Rock That Body - Clean Eating Challenge Day 7

It's Friday, Friday, getting down on Friday!

Wohoo - made it to the end of the week.  Today, I am home "sick."  Honestly, I needed a mental health day and it feels so good.  But just because I gave myself an extra long weekend doesn't mean there's room to slack off.  I started my day by getting up at 6:30 and immediately putting on my work out clothes.  I headed out around 6:45am to go over to the Lochmere neighborhood near us to go run.  It's a beautiful, older neighborhood that is very popular for all sorts of active people.  Plus I knew going out there at 7:00am would be safer than going to Lake Johnson at that time (hello woods for Balt Salt Creepers to lurk!) and I had to go to Whole Foods anyways which is right down the street from Lochmere so you know, win-win, go me.

My run felt SO good.  It was gorgeous out this morning.  The sun was just coming up and it was a crisp 66 degrees (and not too humid).  Could I even dare to say it felt a slight chilly when I started running? But it was such a welcome change to the heat and humidity that we have been experiencing this summer.  Blah is an understatement.  I completed a 3.76 mile run in 34 minutes.  I ran my first mile in 8:04!  Holy cheeseballs that's amazing!

I hit up Whole Foods on my way home to pick up the rest of my groceries and came home to make PANCAKES!  I tweaked my clean pancake recipe and OMG it was perfect.  Here is the recipe:

Clean Eating Pumpkin Pancakes
1 1/4 old fashioned oats
1/2 cup ground oats (I took my old fashioned oats and ground them up in my ninja chop!)
1 TSP of baking soda
1/2 TSP of salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup organic pureed pumpkin
Cinnamon to taste (I love cinnamon so I use a lot)

Mix and make you some pancakes.

This yielded 8 pretty big pancakes and I ended up eating 6 of them.  Well I started with 4 pancakes, waited 30 minutes, and I was still hungry so I had 2 more and it was just enough.  I only used 1 tablespoon (which is a serving) of agave nectar.  I poured the exact amount on my spoon and then drizzled it all over my pancakes.  It was a very nice treat.

I jumped a quick team call for 30 minutes and then took a nice relaxing bath (I'm getting my hair did later today so I didn't want to wash it.  Lazy alert!).

My husband was then nice enough to pay for me to get a pedicure so I hit up the local nail salon.  It felt so nice especially after the run this morning.

I came home and made some lunch.  Today I had 1/4 cup quinoa, some sweet potatoes, and my tilapia avocado salad.

Tilapia Avocado Salad
Grill tilapia with salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.  I have one of those flat griddles that goes on the stove and it's awesome - I recommend it.

While the tilapia is grilling, I cut and scoop out an avocado and mash it up.  Once the tilapia is cooked, chop it up and then mix it with the avocado.  Add salt to taste as needed.  Scoop mixture back into empty avocado shells if you like.  You end up with 2 servings which is perfect for 2 lunches or a lunch and a dinner or whatever!

I'm going to head out and relax some more (in bed!!) before I head to my hair appointment.  Pictures to follow.

Happy Friday friends!

The Organization of My Life

I've been thinking about writing up this post for a while.  I have learned over the years that I am a tad on the OCD side, as you can see from my post HERE that I can be a bit manic over organization and cleanliness.  I have perfected what works for me.  You see, I can get up, get ready, and be out the door in 15 minutes (with breakfast and lunch along for the ride) when I have to go into the office.  I plan out my cleaning schedule so I'm not doing anything crazy on the weekends but relaxing and whatever fun stuff my husband and I decide to do.

Getting Ready in 15 Minutes
This took me a while.  I work from 7:00am to 3:00pm everyday which in reality means I am in work around 6:30-6:40am every morning.  I have a 20 minute commute from Raleigh to Durham to take into consideration as well.  I get up at 6:00am.  Uh yeah, you read that right.  I love my beauty sleep.  I get up, pop my contacts in, wash my face, and brush my teeth (usually I brush my teeth and go to the bathroom at the same time).  While I am doing all of this, I start thinking about what I want to wear today.  I usually check the weather but during this time of the year I know it's just going to suck and be stupid hot out so I go with more summery stuff even though my company likes to keep the office colder than the Arctic in the middle of winter.  From there, I put on a little make up (curl my eyelashes, mascara, some under eye concealer and pimple concealer if needed, bronzer and a little blush) and depending on what I did or didn't do to my hair the night before then can vary my morning from doing nothing to it or running my flat iron through some pieces (no more than 2 minutes, I'm over my hair being perfect all the time).  Then I change into my work clothes, throw on my wedding rings, kiss my husband goodbye, feed the cat, grab my purse, pack my food for the day, and head to my car to hit the road.

