Space!!

I have my new gym bag and it is fantastic!  I took some pictures so you all can: 1) understand my previous gym bag misery; and 2) appreciate how excited I am!

Here is the bag I have been bringing to the gym for the past year and a half.  You can laugh - it was free.

And here is everything I attempt to jam into that bag.  Everyday.

In the summer I can usually fit everything but the second water bottle (protein shake for New Rules Days) and the New Rules Book.  In the winter, I have to carry my outdoor running layers separate.  As you can imagine, it is a very tight squeeze.


Are you ready?????  Check this baby out!

I imagine that this is what it feels like to buy your first house.  Look at all that space!  I could actually bring a towel!  And I will be able to fit winter running gear.  AND MY PHONE, KEYS AND WALLET.  No more extra purse to drag along!!  And did you check out the two tiered separate shoe department?  Heaven.


Can you feel my excitement!  I am psyched to head to yoga today! (yoga mat carried separately)

Life Happens

Yesterday was a bad day.  And you know what I hate about bad days?  Everything gets completely out of whack.  My mental state.  My food choices.  My workout plan.  My alcohol consumption.  Total disaster if I have had a really bad day...like yesterday. 

The day started out great - I had a breakfast of Oats, and Bob's 10 grain, Almond Butter and Jam - and I was pumped to do The New Rules of Lifting for Women: Lift Like a Man, Look Like a Goddess Stage 2 Workout B at my lunch hour.  Healthy snacks and lunch were packed.  I had a cool post-work networking event to attend (with wine tasting!) ... Wednesday was looking GOOOOOD.  Once I got to work things got a little (very) out of control.  The result?  No workout, no lunch, fake crackers with salami and orange cheese at the networking event, copious amounts of wine and not even an attempt to fit in a yoga session.  I felt like a failure on every level. Ugh.   If I had fit in my workout and ate regular, healthy meals, the day probably would have felt a little better...but that just didn't appear to be an option.  Once I am down and out, all bets are off.  It is a major character flaw.

By the time I got home at 8:45pm and made my teary, wine-drenched entrance into the house, Bill had thankfully made a healthy, well rounded dinner.  Bless him.  And I will say that I felt a million times better with real, wholesome food in my system. 

Today, as they say, I picked myself up by the bootstraps and tried to gain control over my life.  I had a good green smoothie breakfast, I had a self-pity hangover wallow in a pannini for lunch, but then I pulled off a killer New Rules workout during my break.  I'm planning on cramming in a yoga session when I get home and making a nice healthy meal for dinner.

The point of all this?  I want to be honest with you all.  What good is it for me to only post about how virtuous I am.  I think its important to see that part of the process of becoming healthy is the occasional backslide.  And that backslide will not be the end of you (or me).  Life happens ... it is how you react to it that matters.

Breathe

Awhile back, Valentines weekend actually, Bill and I made a discovery.  I can hold my breath waaayyyyyyyyyy longer than he can.  For whatever wine-induced, basketball-watching reason, we started having breath holding contests.  I kicked his butt over and over again ... at which point he admitted that not only was he losing, but he was cheating and losing!  At the time he was training for a marathon and had great lung capacity.  I was running 20 miles a week - max.  What was the deal?

Yoga.  Of course.

A major part of practicing yoga is controlling your breath.  Part of the idea behind vinyasa yoga - the type of yoga I (mostly) practice - is based on moving with your breath.  Stand up on the inhale, fold on the exhale, half-way lift on the inhale, high to low plank on all one exhale, updog on inhale, downdog on the exhale.  And on and on.  When I first started 'taking' yoga I ignored the breath - all I cared about was making it through the moves.  I was taking three inhales/exhales for every one inhale ... basically I was panting my way through practice.  It wasn't until much later in my practice that I started focusing on flowing through the postures with control of and in time with my breath.

I write all this now because over the last few days I have had fantastic connection with and control of my breath.  Remember that 5K I just ran?  Never winded - I felt in control of my breath the whole time - only my legs and my fear were holding me back.  Yesterday I went for a run before Victoria's class.  Again, not winded.  As I settled into class I set the intention of presence, specifically to be present in my breath.  We started in child's pose and I was easily inhaling for 10 count, exhaling for 11 count.  As we went through the practice I felt I was pretty steady in keeping an inhale for 5 count exhale for 6 count.  And yes, I do actually count my breath as I move through practice.

I was so thankful to be present and focused on my breath.  It was such a release after last weeks string of disaster practices.  Even now, writing this hours after practice, I feel calm, peaceful and in control.  To breathe is a wonderful thing.

Breakfast

By request, a breakfast post!  I love breakfast and eat it everyday...usually around 7am (after yoga before getting dressed for work) with several cups of coffee with soy milk.  Below are some of my daily breakfasts.  I've given measurements where necessary but otherwise I just toss stuff in based on my mood, my hunger level, and the days activities.  I tend to have smoothies on sunny days, oats on rainy days, and pancakes on the weekend.  I try to drink an extra cup of soy milk of oatmeal days for added protein.

A note on chia seeds and gel.  Chia Seeds 2 Pounds (Chemical Free) regulate blood sugar, add fiber and are a great source of Omega-3s.  I keep a serving of chia gel in the fridge for smoothies.  One serving chia gel is 1 Tbsp seeds shaken with 9 Tbsps water (let it sit at least 10 minutes - shake again).  The chia gel can  be used to substitute Tbsp per Tbsp the fat in baking recipes for up to half the fat.  It can also be used to bulk up sauces, puddings and guacamole, among other items.  It is, of course, not necessary to make any of the below.  But I like it.

