Hey, Y'all!

Vacation: Week 3

We've been at the beach for  week today  and it has been a culinary adventure.  I started a maintenance week on my nutrition plan last Sunday, which basically means I'm eating 500-600 extra calories a day and I'm allowed to indulge a little.  That's good because my first stop on the island was Sunset Slush, the best Italian Ice place in the world.  I've only had one so far, which is a miracle in and of itself.  They stopped taking credit cards, and we rarely carry cash, so we haven't made quite as many stops.  I had a couple of Oreos last night while we watched tv, and I ate lunch at Johnny Rockets in Myrtle Beach.  Otherwise, I've pretty much stuck to plan, just paying less attention to my portions. Maintenance weeks are always a little tough.  Part of me loves the freedom of not having to measure all my portions or count my containers, but another part of me is completely freaked out by that much freedom.  I also tend to get really carb happy during the first day or two of maintenance week, then I crash hard.  I made a deal with myself to stick with only whole wheat items (bread, tortillas) this week to avoid the crash.  It helped.  I've also allowed myself to drink unsweetened tea with lime juice at dinner (which is totally on-plan) instead of water. It feels like a treat.

We are at the beach for another week and I technically go back on plan starting Monday.  While I will clean out the extra sugar I've been consuming, I will likely continue to allow myself a treat or two from time to time next week.  I mean, it's not every day you get the best Italian Ice in the world!

Here are a few of the lessons I have learned so far from eating away from home for an extended period:

1.  DO NOT STOP WORKING OUT!  I have, miraculously, been able to get a workout in every day! Now, some days that was 30 minutes, others it was 90. Some days, it was crunches and squats. Most days, however, it was a Beachbody workout, done via Beachbody on Demand.    I always feel better on days when I can get in a full, structured workout.  Continuing my exercise routine has helped me not flip out about eating a cookie or two.

2.  Set realistic goals.  If you plan to eat strictly on plan while on vacation, you're likely to derail.  That can cause guilt.  Do not put that kind of pressure on yourself.  Practice the 85/15 rule.  Eat well (and on plan) 85% of the time, but give yourself a break 15% of the time.  If you splurge after a morning on the beach and go out for pizza with your family for lunch, try to eat a very healthy dinner. 

3.  Eat a good, protein-packed breakfast.  It'll keep you fuller longer and may even hold you over until lunch.

4.  Bring your own snacks. Bring them everywhere.  Get some 100 calorie packets of almonds and put them in your bag.  Carry a clementine in your purse.  Bring an ice chest with bottled water and string cheese to the beach  Toss some carrots and celery in a zippy bag for a long car ride.  Stay away from vending machines.  I can't believe how much money I've saved by not buying snacks while we've been out and about on this trip!

5.  Plan ahead.  If the kids want to go out for milkshakes, take your Shakeology (or equivalent) along with you!  If you usually drink it plain, toss in some fruit and make it fancy. 

One more week until we head back home.  Time to make the most of this final week at the beach!

Week 2

Week 2 didn't go quite as well as week 1, but I did ok.    I didn't bring my scale with me, so I'm going by how my clothes fit and my weekly measurements, both of which are fine. Your palate changes a lot when you practice clean eating for several months. Mine actually started changing after the first 3 weeks.  Things that used to be delicious (Hershey's kisses, for example) no longer taste good.  I ate an Utz Carolina Style BBQ chip the other day and it wasn't good at all.  A year ago, I could have eaten an entire family-sized bag in a sitting. So, small victory there!

My mother in law and I went to breakfast at IHOP one day after we dropped the boys at VBS.  I was able to eat well there (except for the side of hashbrowns...) by ordering from their "slim" menu. I had an egg white omelet with spinach, mushrooms, and salsa.  On my plan, that counted as a protein, a vegetable, and half a fruit. I went ahead and counted the hashbrowns as my entire carb intake for the day, as well as my orange container, which measures oils, dressings, etc.   I was stuffed. We lingered there for a couple of hours, drinking coffee and chatting.  When we picked up the boys, I was nowhere near hungry.  At lunchtime, I had a cup of carrots and snap peas with hummus. I never ate a formal lunch.  Big mistake.  I was ravenous at dinner and my portion didn't satisfy me.  I can honestly say that this is only about the third time since I started the 21 Day Fix that I've wanted a bigger portion.  The next day, I was RAVENOUS.  I gave myself a break and just ate food. I didn't make any overly unhealthy choices, but I didn't stick to just  my allowed containers that day.  Instead, I tracked my calories in My Fitness Pal and made sure I ate between 1400-1500 that day.  I felt much better.  I think it's really cool that I've learned enough about my body to be able to manipulate my food needs to fit how I'm feeling.  We are extremely active while we're here.  Yesterday I did my Beachbody workout, plus my challenges, went swimming with the boys, and walked a mile and half with my husband. I also did laundry which requires LOTS of stair climbing.  I know we'll be even more active when we're at the beach, so I"m working hard to listen to my body and adjust my calorie intake accordingly to make sure I'm feeding myself enough.

