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Wednesday April 20

What's so special about under 30 minutes?

I don't have much to say today in terms of weight loss, but this is food related.

I see that Rachel Ray has like a bijillion books out now and is probably cranking out some more 30 minute wonders before the craze passes. I bought into the craze, and after trying a couple recipes I passed on the cookbook because my reaction was kinda "eh". I mean throwing together a few fresh ingredients to have dinner on the table in 30 minutes is not too complicated.

I mean just the other day I preheated the oven to 350, started the barley and:

1. pounded 2 boneless chicken breasts and sprinkled with oregano, sweet paprika, panko, salt and pepper.
2. mixed together 2 oz of neuftchatel, 1 oz of feta, 1 generous TBSP of olive paste and a sprinkle of parmesan.
3. Sear the thinned breasts to brown each side and in the meantime sprayed a casserole dish with cooking spray and filled half way up with rinsed spinach leaves.
4. Blob cheesy goodness on the spinach leaves and then put flattened chicken breasts on top.
5. Cover and bake until spinach wilted, cheesiness melted and chicken done..maybe 15 minutes.

delicious!

4/20/2005 04:45 pm link to this post

Tuesday April 12

Attitude is Everything..

Ok, well it's almost everything. If I were to make a pie chart capturing success weight loss, it would either be equal parts diet, exercise and activity or it would be 50% nutrition, 50% activity with a sort of "layer" of attitude going all the way around the pie chart.

This discovery comes from today's attitude which sucks in a huge way. I woke up in full force PMS blahs and arghs after last night's anxiety over whether or not to order blinds for our home office (a hint of what today was going to bring). The 60 minute cardio blitz (i'm so not into weights right now) did nothing to assuage my desire for a large chocolate chip cookie.

I'm up a pound on the scale monster which I'm sure is bloat, but it makes me angry anyway. I work out. I come to work and sip my frankenshake. I try to work. I go home. Which normally is fine except for today the minutes seem to be ticking by like hours. I can't believe that it's not noon yet. And I'm hungry again. OYE.

So anyhoo...attitude is everything my friends. When I'm stuck eating 1000 calories a day or even 1200 calories a day after a good hard work out, it is manageable only because of a positive mindset and a clear focus on my goals which are looking great and feeling even better. Every other day, it just sucks.

But don't worry my friends..I'm sure this, like all bad emotional storms, will pass. After that cookie...err...I mean, after that delicious and nutritious salad!

J

4/12/2005 11:39 am link to this post

Tuesday April 5

Action is more important than analysis.

Hey everybody!

The title of today's blog was gleaned from the fat fairy godmother website..thanks Joanna! I'm not sure I would buy and read the book, but that little sentence did sort of hum to me.

Now I'm totally not dissing analysis. I know most people need to process and understand stuff in order to get on with it and do something about it. However, I do think there comes a time where you need to cut the analysis umbilical cord. It's like people who decide to be a college student indefinitely as a career choice. It's very safe to constantly stay in a place where you are searching for inner meaning, but also doing pretty much fuck all. I'm all about figuring it out and then TRYING TO DO SOMETHING. Because if you act on something, you have a definite result. So then you can take that information and either act in same manner to get the same result or act again in a new manner in hopes of a different result. But analysis is just the means to the end which is action folks. Just do it!...muahahaahaa those clever little nike people.

As to why I'm already predetermined to not like the book? Well, I really dislike when someone says what amounts to:

I have the one and only answer and you can have it too if you listen to me (and buy my book! or and train with me!) and no one else because everything else you have learned is stupid and wrong. Now ms fat fairy godmother I'm sure is a fantabulous person, but that whole marketing by trying to denounce every other method just smacks too close to organized religion to me or something. I think it's just a pet peeve.

While I was in St. Lucia, my one teeny tiny negative experience was the one on one training session I had signed myself up for. The dude immediately had a strike against him when he gave me the up and down and said "I guess this is your first time working out." Nice dude. Maybe I should tiger tail kung fu you and you would shut yer muscle man trap...but I'm tangenting here... (tangenting?) He then asked me what I had done before and then basically told me that I was taking the complete wrong approach. The icing on the cake was giving me 5lb weights to do lateral side lifts and telling me how sore I was going to be the next day...um...WHATEVER DUDE.

I am not a leading nutritional expert. I make no claims to be in the muscle bound hall of fame, nor do I have a degree physiology. But damn, I have read lots of books and magazines. I have worked with other personal trainers in various stages of my weight loss. I dont have THE answer other than I know for darn tootin that there is MORE THAN ONE! Opinions are like assholes..everyone has one. Some are better than others. Some are backed by science and some by the latest quackery. But in the end the answer for me is going to be the one that works. Period. I know eating like a french person is not going to work for me. I see a gigantic porterhouse steak and my first thought is definitely not to cut off a little corner and call it a night. I am better off just sucking it up and eating salads for 6 days so I can have 5 oz of steak on my 7th day. But that's just me. And if doing cardio before lifting weights is going to squash my dreams of being ms. olympia than so be it.

/rant over :D The moral of this story is choose to act! And choose actions that you think are going to work for you!

4/5/2005 12:27 pm link to this post

Friday April 1

Black Monday

We got back from St. Lucia a week ago today. It was a week of pure unadulterated bliss and the body holiday continues to live up to it's promise to heal your body, mind and soul. There has to be something to be said for sunshine 365 days a year. And something similar to be said for people who live a little more closer to the earth and a little more simply than we do. We were off the resort enough to know that the happy, smiling faces weren't just paid to be in place. The positive "celebrate life" attitude was everywhere. The resort was also a reminder that real life is not t.v., magazines or the "city look". There were all different kinds of bodies there and beauty was present despite the lack of physical perfection. I'm not the only one with several pounds to lose. I'm not the only one who is short and not the only one with vericose veins. It's ok to be a work in progress. :)

Black Monday came with work, the grind, the unimportant monotony of it all, the grayness of the city, the persistant rain..you name it. It was depressing to feel I wasn't living in a meaningful way. I still feel I haven't figured out what to be when I grow up. I want to help people. I want to live a little closer to the earth. I want more time with Chaz. I want to be happy.

The week did get a little better and I have a doc's appointment on Monday. I'm expecting to stay the same this month mostly because of vacation which is fine because I did enjoy myself with food and with non gym activity. I'm working on figuring out what the next step is...not weight loss, but just everything.

4/1/2005 11:03 am link to this post