Makin' Sure It All Adds Up

For well over a month now I have enjoyed a meat and dairy free lifestyle thanks to inspiration from The Kind Diet/Life. I am confident this is the reason my scale has finally moved a bit and why I have the energy to endure extended workouts as well as an abundance of day job and career stress.

Over the last week or so I have noticed a dip in energy so I decided that I should do some calculating to make sure I am getting what I need. I was reluctant to do it at first since I do have indulgences like wine and carob chips (basically vegan chocolate chips) and I really didn't want to know if they were detrimental, because I don't want to stop enjoying them! I also didn't want to know if I was falling short on protein and calcium (thus confirming nay sayers) and if I was taking in too many calories (because who wants to eat less?). However, just because I don't reserach it and avoid the answers, doesn't mean I couldn't be malnourished and/or taking in way too many useless calories. Ignorance isn't always bliss- especially when your health is involved!

So, I've broken down a typical day to see if I am getting the calories, calcium, and protein I need.

Calories: Too high. I would like to stick closer to the 1200 calorie range. This is easily accomplished by cutting out pretzels or eating only half of the bag and bringing more veggie snacks with me to work.

Calcium: A little too low. According to Womenshealth.org a woman between 25-50 should be getting 1000mg of calcium a day. One additional cup of greens a day would easily do this for me, and I have no problems with that-I love 'em!

Protein: Just right. I bet you thought this was where I'd be lacking. I was a little concerned myself, but I am actually getting a little more than I need. Many sites I looked at went with this formula: Weight in pounds divided by 2.2. (This is how many kilograms you weigh). Multiply kilograms by 0.8 and this how much protein you need in one day. See?! I am getting plenty of good healthy protein without animal products!

Things to know:
I do not always eat pretzels.
I do not always eat hummus.
I do not always have a glass of wine.

The past few days I have avoided carob chips and am not buying anymore to make sure I am in control and don't feel like I NEED them. It has definitely been hard not to go on a 9pm run to the grocery store some nights.

I've also started throwing sprinkles of roasted flax seeds into various dishes and even my cereal for extra boosts of Omega 3s since I am not eating salmon.

Seeing my stats has helped me pinpoint my trouble areas, and now I have a better handle of where I am food-wise. Has putting your food intake down on paper helped you strategize?

"My Lovely Little Lumps"

Apparently The Black Eyed Peas put it best when they sing these lyrics.

Early on I noticed that my chest was one of the first things effected by my new lifestyle, but I hadn't measured to see where I stand. My bras are undeniably the wrong size now, so I went to the net today to find the steps to measure just what bra size I am now. The results: I have gone from a 36B to 34A. Woah. While I feel a little blow to my femininity, this is a win and I should celebrate! This Victoria's Secret method seems to be the most typical way of measuring.

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I know I was always too chubby as a kid to wear a real training bra, but C'MON. Haha.

Now on to shopping for new pretty intimates!! (...and comtemplate the fact that I just publicly posted my bra size.)

Has your fitness journey left you a bit flatter?

I Must Out Myself

I cracked a little this morning, and I know that confessing here will be the best way to vent. I don't think "stressful" describes day-job-dom today/this week/the past few months. I think we've surpassed that and are smack in the middle of "blatantly ridiculous." So I ate some potato chips just now. They were here leftover from a meeting I set up, and I caved. Perhaps they contain no animal products, but they definitely weren't good me, haven't made me feel better, and all I want is more (because that's what addictive processed terrible foods do to you!). I won't have anymore though. I vow that here and now . I have thrown away the temptations in a trash can far far away (to prevent a Miranda Hobbes cake moment and pull them out of the trash and eat them). I will enjoy some cleansing carrots and drink some water to get myself back into balance, forgive myself, and move on. (Note: Of course indulgent foods in moderation are key to happiness, but for me, as an emotional eater and recovering food abuser, I've learned that I have to be aware when food is in control of me instead of me being in control of food. There are plenty of times when I can have a chip or two and stop. In this case, the potato chips were in control, and I had to stop them!)

