New Year Resolutions

I haven't made a New Year Resolution for several years.  I used to do it, but usually I would forget about them within the first few months of the New Year.  I have decided this year that I'm committing to 3 New Year Resolutions.  Why the change of heart?  Weekly, the Pocatello Marathon Facebook site puts on a "Fab Friday" contest.  They ask a question and then someone is randomly chosen to win a $20 gift certificate to a local sports store.  This week the question asked it you had met your goal mileage for 2012 and what is your goal for 2013?  I have never set a mileage goal (I'm not going to set one for this year either), but this question got me thinking.  Then I ran across an article on www.eatcleandiet.com by thegetinshapegirl.  It was about how to accomplish your goals.  She used the acronym S.M.A.R.T.

S-Specific (Who, what, when, where, why, how)

M-Measurable (know when it is to be accomplished)

A-Attainable (goals that you are capable of doing)

R-Realistic (how will this affect other aspects of my life) 

T-Timely (has a deadline)
She encouraged her readers to journal or blog their goals for the New Year.  I decided to start small and set three New Year Resolutions.  One of them is spiritual, so I will not share that goal on this blog.  The other two are fitness and nutrition based.

Fitness:
I have already set goals in previous posts that I am still working on, like getting into the best shape of my life by my 36th birthday in July.  Every day, week and month I set new goals for fitness and I post them on this blog or keep track of them in a journal.  Of  course my grander, more long term goal is to have a bikini body and become a personal trainer one day, but I have A LOT of work to do to get there and I'm not sure if I am ready to put a time frame for those goals yet.  In order for me to set a resolution that is SMART, I had to come up with something else.

In 2013, I have planned to run in at least 3 races: I will run in the Utah Valley Marathon on June 8, the Pocatello Marathon on August 30 and the Just Cuz Half Marathon in November.  I also hope to run as many local fun runs as possible.  My resolution for 2013 is to set a personal record in each of these races.  This means that I have to beat a 4:20 marathon time and a 2:02 half marathon time.  I want to get my P.R. for the marathon under 4 hours and the half under 2 hours, but since I am keeping with the A and R of  SMART, my goal is to train hard and stay healthy and just beat my previous times.

Nutrition:
I recently noticed that my blog address is oneyearofhealthyeating.blogspot.com.  I don't know exactly why I named it that for sure, since the blog itself is "My year of healthy eating."  I do know that I have changed a great deal about the way that I even think about food since I started the blog and that this is not something that I want to do for only one year.   Clean Eating is something that I feel very passionate about.  I do want to make 2013 a year of transition for not only my body, but also for my cooking.  I already have made a daily goal of keeping my food clean and tight,  weekly I get one cheat meal and one clean treat, and once a month (at book club) I will eat dessert.

I mentioned in a previous post that I have struggled with finding super delicious foods that my family will eat and enjoy.  My 12 year son even said that he hates clean eating.  This is not what I want.  I want to teach my children how to eat foods that fuel their body.  I want to present healthy foods to them, that they will eat.  I also don't like recipes that have crazy complicated ingredients and instructions.

In 2013 I want to use this blog as a tool for myself and others.  I want to introduce clean eating to my friends and family.  My nutrition resolution for 2013 is to become a clean eating family.  I want to clean up the recipes that my family already likes and then share them with others.  I also want to use this blog as a sounding board, so that others can share their thoughts on clean eating, exercise, and hopefully their recipes.    My goal is to present one of my recipes, cleaned up, or a clean recipe that my family actually likes, at least once a week.  Hey, if my family likes it, anyone will.  I will get up the courage by February 26 (this is a random date and Ian's birthday, but I needed a time) to make this blog public.

No Bake Cookies

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before, but I LOVE no bake cookies.  They are just the perfect combination of sweet and chewy and salty deliciousness.  I have been looking for a great recipe for several months, but I haven't been able to find one that actually makes me feel like I'm eating a cookie.  Today I decided to experiment with a No Bake Cookie recipe from the Gracious Pantry Blog.  What I came up with was super yummy.  I even ate 1/2 the batch and had a sugar high.  Just what you want from a cookie, right?

1/4 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c creamy natural peanut butter
2 tbsp chia seeds
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
*1 tbsp almond milk

Put the honey, vanilla, and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave until they are easy to mix, but not boiling.  Stir in the chia seeds and oats. Add milk until you reach the desired consistency.

I do not recommend making these when you are the only one home or else you might sit down with them and watch TV and before you know it, they will be half way gone and you will be wondering who snuck into your house, knocked you unconscious and ate your cookies.  I'm pretty sure that's what just happened to me.

To exercise, or not to exercise?

That is the question. Well, at least when I'm sick, that is. I have been under the weather for 6 days now. I believe that it started out as an upper respiratory infection, that progressed to a sinus infection and then moved into my ears. Fabulous! I started Amoxicillin this morning and I'm feeling somewhat better. I hope that I can be back to my energetic self very soon.

I usually figure that if I can breathe, am not vomiting and can walk without passing out, then I might as well work out. Yesterday I started my workout with a warm up on the elliptical. I felt ok, so I moved onto my leg workout. It took about 3 sets for me to realize that passing out was possible, so my workout came to an abrupt end. Today (which is also Christmas) I have gone back and forth on what to do. I finally decided to take the day off and hopefully I'll be able to hit it with a vengeance tomorrow.

Surviving the holidays

It's almost Christmas. I love Christmas. Even as I write this, my family is watching "National Lampoon Christmas Vacation." There are just some Christmas traditions that may be inappropriate, but I sure love them.

There seems to be a bit of chatter out there about the holidays and clean eating. Should I keep all my holiday food clean? Should I sneak in a cheat treat or meal here or there? Should I just let it all go and then start again on January 1st? I have even heard a podcast questioning why we have to "get" through the holidays. These are all things that I have been thinking about lately.

I come from a large family of 8 children. I have 3 sisters and 4 brothers. My sister Ali lives 3 miles away from me. She has 3 grown children with spouse/significant others, 4 stepchildren, and 2 grandchildren. Ali is a great cook and entertainer. We have always gone to her house for holidays and special occasions. We call the get togethers food extravaganzas. My other 2 sisters are also great cooks and when we all get together it's all about food, food, and more food. My family really knows how to eat. The problem: I'm the only clean eater.

Tonight we had dinner at Ali's house. It was a large, noisy, fun family gathering.


This is just the desserts. I was in charge of the veggie tray, which was good because I knew that I would have something clean to eat. Ali also made green beans that were clean and some other nearly clean options. Compared to other years, I rocked it, but it wasn't completely clean. I decided to sample the desserts. I kept my portions small, but I did have a little of everything. I didn't go crazy though, since all that sugar can be overwhelming. And now I'm home and I left all that temptation at my sister's house.

Back to the original questions. What to do during the holidays. This is what I decided. The holidays are not something to dread or to get through. The holidays are something to enjoy. I am learning through this process what I can and can't do. I know that I need to surround myself with clean food and things that encourage me to keep my goals. I have also learned that when I totally deprive myself, I am setting myself up for failure. If I'm going to splurge, it's best to do it and then leave it behind.

I also learned today that my husband isn't totally enthralled by my obsession with clean eating and fat loss. Before I started clean eating, I was a decent cook, but an even better baker. I loved to make cookies and breads and muffins and cupcakes. When I started to cook clean, I changed everything. I'm still trying to figure out recipes that my family likes. Most of the dinners that I have made have been a total flop. After much deliberation (in my head), I have decided that I need to figure out how to combine my old style of cooking, with the new. I have really enjoyed The Gracious Pantry food blog and I think that if I put my mind to it I can clean up some of my family's favorite recipes. It's going to be quite the challenge, but then again challenge=change.

Clean eating on a vacation

This is a food diary of sorts that I wrote while traveling to my nephew's wedding in Mesa, Arizona. I knew it would be challenging, so I decided to track what I ate here and also on an app on my iPhone. I meant to take more pictures, but I felt a little silly about it. I packed clean snacks and breakfast items in my suitcase. I also carried a cooler that looks like a purse with snacks for my daughter and me. I have found that the best traveling foods are apples, nuts, sugar snap peas and protein powder. I also took 86% dark chocolate with me for emergencies.

Day 1: I started out my clean eating on this trip by drinking a green smoothie in route to the airport. We ate lunch at Wendy's in the airport, which is not my favorite. I shared a Cobb salad with my daughter. Then I had clean snacks that I had brought for my mid afternoon snack. When we got to Mesa, we had a family dinner of pulled pork and salads. I stayed away from the pasta and sauces and ate the meat and green salads. I did not have dessert- hurray!!!

Day 2: Off to the gym at 5 am for legs, core, and cardio. The gym at our hotel was really well equipped for a hotel gym. I has more time to devote to legs, so I added in some extra lunges and squats and core.

I ate the foods that I brought for breakfast and snacks. And for lunch....


I feel really good about this option. It was so delicious. I even kept my hand out of the chip basket. I had the waitress bring me hit water for peppermint tea. I drank that while everyone else munched on chips. When I was ordering, I looked at the menu and just thought "what would I make at home that is clean?" There were several options that looked yummy, like tacos and tamales, but I opted for the cleanest option. I think that I ate more than half of it though. I still need to work on portion sizes.

