Monday, November 29, 2010

No Regrets

This morning, before my day of horror, I had a green monster that was blue because of those crazy BLUEberries. 
I told this glass after; Glass, you don't photograph well, no offense.

Then I walked to...Court!  woooo-hooooo!

After court I went to subway for a six-incher. Whole wheat bread, turkey, ham, swiss, veggies, lite mayo.  Not bad.
Underneath that somewhat crusty bread is medium-good cold cuts!!!
Then I packed and moved and got some stuff done I had to do.  The rest of my food for the day consisted of a cookie, a few wings, and pizza.  A friend of mine asked why I would eat that stuff since I'm working so hard on my diet.  I had to clear things up.

I am not dieting.  I am trying to slowly change my habits and lifestyle by listening and paying attention to my body.  I am trying to create balance, not cut anything out entirely, or impose rules and restrictions on myself.  I am trying to add more, not subract.  More veggies, more exercise, more good stuff.  Just taking stuff away never works.  Never ever ever.  For me, anyway.

So yes, today I had pizza and wings.I didn't take pictures because of my extreme crankiness today.  But I have no regrets.  I am trying to live as best I can now, and yesterday I ate really well.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.  But these things are for sure:


I didn't smoke today.
Or drink.  But I sure did WANT TO.  Today was a toughy.  But I didn't.
After finishing the first two weeks of the Hundred Pushup Challenge on Friday, I took the evaluation test today.  I did 21 consecutive pushups.  That's 12 more than I could two weeks ago.


That's a ton more than I could say three months ago.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

I join a gym this week.

Evening.  This morning I slurped a lemon water/cayenne drink and then grabbed another banana as I was running out the door at 730.

I walked 1.2 miles again to work and then grabbed a Perfect Oatmeal from Starbucks around 8:30, which I had never had before.  Pretty good!  Comes with a little packet of nuts and dried fruit.  And a packet of brown sugar, of which I used about 1/3. 

After yesterday's gross/weird barbecue chicken fiasco I just bit the bullet.  Oatmeal:  It's what for breakfast.
I also had 5g of creatine mixed with a little grape juice, which makes me feel like a child. 
A beautiful picture
The grape juice, not the creatine.

Then I bought a rug that used to belong to Bernie Madoff. 
It's mine now!
I ran out to a store around lunchtime and grabbed some food, since the food available at my job isn't particularly healthful.  Almonds, granola bars, tuna, and reduced fat triscuits. Reduced fat triscuits don't exactly follow my new dedication to eating whole foods, but there are only three ingredients in them.  Not the end of the world.
So for lunch I had an artichoke salad with some of the tuna and about 7 triscuits. 
bout twice this much salad/tuna
Not delicious, but filled me up.

Dinner was two pieces of whole-wheat toast with mustard and tomato with cheddar melted on top.  Also, a piece of my roommate's killer leek and ham tart (she's french.  jeal?) and a salad made with dressing I made myself and didn't come out that great.  I may have made an error with the amount of olive oil I used.
Don't forget to eat on your computer!  I never forget.

Snacks included about half of this peanut butter cookie today. 
I ate the other half, not this half, see.

And some almonds.
And a granola bar.


Tomorrow is a big day, and not in a great way.  Well, maybe.  I finish moving out of my apartment and up three flights of stairs into my new one, which will probably take the majority of the day and possibly the evening, but FIRST I have to go to court.  Ugh.

Moving forward sucks sometimes.

In better news, I think I AM going to join the gym in my neighborhood, Resurgent Fitness.  It's cheap and small and minimal, which I like.  Walking everywhere is great, but I'm getting busier and I don't have as much time anymore.  Besides, I want to get into a real routine and kick the fitness up a notch.  I'm still feeling the workout with my brother on Friday, and I like the way I feel.  Muscles ache that haven't ached in years. 
I may also take a class or two of pilates or yoga at this place, also close to my apartment.  I'm not sure yet, though.  I'm a little leery of these low-key stretchy exercises.  Maybe.

But first, tomorrow.  The day from hell.  I have a bad attitude, I know. 

Time to go to bed.

Have a great week!

