What Do I Do Now?

Today...I am alone.  A rare moment that I am alone all day into the night while DH is away with my Stepson, Daughter is at her dad’s, and of course Son is away at school.  I have so much to do, I should be working but I haven't been. 

I did go on a nice ride.  My first ride out of the neighborhood and across the major, major intersection on the corner all my myself.   I have never crossed that one alone.  Either DH is with me or Son has been with me and they always look out for me.  This time it was just me.  And that big intersection is scary.  There is always somebody who pulls into the crosswalk, always somebody making a right on red into the lane as I am crossing.  I have learned to be so defensive and careful.  It is funny how much of my fear I have lost since I started riding again a year ago.  Now my only fear really is falling!

I rode down to the zoo, about 3.5 miles, and enjoyed an orange and Primal Strip vegan jerky on a bench under a tree.  I was just going to ride around and get some mileage in, but on the way into the zoo my stomach started to hurt and I suddenly realized I was starving!  It was nearly 1 o’clock by this time and I had only had fruit all day.  Glad I had grabbed the orange on my way out  just in case...and I always keep a couple of  Primal Strips in my bike bag.

After I finished snacking I rode around the zoo's large parking lot, then got bored just riding in big circles, so I rode back towards home, stopping at Publix to buy some organic tofu for my dinner tonight.  

The man in line in front of me was an enormous man, both in height and build with those extra, extra-large bodybuilder muscles.  He was buying orange juice and had another bag with a big tub of protein powder that bodybuilders use.  He looked over at me with my biking shorts and shirt, helmet in hand, and  backpack and then looked down and scanned my purchases of organic tofu, organic dried cranberry and nut mix, and tempeh.  He looked up and smiled.  It was so funny...we both had that awareness and acknowledgment of how into health and fitness we both were, yet in such different forms. 

Coming home to the empty house I parked the bike and set up my tofu on my repurposed George Foreman Tofu Press to press out.  Oddly, I am alone all the time during the week, but between the school runs, meetings, produce pickups and everybody coming home at dinner time I am not always so alone.  Or my alone time is broken up into small chunks punctuated by stuff I have to do, mostly for others in between periods of frantically working to catch up.

On this weekend  when there is a major scouting event and I didn't go, I am alone the weekend....into the night, with meals on my own and all my time my own.  I have mixed feelings about this.  Part of me feels so lonely.  Part of me is enjoying the rare taste of freedom with nobody to have to do things for except me.  Part of me wonders how the time is flying by so fast and I haven't accomplished much of what I set out to accomplish with all my alone time this weekend.

At least I got out and got some exercise in.  I have been mourning the fact that all I do is sit and I was determined to get out riding this weekend and get over my fear of riding out in the community alone without the protection of somebody stronger.  I have an outing planned for tomorrow as well. 

The pictures have been scarce lately.  I had gotten a new camera last Mother’s Day but I unwisely chose a bigger bulkier one that doesn’t fit on my bike so easily!  I will have to borrow DD’s camera that she doesn’t use so I can get some good updates on here!

I do have a great dinner planned for tonight for me and me…a vegan version of Tom Kha, the Thai coconut soup.  So Yum!!!  Hopefully I will be motivated enough to share the pix…and the recipe.

Running….and Walking

Just a quick check in as run through life, desperately trying to keep up with my sadly overbooked and bulging schedule this week!

Yes I have been eating great things and dutifully photographing them…but all reside in my camera still, not in the post.

Tonight is my first 5k run walk.  The big Mercedes Benz Corporate Run is going on tonight and we are participating.  Yes…most people will be running it but my family and I will be walking it!  At this time that is the best I can do.

FabHubs, FabStepson, and FabHeTeen (now that I have TWO teenagers their names have to grow along with them) will be walking with me!  FabSheteen will be at her dad’s so she will miss out (she probably doesn’t look at it that way though).

FabHubs could very easily run the whole thing and probably not break a sweat…but he is choosing to walk with me, even though I gave him the go ahead to run or even walk at his much faster pace than mine.

I know I will have not problem finishing it…I walk 3.5 miles all the time and 5k is equal to 3.1 miles. 

I have only two concerns...the major concern is the not one but TWO bridges along the way, the uphill portion (I am great with flats…the hills and stairs are what aggravate my muscle weakness) and secondly….I hope I don’t come in last!!!

Hoping to have great things to report tomorrow!!!

The Wind In My Face….Then Out Of My Sail

Today I logged in my 50th (and  51st and 52nd) mile on my mission to walk a minimum of 300 miles by the end of this year.

