The ELFF Diet

Kashi Honey Sunshine Cereal

I love me some Kashi cereal. My favorites include the Go Lean Crunch!, especially mixed with yogurt, and the Heart to Heart Oatmeal.  My youngest son loves the Mighty Bites.  I'm always on the look out for new cereals - they are easy to eat quickly, I can take them in a baggie in the car, and they can be great sources of fiber and protein. 

Or, alternatively, sources of sugar and calories. 

I was excited when I read a positive review of the new Kashi Honey Sunshine, and as soon as I saw it in the store, I scooped up a box.  Having read that the cereal reminded the reviewer of Captain Crunch, I was eager to try it.

Oh, man.  It was great.  It was not too sweet, with no lingering after taste and certainly not reminiscent of twigs and sticks - always a possibility with a "healthier" choice of cereal.  I could taste the honey.  I ate the first box in two days, and it took me a week to find another box.  It definitely isn't cheap - at close to $5 a box, I really have to like it.  And I do!

The serving size of this cereal  is 3/4 cup.  It contains 6 grams of fiber, 100 calories, and 2 grams of protein.  I didn't see anything negative about the entire matter. Yum!

Where Have I Been?

It was the last week before we went back to school this past week, and I spent literally every minute of it shopping, cooking, cleaning, organizing, and taking martial arts.

HA.  Bet you thought I'd say I didn't exercise, huh? 

No way.  No matter what, no matter how, I crave the exercise and I make it a priority.

What I DIDN'T make so much of a priority was eating well.  But, thanks to this article on Blogher, I now have a record, in one place, of better choices to make.  What do you think of this list?  Any favorites on there?  Any you can't stand?

I'm pretty partial to whole wheat tortillas and black beans - mixed with diced fresh tomatoes and a bit of cheese, it's my go to lunch again and again.  I'm also partial to fruit smoothies.

What about you?  What grabs you from that list?

200

That was the Number Of The Day, according to the boxing teacher.  200 was the number of ab exercises we did today, four exercises with fifty reps each. Whoot!  It was great.  I'm really not that happy with how my abs LOOK, but I'm delighted at how well they FUNCTION.  I have STRONG abs.  Covered with a layer of fat and bookended by a muffin top, but strong and tough all the same.  I can do a lot of ab work before I fade out.

I really wanted to ask you all a question, though.

Should women who take a class primarily consisting of men expect special treatment, or should they be expected to keep up with the men?  Should there be different standards for woman and men who attend the same class?  Should there be "allowances" given? Should women work extra hard in a male dominated class to "help" other women succeed and feel confident, and to "break the gender barrier" for other women?

I really have no answers, but it's something that I've been pondering for months.  Some of the best female athletes I know - especially those who take at the gym I do - work CRAZY hard, in fact harder than some of the men.  They inspire me on a daily basis, and I so admire them.  I think I'll ask them their thoughts on this, but I'm really interested in yours.

Only in the Olympics

Would 33 years of age be classified as OLD.  And 125 pounds be considered heavy.

I've been glued to the tube watching hours and hours of Olympic coverage - mostly swimming and gymnastics, and I'm constantly amazed at #1 how strong and powerful and overwhelmingly focused the athletes are and #2 how YOUNG everyone is. 

It's been gratifying to see that Dara Torres (over 40 swimmer) and the 33 year old German gymnast both did very, very well.  It's just frustrating to me to hear the commentary about their ages, repeated again and again.  I feel old enough as it is.

Thanks for the input re: the half marathon.  I'm probably going to skip it.  If I do decide to walk it, that's all I'll do - walk. I've missed SO many classes due to the two surgeries that I don't want to miss any more capoeira or Thai boxing if I can possibly help it.  If I attempted to run it, I'd be asking for an injury = probably a big one again.

So, what's on your agenda this week?  I've got capoeira Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, Thai boxing Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and weight training M/W/F mornings.  Same schedule as the entire summer, during this, my last week of summer before school starts in SEVEN days. 

The Return Was Sweet

The bruises on my elbows, yeah, not so much.

I went back to Thai boxing tonight.  So, so, so much fun.  SO MUCH FUN.  Did I say that I enjoyed it?  That I haven't gone for two weeks?

Oh, yeah, I went back to class, because I GOT MY STITCHES OUT.  All 12, gone. I'm left with a huge flaky scar, but I don't care, because The Cancer, it is gone from my body.  No chemo, no radiation. Just a recheck every two months for a year.

I have missed this class something fierce. 

Tonight we worked on elbow striking. Right elbow, left elbow, hitting the pads, again and again.  I'm bruised.  We ran relays, did push up and sit up and squat drills, and held the plank, squat, and then "feet six inches off the floor" for a minute each. 

