I miss being vegetarian

Standard

I do. I miss the challenge of making veg an vegan meals work for the carnivore hubby & son. I miss the shorter clean up time after making dinner. I miss how I felt.

So far I’ve been able to easily drop pork from my menu. It’s very easy because hubby keeps referring to puppy Fred as a pig. Eggs and cheese may always stay on my plate, but I did just fine when I removed the other things. I just got a little lazy and wanted to make things easier. I knew that DD would happily ignore meat, but my boys are a different story. DS even requested steak for his birthday dinner next week.

Yep, my boy (S actually) will be 11 next week. Time flies! In no time I’ll be the shortest one in the house, and I’m 5′ 6.”

What else to share this time. Oh, I’ve dropped another pound, but am down more inches. I’m still trying to figure that out, but I’m not going to complain. I’m hitting my target on the Women’s Challenge of 150 minutes minimum and 2 days of muscle building. I’m ahead of hubby in the hubby v. wife weight loss challenge. Weigh in is on 6/28 – wish me luck! He’s falling back into his bad habits when I’m not around. Bad for him, and me, but good as far as the challenge is concerned.

It’s late and I have an interesting Saturday planned, so I need to call it a night. I may start posting my weekly menus; at least lunch and dinners. I keep track offline, so why shouldn’t I share with you?

Happy Father’s Day weekend! I miss you, daddy.

Be well, all.

Another 2 pounds gone, another inch here and there

Standard

Yep, I’m getting smaller and Hubby says my butt is higher. Neato! I’m still watching my portions, keeping my protein and simple carbs in check, and going ballistic on fruit and veggies. I like how I’ve been feeling!

The kids are out of school now, so it will be just loads of fun to exercise around them. Really – no sarcasm there. We bought a Wii Fit last week after Hubby & the kids argued over who would rule supreme on a snowboard and I’ve been on it 4 times so far. It’s addicting and it is possible to work out a sweat on that thing. Today I hit Super Hula Hoop, a run, a few strength training exercises, a little soccer, and hit the snowboard, all in 31 minutes. I loved it! Hubby was blown away by my score on the plank position (he can’t remember ever seeing me do it, sigh) and feels the need to beat my scores. Snort! Ain’t happening!

On the food front, my fav breakfast these days is a fruit salad topped with a dollop of fat free plain yogurt, flax seeds, oatmeal, and a tsp. of local honey. It’s really good! DS has been snacking on it and DD just goes from her fruit plain. In general we’ve all been eating a lot cleaner. Both of the inlaws are diabetic, so Hubster wants to do whatever he can to avoid that diagnosis. He’s pre-diabetic now, so changing the family’s way of eating has become more of a priority.

On the exercise front, in addition to the new game, I’ve again signed up for the Woman Challenge. So far, I’ve met or exceeded my goals for the past 4 weeks and am going strong. Swing by, take a look, and join me.

The Woman Challenge - May 10-July 4, 2009 - womenshealth.gov - Join

Until next time, see ya!

Still holding at 4 pounds

Standard

But I’ve lost a couple of inches, so I’m not going to complain.

Something huge happened – I didn’t gain my monthly 5! I love that! That alone was enough to keep me on track for a couple of weeks.

I’ve been exercising but not following a traditional program. I’ve been gardening, organizing the shed and attic, hanging blinds (which was a doozy thanks to my shoulder and heavy drill), and walking the dogs. More than walking the dogs, actually; playing football with them. It’s cute – Fred will play fetch with me while playing keep away with Oz. She’s getting a little smaller, too.

On a down note, my shoulder has been driving me up the wall. The past couple of days have seen me hit between 7-9 on the pain scale. I’m popping pain pills and meditating, but the pain has not eased. Time for a doc visit. Until I can move it freely again, I’ll be either walking, on the elliptical (holding onto the heart rate monitor), or doing other things that will not aggravate it. I love kicking drills because I keep my upper body pretty much still. (See, Sensei, I retained something from your lessons).

Until next time, be well, be safe, and have a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend.

First week – down 4 pounds!

Standard

That’s right, baby, 4 pounds! I’ve been happy dancing – more calories burned!

I officially went on plan on 4/6. And we hit the road last weekend – every meal was restaurant prepared. Well, except for the lousy selection at the hotel. (They used to be so much better, but that’s another story.) It’s been easier so far than the first time I followed this program. I keep my portions in check (until it comes to the freebies – then I go nuts), eat on a regular schedule, and make better choices by default.

Fruit or veggies are present at every meal and snack. Protein choices are lower fat. I love cheese – always have – and still eat it. I just make sure I’m having lower fat versions or planning the indulgence around the rest of my day. And chocolate is still a part of my plan, just not everyday.

Clean eating, baby! It kicks butt!

Rambling

Standard

I hit 40 the other day. Yeah, baby! I’ve been looking forward to 40. Reaching it meant I’ve outlived my dad and am smacking the early death curse into a corner. At least holding it back.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted because I fell off the wagon. Way off. The other day I got on the scale and was sad but not surprised to see 240 staring at me. I couldn’t play off being surprised because I know exactly how I’ve been eating and how little I’ve been exercising.