Just some things to know - I work in a really casual office atmosphere so we can wear jeans and t-shirts if we like.  I usually opt for jeans, a nice top, a cardigan if needed, and a pair of nice flats/low wedges/comfy heels.

Concerning my food - I pack everything up the night before so all I have to do is grab and go.  I pack my vitamin, my banana, put together my breakfast, and pack up my lunch and stack it neatly in the fridge so it's all in one place.  I also fill up my water tumbler the night before and stick it in the fridge so it's nice and cold for when I leave in the morning (I love cold water).

Keeping the House Clean
We currently live in a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bathroom townhouse. It's pretty big for it's size which is nice because we have lots of space.  It also means that it's more for me to clean FML.  I used to waste my Sundays bitching up a storm while I cleaned.  I hated doing it.  I would start fights with my husband about cleaning and how I was sick of doing it.  Problem was - I don't really hate cleaning, I just hated doing it on Sundays.  So then I scaled back to doing it on Saturdays and that was fine except that if we were out of town or I had stuff going on all day with friends, it kind of threw a wrench in things.  Then I started cleaning on Fridays, which worked out really well.  I would grocery shop on my way home from work and then come home and clean.  After, if the weather was nice I would go for a run.  But I found that my husband would either work from home on Fridays and complain about me cleaning while he was playing video games working or he would come home early and beg me to stop cleaning so we could hang out that I ended up starting to clean on Wednesdays.  Since I do boot camp on Wednesdays, this gives me plenty of time from when I get home from work until I have to leave to go to boot camp to clean the house in piece and quiet.

So now every Wednesday, I vacuum at a minimum but every other Wednesday I also clean the bathrooms and wipe everything down.  Having a dog, a cat, me and my husband, I realize that we all shed a lot and the floors need to be cleaned frequently.  When the dog is shedding, I will vacuum almost every other day because I swear I will vacuum and a day later there will be black fur all over the place.  GRRRRR.

Things to know - I HATE cleaning the bathrooms.  GROSS.  So I start there first.  I will clean our bathroom usually first since it's the biggest and takes the longest amount of time and then make my way into the other bathrooms before cleaning the kitchen, dusting the rooms, and then vacuuming (including the stairs!!!).

Laundry
A lot of my friends complain about laundry, I don't seem to mind it.  I am now doing laundry twice a week (because you know I like to create more work for myself than I need to).  Actually, I work out so much and only have so many work out clothes that I enjoy wearing that I need to do laundry twice a week if I want to be able to have stuff to wear.  Thursdays I do laundry and it's normally just clothes and/or whatever is in the laundry basket.  I will do my second load of laundry on Sundays and it's normally whatever is in the laundry basket plus towels and sheets (if I remember - sometimes I am like, eff this the sheets can wait).

Things to know - whenever guests come and stay in our guest room, as soon as they leave, I strip the bed and wash all the linens and towels.  Then I put a clean set on the bed and put all the towels away when they're done. This way, I don't have to remember when a guest comes if everything is clean for them.  Or if a guest comes last minute, then we're already prepared.

Grocery Shopping
Ah grocery shopping, I loathe you so much.  I love saving money but I hate spending time in the grocery store.  I love cooking, but I hate going and trying to hunt down everything I need.  I usually do my grocery shopping on Thursdays as soon as I get off work.  I have a system down with compiling my grocery list that you can read HERE and I figure out a plan of which store to visit first based on A) how hot it is outside and B) if anything could possibly go bad sitting in the car for 20 minutes while I run into the other store.  Putting together my grocery list ahead of time ensures I am not wasting time wandering up and down the aisles or possibly forgetting something I might need.  It also helps me keep track of what I need to get from each store because certain items are only sold at certain stores (yes I like to make things difficult).

