Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Hassle Me.

This is a great website that will help you with your New Years Resolutions.

http://www.hassleme.co.uk/

Enter the frequency and type of hassle you want, enter your e-mail address, and let them do the work.

I asked them to hassle me about working out. :)

Stuffy Stuff.

So, a few things that aren't related to each other and are all in all kind of random.

Dan in the footy pajamas my Mom got him:


The cookies I made with my Mom (We're awesome...)


The signed, framed photo of John Mayer Jesse got me:


And the awesome cookbook Jesse got me:



It has dinner menus and shopping lists for 20 weeks. How awesome is that??? I'm going to be blogging the meals I make from the menu and sharing the recipes here starting next Sunday. :)

Love,
Jenn

Back, Jack

Feeling much better, in fact, as of yesterday afternoon. The sick feeling apparently wasn't a virus or anything, just was waking up feeling crappy? I drank some Emergen-C and lots of water and I'm feeling fine.

By the way, I HATE anonymous comments, so whoever left the last one, be an adult and leave your name next time.

Actually, I'm disabling anonymous comments for exactly that reason.

And as a side note, the last time I had a really bad cold when I was traveling was when I went to NY with Jesse and Wes. Wanna know what made me feel better? Menthol cigarettes and Goldschlager.

Off to the gym,
~J

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Sickie McSickerson

So, my very good friends know that I get sick quite often when I travel. I managed to go the entire Christmas vacation without getting sick. I have one plane ride with fifteen snot nosed kids, and the morning after I get home, I'm coughing and all stuffed up.

Add to that, I'm cramping like crazy, and my CAR IS BROKEN, the dreams I had of going to the gym today have been crushed.

Something happened with the piston(s)? on my front left tire, and potentially there could be damage to the axel. The cost could be as high as 2K depending on what's broken. Guldarnit.

So, today I'm going to drink a crapton of water and cranberry juice and relax as best as possible. I just had some Healthy Choice chicken noodle soup.

I really want to be back to full capacity as soon as possible. :(

~J

Monday, December 29, 2008

Umm,

So, apparently my blog title is not accurate.

I just got this message from a "Hollywood" on myspace:



You are so hot, I'd drink your pee.



Yeah.

~J

Airplane Woes

So... once again I'm hanging out at the aiport, on my laptop, like a really cool blogger type person.

My flight back to Milwaukee was supposed to leave at 6pm, and now has been delayed to 7pm. Additionally, I'm still on Buddy-Pass-Stand-By. There are only 2 open seats on this flight (as of my check-in) - and things aren't looking too pretty. I really wish that the airport had a smoking lounge in each terminal. It'd help people stay calmer and would give me somewhere to hang out while I'm waiting for my flight.

**EDIT** -- So I'd heard a rumor that the smoking lounges were going to no longer be smoking lounges. I don't know where or when I heard that, so that was just my assumption. I went online to the DIA website after posting this blog, and found that my favorite restaurant/smoking lounge in the airport (Concourse A: Mesa Verde) was still open, and still a smoking lounge. JOY! So, now I'm here, waiting, enjoying a delicious bloody mary and a cigarette before going back to gate A46 to find out if I make it onto the plane or not. Here's hoping! :)

The lady at the ticket check in counter said that my priority code was 89, which is apparently really high. I would assume that has to do with the year the "Buddy-Pass-Giver" started working for the airline. I know there is at LEAST one other standby person and hers was 2006. So, hopefully I beat her out. I think I saw a few other people hand tickets to the guy behind the counter... I just really hope I get on the plane.

Granted, I have ultimate flexibility and can stay anywhere as long as I need to, and it would be cool to spend New Years with my friends, but I really miss Dan and definitely want to see him. So, we'll see what happens. It's 5:45, so there should be about 45 minutes more before they start boarding the plane. Ugh!

I will be really pissed if I have to leave, find my bags, go back to my parents, and then do all this crap again tomorrow.

~J

Sunday, December 28, 2008

What a Trip!

The past few weeks I've been in Denver with my friends and family, and I just have to say it's been awesome. I did really well the first week with eating right, working out, etc... then the holidays hit and I just tried to maintain by using portion control (ie: more salad, less potatoes, cutting meals in half, etc) -- I might have gained a pound or two but I'm not going to weigh myself until I get home. I ate some fruit for breakfast today and am definitely getting back to healthier eating now. We went to Jon's after an Irish Pub last night and had some yummy whole wheat Tostito chips with a great organic fire roasted tomato salsa. Yeah, we also had regular chips with bean dip and some pringles, and a bag of cheddar ruffles... but I'm making small steps back to normal.