The reception: I went to the reception not hungry. I had cashews and 86% dark chocolate about an hour before. I know, not the best choice. The food consisted of lots of white breads, artichoke dip and crackers, potato and bacon soup, tortilla soup, and a spinach salad. For dessert they had hot chocolate with toppings, chocolate and carrot cake, mint brownies and butter cookies. What did I eat? I ate the soups and a little bit of salad. Hurray for me!!! I'm over 24 hours into this and I still feel like I'm making great choices. Just the fact that I haven't eaten any dessert is incredible for me. Yes, I have eaten more nuts than usual. Yes, I have eaten dark chocolate to satisfy my sweet tooth. But I have also steered clear of processed food as much as possible. I usually wouldn't eat soup without knowing what was in it exactly, but I kept my portions small.

Day 3: I'm kind of regretting my intense leg and core work yesterday. I went with my sister to her gym here in Tucson. We were the only 2 in the class, which was awesome because I got free training advice. We did kettle bells, Burpees, mountain climbers, squats, pushups, and core work. Ouch!!!

We ate out for lunch and dinner. For lunch I got fish tacos: mahi-mahi with avocado, pico de gallo and salsa. I stayed out of the chip basket! For my clean treat for the week we went to a frozen yogurt place and I got no sugar added mint with berries and walnuts. Dinner was my cheat meal for the week, which might be silly since I have eaten out so much. My splurge was fries and a sandwich. I hadn't had fries in 12 weeks and they were pretty yummy. However, I think I can go another 12 months without any. As for the sandwich, I has wheat bread and the house dressing. Still no sweets. Hip, hip hurray!!!

Day 4: Going home.
Of course I got a cold. I'm sure that it's because of all the travel, stress and lack of sleep. All of throws off my immune system. Last night I think I coughed more than I slept. This morning I got up and went for a slow 3 mile run with my sister. I don't think I could have done more than that.

I ate the food I brought for breakfast and snacks and we grabbed sandwiches at Quiznos for the drive home. I didn't get any sauce but I did have cheese on it. I also got a broccoli soup which I'm sure is not remotely clean, but my throat hurts and I wanted something warm and soft.

All in all, I'm pretty proud of myself. I think that I stuck to all of my goals. It wasn't tight, but i think I made really great choices. I have to admit that a lot of the food was highly mediocre. I am becoming quite the food snob. My favorite meal was the mahi mahi tacos. They were probably the cleanest too since I did not eat the tortillas. I also loved that I never felt stuffed to the point of discomfort. I'm really looking forward to returning home to my normal routine and feeling better.

New mantra and running

I heard this on an Everyday Paleo podcast that I was listening to and it really resonated with me. I don't remember ever eating "non-food" and thinking how great I felt but I do remember always feeling guilty about it. This time is especially difficult because friends and neighbors bring over goodies and there is a plethora of treats at work from co-workers, drug reps, and other offices in town. I put this picture on the lock screen of my phone so that I can see it often and remember why I'm doing this.

I am really missing running. When I was training for the Ragnar, I was running almost everyday. Now because of the weather and my schedule, I'm lucky if I get two runs in a week. I'm even considering joining a gym so that I can use the treadmill-which I despise. I'm looking forward to running in Arizona. I need to sign up for a marathon so that I can commit to at least 3 runs per week- rain, shine, wind, snow, or whatever this crazy Idaho weather might throw at me.

Week 12: I have so much to write about!!!

After last week, I felt so down trodden.  I knew I wasn't going to give up, but I wasn't sure how I was going to start back with being a true clean eater.  I really tried to keep my food clean all week, but by 1:00 on Friday though, my eating fell apart and I made some poor choices which gradually got worse.  By the time I went to Book Club, I had totally undone all my hard work.  Saturday morning, after going to bed at midnight and then getting up at 6 am, I went running with Priscilla.  I felt terrible!!! I think that it was the lack of sleep  and the poor eating on Friday.  After that run, I was once again fully committed to the clean eating lifestyle.  I know that I feel, look and perform better when I eat clean.

This week I learned so much, about so many things that I don't even know where to begin.  I am writing this as an outline so that I can get through everything that I want to write about.

Detoxing: While waiting in the airport in Las Vegas last Sunday, I researched detoxing.  Most of the detox regimens I found were simply clean eating.  Tosca Reno and Rita Catolina's blogs were the most helpful.  I found some good tips and recipes for green smoothies.  The best thing though was the warm lemon water first thing in the morning. I added the tea to it though and it was so rejuvenating.  It is such a great way to start out the day.  I used to also add 1/2 TBSP of flaxseed oil to my smoothies and I have restarted that practice also.  Flaxseed oil is a great fat that also helps to keep your system regular.  All week I drank either green tea or peppermint tea with lemon in the morning, a 24 ounce water container with lemon in it throughout the morning, and water the rest of the day.  I finished the day off with lemon, chamomile, or mint tea with Miralax (a gentle laxative).  I added lots of greens to everything I ate.  I felt like this really helped to clean out my system.  I am going to continue with these practices.

Cross Fit:  This week I also went to my second cross fit class.  I am really sad to say that I was greatly disappointed.  The instructor that was supposed to teach was sick, so one of the "easier" instructors taught the WOD.  I didn't hear him say it, but my friend said that he had said at the beginning of the session that he was going to be easy on us since it was Monday.  If I would have heard that I would have pushed myself harder, but instead, I took it easy so that I could work more on form.  The class got over early and I was thinking "this is it?"  This was on Monday and I had the rest of the week to attend classes for free (with a canned good donation).  On Tuesday I had to work early so I did my own workout and it was a killer.  I worked legs and back and biceps.  I felt like I got more out of that workout than I had a cross fit.  So I started to think- Why had I quit going to the gym?
1. On the days that I work, my time is tight so I don't want to wake up even earlier to account for driving time.
2.  My schedule varies day to day, week to week so it's hard for me to adjust my life to fit into the class schedules.  I wasn't even able to make it back for another session because of time conflicts.
3.  I really enjoy that time I spend by myself.
4.  I can set my fitness routine for the week according to what I have going on in the week.  
I really think that cross fit is an awesome workout for people that only workout 2-3 times week.  I felt like I worked every muscle group and I got some cardio in too.  However, I like to exercise at least 5 days a week (I prefer 6, but sometimes I use Thursday as a rest day).  The workout schedule I am using right now has me doing 5 days of strength training.  On these days I have specific muscle groups that I focus on.  I couldn't figure out how I was going to incorporate an all over body workout into this schedule.

Packing food for a trip:  When I ran in the Ragnar, my husband and I drove to Las Vegas.  Because we had our own vehicle, not only could I bring a cooler full of clean foods, but I was also able to run to the store for anything else I needed.  This last trip to Las Vegas I was limited on what I could bring since I was flying and I relied on other people to drive me around.  This week, however, I am going to try something new.  My daughter and I will both be checking bags, so I am going to take more food in our suitcases.  I am even debating taking my Magic Bullet so I can make shakes in my hotel room.  I will have to figure out my snacks and meals and then decide what to pack.  I will report back on how it goes.

Eating out:  I have been faced with the challenge of eating out a lot lately.  When I plan to eat a cheat meal at a restaurant I know that it is my one cheat of the week so I allow myself to eat what I want.  However, what do I do when I am traveling and I need to eat more than one meal out?  I have also worried about ruining my relationship with my sister and co-workers because I used to go out to lunch with them at least once a week.  This week I had already eaten out on Wednesday night for my husband's work party and then Friday with my friend and I also had book club.  Adding up those meals, I had three cheat meals already for the week. Then on Saturday, my sister wanted me to go to lunch.   I hadn't seen my sister, even though she lives 3 miles away from me, in several weeks so I didn't want to say no, but I also didn't want to cheat again this week.  I called Priscilla, my clean eating coach, and vented to her.  After discussing it, I had an epiphany.  Why does eating out have to mean cheating?  I just need to order the closest thing to what I would eat at home as possible.  Such as grilled chicken and steamed veggies.  Why am I making this so hard on myself.  We didn't end up going to lunch because our children's activities conflicted, but I am so glad that I was faced with that dilemma given that this coming week I will be eating out at least 3 times while traveling.  Also, sometimes it's easier while traveling to pack food for snacks and and breakfast and then eat out for lunch and dinner.  I will just chose foods that are clean and leave off any sauces or dressings.

Sweets:  Oh how I regret my choices on sweets.  I don't know why I have such poor self control when I am confronted with processed sugar.  I love it so much!  I have flip flopped on what I'm going to do with eating sweets so much in the past 12 weeks that I have confused myself.  First, I wasn't going to eat it at all.  Then I was going to only eat it at book club.  Then I decided I could have sweets once a week.  Well, enough is enough!  Sweets only at book club PERIOD!  I am going to have a clean treat weekly though, just to keep myself sane.  These clean treats will either be ones that I make or frozen yogurt (no sugar added) with nuts and fruit.  This will give me a little wiggle room for holidays, birthdays, and special occassions.  That means that all this week I will not be eating sweets at the wedding or while I am out with my sisters.  It also means that I am going to have to bring a clean dessert to Christmas and New Year's celebrations.  What a fantastic plan!!! Right?