Things to know - Most people can get all their grocery shopping done at 1 store.  With my food allergy, it's not that simple.  Plus, my husband loves certain foods that I know are only sold at a particular store. What can I say, I love my husband so I make the extra stop.  Today is a good example - I really need to go to 3 stores but only stopped at 2.  I realized the items I need to get from Whole Foods can wait until Friday since I'll be on that side of town.  Whole Foods isn't terribly far from the house (maybe 4 miles) but with the way gas prices are right now, I try to knock out a round of errands when I am in one area that allows for it.  Plus, all I need to get from Whole Foods is meat (they don't put those nasty diaper looking pads under their fresh meat - which is soaked in sulfites!!) and some almond butter and I don't need those things until Saturday so I'm better off waiting.

Moving on.....

Okay so now that I have spilled my OCD organization ways and you can now properly stalk me (oh who am I kidding, I still think Tiff is the only person who reads this blog - hey girl), let's talk about today's work out.  Since I did boot camp yesterday, today was a quick HIIT time challenge from the 2009 Bodyrock.tv days.  I did Guns and Buns - 2009 and completed it in a little over 10 minutes!  Man,  I was pooped when I was done.  I was looking for something that focused on my legs but wasn't too long because boot camp last night kicked my tail.  This work out was perfect and I was drenched in sweat (sorry no pictures this time) afterwards.

What kind of organizational plans do you have to help get chores done during the week?  Do you try to get all your weekly tasks done during the week so you can enjoy the weekend or do you do them all on the weekend?

Get In Line and Settle Down - Clean Eating Challenge Day 6

I love the new No Doubt Song "Settle Down."  I hated it at first and then I realized when I walk around the house, I sing the chorus to myself.  Then I found myself getting excited when I heard it on the radio or it came on my spotify playlist.  Now, I might be obsessed and I might sing the chorus to the dog to get him to get the eff out of my kitchen when he's begging for his 5000th meal for the day.  Seriously.  Does your dog do this?  We feed him twice a day and sometimes he tries to pull a fast one on me and give me the sad look like, ughhhhhhh I am wasting away from the inside, please feed me and then I realize, um hell no I was the one who fed you twice today, no bueno kid get out of my kitchen!

Moving on.

Almost a week down on the challenge and I am feeling great.  No major cravings or weird headaches from lack of sugar/processed stuff I shouldn't eat but I do anyways.  My hands are a little swollen today and I can't seem to figure out why - maybe it's the humidity.  It's definitely not my allergy.

Last night's boot camp was killer!  We did mini circuits within a big circuit.  Each mini circuit had 3 stations and you buddied up with someone and went through the mini circuit twice.  The mini circuits focused on one muscle group (biceps, triceps, abs, back, shoulders, etc) and when you and your partner were done with the mini circuit, you move onto the next one until you have completed all of them.  Once my buddy and I got into the groove, we really started knocking out the exercises but I swear I can barely feel my arms today.  It's kind of difficult to type and I feel like I am banging on the keyboard just to get sentences out.

I came home last night and had a stuffed green pepper (seriously addicted!), a small homemade hamburger patty with some mashed avocado (I needed the extra protein from the intense work out), and some left over sweet potatoes.  By the time I finished it was close to 8:00pm so I headed upstairs and far away from the kitchen.  I really don't like eating dinner that late but boot camp starts at 6:15 and I don't really like to eat before boot camp because I don't want to see what I ate for dinner so I try to keep my dinners when I do boot camp on the light side and low in carbs.

In other news, I am cutting my hair tomorrow!  Can I get a resounding WOHOO!!!!!!! It's been almost a year since I have been able to cut my hair.  Normally my hairdresser cuts it to my shoulders in the fall but because we got engaged last fall and my hair was already long, my hairdresser refused to cut it until after the wedding! I might or might have not offered her $100 a week before the wedding to cut it.  She still said no!  This is the cut I am looking to get.

Oh Miley you're so smiley

Cute, right?  My hair isn't blonde (and won't ever be again, although it has been this color blonde before - see picture below) but I think it will look nice.

 

Me on the left with my best frand Lindsey

My hair currently comes down to about my boobs - I really can't remember the last time it was this long.

Italy was playing - this was the Sunday before the wedding so June 24? These are my in-laws!  They're wonderful! I'm on the far left.