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I have a habit of only focusing on the negative, so I will demand from myself that I post some positive things I have done in the past few days as not to let some moments of weakness take the spot light.

This week I have continued down the path of exercising almost everyday (Tuesday I had a work event until almost 10pm) and making each work out one hour minimum. In addition to repeating some of my Exercise TV faves from last week, I've also hopped on the elliptical twice (but made sure to not make that my whole workout) and tried some of these new routines:

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Bootcamp with Jay Johnson (great for overall strengthening.)
Cardio Groove N'Burn with Jennifer Galardi (fun and really gets your heart rate up if you give your all. If you click the link you can see the clip at the bottom of the page.)
10 Minute Abs and Back with Amy Dixon (the best 10 minute work out I have ever done-you work so hard in these ten minutes!)

TGIF!!!!

The Ladies of My Week

This week I have committed to making my work outs an hour or more. I've mostly been falling short of this goal when I've set it in the past, but I know it's really the only way to produce quality results for the next four months.

Enter the ladies that have helped me along thus far. I'd fallen back on the elliptical-only track and knew that I needed to shine my fitness love on On Demand Exercise TV for some variety and full body work outs.

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So far this week I have done (I've put links so you can see snippets of some of the work outs):

Disco Abs with Cheryl Burke (twice so far, because she is so adorable and you can make this work out crazy high impact if you want. I looove to dance!)

Less Is More Pilates with Lizbeth Garcia (one of my fave piates workouts)

Back 2 Bollywood with the lovely Sarina Jain (another fave)

Power Pilates with Jessica Smith(great for all levels-you use a towel which you can utilize to make exercises both easier as well as more challenging.)

Hip Hop Body Shop with Lia Montelongo (I did not care for this one at all-way too low impact and easy).

Pilates for Weight Loss with Acacia (this was really challenging in an unfun way, most likely won't do it again)

Power Fit Cardio Kick with Stephanie Huckabee (I liked this one okay-the instructor is adorably southern).

Target Tone with Lia Montelongo (this one is a 45 minute circuit training type workout much in the style of Jillian Michaels. Tough, but in a good way.)

Pilates Legs Slimmer and Toner with Nicole Stewart (She's so precious.)

Most of these workouts are between 20-30 minutes long, so Sunday, Monday and Wednesday I chose three. Target Tone is longer so I paired it with a shorter pilates piece. I feel like it's given me variety and a nice blend of strengthening and toning with pilates and full body cardio. I hope one day I will really truly enjoy working out, but for now these ladies have helped get me through it!

December: The Month of Quarters

Quarter INCHES, that is! Over the past month I lost a quarter of an inch in each of my measuring points!
Behold:

Dec 3rd Waist (at belly button): 31 inches
Jan 3rd Waist (at belly button): 30.75
Down 1/4 inch! Down 2.75 inches total!

Dec 3rd Hips: 36.25
Jan 3rd Hips: 36
Down 1/4 inch! Down 3 inches total!

Dec 3rd Arm: 11 inches around
Jan 3rd Arm: 10.75 inches around
Down 1/4 inch! Down 1 inch total!

Dec 3rd Thigh: 22 inches around
Jan 3rd Thigh: 21.75 inches around
Down 1/4 inch! Down 1.25 inches total!

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I am thrilled. Last month was a bummer with progress at a standstill, so I feel some hope knowing I've been given a kick start! What have I done differently over the past month? I've worked hard to incorporate clean eating and removing animal products from my diet. Clearly it has proven to be just what I needed! I have a nice kind diet to thank this month!

