Still Working On It!

I just realized it's been a few months since I've posted anything at all.  A lot has changed in my life since we last checked in.  I turned 30, then I got promoted, then I got married, then I went to Rome.  I ate a ton, but made sure I got exercise every day.  It was a great summer.  When I got back from my honeymoon, I nervously weighed myself: didn't gain an ounce.  Whew. Miracle.

However, these last two weeks have been a struggle to keep myself in check, and I've been resisting the urge to weigh myself because I'm pretty sure it's gone up and don't want the added stress of feeling like a failure right now.  Ramping up at a new job is tough emotionally; I want to be amazing right out of the gate, and I'm still in the stage where I'm feeling like I'm floundering around.  I'm staying positive, and overall, it's a great change.

So, how was your summer?

Currently On My Workout Mix - Miley Cyrus

Looks like I'm into the former-Disney-sweethearts-turned-bad-girl these days. Miley Cyrus went from saccharine to sassy with this catchy little number and I'm totally loving it.

Currently On My Workout Mix - Britney Spears

I needed to spice up the playlist so I went on iTunes last week and got some seriously good additions to the rotation. Try not to dance when this song is playing. It's impossible to resist the urge to shake your stuff.

Queen of the Mountain

You know I can't resist a chance to flex my muscles while wearing a sweaty tank top.

Yesterday I tackled Mt Si (yes, the big one) with a local summer hiking group.  It was 4 miles of steep switchbacks.  We jumped over streams, trekked over stumps and roots, and then when we were finally at the top, there was a rock scramble to what we thought was the tippy top.  Turns out there was another slightly higher tippy top right behind it.

So we scrambled up to the higher point.  And celebrated.

Then I did this:

because I was too short to do this:

...which is what I had initially envisioned for my top o' the mountain photo shoot.

The hike, round trip, was 8 miles total.  It took about 4 hours.  When we got down to the bottom of the mountain, we all felt like rockstars.

Next outdoor adventure?  Kayaking!  Fo' sho'

Currently on My Workout Mix - White Snake

Food on the Run

This morning I made myself a grilled ham and cheese sandwich to have for lunch today because I could not bring myself to eat vegetarian chili one more time this week (note to self: pack a variety of food for the week's lunches).  I also wore a jacket with small pockets that do not zip, so even though I drove and left my car near my friends' place this morning, I still had the pleasure of running down Dexter today at 7am with a foil-wrapped sandwich in my hand.  Yep, that's how I roll.

[Also of note this morning:  While running down Dexter (sandwich in hand), I passed a motorcycle cop who had stopped a helmetless bicyclist who had been violating traffic rules all the way up Dexter.  That's what you get for being a douche, buddy; put a damn helmet on and stop running through red lights.]

I've logged 27 miles so far this week, and planning to get another 5.5 in today.  Wish me luck!

Weekly Update - Breakthrough!

Well looky here!  This morning I showed a great number on the scale and I couldn't be more excited.  I am officially below 150!!!  I had a feeling I'd get some good news this morning because I've been doing some serious running and when I went thrift shopping with my ladies over the weekend (and purchased what the girls were calling a "trophy wife shirt) I was fitting into size 6 pretty consistently.  Remember, I'm only 5'6" so no, I'm not too skinny - I still have a badonk-a-donk booty, thankyouverymuch.  Not to toot my own horn here, but (toot! toot!) I look and feel great. 

People ask me if I'm doing this for my upcoming wedding... sure - I need to fit into my dress, of course, but this is about more than looking good in pictures for one day of my life.  When I hit 30, I will be in the best shape of my life.  That is a goal worth celebrating.

Monday Night Dinner: Sauteed Whole Wheat Rotini with Veggies

This dish was something inspired by my father, who had made a sauteed pasta with chicken and vegetables and spent a good 15 minutes describing the recipe to me as though it had been an adventure of culinary discovery.  I was intrigued, and it sounded delicious.  The version I made was much simpler, intended to go next to grilled halibut, so I opted to select flavors that didn't over-shine the fish.  I think, though, that it is a good jumping-off point for a versatile dish and you could add different herbs, meats, and vegetables to take it in a variety of directions.