Sandwiches are a popular lunch around here, so I got myself some quick, healthy options that don't blow all my carbs.  I've been making wraps on whole grain tortillas with grilled chicken or lean low-sodium deli turkey.  Spinach salads are also one of  my favorite things, so I can easily toss a bunch of veggies into a bowl on top of some spinach and go to town.  Dinner-wise, the food choices have been slightly less healthy this week (bratwurst one night), but I was careful with my portions.

I have a feeling next week may involve more meals on the go as we are shuffling the boys between a morning program and an afternoon one. Plus, we're trying to get ready to head to the beach next Saturday.  But I"ll keep on keeping on. So far, I'm really proud of the way I've been able to keep up with my plan. My family is really supportive, which helps.

 

Week 1

We've been away from home for nearly a week now, and I have to say--I'm pretty proud of myself.  It would have been VERY easy to go crazy with snacks and treats, but I've stayed pretty strictly on-plan with my eating, and I've worked out every day.  This month, I'm doing several concentrated challenges with my Beachbody group (planks, crunches, push-ups, and squats), and I've been able to work those into my days pretty naturally.  We are also very active, going for walks to the park down the street, and just generally chasing three little boys around.  Dean's having a blast with his cousins.

So, food-wise, I think I'm off to a great start.  I started week 2 of a 21 Day Fix cycle today.  Yesterday was the only time I've all-out cheated on a whole meal.  Marcus and I met up with a friend for dinner and we just ordered a bunch of appetizers.  I indulged, but I didn't eat so much (or so badly) that I felt gross or guilty.  I had a glorious crab fritter (only 1), a couple of firecracker shrimp, and some spinach/artichoke dip with tortilla chips.  It could have been much, much worse.  I also had a slurpee the other day.  When I started Beachbody, my coach, Leah, had me identify several tempting foods and classify them as follows:

1.  A food I knew I had to cut out completely--something I'll binge on if it's in the room.  For me, it's Pirate's Booty. I LOVE IT. If there's a bag in front of me, I'll eat it til it's gone.  So I haven't had it since January. 

2.  A food that I can eat in moderation, but will only eat if it "appears" in front of me. The more specific, the better.  For Leah, it's Bavarian Creme donuts.  The likelihood of someone bringing donuts to a theatre event is high. The likelihood of one of them being Bavarian Creme is lower.  If it's there, she'll have some, if not, no donut.  Slurpees fall under this category for me.  I'll only have one (and ONLY the smallest size) if I'm at a movie and have been perfectly on-plan all day, or if I'm near a 7-11. (We don't have them where I live.)  And the only flavor?  Cherry and Coke mixed. I've had 3 since January.

3.  Something on-plan that you love and can eat any time.  For me, it's cocoa roast almonds. On the 21 Day Fix, 12 almonds is a serving. That's usually plenty to kill the craving for something crunchy and sort of sweet, and also enough to fill me up.

 

What are your three foods?

Remember Me?

Well, HI! I haven't posted here in a long, long time. As Dean grew and life changed and things got busier, I drifted away from this space. I still visit it all the time to find my recipes, look at pictures, and occasionally just stroll down memory lane, but I honestly wondered whether or not I'd ever have a use for my blog as a writing space again. 

Turns out, I do.

As you may have seen if we are Facebook friends, I've left my job. This was a HARD decision, but I can tell you I know 100% it was the RIGHT decision.  The last few months were extremely difficult and the company became a place where I no longer felt I fit. More importantly, they did not fit into MY life and my plan.  I'm enjoying a summer off before taking some new "next steps" in the fall.   In the meantime, I have become a Beachbody coach.  I started the plan in January and it has literally changed my life. I've lost 20 pounds, yes, but I've also regained confidence and energy, decreased my anxiety, and, most importantly, taken back control of my health.  My doctor recently decreased my blood pressure medication by half.  That's huge.

So, we are about to head out for our epic road trip to visit our family in DC and then go to the beach with them.  My biggest challenge on this trip is going to be sticking to my eating and workout plan.  The workout is actually the easiest part--we typically review our schedule the night before (we do a lot of activities--Dean and my nephews are doing THREE vacation Bible schools!), so if there is not any free time throughout the day, I can always get up half an hour early and work out.  The eating will be the hard part. I'm planning to chronicle the journey here, hopefully inspiring people and giving tips for eating healthy away from home. 

