PA

PA = physical activity.

How's your PA going?

I seem to be getting over my bout of 'I'm not in the mood'. These come up periodically and will probably continue to. Mostly, this mood seems to be the product of me not making PA as fun and/or as palatible as it could be.

I believe the recent rebellion sprouted from my strength training routine getting too long. I didn't mind the other days of PA that were shorter and involved funner workouts - Bollywood, pilates yoga, yoga, Ellen Barrett workouts, etc ... This mood only came up on strength training days.

I had to do something about it. It's not all weights. There are some pushups and crunches and stuff like that in the routine. I pared some of that down and some of the weight routines. So, now I'm down to just shy of an hour. This makes me much happier. The protesting is gone. It's probably also better for me.

At any rate, I had begun bribing myself with episodes of The Tudors after workouts. It'd make for a pleasant time. I'd enjoy my lunch and Henry Cavill [a very pleasant young man to look at]. Now I don't need the bribe, but have the entire season 2 of The Tudors to enjoy in the next week.

I see definition blossoming in my arms. Overall, I think my body looks more toned than it used to. It's not perfect, but it's improved.

Sundays I usually do a Bollywood workout, which is aerobic, and then do a 20 minute yoga makeover after. I already noted an increase in flexibility. Yoga is really good for that.

The other non weights day, I've been doing Ellen Barrett's The Studio Slim Sculpt. It's still leaving pools of sweat on my exercise mat. I'm getting a bit more coordinated with it and have not smashed a dumbbell into my knee for two weeks now. That will be today's workout.

My foot is healing. I think I somehow bruised it inside. How? I have no idea. But, hey, I smash weights into my knees, so this is something I'm capable of. Anyway, it feels better.

I continue with 7.5 pounds for the arms and 10 pounds for the legs. I hope to up both by the end of this month. I increase by 1 pound intervals. Sometimes I can jump faster. Sometimes I can't. I've been at the current weights for some time now. That's OK. It's not a race. I do the best I can.

That's all any of us have to do with PA, the best we can. It's the effort, not perfection, that matters.

Skinny Cow Wins Again

Hmmm, my life seems to be working on a cow theme lately ....

At any rate, whilst at Whole Foods yesterday, I perused their organic ice cream treat options. I ended up with a box of Purely Decadent nondairy ice cream bars that are really very yummy. However, they are 200 calories with 80 from fat. Skinny Cow are only 150 with only 25 from fat. Husband loves the Skinny Cow Truffle bars. So, I think I'm going to stick with the Skinny Cow. I heart them as much as cashews.

Maybe this exception [and two others - I just can't get over the calorie thing yet] to my banishment of chemical foods is OK. I really don't feel the least guilty about the Skinny Cow. It is the product that allowed me to stick with a *diet* when I started this lose the weight thing. It gave me fortitude when the going got rough. When I was waivering about BBQ potato chips and I told myself I could have those or the Skinny Cow, but not both, the Skinny Cow always won. That I could lose weight and still enjoy ice cream was a godsend in this round of dieting. I no longer had to miss ice cream. And, it didn't seem like a diet if I could eat an ice cream cone everyday. I'd say it was the pivotal find that got me firmly on a healthier road and helped me conquer bumps and twists. I don't know if I would have succeeded this time either without it. I'd like to think I would have, but the existence of this product was of crucial importance in the beginning.

When the grocers in my town quit carrying them and Weight Watchers, I'd drive to the next town over to get them. Depriving a gal of her diet ice creams is just cruel. Then every week I would complain again and again and again until they restocked my beloved Skinny Cow. Really, I'd never put that much effort into any other food and never have. So, I guess I'll give them a pass and just continue to enjoy them.

So, yeah, when I say Skinny Cow is the keystone to my healthy foundation, I am not exaggerating. Eating their yummy products everyday left feelings of deprivation in the dirt. I didn't eat ice cream everyday when I was fluffy. So see, I'd tell myself, dieting is better than not dieting. As I've said before, I'm gullible. It worked.