Sauteed Whole Wheat Rotini with Veggies

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 12 oz 100% whole wheat rotini
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 4 cups stock (chicken or mushroom)
• 2 medium zucchini, quartered and sliced
• 1/4 cup white wine
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large pan.
Add onion and garlic and saute.
Add uncooked pasta and saute until slightly browned.
Gradually add in chicken or mushroom stock and white wine, stirring every couple minutes.
Salt and pepper as you go to taste.
Squeeze in the lemon juice.
Meanwhile, in a separate pan saute zucchini in a touch of olive oil until slightly browned. set aside.
When pasta has nearly completely absorbed liquid, add zucchini and cherry tomatoes to pasta and toss to combine.

Sprinkle each serving with a little Parmesan if desired.

Serves 6

Currently On My Workout Mix - Zappacosta

Running Successes

Just checking in on this.  I know some of you think I'm crazy, but my first half week running to work was great!  I think this is going to be a good summer.  Plus, the money I save by not having to pay for parking and the gas to get to and from work every day could finance a very comfortable vacation each year.  Double bonus!

Here's the rundown on what kind of mileage I actually did:

Wed: 6 miles in, 4 miles back for a total of 10 miles
Thurs: 1.5 miles in, 4 miles at lunch, drove back for a total of 5.5 miles
Fri: 4 miles in, lifted weights at lunch, 6 miles back for a total of 10 miles
Sat: ran around Lake Union for a total of 6.5 miles

Week's total: 32 miles

Not bad.  Sunday will be a Jillian Michaels day for sure.  Gotta have at least one day off from running since my average weekly total will be between 40 and 55 miles.  I'll be in bikini shape in no time!

Food and Me

Hello!  Let's talk about food.

I love food.  It's a huge source of happiness and satisfaction for me, and it's how I like to spend time with people: cooking and eating.  It's also something I didn't know much about until after college.  I used to eat things solely because they were delicious.  Now I eat things that are good for me and delicious.

I've been fascinated recently about the origins of our food.  It started a couple years ago when I read a book called My Year of Meats.  It's technically fiction, but I am inclined to believe that the portion about cattle farming is pretty accurate to real life.  It really got me thinking about the quality of food I want to be putting in my body.  Well worth a read.

Then Andrew and I watched Food, Inc., a documentary as well as a book, on one of our stay-in date nights.  I still get chills about it and am extremely wary of ground meat and fast food joints.

Fast forward through more research and enlightenment, and I am more into being selective about the ingredients in my food than ever before, more into portion control and monitoring (hey - I know better than anyone it can get away from you!) and generally being more mindful.

It's a long time in coming, but better late than never!  Recently I lost about 18 pounds, and while most people who know me would say it's because I'm running so much -and yes, that's part of it- the real reason I was able to shed the weight was my new consciousness of food.  I don't diet - I'm not grudgingly eating salads every night or trying to get by on nothing but raw vegetables.  Instead, I'm just paying more attention, and it's paying off.  You bet your sweet ass I'm going to Brave Horse Tavern for a pretzel whenever I feel like it!  When I tell people this, they want to know what I eat on a regular basis.  So, I took a picture and now I'm going to tell you about it.

I love bread.  I'm not cutting it out.  I'm also not cutting out cheese.  In fact, I eat bread and cheese nearly every day.  Establishing a sustainable way of eating is more important than cutting out things just for the sake of losing weight.  If suddenly avoiding beer or cheese is the way you plan to lose ten pounds (and don't get me wrong - you will! easily, too!), well, get ready to gain it all back later when you're not feeling so gung-ho about the diet. Take it from a lady who knows.

A fantastic no-fuss dinner for me might be this:

• homemade whole wheat pita, which I throw on my George Forman to warm up
• an ounce of soft goat cheese
• five or so cherry tomatoes cut in half
• a zucchini sauteed in a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled  with a little salt and pepper

It's filling, fresh, and delicious, but not heavy.  For you carnivores out there who might say you wouldn't feel like you're getting enough protein without meat , is twelve grams enough?  That's right. Might not seem like it, but meat isn't your only source of protein.  Meat is delicious, but it's not essential and I don't feel the need to make sure it makes its way into every meal.  I am not saying meat makes a person fat - I'm just saying that paying attention to the ingredients you choose opens up a lot more culinary possibilities in getting the nutrients you need rather than relying on meat as your protein crutch.  And no, you're not going to be hungry later in the evening after you eat this dinner because you just had 12 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber.  You're set.