I think that I have gotten everything out that I had on my mind.  I apologize that this has ended up being a book.  I need to make my goals for next month, but many of them I have also addressed here.  I am also going to start my daily food and progress journals again (I haven't been keeping them lately).  I'm keeping it clean all week, with one cheat meal and one clean treat.  I haven't figured out how to adjust my workout schedule yet for Thursday and Friday, but I will and it will be awesome.  I'm going to rock this!!!

Week 11: I'm feeling very Dirty!!!

And it's not just because I'm in Sin City. I guess that I just took 2 days off of clean eating. Yes, I feel a little bit guilty,but as George Washington said “It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one,” so I will not make excuses for my behavior.

I texted my husband today and told him that I have a stomach ache from eating dirty. He texted me back that falling off the wagon is part of recovery. Funny, but true. I remember writing a post recently about being addicted to sugar. These past 2 days I felt like a recovering alcoholic in a bar, except I'm a recovering sugar-holic in a house filled to the brim with sweets.

Since this is a process, then that means that I'm just trying to figure this out. What did I do right on this trip? I brought healthy snacks and breakfast. I exercised 6 days this week. I have stuck with eating clean, with few cheats for nearly 11 weeks. What did I do wrong? I overrate. I did not limit myself to 1 cheat meal and treat. I just ate whatever for 2 days straight.

This is the question: Since I ate clean for the past 3 months and then ate like crap for 2 days, will it effect my long term goals? Have I totally destroyed my chances of a bikini body? No, even though I have totally taken 2 days off, I can jump back into it tomorrow. I just need to kick myself in the butt and press the reset button. The new me know what to do to live a clean eating lifestyle.

And tomorrow: detox!!! I will be drinking lots of lemon water and green tea.

Cross fit and packing

Today I tried out cross fit. Wowzers!!! I just hope that I can walk tomorrow. There were a lot and I mean A LOT of squats. I'm glad that today was my planned leg day. I really liked cross fit. The gym that I went to today is having a food drive and as long as you bring in a canned good you can try it out for free until next Saturday. I'm going to try it out a few more times next week. It was good to try out something new.

Right now I'm on my way to Las Vegas. I really stressed about what food to pack since I'm flying. I ended up packing oatmeal and walnuts for breakfast, a container of almonds, 6 servings of protein powder, chia seeds, apple cider vinegar, seal packed tuna fish, nutty cookies, and some dark chocolate for snacks. I'll have to go to the grocery store and get bananas, apples, veggies and almond milk. As for my regular meals, I will have to make the best choices that I can since we will be eating out quite a bit. On Saturday night we are going to have a big family dinner, which will be my "cheat" meal.

I have found that if I make a commitment here on my post that I follow through with it better than if I just make it to myself. I'm only going to have one treat while on this trip. I haven't decided what it will be yet though. I know that we will be celebrating my mom's birthday with cake and there will be dessert at the bridal shower. I'm allowing myself to have one sweet and only one. I will report back on this- just to keep me honest. Wish me luck!!!

December Goals

December goals:
1. Will power
2. Take it one day at a time
3. Keep food clean and diet tight
4. Challenging workouts

I'm going to need a ton of will power to keep my paleo/clean eating lifestyle in check this month. I will be traveling for a total of 8 days over the course of the month. And, of course, I haven't forgotten about Christmas. I have a book club dinner, my husband's work party, and at least 2 family parties. My plan is to take each day at a time. It has worked well to write my daily goals down in a journal. As for traveling, I will be able to pack some snacks, but since I'm flying I will have to do some grocery shopping when I can. I figure that protein powder, nuts, and maybe some apples will be easy to pack in a suitcase. Other than that, I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do.
I had debated changing my exercise regimen so that I lifted 3 days a week and did cardio the other 3 days. After much contemplation, I realized that I will be able to meet my goals sooner if I stick with lifting 5 days a week. My clean eating/ running buddy, Priscilla, gave me a copy of her weekly schedule. I'm going to follow it, with some changes since I don't have weight machines in my home gym.
A few years ago, someone told me that the reason I didn't like lifting was because I was doing it wrong. Maybe it wasn't the nicest thing to say, but I have realized that she was right. I have actually started to look forward to my workouts. I still prefer cardio, but I don't hate lifting anymore. However, I still do hate pushups and lunges. I'm going to overcome the hate and face it head on. I'm going to devote one day- shoulders, chest, back and triceps day- to pushups. I found a great workout in a fitness magazine that covers all those muscle groups, plus core. What's also great about this workout is that I can do most of it in my hotel room if I'm not able to get to the gym when I'm traveling. I also put lots of lunges into my 2 leg days. I found a leg workout that I can do with a resistance band while traveling also.
I have been debating whether or not I want to do a spring marathon. If I decide to do one, it will be the Utah Valley Marathon on June 8. I will probably follow Hal Higdon's marathon 3 schedule so that I only run 3-4 days per week. This is a 24 week program, so I will have to start training for it at the end of December. Decisions, decisions, decisions...

Week 10 in Review

Living a Paleolithic lifestyle (well, kind of).

I never thought that I would feel so fabulous not eating dairy or gluten.  The only grains I ate this week were quinoa, teff, and oats.  I have found that my body does really well without those other glutenous grains. I have also found that the paleo recipes that I have tried are pretty family friendly. I just add some noodles or rice to theirs and quinoa to mine and everyone's happy.

This week I tried to push myself with my workouts, BUT I'm just bored to tears with them right now.  I think that I have to mix up my weight lifting regimen every 3 weeks. I ended up running longer, slower runs. I still continued to lift, but I felt a little bit burnt out.



Friday night at my house, can you guess which dessert is mine? Even though I have given up sweets, except for maybe once a month at book club, I still crave a cookie once in awhile. I have done pretty good with eating fruit instead of dessert, but enough's enough!!! So I went searching online for a paleo cookie recipe. I found this recipe on Everday Paleo

Nutty Cookies
2 bananas smashed
1/3 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup almond butter
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup raw walnuts
1 apple finely chopped
1/3 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp cinnamon (or more if your 2 year old is measuring…)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to smash the bananas to baby food consistency. Add the coconut flour, almond butter, and baking soda and mix well. Using a hand held chopper or food processor, chop the walnuts and apples to a very fine dice. Add the walnuts, apples, coconut milk, and cinnamon to the bowl and mix in remaining ingredients. Cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper and spoon heaping tablespoons of the cookie mix onto the parchment paper, placing an inch or two apart. Back for 25 minutes. Makes approximately 20-22 cookies.

I had to make some adjustments though. I used almond flour instead of coconut flour; natural peanut butter instead of almond butter; and almond milk instead of coconut milk. After I mixed it all together it was a little runny so I added some coconut flakes. They are super yummy!!!

Part of the Elite

"In my mind, anyone who enters, and trains for, and finishes a marathon is part of our sport’s Elite. We are all finishers. We are all Kenyans."  HAL HIGDON

Hal Higdon rocks!!!  Seriously, I love that guy.  I started using his training schedules several years ago.  I have used his marathon, 1/2 marathon, and "off season" schedules.  I have tried others (Jeff Galloway and Runner's world) and I always go back to Hal.

Week 10 goals

I'm 2 months into this process and I'm so glad that I started. I really believe that you have to want to change in order to lose weight. If you want to see change, you have to make it a lifestyle, not a diet. Not only is my body changing, I'm changing. I have such a different relationship with food. When I plan my meals, I think of what nutrition I'm going to need for the day. Rita Catolina said that you have to work hard for your carbs, don't just eat them because a piece if paper tells you to. And the carbs she includes are quinoa, sweet potatoes, squash, and brown rice.

As I stated in my last post, I'm making some changes to my program. Last night I started my daily goal journal. Since today is my rest day, I don't have any workout goals, but I have nutrition goals. At the end of the day I will reevaluate how I did and then set my goals for Monday.



My goals for the week:
Nutrition: I'm going to start implementing the paleo way of eating into my diet. I will still eat 5-6 (or 7) meals per day. I like sweets for breakfast, so I'm going to continue with Teff or oats with fruit for breakfast. I'm going to eat 2-3 fruits per day. I usually have berries and 1/2 banana with breakfast and then the rest of the banana in a smoothie for my mid morning snack and an apple or pear for my afternoon snack. I have been adding spinach and pumpkin to my protein shakes to help me get my veggies. This week I will get all of my servings of veggies per day. Since I have a "target outfit" to fit into, I'm going to tighten up my diet and be more strict on my portion sizes. I have been eating a little more than I should lately. I recently read that if you wake up hungry, then your body has a caloric deficit, which is what you want for weight loss. This is my goal for the week: to eat enough of the right kinds of food during the day to promote weight loss and muscle gain and still feel fabulous.