It's been three and 1/2 years since those days, so I sometimes forget how hard fought some battles were. Skinny Cow made many of those victories. Thus, my reluctance to let it go.

Add One Cup of Nostalgia

Today was maintenance shopping - refreshing fruits and vegetables and picking things up we're running out of or have already run out of.

There was so much great produce. Locally grown, organic heirloom tomatoes. Mmmm. They taste so fantastic. I just cut them up and eat as is. So many fruits are now in season. I get strawberries for my brain, blueberries [they've become a staple], some Jazz apples and there were some lovely ripe plums. It was difficult choosing between them, the cherries and nectarines. I had cherries last time and will probably pick up nectarines next time. The pink ladies are coming back in, so I may soon trade in the Jazz for those. The Jazz were a sub while the other apples got really mealy. They're a great apple, too.

Radishes, green beans, zucchini, bell peppers [I cut them up and eat raw with my lunches - because of Husband's intolerance I can't cook with them], poblano peppers [these he can handle], yellow squash, mushrooms, fennel, cauliflower, broccoli, sugar snap peas and cucumbers, I am a farmer's dream. There is nothing so lovely as fresh produce in my dishes and on my plate. I feel like I'm doing something so wonderful and decadent for myself when I prep this fabulous produce for our meals. It excites me more than a box of Good 'n Plenty. Maybe not as much as a box of Skinny Cow ice cream cones, but I couldn't stand living on nothing but Skinny Cow.

I've always liked vegetables and fruits. When I was growing up, my Dad and Grandpa had a huge vegetable garden every summer. They grew absolutely everything - squash, lettuce, beans [yellow, green & Italian flat], several types of tomatoes, carrots, radishes, cucumbers, corn, zucchini, yellow squash, winter squash, cabbage, sugar snap peas, cucumbers, garlic, onions, brussel sprouts, etc ... There were even grapes, apples, pears and berries [currants, strawberries and blueberries]. So every summer we feasted on fresh produce. Sunday meals were piled high with at least ten side dishes that came from the garden - tomato salad, cucumber salad, corn, green beans, zucchini stir fry, etc ...

When I went to college and usually got nothing but lettuce, onions & unripe tomatoes, I really missed vegetables and fruits. When I went home on breaks, I'd usually eat mostly vegetables. I'd really be craving them.

Between the summer garden and going to the farms to pick fresh fruit in the summers - nothing is as good as a piece of ripe fruit picked fresh from the tree or bush - I was spoiled. Out on my own where I had no time to create such an elaborate garden of my own, I missed the fresh, ripe flavors that permeated my childhood.

Switching to organics and trying to stick to locally produced, a lot of those flavors have come back into my life. Maybe that's why sticking to healthy isn't so hard for me. It's hard for me to be amid summer without thinking of summers at my grandparents cottage and helping my grandmother set all the vegetable dishes on the table. I think of Granpa bragging at the end of the table about all of the things he [and my Dad] grew in the garden and Grandma brimming with joy as we all gobbled up all of her dishes. I see her as clearly as yesterday, standing in the kitchen in her apron. She was famous for *Do you want more [insert name of dish here]?* and having another 2 servings on your plate before you could answer. She was famous for her sticky buns, too. And cookies. I was swamped with buddies whenever I got a care package from her in college.

I had not intended this to be a trip into pleasant childhood memories, but summer and my grandparents and my father's garden are inseperable. Every summer they return to me and we continue to spend Sundays together. Sometimes other days of the week.

At any rate, I suppose that's why it is easy for me to find joy in the plethora of fresh produce I'm serving and consuming. I have joyful memories on which to draw from that flood the present every time I make tomato salad or cucumber salad or many of the other vegetables dishes we ate almost every Sunday at my grandparent's summer house. Every time they're set on the table, I can clearly hear my grandparents talking and see them standing in the room. They're not, but the memories are as vivid to me as if they are. That's hardly a bad thing. It fills me with happiness.

What else can you serve with your healthy meals to nurture and fill you? What feeds your soul can add a lot of flavor to any dish.

My Car is Bambi

Have I told you of the gansta cows yet?