I have made sure I get out walking at least three days a week if not four, and been trying to add extra steps during my day, tracking them with this (untrustworthy I believe) little guy!The past few days I have been having some lots of frustration for me in that I don’t feel I am shaving any time off of my miles!  

In trying to think of improvements, I definitely feel a little more sure in my steps and don’t fear falling as much.  I do think my legs have a little more strength to them and are not as wobbly. 

We have way too high front steps with no banisters…and at my worst I had to hang on to the column for support to get down the steps and make sure I landed on perfectly even ground…or I would go down the steps the hard way!!!  I did realize this morning that while I do not bound down the steps, I also don’t have to put a death grip on the column to go down them either.

Perhaps the walking. 

Perhaps the fact that legs have 30 pounds less to lug around.

Perhaps a combination of the two.

And so I get towards my point…

I walk around the perimeter of a large squarish-shaped, open field park, 7/8 mile for one lap.  This morning it was quite windy!  Around two of the sides the wind was fierce, blowing right towards me and into my face and I had to work hard against it.  Sometimes I felt I was on a treadmill, walking in place!

But it was also very warm today and I left my water bottle in the car so I wouldn’t have to carry it.   I pushed hard…sweating…breathing hard…trying to speed up as fast as my poor legs could manage, even against the resistance of the wind.   I really want to start bringing my time down.

And then on my third lap around this runner passed me.  Dressed in a large hat, black pants, a long-sleeved black jacket, and a thick towel wrapped around her neck like a winter scarf.   I was actually starting to feel a little bad from the heat…pushing mid80s today…and she was running in this, (running past me of course) dressed for the 50s!

It kind of kicked me down a notch mentally…but physically I still  pushed harder and a little faster. 

Then this other lady passed me…she was about my age and weight.    And she was simply walking, not running, not jogging, not power walking.   She was simply walking.  Not breaking a sweat…she looked like she was out for a casual stroll.   But she “casually strolled” right by me and left me in the dust like I was standing still.  I couldn’t believe how far ahead she was within 5 minutes after going by me!

And that just took the wind right out of my sail.   I don’t know why I let it.  I know it is not a competition.   But I am competitive by nature…even if I am competing with myself.  And I started having all of these negative thoughts inside my head!

Why isn’t my time coming down?

Why aren’t I making progress?

What if I am never going to be able to gain strength and get faster?

What if there is no UP for me, and where I am today is the best I will ever be!!!

I was set to do one more lap…but I gave up and went to the car and went home. 

I  am not giving up…I still have hope, and I also know that no matter what speed I am, it is vital for me to be out there pushing my legs or I will definitely deteriorate. 

But on this one windy day the wind sure blew out of my sail quickly!

Back to home…I talked to my mom on the phone, worked a little, and crossed some things off my to-do list, goofed off a little..and all of a sudden it was 1 ‘clock (how did that happen?) and I was starving!!!

Once again I did a quick scroungefest for lunch…looking to see what the fridge had to offer me!

• A baggie of cooked lentils, leftover from when I cooked way too many last week for a lentil salad dinner.

• A sweet and crunchy organic carrot.

• Organic grape tomatoes!

• EVOO and balsamic (not in fridge!)

• and a red organic pear (that everybody keeps mistaking for an apple around here.)

Other than a minute or three for some carrot and tomato chopping and dicing…this came together in no time flat!  And was so filling I couldn’t even finish it. Red pear was on the side…not in the salad..although  that may have actually been kind of interesting to try!

Then look what was taunting me…singing to me…left next to my computer this morning (I type on my laptop on the dining room table!).

I  had to buy one!

Of course I picked the healthiest one (wink wink)

I have to say I am SPOILED!  Compared to all of the high-end organic dark chocolate brands I usually buy, this tasted awful!   Look at that paltry sprinkle of chopped almonds in there..three little bits on the left side! 

I don’t care what they say, this is certainly not The World’s Finest!

I am kind of glad though…I will not be tempted  to buy more of these!

Now…off to work on the taxes.  Have I ever mentioned I was a CPA before I had kids?   LOL…kind of embarrassing…I don’t think waiting until April 14 is very CPA like! 

Blogger Giveaways

Some more great blogger giveaways I have come across this week!

Amanda from Run To The Finish has a great motivating giveaway going on now.  The Three Changes Challenge inspires you to make three small changes in your life that will make an impact on your lifestyle or goals.  She has a bunch of great prizes for this challenge!  My daughter wants me to win just so she can get the Subway GC!

I chose to limit my computer time outside of work, drink a minimum of  54 ounces of water daily, and to add resistance band training to my weekly walking to try to strengthen my muscles!  Of course I just ate an hour of my computer “fun time” on this post!