Yeah so see - this was in June and look at how long it was then.  Too long for me.  My hair gets to the point where I can style it and it just kind of lays flat because it's so long and heavy.  I had the anti-frizz treatment done to it in July and I love it!  I really recommend it if you have wavy and/or frizzy hair.  It doesn't get rid of the curl but it helps it from frizzing up so damn much.  And if you're like me and live in the South, then you understand what I'm getting at.

I am hoping work goes fast (but don't we all?) and then I need to go grocery shopping on my way home from work.  I normally hit up a few stores.  I use the Awesome Notes app and I love it because I can create different folders for each grocery store and then create a grocery list of what I need from that specific store.  If one store doesn't have what I am looking for, I can move the item over to another folder!  Genius.  I used to use just one list but I found I wasted time going back and forth through my list to see what else I needed from that particular store.  This makes it a lot easier for me so I can pop in and get what I need without spending a lot of time.  I try to plan my grocery list earlier in the day or even the night before.  I ask my husband if there is anything he would like or need for the week.  My goal is to get enough stuff so that I don't have to make 8 million more trips.  But that usually never happens.  Sometimes, I realize I have forgotten something a day later or sometimes I stumble upon a recipe I want to try and I need to get a few more things.  It happens.  I try to only spend $125 a week max on our food.  It seems like a lot for two people but you have to remember that I have a severe food allergy and have to buy specific foods/brands that usually cost more money.  I also have to buy everything fresh and that usually costs us a little more too.  But it's worth it in the long haul for my health and for my husband's.

Do you have any tricks for grocery store shopping?  Do you coupon?  I have a hard time couponing because again of my allergy but I find the whole thing kind of thrilling.  How often do you grocery shop? 

I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watching Me - Day 5 Clean Eating Challenge

Hi!  I see I have some lurkers.  Don't think I don't stalk notice that I have had a handful (okay, 3) views.  Please feel free to say hello, ask questions, tell me I'm dumb, whatever.  It's cool.  I might block ya but only maybe.

Day 5 - kicking ass and taking names.  I worked from home today and I swear, working from home makes me eat more!! What the frack??? My home office is upstairs far away from the kitchen and I'll be sitting at my desk working away and I'll be thinking about all the food that is downstairs that I can eat.

SERIOUSLY???

I even made a conscience effort to eat around the same times as I normally do so I can stay on schedule.  This could be a problem if I start working from home more often.

How has your Wednesday been?

For a work day, it was okay.  I still want to scream at our business development people.  I might or might have not started World War III with them the other day.  But you know what - they freaking deserved it.  And I'll keep pushing and fighting mostly because I know I am right.  So there's that.

I met with some realtors again about my condo. I own a place downtown that I rent out and my husband and I are thinking it will be best to sell it.  The meeting went really well.  The realtors gave me some really great suggestions on small things I can upgrade so when I do put my condo on the market next year, we can (hopefully) sell it quickly and maximize the profit as much as possible.  Because of this, I am now back with dealing with my bank about getting my place re-financed.  Last month they put a hold on re-financing rental properties but the mortgage specialist I have been working with thinks the hold will be lifted in the next few days.  Hooray!

I am going to head to boot camp in a little bit and I'm interested to see what tonight brings.  It looks like it's going to rain so we'll be indoors today.  I just hope it's not death by cardio or the abs class where we do nothing but ab exercises for an hour straight.  The last 2 times I did the abs class, I had to roll myself out of bed and then waddled like a preggo Jessica Simpson for 2 days.

I am so ready for the weather to cool off so I can start running more.  I keep toying with the idea of running a half marathon but I think I am just too much of a wuss.  I actually trained for one a couple of years ago and got my mileage up to 12 miles.  Problem with trying to train right now is that A) it's hot as balls outside and it makes it nearly impossible to run, B) we live in a hilly area and I need to dedicate some time to finding a good running route where I am not running up and down hills all day long, and C) I'm going to be honest - I am pretty ADD and I get bored so easily.  A lot of times when I run, I stop because I am bored.  I listen to great music and try to focus on other things (my favorite activity is running at the lake near my house and judging people) and sometimes I can run forever but when it's above 80 degrees, it's a lot tougher for me to run outside for very long.