I'm excited about our trip, and I"m very excited to be back here!

My Thoughts On The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Polycystic Kidney Disease.  Have you heard of it?  If so, did you hear about it from me?  I have it.  So does my mom. So does her youngest brother.  So does my cousin. So did my grandpa.  It stinks.  3/5 of us have had transplants. One may be in my future and the future of my cousin.  There is no cure. And not a lot of people know the disease exists.

I was challenged by my friend Katy to do the Ice Bucket Challenged. I gladly accepted for several reasons.  A colleague of mine lost her husband to ALS.  I have heard what he went through.  I have watched the countless videos of ALS victims sharing their thoughts on the challenge.  I'm about to make a donation.  My husband was challenged by our son, who desperately wanted to participate.  Before we let him do it just for fun, I explained it to him.  I used PKD as my example. "You know the disease mommy has in her kidneys?  ALS is another disease. We're doing this to raise awareness so that other people will take some time to learn about it and give money to help scientists learn how to develop medicines to help it."  I'm not saying that to brag about my parenting, which is often less than stellar, I"m telling you because this challenge HAS helped raise awareness.  Before people started dumping ice on their heads all  over Facebook,, I maybe thought about ALS once every few months, when it happened to come up in converstaion.  Now, I think about it multiple times a day.

I hope someday that PKD gets its "15 minutes" in the spotlight.  I can tell you right now that if someone told me they'd make a sizable donation to the PKD foundation if I balanced kidney beans on my nose for 15 seconds, I'd do it in a heartbeat.  There are a LOT of diseases that need to be brought to public attention.  Recognizing them one at a time is so much better than ignoring them altogether.

If you choose not to do the Ice Bucket Challenge, cool!  Totally your call, and I very much respect that, no matter what your resasons.  There is not really a wrong or right where it's concerned.  I just hope that it brings to mind a disease or challenge that IS close to your heart, at the very least.

We are all put on this earth to help each other. All we have to help ourselves get through life is the wonderful grace of God and each other.  We need to spend more time gently supporting each other, in whatever way we're able.

Get In Shape, Girl

A few weeks ago, I wrote about taking control of my health, namely my weight.  It's now been almost a month since we started our daily workouts at the theatre over our lunch hour. I feel SO good.  I can tell I've dropped a little weight, but I haven't weighed myself.  I think constantly staring at a scale is counter-productive to me, as I'll put pressure on myself to achieve a certain number, losing sight of the goal of overall health.  I go to the doctor next week, so I'll see what I weigh then.  I did buy some new clothes last weekend, and the pants were a smaller size than what I've been wearing, so there's that.

 

We have been mixing up our workouts a little.  The 30-Day Shred, level 1, is our go-to, but this week, we started mixing in Richard Simmons' original Sweatin' To The Oldies.  I got this DVD because I have fond memories of doing the video with my mom over the summer when I was a 5th or 6th grader. I remembered it being more like a fun dance than a workout.  I figured it would give us a nice break from Jillian Michaels (and believe me, you need a break sometimes), but would still keep us active.  Y'all.  I sweat more doing Richard Simmons than I ever do with the Shred.  The beginning is pretty gentle, a nice three-song warm up, featuring some silly moves, including what we all call The Original Twerk.  Then comes "Great Balls of Fire," where you do the twist for 3 and a half minutes.  No wonder people were so skinny in the 60s.  "Wipeout" is next, and you get a killer cardio workout.  It's so much fun, but it also kicks your tail. And you can't get mad at Richard Simmons. Seriously. The man is so happy. And just when you start getting frustrated, he'll start singing or scream out "We're on Broadway!" or something to make you giggle.

Taking control of my fitness makes me feel good. My body is craving good food, so it's easier to eat right.  I'm drinking a ton of water, as usual, maybe even MORE than usual.  Most importantly, I know I'm doing SOMETHING to better myself.  I'll report back after my doctor's appointment.

Kindergarten: Check!