Tricia from Endurance Isn’t Only Physical is back with another giveaway as well from GE to help promote National Women’s Health Week.  You can win a $20 health-themed gift card for entering this one.

Proud To Be A Loser

Yesterday  marked the second weigh-in for Losing To Win,  the weight loss competition I joined on January 5!  I didn’t place in one of the top 4 money slots…but I am still so proud to be a loser! 

From February 5 to March 5 I lost a total of 6 lbs, bringing me to a Losing To Win total of 15 pounds since January 5, and a grand total of 33 pounds since I joined Weight Watchers (which at this point I am not following at all) on July 20, 2009!

Did you say I deserved a reward?  Of course you did!  So as not to disappoint, I went and really splurged and treated myself to these! An actual pair of good quality walking/running shoes as opposed to the whatever brand I would by myself before.  I went to a running store and had my foot fitted for a shoe that will take me the mile…or at least the 300 miles I plan to walk this year!

Now what I really really want is this:

Not because I am a major runner…but I do want to start tracking my heart rate to make sure I am getting it at the target level…and because I am tracking my miles and that will free me up some to get off the measured parks I am going to.

Maybe I will make that a 100 mile reward….unless someone who loves me gets it for my birthday next month!

This is actually very first time I have rewarded myself for reaching a milestone and treated myself to some fitness gear.

How do you reward yourself when you have reached weight loss or fitness goals?

How I Went From “If I Get Around To It” to “Just Do It!!!!”

I was born and raised a couch potato.  Growing up, while my family enjoyed the outdoors and nature, it was all from a spectator point of view, never an active one. 

And really that is quite understandable!  With a congenital muscle weakness which targets the arms and legs running rampant throughout most branches of my family tree, making it difficult to walk stairs and even hills, going out for touch football or a game of frisbee was never going to be my family’s recreational activity of choice. 

Now that I am in my 40s, I clearly understand why my grandfather moved his family from the hilly, stair-filled, icy and sometimes treacherous (for us) north to the much easier to navigate warm flatlands of South Florida!

But I am striving to push forward and get through some of those challenges! 

In the last seven months I have made health changes to my life that I never imagined, the biggest one being becoming a vegetarian!  I still am shocked that I was able to do that…somehow a simple mind shift stuck with me and I have no desire for meat or junk food anymore. 

Part of this mind shift I know is due to the cocoon of healthy living I have been able to surround myself in.   Between the blogs I hang out on, the real-life people I am associating with, the organic produce I order, and the changes I have made in our household, it has become so much a part of my every day life that many times I forget everybody doesn’t have this healthy lifestyle…until I go out in to the real world that is!

A few weeks ago I had a blogger meetup with four other healthy living bloggers who live here in South Florida.  Out of the five of us there, I was the oldest, heaviest, and clearly the most out of shape.  I have made incredible changes in my diet, but sitting with these girls it sure didn’t look like it!While everybody there made healthy eating a priority, two of the girls, Amanda and Melissa, are avid runners and they had some running tales to share with us.   Honestly, listening to them I really WANTED to be a runner too!  But there I was…not doing anything at all!

When I got home I went to explore some of their blogs a bit…I had never been to Amanda’s blog before, and for some reason, reading her story about how she got started running really motivated me and something clicked inside my head…albeit something really small, but at least it was a something, right? 

I wanted to love moving my body as much as she enjoyed moving hers!

During the same week I followed my usual internet routine of reading the health blogs to keep my motivated, and as usual I went to one of my favorite’s Oh She Glows, along with Amanda’s blog, Run To The Finish. 

While reading about Angela’s day at OSG, she spoke about what a busy day she was having…12 or so hours of baking, paperwork, and more…AND all of a sudden I saw how even in the midst of all that she had to do, SHE STILL MADE SURE SHE MADE TIME FOR A SERIOUS WORKOUT!

I couldn’t believe it…for me being busy was a sure excuse to not have to work out!  And here she was still making sure she got to it with an absolutely full day of being on her feet either ahead of her or behind her!

And as I thought about it I realized that all of the healthy bloggers out there who really were fit and thin did the same thing.

And the big ole’ lightbulb in my head turn to a brilliant, glaring, shine in your eyes so bright that you can’t ignore it kind of on. 

EXERCISE WAS A PRIORITY IN THEIR LIVES!

And all of a sudden I got it!  To somebody like me and most people I know, exercise is something you fit in if you have the time.  IF YOU HAVE THE TIME.  And guess what…most of the time with going here, going there, doing this and that…you (I) DON’T HAVE THE TIME…so it just gets dropped of the list.