What is your favorite time of the year to run?  Have you ever done a half marathon before? Am I crazy for even thinking of wanting to do one?

Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself (and Your Diet)

Can we start this post with some sweaty, nasty pictures of myself? I just finished the Bodyrock.tv work out that I posted HERE and 14 minutes later, I look like this.  EEK!

So gross and sweaty

Hey those kind of look like abs...

I didn't think smiling would be appropriate here

Ok so there are a few photos.  There are more but I just wanted to point out how much a 14 (yes I said FOURTEEN) minute work out could kick my ass and I'm in pretty good shape.  Can I just say, I used to LOVE these work out shorts.  Well I still do - I love wearing them because the band is actually like sweatshirt material so it doesn't dig into my skin but taking pictures while wearing them (with no top on and just a sports bra) is a completely different story.  They do nothing for my shape.  Whomp whomp.  

Here's some more pics for you to make fun and laugh at me.

I'm Popeye the sailor man

Some side angle....not as attractive as side boob

I like my legs.

Now that's out of the way....moving on.  

I also found some pictures from this past Saturday night that I snapped before we went out so I have an outfit to show you. YAY!  Although, this one isn't as particularly snazzy as the one I posted from last week, it is one of my faves and I get a TON of compliments on the shirt (which is surprising because I really don't think it's that special).  

Also, please note how long my hair is.....and that I am getting it cut on FRIDAY!! Whoop!  I am so excited.  I have been wanting to cut my hair for months but my hair dresser threatened to disown me if I cut it prior to the wedding.  Normally, I grow my hair out in the summer and cut it in the fall.  Well, my husband and my hair dresser must have been scheming because we got engaged in the fall and my hair was super long then.  When I went to try to get it cut, my hair dresser said no way Jose and I have had to keep my hair this length since LAST OCTOBER.  AHHHHH.  It's really pretty, I will give it that but it is such a pain in the butt when I am working out and when I sleep.  I don't know about you but I get cold sweats a lot (okay like every night) and it's so gross to wake up with wet hair stuck to the back of my neck.  blech.  

Without further ado....

Dirty mirror - I cleaned it today. 

Okay I lied, I wiped it down with a clean towel...but I will clean it tomorrow!

Shirt: Splendid

White Tank (underneath): LOFT

Jeans: Citizens of Humanity

Shoes (that you can't see GRR): Navy Blue Patent Leather Tory Burch flats

Okay so finally to the topic I wanted to talk about in this post - checking yourself when it concerns your diet.  Everyone has heard the term.  Bethenny Frankel devotes a whole chapter to it on one of her books but what does that phrase mean to me?  Well, since I don't calorie count it means that sometimes I have to sit down, write down everything I am eating day-to-day (which doesn't vary much, I am a creature of habit), go on a calorie counting website, figure everything out, and make sure I am eating within my caloric range.  I found this particularly helpful when I felt like my weight was plateauing.  Most of the time there was something I was eating that was sabotaging my efforts.  For example, a few months ago I got hooked on those LARA Bars.  They're delicious.  I bought a few to keep around the house for a quick snack or when I was out and needed to eat something quickly to hold me over. Then I started buying enough to last me through the week because I was literally eating 1-2 of them a day.  Then I did one of my caloric checks and realized those little yummy bars were 250 calories EACH!  One bar!  Holy shitballs.  Yeah, I haven't had one since.  I guess I learned my lesson.  

But it just goes to show that we all make mistakes when it comes to dieting and eating and that's okay.  This is why I check my calories periodically.  I know for a fact if I tried to keep track of my calories everyday I would drive myself insane.  And I drive myself insane every day anyways so you know, it's one less thing to worry about.  Plus, I found when I did use the calorie apps, I was lying to myself about the portion size of what I was eating.  I would look something up, see how many calories it was, freak out and then try to reason with myself by saying I really didn't have THAT much.  Yeah, that doesn't really work for me.  

This is why having food goals is appealing to me.  I eat the correct portion size but focus on meeting my goals for the day.  And then every now and again, I check my calories to make sure I am somewhat on track and not eating something that is just horrible for me (I had a similar story with pine nuts).  