Keep your chin up

This morning I was up and out the door by 7:30 and didn't have time for a real breakfast.  So I just grabbed this banana on the way out.






And walked 1.2 miles in the bitter windy cold to work.
Around 11:30 I managed to snag some time for more food.  I had about 3/5 of this weird grilled barbecue chicken wrap.
I used to love american cheese until a few weeks ago when I found it it's just ground cheddar or colby cheese emulsified with water.  Weird.

Around 4:45 was a a delicious grilled ham and cheese from Milk Truck.





And real dinner was spent out with Jay and his mom! and our friend Marli.
I love moms.  This is a good one, too.

We couldn't tell if the picture was being taken or not.
We shared a bean dip.
For my dinner I ordered the vegetarian enchiladas.

which I didn't finish.  This is what was leftover:

Maybe I ate 2/3? 3/5? I bore myself.
Jay and I talked about pushups for 30 minutes, which Jay's mom and Marli found riveting.  Trust.

Snacks today also included a few of these:
 And one of these:




I think I'm going to try to bring some of my own food to work with me.  Otherwise, a lot of dense, heavy food gets eaten, which isn't the end of the world, but can be easily avoided.  Some days are better than others and I can get discouraged.  But I do need to remember:
No smoking today.
No drinking today.
Walked probably 1 3/4 miles today.  It's getting cold...time to join a gym...

Be nice to yourself.

Night!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Back home!

Hey!  So I just got back to Brooklyn after a lovely excursion upstate.  I sat and watched Basic Instinct with my roommates for a while and now I'm snacking on two fine saltwater candies.
This morning lemon water/cayenne deliciousness was followed by a quick apple and a round of creatine, as I was headed out the door with mom to pick up a new sweater or two at Kohl's.

 The sky looked awesome on our drive over.
I love fall skies.  Parking lots, less.
Upon return to the house, we had roast beef sandwiches with my mom's horseradish sauce and pasta-and-pea soup.

I opted for whole-wheat bread and just a dab of sauce, and loaded up my sandwich with arugula.   Roast beef is pretty good for you.  14 grams of protein per 2 ounces, 3 g of fat, and 90 calories.  My sandwich had about 3-4 ounces on it.  I had about half a bowl of soup.

An hour or so after I had another 5 g of creatine dissolved (not really) in a little grape juice.

It doesn't really dissolve.  But it has the texture of a Pixie Stick, which is pleasantly nostalgic.

Then I headed to the gym with Sandy Jeans and my brother.  I did Day 3 of Week 2 of One Hundred Pushups but was unable to complete the full workout.  I really think it was because I was in a new place.  I think I could've done it at home.  I was only short 10 pushups for my final set.  So I just completed them later - I still think I'll move on to week 3.
We did a pretty rigorous back workout, my favorite being deadlifts.  I love those kinds of exercises.  A friend recommended The New Rules of Lifting, which I just ordered and am excited to get.  I need to figure out which gym I'm going to join.  It's time.

After working out, we headed to Subway and I split a turkey, black forest ham, veggies foot-long with light mayo with my brother.
I think I've only ever been to Subway maybe 5 times in my life.  I generally steer clear of chains places.
 Dan, Sandy Jeans, and Manicotti refueling.
I had a great time.  I'm very much looking forward to joining a gym and finding people to work out with regularly.
The train back to the city was packed but the subways were empty.  Empty!  And the streets, too.  I don't think I've ever seen anything like it.

I got home tonight around 9:45 and made myself a quick dinner.
Leftover steamed broccoli, thanksgiving turkey, and a piece and a half of whole wheat bread with mustard.
And now it's bedtime. 

Friday, November 26, 2010

I love Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm at my parents house for the second time in as many weeks.
I'm really glad to be hanging out with my brother this much.  I also have a couple of good friends here with me and it's great to hang out with them.

This morning I woke up and took 5 g of creatine.  I've been reading about creatine and discussing it with friends.  It seems if you're starting out on a workout plan that a cycle of creatine boosts your energy and also confidence and helps you feel gains immediately, which is good for a beginner.  I'll be researching supplements and discussing them on this blog as I find out more.

It is not recommended to ingest citric acid with creatine so I waited a while and then took my lemon water/cayenne bomb.