But it became so beautifully clear to me at that moment that all of these gorgeous, young, healthy ladies I have been motivated by view physical activity as one of those things in your day that falls into the “MUST DO” category with those things you have to do during that that are not optional!

You know, you MUST shower, MUST get dressed, MUST eat, MUST get the kids to school on time, MUST get your work done, MUST pick the kids up from school, MUST breathe…and you MUST give your body some physical activity…..get the picture?

I sure did!  You may think I am a big dummy…but really, I had never looked at physical activity in that light before. 

And the other lightbulb that came on was how even these ladies had their moments when the did not want to get up and run or workout…but they still did, because it is important to their overall wellbeing!  It was a MUST Do! 

So since that giant lightbulb started glaring at me I have been making sure I am making it a priority, and for me, with my muscle condition, really it is a priority…one of quality of life in my future as a matter of fact.

I have set my goals and for the first time in I don’t know how many years I have been following through and ENJOYING it too!  ME!  Enjoying exercise!

My goals had to start with what I am able to do…I will never be a marathon runner, I am not sure it is possible, but I can walk (and I am grateful for that), and I do know I can strengthen my legs somewhat, hopefully slowing down the progression and severity of the disease.

So for the past few weeks I make sure I walk 4-5/7 days.  I am walking a minimum of 2 miles each day with an overall goal to walk 300 miles this year.   I have also set a goal to at least be able to jog a mile.  YES!  A whole mile!!  Of course as it stands at this moment, that one mile for me might as well be 26.2! 

On April 29 I will be walking the Mercedes Benz Corporate 5K!  Maybe not a big deal for you marathoners…but it is for me and I am really excited about that!  One day I hope I can run one…but for now I am thrilled that I can walk one…and keep it in an hour too!

I have already seen progress in my speed and endurance.   In two weeks I have gone from a 22 minute mile and shaky legs after the first mile (hoping I won’t fall down out there in the park!) to a 19 minute mile today…and I pushed through to 3.5 miles.  AND…for the first time on my walk today (hee hee) I wasn’t the slowest one out there!  Yep..there was one lady I could keep ahead of!  HEY…that is progress for somebody that has always been a turtle!!!!

Already I see that I will need to be adding some kind of stretching routine and strength training routine to the walking, not that easy when most routines have floor exercises and as of yet I am still not able to get up from the floor by myself.

But I am learning about that…how to proceed and I know I will succeed in there too!

I am not sure of all the how’s, what’s, and why’s of all of the changes, understandings, and motivations I have been lucky enough to experience lately…but as a thank you to Angela, Amanda, Melissa, Karilynn, and some of the other bloggers who, even they have no clue, have played a major role in motivating me, I hope over the next year to be able to pay it forward by showing what I can do and motivating some other couch potatoes to get off of the couch and move!

Really…if I can do it, anybody can!!!

Who Needs Workout…I’ve Got Cookies!

Hundreds of them to be exact (that is not exact is it!).

Yes..FabPreteen is on the quest to reach 1,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies sold and guess who is her support system.  I am getting tons of exercise lugging cases of cookies out of the house and into the car….lugging cases of cookies out of the car to the booth…packing up the booth  and back to the car…unloading the car and back into the house.  (This is Florida…you can’t leave the cookies in the car or they will melt!)

Don’t forget that heavy table, two chairs, and a cash box….and who needs to go to the gym, I just do the cookie mom workout!

Yesterday was a crazy day for me!  In addition to having back to back cookie booths from 3-9 p.m., I also had a organic produce delivery, work, and kids to deal with.  

My living room was unbelievable yesterday with 350 boxes of cookies and a few hundred pounds of produce to be sorted!

Needless to say I am quite exhausted….and my eating habits after 3 p.m. were less than stellar. 

Does splitting a box of Lemon Chalet Cremes with your daughter for dinner make me an awful mom?   I threw a couple of cheese sticks in there for protein.

When I got home at 10 pm I still had to put my own produce away, do the paperwork for it, work on the order for cookies for the girl scout troop for this weekend, and take care of the last day’s produce box pickup.  Yes…that late!

I finally stumbled to bed around 12:30 a.m. and got to get up at 6 a.m. this morning to do it all again.

Have I told you this is my favorite time of year?  (You are not reading any sarcasm there are you?)

I actually don’t mind all the work…I just need a few more hours in my day so I can fit some sleep in there as well.

