Slow + Jog = Slog
I hit a milestone yesterday…I slogged the entire way around the track! This is really big for me! I’m 42 years old and have never – I mean NEVER – done any type of physical activity with any real consistency. To know that I’ve made enough progress to actually jog (even slowly) around is huge for me.
Look out, 5K, here I come!
I have a pretty small closet. I’ve always had small closets, though not by choice. My dream is to have a big walk-in closet some day that will hold not only my clothes, but blankets and sheets and coats and my shoes.
Back to reality.
Since I don’t have a walk-in, I keep my clothes separated by season. My closet houses the current season’s wardrobe plus some items that can be worn year-round. The off-season clothes are kept in a cedar chest in another bedroom.
This weekend, I opened up the cedar chest to see what was in there for spring/summer. You’ll recall that I’ve been the process of de-cluttering my life. I’ve already given away or donated a lot of clothing that was too big for me. Those came from the winter wardrobe. After going through the Spring/Summer wardrobe, I’ve come up with two more huge piles of clothing that’s too big for me to wear anymore.
In the grand scheme of life, this is a good thing. It means I’m getting smaller and healthier. On the other hand, I had a lot of really nice clothes that cost lots of money! I think I’m going to pack up the nicer clothes and take them to a consignment shop. I’ve never done that before, but it might be a great way to make a little extra cash, or trade for clothing that will fit me now.
On the bright side – for the first time ever – all of my clothes fit in my closet. Maybe I could keep it that way and be able to use the cedar chest for those blankets and rugs that are piled in other places…
I’ve graduated from a 30-minute walk 3 times a week to a 40 minute walk 3 times per week!
I tried Zumba. I didn’t HATE it, but I did feel awkward and uncoordinated.
I’m regularly taking the stairs at work and other places.
I have more energy in the evenings and I’m sleeping better, with less resistance to waking up in the mornings.
For these reasons alone, I can see the value in continuing a regular exercise program. Even f I never become the sports enthusiast that I envision in my dreams, I’m still doing so much better than I was even 2 months ago.
I think it might be time for me to push a little more and try jogging. My first goal: 1 time around the walking track without stopping.
This is NOT me. This woman has rhythm!
I took my first official Zumba class last night with a friend. Let’s just say that I’m not ready for Dancing with the Stars.
I feel I must tell my story by starting at the bottom (my feet) and working my way up.
Before I get into that, I have to tell you that I was certainly intimidated by one fellow Zumba classmate. This man came into class early to claim his spot (like us) and began to stretch. He had his legs in some pretty severe contortionist positions, and I knew – at that moment – that this middle-aged, rhythm-less woman was in for the experience of a lifetime.
The Feet:
My feet are not yet ready for any moves that require rhythm. I cannot follow complicated footwork, and something tells me that what we did last night barely even touches on complicated. By the time I got a simple tap-tap-step movement conquered, the rest of the class had moved on to another step. Forget about the circles that they were turning in the middle of step combinations! I nearly fell attempting them, so I just kind did my own thing during the 360s. Shall we even mention the Samba steps? No…I think that story is best saved for another edition.
The Knees:
My knees are very stiff this morning. We were in a squatting position for many of the moves. I’m obviously not holding this squat properly, because my quads should be feeling the soreness – not my knees.
The Hips:
Our Instructor was about 22 years old and thin. I swear – her hips could NOT have been connected to her spine and legs! They twitched back and forth much too easily to have been attached! Hawaiian belly-dancers have nothing on this instructor.
My hips, on the other hand, are FIRMLY connected to my spine and legs…and also to some invisible steel cables that were anchored to the floor. Every time I tried any Hip-Twitching, I felt my spine popping. I’m pretty sure that a longer class would have resulted in the separation of my pelvis and spine.
The Waist:
Have you ever seen the infomercials for Zumba DVDs? If so, I’m sure you’ll remember watching the women do these intense pelvic thrust/booty-shaking/waist-twisting movements. Yes. Those were in our work-out last night. I’m still ashamed of how my body looked trying to pull those off. Sad. Very sad.
The Shoulders and Arms:
OK. I didn’t do too badly in this arena. I kept up pretty well, although at times there were these moves that I can only describe as unnatural for me. Slap-the-knees-and-double-fist-pump-with-a-finger-point-at-the-end. Uh huh. That’s me!
The Head:
Besides sweating profusely and turning bright red with the effort I was expending, my head was amazed that – even though I wasn’t doing the moves correctly – I was also sort-of keeping up with the crowd and NOT GIVING UP!!!!
Do you know how amazing that feels?
I wonder if someone teaches a beginning Zumba class where the movements are slow and easy until you get the hang of it. I would definitely be interested in that.
That’s it for this installment of Adventures in Zumba-land. Have you ever tried it?
Last night I had energy to burn. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned and learned how to work a new coffee pot (and I don’t even drink coffee), ironed two sets of curtains, ironed 2 shirts and cleaned 2 windows, including the tracks.
Normally after I eat supper, my main activities are cleaning the kitchen, checking e-mails and watching TV. Where did this energy come from?
I think it’s the result of two things: my weight loss and the fact that we had a lighter supper than normal.