A few weeks back, the rancher at the bottom of Pine Mountain moved his herd of cattle. When I drove up the mountain that night, hundreds and hundreds of steer were on their way up with me. It was a humbling sight and they were kind enough then to keep themselves off of the road. Most of them are bigger than my car.

The next night as I was driving up, there was a bunch in the road. So, I had to stop. Others were on the slope ascending to my right. They leered down at me and while the cows in front of me were busy just blinking and not moving, another group came up behind me. I had to giggle. It looked like I was about to be mugged by a group of gansta cows. When I began inching forward, they finally moved out of my way.

Friday, it was late as my writing group meets on Friday evenings, and my headlights picked up several eyes on the side of the road. They were cows ... or steer is the more proper word I guess. So, I slow down. They take this as an invitation to come into the road. Every single one of them stood up and came into the road in front of me. I started inching forward to get them to move. They took this to mean I wanted to play. They just ran and frolicked in front of the car ... not moving anywhere. Siiiiigh. I lay on the horn. The cows give me these sulky looks of offense as they finally move off. Well, all except one. I ended up having to drive around him.

On the way home that night, a bunny hopped out into the road. I waited for him to make up his mind as to which way he was going. That way was in front of the car. He just kept running down the middle of the road.

This left me wondering whether my car is Bambi and all the Pine Mountain critters see me as a playmate or something.

Friday ended up being a pretty good viewing night. We had about 40 great minutes until the Moon rose and washed out the sky. Jupiter rose with it, so it wasn't a total bust once the Moon came up. Among our guests that night was the rancher, owner of the gansta cows. I told him about his miscreant cattle and their ornery behavior. He laughed and said it sounded like they found me to be a fun toy. Great. This was not on my list of life aspirations.

Anyway, it turned out to be a good evening. Saturday, which was supposed to be the clearer of the two days, was a total bust. A thick blanket of clouds rolled in at sunset and socked in the summit. The nice thing was I got home early, so I got to bed early. Therefore, I was able to get up early on Sunday. I did my strength training yesterday then since I wasn't all groggy from being out too late.

Scaling back the workout is a good thing. I was beginning not to want to do it at all. Not because I mind lifting the weights and doing the exercises, I love what they do for me, but it was just too long of a workout and it was getting in my way. It used to be 90 minutes. Now it's closer to 60. That I can deal with. I'm hoping to be able to up the amount of weight I'm using soon.

The side of my left foot is sore for some reason. It's not muscle pain. I don't know what it is. It's not the usual burning pain I have in the center of the center toes, which I think is arthritis. If I have to start seeing a podiatrist, I'm going to feel really old. I embarked on this getting healthier gig to avoid being decrepit. Maybe it's just unavoidable. I wonder if it isn't some kind of stress fracture or something - the new pain running down the side of my foot. It won't stop the aerobics and yoga scheduled for today, but it is irksome.

Clouds, Clouds Go Away

Mary at the observatory wants to play.

Siiiigh. Every freaking weekend, the weather has sucked. All except that one. I am hoping magic happens before or shortly after sunset this evening. That reminds me that I promised to bring more of my sci-fi B movie collection up.

It's July. It should be hot and dry. The mountain is like cursed or something.


I discovered this week that my weakness for cashews is still firmly in place. I bought a small container of dry roasted unsalted ones for a salad. I did use them for that and some in a stir fry and then proceeded to eat them all. I hate sharing them. I love cashews. It's one of those foods I can not control. I did do better. I ate them over the course of 4 days instead of in one hour. I suppose that's something.

I usually buy peanuts instead. Not because I have peanuts envy, but because I can just eat a handful and be done with them. I can get them unsalted, too, or dry roasted and lightly salted. I bought organic, unsalted peanut butter this week, too. It's good.

Otherwise, many times this week I've eaten only an apple as my evening snack. That's a few steps farther down the right path despite my over indulgence in the cashew department. Did I mention that I love them?