It's been the greatest time and I can't remember the last time I did so much socializing, going out, and yes, drinking. I drank way too much light beer, and the empty calories are most likely going to take an easy toll on my waist line. I need to figure out the lowest calorie alcoholic drink that doesn't taste gross. :)

So, I just want to thank my friends and family for being so awesome and letting me have such a great time. I won't forget this trip! And hopefully I can come back again soon. I'd love to come back in April... or something. Wedding season really kicks off in May, and that will make it very difficult to come back before my birthday in August unless I do it a bit early. It looks like I'll have to really dig into my schedule and just buy a ticket before things get booked over my potential free time.

Muah!
~J

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Portion Control!

This is something I think just about every American should look at. We live in such a "Bigger, Better, More" society... we have jumbo, extra large, super big sizes in our food portions... and it's not just at the fast food places asking for .65 to upsize your value meal.

Here is a really good way to make sure you're eating the correct portions.

First of all, to have a balanced meal, I try to use the visual of a divided plate (the kind you get at a picnic with half the plate sectioned off, and then the other two sections as fourths on top...) Half your plate should be veggies (salad, green beans, whatever) - one fourth should be your carbohydrate, and one fourth your meat.

Now with that said... here are what portions are SUPPOSED to be:

A Baseball - a serving of vegetables or fruit
A rounded handful - about one half cup cooked or raw veggies or cut fruit, a piece of fruit, or ½ cup of cooked rice or pasta
Deck of cards - a serving of meat, fish or poultry
Golf ball - one quarter cup of dried fruit or nuts
Tennis ball - about one half cup of ice cream
Computer mouse - about the size of a small baked potato
Compact disc - about the size of one serving of pancake or small waffle
Thumb tip - about one teaspoon of peanut butter
Six dice - a serving of cheese
Check book - a serving of fish (approximately 3 oz.)


Check out THIS portion distortion:




Tuesday, December 23, 2008

New Header...

Don't be shocked. I know it's a little sexy, but, hey. That's how I feel inside. ;)

*Designed by Wes McCoy / Swish Embassy / McCoy Enterprises / McAdMcCoyMaster.

Hire him. He rocks.

~J

Monday, December 22, 2008

Yeah....

I'm not doing so well calorie wise. Coors Light has been my downfall. It "sounds" like a healthier beer, when in reality, 12 ounces is 102 calories (I believe...) and I've gone out to the bars/karaoke a few times this week. Six beers (not driving, thank you) will put me over my daily caloric intake by over 600 calories.

I'm screwed!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, December 19, 2008

A Few Changes.

I love the movie "The Mirror Has Two Faces." I don't know if any of you like Barbra Streisand movies, or if you've ever seen this one, but I find it to be particularly inspiring when it comes to working out, eating better and changing your body. There's a part when her husband (who married her because she was unattractive, because he didn't want sex to be a distraction or a factor in his relationships) comes home from a long business trip and she's lost a ton of weight, looks beautiful, got her hair done, is wearing makeup and a sexy dress. He is outraged and says "what did you do to yourself?!!!?" She says, "Do to myself? It's not like I had surgery. I just made a few changes."

That is really what it's all about. Making a few changes in the way you live your life. My Mom and I were talking about this over coffee today. It's the way I feel. Making a few changes: Eating more natural foods. Being more active.

I haven't worked out at the gym for three days. It's harder when I don't have a gym membership out here and my parents went to the gym early in the morning all three days. I'm a work out around 4-7pm type of person. But I've been walking a lot, and stretching a lot. I'm going to try to do some work on my Mom's Bosu Ball today. The good news is that I've been eating well and eating just at or under my recommended caloric intake for each day. Except yesterday I was about 100 calories over. No biggie.

I haven't weighed myself in two days... it's probably healthier to do that. I have an obsession with the scale and I could weigh myself several times a day if I let myself. I hope to get to the point that I weigh myself weekly instead of daily.

I went shopping with my Mom for our Christmas foods today, and we made a few small changes. Where we might previously have bought a bag of white flour rolls, we got these instead:



Where she usually buys a salad mix of iceberg lettuce (zero nutritional value), we bought this instead:



Those two things alone will provide us with healthier choices for our holiday meal.