I’m currently carrying around 30 fewer pounds than I did 4 months ago. While it’s not all the weight I need or want to lose, 30 pounds is a lot! Think of toting around 3 sacks of potatoes or 6 bags of flour all the time. Energy that I used to use just for carrying the extra weight can now be used for other, more important tasks.
Also, we had Salad Supper last night. We do this once a week, on average. We fix a big salad and have low-fat cheese, chicken, low-fat dressing and almonds to add protein and extra nutrition. The lighter supper meant that my body wasn’t using a lot of energy trying to digest a heavy meal.
Something else I just thought about…I purposely avoided after-supper snacking last night. Normally I’ll save part of my daily food intake for when I watch TV at night. Last night, even though I had enough left in my food budget to enjoy some snacking, I refrained. Maybe that helped, too.
Either way, I like that I had energy last night. It was nice to go to bed feeling good about the night’s accomplishments.
As you know, I’ve been trying to eat better by making wiser choices at each meal. I track everything I eat by writing it down and totaling everything out each evening. It’s like a budget – I have certain amounts to eat: protein, fat, fiber and carbohydrates- and I try not to go over my budgeted amount each day.
When I go out to eat, I try really hard to order with forethought. I look at the menu descriptions and stay away from items that indicate added fat: fried, scampi, battered, country style and glazed, to name a few. I also look for words that indicate healthier cooking options like roasted, sautéed, baked, grilled and steamed.
Still, it bothers me when I can’t track exactly what I’ve eaten. I always try to look up nutrition values online if I’m planning to eat out, or if I’ve already eaten at a restaurant but still need to add up my daily totals.
Today I went to Steak ‘n Shake and ordered their Apple Pecan Grilled Chicken Salad with a low-fat dressing. It was really good. Afterward, I looked up the nutrition values and found that I did a good job ordering. My salad had low fat and carbs, high protein and decent fiber.
I couldn’t stop there, though. I had to look up some of the foods I used to eat. The cheeseburgers and onion rings and fries and milk shakes. The nutrition values on those foods shocked me. In fact, one meal – the way I used to eat – would have been twice the amount that I eat daily now.
Knowledge is power.
Now that I know this, it’ll be very hard for me to order those “old” foods unless it’s a special occasion.
Mindful eating. Knowing what you are eating. Eating with purpose. Making better choices at each opportunity.
If you don’t already do this, I encourage you to find your favorite restaurants online and print off their nutrition pages. It’s amazing what you’ll learn.
I’ve been doing some spring cleaning around the house. I want to give the house a really good deep-cleaning; to go beyond the basic maintenance that I normally do. I’ve been cleaning windows; freeing them from their winter-time muck (including the tracks!). I’ve been cleaning baseboards and ceiling fans. I’ll be cleaning carpets and scrubbing tiled floors. Dusting and scrubbing and sweeping. (Oh, my!)
I guess you could call it cleaning out the winter doldrums and preparing a fresh slate for what Spring and Summer have to offer.
Here’s a BONUS: all that cleaning is great exercise!
I’ve also be de-cluttering as I go. Want to talk about feeling free? Getting rid of the “stuff” that doesn’t mean anything is very freeing to me.
I’ve been making regular rounds to Good-Will, taking clothes, unused blankets, purses and knick-knacks. I’ve been taking books to the Half-Price Book Store to sell.
I’ve been really analyzing the items I come across while cleaning. I’ve been brutal. If I don’t love it, have a reason to keep it, or feel strongly that I’ll be using it again in the near future; I’ve been getting rid of it. I just have too much stuff right now, and I love the feeling of letting go of some of it.
Inspired to de-clutter, but aren’t sure how to start? I read an article about throwing away (or recycling or donating) 5 things from each area you encounter. Here’s a link to that page: http://www.alwaysorderdessert.com/2011/02/inspired-living-toss-5-things.html. Basically, you start with one area – say, your medicine cabinet – and you go through it and toss at least 5 things. Then you move on to another area. Before you know it, you’ve de-cluttered! Once you get 5 things out, it’s not hard to keep going and remove more stuff that’s just in the way, serving no real purpose.
Try it!
Last month I posted about giving up sodas and carbonation. I’m proud to say that I haven’t bought any sodas at the grocery since that post. I’m finishing off what I had in stock, and then I hope to be done with them. I have purchased some bottles of flavored seltzer water, but I’m finding that I don’t always finish the entire bottle, so I think I’m starting to leave the bubbles behind.
I have decided to allow myself to have the occasional caffeine free/diet soda when I’m at a restaurant. Most don’t offer anything that’s both caffeine free AND diet, so it’ll be a rare occasion that I get to have a soda, but I’m not cutting myself off from the opportunity to have one if I choose to.
I’m rather proud of the steps I’ve taken to get soda out of my life!
My garden partners and I had a planning meeting the other night. We have big plans. Huge. We figure on having 3200 square feet of garden space. That’s 1.5 times the size of my house! We should have plenty of room to grow the following:
Sunflowers – 10 varieties
I just love sunflowers, and I see no reason not to plant them since I have room this year.
Green Beans – 2 varieties
I’ll be canning, freezing or drying all that we can’t eat.