So my point is this - do what works best for you.  Some people are honest with themselves and do just find calorie counting via the smart phone apps.  Some people do better on a points system like Weight Watchers.  Others do better with food goals.  I cannot stress enough that you have to find what works for you.  Obviously, what most people can eat does not work for me and I stopped trying to compare myself and my diet to others a long time ago when I realized I am a special case (never mind the fact that I am just SPECIAL) and will need to take particular kind of care with myself beyond what others might have to do.  Stressing about what diet this celebrity is doing or what this friend is doing and it's working for them but OMG why isn't it working for me will get you nowhere but face down in a pint of Ben and Jerrys.  My suggestion: start slow.  Again, this is why Jackie Warners' This is Why You're Fat worked for me.  She tells you to incorporate a few changes slowly over the course of two weeks and then tweak from there.  When you go full monty right in the beginning, you have a higher chance of failing.  Miserably.  

I didn't achieve these fitness and health goals in one day - they took almost 2 years and I'm still in "progress mode."  I probably will be forever in progress mode.  Just focus on yourself and finding a way to make it work on your schedule, with your lifestyle, with your own budget, and on your own time.  And the rest just kind of falls into place. 

Too Much of Something Is Never Enough - Day 4 Clean Eating Challenge

I'm getting better with the post titles - I am  currently listening to my friend's Spice Girl spotify playlist.  We have the tiniest amount of Spice Girl fever right now.  Did you watch their performance?  I loved it!  I think my favorite outfit was Baby Spice's.  I loved that color pink and the futuristic detailing on the shoulders.

But back to the topic for today.

Wohoo Day 4 and going strong.  I really hope I can keep this going and at Day 24 I'm not screaming "F U alllllllllll I want cookies!"  Like I have mentioned previously, I always do so well during the week when I am in the office because I pre-pack my meals the evening before and I am not tempted to snack or eat a bowl of honey (this is a judgment free zone).  I am trying to prepare for when my first wave of cravings hit because it's really just a matter of time.  I bought some bananas that are well on their way to being ripe and once they are good and mushy, I plan on throwing those suckers into my handy-dandy ice cream maker.  Yes, can you believe I asked for an ice cream maker on our registry and we got one?  I think I screamed and cried tears of joy.  Definitely jumped up and down going, "MY ICE CREAM MAKER IS HERE!!!!"

Boot camp was fun last night.  The weather has cooled some here in the great humid state of North Carolina down to about 85 and the humidity has broken up a bit so our trainer took advantage of this (and the fact that it didn't rain yesterday - seriously is it raining everywhere else because it rains here every.fracking.day) and went to Hemlock Bluff, a city park with running trails.  Running? HOLLER!  I am the best at running.  Plus, it was a new place for me so it was nice to have some new scenery to look around at.  Let's be honest, I mostly just stared at the ground to make sure I didn't come face to face with any snakes but my boot camp friend Brenda and I came very close to a huge buck.  It was kind of cool and then I got all paranoid that it was going to chase us like the zombie deer who chased my brother (which I will save for another story).  I don't know where my paranoia came from when running in the woods.  I have never been attacked (thank you Jesus) and none of my friends have been attacked but when I run at the lake next to our house, I am on constant vigilante mode, worried that some freak on bath salts is going to come out of the woods and try to eat my face (seriously crack head,  I am far too pretty to have to deal with this mess).  Maybe this is why I have been running faster lately?

Today is a "low key" work out day but I don't really know what low key means because when I went searching for a work out for today, I of course found some butt kicker of a work out and deemed it perfect for today.  I am going to do an oldie but a goodie Bodyrock.tv workout that I have done once before and if I remember correctly, this one is a lot harder than it looks.  You can find the work out HERE. This work out was done back in 2009 when Zuzana was still associated with the website.  Not to hijack this post, but in late 2011 Zuzana split from Bodyrock to go off and do her own thing.  And now I have more options of work outs to choose from so it all worked out (at least for me and that's all that matters).

