Routine

Ok, so I went out last night after work and as a result woke up late.  I didn't have time to get my pushup workout in this morning (I was a bit hungover and tired), but I did walk to and from work, which total is 4.0 miles.  It's a good walk and I've started listening to my ipod while doing it.  I definitely walk faster when I'm listening to angry music or dance music.  In fact, I walk to the beat, which is why when I was a runner I couldn't ever listen to music while running.  The performer in me always wants to go with the music, and that doesn't work with running.

I got home and did my pushup workout - a set of 10, then 12 (rest 60 seconds between each set), then 7, 7 again, and then max (at least 9), and I managed to pump out the 9 but no more.  I'm feeling pretty good and my arms are feeling tight and my blood is pumping.  I almost waited until tomorrow to do them, but I said I would do it today and I wanted to do what I said. 

I have a tendency to go with my feeling, and my feeling now is to start the 200 pushups challenge as well, but I don't want to overdo it.  I don't want to do too much and burn myself out.  I want to ease in and develop small routines, and then work my way up to bigger routines that are more involved and challenging.  

Last week I started drinking warm water with lemon and cayenne in the mornings. I'm sure I put way too much cayenne in, as I tend to spice myself out, standing at the kitchen sink with my eyes watering at 8:30 in the morning, but now when I wake up I look forward to it and do it right away.  It's a type of cleansing thing I used to do, and I'm glad I'm doing it again.  Cayenne, apparently, is very good for you.  All the new-age doctors say so.

This week I also started making Green Monsters.  I follow two healthy living blogs - 344 pounds and Healthy Tipping Point. They're pretty different, but both focus on changing and maintaining healthy habits.  Caitlin from Healthy Tipping Point is often making herself smoothies with a vegan milk, fruit, and spinach - Green Monsters.  I was curious about them so I made one with soy milk, flax seed, frozen blueberries and strawberries, half a banana, and a handful of spinach.  It's delicious.  The spinach actually adds a nice flavor, the flax makes it kind of nutty, which is alright enough to keep in there.  It's not filling enough for a whole breakfast, so this morning I paired it with a grilled cheese, which was wholly unsatisfying.  I don't know why I made it - I haven't really been digging cheese lately, but it did keep me full for about six hours.

Yes, that's mayo on there.

 

The green monster recipe calls for about 2 cups of spinach, which is an entire $3.99 container of organic baby spinach from the grocery store.  I use less.  I don't need a $6 breakfast every morning.
You can also use other "leafy greens", and I would NOT recommend bok choy.  I made a mistake there.

I can't tell if my pushup form is good or not.  I may need to get a mirror so I can watch myself grimacing.