Oh, it is ON!

Well, it's official.  I gave up my garage parking spot at my office as of June 1 and am now traveling to work via my own two feet.  This takes some planning on the weekends because I do not want to be schlepping my clothes and lunch on my back four miles each way over a huge hill, so by Sunday I need to have dropped of a weeks worth of work clothes, a fresh towel, and breakfast, snacks, and lunches for five days.

So how is my first week going so far?  Different than I planned...

Yesterday I got up over the top of my first moderate hill and had a change of heart about going up that second burner of a hill that stands smack in the middle between the office and me.  I veered right.

In veering right, I knew I was committing myself to two extra miles, but I just didn't want to deal with huffing and puffing over Capitol Hill.  Not on a rainy Wednesday morning.  So my alternate route got me there in about an hour and I enjoyed the run every step of the way.

You can see from the picture how beautiful it is.  It looks like a rural road or a temperate rainforest, but it is actually smack dab in the middle of the city.  I know - it's awesome living here.

At the end of the day I suited up again and struck out headed north to my parents' house in Wallingford, exactly four miles on foot, door to door.  My pops was nice enough to drive me home at the end of the evening.

This morning, despite having logged ten miles yesterday, I felt great - not tired at all!  I woke up 1 minute before my alarm and popped out of bed.  This may have been because I knew I had an easy day.

I'm having dinner with some friends tonight who live a mile and a half away from my office, so I drove and left my car near their place, which cut my on-foot part of the commute to only three miles total.  I got to the gym with enough time to spare to bust out 60 reps each of chest presses and bent rows before my shower.  Now here's the part where you're going to call me nutso:

I made plans to run with a friend today at lunch.  Yep, that's right!  No rest for the weary, folks!  I need to look good this summer for a variety of reasons and I'm not going to get in shape by doing the bare minimum.  What would you think of someone who just does the bare minimum?  And let's be honest:  I do want to express myself - in a bikini on a boat, preferably.  So onward-ho!

Getting Outdoors

Well hello!  No, I didn't get to go hiking over the long weekend, even though I wanted to so badly.  My weekend, as well as the week prior, was wall-to-wall packed with wedding checklist items.  Bleh.  I did, however, get over to Tiger Mountain the weekend before with a group of friends, including my cousin (pictured above) who is fresh out of college and new to the Seattle area (and no, ladies, he is not single).  I thought it would be a great way to introduce him to resident-hood in Western Washington.  My friend Kathy organizes a weekend hiking group that I tag along with and this was a great first hike of the season.  It was three miles to the summit and fairly steep - 2000-foot gain.  The scenery was fantastic and I wish I would have taken more pictures, but we were all in a mood to just push full speed ahead so I didn't even think about it until we got to the top --completely exhausted.

Hiking this summer will be another part of living better for me.  Three years ago I made it my mission for the spring and summer to accept any invitation (within reason) to go do something active.  And let me tell you - that was one of the most fun and most fit summers of my adult life.  I kayaked the hell out of Lake Union that year.  The two following summers I didn't renew that mission and I really think it was to my detriment.  So this year I'm reviving the "get active" policy.  I have a feeling I'll be hiking the hell out of the Cascades this summer.  Working out doesn't have to be exercise for the sake of exercise, and I need to remind myself that once in a while.

Next scheduled hike: Mt Si on June 12.  Can't wait!

See You Next Week

You may have noticed, I'm taking the week off from LGS to focus on other things I've been meaning to get done.  See you after Memorial Day!

A Little Inspiration

My friend Kori, who has also been pulling some great weight-loss numbers this year, sent this to me this morning.  So, so true. :)

Weekly Update

In two weeks I've lost less than half a pound.  I'm 99.37% sure this has something to do with the massive quantities of cheese and margaritas I have consumed since the last time I checked in.  I know, I know.  I'm terrible.  I feel, though, that I've turned a corner and am on my way out of my diet/exercise regressions into a renewed sense of determination.  Maybe it's my milestone birthday looming, or maybe it's my quickly-approaching wedding date, but I feel a sense of urgency once again to make progress... and fast!