In case you didn’t notice, produce was moved this week to Wednesday!  This week’s box contained a lot of wonderful goodies I don’t have a lot of experience with, such as turnips and parsnips, and look forward to making, along with some of my favorite staples, apples, bananas, pineapple, carrots, and  more…We got:

• Leeks
• Roma tomatoes
• Parsnips
• Yams
• A head of Cauliflower
• Carrots
• Celery
• Portobello mushrooms
• Turnips
• A bunch of Dill
• A head of Romaine
• Chard  (this was so pretty!)
• Fennel (also very pretty)
• Blueberries
• Bananas
• Tangerines
• Gala apples
• Pears
• Grapefruit
• Pineapple

I was also supposed to get some mandarins and strawberries but took a trip north on a different truck…so I will get some of those next week!

This weekend I am camping again, this time not in those adorable Chickee dorms…but in a tent out with the Boy Scouts in a rough and primitive campground out in the Everglades!

I hope to be able to find time to prepare some food to bring so I have some healthy veggies to enjoy and so all of this won’t go bad!  FabHubs will be doing the cooking for the adults in the troop…but the troop is a huge meat crowd so that is what he will cooking for them and I will be on a lonely veggie quest, fending for myself!

Today it is work….and more cookies!  I sure look forward to getting some rest while camping this weekend!!!!

In the meantime….WANT TO BUY A BOX OF GIRL SCOUT COOKIES?

Down With The Count….

Counting that is…and while my counting efforts are down, my weight loss is not!

Over the last five weeks now I have hovered up and down between the same three weights.  I had no doubt that by the end of November I would have crossed another 0 and be in the 160s…a sure victory!  And I was pretty excited about this.

But that has not happened at all.

And I am kind of frustrated.

When I first started Weight Watchers back on July 20 I counted my points religiously.  I weighed, measured, and entered in my online tracker everything that went into my mouth.

I entered recipes into the recipe tracker and carefully divided the portions so I would know what I was getting.

I hoarded my weekly allowance points for the weekends when FabHubs would cook his mega-point breakfasts.

And my weight slowly but steadily went down!  I ate well…but tracked well.  And while the weight never dropped like a rock, it descended steadily at a beautiful and encouraging pace.

And then as I began to drop more and more processed foods and meat products from my diet I began to stop measuring.  After all, most of the points were in the meat…not the veggies!

But after five weeks it is clear that just because I am eating a mainly plant-based diet, the weight is not going to come off on its own. 

Somehow and I really am not sure where…I am getting too many points for my body.

I think it is a combination of too many points AND I really really really need to find a way to make time to exercise daily.   The time is still a problem for me….

• I work,
• I blog,
• I have a camping website,
• I do Boy Scouts,
• I do Girl Scouts (and am the cookie chairperson for our troop….with cookie sales starting NOW!),
• I am room mom in my daughter’s school and help in the school  and go on all the field trips,
• I am the coordinator for my neighborhood’s weekly organic produce delivery,
• I cook,
• I run the house,
• and I am sure there is more I can’t think of right now!

I need more hours in the day!

But back to the topic at hand.

I am still paying for my WW online program but I am not using it right now…and that has to change.

I need to focus!  I need to set goals!  I guess the new year coming is the perfect time for that, isn’t it!

I need to track my points and commit to exercise!

Overall by the time July 20, 2010 comes around I  would like to have reached my goal and be down 50 pounds from where I started. 

After floundering and flip-flopping up and down, I think it is time to recommit to my goals.

The year-end is approaching, a great time to review your year and to commit or recommit to your goals.

Have you started thinking about yours yet?

On The Hunt For Tonight’s Plan

This week’s produce box also yielded this!

Aren’t they cute?  They are baby bok choy.  I put my phone in the pic so you can see how small and cute they really are!

They need to be eaten…tonight!  The leaves are starting to wilt! 

I bought those green bags from a boy fundraising for his band…but the jury is still out on whether they are working or not.  The baby bok choy don’t seem to have passed the test!

Anyway…I think I made these once before…the big ones though, not baby, in a meat stir fry.  As of yet I have no clue what to do with them today!  It will probably be a stir fry of some kind…the box also had a huge hunk of ginger and a garlic bulb so some of these will go in there too.  I also have some frozen shrimp and I just might surprise and delight the FabFamily tonight by throwing it in there. 

Still have to figure out the sauce though……FabHubs is not a soy sauce stir fry fan so I have to be careful what I add. 

As far as the rest of today was concerned:

Breakfast was the same old boring usual with a few little twists…but I do love what I am eating so boring is okay.

At 6:15 a.m. while trying to finish up FabTeen’s breakfast, FabStepson’s lunch..and run FSS over to the bus stop by 6:30 I gulped down an espresso….with sugar.  I know!

I then dashed back home to finish up FabTeen’s breakfast and lunch…I made us both Green Monsters and gulped that down.

Working on my third morning shift of breakfast and lunch for FabPrettn and driving her to school, I had oatmeal/almond milk/ water/naners/almond butter…and I tossed in the last of the organic blackberries I got on Monday.  YUM! 