Exercise: I'm swapping my Wednesday and Saturday runs so that I can continue to run my long runs with Priscilla. I will move my bicep/tricep training day from Saturday to Wednesday. I'm also going to find ways to add more squats and lunges to my upper body days, since training these larger muscle groups burns more calories. For instance, adding wall squats to my bicep curls. I'm also going to continue to add more core exercises to my routine. I found some killer core workouts that I did on Friday and Saturday. Sometimes I get tired of planks and crunches, so these new exercises have been a nice change.

Last but not least: attitude. I'm going to continue to work on positive self talk. I really struggle with seeing only my fat rolls when I look in the mirror. I focus a lot on my stomach. It's what I look at whenever I pass by a mirror. Instead of thinking negatively about my appearance, I'm going to come up with something positive to say to myself each time I start to cut myself down.

Setting goals

I have been whining a lot about how I have been struggling these past few weeks.  I was complaining to Priscilla on our last long run about how in the past I have gotten to the 2 month point and then quit.  Usually it's because of the fears that I have written about in an earlier post. Also, it seems that I plateau after 2 months and I think "hey, my clothes are loser and I'm feeling pretty good, so that's good enough." She kindly reminded me that I was an idiot and that I needed to remember the whole "divorce you story" thing that I have written about before.  Okay, she didn't call me an idiot, but she did remind me that we weren't those people anymore.



After much soul searching and internet searching for inspiration.  I finally realized what I have been doing wrong.  I haven't had any concrete short term goals these past 2 weeks.  Yes, I have my long term goal of having that bikini body, but I don't really have daily, weekly, or monthly goals to challenge me. I read 2 posts on Facebook that really inspired me.  The first one was about buying a "target outfit."  Yesterday, like an insane person, I went to the mall (it was Black Friday).  It was really for my sister because she needed some clothes for a trip she is going on.  I have been looking for a dress for an upcoming wedding and because I haven't bought any "church clothes" for a long time, I ended up looking for myself too.  I actually found 2 skirts that I love.  The one skirt has an elastic waist and it fits just a little bit snug on my tummy.  The second skirt was a little tight in the size 6 (I could zip it up, but I had a little muffin top), but just perfect in the size 8 so I got the bigger size. When I got home I started to think about that "target outfit."  I love that size 8 skirt, so today I took it back and got the size 6.  My goal:  I have to fit comfortably in both skirts in 4 weeks!!! I am going to hang one skirt in my closet and one in my home gym for inspiration.
The other motivating post I read was by a woman who was celebrating her 35th birthday.  She wrote that she was in the best shape of her life.  On my 35th birthday, I was not in the best shape of my life.  In fact, I was pretty close to my highest, non-pregnant weight.  I was relatively fit, but I was also relatively fat.  I will turn 36 in 8 months and 3 days and I will be posting on facebook that I am in the best shape of my life.
In order to do this, I will have to set daily workout and nutrition goals. Every night I will write my goals for the next day and report on how I did for the day.  I will keep these daily goals in a hand written journal that will be readily accessible.  I will continue to make my weekly and monthly goals, but I am going to make them more challenging.  They also have been a little bit vague in the past, so I'm going to make them more specific.  Honestly, I'm starting to get excited again.  I just needed a plan, it's the type A part of my personality coming through!

End of week 9

As week 9 comes to a close, I am once again trying to focus on the positives.  I met all of my workout goals.  I had a fun time running my Turkey Trot with Priscilla.  Later at dinner, we were laughing because she had seen on Facebook posts about people running 3 miles to prepare for their Thanksgiving dinner.  We, however, ran 12 miles.  I felt like I did overeat somewhat (I ate another clean whole wheat roll that Priscilla had made after everyone had left), but it was nothing like last year.  We pooled our resources and came up with a very clean dinner, except for the gravy, which I did eat.  Priscilla even made clean pumpkin pie, which I have to say that her rolls and pie and pumpkin/peanut butter dip were my favorite, probably because I didn't make them.  I also pushed myself with my other workouts.  Priscilla told me about how her trainer kept telling her to do "3 more." So on Friday and Saturday I looked at what I lifted last week and then I made sure that I did at least 3 more.  I am so sore today from my Bicep/Tricep routine today, OUCH!!!
The most exciting thing though was my run today.  I have a route that I call "3 hills."  I warm up on a somewhat flat road for 4 minutes and then I start my HIIT.  And then I run up a hill that is a 130 ft gain and then I run into a neighborhood that has 2 smaller hills.  Then I come back on the road with the larger hill and run home.  I haven't ever ran this course before in under 10 minute miles, except for today.  Today I averaged 8:48!!! I know that the climb isn't much, but it still is pretty awesome to me.  When I reached the 2 mile mark, which is also the end of climbing any hills, my average was a 9:03 and then I ran down the hill and home, shaving off 21 seconds from my mile average.  This is seriously the fastest I have ever ran 3 miles.  I owe it all to my chia seeds:)

There are some low points about this week though.  I'm still trying to straighten out my GI problems.  I started to add more flax and that seems to be helping.  Also I have been mixing my ACV with water in the morning in a measured bottle.  I put the bottle on my counter and it helps me remember to drink my 2 tsp before each meal.  That's right, I'm drinking 2 tsp before all 6 meals.  It was a rough week, but so far today has been great.  I fell like a whole new person.

I struggled this week with snacking too often.  I'm totally into the whole 6-7 meals idea.  I eat whenever I'm truly hungry, even if it is only one hour after I last ate.  BUT, I have also been cooking A LOT this week in preparation for Thanksgiving.  I did so much "sampling" that it is totally ridiculous.  I have felt like I have fallen off the wagon these past 2 weeks and I finally realized why.  I'm a total control freak.  I love to have lists and to be organized.  What does this have to do with that stupid wagon (when my daughter read that I had written that I had fallen off the wagon, she asked if I had actually fallen off of a real wagon), these past 2 weeks I have been slacking on my food journal.  I don't know why.  Maybe I did just need a break, but I have to be more diligent with tracking what I consume.  My OCD personality seems to do better when I am meticulous about recording everything.  I know, I'm a little bit nutty.

A good day

This morning I did my weekly weigh in and I was excited that I had lost another pound (it's been 2 weeks since I weighed, so slow and steady). I moved our scale to the basement home gym since my husband wouldn't let me throw it away. As I was down there lifting, my husband came down to lift also. He weighed himself and he weighed 13 pounds more than me. What's the big deal? He has weighed either the same or less than me for the majority of our marriage, we have been married for over 15 years. He has gained about 7 pounds and I have lost about 13. I hated weighing more than him. It made me mad at myself and at him, which is silly because he has no control over my weight.

I had a great workout: chest and back and then a HIIT- I ran 3 miles up and down a hill. I kept on thinking challenge=change whenever I wanted to quit. It was a great motivator. I ended up running a 9:39 mile, which is pretty good given the hilly terrain;)

Then I spent the rest of the day getting ready for Thanksgiving. I shopped, baked clean cornbread (sooo good) for cornbread stuffing, clean cream of mushroom soup for green bean casserole, butternut squash soup for my dinner tonight and mac&cheese casserole for the family. And then I ran kids to their activities.

Whew!!! It was busy, but I really felt great all day. I know that it's because of the super nutritious foods I ate all day. Seriously, I love eating clean.

What's next for me: I have been researching the Paleo diet. I'm still struggling with Gastrointestinal issues so I downloaded a book about it. I guess it's worth a try.

Goals for week 9: Getting back on the wagon

Last week I really fell off the wagon.  I know that if I continue down this road, I will gain back the weight that I worked so hard to get off.  I really need to refocus, tighten up my food, and make my workouts more challenging. These are my goals for week 9.

Refocus:  I let my frustrations and stress get the best of me this week and I turned to food as comfort.  I have been on several diets in the past and I have always done really well for about 2 months and then I just gave up.  I think it's because my weight loss and changes in my body start to plateau at this point.  I need to recommit myself to this year of healthy eating.  I need to keep my long term goals in mind.

Tighten up my food:  This one is a little bit more difficult.  On Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday I attempted to stick to the menu plans on the Stripped Diet.  On each of these days I followed the plans until about 3 pm.  After that I just ate and ate and ate.  Although it was clean foods, it was in larger quantities than I should have eaten and I continued to munch into the late evening.  I don't think that I'm ready for the stripped program.  I think that I need to stick with the cooler 2 plan and watch my portion sizes. I think part of the problem is that in order to follow the other plans, I would have to decrease the intensity of my workouts, which is the opposite of what I like to do. Most of all, with Thanksgiving this week, I'm just going to work on self control.

Challenging workouts: I asked Monica, an aerobics instructor, what higher intensity workouts I could do. She is going to email me some more challenging exercises that I can incorporate into my Tibata workout. I'm also going to continue to run 3 days- 2 days of HIIT and 1 long run. I will do 5 days of strength training, with 1 day including Tibata.

End of week 8: What Happened?