I cannot believe Dean is done with Kindergarten. This year has FLOWN by.  While it got off to a semi-rocky start, we ended up having a pretty good school year.  The amount of stuff he learned blows my mind.  He had a young teacher, which I was excited about at first, then pretty unhappy about (due to some choices she made), then ok with in the end.  Dean has always been reluctant to write. As a toddler, he hated to color.  He tolerated coloring, drawing, and writing his name in preschool.  He was a little reluctant at the beginning of Kindergarten, until they started doing a story journal where you (wait for it) got to use your imagination.  You know, a big imagination is one of the things makes Dean so awesome.  Once he started reading, he got more excited about writing.  One thing that did make me happy (which is not a word I generally associate with my opinion of Common Core Curriculum) was that even his homework required at least SOME creativity.  He loved nights when his homework instructed him to "Make up a story about this picture."  We would study the picture, then brainstorm ideas about what might be going on before settling on five sentences that told our story.  We told stories about ants around a swimming pool, a shark named Eli, a turtle named Turnip who had a brother, and lots more. 

Dean is great at math. (Which is funny if you know me...)  He can fly through a page of addition and subtraction problems.  His daily work marks started improving drastically once they started doing actual math problems, not just random counting excercises. His teacher said he was probably bored with the rudimentary stuff, since he did a lot of that in preschool. (we had the BEST preschool.)  I'm glad math "clicked" with him.  Hopefully, that will make some parts of school more enjoyable for him. 

He refused to eat cafeteria food.  Instead, I got up at 5:30 most mornings to make and pack a thermos of macaroni and cheese, a string cheese, a Capri Sun juice pouch, and one other thing, because DO NOT put more than 3 food things in the lunch box!  (I once put in a Starburst as a little treat and he got mad.)  His school serves a fresh fruit or veggie snack out of the snack basket every day. When it was something he liked, he'd take something, other wise he'd stick with whatever I packed with his juice box in a zippy bag.  Favorite choices included Gogo-squeeze (applesauce), fresh fruit, and yogurt raisins.

Socially, he had a great year.  He made several good buddies, including his new best friend Lochlan.  Lochlan's from the NY/NJ area and his mom is a pilates instructor with a degree in theatre. How hilarious that the two NY theatre kids found each other.  He also has a friend named Casey, who is awesome because "She's a girl who knows about Skylanders!"  He and his best bud from preschool, Elise, have remainded pretty tight, despite being in different classes.  She joined our family at the end of school picnic. It was a blast to see these two, who met when they were 3, carrying on a "big kid" conversation.

Probably our best times this year have been associated with After School Care.  I was extremely nervous about sending Dean to after care, but knew we really had no other choice.  Turns out EVERYONE wants to go to after school care!  It's like a little cool kids' club. He had a completely separate group of friends there than in his class, got to know some older kids, and had the best teachers looking after him. His pal Kate, who he's known nearly all his life, starting going in the spring, and the two of them made up games for the whole group to play.  Most importantly, he met Kara.  Kara is a Kindergartener who has Down Syndrome.  She's the first person with Down Syndrome Dean has ever met.  With no prompting, he took up with Kara, making sure she always got to participate when she wanted to, helping her up and down steps and playground toys, helping take care of her if she was upset, and generally, being super sweet to her.  She adores Dean, and though she doesn't talk much, she screams his name every time she sees him. We could not be more proud of his behavior.  He received a special award during the last week of school for compassion and kindness.  That means the world to Marcus and me.

His energy and sense of humor continue to amaze me, and I can't wait to see how much he continues to grow and learn over the summer.

Bring it on , 1st grade.  We're ready.

 

Taking Control

At my last nephrologist appointment, the doctor doubled my dose of blood pressure medication.  I knew that was going to happen. I can always tell when it's running high by the little headache behind my eyebrow.  What surprised me a little was that it wasn't really related to my kidney function, which was perfect. (Woo hoo!)  Work has been stressful, so that could be part of it, but so could my weight.  While I do a good job of avoiding sodium in my diet, I've been doing a fairly bad job (for a while) of controlling my calories. So I've decided to take control.

A group of about 5 of us have been working out on our lunch break each day for the past week or so.  Usually, we do level 1 of the 30 Day Shred, which is NO JOKE.  Today we took a Pilates class.  It helps that we have each other. We keep each other accountable. When the ladies from the administrative office show up over here in production wearing sweats, I close my door, change my clothes, and go downstairs.  No excuses.  We're lucky that we have a dance studio and a small theatre space downstairs where we can work out each day.

I'd love to lose 20 pounds.  But more than that, I'd love to decrease my BP meds and just feel healthier overall.  I want to tone up and feel better about my appearance.

And I can do it. I AM doing it.

We shall be fit and gorgeous.

