than expected! Who knew pulsing up and down on your toes for 60 minutes would kill so much?
- 11/9: went to Harvard Stadium and went up and down the sections for 45 minutes. I completed 14 sections. This was so hard and seriously felt like torture. I had a mini breakdown about 10 minutes in but pushed through, even though my legs were shaking out of my shoes and I felt like I was going to puke. By the end I was literally pulling myself up the stairs with my arms. I was completely out of commission for the next few days and could barely walk.
- 11/14: my legs were finally 100% so I did a few rounds of the 7 minute workout + some random exercises.
- 11/15: same as above.
- 11/16: went on a two hour hike with Tom at the Noanet Woodlands in Dover.

-11/18: Total Body Strength class at the gym. This class is definitely getting more manageable, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to do the 50 lunges in a row on each leg. I dread it from the second class starts. Right now I can get to 30, then pause for 2 lunges, pause for 1 lunch at 43 then can *just* make it to 50. It's so hard!

I also recently bought myself a stand up desk attachment for work. I'm aiming to stand for 3-4 hours per day and will work my way up. It feels so good to not be sitting all day! I definitely feel like I'm just generally moving more and I'm hoping this prevents any lower back pain that I sometimes suffer from.

It's nice that I can easily move my laptop from one place to the other whenever I want. Surprisingly, after a while I don't even realize I'm standing!

The blue and pink picture right next to my laptop is a little card my boss gave me a while ago. It says "Experiment early and often. Don't be afraid to go first." I like that I can see it now when I work. I can always use a little extra inspiration throughout the day!

Tonight I'm going to the boxing class again and I'm considering the barre class again on Thursday. It starts at 8 which is kind of annoying because it's right near my work. Perhaps I'll plan ahead and eat dinner here or go shopping. We'll see!

Random

I can't sleep.

I feel so bad for Marley and Rachel on Glee.

I'm annoyed that it is taking me so long to feel even semi- back in shape. Why is this so hard? Why can't I lose weight?

I haven't been feeling well lately. I don't sleep through the night, I have a constant small headache, and I feel nauseous anytime I'm in a car or exercising. I want to rip my nose off my face from the dry heat in my apartment.

I feel like I want a change but I don't know what. Maybe I need a haircut? Or a new job? Or a change of scenery? Whenever I think moving might be a solution I ALWAYS go back to this lyric:

"I think that it's brainless to assume that making changes to your window's view will give a new perspective."

I don't know what I want to do with my life. How does anyone know? I don't even know what the options are. I find myself more and more these days wishing I took a different path in college. Not that it's too late to change. I just don't know what to do. How does anyone save enough money to live?

I wish I could relive these moments.

I just want to feel proud of something again. Like I'm accomplishing something substantial. I don't know how to start.

On Food

I know I have a lot of posts to write, but today, I want to talk about food.

I mentioned last week that I've been working with some new guidelines for my eating. I'm happy to say things are going really well!! Except for special occasions (me and Tom's anniversary dinner, a friend's birthday dinner at an amazing taco place) I've been trying my best to stick to a diet focused on protein, fruit and vegetables. I've been paying special attention to not including cheese in everything I eat and to have very few grains. Here's a few examples of how I've been eating:

Breakfasts have either been eggs or a larabar with some sort of fruit. Can't believe I've been making eggs and packing them before work! I added chopped spinach to my eggs in the first picture -- the first time I've ever put veggies in my eggs -- and loved it! This morning I had the same breakfast minus the turkey bacon.

eggs & chopped spinach, turkey bacon, banana

eggs & banana

Last week I bought lunch every day (gah, so expensive) and I sorta fell in love with creating these little snack boxes at the cafe downstairs. I've been super anti-salad lately (mostly because I just can't find a dressing I'm into), so this is a great way to eat a "salad". Luckily I don't care that everyone in the cafe probably thinks I'm an alien with my little sections of food.

Lentil soup w/ fruit, veggies and trail mix

tuna salad, hard boiled eggs, sweet potato and veggies

same thing, plus raspberries, minus sweet potato

same thing, minus fruit, plus swiss chard

prociutto, canteloupe, veggies and trail mix

I've been eating a lot of dinners out, but when I'm home I try to make them good.

roasted sweet potato hashbrowns, turkey burger with a mashed avocado

prociutto, canteloupe & balsamic bites, veggies, few olives

chickarina soup, pear &veggies

I haven't been doing much snacking because I'm actually very full from my meals. When I do, I try to make it protein based (unless it's a small piece of Halloween candy that is literally overflowing every inch of my office).

dates filled with peanut butter

apple and homemade larabar

Yes, you read right! I made my own "larabars" the other night. I've been buying them a lot lately and figured I'd take a stab at making my own. Since the ingredients in larabars are so few and all natural, it's easy to replicate. For these peanut butter chocolate "larabars", I only used 5 ingredients!

Peanut Butter Chocolate "Larabars"

Ingredients:
18 oz pitted dates
2/3 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
1/3 cup of chocolate chips
pinch of sea salt
splash of water while blending

Directions:
Add the peanuts to a food processor and blend until they are chopped into very small pieces (not a paste).

Add the dates (I did this in two batches), chocolate chips and sea salt. Once blended, check the texture and add a splash of water if necessary.

Remove the mixture and spread into a flat square on wax paper. Place into the freezer for about 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes remove, cut into pieces and wrap in plastic.

Voila!

These are soooo good! They are a little bit softer than actual larabars but taste just as good. I will definitely try to make more varieties.

Anyway, I'm going to see my nutritionist again tomorrow and I'm eager to hear what she says about my food log for the past few weeks. I'm excited to talk to her about what challenged me and what came surprisingly easily. I have a few topics I want to cover with her:

- Where does my desire to binge eat come from and what's it related to?
- Why do I only want to eat grains after exercising?
- When and what should I eat before/after exercising?
- How/where do I change my current eating for weight loss?

Until next time!