I also wanted to share some of what I eat on a regular basis. I found a beautiful fruit salad with mango and kiwi... YUM! This is my after lunch snack:



I had Pho for lunch (Vietnamese beef noodle bowl) but I didn't get a photo of it... this is what pho looks like (image found at eatvancouver.net):




I love soy milk and all natural juice drinks and shakes:


Organic Yogurt:


Sprouted Grain Breads:


Kashi TLC crackers:


And affordable sushi from Costco... this was only 5 bucks!:


I love sushi. And, okay, I know that California rolls are NOT real sushi because it's imitation crab... and this contains white sushi rice. BUT... sushi is still a nice, light, healthy option and I feel great after I eat it. :)

Tonight I'm off to watch my friend and his band play a show, and then going out with some friends after that. Hurray for free time! :)~

~J

Teeny Weenie?

Blame the environment. Little boys are becoming more and more like little girls every day.

~J

Thursday, December 18, 2008

I love...

My friend Wes:




And I love jalapeno cheddar bread from Great Harvest.

That's all.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

You're Turning Violet, Violet!

So... I had the opportunity, now that I'm home in Denver to go see my FABULOUS hair stylist Travis. I wanted to do something fun and funky because I am my own boss, and don't have to deal with corporate bullshit dictating what I can and can't wear, what piercings or tattoos I have, or what color my hair is.

The result? A kickass mix of black, purple and white blonde hair. BAD ASS!

Travis is AMAZING.




That's all.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

I love Sweet Tomatoes.

And I'm not talking about the food. I'm talking about the restaurant.

This place has a salad bar the length (practically) of the restaurant. The setup is perfect for portion control, which aside from the fact that this restaurant is environmentally friendly, using recycled paper products and such, makes them awesome. The bread/pasta/etc plates are tiny (think a teacup plate) and the plates for the salad are normal sized plates. You not convinced yet? Check out the size of their ice cream cones:




I love it. Additionally, if you're trying to record your caloric (or other) intake... the website has all the nutritional info for their foods. :)


So, went to the gym again today. 25 minutes on the elliptical trainer (Trying to do interval training now) -- it goes a lot faster in your brain because it's broken up into so many parts. My brother came with us and it was so fun to work out with him. We pushed each other, did plyometrics, work with the bosu, medicine balls and a few other tough moves he showed me (mountain climber with weights... ouch!)

Overall a great day.

I'm so sad that there aren't any Sweet Tomatoes restaurants by my house!

~J

Monday, December 15, 2008

A few things.

Today I worked out with my Dad again, did 21 minutes on the elliptical and some weight training... did the Bosu kicks again (12) and some lunges (got through 6 this time)... and did something to my left quad. It hurts. :(

And now those few things I was going to mention:

First, take a lookie at my delicious afternoon snack.

Organic vanilla yogurt with some sliced strawberries and cranberry granola



Second, take a lookie at my hot mom. This is why I'm so mad I didn't inherit her skinniness. You should see her legs.



Third, I have issues. I have serious food issues. I am very used to diet + no exercise, and doing this working out plus "eating healthy" thing is a huge challenge for me. I am used to a very specific, structured, rules oriented eating plan. Atkins was easy because it's simple: low carb. This "eating in moderation" and "eat healthy" thing is killing me. It's like... okay, so I just keep under a certain calorie count per day while trying to drink a lot of water and eat foods that are "better" for me in terms of high protein, whole grains, more natural, less processed. Okay. So... that's just really, really open ended for me.

We went to Woody's for dinner tonight and I did a huge salad and a cup of the beer cheese soup. I feel completely guilty for eating that freaking soup. Though I'm probably under my calories for the day (I haven't calculated yet) - if I'm on a diet and eating healthy, that shouldn't have gone in my mouth.

So what is acceptable for "cheating" as people call it? I don't even feel there SHOULD be cheating. I feel as though every bad thing I eat is a huge deterrent from my goal. That's why when I did Atkins, there was NO tasting of sugar, fruit, frosting, potatoes, fries, bread, nothing. The "one" taste will make me want the bad stuff more, and then it's over.

I have to look at everything and say "Will this help me achieve my goal?" No. The beer cheese soup will NOT help me achieve my goal.

I just don't get the flexibility thing.

So what eating style works best? Or, what works best for you?

Those with no food issues need not respond, thanks.

The funniest thing I've ever seen.

WATCH this.

I usually don't like Christmas music....

But this is a clear exception.

Get into the spirit of the holidays with me!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Calorie Graph

My friend Laura from high school referred me to livestrong.com for calorie tracking, weight tracking and a slew of other resources. It's a really cool website. I think my favorite thing is the graphing!

This is a graph that shows my calories for the last 10 days. It shows the recommended calories, the net calories (what "actually" counts after my working out/burned calories are deducted) and the gross calories.



Way cool, huh!

Drunky-Pants

Hi guys!