How are all of you doing? Did you survive the holidays unscathed?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

~BB30

My Holiday

‘Twas a successful holiday trip to the south food-wise. I was able to find good animal free things to eat on the two restaurant dining excursions I had. One was a lunch where I ate from a salad bar and left full of veggie goodness. One was a dinner where I got to choose the spot and thanks to some pre-trip internet research I found an Italian restaurant that good food for all, and a whole wheat pasta dish with lots of veggies sautéed in olive oil for me. I made sure there was no butter and had them separate the vegetables and pasta (so I’d make sure to eat most of my veggies first) and voila-a delish dish! For the second leg of the journey I cooked up a pot of Eggplant Chana Masala and Chocolate Peanut Cups courtesy of The Kind Diet, and I bought some kale, apples, and oranges at a grocery store, so I had plenty of clean delicious food for my belly. I actually lost a couple of pounds over Christmas. And we all know that my scale is quite opposed to budging, so this was great news! Even better news is that I really didn’t feel tempted or deprived sans a momentary slight pang I felt in choosing not to have queso dip. I quickly reminded myself of how I would feel if I ate it and knew the possible stomach ache wouldn’t be worth it! The feeling seriously just lasted a moment.

I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by The Conscious Cook cookbook, so my supportive husband got me a simpler cookbook for Christmas, The Urban Vegan by Denise Balcavage. I’ve only just started to go through it and it seems much less intimidating. Eventually I will dive into some of the more complicated time consuming dishes in The Conscious Cook, but since I am still new to this kind of eating, I need to slow down and learn some good basic go-to meals. I’m excited to test out some appetizer recipes this week when some friends will come over for a little pre-New Years Eve party toasting!

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I am looking forward to 2010 as a year of renewal and change and health. I’ll start my women's seminar, begin rehearsing for my next show, and embrace the four months I have left to reach my goal. There will be a lot of hard work involved mentally and physically as I unclog some mental blockages and dive into more intense exercise and toning, but I feel ready for the challenge. If I were to say what my New Year’s resolution is, I would say that I want to be more selfish. Sounds funny doesn’t it, but it’s true. I don’t always feel like the majority of my choices are all about what's best for me (I am a card carrying member of the People Pleaser Club), so I want to start making choices based on what’s best for me mentally and physically which I know will make me feel healthier inside and out each day!

What are your New Year’s resolutions?

Feelin' Great!

So my show closed this weekend. It's so bittersweet because I really had a blast. Sometimes when you reach the end of a run you are ready to let it go and move on. Sometimes you enjoy yourself so much you could keep going and going. I was so fortunate that the latter was the case with my latest show. On the other hand, soon I will have a little more free time to work out and play with new recipes in the kicthen.

Tonight I had a great win. It was my husband's birthday today and in addition to fun gifts and a day at the planetarium for my galactic-loving mate, I took him to dinner. He wanted a steak for his birthday dinner and I scoured nearby restaurants for a place that could possibly suit my needs in some way (aka I was resigned to the fact that I would most likely be eating a boring salad or some steamed veggies-none of the menus looked promising.) Then, on the way home from learning about stars and galaxies I remembered one nearby restaurant that I'd forgotten to look into. Lo and behold, there seemed to be some really decent options for me as well as a great steak option for the birthday guy. Boy was there ever!!! On the menu was a "Greens and Grains" option that changes daily. Tonight it was quinoa, fresh green beans, carrots, seared tofu, and a balsamic carmelized onion. YUUUMM! It was so delicious and succulent and fancy and animal product free!! The waitress said almost all of their soups were animal free as well and they would make pretty much anything on the menu animal free for me if it's at all possible. Awesome. My husband said his steak was terrific and my meal was fantastic so it was such a win! I had been so bummed that I would most likely be eating lettuce leaves and sneaking raw carrots and nuts from my purse for dinner, but the fates smiled and I felt rewarded for sticking to my health guns! (For any Chicago folks the restaurant is Sola on Lincoln Ave.)

I am feeling so healthy and confident and slender lately. Cleaning up my diet and sticking to grains, greens, and bean protein has made me feel so amazing! I touched my abs randomly today and they felt so much more lean and toned.

I'm off to a four day visit to my home state of Texas bright and early in the morning. I'm nervous about food options, but my plan is to hit a grocery store for some staples to get me through the visit. My hubby is so supportive so I know I can get through it! I wish you all very fanatsic and healthy holidays. I'm thankful for all of you! We can make it through this season of temptation!!