Wow! I really back tracked this week.  I don't know what happened, but I feel like I totally fell off the wagon.  It started with being out of town and off my schedule last weekend.  I may have eaten clean for the majority of the week, but I didn't watch my portions and I did a lot of snacking in between my meals.  I also ate way too many protein balls.  Saturday (Nov. 17), was book club and I was really stressed out about what I was going to do about dinner.  I knew that some of the foods were loaded with fatty creams and sauces and I knew there was going to be dessert.  I stayed away from the bread, but I did have a small portion of homemade mac and cheese.  I also had dessert, fruit pizza.  I vowed a few weeks ago that I was not going to eat sugar for the year.  I may have to change that to once a month, for book club only.

Instead of getting frustrated, which I am, and beating myself up, which I am, I'm going to be positive.  I'm going to look at all the things that I didn't do, such as eat chocolate chip cookies and pizza at my sister's house.  I didn't eat out, except for Quizno's on our way home from Las Vegas.  I kept my food clean.  I turned down the opportunity to eat unhealthy foods each day this week. There are a lot of positives about this week, but the negatives are making my pants feel tight. I need to get my game face back on!!!

I also followed my workout plan, except for Monday, which was a travel day. I combined Monday's lifting with Tuesday's, so I did get all my strength training for the week.

If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't CHANGE you

Quote by Fred Devito

I used to hate Facebook.  I would get on there and everything was political or just plain stupid (with a very few exceptions).  About a month ago, I started to follow Tosca Reno and The Clean Diet on Facebook, but I would get irritated because I would have to sift through all of the other junk to get to my favorites.  Finally it dawned on me, why not un-follow all the other people that bug me and only follow those that I really am interested in reading.  Now I follow about 10 people, mostly family and a few friends and clean eating and exercise sites.  I love Facebook now!!!

Where am I going with this?  I actually almost forgot myself (I have been hopping up every 5 minutes to stir the pumpkin seeds I'm roasting).  I have gotten so much inspiration out of the quotes that people put on Facebook.  "If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't CHANGE you" is one of them.  I  was so inspired by this quote.  I wrote it on my dry erase board in my weight room this morning.  Every time I wanted to quit and just do the same number of reps as last week (or only half of the military pushups) I reminded myself that my body isn't going to change if I don't challenge it. Then I went for a 3 mile run (I love my 3 mile runs) and did a HIIT, 30 seconds at 85% and 1 minute at 65%, and I had to remind myself that I'm not going see changes in my speed, if I don't challenge myself to run faster.

Who I "like" on Facebook:
Tosca Reno
The Eat-Clean Diet
The Gracious Pantry
Oxygen Magazine
Fit in Heels
Rita Catolina

Please comment if you have any"likes" that you want to share.

Also, I tried whole grain teff this morning and I loved it!  The recipe called for 1/4 cup teff cooked in a cup of water, with 1 cup strawberries (but I used blueberries because I love them), a sliced banana, flaxseed, and cinnamon, with almond milk and 2 TBSP pecans poured over the top.  This made 2 servings.  I am excited to eat the leftovers for breakfast tomorrow (I didn't add the fruit and toppings before I divided the teff for leftovers).

Aha moment

I have been struggling with my abdominal girth for many, many years. My husband is very sick of hearing about it. I'm sick of obsessing about it. I really just want to get rid of it. I have been reading a lot about how to get a flat belly. Just like everything else with weight loss it's 80% diet. I have been keeping my food clean and I have been watching my portions. However, I know that I have areas for improvement. For instance, tonight I could not eat another veggie today. Instead of making myself dinner, i ate Greek yogurt, blueberries and granola. Which wouldn't be too terrible if I hadn't eaten 4 protein balls first. So I realize that I need to reign it in a little bit if I want to see changes.

While I was working today I was thinking about a conversation that I had with my husband yesterday. I, of course, was lamenting that I wasn't seeing any changes with my midsection. He reminded me that my abdomen is where my body stores its fat and that it's just going to take time to get rid of it. As I was thinking about how frustrated I was with that statement, I had my aha moment. I realized that I made some huge changes in the first few weeks and because of these changes I dropped 10 pounds pretty quickly. But now my body is getting used to these changes and the weight loss and toning is going to take a little more time. Unless I want to really be miserable and hungry, I need to be patient and just continue to make good choices. Along the way I'm going to make mistakes and I'm going to get frustrated, but I need to remember that this is a process. I can do this!!! But THIS might take awhile.

"Divorce your story"

That's a quote by Tony Robbins, a motivational speaker. I have been thinking about that a bit lately. I feel like I have separated myself from my past unhealthy habits, but I haven't severed all ties. This is somewhat difficult since the people that I love the most are not clean eaters. While in Las Vegas, I was surrounded by sweets and treats galore. I did not eat anything sweeter than clean protein balls and fruit, but I did not keep my diet "tight.". Although I am somewhat discouraged by my lack of self control, I'm still committed to eating clean. I need to focus on all the things that I did right, especially since I made more good choices than bad. I also stuck with my no sugar commitment.

A side note:
I edited my November mantra from treat yourself to don't reward yourself with food. In my reading of clean eating, many people encourage treat meals instead of cheat meals because treat has a more positive conotation than cheat.

Las Vegas Ragnar 2012

All 12 of our Ragnar team.



Van 1: Glayds, Sarah, Megan, Lauren, Amy and Me

Caution:  There is a lot of complaining in this post.  I don't want to sound like a complainer, but after the Ragnar, I am thinking that marathons are the way to go.

 

I have ran 7 half marathons, 3 marathons, and a handful of fun runs.  All of the races that I have done in the past were so much fun and well organized.   Whenever the organizers said that they would have water stations at designated area, I knew that I could count on them following through with that statement.  Case in point, I paid $40 for the Pocatello Marathon last year.  At every aid station they not only had the products that they promised, they also volunteers to hand everything to you.  I paid $118 for the Ragnar.  We were told at the safety meeting and on the Ragnar's website that there would be water stations on any runs over 4 miles, which all of mine were.  My first run was a little over 8 miles, with no van support.  I figured that I would be fine becuase we were told that there would be water on this run.  There were 2 water stations on that run and they consisted of a table with the big orange water containers and paper cups that were in the bag lying on the ground.  Luckily, I learned from that experience and decided that I didn't want the inconveince of bending over to get my water cup and filling it up, so I took my own on the next 2 runs.  I was lucky because there was nothing on my other 2 runs. 

 

Complaint #2: on my longest run, I ran 8 miles down a dark, country road by myself without anyone within 400 yards of me most of the time.  In Las Vegas, or probably anywhere for that matter, it is not safe for a woman or even a man to be alone on a country road at 10-11 at night.  Seriously, what were these organizers thinking.  Once I came closer to the city, I found that the course was poorly marked and the city streets that I ran on were also dark and deserted.  I was very dissapointed with how this race was put on.  I really don't understand what my $118 went towards. 

 

Complaint #3: The weather was terrible.  It was cold and windy the entire time.  Last weekend was warm and next weekend is forcasted for great weather, but we just happened to get the one weekend so far this fall with terrible weather.  On my first run I had a headwind of 20 miles per hour with gusts up to 40 miles per hour.  Amy was the first runner and she ran in blowing snow and hail.  The only thing that saved her was that her run was downhill with a tailwind.  My run on Saturday was the most pleasant.  There was a slight breeze, but after the wind on Friday, I was ok with it. 

 

After all that complaining and boobing, I really did have a fun time.  I think that I might do another Ragnar, but not in Las Vegas. My sister, Amy, did the Wasatch Ragnar and she said that it was a lot better organized than the Las Vegas one. I really love to run, so the actual running part of this race was great.  Even though it was difficult, I was glad that I pushed myself and tried something new.  It was good to get to meet some of Amy's friends and to spend some time with my little sister.  I was really glad that I volunteered to run the longest legs, I like to "do hard things," and this really pushed me.  The hardest run was the second run because I had not had any sleep and I felt fatigued, which is probably why I didn't run as fast as I should had.  Overall my times were decent considering the terrain and weather.  As I stated before, my first run had a head/side wind and the first 6 miles were over a gradual incline.  I ran 8.23 miles at a 10:37 min/mile.  The second run was 10.33 miles it was a gradual downhill, I believe that it was an elevation loss of about 800 feet and I averaged 10:03 per mile.  I really felt like I could have ran faster, but I was really nervous because it was so dark.  I guess that I didn't mention before that I forgot to replace the batteries in my headlight before the race and they started to dim more and more the longer I ran.  Run #3 was 7.57 miles of  rolling hills with an elevation gain of 259 feet.  I averaged a 10:20 min/mile for that run.  I really wanted to stick to 10 min miles or less, but I was just so tired and the weather was so bad for the first run, that I feel like I gave all the runs everything that I had.

 

I was really glad that I heeded Priscilla's advice and that I used walk breaks every 5 minutes for each run.  Everyone else on our team was limping or hurt except for me.  Except for being exhausted, I felt great!!!  I really could have even ran another leg if I needed to.  I also kept all of my food prior to and during the race 100% clean.  Several of the other women had digestion issues and a few were very ill, but I believe that by keeping my food clean I was not only able to have more energy, but I also didn't have any tummy troubles.  I snacked on fruit, natural peanut butter, dates, nuts, proteing shakes and protein balls.  I ate my normal breakfast on Friday and Saturday and I was able to come back to my sister, Caryn's house to eat a salad and tuna pita for lunch.  After we were done running on Saturday, we did go to lunch for my "cheat" meal and then my husband and I got soup and sandwiches for dinner.  I tried to make the best choices, but i decided that after all that I did on Friday and Saturday, I could cheat twice in one week.