I made on for Sandy Jeans, too.
He loves it!

After a marvelous breakfast on my mother's spinach and pasta salad and about 3/4 of a cup of cottage cheese, my friends and I went on a quick 45 minute hike on the Appalachian trail a couple of miles from my parents' house.

 The last time I did this hike was probably a year ago or so and it killed me.  Since I quick smoking 2 1/2 weeks ago (!) and started a more healthy lifestyle, I wanted to see if there was any difference in my performance.
Maybe.  A little.  I still got winded fairly easily and went at a slower pace than my friends.  It was interesting to experience, and I can't delude myself into thinking I'm making progress faster than I am.  It'll be interesting to see where I am in six months.

Anyway, the hike felt great.  We should've gone for a little longer but ran out of time.

There were some great views!



And terrifying views.

I held on to a tree.  Cause I'm a baby-child when it comes to heights,

And you know you've been in NY too long when you're amazed at how big the woods are.  I mean, come on.  I grew up here.  What the hair.

Around 4:30 we settled into Thanksgiving dinner.  Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin bread, biscuits, baby carrots with dill, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and PIE.  And CAKE.

I was stuffed.

Also today I had a piece of my pumpkin bread around 2:15 to tide me over til dinner.

It's 11:47 and I just took another 5 g of creatine mixed with a little grape juice.  Apparently simple carbs help absorption of the creatine.

I didn't take any pictures.  I lost my camera for a while.  Don't worry, I'm working on it.

Tomorrow I'm going to the gym with my brother who works out like I want to - heavy compound exercises - squats, deadlifts, clean-and-presses.  I want him to show me form so I can feel confident when I do them by myself.  Although I have been toying with the idea of a personal trainer for a few sessions.  We'll see.

No smoking.
No drinking.
And a hike!
K, night!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

I'll have a sloe gin fizz, please.

It's 2:43 am.  I post these sooo late.

Today was an alright day.  Just trying to get through packing and moving but now I'm upstate at my family's house hanging out with a couple of buds and my brother.  THAT I like.

This morning after my lemon water/cayenne tea, I prepared breakfast (around 10:30).

A green monster, of course.  Half a banana, about a cup - a cup and a half of plain soymilk, a large handful of spinach, flax seeds, blueberries and a big spoonful of pumpkin.  And two small pieces of toast with butter.

After packing and cleaning my new room, I went and got a fancy haircut in Greenpoint.  It was 4 pm by the time I got out and was very hungry.  I went to a nearby restaurant called La Taverna and got their chicken kebabs.  Not bad!  The chicken, though breast meat, was moist and nicely spiced.  The salad was good too, and the portion sizes were a good, smallish size.

I only had maybe 1/4-1/3 of the rice though.  It was very buttery.

Around 7:30 or so I was hungry again, which was surprising.  So I made myself the last of the turkey/brussels sprouts tomato sauce over spaghetti squash and a little bit of parmesan, with the last heel of the Scratchbread batard and about a cup or so of steamed broccoli.

I don't know what was up with today, but by the time I was halfway to my parents' house around 11:15 I was hungry again.  So I went with my friend Sandy Jeans to the famous Carmel Diner.

This has never happened before, and it'll likely never happen again, but when I opened the menu my eyes immediately rested upon one item.  I had to have it.  It was

Nutella and banana crepes.  I don't even like crepes.  And I am not a fan of hot banana.  Like it needs to be even mushier.  But I had to have them.

Sandy Jeans decided to start off his dining experience with a Sloe Gin Fizz, but they were out of sloe gin, whatever that is, so he had to settle for a Tom Collins.

Sandy got a philly cheese steak which I immediately wanted way more than my plateful of hot banana and sprinkles.  Because how many bites of chocolate crepes with canned whipped cream do you need?  About two, that's how many.  And then you want to eat real food.

We just got to my parents' and now it's time for bed.  Night!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I practically skipped home, like a cartoon character.

Good evening/morning!

This morning I was up early and gulped a lemon water/cayenne spritzer.  I think I'm getting used to the spiciness.  It's not really bothering me anymore.  I think I'm going to up the cayenne tomorrow.
Breakfast was two fried eggs with diced farmer's market tomatoes, thyme, and melted cheddar on more Scratchbread toast.