Sorry for the little update delay. I went out with Jesse and Wes last night and we went to the Compound here in Denver. We had a fabulous time, did some calorie burning dancing, and I got really drunk. Tee-hee! I definitely become the "I love everyone" person when I drink. I talked to a 59 year old man named Earl. He has a big white ZZ-Top style beard and I could tell he was there alone. He told me about his mining days and his stash of gold and diamonds he plans to cash in when he retires so he can move to Arkansas. I like to ocassionally talk to folks older than myself, usually those who are down and out or homeless... just because it really gives me a chance to hear a story, and it gives the person a few minutes to be able to talk to someone.

I know why drinking is supposed to be very minimal when you're eating healthy or "dieting"... it lowers your inhibitions, not only with other people, but also with the food you eat. I remember being on Atkins and being at parties at Jesse's house, and Wes would make his famous bean dip, and I would chow down on that without thinking twice.

We went to Mimi's Cafe for lunch/breakfast this morning and I had a delicious salmon/veggies combo with a salad to start, and a bit of the bread they bring out. Delicious! So I'm really glad, though I didn't eat anything crazy last night, that even in my hungoverness that I didn't spring for a hashbrownbaconeggathon at Denny's,. :)~

I dont' have photos of my yummy food yet because I can't figure out how to get them off of my phone, onto my computer. My cruddy cell phone doesn't e-mail the pictures I take, so I have to think of something else.

Oh! And we shopped for about 3.5 hours today, which happily equates to 811 calories burned, according to livestrong.com. I don't know if I buy it, though I felt totally exhausted when I got home. If that's the case, I should just shop all day and I'll be a size 8 in no time!!! ;)

~J

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Hunky Dory

I love hunky, chunky, dense, fibrous, natural breads. I got this bread (similar to Ezekiel bread) that is preservative free, so you keep it in the fridge. I was ravenous this afternoon after shopping with my mom and had this for lunch:



Turkey, tomato, lettuce, light mayo, mustard on this bread, a handful of grapes and three strawberries. I was so full afterward. This bread is awesome. It's healthy, (only 80 calories per slice) and fills you up!

I showed my mom some of the ab exercises my trainer gave me and some lower back strengthening moves. She could barely do 5 of each one. That makes me feel a little better. ;) Considering how much she exercises and she's a size 6... she hasn't built up much ab or back strength. Even though I'm chubby she still asks me for advice on things like that, and it makes me feel good.

Tonight I'm off to the bars with Jesse and Wes to have a fun time. I'll be spending the night at Jesse's house and then we're all off to see "Milk" tomorrow... I can't wait!

Fleece and chicken grease,
~Jenn

Friday, December 12, 2008

First day in Denver!

Well lovelies... I'm home! It's really nice.

My parents picked me up and we went out for breakfast to Le Peep. They didn't exactly have a "healthy" section on the menu. I went with turkey/spinach/pepper crepes and substituted the potatoes for some fresh fruit. I also got a side salad to start and a small glass of orange juice.

My Mom and I did a bit of shopping and I introduced her to Whole Foods. That place has some serious sampling going on. Seriously. I am in Denver for 2 weeks, so I stocked up on some good food (fruit, sushi, avocado, yogurt, etc) for my stay here. I figure every other time I'll be eating out and I should be able to make healthy choices each time.

My Dad and I went to the gym. He works out at Bally's, which I hate, but it's better than running around the block in the cold. They don't have personal televisions on each cardio machine, which I find to be supremely helpful when I need to do cardio. Don't think I'm a snob... it's just because I have a much easier time doing 30 minutes of cardio when there's a show on, or a movie or something. It takes my mind off of the mundane-ness of the elliptical.

After my cardio I did 12 bosu ball kicks on each side and then was only able to do 5 lunges on each side. My legs are so weak! I did the bosu bicycle crunches (10 each side, ouchie!) and then did some weight training.

Let me tell you that my Dad is a MANIAC. He was busting out some crazy moves on the elliptical and was really good, he was on level 17 and doing 17+ for his strides. He then did walking lunges around the entire track.

So... reasons I don't like Bally's (aside from their terrible track record with customers and billing):

1. They don't provide towels
2. No screens on the cardio equipment
3. Poor housekeeping (the locker room stunk, and my parents say they laid off their cleaners)
4. Less miscellaneous tools (such as balls, bands, boards, mats, etc)

Maybe I'm spoiled at my current gym... but I know what I need to motivate me to go every day during the week... so it looks like I made a good choice. I just need to figure out how I'm going to keep it up for the rest of my vacation.

Oh, and a side note! The pants that were so tight were 14's. I found out that the pants I was wearing at work were 16's. I feel a lot better about that.