Lifelong Friends

Tonight I introduced Dean to Cheer Bear, my beloved Care Bear from childhood.  I got her when I was 6, the age he is now.  I'll never forget getting in the car in my pj's with my mom, my Mim, and a box of Apple Jacks, and waiting in the Howard Brothers store parking lot.  Once the store opened, we ran straight back to the toys and grabbed the exact Care Bear I wanted. Cheer Bear is the pink bear with the rainbow on her belly.  I slept with her pretty much every night until I got married.  She's lived in the top of my closet since we moved here. I didn't want toddler Dean to find her and risk damage, so she stayed tucked away.  Tonight, we were reading Corduroy at bedtime. If you don't know that book, it's the story of a little bear who lives in a department store. In the end, a little girl buys him and he finds a loving home and a lifelong friend.  I make it to the next-to-last page before crying most of the time. When we finished the book, Dean said, "Corduroy is like Stu to that girl."  Stu is his monkey, really just a blanket with a head. We got him as a shower gift when I was pregnant and Dean has been snuggling with him all his life.  When he made that observation, it seemed like the right time for him to meet Cheer Bear. 

I ran and got her out of my closet and showed her to him. I told him her name and how I came to have her and that I had gotten her when I was exactly his age.  He carefully inspected her, feeling her fur, poking her rainbow on her belly. "Her nose is hard." He giggled at the heart on her backside and smoothed her formerly curly hair, now stiff with age.  "I think Stu and I could cuddle with her."  I let him take her from me, marveling at his gentleness.  After a few curious squeezes, he carefully handed her back to me, and I returned her to the top of the closet.

When I went back into his room, he had Stu wrapped around the back of his neck, which is how he's always held him at bed time.  He thought for a second, then said, "Mom, I don't think Cheer Bear should play with my Angry Bird plush.  They might be too rough.  She's kinda old."

Good call, Dean.

The One About Meal Planning

All bloggers have heard "Don't write about what you had for lunch. No one cares." There's even a blogging book called "Nobody Cares What You Had For Lunch." I preface this post with that information because 1.  I'm totally about to tell you what we're eating for dinner this week and 2. You should know that this post is kind of for me so that some day when life gets really hectic again, I can refer to it.

I miss writing about food. Writing for Food Lush always gave me a reason to think about how I cook, try new recipes, or peruse websites for fun new food-related items.  This week, we lived through snowmageddon and, fortunately, we had plenty of food to get us through.  That said,we DID end up spending about $90 at Walgreens one day because Publix was closed. We pretty much bought candy and bacon.  My unexpected time off work gave me time to purge our fridge and freezer and to do a pretty thorough inventory of our dry goods.  On Saturday, I went through what we had, thought about what would go with it, and made a grocery list.  I planned meals for the next week and a half--until my next paycheck. 

I used to be really good at meal planning and prepping.  As life has gotten busier, it's something I stopped doing with regularity, but there's no reason I can't get back to it now. Marcus starts rehearsing at night again next week, so the more I can plan and prep ahead of time, the better off we'll be at dinnertime.

Here's our list of meals for the week. I did not assign a day to all of them, but I did for some.

• Chicken with rice and gravy, Brussels sprouts
• Pork fried rice, frozen dumplings
• Tacos
• Pork chops, rice, collard greens
• Jambalaya (Saturday)
• Pasta with marinara
• Pasta with Parma Rosa and sausage
• Burgers
• Leftovers

I had a couple of things in the freezer, like a pack of chicken breasts and a pound of hamburger meat. We have pasta and canned veggies. I bought the other meats, fresh produce, and "fill in the blank" foods we needed. I also take my lunch to work 4/5 days (which is saving a TON of money), so some of these meals will provide leftovers, which will go to work with me.

I feel like I have a good handle on the week, knowing that I'll be able to just grab everything I need from my pantry or fridge, rather than stopping at the store every other day for "just one thing." Those types of trips add up and I almost always end up going in for a container of sour cream and coming out with $60 of food.

Marcus and I worked on prepping this afternoon.  I went ahead and chopped a ton of vegetables for the fried rice and tacos. I sliced the pork for the fried rice.  I made a big batch of quinoa salad for my lunches, and I prepped things for Dean's lunchbox.  He takes his lunch every day (macaroni and cheese in a thermos, string cheese, and either fresh fruit or yogurt-covered raisins) and he also takes a morning snack (usually a Go-Go Squeeze, piece of fresh fruit, or raisins).  I have always prepped a lot of his food the night before, but I've started packing his snacks for the week on Sunday. It has made a HUGE difference. Now, he can run over to the shelf, grab what he wants for his snack (he has choices, already packed!), and toss it in his bookbag.

Hopefully I can keep myself on schedule and keep meal-planning for a while.  I'm looking forward to taking the guess-work out of dinner every night.