Yesterday I ran six and a half miles, and today I forced myself to tackle another four miles during my lunch break.  I was sore the entire way and TW was unaffected by my whining and begging to run more slowly - that was decidedly out of the question.  I love me my T-dub, but oh, the pain!  It's all in my glutes and hamstrings. Oy.  Tomorrow is definitely NOT a running day.  I'll find a different way to make myself sore.

Running 'Round the Lake and Other Adventures

I went for a run around Lake Union today and snapped this photo at my halfway point.  The sun on my face felt as amazing as this photo looks.  It's days like these that almost make me forget how much I hate the winters here.  Truth be told, though, I felt like hell the whole way around the lake, trying not to puke because I was running so hard.  Being nauseated while running is not awesome, but it was totally worth it.

When I got home I decided to take a go at crock pot marinara - cooking from scratch for the lazy girl.  My kinda cooking.  My aunt gave me a mini slow cooker recently and I'm making it my mission to use the heck out of it.  I've tackled cheese fondue, but something about marinara seems more practical for daily life.  So my plan for this marinara is to layer chopped raw ingredients into the crock pot and keep it on low all night.  Here's what's in it before I tweak it tomorrow morning:

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 chopped onion
5 cloves chopped garlic
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1-1/2 tsp sea salt
8-10 chopped roma tomatoes
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp honey

I needed a little something to get me out of my slump, and refocusing on the two things that helped me drop 30 lbs in the first place, running and nutrition, seemed like a good bet.  I'll check back and let you know how it came out.

Update on May 18: I woke up in the morning to the extremely powerful smell of onions.  I mean whoa.  It looked good when I gave it a stir, and I decided to take the immersion blender to it for a few seconds to lightly puree the ingredients.  The taste was meh, so I added another tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a quarter tsp of ground black pepper.  It's still bubbling in the crockpot today while I'm at work.  Hopefully when the liquid cooks down a bit it will have a nicer richer flavor.

Monday Night Dinner: Thai Chicken Soup

I've got to be honest:  all I want tonight is cheese fondue.  However, I'm less than three months away from my wedding for which I've chosen an extremely form-fitting dress.  So instead, we're going with Thai Chicken Soup.  Ugh.

Thai Chicken Soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium yellow onion
• 3/4 cup chopped carrots
• 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow potatoes
• 2 cups chicken breast cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 1 3/4 cups light coconut milk
• lime juice, yields of 2 lime
• 1/4 cup asian fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions

In a soup pot, heat olive oil
Add chopped onion, chopped carrots, and chopped potatoes.
Saute until slightly browned.
Add chicken and cook halfway (I use whatever leftover chicken I have in my fridge, in which case you don't have to cook it before adding the liquids).
Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 min.

Serve immediately.

Currently On My Workout Mix - Phil Collins

Oh, hi.

I know.  I skipped the weekly update.  I didn't feel like it.  It's not that I didn't want to report bad news - I just didn't check my stats.  For all I know, maybe I could have reported great news, but I just didn't get around to weighing myself.  I haven't really been feeling up to working out lately, though I've been faithful about running or getting at least something in each day.  I need to tap into that fire I've been carrying since January, because it seems like it hasn't really been burning bright lately.

Come to think of it, chalk many aspects of my life up to that.  I need to get fired up.

Any suggestions?

Monday Night Dinner: Lamb Kofte on a Pita

Now that you have a package of pitas from last week's recipe, you're going to have to use them up, right?  How about spiced lamb meatballs to go with that?  Mmmm.

Lamb Kofte

Ingredients

• 2 lb ground lamb
• 1/2 cup onions
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• 3 Tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

For toppings:  marinara sauce and crumbled feta cheese

Directions

Heat olive oil on low in a med skillet. Dice garlic and onion and heat in skillet until thoroughly cooked. Stir often to make sure they don't brown. Once cooked, return to cutting board and further dice the cooked mixture. This cooking step cuts waaaay down on the intensity of your future garlic and onion breath and saves your stomach a few flip flops down the line.