 

 

 



 

On our way to Ragnar

My husband and I are on our way to Las Vegas for the Ragnar. I have my big cooler packed with food for the next 4 days and a smaller cooler for today. I spent yesterday planning, shopping, chopping, and packaging up my food. I made some protein balls too (they are at the very bottom of the cooler and I really wish they were within reach). I have been super snacky today. I'm not sure if it's pre-run jitters or what, but I'm really glad that I came prepared with celery and peanut butter, fruit and nuts, cucumbers and hummus I'm also glad that I put those protein balls at the bottom of that cooler, so I can't reach them;)

I also came prepared with inspirational reading materials.  I brought some Tosca Reno books and I bought the Oxygen magazine. I'm all set!!!

Is Clean Eating More Expensive?

I have been pondering this question for some time now.  I went grocery shopping last Monday and the total did exceed my two week budget.  I did buy several items from the bulk foods section that will last me for the rest of the month, such as nuts and oats.  I also bought the "unclean" items that my family still won't give up and I don't want to starve them.  I also bought twice as many fruits and vegetables as I would have.  But is it more expensive?  I estimate that I was spending $40-50 a week eating out.  I usually ate lunch with my coworkers two to three times a week at about $15, then I ate lunch with my sister = $10, and I would usually buy two pizzas for the weekend =$25.  Also I was buying a "fountain beverage" at about $1.25 per day, 6 days a week. That was costing me $7.50 per week. I have been a lot more conscientious lately about planning and doing prep work for my family's meal, so when we get home at night it has been easier to throw a meal together, so I haven't been tempted to get pizza or fast food.  Also, I have started freezing leftovers and making large batches of soup on my prep day, which I can just pull out of the freezer and use.  I also have been experimenting with freezing foods, like I did with my chicken and tonight I am trying the same thing with bananas.  I cut 4 bananas in half, that were just about to turn too ripe and I spread them out in a pan lined with wax paper.  When they are frozen I will put them in a container and then I can pull out a banana for my smoothies.  I also used some spinach that I needed to use before it went bad in our soup tonight (I made the soup last Monday and froze).  Instead of making cookies or cake tonight like I would have done in the past, I baked 2 pears that looked a little sad with some maple syrup and chopped walnuts.  I put Greek Yogurt on mine and the kids had ice cream.

So, back to the original question: Is clean eating more expensive?  I really think that in the long run, eating clean will be cheaper.  The $50+ alone that I am saving in not eating out or buying pop is making up for the increase in the price of groceries.  However, after I have figured out what I like and what I don't (I'm still experimenting with clean foods) I think that my grocery bill will actually decrease.  Also, since I am not wasting as much food as I was in the past, that will also save me time and money.  I haven't even started to consider the effect that it will have on health of my family.  On Sunday I was packing my cooler and my daughter's lunch for Monday.  My daughter, Abby, saw that I was making myself a salad with diced leftover turkey.  She asked if she could have a salad for her lunch too.  Then she wanted chopped tomatoes as a side and sugar free jello (I didn't even look at the ingredients, so I'm not sure if it's even clean) with berries as her snack. Then tonight, as I was getting our food ready again, she asked if she could have a salad again.  This was a priceless moment.  I was thinking today how much I wish that I would have known about clean eating when I was younger.  I can't go back and start this 20 years ago, but I can teach my children how to make better choices.  I can show them that clean eating can be delicious.  I'm not going to force them to always eat healthy.  I'm not going to throw out all the candy (the Halloween candy, by the way, is stashed downstairs in a drawer in our entertainment center.  Out of sight, out of mind).  I will sneak pumpkin puree, spinach and any other veggies into soups, sauces, and anything else I can think of.  I will make clean meals and they can choose to eat it or have a bowl of cereal.  I will also try to make cleaner substitutions for things that they won't notice, such as peanut butter and more organic foods, when I am shopping.

Although I don't think that eating clean is more expensive, it is really time consuming!  Sometimes, I feel like all I do is research food, buy food, prepare food, plan my coolers, pack my cooler, and then I do it all over again the next day.  BUT, it is paying off.  My complexion is better (I need to consider the cost of that, i.e. Dermatologist and ProActive), my energy is up, I have been averaging a weight loss of 1 pound a week since I started it, and I'm not using as much Ibuprofen and Tylenol as I used to.  I know that clean eating is not just a way for me to lose weight, it is also something that has and will improve my life. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle!

Week 7: Getting ready for Ragnar

This is the game plan:  Monday and Tuesday I work, Wednesday I'll be cleaning my house and getting everything packed for the Ragnar, Thursday my husband and I drive to Las Vegas, Friday and Saturday are the Ragnar, Sunday will be R&R, and we drive home on Monday.  Today I'm going to make up a list of all my meals for Thursday-Monday.  I have a lot of leftovers (and my husband is out of town until Wednesday) so the kids and I will be enjoying quick and easy meals for those days.  On Wednesday I'm going to shop for the weekend and then dice and cook and get my coolers ready.  I'm going to stick with cooler 2 plan for this week, without any alterations.  For my exercise, I'm going to use my new strength training schedule for Monday-Thursday, with maybe a quick 3 mile run on Wednesday.  Other than that, I'm just going to keep it clean for the week!!!

Review of week 6 and another lesson learned

I can't believe that I am already 6 weeks into my year of healthy eating.  I honestly feel so much better than I have in a very long time.  I had a ton of fun running in the Just Cuz Half Marathon with my friend Priscilla.  I think that because I have been eating clean, I had more energy and that helped my get a great time, plus it helped to have someone to talk to for 2 hours.  I was able to do all the strength training that I had planned on for the week and I kept my food very clean.

And the lesson I learned (this is not the 1st time):
Last night, my husband and I went to dinner at my favorite Mexican Food Restaurant.  I ate a little of the chips, beans, and salsa and I decided to eat my 1st "treat" meal (I hate to call it that because I'm not rewarding myself with food), so I got what I would have ordered in the past: soft chicken taco and tamale.  Then afterward we ran some errands, and we went to Kiwi Loco (self serve frozen yogurt).  I got no sugar added raspberry topped with mangos, raspberries and blackberries and chopped peanuts.  I asked the guy working there if they added sugar to their fruit and he said they didn't, so I'm taking his word for it!  I'm sure that I drove Mike nuts because the closest I have come to a sweet lately is an apple or dates, so with each bite I told him how delicious it was.  Later that night and into today, I have just felt ill.  My stomach is just a mess.  I'm guessing it was the tamale or chips or maybe even the energy gel that I had during the 1/2 marathon.  Whatever it is, I'm staying away from "unclean" food for awhile!!!

November's Goals

November's mantra: DON'T REWARD YOURSELF WITH FOOD, YOU ARE NOT A DOG!

I love, love, love this quote.  I seriously have been debating putting it up in my kitchen somewhere, but I think that Mike (and our dog, Mr. Dude) would object.  I have stated before that I am going to treat myself in other ways than food and when I saw this quote it just all made sense.

I have some fun activities coming up this month.  I have the Just Cuz 1/2 marathon on Saturday.  I believe that it will be my 7th 1/2 marathon.  Then next week I will be running in my 1st Ragnar in Las Vegas, Nevada.  I'm excited for both and I'm also excited for both to be over!

Goals for November:
1) I'm done with sugar!!!  Please refer to my blog about my sugar additction.  I have also decided to give up chocolate.  I was having one square of 85% dark chocolate a day, but it was giving me major digestive problems.  I have decided that as much as I love the taste, I do not love the after effects.  I am totally 100% giving it up for the rest of the year and hopefully forever.  Also, I'm not a dog and food is not a treat.

2)  I made up a strength training schedule for November that I will start on Monday.  I can't figure out how to get the computer program that I use to convert over to my blog, but this is the general layout.  I made it into a table so that I can track weight and reps.  DB=bumb bell, BB=bar bell.  I am starting with heavy enough weights that I can only get to 5-8 reps and I will stay with this weight and see if I am able to increase reps over the next 4 weeks.  Monday starts out as day 4 to fit my original Muscle Makeover plan, I had to switch around days so that Wednesday could be my long run day and Sunday could be my rest day.  I like to stay in 1/2 marathon shape, so I'm going to shoot for 6-10 (or so) miles on these days.