After coming back but before starting work I had another foamy homemade eggnog latte but I didn’t snap a picture.   You will have to look at yesterday’s if you want to see it!  It was really good…and I even liked the cinnamon on it!

This didn’t hold me until lunchtime though…so I decided to make a juice.  Everything organic…but this time the only things from the box was the parsley.  This is a new addition to my juices but I am trying to use it up (I have two bunches now) and it actually adds a very clean and refreshing flavor to the juice.

Before:

After:

The colors are so pretty!

This was in the Prevention magazine I got yesterday and so I am trying to commit to following this routine at least three to four times a week.  I need to do something!  I may be doing okay with the eating….but I am really sucking in the exercise department.  This chair gyrokinesis is perfect for me since I cannot get up and down from the floor.  I did some of it today and it felt good.  I need to really set up a goal to make this happen regularly…my body really really really needs it.

Shortly after that, lunch called.  I had last night’s leftovers and boy did the flavors meld nicely overnight! 

I topped it with 1 TBS of raisins…and we were out of raw cashews so  I opened the can of roasted cashews I bought from our Girl Scout fundraiser.  I used 1 tablespoon of those too…chopped up so they would go further.

On Monday I also got some Cara Cara or blood oranges, which I had never had before.  They are supposed to be naval but they did have seeds…and I expected them to be “bloodier” looking that that…they really looked like a pink grapefruit inside!  I got five of them Monday.  FabPreteen ate one on Monday and when I looked today one was starting to rot!  So those are on the “”Need to Eat” list now! 

I cut one up and had it with lunch.  It is sweet and okay….these weren’t the best oranges I have ever had though.  I don’t know whether it was these particular oranges or this variety, although I suspect it is just these oranges.

Finally…a little indulgence.   Also from the Girl Scout fundraiser, choco-covered raisins.  These are HUGE!  Big like grapes!  I wish they were dark, I am loving the dark chocolate as I get older.  They are not…but they were still good.

One big thing I have learned over the past few months is that is possible for me to take a measured amount of something, like a tablespoon of nuts, or 1/2 tablespoon of almond butter…or in this case 4 or 5 of the raisins, and enjoy that, rather than having a huge heaping scoop of something that is full of fat…or keeping the can of nuts or raisins out and having mindless handfuls. 

It is a nice balance between having a nice treat and feeling deprived. 

A Power Breakfast and Lunch For My Boys

Today my two sons, 18 yo Fabteen and 12 yo FabStepson, (along with a few hundred other Boy Scouts) walked 13 miles, from downtown to the southern portion of our county.

Getting off this morning was chaotic…we were given tickets last night to the NASCAR championship races at the Homestead Speedway and got in rather late…..then the boys had to leave the house by 6 a.m.

I got up at 5:45 (YUCK) and in 15 minutes worked like a maniac to make them a satisfying breakfast that would support walking, and get them a filling and healthy lunch.

I was pleased that I was able to draw on a lot of the good nutrition practices I have learned over the past few months to to help fuel them.

First came breakfast (no time for pictures this morning!).   Breakfast was 1/3 cup of oatmeal cooked with 1/3 cup almond milk and 1/3 cup water.  I also sliced up a banana, splitting it between the two bowls.  I micro’d the oatmeal (they loved the bananas cooked…I do too!) and put it in a to-go cup for each one of them.  I knew between the time they left the house and the time they started walking, they would have time to digest the oatmeal so it wouldn’t be sitting like a lump in their tummies….but at the same time it should stave off the hungries for a while.

To supplement the oatmeal, I also made them each an Amazing Grass Amazing Meal shake.  I have had two huge unopened tubs of the Amazing Meal, which has more protein than the Superfoods, which is what I normally use…but today I broke out the big guns and opened the tub thinking that the extra protein would help fuel their muscles. 

I made them each an Amazing Meal shake with one scoop Amazing Meal, one cup almond milk, half a banana, and a few huge handfuls of spinach.  The spinach also adds a lot of staying power to the shake….I know it keeps me full for a while!

They had to drink these on the go too!

Lunch and snacks were PB&J on Arnold Sandwich Thins (one for FabStepson, two for FabTeen).   Two little crimson apples for FabStepson and two large organic Honeycrisps apples for FabTeeen.   One of Oh She Glows Glo Bar for each as a healthy energizing snack.  And of course plenty of water.  Our troop had a water truck that met them at certain points along the way for refills.  I was so glad I packed them lunches…those that didn’t got the opportunity to buy hot dogs, hamburgers, and sodas. 