I began cleaning the bedroom that I'm moving into and arranging furniture, which I hate.  I think everything looks terrible and by the end I wanted to throw everything I owned away.  But you can't do that.  You have to put your books somewhere.

Around 1 pm I was craving peanut butter so I had a marvelous slice of toast with peanut butter and a green monster.

I walked 2.0 miles to work and did a little grazing there.  I had a small boat of beans, rice, cheese, salsa, onions, sour cream around 9:45. 
I promise to get my regular digital camera back tomorrow.
Walked home around 11 pm and stopped by a local bar to say hi to my favorite bartender and have a seltzer with a SPLASH of cran.
Vanderbilt Ave
 I'm really enjoying my walks home.  It's perfect weather in NYC and I haven't been rained on once yet.  I imagine winter will have its bitter cold moments, but anything above 20 degrees I can handle.  And fall in New York is great to walk in. 

I just snacked on two tiny bowls of Early Bird granola - the best granola in the whole freaking world.  SO GOOD.


No smoking.
No drinking.
Walked 4.0 miles today.  Quickly.

And I leave you with the note my adorable roommate LouP left on my desk for me to find.
How much ass do YOUR roommates kick?
Goodnight!  And it really is.  :-)

Monday, November 22, 2010

Walking where I've never walked before.

Good evening!  Today I was off work.

I managed to get up at 9:23 this morning, even after a long long weekend of working.  That was good.  I was pleased.
A lemon water/cayenne cocktail this morning and then a delicious green monster paired with buttered toast made from SCRATCHbread's batard.
more like an brownish monster today
 I started my walk to the union square farmer's market but only got as far as just over the Brooklyn Bridge before I hopped on the subway.  I was running out of time; I can't just walk everywhere, unfortunately.  I HATE the subway.

The walk was lovely and I'd never walked over the Brooklyn Bridge fully before. I'd biked it a million times but it was nice to see it more slowly.  I actually laughed out loud when I saw an teenage boy guide his father to the railing of the walkway with the mother following closely behind with a camera, ready to capture the father at the peak of his fear. 

I bought a bunch of loot at the market: goat cheese, butter, broccoli, salad greens, tomatoes, a yellow pepper, eggs.
I hopped back on the terrible underground subway and tried not to stare at anyone and feign interest in the same Jetblue ad for 40 minutes and by the time I got to my old apartment around 3:45 to continue packing/moving I was pretty hungry.  I immediately ate three leftover chicken fingers in the fridge. Then I felt better.
 By the way, I actually took pictures of the various activities of today but I left the camera in my old apartment.  We're all going to suffer until I finish moving nkay?

When I got home, I had a quick apple with almond butter.  The almond butter was unsalted and so I thought myself clever as I sprinkled a little salt on top.
No.  I was mistaken.  It only made for a disgusting salty apple.  Apparently the salt needs to be mixed in, which I should've known. 

Tonight's dinner consisted of more of the similar foodz of the week:
I also lured my roommate LouP into eating some of the sauce!  Muhahahahahaha!

Spaghetti squash with turkey and Brussels sprouts tomato sauce and a little goat cheese melted in, three small pieces of toast with butter, and salad.

I also snacked on a fair amount of saltwater taffies this afternoon.  Moving days=uptick in saltwater taffy ingestion.  Probably 10.  But I don't care.  I'm doing so many good things that I just can't let it bother me.

After all:


No smoking
No drinking

4.0 miles walked today and
45 pushups today (Day 1 of Week 2 of the Pushup Challenge)

The pushups were pretty tough today.  I realized about halfway through the sets that the Challenge calls for doing the workout three times a week, not every other day.  So, I'm going to bed doing it Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from now on, taking weekends off.

I'm going to research more recipes for Thanksgiving.  I'm thinking about this, but we'll see.  Cranberrries make me think of Cape Cod, and I am missing the Cape a lot these days.  Fall is so beautiful there.  And peaceful.  Everyone should make a trip there in the fall.

I think I promised LouP I'd go see Harry Potter with her this week.  Hrmph.

K.  Time to read and go to bed.  Night!