It's amazing to me how quickly my body stopped complaining about the sudden abundance of food and started grumbling for more. I'm hungry and that's very odd considering I'm eating twice as much as before. Snickers bars are a bigger threat than I would have suspected. I haven't buckled under the pressure yet....yet. All the exercises are coming along nicely even the dreaded jump rope is on its way to being tamed. Small worry though: I feel all the workouts in my shoulders, even the jump rope, very curious. Naty's leaving for the weekend and we depend on each others support a lot so it will be a trying test to keep focused. Usually when she goes out of town I start a Ben and Jerry's and scotch movie marathon that ends promptly on the minute of her return. Yes, I'm 27. Read 17.
stay tuned.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Day 10, Nathaly: dieting
Day 10 -- we've made it this far! Can we keep this up for another 80 days? It's not gonna be easy, but I think so. For me, the biggest bonus to keeping straight on the diet is knowing there's an end in sight. :)
Truth is, the diet is less hard than I would've thought. I think it's 'cuz of all the eating - it's helped reduce my emotional eating cravings, but i'm really missing the salt. Gonna have to jump on that lemon/vinegar/citric acid thing Kim's been talking about. Will also recommended using lemon pepper -- so i'm gonna pick some of that up tomorrow along with a gallon of milk (we're going through that pretty quick!), some bulgar wheat & quinoa (new!) and more lean meat.
I've been enjoying eating local, in-season veggies (mostly zucchini right now) & fruit (heirloom melons and tree-ripened plums!) and have reached out to folks in my grad student community about getting my hands on some lake fish. A friend is delivering some filleted white fish for me on Thursday (a by-product of her research!) and another has even offered to teach me to fish. Fun fun :)
Ramiro and I have both noted that the program is (inadvertently?) helping shape our lives closer to what we consider "grown-up" life to be: treating our bodies right with healthy foods and regular exercise, having regular sleep patterns, regular showers and even less of the dog begging at the table. These seemingly-simple things are actually pretty big adjustments for us and we're glad to make them, so that's a definitely plus!
OK -- it's almost 10pm and I've gotta join Ramiro in finishing up our fitness routine. Keep those recipes coming, folks! Today I marinated 1/4 inch slices of eggplant & zucchini in balsamic vinegar and pan-seared them at high heat. Very yummy.
Truth is, the diet is less hard than I would've thought. I think it's 'cuz of all the eating - it's helped reduce my emotional eating cravings, but i'm really missing the salt. Gonna have to jump on that lemon/vinegar/citric acid thing Kim's been talking about. Will also recommended using lemon pepper -- so i'm gonna pick some of that up tomorrow along with a gallon of milk (we're going through that pretty quick!), some bulgar wheat & quinoa (new!) and more lean meat.
I've been enjoying eating local, in-season veggies (mostly zucchini right now) & fruit (heirloom melons and tree-ripened plums!) and have reached out to folks in my grad student community about getting my hands on some lake fish. A friend is delivering some filleted white fish for me on Thursday (a by-product of her research!) and another has even offered to teach me to fish. Fun fun :)
Ramiro and I have both noted that the program is (inadvertently?) helping shape our lives closer to what we consider "grown-up" life to be: treating our bodies right with healthy foods and regular exercise, having regular sleep patterns, regular showers and even less of the dog begging at the table. These seemingly-simple things are actually pretty big adjustments for us and we're glad to make them, so that's a definitely plus!
OK -- it's almost 10pm and I've gotta join Ramiro in finishing up our fitness routine. Keep those recipes coming, folks! Today I marinated 1/4 inch slices of eggplant & zucchini in balsamic vinegar and pan-seared them at high heat. Very yummy.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Day 8, Together: Nathaly hates Kale, Ramiro hates breakfast
Too much food.... We got up at 11am. BAD choice.
Ramiro ate so much he started talking gibberish about the little men in his stomach responsible for digestion frantically looking for the manual on broccoli (a virtually unknown substance to them).
Nathaly did NOT enjoy the act of eating for the first time since the age of 12. Kale is totally out of the question for the rest of the PCP, unless we can figure out a way to get it to soften.
Week 2, Day 1. Definitely the hardest day of the program.
Ramiro ate so much he started talking gibberish about the little men in his stomach responsible for digestion frantically looking for the manual on broccoli (a virtually unknown substance to them).
Nathaly did NOT enjoy the act of eating for the first time since the age of 12. Kale is totally out of the question for the rest of the PCP, unless we can figure out a way to get it to soften.