And here's a photo of the delicious salad I had for lunch. I'm telling you... Whole Foods salad bar = YUM!

Being Self Employed

My flight to Denver leaves in an hour, and I'm sitting here in the terminal typing away like a really cool blogger type person.

So... where to begin? Dan and I have a friend who works for an airline, so we are lucky enough to get buddy pass / standby tickets. The thing about those is that you have to dress up (business type attire), ie: no jeans, sweats, comfy clothes, t-shirts, hats, tennies, etc. For me, I'm thinking, "No problem, I did an office job for six years." So, I lay out my work pants, a white button up shirt and a grey sweater vest. This morning I pulled on my pants and almost started to cry. Yeah, these size 14's buttoned up, but they're tight as all getout. (Were they size 14 or 16? I can't even rememeber, and sitting here I can't pull my pants down to check.) -- I put on the white shirt which I wore at Thanksgiving and it was just about the same tightness, and pulled the sweater vest over.

Aside from the fact that I was really grumpy already from getting virtually NO sleep... I looked in the full length mirror and was so upset. Dan came up and gave me a kiss and asked what was wrong. I blurted out some variety and combination of expletives and stomped into the other room.

What do I gather from this experience? Working at home is AWESOME except for the ease in which you can fall into an expanding waistline, bootie, whatever. The fridge is in such close proximity that it's nothing to go grab food... it's right next to you. Add that to being able to wear comfy clothes all the time... (I work in my jammies for the most part) and you can gain weight without even realizing that your real clothes don't exactly fit anymore.

So. Yeah. It makes me glad that one of my goal outfits is a snazzy pinstripe suit I haven't been able to fit into correctly (ever)--- even when I was on Atkins and I dropped all that weight, my midsection still was too mushy and not toned enough to button the waist on these fabulous pants. It's only a size 10 but the waist is a size 6. ;)

Oh, and another thing. When I ran into all my "can't sleep" problems last night, I got up, had a cigarette, and was still hungry. I made one of my whole wheat pita/turkey/organic cream cheese concotions and ate that (I was only around 800 calories for the day prior to that). I thought eating would help me fall asleep. Instead, I still felt hungry after that and decided to have some cereal. I poured a HUGE bowl of two kinds of cereal mixed together (healthy wheat crunch type cereal) and topped it off with 1/3 banana slices and some soy milk. I downed that crunchy goodness so fast... and then the fullness and ickiness hit. I laid down again with Dan after attempting to watch some Lord of the Rings, and wanted to fall asleep. I immediately felt guilty for eating that much, particularly so late. Dan said that I eat so fast my body doesn't recognize that I'm full until I'm too full. I've heard that before... I'm a super fast scarfer eater. I'll eat my meal so much faster than anyone else around me, sometimes I feel like a bit of a freak. I attribute that to super rushed lunch breaks, running, grabbing food, coming back, and scarfing it at my desk for fear of a customer coming in or not having enough time to actually eat like a normal human being.

Anyways. Thought I'd share a bit about my little episode this morning. Needless to say it will give me sufficient motivation to stick to my eating and workout regimine while I'm in Denver. I want these pants to fit a little looser and my GUT to hang out a little less when I put this freakin' outfit back on when I fly back to Milwaukee.

Love and coconuts,
~Jenn

Thursday, December 11, 2008

2 Hours Later...

I need some sustanance. The fruit was great but couldn't hold me, so I made some delicious snackies. Organic whole wheat English muffins, Justin's All Natural Almond Butter and some banana sliced on top. Along with that a nice cup of Stonyfield Farm Plain organic yogurt, blueberries and museli. With that, a small glass of Silk Soy Milk. YUM!


Fruity Two Shoes

Can I just say how much I love fresh fruit?

Take a gander at my lunch:



Here is a small sampling of the various benefits of each fruit in my bowl:

Watermelon: Great source of Vitamin C and A, and helps counteract inflammation
Grapes: Vitamins A, C, and may be beneficial in fighting illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases
Cantaloupe: Vitamins C and A, battles cataracts in women, fights infection
Blueberries: High in antioxidants, battles vision loss, enhances brain function
Pineapple: Anti-inflammatory and digestive benefits, Immune support
Honeydew: Vitamin C, helps prevent diabetes and high blood pressure


Today I ran a crapload of errands, mailed out photos to a bunch of clients to get it overwith before my nice Christmas vacation with my family in Denver... and I did 9 miles on the bike at the gym. :)~

My Past Life

I stumbled upon a website that "tells you your past life". :) I couldn't resist it.