Both of them said the food carried them through the day very well and they were very happy with their lunches….I think the junk sold didn’t appeal to them at all. 

Both of them completed the whole walk and I am very proud of them.

Next year I want to do the hike with them!

Heading In The Right Direction

Both scale-wise and family-wise I think!

Okay…..no pictures in this post and I am soooo disappointed!  I was so rotten about remembering to take out the camera at all when we ate!

Friday we went to Naples overnight, about two hours away.  The FabTeen was giving a speech for a Toastmasters convention.  18 years old and he got up and gave pretty much a flawless, motivating, incredibly inspirational speech that ROCKED THE ROOM!  This in front of hundreds of strangers….many professional speakers, many others the best of the best in their speaking clubs.  I was so proud of my son!

For the drive I packed tons of yummy healthy snacks.  I was trying hard to prevent a McDonalds stop!  And succeeded. 

Dinner was at the banquet Friday night….of course I forgot my camera in the room….I don’t know what I am going to do try trigger my memory when I am out of the house! 

I ordered the fish but ended up giving one-third of it to FabHubs.  I ate all my veggies though!  He ordered the pork though….sigh…..

I did eat the dessert, a small cheesecake, dome-shaped type thing…and I really didn’t feel guilty at all for that.  I had eaten so healthy the rest of the day I knew a small treat would be fine.  I also had coffee with it, and a couple of glasses of Merlot later on in the evening.

Breakfast was a first for me….we went to the hotel restaurant and it was the first time I have ever ordered oatmeal in a restaurant.  I have always been a bacon and egg type girl.  If you had told me six months ago I would be ordering oatmeal for breakfast in a restaurant I would have asked you what you were smoking!!! 

I wished FabHubs would have ordered healthier.  He ordered an omelet and bacon and potato and toast.  BUT at least in his omelet he ordered all of the veggies, even mushrooms, along with cheese.  He didn’t have ham or extra bacon in it!  It is the small steps that count towards the long journey, right?

My oatmeal actually turned out to be rather disappointing, especially for the price.  It was to come with mango and berries.  I knew the mango was out of season locally, but I figured it would be imported and ripe at least.  It was hard, crunchy, and SOUR!  My oatmeal was mushy!   The berries were a little sprinkle of blueberries…and there was nothing to sweeten it up.  There was nothing at all served on the side….I had expected a little tray of fun toppings to put on it.   At home I use a little peanut or almond butter, agave syrup, bananas…but here all that was on the table was the sugar envelopes from the coffee  and I didn’t want to use that.  I was surprised it didn’t even come with a side of brown sugar! 

I decided after that, from now on when we travel I am going to be packing our breakfasts too….oatmeal packets, granola packets, almond milk, almond butter, fruit.  Most hotels now have mini fridges in them….otherwise we usually stay in places with kitchens and take a cooler anyway.  I will not be paying $6 for lousy oatmeal anymore!

I was also sorry I hadn’t packed my miniblender and the ingredients to make a Green Monster.  I really really missed one of those!

But very impressive to me is how my tastes are starting to change.  I can’t say I will never eat eggs and bacon again, although I would like to never eat them again, but at least for now I have no taste for it.  My body is starting to naturally crave, good, whole, clean foods! 

For the drive back we stopped at Fresh Market…I don’t have one close to me so I had never been.  It was great and I sure wish there was one close!  FabTeen and I had some brown rice sushi.  FabHubs had an Italian wrap.  He will be a hard one to change, that guy!!!!  I also got us each a square of Ghiradelli chocolate, mine dark chocolate, okay to eat in moderation, and filled with antioxidants.  Oh Yeah!

Finally, off to my mom’s  for dinner before we take FabSS trick or treating.   Mom made tater tots and salad, and we were to pick up chicken wings.  I was torn because I kind of didn’t want to eat the wings.  I ended up adding an order of sweet potato fries to the order of wings…fried, not baked, but better than tater tots!  I also ransacked mom’s fridge for veggies and came up with a red pepper, cauliflower, carrots, purple cabbage and celery…not bad!   So I went to work chopping and dicing and dressed up the plain lettuce with some colorful and crunchy veggies.  I put aside the salad bowl and piled a ginormous amount of salad on my plate, leaving very little room for anything else.  Then I took a generous amount of sweet potato fries…and only two wings.  One honey garlic and one coconut.   I couldn’t even finish the second wing.  I think I did okay there!

After that we ran home so FabSS could change and I got a nice hour and a quarter walk around the neighborhood.   I know I need to get out walking more!  It felt great!!!!!

I filched one dark chocolate mini bars bar from the candy bowl….and was sorry!  It was yucky sweet! 

