National Barbecue Month

Is it just me or is there a national month for everything? This month is national barbecue month and I'm thinking I need to do two things:

One: Find some good vegetarian barbecue recipes and then request my parents to barbecue all month. Vegetarian or not, I love the smoky smell of barbecue.

Two: I must read this thesis on Barbecue written by Anoop Desai, former American Idol contestant. It's a 60-page paper on the history of barbecue and yeah, it's downloadable. You can read a paper about barbecue while listening to its autor sing Donna Summer's Dim All The Lights. This is why I love the internet.

Hopsital Food Around the World

Just found an interesting photo blog - hospitalfood.tumblr.com via www.seriouseats.com, one of my favorite general food sites.

Photos of hospital food around the world. What a good idea for a blog.

I Wanted Ice Cream, But I Got This Instead

Just wanted to share a healthy alternative to ice cream - DelMonte FruitChillers.

There made for kids, but they're a good option if you have a sweet tooth. They're low in fat and calories and made with real fruit.

They even have a tool you can use to compare to your favorite vices.

These were originally bought for my two-year-old nephew. He wasn't impressed, but I was.

Tough Week? Tough Luck.

The week was really rough for everyone at work, so I really wanted some carbohydrates, some comfort food. While I enjoyed my manicotti, mixed drinks, cookies, fried cheese cubes, cheesy enchiladas and half a chocolate bar - wow that looks really bad now - I think I might still my goal of losing three pounds or at least two pounds.

I made sure to work out everyday this week and even once outside. See Erin? I can play outside too! So yay me!

I hope to weigh in at 173 Monday. That's two pounds down. Cross your fingers!

Weight Loss Challenge

I haven't updated in what seems like forever.

Well, here's a quick update. I joined a Weight Loss Challenge at work, pay in $10 at the beginning and a dollar every time you gain weight, the winner gets cash. I think there's going to be a top three.

Anyway. The first week I gained a pound, this week I lost three. So I'm pretty excited about that.

In other news? My yoga teacher might add some classes to her schedule and she's already signed up to teach in the spring and summer. So that makes me happy and I'm going to try out a yoga class where she goes for yoga. It's sort of out of the way for me, but I want to try it out anyway.

And today after work, I'm working out at the gym. Woo.

Tomorrow it's Salad Wednesday at work and the out-of-the-way yoga class. Fire up for a good week!

That's all for my well overdue update.

Soups @ Fatfree Vegan Kitchen

Quick note:

Fatfree Vegan Kitchen has some great recipe ideas for soups.

No Junk Food, No Elevators. Day One.

Everyone chooses something for Lent. Well, not everyone, but a lot of people. In the spirit of Lent, I'm avoiding junk food and elevators. For fourty days.

Day one has been pretty easy, at least the elevators part. There are not that many floors at my job, so taking the stairs doesn't bother me much. The junk food part? That part is difficult! I haven't eaten any junk food today, but I did run into some temptation.

Today's temptations?
1. Left over packzis
2. Caramel popcorn
3. Doritos

Let's not even talk about the vending machine at work that's at my constant disposal.

OMG! I can't believe you posted that picture of me!

Today, I untagged a photo of myself on Facebook.

What does that mean?

Let me give a brief explanation of "tagging" photos on Facebook. Say a friend posts pictures from a party and I'm in one of the photos. (This is the actual scenario, by the way.) This friend can choose to associate my name with the photo by "tagging" me. The friend can draw a square that will appear around the image of me when someone hovers the mouse cursor over my name. Also, when people view my profile, they have an option that says, "see more photos of Theresa." They can click this and photos are that "tagged" with my name will appear.

I untagged a photo. I removed the association of myself to that picture. I didn't want anyone to see this photo and know it was me. This is why I cannot give up on losing weight. I am so ashamed of how I look in photos, I would rather not be associated with the photo. I am (in a not exactly the way people use the term sort of way) attempting to disassociate from my own body. I'm guessing this is probably oh, I don't know... not good for me?

If it had been a physical photo my friend stuck on a bulletin board rather than a electronic photo album, I would have wanted to rip up the picture and the burn the negatives. Yes, lots of people do the oh-god-I-look-horrible-in-that-photo thing, but I really, really don't want to feel like that about my body no matter how bad the photo. (I want to just recognize it as that's a badly taken photo, not that's a bad photo of myself and I look so ugly). I know my size is not horrific, but I don't feel healthy and it's something kind of awful that I will untag a photo (and delete it if I could) instead of just commenting "OMG! LOL. That's such a bad picture." and moving on. (Like the chatspeak there? I knew you would.)

Tomorrow, I'm going to the doctor and asking him about weight loss and whether running the Crim in August is not a crazy, crazy goal for me. I think it's physically possible ... if I lose weight, but I also need to talk him about nutrition things and what the type of precautions I need to take if I can do the running by August - if I should walk the Crim instead of running it? Do I need to do anything different than my non-asthmatic runners?

He can't give me a magic pill, but I'm hoping I can at least talk to him about a plan of action for myself and find out if I'm on the right track. Maybe he can give me some tips or something.