Cranberry Beans
These will be dried and used like pinto beans.
Corn
The sweet yumminess of corn – who can resist?
Tomatoes – 8 – 10 varieties
These and beans will hopefully be our biggest producers. Tomatoes have so many uses, and it’s one food that gets healthier for you when cooked.
Cabbage
This will be used in stir-fry dishes, canned and made into sour kraut.
Onions
Onions, when kept in a cool, dark place, will often keep for months – just like potatoes.
Watermelon
Sweet, juicy, delightful watermelon!
Spaghetti Squash
This winter squash can be eaten many different ways. It’s good with butter, salt & pepper, but can also be used as a substitute for pasta.
Zucchini
Good raw, in salads, in soups and stir-fries, great in quick breads and casseroles. I’ll be working with zucchini as long as I can get my hands on it.
Cucumbers
I’m on a quest to make good pickles. Any suggestions?
Peppers – Red, Green and Hot
I can’t wait to get peppers to work with!
Potatoes – White and Sweet
I might not eat a lot of potatoes at one meal, but they will keep, can be frozen, canned and dehydrated, when done properly.
I think my summer and harvest season are going to be extremely busy and productive! I can’t wait to share with you all the ways I preserve the harvest. Don’t forget – I’ll be updating the blog frequently so you can see how things are coming along. There will be photos and commentary and recipes – and I’m happy to get advice!
I love food. There’s no other way to say it. I LOVE FOOD! I love almost everything about it, too. I love to watch it grow, I love to prepare it, I love to preserve it and I love to eat it. I love to try new foods. I love to learn about other culture’s food preferences. I love to shop for food. I don’t think I could ever turn my back on food by eating the same foods over and over. I want variety in my eating!
One of my favorite things to do is to shop for food. I am a total sucker for grocery stores, Farmer’s Markets, festivals, Amish stores, big box warehouse stores, little country stores, and specialty stores. When I go to one of those places, it’s like the possibilities are endless. I can make ANYTHING by just purchasing the right ingredients and finding the right recipe. When it comes to food, I can make anything happen with a little preparation. And when the anticipated dish turns out just right and people love it, I feel like nothing can stop me.
This love of food shopping started when I was a little kid. There was a little country grocery store called Wells’ Grocery at the end of our street. Back in those days, kids could be out by themselves and parents didn’t have to worry like they do today. Every week, when I got my allowance (I think it was $1 per week), I would walk down to Wells’ and see what I could get. This was the era when candy bars were 15 cents and bubble gum was 2 cents for a big piece. (I’m showing my age.) Anyway, I’d enter one of the store’s 2 doors and start my search. To the left was the bread and canned foods. The next aisle held snack foods and the candy, which was where I spent most of my time. The next aisle held cleaning supplies, and the deli was behind that. Horace was the butcher and he was (and still is) the most cheerful person you’ll ever meet.
The back of the store held the refrigerated section and the freezers. Circling around to the front again, I’d find the produce, school/office supplies and the small ice cream freezer, where I’d get to buy a toffee bar or an ice cream sandwich. The aging tiled floors were unlevel, and I had learned to anticipate the drop-off near the deli; otherwise, I’d stumble. At the register, they held the cigarettes and newspapers and The National Enquirer. I would get The National Enquirer regularly, along with my coke and peanuts and candy bar. Yes – back then my taste buds were highly developed.
I miss that old store and I wish that super chains like Wal Mart and Kroger hadn’t caused all of them to close. There’s just something about having a personal relationship with the people who run a business that’s missing in today’s society. I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m willing to pay more for that relationship.
Now that I’m an adult, one of my favorite things to do while on vacation, is to go to the local grocery stores. I like to investigate the regional favorites. I generally come home with a trunk load of food and/or drinks that I can’t find anywhere around here. One time, I visited my friend in Iowa and found sparkling diet lemonade that we don’t have here. I came home with 18 cases. Another time, I was in Pennsylvania Amish country and found asparagus at some roadside stands. I bought a cooler specifically to bring home lots of the fresh asparagus. Just this past year I was in Florida and found a really great sharp cheddar cheese spread that I loved. I forgot to buy some before I left, and since then, I’ve been combing the stores here to find it. I finally called the company who makes it to see if I can order it. I can’t. I have to wait until it is introduced to our region.
Food brings too much pleasure for me to force myself into a self-imposed box that dictates what I can eat and what I can’t. Now that I’m trying so hard to make healthy decisions about what I put into and onto my body, I’ll admit that I’m a little obsessive, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I know it’s forcing me to look at new ways to prepare and enjoy so many of the delicious foods that are available to me.
Last night, for instance, I had the most incredible dessert that I think I’ve ever had. It was so simple to make and so richly satisfying that I almost cried with delight. It was grilled pineapple with a drizzle of local honey. Oh. My. Goodness! Mere words cannot do it justice. The natural sugar in the pineapple caramelizes, and the warmth just enhances the flavors. The drizzle of honey added a top note of tanginess that complimented it so well. It was light, low-calorie and healthy. And – it was the best thing I think I’ve ever eaten.
Nobody Said Easy 