Mince the mint leaves and put into a mixing bowl along with all the rest of the ingredients and combine well.  I like to just get in there with my bare hands for this, but you may want to put on a pair of latex cloves if you're squeamish about getting raw meat on your hands.

Form golf-ball sized balls, placing each on a lined baking sheet that has edges. Bake at 300F for 20-30 minutes.

This should make about 30 meatballs.

Warm your pita in the oven or on a pan on the stove top until warm and soft, but not browned.  Place three meatballs on the pita, top with a couple tablespoons of marinara and a sprinkle of feta cheese.

Currently On My Workout Mix - John Cougar Mellencamp

Weekly Update

Oh hi there!  All of those numbers are shocking to me.  My diet was not on par over the weekend, though I did get quite a bit of exercise in, dance party of three (and sometimes one) not excluded.

I would also like to take this opportunity to say.... "BOO YOW!"  Only one more measly little pound and I'll be under 150 for the first time in over ten years.  Since my heaviest, this marks 33 pounds lost.  Feels awesome. 

One little nod to my trainer today for keeping me on track: I was jonesin' for sushi today and was on the hunt for a lunch buddy to go to Cherry Blossom with when Trainer Wade intercepted; he reminded me I should really be going for a run since the weather today is amazing and the lunch I brought is perfectly delicious and much lighter in calories than a sushi feast. Too true.  Those four miles did much more for me at lunch than a bunch of tekka maki would have.  Also provided during my workout were holistic living tips, such as the benefits of sunscreen.  Wade, you are so wise, and yes, I am so sunburned.  Thanks, T-W, for showing me the way. 

The Bread Recipe

I made another loaf of bread last night so Andrew could have sandwiches for lunch and toast for breakfast.  I'm still tweaking the recipe, but this is the best one so far:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 egg
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp honey
1-1/4 tsp yeast

I use a bread machine so I literally just pile all of the ingredients in the machine and press a button.  I don't know any special kneading techniques and can offer no advice, other than to get a bread machine.  It's a big piece of equipment, but might be worth the storage space if you think fresh baked bread is important in your life.

Even if you only like white bread, making your own is a trade up from buying sliced bread.  Yes, you're still using refined flour, but what you're avoiding is more important: additives and preservatives to prolong shelf life.  Ew.

Monday Night Dinner: Cheater Zucchini Pizza

This dinner is on deck for tonight.  I'm craving pizza, but after a weekend of eating delicious rich food and drinking wine like it's water, I need something lighter for a change.  It's also my night to myself so I want to keep food prep time to a minimum so I can maximize furniture reupholstering time.

[ I have two sleigh-back dining chairs that have been sanded down to the wood and are ready for a repaint, but while I'm waiting for the weather to dry up so I can paint outside, I'm going to go ahead and recover the seat and back panels so they'll at least be usable and presentable in a shabby chic sort of way. ]

Cheater pizza is one of those meals that seems almost too easy.  That's what I love about it.  I don't have kids, but I imagine when I do I'm going to use this recipe a lot.

Ingredients

• 1 whole wheat pocketless pita (I use Kontos)
• 1/4 cup marinara sauce
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup Zucchini
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions

In a small pan on your stovetop, heat olive oil and saute zucchini chunks until browned.  Place your pita on a baking sheet.  Spread the marinara sauce on your pita, sprinkle evenly with cheese, and top with zucchini.  Broil until cheese is melted.  Sprinkle with just a touch of sea salt if you like.  Voila!
 
Serves 1

Currently On My Workout Mix - The Cult

Weight Training - Pulsing Lunges

The final segment of this weight training circuit is my favorite.  Do it long enough and you get a great burn.  To round out this series of weight training, what better model to show you what's what than a bad-ass chick.

This girl is not afraid to get in your face and make you train right.

For this exercise you want to start down in the lunge position.  Rest your weights on your shoulders.  Your back leg is going to be extended fully, toe planted on the ground.  Your bent knee should be at a 90 degree angle, your thigh perpendicular to the floor.
Keeping your back leg straight the entire time and both feet planted throughout, straighten your front leg, and then return back into a lunge.  Repeat 10-15 times and then switch legs and do another 10-15 reps.

I like to do five full circuits, so when all is said and done, each leg has pulsed 75 times.  It's the deep burn.