Your past life diagnosis:
I don't know how you feel about it, but you were female in your last earthly incarnation.You were born somewhere in the territory of modern Central India around the year 1275. Your profession was that of a preacher, publisher or writer of ancient inscriptions.
Your brief psychological profile in your past life:
Timid, constrained, quiet person. You had creative talents, which waited until this life to be liberated. Sometimes your environment considered you strange.
The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation:
Your main task is to make the world more beautiful. Physical and spiritual deserts are just waiting for your touch. Keep smiling!
Do you remember now?




Considering that I'm a photographer now, I'm sort of surprised it pulled all of this just from my birthday (the creativity, etc)... but let's just call it coincidental.

If you want to give it a run, visit www.thebigview.com/pastlife/


Well... I'm off to the gym. This is the earliest I've ever gone (11:30am) so we'll see how it effects me. I have to leave tomorrow at 5am for a 7:30am flight to Denver. From there, I'll be home for two sweet weeks! Don't worry... I'm sticking to the plan and will be updating daily. :)~

PS... Status Report: Today, down another .06 lbs to 219.2.

:~)

~J

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Future Me

I just found the coolest thing. www.futureme.org. You can write yourself an email in the future.

I did it. Here's mine:




Dear FutureMe,

I'm writing you, today, December 10th, 2008. You started your weight loss and fitness program on December 1st, and are writing a blog.

I'm sending this for delivery SIX months from now, June 10th, 2009. Hopefully by now, you are at or very close to your goal weight of 160.

If you're not, or you gave up, shame on you. Remember how good it felt to eat right and exercise?

Hopefully this email will help you feel GREAT and PROUD about your accomplishments!

No matter what... I love you. :)





So... you should do it. I'm curious also, if you're willing to share, what your "Future Me" email said.

~J

Zumba Craze!

So, my gym offers this class called "ZUMBA" which apparently is this crazy fitness craze sweeping the nation, and apparently the world. I did a quick search and came across several YouTube videos with Zumba classes and shows.

From what I've seen, it looks really fun and I might want to give it a try soon!

I found one very interesting one about a little girl who was very overweight. Her parents bought her a kids Zumba video and she got hooked, and lost 20 lbs in 6 months.



So... my question is now for all the whacked out parents who are giving their kids pills, putting them on super strict diets, and offering them liposuction and other surgeries. Why don't you encourage your kids to be healthy by being active?

I have heard a lot of stories about parents giving their kids all kinds of procedures to enhance their looks, everything from gastric bypass to breast enlargements. WHY???

I remember being young, feeling picked on and wanting to be pretty and thin, but in this society where so many young girls are falling victim to eating disorders and teenagers are resorting to quick fixes with diet pills and procedures... why are we not all encouraging our children to be active and healthy with their diets? If you do it as a family, it will become second nature. Plus, it'll be a bonding experience! The more time you spend with your family, the better.

~J

After the gym...

This is me, all sweaty.



I did 6.08 miles on the bike to try to get some oxygen flowing through my body to un-sore-ify my legs. I also did abs and upper body and lots of stretching. I talked to my personal trainer and she said that it would definitely help. She told me that she's "pretty concerned" that I was so sore after what we did on Monday... seriously, I did 10 bosu ball leg lifts to the side (per leg) and 10 lunges per leg. Add to that 15 reps on inner and outer thigh on the weight machines. And I'm this sore. So, it just comes down to the truth that I'm extremely out of shape. I've been sedentary for so long, I really need to get working.

I also talked to her about the "Biel Body" in 3-6 months theory, and she said that Dan has been watching too much "Biggest Loser." She said that if she was with me all day every day that 3-6 months could be possible, but that even for her to get to that body would require a great deal of work. That definitely makes me feel better, but also makes me realize I have a lot of work to do. I should be able to do 30 of those leg lift things, no problem.

On another note, I booked my 8th wedding! I've only been here in Milwaukee since November 1st, so I feel really good about the amount of work I've been getting.

After work-out lunch was the other half of my banana from breakfast and four Spelt Olive Oil Flat Breads with Italian Herbs with Red Pepper Hummus spread on top. YUM!





I also made a nice organic whole wheat Holyland pita with Nancy's Organic Cultured Cream Cheese, cucumber, avocado, lettuce and some smoked turkey. The pita didn't exactly hold together well, but it was still delicious.




Dinner tonight will be leftovers of the cod and rice I made last night, and a nice green salad.

Here's to another day, y'all.

Yum Yum Soy

So, for my first try with organic cereal and soy milk, I'm impressed! In fact, it was one of the more delicious breakfast cereals I've ever had. :)!