I’ve been thinking about my journey and I decided I’d go back to what worked for me as far as my eating plan. I pulled out my old Richard Simmons’ FoodMover info and am going back to basics. It’s an exchange program based on the old Weight Watchers plan (his words) and similar to the TOPS plan. It helped me get control of my portions better than any other plan I’d tried and I felt really good on it. When I can’t exercise (like this week – gotta love lingering injuries) I can still see a change on the scale and in my energy level.

I am 40 and fab, regardless of my weight. By 41, my inner hottie will be out for all to see!

Good, bad, or ugly, I’ll be posting more regularly. Til then, be well.

Soul Vegetarian South is back!

Standard

I am so stoked!

I loved Soul Vegetarian because it was vegan, healthy, and soul food! It was also not too far from home and I could get there by bus without turning it into an all day event. They closed for lunch for a couple of years and I missed them terribly.

Well, this week they reopened and hubster and I grabbed lunch today. He had the protein wrap (TVP with sauteed onions and peppers) and I went for the kalebone wrap (kick-butt seitan roast with sauteed onions and peppers). We both had the mac and cheese for old times sake and hubster rounded off his meal with the split pea soup. We were not disappointed! Yum is all I can say, people. I couldn’t finish my wrap, so half is sitting in the fridge waiting for me.

Swing by, 11 am – 3 pm weekdays. Same place as before, on Rivers Avenue just south of Reynolds. Don’t let the area scare you – go get a great lunch!

Besides a great lunch, we picked up our first fruit tree today and have a Meyer lemon sitting on the counter just waiting to be sliced. Our home is coming together! Our garden is going to rock!

I tried something new

Standard

Bellydancing! I have FitTV and decided to use it again yesterday. It was fun and I broke a sweat, which I did not expect. I didn’t feel very graceful, but hubby swears I was.

Another goodie on FitTV is Sharon Mann. That chick has some serious abs! she’s on at least twice a day and is a four time Canadian Aerobics champion. I’ve followed her tai chi/kickboxing and pilates workouts (yay for DVR) and always feel like I’ve had a great workout. Since my fall last week I’ve been on the lookou for something gentle that I can do at least once a day. Shimmy was on and I went for it.

It’s a beautiful workout – beautifully shot with gorgeous dancers. It was a little intimidating at first, but I tuned out the gorgeousness and went forward. It was different, but good. I didn’t feel gorgeous, glamorous, or sexy while doing it, but I know the power that gliding hips have on a certain guy, and that made me giggle. I rocked my hips, learned snake arms, beautiful face, and beautiful eyes. My still hip was not aggravated at all, and neither my back or hip are sore today.

I have my DVR set to record today’s episode and I’ll get in that session later. Maybe continuing the workout will bring out the sexy Goddess hottie mama.

Have I mentioned how much I like that it didn’t feel like a workout? I liked it. A lot.

Two steps forward, two steps back

Standard

I took another tumble. I forget that my balance is nowhere as good as it used to be and that I can’t be moving without paying attention. Especially where heights are concerned.

I’m at 231 and holding. In a week or two I’ll be cleared to exercise full on again. In a couple of days I can get back to the elliptical.

Gah.

Dinner tonight: lentil soup (lentils, celery, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, soy sauce, and water); massive salad with mixed green, cukes, tomatoes, celery, pepperoncini, & either fat free feta or a boiled egg.

Two weeks into 2009

Standard

So far, so good! I’m down a few pounds and inches, learned to hate my pedometer, and discovered that I’m faster than I thought.

I’m at 231. Not a big loss, really, but a big loss to me. Six pounds down since I started paying closer attention to how I eat and went back to my veggie ways.

Didn’t I mention that I backslid? Yes, I ate meat a few times after Christmas. All kinds of meat including a meat lover’s pizza. I felt just heavy and oily. I know I didn’t always choose the leanest cuts of meat, but even when I did I felt heavy. You know how it feels when you’ve eaten too much bread? Bloated and overstuffed? I felt like that when I ate meat, no matter how balanced my meals.

I cut all meat out starting last Saturday and have felt so much better since. Yay veggie!

On to the pedometer and my walking speed. I started taking laps around the neighborhood in either the morning after seeing DD off to school or afternoon. I took my pedometer with me once so I could measure the distance. My pedometer read 1/4 mile. Well, this evening we drove around the neighborhood so we could check the reading. It was .7 mile. I took 2 laps in 20 minutes the other day – the only time I’ve remembered to time myself. I thoguht I was dragging horribly, but today I discovered that I wasn’t. I feel a lot better about my semi-broken body now.

Speaking of, I’ve been punching, kicking, squatting, and shaking my butt on a regular basis. It feels good, but it’s still cardio – which I hate. Deeply, truly, passionately hate. But, as long as hubby gets on my nerves, I can picture his face as my target.

Before you get all out of whack, I’m not going to really hit him. I’m not violent. I just have a semi-violent imagination at times. It’s healthy.

I will reach my goals, dangit, and have already reached one – I can wear more of the gorgeous tops I bought in size 18-20! That is a big deal to me and I am celebrating. A few weeks ago I couldn’t do that.

Every inch and pound loss is worth celebrating. Every (refillable) bottle of water finished is worth celebrating. Every day I eat well is worth celebrating.

Be well.