Friday, October 26, 2012

The Social Life: How Come No One Told Me?!

I was helping a friend organize her basement over the past weekend and she came across some old pictures of herself. She was looking through the pictures and she was just like, "how come no one told me I was this big?"

She has lost 100lbs (applause, applause) but I don't ever recall her being that big...I don't think I personally ever paid attention to it. But how do you tell someone that they can stand to lose some weight? I mean what do you say or is that something that even needs to be said?

Now, I always said to my close friends and sorors that if I ever get "that big" please make me run behind your car. I'm serious don't let me get out of control... wellll! I was scrolling through my FB page and came across this old picture my frat brother tagged me in...


OH BABY! Jesus, Mary and Joseph my arm looks like a HAMHOCK. Why didn't any one tell me I was that big? Especially when I left the door open for such information to be given to me??  At this moment I understood the sentiments my friend had, with exception. I told you all to hold me responsible, friends don't let friends gain this much weight...really, no one said anything. LOL! LOL! I can laugh now but dang.

Anyway, this is my frat brother in the picture with me. Since he has lost 50lbs, is walking around looking all kinds of extra sexy, he and I definitely need to take another picture together so you all can have an appreciation for how far we both have come with the weight loss. I asked him to take the picture down but he refuses...he says it's to remind us of what we won't go back to. Isn't he sweet? *Muah* Thank you my Dear for allowing me to use the pic. ;-)


This picture was taken of me earlier this month...big difference...especially in the arms.

So the point of all this is to ask, do you really expect/wish for your friends/family to hold you accountable for your weight? In points in your life when your weight has increased did you really want someone to say, hey you're getting a lil thick all over? Do you think it's their place? If someone were to pull you aside and mention you could stand to lose some weight would that be a motivation for you or offensive?

Let me hear your thoughts. Peace, blessings, happiness and love. 

Daniel Fast: Week 1

The Daniel Fast, for those that aren't familiar with it, is a fast that is supposed to help you detox your body as well as strengthen your spiritual walk with God. For a 21 day period (some do it longer) you only consume fruits, vegetables, seed/nuts, whole grains and water. You cannot have any kind of meat, sugar (artificial sweeteners included), no bread made with yeast or sugar,no juice, coffee, tea or any of the like the only beverage you consume is water....plenty of water. Oy! I feel like my eye balls are floating.

The fast is not that bad. I still get to eat  but I'm just restricted to what I can and need to look at the ingredients in some of the food that I purchase like tortillas or flat bread (making me a label stalker). Day five was the toughest day out of the week; I had just came on my cycle, I felt as though I was going through withdrawal (I'm a sugar addict), I had a massive headache and I wanted a cookie so bad. I have to admit I was not up on my prayer and writing in my journal for the first few days of the fast, so the withdrawal that I was going through was the thing that drove me to start praying and writing. I needed something to keep me from raiding the cookie aisle at the grocery store.

I'm still tracking my calories while on the fast and one would thing that just eating fruits, veggies and grains can't do a lot of damage, but it can. Some of those whole grains and nuts have a lot of carbs and pack a whole lot of calories and considering that I am not running for this week it is real critical that I watch it because it is real easy to over eat. I over ate the other day and I had to start all over again the next day.

I have started taking a multi vitamin, finally. I hate taking pills...I do they are hard to swallow but I managed to find vitamins at Walgreens that were smaller than an Advil, so that makes taking vitamins doable for me. Now I just need to remember to take them on a daily.

Peace, blessings to you all and East Coast residents be safe with the storm coming.




Thursday, October 18, 2012

Diary of An Injured Runner...


So I hurt myself. Apparently I strained my satorious muscle, it is the longest muscle in the body and it spans from the side of the hip across the front of the quadricep and ends on the side of the inner knee.  I thought I was doing good with stretching. NOT! The physical therapist informed me that stretching strained muscles makes the injury worse. Why? When a strained muscle heals the fibers of the muscle heal by connecting themselves together and when you stretch the muscle you are essentially tearing the muscle fiber back a part which in turn will further inflame and irritate the muscle.

She felt around the span of the muscle looking for knots in my muscle and sure enough the areas where I had the most pain were knotted up and they were knotted up tight. She gave me a few exercises to try to make sure they did not further irritate the muscle and basically told me I need to focus on strengthening my hip muscles. Then she hooked me up to electrodes, placed a heating pad over top of it and sent strong pulses to the muscle for about 20 mins; the electrodes are said to help speed up the healing process. 

Now I can't lie everything we did this afternoon took the edge off the pain but the thing that hurt me deeply was being told that I can't run for a week; with no certainly whether a week will be a week or if it will turn into two weeks, three week or a month. Yes, this puts my running my first half marathon in jeopardy with the speed of my recovery being up in the air like it is. 

