The ELFF Diet

Setting a Goal

SO, three days until the fitness challenge begins.  We are all geared up, most of you told me what form of exercise you plan to participate in, now let's set a goal. 

Are you looking to lose weight?  How much weight?  Are you trying to get to a certain size, or weight?  Smaller measurements?

Do you want to pass a certain goal?  Be able to run a 5K?  Participate in a half marathon?  Join and remain in a martial arts class?  Be able to do fifty pushups?  Take a belly dancing class and move up through the ranks?  Swim ten laps without stopping?

My goal is to keep my weight off, do more than 10 pushups at a time, and be able to do one pullup.

Seriously.  One pullup.  I can't even do one.  I'd really love to be able to do five, but I'd be thrilled with one.

I also want to do ten 5k's, 3 10k's, and make rank in capoeira.  That one will be evilly awfully hard.

Share your goals!

Let's Gear Up!

In an effort to get ready for our exercise challenge, which will begin on January 1, let's talk about exercise clothing.

I took a tour around the sporting goods store today.  My primary goal was to locate new running pants.  I'm fairly particular about what I wear.  I don't like pants that flap around the ankles, pants that are too tight, pants that sag around the crotch.  I don't like long sleeve shirts, but I know that I have to wear them if I go out below 45 degrees.  I don't like turtlenecks, tight shirts, especially in the arms, or insulated wear.

Yeah, I'm pretty high maintenance.  What of it?

I needed new running tights because the ones I have are too big.  There is NOTHING more attractive than me, running down the street, yanking my pants back up every other step.  I have to stop periodically and shift everything back to where it goes.  I am SO pretty - don't hate me.  I make people chuckle, and so my life is complete.

Where I live, it rarely drops below freezing until much later in the winter, and it hardly ever snows, so I don't need much in the way of winter wear.  Typically, I wear the Under Armour running tights - think tight skinny leg lycra pants.  I often wear the lighter version.  I wear a long sleeve Under Armour or Nike shirt, an ear wrap if it is below 60 degrees, a beanie if it's below 45, and thin Under Armour gloves.  Oh, and shoes and socks.  Duh.

That stuff isn't cheap - I have slowly gotten it by asking for it for gifts and buying a piece here and there.  I also have a few polarfleeces to wear if it gets really cold, but I usually don't need those. I get really hot quickly.  My favorite thing would be the gloves and the ear wrap.

What do you find necessary for your exercise?  A certain type of pants, a special shirt?  Do you have the ability to treat yourself to something new?  If so, do - it'll make it that much harder to drop out of the challenge.

I need to know who is on board for this, so leave me a comment and tell me what exercise you plan to do for our challenge. You can choose one, two or more forms - just make it something you can do on a consistent basis.

Memories - the Stuff of Life

So I'm at an impasse now.

I've been working on writing my book, and it's HARD. Harder than I thought it'd be, and somewhat depressing.  I'm remembering what it felt like to be fat.  To be invisible, to feel worthless and ugly and invisible.  Pulling up all of those memories is, well, yucky!

I have to remember why I lost weight.  To feel better about myself, certainly. To look better, absolutely. To know that people will see me and not ignore me.  To be in better health, without a doubt. To live longer, in better spirits, yes.  My self worth is not equal to what the scale says.

We are going to start an exercise challenge here on January 1.  Get all of your objections, all of your excuses and all of your negativity out of the way, because look out!  Here we come!

Life is kickin' my butt

Don't get me wrong, I love this time of year. I've been able to fit in most of my fitness, although it's been a struggle.  Eating correct, well balanced meals has been a struggle - today for lunch I relied on a protein bar and an apple, because the other alternative was was Kentucky Fried Chicken and biscuits.

What I am really struggling with, though, is finding time to write my book.  I have been off work for 3 days and I haven't even opened the document. I had grand visions of being able to sit down for long, uninterrupted stretches of time this week and really getting my groove thang on.  So.Not.Happening.

Maybe next week.  After the rush of present opening and candy eating, the stress of just the rightgift - which I bought for The Hubster and it DOES NOT WORK.  Do you all have any time management ideas you can share with me?

I am making a firm commitment to taking it one day at a time, making a good exercise choice and great food choices.  If I have to take it one step at a time, that's what I'll do.  One teeny, tiny baby step. 

One step away from the cookies.

Blood work, again

So, today was interesting.

I've been having some weird symptoms.  Lots of lightheadedness, episodes of plummeting blood sugar, moving right to the precipice of passing out, headaches.  Crying, exhaustion, fatigue. 

No, I'm not pregnant.  Although that was a thought.

So I went to the doc today.  I fasted from 10 p.m., got up and went to the trainer with no coffee - which is just vile, vile, vile.  He drew blood and we chatted.

He thinks it's one of a few things. Hypoglycemia, diabetes, thyroid - although I really don't have the symptoms for it - or, um, I'm not eating enough.

Huh? Can you repeat that last one?

Fiber is your Friend

It's a fact:  Daily, we all need 25 grams of fiber - most Americans get 7.  SEVEN, people.  Seven is nowhere near 25 - not even close enough to pretend.

Mel said it best:  Eating foods higher in fiber keeps my blood sugar stable and hunger pangs at bay.  What kinds of foods can you eat to increase your fiber-intake?  Check out this article with its chart at the bottom.    And also?  Eating enough fiber may also prevent you from developing Diverticulitis, which is a disease that almost one-third of Americans over age 50 have. 