Silk Soy Milk
Dream Cinnamon Cluster Cereal
Banana



As far as soreness goes, it's just about the same as yesterday. I e-mailed my trainer at 1 this morning letting her know I couldn't do another session because I can barely sit down let alone do lunges. I don't want to pay for a session I can't get anything out of.

Exercise yesterday? I shoveled the sidewalk and around the house for about 15 minutes. Sans gloves. Don't try it.

Today I plan to go to the gym and try to do some cardio... and then I can do some upper body and ab work - they're much less sore than my quads.


....PS: I started this whole thing on December 1st. Today is the 10th and I'm down from 224 to 219.8. Down 4.2 lbs! :)~

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Cod-tastic

I'm so proud. My first attempt at cooking cod, and it turned out really delicious.

I bought fresh, not frozen cod at the store and cooked it as follows:

1/2 EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)and 1/2 Butter: heat in pan until very hot, almost smoking. Place the cod in the pan, seasoning to your preference (I used McCormick's grilling blend.) Cover and cook until the fish is transluscent. Flip the fish over and keep uncovered, cook until it flakes.

I served it with wild rice pilaf and a nice mixed salad. Deeeelish! :)~


Biel's Body

This woman is my INSPIRATION.




They say her diet is as follows:

* “Clean foods”— those that aren’t processed—are on the menu Walsh created. “She eats complex carbs at the beginning of the day,” he says, “and tapers off by the end.”
* Breakfast: 1 cup of oatmeal with handful of berries.
* Snack: 1 slice whole wheat toast, 1-1 ½ tbsp. of almond butter and sliced bananas on top.
* Lunch: Salad with 5-6 oz of chicken, vinaigrette dressing.
* Snack: A banana, apple or strawberries.
* Dinner: 6oz. of fish, plate full of veggies, 1/2 cup of low-glycemic basmati rice. Sweets A couple of pieces of dark chocolate.




Her workout regime:

* Stretch: One of her favorite warm-ups is the walking lunge. “This stretches the larger leg and glute muscles,” says Walsh. How-to: With feet together, lunge first with right leg. Bring left foot alongside right. Lunge with left. Do 8-10 per leg.
* Cardio: “It’s the cardio that leans her out,” says Walsh. After a ½-mile jog, they hit the track for two 200-meter, 150-meter and 100-meter sprints.
* Core: “Hanging leg raises don’t build a six-pack, but they flatten,” says Walsh. “Jessica hates them, but she powers through!” How-to: Hanging from a high bar or rings, pull knees up slightly above waist. Do three sets of 15 repetitions.
* Plyometrics: “These hurt,” says Walsh of stair jumping. “Even athletes hate them. After Jessica did these the first time, she would’ve punched me if she had the energy.” How-to: Jump from the bottom step of a flight of at least 20 stairs to the third. Keep going, skipping a stair each jump.
* Weight Training: “We tend to use lighter weights and do more reps,” he says. “We keep moving, so it becomes a cardio workout too.”
* For the waist: They do the Russian Twist. Sit down and lean back slightly. Hold a 5-lb. medicine ball and twist from side to side, 15 twists per side, three reps.
* For shoulders/biceps: Stand with knees slightly bent. Hold 10-lb. weights in each hand. Curl to chest. Rotate hands, palms face outward. Press overhead together. Do 3 sets of 10-12 reps.





I told my personal trainer that I eventually would like to have Jessica Biel's body. Her response? "Well THAT'S realistic..." - I told her I knew it would take a long time and that I wouldn't achieve it overnight.

I told that to my boyfriend and he said, "Actually, 3-4 months." I was stunned. I said, "There's no way I could achieve that in 3-4 months. Women and men are different." He said, "Well, six months tops, but you can change your body in 30 days."

Jesus. Does he really have that expectation of my new fitness and eating plan? There's just no way. I know I can achieve results and feel and look better, but there's no way I could get to THAT body in that short amount of time.

So what's a REALISTIC time frame? Assuming I'm dedicated, work out like I should (weight and core training 3x a week and cardio 5x a week) and eat right (my diet should be between 1400-1600 calories a day, and hopefully less processed foods and more whole and natural foods) --- How long? 6 months? 8 months? 12 months? 16 months?

Reading online it appears it took her 8 months from the body she had (which is a far, far, far cry from mine) to get this body. I think my boyfriend is smoking crack.

Who can answer this for me?!?!

Expensive Healthy Foods...