Natural Sweet Alternatives

image via Seattle Weekly

Last week I wrote a post about the scary findings in my sugar research. My friend Mina pinged me to ask if there was a natural sweetener I could recommend when you just have to have something sweet.  The short answer is, in the quantities that the average American eats sweets, nothing is really that great, but after looking into it, I determined raw honey and 100% natural maple syrup are the best.

Here's my disclaimer: my research is limited to reading studies and reports done by other people, so unless I find a way to do my own molecular experiments on food, what I know is subject to what other people say.  It's topical.  I'm not a nutritionist and I don't have a doctorate in this stuff - just a passion to find out for myself what's what, and share my discoveries with you.

Well, folks, I have a good read for you:  Kristen of Food Renegade posted yesterday a rundown of natural sweeteners (and impostors).  I consider her an authority on the matter and I highly encourage you to pop over and take a look.  It's a pithy and informative guide.  Also worth reading are the comments below and Kristen's responses.

Weekly Update: Oops! I forgot!

Sorry folks, I totally spaced this morning.  I didn't get out of bed until well after the alarm and it was a whirlwind from there.

4/28 Update:  I stepped on the scale today and there was literally no change.  Back atcha next week!

Makin' Bread

Recently, I've become hyper-vigilant about the ingredients in my food.  Since Lustig struck a panic in me, I've been suspicious of everything I eat.  The most recent development?  My favorite whole wheat sandwich bread is not as innocent as it looks.  I love the 90 calorie serving size, but I looked closer at the ingredient list and I'm pretty sure at least a quarter of those things listed are preservatives.  Conclusion: nope; I'm out.

More specifically, I'm baking my own bread from here on out.  There's something to be said for making everything from scratch: you know what's in your food.

There are a lot of reasons to bake my own bread, and not really any reasons not to.  Andrew's parents gave us a bread machine a couple years ago so there is literally no work on my part, unless you count scooping the ingredients into the baking bucket and pushing a button.  I just have to be willing to wait 5 hours for the magic to take place.

It's just one more step in my journey to living healthier.

Monday Night Dinner: Whole Wheat Spaghetti alla Carbonara for Two

I have a special place in my heart for spaghetti alla carbonara because my godfather, who lived for four years in Rome during the 1970s, would make it fairly often when our family would go to his house for dinner.  It's also fairly simple to make; it's just eggs and bacon and cheese - oh my!

Ingredients

• 4 oz (dry) whole wheat linguine
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 slices bacon
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Directions

Boil water and cook linguine according to instructions on package.
While waiting for your water to boil, cook your bacon and set aside on a paper towel.
Meanwhile, turn your oven on warm (lowest setting) and place your metal mixing bowl inside. Alternatively, you can fill the bowl with warm water if your bowl is not oven safe. Just be sure to dump the water out before you throw the ingredients in.  When bowl is sufficiently warm, beat an egg in the (empty) warmed bowl. Add cheese and pepper.
Drain your pasta and add to the bowl, tossing to coat thoroughly with egg and cheese mixture. The egg will cook with the heat of the pasta.
Crumble bacon, and toss with pasta.
Serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Currently On My Workout Mix - 69 Boyz

Weight Training - Tricep Curls

This next exercise in the circuit works your triceps, which is the key to not having what my friend affectionately calls "bingo wings."  If you are feeling like the bicep curls and hammer curls are too much to do consecutively, you can mix this move in between the two sets to give those biceps a little break while you work the triceps.

Our model today is a gold medalist, has a killer bod, and knows what weight training is all about.

An important thing to note:  see how Michael is keeping his elbows right next to his ears, even when he lowers the weight behind his head?  Make sure you're paying attention to that in your own training.

Thanks, Mike, for being such a sport!

Weekly Update: Plateausville

I think I might be at a plateau.  I'm dying to break through the 150-lb mark and I have less than 2 lbs standing in my way.  I'm hoping that over the next month we're going to see the numbers go down as I regularly start running 8 miles (4 each direction of my commute to work) and cutting waaaaay down on sweets.

I feel good, but it's very frustrating to not see results.  Then again, I've never been a very patient person.