The fact is, if you eat more fiber, even in the form of psyllium - commonly known to us as Metamucil - you'll eat less.  The fiber fills your tummy, takes longer to leave, and takes some friends with it  - 'nuff said about that one.  If you worry about getting enough fiber, you can try a product like Fibersure, an offshoot of the Metamucil stuff.   I wasn't really keen on trying it - my grandparents drank the stuff, for heaven sakes, and I can vividly remember my mother giving me a glass of it to drink as a teen.  It had to be downed within a minute or it became a gluey, gelatinous mess.  Yuummmmm-y. Not.

But this product is 21st century and cool enough that it can be tolerated.  One heaping teaspoon, mixed into any drink, adds 5 grams of fiber.  It can be added to baked goods, really just about anything you can eat or drink.  I draw the line at adding it to coffee, though - even if I can't taste it, I know it's there and NO ONE messes with my coffee.  I've been having a soy smoothie each night, made from 1 cup chocolate soy milk, 8 strawberries, 1/2 banana and a teaspoon of fibersure and a scoop of protein powder.  I've also had vanilla almond milk and peaches, with fibersure and soy protein.  Both are pretty good.

Of course, you can always get your fiber the regular way - with plenty of fruits and vegetables.  We should all eat more of those, but in a pinch or as a daily additive, I think you could find that the fibersure will make a big difference.

Anyone up for a Challenge?

So, the New Year is coming up in a bit more than two weeks.  New Year's Resolutions are special to me.  I was thinking that it'd be a good time for a challenge.  Anyone up for that?

Should we do an exercise challenge?  A food challenge?  A running challenge?  A weight loss challenge? 

Who's in? 

Who forgets to eat?

I was never a person who avoided a meal. People who say, “I just forget to eat!” always strike me as either liars or, well, liars. WHO can FORGET to eat? I lived to eat. If there were leftovers on the kids plates, I ate them. A handful of chips left in a bowl after a party – well, who’d want to throw those away? Having a bad day? Maybe you just need some hot French fries to make it better. Watching a movie? Yuumm, wouldn’t an ice cream sundae make it so much more enjoyable? 

 

Now, though, that I try to think about what I put in my mouth, I find that eating is less of a pleasure.  I don't mean that I don't enjoy my meals, because I do, but I no longer make the act of eating the enjoyable part of a meal. 

Before you take a bite, think about it.  Why are you eating it?  Because you are hungry, or because you are in the same location with the food?  Because you think that eating that food will enrich your enjoyment of whatever it is you are doing?  Try to make every bite matter.   Make every bite mindful.

Just don't forget to eat.  As if I ever could. 

No Pudge Brownies

Low fat/no fat brownies - sounds too good to be true, right?  That's what I thought when I saw the box of No Pudge brownie mix on the shelf at the store.  How in the world could you make rich, thick, fudgy brownies with no fat?  I've tried many different recipes for low fat brownies, and I'm always disappointed.  See, when I make brownies, the recipe calls for 2 cups sugar, 2 cups brown sugar, 6 eggs, and 3 sticks butter.  Nothing low fat about THAT recipe.  Seriously, those are my favorite brownies, and nothing else comes close, so I typically just don't make them.

I bought a box to try out.  The label said that the only ingredient to add was 2/3 cup fat free vanilla yogurt.  I was skeptical, but started stirring.  The batter was extra thick, but it finally mixed in.  I stuck a finger in - delish!  It was deep, dark fudgy goodness.  I baked them the required time, and by the time they were done, I was ready to take a bite out of the wall. I could hardly wait until they were cool enough to eat. 

Verdict?  Delicious.  Deeply chocolate, very little fat but a plethora of taste.  I'd highly recommend buying these, and I'll certainly buy them again.  They come in Original, Cappuccino, Mint Fudge and Raspberry, but the original was so yummy that I'll stick with that version. 

Have you bought these?  Did you like them?

Making good choices - or, not settling

Today was a rough day for me.  I had a personal issue - why are there people in the world who exist, seemingly, to drag others down with them, into the depths of their own despair?  More importantly, why do I fall for it each an every time?  My kids fought - no more than usual, but with more VIM!  and VIGOR!  and downright HATRED!  that it was tiresome.  I was faced with more than a few difficult decisions and by about 5 p.m., I was ready for bed.  For whatever reason, I've felt really rough lately.  I'm pushing more weight at the gym, still hanging in there with capoeira, trying to fit in my running and writing and family stuff, and lately I've felt like I'm treading water in maple syrup.

So I was tired.  I felt like skipping dinner, but knew I needed to feed the kids.  I settled for a bag of Trader Joe's Fettuccini Alfredo, threw it in the saucepan with a bag of spinach, and called it dinner.  A few of my guys wouldn't touch it, and so I made a small bowl for myself out of the rest.  It tasted - ok.  It wasn't great.  It wasn't horrific.  I still ate the entire (small) bowl.  I think just because it was there, and  I knew that if I didn't eat before class, I'd be ravenous and unable to focus.

But, I now feel sleepy and even more wiped out.  I'm convinced it is due to what I ate. 

How often do we settle for not good enough foods, just in the name of getting something into our bellies?  How often are we lazy and uninspired and just eat what is in front of us?  How often do we fail to plan, which leads us to plan to fail? 

I need to marinate a batch of chicken breasts, mix up a bowl of salad and a bowl of fruit, bake up some sweet potatoes - do what I can to make it easier for myself.  What can you do?