The thought of all this was a little hard to swallow because running has become the perfect lover and friend to me. Why do I feel that way? Well, with running I get out of it what I put into it and sometimes more. Running doesn't ask me for anything out side of who I am and it makes me want to put in more so I can get more out of it *cough*bling, bling *cough**cough*. It doesn't use me up, it allows me to release stress, it gives me a natural high and it puts me to sleep at night. Running doesn't fuss, doesn't cuss, and it doesn't demand more than what I'm willing to put into it. So, yes it means a lot to me. However, the upside to this is that I can and will go back to it. 

Hindsight is 20/20 as i'm about to start the Daniel Fast I'm beginning to realize that maybe this is the Lord's way of really slowing me down so I can focus on the things I need to focus on during this period of fasting, prayer and meditation with zero distractions.Maybe it is meant for me loosen up the grip that I have on running....hmmmm no I have medals to collect I'm sorry but for the fast period I will go what ever way God takes me.  

I will keep you updated on the fast and go more in depth. Until then be blessed. 


Sunday, October 14, 2012

Kitchen Experiment: Stroganoff Recipe Remix Challenge

The problem; I love Stroganoff  but I no longer eat red meat, I HATE mushrooms and I don't want to be slaving over a hot stove.

The solution to it all? Chicken Stroganoff made in the crock pot.


I really can't take credit for this recipe. I went onto Google and just searched for chicken crock pot recipes and found a website full of them.


This was super easy. The recipe calls for 6 chicken breast but I used 3 very large if it wasn't Perdue I would have thought it was hormone genetically engineer chicken breasts. I laid them at the bottom of the crock pot.

I then mixed together an envelop of onion soup mix with 16 oz of Sour Cream and a can of Cream of Chicken Soup. I took the mixture and poured it over the chicken and smooth it out to completely cover the chicken.



I put the lid on it and set the crock pot on low for 5 hours. Afterwards I took the chicken breasts out and cut them up and then put it back into the crock pot and set it on warm.

I then cooked a package of no yolk egg noodles for 7 minutes and then I served it up.





And the pickiest people in this household gave it a two thumbs up after they devoured it and went back for seconds. 


I'm so stoked about this crock pot there will be more crock pot recipes to come.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

3-3, 2-2, 4-4, Breathing Methods...

One would think that something as simple as running can just easily be done but it is not. Running is something that has to be built up to and there are a few techniques that beginning runners will or should learn along the way to make running slightly easier and more enjoy able.

In having Exercise Induced Asthma my breathing was often labored during running now lets throw in the fact that I had no clue how to breathe properly when I ran. Yeah, I figured taking large puffs of air in and breathing in and out at a heavy rate (the huffing and puffing method) would be enough to get the oxygen flowing through my body but, I was wrong. :-/

It was not until one of my BGR group mates posted this article, now some people do a 2-2, 3-3 or 4-4. What does all that mean? The controlled breathing method allows for you to control your rate of breathing and overall heart rate which effects your over all exertion rate while running. If you are a long distance runner then this will come in handy to help you control how much energy you exert during your run or can place you into what is known as the "Zone" where you can run efficiently at a consistent pace. Proper breathing also allows for the proper flow of oxygen through the blood to the muscles which can help reduce the occurrence of cramps and running induced injuries. 

How the method is executed. It is simple in theory but in practice it will take some work. For example I use the 3-3 method of breathing, I inhale and exhale every three strides. So, I inhale (through my nose when it is cool out) 3 strides, exhale 3 strides and continue this until I'm done with my run. This is rather difficult at first but with practice it gets easier. To make this technique easier for me I would practice while walking to and from places. So as I would walk I would inhale 3 steps and then exhale 3 steps and I would be mindful to apply it when I would go out on my runs. 

One other thing that can help with breathing is Yoga. Yoga is a very good cross training activity for runners and I discussed this previously in an older post about cross training. Yoga can help you not only strengthen your muscles, elongate your muscles, improve balance in the body and build your endurance but it can help with controlling your breathing as well so in away you are getting the benefits of strength training and breathing control all in one work out, which is especially good for people that cannot perform traditional strength training activities due to physical constraints or minor injuries. 

I hope this helps someone have a better running experience. Until then be blessed!


Wednesday, October 10, 2012

I Was Checked!!!!!

I know that I work hard and strive to think positive but sometimes I slip and steer towards the path of the negative. I can say that God has blessed me wholeheartedly with so many people that keep me straight and keep me on that narrow path. Last night was a true testament to that.

See, in November the week before Thanksgiving there is a 10K race being held called the Turkey chase. I was all for the chase until I heard through the grapevine that for what ever reason they will not allow for you to listen to music during the race. What the what?! *going into full Tamar Braxton mode* What they mean you can't listen to music during the race?! She, yes me, she don't run with out no music!!! *leans back with lip poked out*

So last night I was asked if I was still doing the Turkey Chase Race and I straight said out of my mouth, "I was told they won't allow us run with music and I can't run without my music *Tamar bounce*" and then Jo, my running mate said, "STOP SAYING YOU CAN'T run without music. You just prefer to run with music." Then it hit me I was check and I needed it. It made me think that I have really been slipping when it comes to being positive about this running thing, especially since I have hurt my knee.