Day 4: Monday-Interval Cardio
Back: Reverse Back extension, Inverted row, Reverse grip BB row
Chest:  Push ups, DB flye, BB Bench Press
Day 5: Tuesday
Glutes: Step knee lift, DB hip ext, Plie Squat
Shoulders:  Overhead DB press, Lateral raises, DB upright row  
Abdominals
Day 6: Wednesday- Long Run
Day 7: Thursdays-Tibatas
Upper/Lower legs Tibatas:  Rev lunge-knee lift, Burpees, Jump squat, Lateral hops
Glutes Tibatas: jump squat to bench, Skaters leap, Mountain climbers, Step up
Abdominals  
Day  1:  Friday
Calves: Raises, Jump rope, Box jumps
Shoulders: Bent over lateral raise, Standing military press, Front BB raise
Upper back:  Bent-over BB Row,  DB Pullover, One-arm DB Row
Abdominals
Day 2: Saturday- Endurance Cardio
Biceps: EZ Bar curl, Concentration curl, Hammer curl
Triceps: Bench Dip, Military Push up, Lying DB extension
Day 3: Sunday-rest

3)  Pack a Cooler!  Since I am going to be going to Las Vegas for the Ragnar, it will be a good opportunity for me to experiment some more with packing my food in preparation for my trips in December.  I'm also figuring out how to make protein shakes for my mid-morning and mid-afternoon meals at work.  The mid-morning I'm able to make before work, but I'm not quite sure what to do for the afternoon meal.  I saw a mixer cup at WalMart that I might try out.  I'm also having a hard time with my Tuesday lunch at work, because of the drug reps bringing in lunch (see previous post on This is What I have to Deal With).  They set up their food in the breakroom and that is where the microwave is located. I feel stupid bringing in my food while they are there.  I like taking in leftovers, so I'm going to have to come up with some cold food ideas.

4) Prep work.  I have been doing most of my prep work on Mondays.  This Monday I cooked up a ton of chicken and then I froze it spread out on a pan.  Then I took the individual pieces and put them in a tupperware container and put them back in the freezer.  This way, I'm able to pull out individual pieces for my meals.  It has worked out very well.  I also made potato and leek soup and sweet potato soup.  I divided these up and froze some for next week.  I did my grocery shopping on Monday and I cut up all of my produce that would keep well, like cucumbers, zucchini, and peppers.  For November, I'm going to continue to use my days off to prepare for the upcoming days so that my meals will be all that easier to make.  

5) Diet: I was looking back on last week's food and I noticed that I wasn't eating many grains past my
lunchtime. It wasn't intentional, but I have been debating cutting back on grains, so I must have just chosen 
fruits/veggies as my carbs instead of grains. For November, I'm going to only have oatmeal for breakfast 
and then maybe a grain (pasta, rice, pita, or wrap) for lunch. I'm also going to combine some of Tosca
Reno's plans so that I will be eating from her Cooler 1, 2, and Stripped plans. When I was working with a 
trainer, she had me do 2 low carb days and then 1 high carb day. I want to experiment with one day on 
each plan. That way I will have 2 low carb days and 1 high carb day still and hopefully not feel so deprived.

Clean Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I mentioned in a previous post that I had made my sister, Caryn's, pumpkin cookies.  I have learned a lot about what clean eating really is since then.  Today I decided to experiment with her recipe again and see how clean I could really make it.  I found a very helpful conversion table at http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/how-to-convert-recipes/.  I have loved that website.  She has some great recipes too.  I used the table to convert the butter and I found out that you only use 1/2 the amount of sugar when you are substituting it for honey or maple syrup.  I did a dozen without chocolate chips for me and the rest with them for my family.

The Best Clean Pumpkin (Chocolate Chip) Cookies
1/4 c applesauce
2 TBSP oil
3/4 c honey
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c quick oats
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c chocolate chips

Combine ingredients and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.  Do not over bake, cookies should be soft.  Makes 36 cookies (about 60 calories per cookie, without chocolate).

This is what I have to deal with

I am an RN and I work at an Endoscopy Center where we do colonoscopies and EGDs. Our doctors have their offices in the same building. About twice a week we have drug reps bring lunch to our office. This is an example. Usually I would have eaten the sandwich, salad, and a cookie. I'm not a big chip fan. I brought my cooler, of course and I steered clear of the break room. Kudos to me;)

Hi, my name's Lisa and I'm addicted to sugar.

I know that this is my third post for the day, but since this is more of a journal than anything, why not?!?  Yesterday I took my daughter to Brigham City, Utah for a gymnastic competition.  While she watched videos, I had a lot of time to think.  I have been back and forth on the whole "treat" debacle.  Should I or shouldn't I have an occasional sweet?  When I began this a month ago, I didn't have any processed sugar until book club last week and a half of a pumpkin muffin at work the week before that.  I haven't had anything sweet, but dark chocolate since.  On our way home, I stopped at a bakery and purchased clean bread for me and cinnamon rolls for my family (I have to give in to them once and a while or else there will be mutiny).  I'm not a big fan of pastries, so I haven't been tempted by these.  The bakery and lunch on Friday got me thinking: I have done so well not treating myself with sweets, should I just call it quits all together.  I explained it to my husband that I am like a recovering alcoholic, but instead of alcohol, I'm addicted to sugar.  Why even have a little bit?  In December I have a wedding shower and a wedding that I will be attending.  I will be in Las Vegas for 4 days for the shower and Arizona for 5 days for the wedding and to visit my little sister.  These events will be laden with processed sugar and flour "anti-foods."  I have decided that I will not eat any sweets at these events. Better yet, no sugar for the rest of the year.  Maybe I'll let myself have some Dove Dark Chocolate on Christmas.  I'm going to do it!!! I am not afraid! Well, maybe a little bit.

I read a post on the Eat Clean Diet facebook page that said that treats don't have to be food.  This weekend I treated myself to some colorful skinny jeans because I lost 10 pounds.  One pair was a little on the tighter side (none of them gave me much wiggle room), but they are so cute that they are inspiring me to kick it into gear.  My next treat will be to get a new dress for the wedding (I haven't bought a new dress in 2 or 3 years) and maybe some shoes.  These might be more expensive than a piece of cake, but so much more worth it!

Week 6: Prepping for the Half Marathon!!!

I don't have any new goals for this week.  This Saturday I will be running in a half marathon, so I'm not going to do anything too strenuous after Wednesday, especially lower body related.  My 3 mile run on Saturday was just the perfect distance for my sore leg.  Because of this, I'm going to keep my runs at 3 miles this week.  I'm going to continue with my strength training regimen and just add in short runs as I see fit.  As for my eating, I will continue with the "Cooler 2" meal plan.  I'm not going to add any new foods this week.

Fears

According to Tosca Reno, I need to dig deep and excavate the reason I fear success. So I made a list of my fears. Just be warned: I'm a little bit whiny in this post!

1. I fear that if I lose the weight that I want to lose, I will just gain it back again. About 2 years ago I lost 13 pounds. I worked with a personal trainer and I ate the meals that she assigned me. I kept the weight off for a few months, but it slowly crept back this past year and a half. At the time, I thought that I would continue eating like that forever, but after awhile I picked up my old habits and I gained all of it back. This past year I went from drinking 1 can of diet soda to 44 ounces. I also was eating up to 3 sweets per day. I'm afraid that I will resume those old habits.

2. I'm afraid that I will have to buy all new clothes. I have some items of clothes that I really like, that I don't want to get rid of. Some of my jeans were a little bit pricey and they are super cute. I know this is really a dumb fear, but I don't enjoy clothes shopping. I'm a little bit embarrassed to admit this fear, but I'm just being honest.

3. I'm afraid of being offensive when I don't eat the food others have prepared. I have 3 sisters and in the past much of our socializing has involved food. In the next 2 months I will be spending 3 weekends at 2 of my sisters homes and I have anxiety about taking my own food. I also spend a lot of time with my sister that lives 3 miles away from me and we eat at her house often. I don't want to be rude when they prepare food that I won't be eating.

4. I'm afraid of being embarrassed. I have found that when I tell people about eating clean, most people are critical of it. The only exception so far has been my hair dresser. She even liked The Eat Clean Diet on Facebook. I get so tired of being told "oh yeah, you can't eat that."

On Friday, I went to lunch with some of my extended family. I told them to choose where they wanted to go. As I was leaving work, my friend said something about how she thought that I wasn't able to eat out because she thought I was on a diet. I told her that I'm choosing not to eat out as much as I used to, but still it was frustrating.

My family decided on a bagel place. Usually I get the lunch special- bagel sandwich, soup or salad, and a diet coke. This time I got just the bagel sandwich. It was still a "treat" though because the sandwich had chipotle mayo and bacon on it. When we sat down I was asked why I didn't get the salad, which is doused in mayo and has cornbread and cheese in it. Then I only at my sandwich with half of the bagel. Someone else snickered and asked what I was saving the other half for (which I threw away). Then after the meal, the 4 of them, shared 2 cookies. I'm happy to say that I didn't even have a taste.

When I left, instead of being proud of myself for not consuming probably 1000 extra calories, I felt totally dejected. This is my family, people that should be supporting me not criticizing me. Also, I have lost 10 pounds. I'm very excited about this, but not one of them seemed to notice. Like I said, I felt totally dejected and also irritated that they don't get it.

5. This fear is also referred to by one of my sisters as FOMO or fear of missing out. I have already turned down a few lunch invites, dessert at Chilis for a friend's birthday, and going out to dinner with friends. I'm afraid that if I continue to turn down invites, it will ruin some of these invitations. I just don't want to waste my "treats" every week on eating mediocre food at a chain restaurant.