I am constantly amazed at how much I enjoy these type of drills.  When I first began to work out, these types of things filled me with dread.  Now, they are my very favorite part of class and if I have the opportunity, I stay for more after class.  And it goes without saying that I'm still thoroughly enjoying capoeira - even though it kicks my butt on a constant daily basis. 

Nutrition Bars

I saw this over at I Ate A Pie, and it begged me to ask you - What is your favorite nutrition bar?

When you have to have a bar, be it for breakfast or a snack, a meal replacement or a late night snack - what do you choose?  Especially with school going back, I'm going to need to stock up on a big bunch of bars.

Gnu Bars?
LaraBars? (I used to eat these all the time but burned myself out on them)
Snickers Marathon Energy bars?
Luna Bars?
Kashi bars?  ( I LOVE the new Blackberry Graham flavor!)
Odwalla?
Balance?
Powerbars?
Kind Fruit+Nut?  ( I like these a lot)

What flavor do you like the best?  Which ones should we avoid?

I'm Struggling

And I don't mind sharing it.

Not being able to take my Muy Thai class or complete a work out with my trainer is really getting me down.  I can't take it due to the Melanoma - yes, I've capitalized it in my mind.  I can't do any arm work.  No push ups, no working towards pull ups, no bicep curls or tricep kickbacks.  No right cross, left hook - nothing of any of the activities that have become a HUGE part of my life in the past year.

And, ok.  I get it.  I'm not CRIPPLED, I'm not dead, I am not an amputee.  But, damnit.  I really miss working out.  And I may have eaten a bit too much in the past week, trying to drown my sorrows in things like frosting and M&M's, and I've done lots of longingly watching the classes that I'm missing. 

So that's why I've been silent here lately.  What's new with you?  How do you handle set backs?

A Thought Provoking Post, and Some Winners

Finally. I KNOW, right?

I awarded the Weight Watchers prize to Sarah, who never emailed me. So I gave it to #42 Sheila, and emailed her. She sent me the nicest email, where she said, wait, let me just put it here...

How lovely! Did I really win? If so, let's give it to someone who really can't afford WW financially or the single mom or the mom with 5 blessings. One of the moms. That would thrill me. I went ahead and joined WWs this month and lost 9.2 lbs. I think I had my moment of truth. God bless you, Sheila

HOW nice! So I am going to do as she asks and award the WW membership to Traci, commenter #14, who writes:

I would love to win this. I am a mom to 5 Blessings. One is a teenager but the other 4 all came within 5 years of each other and are all under 7 yrs right now. I recently lost 30 pounds on my own, but I still have 40 more to go and really wish I could do something new. So anyway, I hope to win!!!

Blessings,
Traci

The free Starbucks goes to Julie.

Here are your random numbers:

5	

Timestamp: 2008-08-06 01:46:48 UTC

I'm totally bummed because I am unable to lift any weights, run or take my beloved Muy Thai class, due to the 12 stitches in my right arm from the melanoma. I haven't been able to do anything for 5 days, and I can see that it is going to be a LONG ten more days. I tried one day and felt a few stitches pull and realize that I have to let it go. I am able to take capoeira and do leg weight work - just nothing with arms. SUCK.

And, lastly, please tell me what you think about this article: What's the Ideal Size?

Yes, I Did Lose A Lot Of Weight

And I did it the old fashioned way.  I ate less fatty foods and moved more.

If you are here from the Fox and Friends show that aired this morning, welcome!  I was thrilled to be on the show, although since I'm writing this ahead - I'm not quite certain that I didn't make a fool of myself.  If I did, be kind. 

I lost 80 pounds between January of 2005, when I made a New Year's Resolution to get in shape, and May of 2006.  I've kept all but five pounds away from my body since then.  I've discovered many cool things about myself during this time - I can climb the rope at the gym, punch and kick like no one's business at Muy Thai, and was amazed and astounded to be awarded my first belt rank for capoeira this past spring.  I completed a dozen 5K's, 2 8K's and one Half Marathon, which is amazing because when I first began this odyssey, I couldn't walk around the block without needing to rest more than a few times.  I learned to step away from the chocolate cake, embrace the yumminess of fresh vegetables, that salad is really good without dressing, and that I was eating much too much of the wrong stuff.

I have a lot of really great stuff over there in the archives, so please feel free to snoop around.  Ask me any questions and I'll do my level best to answer them  I also write over at Mom to the Screaming Masses,  Zwaggle, and Deep South Moms, if you just can't get enough of me.

Welcome!

New Winner

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

42	

Timestamp: 2008-08-02 01:13:02 UTC

Number 42 - Sheila!    An email has been sent - Sheila, you have until Sunday, August 3rd to claim your prize.  Please email me at momtothescreamingmassesATgmailDOTcom.

Thanks to everyone for playing!