Week 2, Day 1. Definitely the hardest day of the program.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Day 6, Ramiro: So far, so good
So, two days ago I hurt myself jumping rope which sounds silly and reads silly and when I type it, it makes me feel silly. Regardless, that's what happened and I limped to work the next day. Besides that over-eager snafu, things have been going fairly well. I know that I can still drink for this week, but decided on my first day to skip drinking altogether for the time being. On the optimistic side, everything else is going fairly well. Push-ups are getting easier quickly and lunges, although still a torture technique in my mind, are well within my physical means. Exercising with Nathaly is a big plus. Our mutual supervision has so far I think been the key to our early success. Transmission complete.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
2 more things..
#1 Ramiro and I have thighs! (I mean, I think I can see some definition that wasn't there before -- on day 6! woohoo squats!)
#2 Carrot cake (one of my all-time favorite desserts) has kinda lost it's touch. I ate my half cuz I thought I really wanted it -- it's almost like I didn't want to regret not having eaten it a couple weeks into the hard-core dieting stuff.. (kinda like the rib-eye - see previous post). But even a couple bites in, I knew I wasn't really feeling it. And now I can't get the taste of the thick too-sweet icing off my tongue. Eck. I could've gone with some blueberries instead, I think. Truth is, I probably could've gone without dessert, but old habits are hard to break. Truth is, this isn't hunger. It's another beast altogether.. It's all mental. Maybe it's punishment eating -- I know Ramiro thinks that's a little ridiculous, but maybe some of y'all out there can sympathize? I didn't get much writing done today, so I'm being a little bad to myself by eating something unhealthy... OK -- I'm not saying that's what happened, but maybe there's some truth to this nagging suspicion that this is one aspect of why I over-eat. UGH -- i'm pressing "publish post" but I might regret sharing all that later...
#2 Carrot cake (one of my all-time favorite desserts) has kinda lost it's touch. I ate my half cuz I thought I really wanted it -- it's almost like I didn't want to regret not having eaten it a couple weeks into the hard-core dieting stuff.. (kinda like the rib-eye - see previous post). But even a couple bites in, I knew I wasn't really feeling it. And now I can't get the taste of the thick too-sweet icing off my tongue. Eck. I could've gone with some blueberries instead, I think. Truth is, I probably could've gone without dessert, but old habits are hard to break. Truth is, this isn't hunger. It's another beast altogether.. It's all mental. Maybe it's punishment eating -- I know Ramiro thinks that's a little ridiculous, but maybe some of y'all out there can sympathize? I didn't get much writing done today, so I'm being a little bad to myself by eating something unhealthy... OK -- I'm not saying that's what happened, but maybe there's some truth to this nagging suspicion that this is one aspect of why I over-eat. UGH -- i'm pressing "publish post" but I might regret sharing all that later...
Day 5, Nathaly: What is lean meat?
Hi all,
Apologies for being out of touch for a couple days. The first week is going pretty well over all -- the half portions hasn't been nearly as difficult as I imagined, given how much I've always detested dieting. We've been doing OK with the exercises. I am still doing table push-ups and Ramiro kinda f*cked up his right calf jumping rope, so he's been instructed to take a *brisk* 30-min walk until he feels up to jumping again. I don't think either of us realized how important this jumping rope thing is.. We live on the 3rd floor in an old house with hardwood floors -- awesome, but creaky so you gotta find the perfect spot to jump without being über-annoying. I haven't approached the downstairs neighbors yet, but that conversation is bound to happen soon..
So, I got a ride to run a few errands today and took advantage of the opportunity to go out to one of the bigger grocery stores around town (as opposed to the local coop). I asked Patrick what sort of stuff should go on my shopping list and, as per his instructions, bought lots of fruit, a bunch of single-serving yogurts (and one of those awesome-but-pricey Greek yogurts) and then got kinda stumped in the meat department.. (Patrick -- I'm gonna wait til the Saturday farmer's market to stock up on local veggies & eggs).
So here was the question I stood there asking myself: What exactly makes a meat "lean"? Is it just that it's low in fat? (Turns out, YES -- it's just that simple!) I guess I expected everything to be labeled "lean!" and was just looking for that. In the end, I only found that word on a package of ground turkey and had to end up asking the guy at the butcher counter. I bought the turkey, some 85% lean chunks of steak, a package of chicken breasts and some shrimp (don't really know about this last one, but I really like this stuff and my friend just brought me some homemade pesto which goes great with pasta & shrimp.. Well, I've got a sneaking suspicion pasta won't be an option next week given the lack of carbohydrates in Patrick's suggested shopping list.. I hope that doesn't last too long!).