Here is the work out breakdown:

5 Ninja Jumps
10 Elevated Bridge Lift with Left Leg (I plan on using a step stool)
10 Elevated Bridge Lift with Right Leg
5 Dynamic Push Ups
20 Bridge touches
10 One Leg Burpees (5 on each leg)

Repeat 5 times

I will need to go back and see what my previous time was but I saw on the website that Z finished the work out in about 22 minutes and I normally have times consistent with hers.  The beauty of the Bodyrock and Zuzana Light work outs is that most of them use body weight or minimal equipment.  When I first started, I didn't have any equipment except for some free weights.  I eventually purchased a weighted ball and my dip station because I felt they would help with my work out efforts and I am glad I purchased both but you have to figure out what works for you and how much you (financially) want to dedicate to working out.  Bodyrock's main piece of equipment is the sandbag and I found that I could easily mimic the movements with free weights and adjust as needed so it didn't seem like a "must have" in my book.  You just have to find what works for you.

After working out, I plan on taking a relaxing bath (I don't wash my hair every day.....again this is a judgment free zone!), cook some dinner, and hang out with my husband.  We're going to catch up on some sci-fi shows we enjoy (we are huge dorks) and then get to bed early because I have the joy of meeting with the realtor tomorrow about possibly putting my condo up for sale.  I am nervous!  But I will report back and hopefully with good news.  

My Sulfite Diagnosis and Story

I get asked a lot of questions (obviously not on here since I feel like only Tiff reads this blog - hey girl) about my intolerance to sulfites, what I eat day to day, and how I stay in good shape.

To see a list of things I cannot eat, please visit this post: An Unordinary List of Things I Cannot Eat.  

This post is going to talk about my history of how I was overweight and unhappy with my body, to figuring out what was causing these problems, how I got myself back on track, and how I keep focus when everyone around me is chowing down on glorious things I can no longer eat.  

History:

In West Philadelphia, born and raised.....oh wait.  I grew up active and never had problems with my weight.  For being about 5'4 I maintained a healthy size of about 125-130 pounds.  I danced, played soccer, and worked out ever since I could remember.  My parents cooked us healthy, homemade meals almost every night and made lunches for us to bring with us every morning to school.  Minus some weird periods in my life where I would randomly become allergic to something for a few months and then it would disappear (like pool chlorine, what the heck?), I never had any major problems with allergies or suffering from problems related to food.  Even through college, everything appeared to be hunky dory.  My weight rollercoastered some through college, mostly just 10 pounds here and there but was my heaviest just shy of graduation at 147 pounds.  Then my appendix decided it wanted to quit this bitch and we parted ways.  For about six months post-appedectomy, I couldn't really eat without being sick.  My weight dropped to about 125ish pounds but it didn't last long.  

What felt like literally overnight, nothing fit me.  I assumed my unknown stomach issues sorted themselves out and my body wanted to be back to where it was.  Again, I would fluctuate about 10 pounds or so but it was mostly my doing - like if I worked out and ate somewhat healthy I would be okay but I also would go through periods where I was lazy and wanted to eat Moe's nachos every night.  Back in early 2008, the birth control that I was popping every day went generic.  My doctor suggested I start buying the generic because why not - it is cheaper.  More money for beer, wohoo!  That's when things really started to spiral.  It was around this time, I noticed that I started having problems going to the bathroom (i.e.: I couldn't for days) and my weight REALLY started to go up.  I was tired all the time and didn't sleep well.  No matter how much I worked out and how much or little I ate I could not lose the weight.  

Me on the far left with some beautiful and skinny friends! Summer 2008

I tried everything.  Every few months I would go to a general MD and get blood work drawn.  Everything would come back normal.  F UUUUU body!!!!! In late 2009, my GP thought he linked my issues to a gluten intolerance.  My mother had been suffering from one for years and it's apparently hereditary.  So off I went on a new gluten-free life.  But even though I was gluten-free, I knew something wasn't quite right.  I still was suffering from a weight problem (if anything my weight was continuing to go up and at this point I was 157 pounds) and I still had stomach issues.  Another year went by and I still felt and looked like shit.  

 Me with my best friend Linds in early 2009

Me with my friend Casie in Boston in summer 2009

Me with my now-husband when we first started dating (I believe we became 'official' that night)

My husband and I after we just started dating - late summer 2009

My now-husband, myself at 157 pounds on my birthday, and my dad - Summer 2010

Me and some friends out one night in late summer 2010

I ended up at an endocrinologist's office in late summer 2010.  I about had enough of dealing with the issues that I was having and I felt like they were escalating.  The endocrinologist did a full blown work up on my blood - and started to unravel a lot of my problems.  We realized my cortisol levels were dangerously high.....to the point that he wondered how I was still alive (normal range is 6-19, I was sitting at a pretty 37 for who knows how long).  Through some digging, we realized it was the generic birth control I was on that was causing the problems.  So the first step was to get me off that particular brand and work with my OBGYN to get me on something that would mesh better with my body.  