Running - Going the Distance

I ran 12 miles today.  It's a 4 mile run between home and the office, and then at lunch I joined two other runners for a mid-day 4-miler.  I wasn't sure I could pull off running all three legs of the twelve miles, and I had my car at the office just in case.  I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it before I lose my "crutch" (meaning my parking space, which I plan to release at the end of the month).  Mostly, I'm concerned about my joints.  There are some pretty serious hills on my commute, so I've started walking down the steepest declines in order to save my knees.

I have to say, it's kinda nice to worry a little less about the calories I've eaten today.  When I got home I made whole wheat pasta alla carbonara for two.  Basically, it's a bacon/egg/cheese comfort food, but much lighter than you'd expect.  If the calcs are right, one serving is under 350 calories.  Definitely MND worthy.  I'll try to remember to post the recipe Monday.

Sugar: Your Frienemy

image via CBS News

Sugar is like those mean girls in junior high and high school; they're sweet and seemingly harmless, then one day you learn how hurtful they can be.  You think sugar is your friend - she makes everything you eat sweeter and more fun.  Then you make the mistake of crossing her and suddenly she makes it her personal mission to destroy you.  There's that day when your eyes are opened and you suddenly realize sugar is not your friend.  My day came April 13, 2011.  That was the day I learned what a bitch sugar has been to me and to my fellow Americans.  And we let her.  For years.

Last Wednesday the New York Times published an article by Gary Taubes titled, Is Sugar Toxic?  I read and reread it.  I sent it to friends.  I talked about it to co-workers.  It's like a light bulb suddenly went off in my head.  All the pieces fit together, like that moment in Usual Suspects when Kujan discovers he'd had  Keyser Söze in front of him the entire time.

Then I watched the video lecture by Robert Lustig referenced in the Taubes article titled, Sugar: The Bitter Truth.  Sugar isn't just about empty calories leading to malnutrition and a calorie excess (though it's that too), it's about sugar actually actively poisoning your body.  Here's how Lustig and Taubes broke it down for me: sugar comes with an evil ring leader and a side-kick.  Fructose is your true adversary.  Glucose, the other component of sugar, is just along for the ride.  While glucose is metabolized by every cell in your body, fructose is sent straight to your liver (your poison processing center) where, if it's over-inundated, it basically goes into survival mode and the excess poison (fructose, this case) is turned into fat.  Visceral fat, actually - the stuff that clings around your organs and clogs your arteries.

100 years ago we didn't eat nearly the amount of sugar we do today, and it's no wonder our nation has seen a spike in heart disease, cancer, obesity, and diabetes.

image via Perfect Health Diet

Today we eat over 45 lbs of sugar a year.

image via NYT

This is in addition to four gallons of high-fructose corn syrup.

image via NYT

Want to know something else interesting?  The difference between the harmful effects of HFCS and regular table sugar is negligible.  It's true.  Sugar is 50% fructose, 50% glucose.  HFCS is 55% fructose, 45% glucose.  This does not mean that HFCS isn't as terrible for you as you thought.  This means that sugar is worse for you than you ever imagined.  Gives me chills.  How 'bout you?  I, for one, am feeling sick just thinking about how I've been unwittingly slowly killing myself for years.

Before having learned the breakdown of exactly how sugar destroys your system at a cellular level, I knew it wasn't great and was looking for ways to cut back, mostly for vanity reasons: I want to be thinner, I want to have nicer skin, blah blah blah.

A friend suggested agave nectar as an alternative to refined sugar, the philosophy being it comes from the agave plant and is a natural substitute.  So I bought some, and I loved it.  I was replacing any call for sugar with agave nectar.  I even went out and bought it in bulk.  I imagined the plant being tapped much the way we tap maple trees to get maple syrup.  I felt good about making the change to get away from sugar.

Then I got educated.  After reading up on sugar I thought, "hey, I wonder what the molecular makeup of agave nectar is."  So I did a little research.  There are no hard numbers, but I did come across a lot of product-sponsored websites praising the stuff, and several health-centered (non-commercially-motivated) websites debunking what the perceived health benefits are.  The most thorough article I found was written by Kristen of Food Renegade.  (Her blog is fantastic, btw.  So glad I stumbled upon it.)  What I discovered in this research is not only is agave nectar 70-90% fructose (depending on which product website is reporting), but it's also highly processed.  Basically it's what we thought HFCS was to sugar - it's much much worse.  Just great.  Now I have a giant jug of a veritable poison sitting at home.