Green Smoothies
The ingredients are typed out in the order I put them in the blender.  I usually have to stop the blender a few times to push the ingredients down.  Also, I reference frozen berries because they are cheap and don't go moldy on me.  You can of course use whatever milk you want and add honey or agave to sweeten to taste.  I have found that adding a fat is necessary to keep me full through the morning. 

Everyday (Bill and I both enjoy this one!)
Almond Milk
Spinach (handful or two)

Grated Carrots (handful)

Frozen Strawberries, Blueberries, Mixed Berries...Whatever

Almond Butter
Vanilla Protein Powder
Chia Gel

Bill Special (the above plus chocolate milk)

LK Special
Almond Milk

Spinach (handful or two)

Grated Carrots (handful)

Frozen Strawberries

Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

Vanilla Protein Powder

Chia Gel

Pre-Run/Pre-Race Special
Almond Milk

Banana (fresh or frozen in chunks)

Peanut Butter (scoop size depending on distance/intensity)

Agave Nectar

Chia Gel

Oats
I get a lot of oatmeal inspriation from Kath over at Kath Eats Real Food.  I microwave my oats because of time constraints.  I set the microwave for 3 minutes on high but watch it the whole time (coffee in hand) and stop it periodically to stir when it looks like its going to overflow.  I usually stop it with a minute left on the timer...but this is not an exact science.  Watch carefully and use a deep bowl.

Everyday
1/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats
1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal
1 Cup Water
Microwave
1 Tbsp Chia Seeds
1 Tbsp Almond Butter
1 Tsp Jam
Stir

Blueberry Walnut

1/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats

1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal

Frozen Blueberries

1 Cup Water

Microwave

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds

4 or so broken up Walnuts Halves

Stir

Basic

1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats

1 Cup Water

Microwave

1 Tbsp Peanut Butter

1 Tsp Jam

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds

Stir

Muesli

1/2 Cup Bob's Red Mill Muesli
1 Cup Water

Microwave

1 Tsp/Tbsp Jam

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds

Stir

Pancakes
This basic recipe is compliments of one of my Weight Watcher's buddies, LG.  I pre-heat the pan (sprayed or greased depending on your preference) before I start adding ingredients to the blender.  Yes blender.  Throw them all in but the toppings.  I like to cook an inch or so of batter in the pan as a tester, then the rest of the mix makes 2 pancakes.  My method is to set the heat to medium high and flip the pancake when bubbles start to pop in the middle of the cake.  That's my method...feel free to experiment!

Protein Pancakes
1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 Cup Cottage Cheese
3 Egg Whites
Vanilla
Cinnamon

Toppings to mix and match!
Almond Butter
Dark Chocolate Almond Butter
Shredded Unsweetened Coconut
Microwaved frozen berries with agave nectar
Agave Nectar
Jam
Maple Syrup

Lemon Ricotta Protein Pancakes

1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats

1/2 Cup Ricotta Cheese

3 Egg Whites

Lemon Zest 

Cinnamon

Toppings to mix and match!

Whipped cream

Microwaved frozen strawberries or Blueberries with agave nectar

Agave nectar

Flavored Yogurt of choice

Maple Syrup

Basically, as Bill says, my breakfasts are just vehicles for toppings.  Go Wild!!

Toe the Line

Today I was scheduled to race a local 5K.  I did not want to - it was cloudy and dreary and damp and every single inch of my body wanted to stay in bed.  I woke up at 7:10am to text my sister to tell her I was out.  Then I called her to justify backing out.  Then I called my mother to further justify my actions.  Then I went into the bedroom to wake Bill up and justify myself to him.  Who couldn't I justify it to?  Myself.  And you guys.  I hate excuses, and here it was, not even 8am and I was FULL of them.  Bad weather.  Too little preparation.  No money for the race fee.

What a fraud.  Here I am, encouraging other people to start running, start practicing yoga, start lifting, start moving, and I could not even convince myself to toe the line.

I texted my sister back and told her I was in.  I did a brief yoga practice, laced up my sneakers and headed out the door.  The result?  Total gratification.  I love to race.  I love pushing myself to eek out that little bit of extra speed, that extra stride.  I love seeing all the other runners and being part of the running community.  If you have never run and are afraid to because you don't 'look' like a runner, go to your local 5k.  Just hang around and cheer people on - you will be amazed at all the shapes and sizes runners come in, and they will be eternally grateful for your cheers.  It is a win win situation.

How did I do?  Surprisingly, I pulled out my usual time of 29:30 or 9:30 per mile.  I think I have pulled some 9:28s in the past, but this is my average time and I was pleased.  Excuses be damned, I showed up and I ran hard.  It felt fantastic.

Along with my sister, my friend Libby was also there and - as an answer to my request for a new bar - had made some energy bars as a surprise.  She used the recipe in  The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life modified with a little salt and I am sure her own magic touch.  They are fantastic.  And I was psyched because I already own this book and love it!


Congrats to Tammy and Libby!!  Tammy placed 3rd in her division and Libby placed 1st!