OK -- so, now I'm starting to get REALLY sad that I didn't order that rib-eye I really wanted when Ramiro took me out to eat at this new place, Farmhouse Tap & Grill a couple weeks ago. I love fatty meats and was really looking forward to enjoying an order of one of my favorite meals, mofongo, on my next trip home, but I'm pretty sure the key ingredient (deep-fried pork rinds) is gonna be a big no-no. DANG. Anyways, I can certainly live without it for 3-months (it's usually a special treat now that I don't live in the city anyhow), but going without bacon for that long is going to make life hard indeed... I'm honestly starting to look at my fridge and say, what should I make before Day 8 rolls around so I don't have it sitting around staring at me in the face over the next 3 months..? lol. Hot dogs & leftover mac & cheese tonight. Well.. I guess just 1 hot dog (as I would usually eat two or more).
OK -- I worry Kim & Stu are gonna get bored reading the same ol' story for every post, so a prize for those who stuck it out to the end! Check out this cool resource I found on lean meats. I gotta go re-connect with some of those hunter friends..
Over & Out!
Nat
Apologies for being out of touch for a couple days. The first week is going pretty well over all -- the half portions hasn't been nearly as difficult as I imagined, given how much I've always detested dieting. We've been doing OK with the exercises. I am still doing table push-ups and Ramiro kinda f*cked up his right calf jumping rope, so he's been instructed to take a *brisk* 30-min walk until he feels up to jumping again. I don't think either of us realized how important this jumping rope thing is.. We live on the 3rd floor in an old house with hardwood floors -- awesome, but creaky so you gotta find the perfect spot to jump without being über-annoying. I haven't approached the downstairs neighbors yet, but that conversation is bound to happen soon..
So, I got a ride to run a few errands today and took advantage of the opportunity to go out to one of the bigger grocery stores around town (as opposed to the local coop). I asked Patrick what sort of stuff should go on my shopping list and, as per his instructions, bought lots of fruit, a bunch of single-serving yogurts (and one of those awesome-but-pricey Greek yogurts) and then got kinda stumped in the meat department.. (Patrick -- I'm gonna wait til the Saturday farmer's market to stock up on local veggies & eggs).
So here was the question I stood there asking myself: What exactly makes a meat "lean"? Is it just that it's low in fat? (Turns out, YES -- it's just that simple!) I guess I expected everything to be labeled "lean!" and was just looking for that. In the end, I only found that word on a package of ground turkey and had to end up asking the guy at the butcher counter. I bought the turkey, some 85% lean chunks of steak, a package of chicken breasts and some shrimp (don't really know about this last one, but I really like this stuff and my friend just brought me some homemade pesto which goes great with pasta & shrimp.. Well, I've got a sneaking suspicion pasta won't be an option next week given the lack of carbohydrates in Patrick's suggested shopping list.. I hope that doesn't last too long!).
OK -- so, now I'm starting to get REALLY sad that I didn't order that rib-eye I really wanted when Ramiro took me out to eat at this new place, Farmhouse Tap & Grill a couple weeks ago. I love fatty meats and was really looking forward to enjoying an order of one of my favorite meals, mofongo, on my next trip home, but I'm pretty sure the key ingredient (deep-fried pork rinds) is gonna be a big no-no. DANG. Anyways, I can certainly live without it for 3-months (it's usually a special treat now that I don't live in the city anyhow), but going without bacon for that long is going to make life hard indeed... I'm honestly starting to look at my fridge and say, what should I make before Day 8 rolls around so I don't have it sitting around staring at me in the face over the next 3 months..? lol. Hot dogs & leftover mac & cheese tonight. Well.. I guess just 1 hot dog (as I would usually eat two or more).
OK -- I worry Kim & Stu are gonna get bored reading the same ol' story for every post, so a prize for those who stuck it out to the end! Check out this cool resource I found on lean meats. I gotta go re-connect with some of those hunter friends..
Over & Out!
Nat
Monday, August 2, 2010
Day 2, Ramiro: The Sequel ....
Thirteen successful skips of the old rope in a row!! Can I hear a round of applause!! Progress is being slowly beaten out of those two sinister handles... Today was tough, but I expected that. Half meals are going to be a pain tomorrow. There is a noticeable spike in hunger pains now that im switching my body off of snooze mode. Not much else to report except that there's no need for water in torture techniques........Lunges......thats all I'm sayin.
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