Overall I think I did great this weekend!  Especially with all of the obstacles…banquet, Halloween, traveling.   I sure hope I can stay on this path!

I Am Running!

And I don’t mean for exercise either, although I wish I could.  Sure would be some great stress relief. 

This week has been nonstop. I dutifully took pix of all of my meals all week…but by the time I finished working/kids/dinner/fight everybody off the computer/etc. and sat down to blog I have been waaaayy too tired!  And even then I can’t seem to type a sentence without constant alternating interruptions from the other four people in the house!

And work was busy too so I couldn’t even steal away a few minutes this week from there to blog.  (I am self-employed and work from home so I am not really stealing from anybody from myself when I do this!)

Girl Scout Camping

Last weekend we camped with the Girl Scouts.  Isn’t this cabin cute?  We fit 12 girls and 4 leaders in that cute little cabin!  Girl Scouts are spoiled and don’t tent camp…we use cute cabins!  (Wait until my rustic Peace River trip next month with the Boy Scouts.  No cabins there! or even bathrooms for that matter.)

Meals were provided but I packed myself a whole bunch of my own goodies for just in case.  I packed fruit, salad, Almond milk, Amazing Grass, spinach, my magic bullet type blender (to make Green Monsters at camp!) chickpeas, an amazing salad, balsamic vinegar, soba noodles, Via coffee, feta cheese and some snacks.  I was a good scout…I was prepared!

….and just in case was on Saturday lunch when they served hot dogs.   I pulled out my beautiful salad with all sorts of crunchy veggies piled on, topped it with the chickpeas and feta cheese, and then added some of my soba noodles with peanut sauce.  It was sooo much better than hot dogs! 

And I am so proud that my daughter, on her own, told them while she liked hot dogs, she  would opt for the pizza because the hot dogs were not healthy.  PROGRESS!  I SEE PROGRESS!!!

Weighing In

When I snuck onto the scale Sunday night, in full clothes (I KNOW, I KNOW!) I was down one whole pound from last week.  I felt good and I figured I would be down for the “official weigh-in” Monday morning.

Of course that was before we  went to Olive Garden for my mom’s birthday dinner! 

The “official weigh-in” brought me back to the previous week’s weight.   But really I know it is less because I still carried the weight of the meal from the night before.  I am still quite pleased with my weight loss.

Produce Box

I also picked up our fresh organic veggies for the week….what a fantastic bounty!  This definitely makes us eat more produce in this house!

Yoga

Tomorrow I am going to try and fit in a chair yoga class that I found.  I haven’t really talked about it, and will probably elaborate more in a future post, but I have a mild form of a neuromuscular disease which causes my arm and leg muscles to be very weak, and at this point, at this weight, I cannot get up from the floor by myself.   I am hoping the weight loss will help that, but honestly I don’t know if my muscles have degenerated to the point where even with the weight off I will be unable to do that.  At this point I am still hopeful though.

So back to the yoga…I know I need to add exercise to my routine.  It is something that is hard for me physically…and I am envious of you runners, it sounds so freeing to throw on a pair of sneakers and go for a run, but I will probably never be able to do that.   Right now I can walk, and I can walk 2 miles (3 is pushing it!) and I am happy with that.  But I would like to do something to help the flexibility of my muscles and yoga sounds great.   But I cannot do regular floor yoga.  I am excited to try this chair yoga, which is supposed to stretch and work on all of your muscles including the legs.  Hopefully I can fit it into my schedule tomorrow.

And after this long-winded update, I will leave you with some photos of what I ate today:

Pear Oatmeal with cinnamon and almond butter:

Fresh made carrot/apple juice (not green!!! but oh so good!)

Finally finished off the soba noodles with veggies and peanut sauce

Dinner was:

Vinegar dressing:

Cukes and sweet onions waiting to be dressed:

Dressed salad:  

A surprise photo from a sneaky daughter:

Cauliflower stirfry….even the cauliflower-hating husband said this wasn’t bad!  Finally!  YAY!My complete dinner of Boca Burger/Balsamic roasted asparagus/stir fry cauliflower/Thai cucumber salad.  Oh this was good!  I started eating and forgot to snap pix at first!

WOW!  This ended up being a mega-post!

I could finish it up finally because everyone else is asleep!

And as I post I am enjoying a glass of Merlot…but I am too lazy right now to deal with taking the memory card out of the computer, putting it back into the camera, taking the picture, putting the memory card back into the computer, uploading the picture, and then posting it into this post,    Waaay too much work for me at this moment…so you will just have to use your imagination.   It pretty much looks like a glass of Merlot though.

And on that note….I am tired and Cookie and I are going to go off to bed as well.