I think I will have to revise the crunchy pea salad to be peanuts and not cashews. Otherwise the cashews and I are going to keep dancing. I said I love them, right? ;-)

Why Can't I Be You

Envy.

I once lamented that I couldn't be like other people - eat the standard American diet and remain at a healthy weight. I lamented that I couldn't be happy or find peace with myself. I envied people who could.

Even if I was one of those people who could eat a lot of fat, salt and sugar and not become fat, that doesn't mean I'd be healthy. Chances are, if I was still eating that way, I would still not be happy.

Those artificial chemicals they call food these days do all sorts of funky things to us from giving us addictive like behavior toward foods to altering our moods. I did not realize any of that until I had walked away from the artificial cloud coating my synopses and neurotransmitters.

I no longer envy folks that can eat that crap and gain nothing. Even if it doesn't show up on their exterior, it will show up in their health sooner or later.

What I found by not conforming is: control, stability, joy, self empowerment, confidence, strength, better thinking, peace, positivity, self love, chillaxitude and self pride.

The peace alone is more valuable to me than a slice of pizza. I don't envy them any more. Instead I see nothing but chemicals, fat, sugar and sodium in their shopping carts. I know they think they're indulging themselves and that they need that stuff.

I am glad that I don't need that stuff and have come to realize that indulgence is in freeing myself to love myself and look at life with a positive lens. Indulgence is good, fresh, real food that makes me feel good from the inside out. I don't need to be indulged. I need to be nurtured and cared for. Cupcakes can't do that. Cheetos can't do that.

Indulgence is spending the time to stop muscle and bone loss by exercising. I can increase my metabolism by exercising and building muscle. It releases opiate like endorphins into my body. It feels good. I feel empowered, centered and balanced. Pizza can't do that. Donuts can't do that.

What eating right and exercising regularly do for me is nothing less than amazing. It fills me with elation and all things good if I stop and take the time to let all the goodness sink in. All things seem possible. I am ready for all opportunity. It feels incredible.

I don't envy any more. What I have is spectacular. Why weigh it down in grease, salt and sugar? Now I have those people who can eat a crap diet and stay reasonably thin telling me that they want to be me.

On some level, everyone out there is aware that the standard diet is not healthy and not taking care of themselves.

It's something to chew on. :)

Chemicals vs. Calories

It was a knock down, dragged out fight. The lower calorie and fat options kept winning, but I never felt good about the victories. I kept thinking and thinking. Recently KK at Running Through Life posted on how we need fat in our diets to work right. So, my pendulum finally swung the other way. I am trading in my low fat salad dressing for a higher fat organic option.

I am also going to trade in my chemically engineered Smart Balance for ... gulp, real organic butter. Wow. Really? Yes.

Why? I really want to minimize the toxins put into my body and that I'm exposed to. They've done no real tests or studies on these engineered products that prove that they are good for us or healthy.

The only item that has not yet fallen victim to my new food philosophy of nothing artificial is Skinny Cow. I'm thinking about trading it in. That's a step. I'm not quite ready to give it up. It has been the keystone in the foundation of my healthy journey. Do I dare pull it out and play dice? We'll see. Perhaps some option will pop up at Whole Foods that is just as good.

My eco-friendly green laundry soap with a boost from Simple Green works fantastic. Smells better and gets the clothes just as clean. The eco-friendly, fragrance and dye free dryer sheets work as well as the other kind. The Bright Green dishwasher soap gets my dishes as clean as the other stuff and there's never a residue.

The jury is not in yet on the organic, eco-friendly kitty litter. The old box isn't empty yet and I hate to waste. The ultimate verdict will be made by the cats. They get to give paws up or paws down. I can try swaying the vote with kitty treats, but that's no guarantee. What I like best about it is it weighs 1/2 the other stuff. Less weight is a real plus. I hope it clumps like it says. We'll see and I'll let you know.

Oh, and no funky smell has developed in my stainless steel, BPA free water bottle.

I also decided to quit hilighting my hair and go back to my real color. I have no grays yet, so I might as well enjoy it while it lasts. Thank you Mom for those great genes! [she's still only 1/2 gray]