The Diagnosis That Changed Everything:

It was in early 2011 that we made the BC switch.  I instantly dropped 10 pounds upon this diagnosis but I still felt off and knew something wasn't completely right.  I really believe that the high cortisol levels are what masked a lot of my sulfite allergy.  Minus one weird reaction I had to a cortisol steroid while doing my testing with my endocrinologist (which we later identified as a sulfite reaction), I really think that the extra weight I carried around hid the swelling and bloating that I get when I have a reaction. Once my cortisol levels returned to normal, then all my reactions could be easily recognized.  I knew my weight was swinging 5-6 pounds overnight sometimes and there would be periods where I couldn't go to the bathroom for days.  

In March, after a night of heavy wine drinking, I woke up after having insomnia all night with shooting pains up my arms, swollen and red hands that itched, and a 8 pound weight gain.  WHOA.  I started googling "wine allergies" and that's how I stumbled upon sulfite allergies.  I started doing research and compiled a list.  Almost everything on there were things I ate every single day thinking they were healthy.  And the reality is, they ARE healthy things, they're just not good for me.  And for whatever reason, my body decided it doesn't want to break down the sulfites anymore.  

 My college friend (and sorority sister) Sarah - who is fit and healthy! April 2011 - 146 pounds

Sarah and I again (same night) - I had wine during the day and then ate something I wasn't supposed to for dinner - notice how SWOLLEN my face is.  The above picture was only taken a few hours earlier in the day.  

Through some self-testing I was able to figure out what I could and could not tolerate.  Which is pretty much everything with sulfites.  I used online tools, websites, and support groups through Facebook to help guide me.  From there, I read a book that really changed the way I feel about eating - Jackie Warner's This Is Why You're Fat.  The science behind the book is what really helped me come up with a reasonable way to eat.  Instead of focusing on calorie counting, fat counting, carb counting, etc, I focus on food goals for the day.  Here are my daily food goals:

3-4 servings of lean protein 

2-3 servings of healthy carbs

5+ servings of fruits and veggies

1-2 servings of healthy fats

8+ glasses of water a day

I realized that as long as I focused on my diet, I didn't need to work out for 2 hours a day.  If anything, I scaled WAY back.  It was around this time (June 2011) that I started doing Bodyrock (www.bodyrock.tv) and realized I could build lean muscle and lose weight by doing high intensity interval training for 12-20 minutes a day.  I started running when I felt like it, and not because I felt like I had to.  I started running in races and got faster every time I raced.  

Through all my hard work and dedication (and many cheat days and mess-ups and reactions), I am lean and strong.  I am fit and happy.  But I am forever a work in progress.  

My race friend Carrie and I - December 2011

 Me and one of my closest friends, Nicole - January 2012

 Me and my good friend Julie at my bridal shower - May 2012 (about 125 pounds)

My now-husband and I - May 2012 

 My husband and I at our wedding reception - June 2012 - 121 pounds

 Wohoo!

I feel like this is the face I make all the time

Present Day:

I will admit, keeping focus is hard.  Like REALLY hard.  I am trying to be more conscious about what I eat and how it will make me feel.  My husband is great and if he sees me eyeballing something we both know we shouldn't have, he will tell me how eating that specific food will make me feel miserable later.  It is sweet because he has seen me rolling around the bed the next day in pain crying about how I can't get my rings on my finger because they're so swollen.  Fun times over here let me tell you.  

Sometimes I say F it and throw caution to the wind.  Other times, I restrain myself and can hold back.  But let's be honest - I have no self control so sometimes I can barely contain myself.  Which is why I am doing this clean eating challenge.  I am hoping I can stay far enough away from tempting foods long enough that when my challenge is over, I have very little to no desire to want to eat those things.  

But let's be real - I will probably still want a cookie.  And ice cream.  And raw honey.  And agave nectar.  And all those other delicious things.  But until then....I will drink my water and eat my stuffed pepper.