Guess Who's Back?

You hear that gnawing sound? That's guilt eating away at me. Don't worry, it's not painful in this form (because a lot of times Guilt is a bad thing). Guilt is actually helpful this time in forcing me to get my act together.

I haven't written in a while and Guilt here knows I haven't been good about my eating habits. It's always the eating part that makes this healthy thing so hard for me. My appetite taunts me. It sits with me at dinner and pokes me on the shoulder like a kid. "Hey, hey, hey. Don't you want seconds? What about chocolate? You should have some pancakes with lots of butter and syrup. That sounds good. You deserve it; you've been stressed out this week." So, I do. If I don't, it'll just keep buggin' me. And since I live alone, no one but me and my appetite knows that I've given in "just one last time".

It's becoming very discouraging for me, since I keep giving in. Sometimes I feel as if I have no control. I try to use that tips that I know - Drink lots of water. Eat fruit. Don't deny yourself, simply have what you want in moderation. 

I was getting better at doing those things, but then I'd have a bad day and eat what I want. The next day I'd feel guilty (the bad kind of guilty), beat myself up for it, feel sorry for myself and then I'd eat even more because I'm an emotional eater. What an endless cycle.

Although the  healthy eating hasn't gotten any better, I haven't given up. I've been working out an average of four days a week now - Yoga on Mondays, Bootcamp on Wednesdays, Cardio machine the other days. I went to step kickboxing the other day. I wasn't fond of the instructor, but I might go again. I also want to add some rollerskating in there. I love skating, so I figure I should throw it into the exercise cycle.

What I need to do is learn how to use weights. I know how to do cardio. Everyone knows how to do that, but the weight room is intimidating. I don't know what I'm doing and there isn't anyone placed in the room to show me what to do. There is no strength training teacher just for me. So, I avoid the weights. Really, who wants to look like a goof in front of a bunch of other people who know what they're doing and look good?

So goes for the month of February - stop eating like I've got the metabolism of an eight year old and learn to use the weight room.

Long Week

I failed to write anything all week! I was really busy with work and life... or maybe I just didn't want to face up to the music that I haven't been eating right and it's only three weeks into the whole changing of my dietary habits thing.

Tomorrow is weigh-in day and I just know I haven't lost any weight. Tragic. I have been working out, which I am very proud of, but my food choices have been up and down. I don't have any groceries, so that makes it even more tempting for me to go out and buy something that's not good for me.

Oh well. I guess I just will have to try harder tomorrow. 

Bad Weekend

Weekends have been proving enormously difficult for me when it comes to sticking with my new healthy eating habits. I don't have a schedule, I'm feeling more indulgent and I'm relaxing from working all week. BAD combination!

If anyone out there has tips on how to stop emotional eating and eating from boredom, please share! This is me getting desperate.

On the up side, I went to Yoga yesterday and walked the track this morning. I ran two laps before I left. Yay! :)

Food, Exercise and Politics

This week I made a few discoveries and re-discoveries - Greek yogurt, public radio podcasts, pilates video podcasts and home exercise videos by Crunch. 

Greek Yogurt

Mmm... I tried this yogurt by Fage USA on a whim. Jen mentioned this once. This morning after my 6 a.m. walk at the high school, I went to Kroger to get food for breakfast and lunch. I saw the yogurt 

and thought I'd tried it out. 

I bought the honey and yogurt package because I'm a sucker for anything sweet and I wasn't sure how I would like the yogurt. I figured at the very least I could cover the taste with honey. 

When I opened the package, I was a bit hesitant. It smelled similar to cream cheese and it was very thick. Brave as I am, I forged ahead and tried it. It is really tasty stuff! It's thick, creamy, sweet and good for you. This is definitely going to become a staple in my food choices.

Pilates on Fifth, Pilates Digest and YOGAmazing

If you have iTunes you have to check out the podcasts and video podcasts available. Those things are a goldmine for free information. Of course, finding a reputable podcast is important. You don't want to listen to or watch a show with a host who doesn't know what they're talking about.

That said, I've found that Pilates on Fifth, Pilates Digest and especially YOGAmazing are helpful. 

Pilates on Fifth and Pilates Digest give you snippet videos of individual moves you can do. If you download these, you should already have an understanding of pilates. It's a really nice way to learn some moves, write them down and then put them all together. What I really like about podcasts on iTunes is that you can easily download the older episodes. You might want to do that with the Pilates podcasts because they are such short segments - about 2 minutes long.

YOGAmazing is a program shown on the Lifestyle Channel. You can get the free podcast videos on iTunes or you can get them at the Web site. What I like about this one is that it's about 25 minutes and it's an entire routine that the host, Chaz, does with you. He explains what the moves are, why they are important and alternatives to them if you are not there yet or if they are painful for your body.

Crunch Fat Burning Dance Party and Cardio Dance Blast

I love the Crunch brand. If Crunch had a studio in Michigan, I would be a member. Or at least tour. I'm sure it'd be hella expensive. 