So, I have an appointment next week to see a Sports Medicine doctor to look at my knee and possibly my whole leg because my hip flexors have been screaming  after my runs. I'm going to wait until after my appointment before I continue training for the half and before I commit myself to anymore races.

I am steadily praying that this is just a strain and with proper care and rest I will be able to run many more days. Until then I will be KT Taped up to do some light running and I might revisit spin class and/or Insanity program just to keep myself moving.

Have a blessed day folks!

Monday, October 8, 2012

Kitchen Experiment: Spaghetti Meets Meatless Monday



Ok! I'm going to give you my lessons learned so you can make this easy. 

I could have thrown all this in the crock pot and cooked it while I was working out. *sigh*







I like to wash my spaghetti squash prior to cooking it. Prick the squash all over with a knife. Please prick the squash so it won't explode in the oven while cooking. 

Place it in the oven for an hour on 350 degrees. I normally set the timer on the oven and leave out and it is done cooking by the time I come back home.




You can use however many or little vegetables you want. I wanted this to be hearty and filling so I used a half a green pepper, five mini orange, red and yellow peppers, a whole onion. garlic. carrots. broccoli and spinach.


I sauteed everything in Olive Oil and added the broccoli and spinach last. Then I added the Ragu Chunky Garden Vegetable Combination sauce.

I let everything simmer on medium heat for a few minute while I scooped out the squash.



This is my daughter's plate.

And the pickiest eater in the house says....





It's good!!!!



The Social Life: Second Date

So the second date went ok. I overall had a good time and great conversation despite the fact that I was tired and feeling a little under the weather. At some point the conversation got a little serious but we are still learning each others mannerisms so it is all good. One thing I took notice is how we have differing opinions on food and nutrition.

Why I end up meeting people who like to borderline or completely over indulge in food is beyond me, but I kind of got that impression from him while we were at dinner and I was contemplating what to eat. I had to choose my meal carefully considering I was slated to run a 5K race in less than 24 hours. What you eat the night before a race can effect you in so many unpleasant and embarrassing ways that I have to do a whole other blog on it.

So we are sitting there and he is telling me he wants me to "eat" and not get a salad and soup or something light along those lines. Then he proceeds to try to school me on nutrition. I sat and listened to what he has to say knowing; I've lost 50lbs since February of this year and after many nutritional trials and tribulations I figured out what works for me and what doesn't work for me so, at this point I'm humoring him and his borderline persuasive conversation on indulging. At the end of the evening I can say this is one of a few things we discussed that doesn't sit well with me, as he has touched on my eating and work out habits quite a bit.

During conversation last night he had mentioned that he felt he needed to get on my eating schedule or plan. Now he is saying he wants to go to the gym and put some time in on the treadmill so he can keep up with me on pavement. I am about being a positive influence on others but I want people to do things for themselves...I want them to do what they feel is going to make them the best them they can be,  not necessarily to be align with me.

I maintain what I stated before, yes the enthusiasm for fitness and nutrition in a partner would be nice but if that person just does not have it then the support and encouragement to keep going is just as good.

Ehh we are only two weeks into this we shall see what the end of the month brings in regard to this here dating situation.






Thursday, October 4, 2012

The Social Life: The First Date

Ok, so I guess I kind of, sort of was holding out, but I did happen to meet someone one online and we clicked from the start. I guess we have both been waiting to see if it would level off but the more we talk and yes we talk a lot, for hours even, the more we realize how much more we have in common.

In away it seems as though we are a perfect match for one another I can't explain the feeling or the connection with words. Anyway, we went to Panera on our first date... I wasn't hungry, I just wanted to see him and see if we have the same chemistry in person that we have over the phone. We fell quickly into conversation and began discovering even more commonalities between the two of us...things that people would say were "weird" about me he liked, so I was thinking hey someone I can be weird with. ;-)

We are set to go out Saturday night...where? I don't know. I do know food is involved, I told him about how I eat and he seems to be respectful of it, as he has told me that he wants me to be able to have good food options when we go out so that is a plus.

So on Saturday I have been instructed to get dressed, show up, let him handle the rest and be prepared to have fun. :)

So stay tuned. :-))

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Kitchen Experiments: The Challenge

I was cooking the other day, making my daughter boxed macaroni and cheese for dinner. You know? The one with the powdered cheese. Yeah I know how healthy is that? Well I have to work on plumping her up a bit and as a kid she likes it so I went with it.

I was cooking and reminiscing about how I used to eat savory feel good meals, especially during the winter months. I'm kind of getting tired of eating the same old things and wanted to create and most importantly eat some thing reeeeallly good with out all the fat and calories.

I figured I would challenge myself. Through out the month of October I will choose different recipes of the foods that I love and make them lower in fat and calories.

If there is a none beef (we don't do beef in this here house) recipe you want me to remix then please by all means contact me.

Can I do it?! Yes I can!!!!