So to conclude this rather depressing post on a lighter note, I'm going to take this new information and use it as a tool of empowerment to further research nutrition.  Being active is a huge part of staying healthy, but holding control of how we fuel ourselves is key as well.  I'm not saying I will never eat sugar again, but I will be making better-informed decisions about my food and be more aware of what's going into it than I ever have before.

Monday Night Dinner - Katie's Thai Honey Peanut Chicken

My friend Katie has a great blog, The Well-Fed Newlyweds, that I love reading; part of the reason I love it is I get to catch up a little with what's going on in her world (we haven't seen each other since we were both 21 and studying in Paris), but a bigger part is she chooses stellar recipes to feature.  I made her Thai honey peanut chicken recently and let me tell you, this one hit it out of the park.  I made just a few tweaks, not that it needed any; I'm just that way.

Thai Honey Peanut Chicken

Ingredients:
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
lime juice - yield of 1 lime
3 cloves minced garlic
2 Tbsp (heaping) natural peanut butter
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp Sriracha
2 tsp fish sauce
1-1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks


Directions:
Whisk all ingredients except chicken together in a bowl.
Add chicken pieces to sauce and coat evenly.
Cook in a large skillet on med-high heat until chicken is just cooked through.

Another 170 calories gets you 3/4 cup rice to go with it.

Currently on My Workout Mix - Ludacris

I love Luda.

Weekly Update

This is gonna be a shorty because I don't have much to report.  I'm still hanging around 151 lbs, but I'm bloated so my everything is puffy.  This inflates my body fat percentage number.  I feel doughy, but I know it's temporary.  I'm trying to do some diet tweaking to help break through the 150s into the 140s, so we'll see.  Next week will be better.

Monday Night Dinner: Lemon and Dill Cheese Tortellini with Asparagus

This dinner makes me feel like the sun is shining and birds are chirping, even when it's gray and depressing here in the ol' Emerald City.  I timed this one, and from the time you put your water boil it's 20 minutes to the table.  I like eating it cold the next day as well.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 lb asparagus spears, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp dill
• 2-1/2 cups three-cheese tortellini
• 1 Tbsp shredded Parmesan

Directions

 You can either boil 2 separate pots of water for this one, or do what I did and use the same one for both the asparagus and the tortellini.  It all depends if you have a wire mesh strainer like this one:

Have a medium bowl of ice water ready.  Fill a medium pot fairly full of water, add a little salt, and bring to a boil.  Rest your mesh strainer on the top of the pot and toss in your asparagus.  Cook for 2-3 minutes, then lift your strainer out and place it in the bowl of ice water, making sure all the asparagus pieces are submerged in the ice water, to stop the asparagus from cooking any further from its own endothermic heat.

Toss your tortellini in the boiling pot and cook according to the package instructions (probably about 7 min).
While pasta is cooking and asparagus is icing, grate the zest of 1 lemon (about a tablespoon) into your pasta serving bowl.  Add olive oil, dill, and salt to the zest and stir in the bottom of the bowl.
Drain the pasta and asparagus and toss with your lemony-dill olive oil.  Sprinkle with the parm and serve.

Serves 4

Currently on My Workout Mix - Def Leppard

This came on during the end of my run and helped me get pumped back up for a strong finish. Let's get rocked!

Weight Training - Hammer Curls

Ok so you've gotten down the Arnold Press, the squats, and the bicep curls.  Now it's time to move on to the next exercise of the circuit:  hammer curls.  These are simple to transition into from the bicep curls because it is basically the same exercise - you're just rotating your wrists in for the transition.

In order to make sure you do this exercise correctly and "don't hurt 'em,"  our model today is taking his duties very seriously.  Who better to demonstrate hammer curls than Hammer himself?  Are you feelin' his power?

It really is exactly the same as bicep curls - fancy jacket not required.

A couple things to remember while you're doing this:  keep your abs tight and your knees bent ever so slightly.  Don't lock your knees - it's not good for anything except poor form.