My favorite work out by Crunch is Fat Burning Pilates. The tape provided my first experience with pilates, which I am a huge fan of. Unfortunately, I only have Fat Burning Pilates on VHS and I am without a VCR. Instead of buying a new DVD, I've been content with other work out videos I have. I've re-discovered two - Crunch Fat Burning Dance Party and Cardio Dance Blast.

The videos don't teach you how to truly dance. It's not as if I'm expecting to pull off a complicated dance routine because I have these videos. They're just fun and similar to step aerobics, only not as boring and without the platforms. It's like DDR that way - a series of steps taken in a rythmic pattern to a nice beat. 

Although they don't teach you any new moves, the videos are fun and a good work out. The instructors are all smiles and overly enthusiastic, but they are so in a fun way. The instructors explain the steps to the dances several times and slowly. Both videos are about 45 minutes long and a good work out when you can't make it to the gym.

Left, Right & Center

I'd forgotten how much I love podcasts. When podcasts were the new hip thing, I immediately went online to learn more about them and downloaded a ton. A couple of years later, I had forgotten about them. 

I'm not sure what prompted me to browse the podcasts on iTunes this weekend, but I'm glad I did.

I've discovered that I have a real love for Left, Right & Center, a talk radio show on KCRW. The show is all about politics - from the left, right and center points of view. I really like that about the show. The show doesn't lean one way or the other, instead the personalities on the show are obvious about which way they lean and then they debate in a civil, but interesting and often humorous way.

The show doesn't have much to do with my blog theme of embracing change, but I couldn't ignore the little voice in my head begging me to share this with someone.

So there you are. My recommendations - food, exercise and politics.

Karaoke Is Japanese For Embarrassing Yourself In Front Of Strangers

Maybe I didn't blog yesterday because I was too ashamed.

I did very well in the morning and the afternoon. I stuck to my calorie count I set for myself.

Unfortunately, after work I went to hang out with my friends at Maxie's, a bar with Karaoke seven days a week. So I blame Shannon, Kristen and Karaoke. I didn't order food there, but I ate some of their fries, had a coke and then I had some drinks. Because, really, who can do Karaoke without liquid courage? Ok, probably brave people, but I'm not that brave.

I had a ton of fun, but I am feeling so guilty right now. Maybe today will go better.

No Man Is An Island ... Unless He's a Lady and a Vegetarian at Blimpy Burger

Ask for a veggie burger at Blimby Burger in Ann Arbor and you're just beggin' for a snarky comment.

My supervisor, Jeff, and coworkers, Matt and Bill, and I went to the delightful and totally not healthy Blimby Burger for lunch before a big work meeting.

I could have said I didn't want to go, but I didn't want to be the party pooper.  Bill was super excited about these burgers that you have to order with phrases like "a triple" and where even the vegetables are deep fried. 

My arteries shudder in fear of this place. 

Of course, unhealthy does not mean untasty. Quite the opposite. Most of the time places like this have the best tasting food around. I guessed this place was no different. I don't eat the stuff now, but I didn't lose my memory. I know what the food tastes like to meat eaters. I didn't want the guys to miss out.

I figured I would get the (most likely, seldom ordered) veggie burger on the menu. I knew there was a good chance that the person taking my order would crack some jokes on me since I was at a burger place asking for a veggie burger. I was prepared to deal with that, but we go in and I find out the place is tiny as Harry Potter's bedroom under the stairs. No kidding. Tiny hole in the wall establishment. Everyone would be able to hear the smart remarks. Boo!

As expected, the guy behind the counter wearing an apron covered in burger grease laughed when I ordered my vegetarian fare. I got embarrassed and offended at the same time. Then the person putting toppings on our burgers asked me what I wanted on my "sawdust patty." 

And yes, this was all very amusing to the guys, but I survived. My calorie count didn't take a severe beating, but it also wasn't the best food day in my new-healthy-lifestyle.

Ringing In The New Year

I'm ringing in the New Year with bad food! 

I thought my last hurrah would be the lunch date at The Torch. I lied. Tonight, I will make yummy bad food choices. Then after that, I'm all about healthy choices with occassional bad choices sprinkled in there. It's lucky I don't keep junk food in my house, or I'd have to toss it all out.

I'll be making a visit to my doctor soon to get a physical and talk to him about my eating habits. I figure I shouldn't try any diet fads or do this completely on my own and instead I will take advantage of the health professional in my life. 

I'm excited and scared about my New Years resolution. I'm excited because I've already had several people tell me they would be glad to go running or to an exercise class with me. I'm fired up about the moral support and possible exercise buddies: Angela, Amanda, Brandy, Kristen and Shannon. I'm going to get somebody to exercise with me on my Jen-less days, if it's the last thing I do. 

I'm also a little terrified of the running and the exercising and the not eating cookies whenever I want.  But I think I will be able to complete my goal, because I'm more afraid of what will happen if I don't stop eating so many cookies. 

Wish me luck! I'll blog again after my first weigh-in on January 5.