6. The last fear I will address is that I'm afraid of explaining this lifestyle to people. As I mentioned in the past, when I do tell people about eating clean, their responses have been critical. I don't feel like I should have to defend myself. It's my life, my body and the choices I'm making are only going to effect me positively. I also don't want to be mocked, so I haven't told anyone (except for my blog and my clean eating buddy, Priscilla) that I have decided that I can get a bikini body. I'm afraid that my friends and family will be critical of that goal.

So, I have dug deep and excavated my fears, now I just need to overcome these fears so that I can reach my goals.

The End of Month 1

So I officially started My Year of Healthy Eating on September 24.  That is when I attempted the LA Weight Loss route.  I have learned so much in the past month and I really feel a sense of accomplishment.  I have been eating clean for 3 weeks now.  I feel so much more energy and I love that my clothes are feeling loose and comfy.  I am also starting to look forward to my strength training days.  My inner thigh has been bothering me after my long runs, so I'm excited to complete my 1/2 marathon and Ragnar in November and then I can concentrate more on strength training.

I found 2 really fun things this week.  First, I have been experimenting with Tabata training a little for awhile now, but I haven't loved it.  However, this week I found out how much fun YouTube is.  I found so many fun, 4-minute Tabata videos.  The ones I have done so far have been challenging and I am sore in places I haven't been sore in for a long time!  Success!  I tend to come up with excuses to get out of doing my lower body strength training days, but these videos really worked my calves, and glutes.  OUCH!  My favorite videos are by genghisgirl or BexLife.com, look for 4 Minute Tabata Workouts.  Thursday was my "rest" day on my strength training schedule and since I had ran 10 miles on Wednesday, I did 4 Tabata sessions with 5-10 minute rest breaks on the elliptical, just to shake things up. It was lots of fun!!!  Today I worked abs, back and chest with a 30 min interval warmup on the elliptical.

This week I felt a lot less tempted to eat sweets.  I don't know what changed, but it was just easier to eat clean.  I bought a bigger cooler on Wednesday for the days that I work.  My struggle is that when we are super busy at work it's really difficult for me to get my mid-morning and mid-afternoon meals. I have been drinking a protein shake for these times, but sometimes I need a carb too. I'm going to have to do some more research on a drinkable lp/cc quickie meal.  Overall, being prepared is proving to be the key to success.

This week, I also continued to cook clean meals. I did make some family favorites like fajitas, but I just made sure it was clean. I still have some unclean food in my pantry that I am slowly weeding out. Since I don't live alone, I won't be able to toss out all unclean foods,  I just won't eat them. I would get in lots of trouble if I threw out Mike's smarties and cookies. All in all, I feel pretty good about what all of us are eating. My family is being very supportive, which makes it so much easier and enjoyable.

I had to look over my October goals to make sure that I accomplished everything I wanted to this month. I actually met all my goals except I haven't tried out kefir yet.  I still have 5 days though, so it will get done!  I still have my ups and downs. I actually felt pretty good about all that I've done, until today. I still struggle with wanting a flat belly- TODAY!!!  I have to keep reminding myself that THIS IS A PROCESS!  In all the success stories I have read, it took the person at least a year and some even took 3 years, to get a bikini body.  I just need to be patient and not give up!!!

Week 5: Praying for some self control

As I sit here in our office, I'm looking out the window at this cloudy, cold day and I'm thinking "maybe this is it, maybe this weather is what is wearing me down."  It has been everything I can do not to go grab the bag of M&Ms out of my child's hand and just dump them down my throat.  I want some comfort food.  I want pasta or potatoes smothered in creamy sauce.  And then maybe some pie.  Seriously, this has been a difficult week and I just need some self control and some inspiration to get me through this next week.  I asked my husband if he wanted me to make cookies and he said "you don't want to fall of the wagon now, do you?"  Do I?  NO!!! NO WAY!!!  I'm committed to this for the entire year. I am getting the feeling that my family is in need of a clean diet break though, so this week I'm going to only try out two clean meals and then make my family dinners that they like, but that I don't.  This way I won't be tempted to eat it.

This week's goals:

Exercise:  I'm a little stressed because the Ragnar course has changed for the third time this month.  I originally had about 25 miles, then it went up to 26.2, but the course stayed the same.  Now it is 26.1 miles, but the course totally changed.  My first run was originally all down hill, now its rollers.  I'm not excited about this.  Because of this change I'm going to run 8-10 miles on Monday, Wednesday, and then Thursday or Friday (depending on if I do a local run on Thursday).  As for strength training, I'm going to continue with the muscle makeover I addressed in my last post.  I probably will only lift 3-4 days per week, so I will just pick up the schedule where I left off, instead of assigning day 1 to Monday, day 2 to Tuesday, etc.  This way I will have some flexibility, but still continue with getting a full body workout.  On the days that I run and strength train, I will only lift.  But on the days that I don't run, I will add in interval training.  The weather for the week looks terrible, so I might be doing my elliptical some days too.

My husband cleaned up, organized, and restructured our weight room last week.  He uses it too, so it wasn't just for my benefit, but I really appreciated it.  At this time I am going to continue to use our home gym until I decide to either join the gym or hire a personal trainer.  I have done enough classes at the gym and I even had a trainer a few years ago, so I know proper form.  I just need to really concentrate when I lift and maintain that form.

Food:  I'm going to stick with it!!!  I will continue to eat clean, to get a lean protein and complex carb with each meal.  Eat when I'm hungry, not bored.  And not eat sweets, only an occasional treat (no more than 2 per week).  I also need to make a date with my husband and go out to eat at our favorite local Mexican food joint  (as a treat).  I'm also going to add in more leafy greens to my diet.  Someone suggested adding spinach to my smoothies, which I used to do, but have dropped the ball somewhere along the way.  I also need to focus on getting more veggies period.  I naturally gravitate to fruits and starchy carbs, so I need to replace these with veggies.

My extra goal for the week: Hang in there and don't give up!

Week 4 Recap: Ups and Downs

This week was full of ups and downs.  Ups because I made really great choices.  I never did it that brownie that I didn't even have.  My mother in law brought my kids my new favorite Halloween candy-M&M candy corn and I haven't eaten one.  I kept my food clean all week, HOORAY!  Tonight I have book club, so I am going to have a "treat" and eat a piece of cake.  I also started Tosca's Muscle Makeover (more on this later) and I did strength training 4 days this week on top of running 36 miles this week.  And my clothes are all feeling looser!!! I have drastically increased my water intake and I only had crystal light one day, but I haven't had pop for 10 days.

The downs: lots and lots of temptations everywhere I go, my friends and family not getting what this diet is, negative self talk and criticizing, and I had a bit of a cold.  I was very irritable on Wednesday and Thursday.  I think that I was sick and not handling stress very well.  I do think that my healthy living helped me to kick the bug faster than my friends that were sick (that's an up).  I also did not incorporate kale into my diet, I totally forgot. I guess that the biggest down was that I just wanted to quit, but I am so glad that I didn't!!!

I really get frustrated because I want to tell everyone about how awesome eating clean is, but when I tell people they just look at me like I'm a complete idiot.  I have one friend that is constantly saying "oh, you probably can't eat that."  That is totally not what it is about, it's about what I CAN eat.  I am rarely hungry, and when I am then I eat something. No matter when I last ate.  I just make sure that I have a lean protein and a carb.  It's really not that difficult.  Actually, I'm ready for lunch so I'm off to eat a sweet potato, chicken, and salad.  I prepared it last night, so I will have it ready in about 5 minutes.  I love being prepared. It has made this so much easier.

Tosca Reno's "Your Best Body Now Muscle Makeover:"
Day 1: Calves, shoulders, upper back and abdominals
Day 2: Biceps and triceps
Day 3: Rest Day
Day 4: Back and Chest
Day 5: Glutes, abs, and shoulders
Day 6: Rest Day
Day 7: Upper and lower legs plus bonus round of glutes and abs

I want a brownie!!!

Today was the hardest day yet in this process. I got up and did a great bicep/tricep workout. Then I worked for 8 hours. That was not so great. I really wanted a diet coke. I really wanted the giant cookies and chips that a drug rep brought. It was the 4th busy, crazy, stressful day at work (I did have 2 days off in between). I didn't eat any of that junk food though.

After work, I ran 6 miles of hills, wind, and cold. When I got home I took a bath and made dinner. It was a clean recipe of chicken curry. I didn't think my family would like it so I didn't make extra, thinking there would be plenty of leftovers for lunch tomorrow. While I cooked dinner I packed my cooler. Then the kids and my husband came home. They loved the dinner and ate everything. So here I am- exhausted, grumpy , and wanting a brownie at 9 pm and I still have to make me a lunch. Instead of eating a brownie, which my husband brought to my attention that we don't even have, I cooked up salmon and sliced veggies for a wrap for lunch tomorrow. 

Instead of giving up, I guess I can be proud of the choices that I made today. The brownie really wouldn't have been worth the guilt. I just needed to vent a little.  I'm so thankful for my extremely supportive husband. He really gets what I'm doing, even though the majority of my friends and family don't. It's a process;)