Yeah. I am pretty sure that there really isn't THAT big of a difference between the organic cost and "regular joe" cost of foods... but for what I got, I am sure I paid more. Yeah. But... you get what you pay for, and I feel good that I bought healthy food.

My bill:

$4.69 - Kashi Fire Roasted Veggie Crackers
(-$2.20) on sale
$5.10 - Outpost Salad Bar Salad (.73 lb)
$4.99 - Apple Cider (for Dan)
$2.39 - Silk Soy Milk (plain)
$5.29 - Santa Cruz Lemon Juice (for Papa)
$5.99 - California Roll
$5.89 - Apple Cranberry Cereal
(-$2.60 on sale)
$1.99 - Cup of organic chili
$3.29 - Odwalla Strawberry Smoothie
$3.59 - Suzies Flatbread Crackers
$3.29 - Holyland Whole Wheat Pitas
$8.26 - Wild Alaskan Cod
$3.49 - Matthew English Muffin (Whole Wheat)
$1.94 - Cucumber
$5.99 - Kashi peanut butter bars
$3.39 - Nancy's organic cream cheese
(-$1.40 on sale)
$1.99 - Grapefruit
$3.43 - Bananas
$1.19 - Justins Almond Butter squeeze pack
$4.87 - Cashew pieces
$1.44 - Goji Energy Chunks
$1.20 - Muesli
$3.15 - Hit the Trail Mix
$2.74 - Red Pepper Hummus
$3.78 - Bartlett Pears
$3.00 - Avocados
$2.24 - Apples Jonagold
$2.45 - Green Leaf organic Lettuce

Total... = $95.87 with tax

OUCH! But... doesn't it all look so pretty and yummy? ;)





















Photos of dinner after a bit.

Coca Cola is God.

I knew that Dasani was owned by Coca Cola... but I recently found out that a TON of "healthy drinks" are also owned by Coca Cola. So. If you don't like the Coca Cola corporation for any reason, you might avoid these drinks also.

Me? I'm addicted to Diet Coke, so this just shows me all the more reason Coke is so awesome. ;)


Owned by Coca Cola:

Dasani
Glaceau
Dannon
FUZE Healthy Infusions
Minute Maid (drinks marked with health benefits)
Odwalla
Simply Orange
Nestea
Enviga
Gold Peak
Powerade

The Outpost

The Outpost is our closest proximity natural / health / organic grocery store. There is a Whole Foods on the east side, but it's almost a 1/2 hour drive. I will probably try to go there next week.

Today Dan and I went to The Outpost to do a little shopping. We got some cod, a few varieties of granola and trail mix for yogurt, some fruit, veggies and a few other crackers, cereals, and soy milk.

Have I mentioned that I think I have an allergy to dairy products? It's not a stomach allergy, but it's a skin allergy. I have eczema, and I have recently found out that it's usually aggravated or brought on by an allergy to dairy products. Gah! So I'm going to try to cut dairy out of my diet for a few weeks to see how my body reacts.

Lunch today was muy delicioso. I had an awesome salad from the salad bar at The Outpost, and their homemade organic chili.





At 5:20pm my legs and ass are still killing me. I'm going to go outside and shovel the snow in a few hours to get a little cardio in. The weather is awful here, and we're on a winter storm watch until 9pm. For that, Dan has my car and I won't be going to the gym tonight. Gonna do some work the old fashioned way... but we'll have to see just how much I can do. I have another personal training session tomorrow afternoon and I won't be able to do half of what she wants me to do if my body still feels like this. I'm trying to drink water, eat balanced greens and protein... we're doing cod and salad for dinner. We'll see how I feel tomorrow!
:)~

~J

Holy Soreness, I'm sore

Okay. I can't remember being this sore. Ever. I remember being pretty sore after my first Krav Maga class a long time ago, and Andrew giving me lots of advice like eating leafy greens, and drinking lots of water. But this... this is a whole new level of sore. I almost collapsed to the floor when getting out of bed this morning.

I had my first personal training session yesterday. My gym is the wonderful and amazing "Elite Fitness" in Brookfield, Wisconsin (Highlander Elite), and my personal trainer is Tammy Phillips. She kicked the ever loving crap out of me yesterday. Various weight training, work on the Bosu Ball, and a few other things. My legs hurt. Right now I'm just trying to figure out how to get cardio in today when I feel like I can't move. Argh!

On another note... I ran across this today:



Who is that? I know it's not Margaret Cho. Margaret Cho would NEVER get that skinny skinny... she is a curvy girl and very vocally proud of it. Did I miss the radical Margaret Cho weight loss episode???

If anyone can clue me in... that would be great. The Margaret Cho I know looks like this: