September Blue: Move More Eat Well

June 05, 2013

MOVE MORE EAT WELL | MONTHLY UPDATE: JUNE

Wow! It's hard to believe that I am halfway through this year-long journey on the road to a healthy lifestyle with Cathy Zielske over at Big Picture Classes in her Move More Eat Well Workshop. This year is flying. Why is it the older you get the faster time goes?

It also seems older you get you seem to be more in tune with your body and are more mature to listen to what it is telling you. During the month of April, I found that I wasn't in the gym as often as in previous months. The first few days of May I tried to overcompensate and hit the gym hard with a lot of cardio on the treadmill. I didn't injure myself, but I did feel that my left knee was bothering me a bit. So I listened to my body and decided to scale back my gym time–2 gym days and 1 yoga day. Then we went to France and I didn't work out for 10+ days. Upon our return that is when I noticed something–more muscle tone and definition in my arms, legs and abs. I know. It's weird. How could that be?

I went to Lisa (my trainer) and asked her about this "phenomena." She said it could be for a few reasons:

Working out causes inflammation, so maybe that is reduced.
Walking so much is great for lower body.
Maybe you lost a bit of weight? (um, no, that's not it)
Maybe you are slightly dehydrated. (not that either drinking tons of water just because!)

So I am chalking up my new-found muscle tone to scaling back a bit at the gym, reducing any inflammation and all of that walking we did in Paris. So during the month of June, I am going to conduct my own little experiment. I'm going to stick with my plan of going to the gym twice a week (probably Mondays and Fridays) and attend my Wednesday morning yoga class. Combining that with my healthy diet, it will be interesting to see if my numbers go up, down or stay the same (FYI–I am perfectly happy maintaining my current weight. I'm happy to say that my numbers stayed right where they were from the month before).

This month Cathy wanted us to find a few photos of what represents "healthy" to us. You can see the ones I chose above. I'm loving the edamame pic. We can't get it here in Riga and I am craving it. It will be one of the first things I buy at the grocery store when I go back to the States!

Have a healthy June!

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April 02, 2013

MOVE MORE EAT WELL | MONTHLY UPDATE: APRIL + A LITTLE FREEBIE

Hello Spring. Oh how I wish you would arrive here in Latvia. Mother Nature played a cruel joke Monday morning and dumped about 4+ inches of snow on us. I was totally bummed. In March I developed a slight fondness for running on the treadmill and I was looking forward to possibly trying to take this new activity outside. Obviously she had other plans...

So, those of you who are visiting from Cathy's Move More Eat Well 2.0 Workshop over at Big Picture Classes, how is it going for you? Staying on track? My April numbers are starting off better than my March numbers did. Here's what's going on:

I'm down 1.2 pounds since the beginning of last month. It's not much, but I'll take it! My March started off really strong. The meds the doctor gave me while in Ramstein worked wonders for my back and I was a gym rat and yoga junkie during the first half of the month. During the later half of the month, I was down below 150! I would like to give diet and exercise the credit for that loss, but unfortunately it was due to the flu. It knocked me out for a good 7-8 days. I was able to keep some of it off while I was on the mend, but a roadtrip with friends over the weekend helped to put some of it back on. Again, I am down from last month and even have lost an inch or two, so I really can't complain too much!

As far as diet goes, I'm still enjoying "Meatless Mondays" and cooking with super fresh ingredients. Nothing really processed. What I mean by that is I am making nothing that is coming from a can or a box. Sure I use boxed pasta, rice and other grains, but I'm making sauces, soups and side dishes all from scratch. And I love it. If I had to pick a "problem" with my eating habits this month, I would say I've been eating a bit too many carbs. I need to balance my diet out with a little more protein. I will concentrate on that during April!

Although there is still snow on the ground, there are signs around Riga that spring is around the corner. Gardeners in the park around the corner from us have already trimmed the shrubs back and there are piles of woodchips just waiting to be placed in the flower beds. Another sure sign of spring around here are the "tents" that spring up in the various beer gardens around Old Town. We noticed about a week ago that preparations were under way in getting at one of our favorite beer gardens in town ready for the upcoming spring and summer seasons. This is all well and good for a fun social life, it can cause a major crash and burn on the road to a healthy lifestyle. I just have to keep reminding myself to look at my Advantage and Response Cards (see this post) before I go out, have a plan and stick to it!

Wellness isn't easy. It's hard. I'm finding that the older I get the more difficult it is! And as hard as it is, it is important. I am finding that my reasons for staying fit and healthy are not just "to look good." I have come to realize that working at staying healthy is a responsibility to myself, my family and to society. As Chris is getting ready to retire from the Marine Corps in a few months, we will be faced with many decisions that go along with transitioning to civilian life. Healthcare is one of those issues. So before I close this post, I thought I would share a little quote that my sister, Kerry, shared on her Facebook page a few weeks ago. It's thought-provoking and I made it into a little 3x4 printable card for you to download and print. Think about it the next time you question whether or not to buy those organic and slightly more expensive salad greens or pay to attend a new fitness class at the local gym...

Visit my "freebies page" to download the free filler card :)

Thanks for reading! Have a healthy month!

Posted at 10:18 AM in freebie, healthy lifestyle, Move More Eat Well | Permalink | Comments (0)

March 04, 2013

MOVE MORE MONDAYS | MMEW MONTHLY UPDATE

Welcome March. After a rough February, you are a sight for a slow rise (in the numbers on the scale!).

The beginning message of Cathy Zielske's MMEW March video was just what I needed to hear:

"Every month is still a renewal."

The scale is showing that I defintely took a long detour from the road to a healthy lifestyle. Reasons why vary from poor decisions while eating out, to back pain, to having too much fun in Germany. BUT, it is not a reason to get all down and depressed about it. It's life. Things like this happen. I just have to back it up and get back on the road. Cathy gave us a 3x4 quote card as well that said:

"Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent."
~Marilyn Vos Savant

Isn't that a great quote? Totally needed to hear that! So inspiring!

So this morning, the scale showed that I was up 4.4 pounds. But if I was to compare the photo of myself below to the one I took in January, this month's picture looks better (my tummy looks flatter). When we have a setback, I think it is important to recognize the reasons for it, acknowledge it, and make the needed adjustments. So after some thought, this is what I came up with for my little detour:

One : For three weekends in a row, we had fun social events every Friday and Saturday night. While I was good with my meal planning and eating during the week, I kind of let things go over the weekend. I just got wrapped up in the moment(s). I do not believe in rewarding myself with food when I do something healthy for myself (I am not a dog!). And I didn't do that in these circumstances. I think I just got lazy and didn't plan my food/drink very well when we went out. Course of Action: Eat a healthy snack and drink a tall glass of cold water before going out. At restaurants, go for the healthier dishes. At receptions, opt for fruit and limit wine to one glass. If out with friends, choose lower calorie drinks and drink water between.

Two : Back Pain. My back had been bothering me in February and I decided to revisit the physical therapy exercises that my PT gave me when I was living back in the States. That meant giving up one of my days in the gym. While the exercises have seemed to help I still wasn't able work up to a reverse crunch (I haven't been able to do them since late last fall) and the loss of cardio I believe was a factor to the weight gain. Course of Action: Good news!!! While I was in Germany I had an Xray done on my back. Turns out I have retrolisthesis (a slight posterior bulging of the spine) of the L4-L5. The doc gave me Meloxicam and you know what??? I can do my reverse crunch! Turns out there must have been some swelling in the area and the meds are taking care of that. I feel great! I was at the gym this morning and had an AWESOME workout session!

Three : Way too much fun in Germany! And I am not apologizing for it. The German food, my favorite German beer, and the American restaurants on base including Macaroni Grill, Chili's, Antonio's Pizza, and yes, Burger King (sorry but I can't resist those sausage croissants and little round hash browns-but I only had them one time-on our last day...on the drive to the airport). After being away from it for 8+ months, it's was hard to resist. I wrote Lisa this morning and told her about my gain, but I am the one in control. She wrote: "Good attitude...living what you're writing in your blog. (You) Have to enjoy life there is a time and a place for everything...it's no fun not to be able to let loose and let go sometimes..." Love her. Course of Action: Nothing I can do about this one-just be very careful of what I'm eating. I'm kind of restricting myself this week to replacing two of my meals (breakfast and lunch) with Isagenix Shakes and having a super healthy dinner with Chris. For snacks-lots of fruit, veggies and a handful of nuts here and there!

Posted at 10:15 AM in healthy lifestyle, Move More Eat Well | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 25, 2013

Move More Mondays | Eat + Drink + Enjoy

Hello from Germany! My husband has a conference in Ramstein this week and I decided to tag along for a change of scenery. This trip wasn't going to be all business though! We left Latvia a few days early to spend the weekend with dear friends of ours who live Garmisch, Germany. Actually, we all lived there together back in the late 90s and our friends, Rob & Ginny, were fortunate enough to be stationed there again. I'll blog more about our time with them in my Week Eight Project Life post another day! Right now it's time for a reality check!

The photo above was taken in Ehrwald, Austria from the Tirol Haus Ski Lodge.

My reality for the next week is being away from my normal routine. I will not be preparing meals or working out as much as I would be if I was at home. Instead Spatzle, Bratwurst, Sauerkraut, big German pretzels and my favorite German beer (Erdinger-yum) will be on my menu this week and walking to the mall attached that is attached to the hotel will be a big part of my exercise routine. And you know what?

I am not going to feel one bit guilty about it!

Some may look at this detour from the road to a healthy lifestyle as a total crash and burn. But I'm not. Why? Because it is all about moderation. I mentioned in last week's post that I am not a fan of totally giving up foods you enjoy for the sake of dieting. I mean seriously, if you swore you were never going to eat pasta again and you take a trip to Italy, are you really not going to have a spaghetti dinner in Italy??? Come on. Let's be real! Of course you will! Enjoying the local food and drink when you travel is part of the experience! Brauts are a once in a while thing for me, I'm not passing this up!

Bratwurst and spicy mustard!

My absolute most favorite beer ever! Sure I can get this in the States or in Latvia, but to have it in Germany makes it all that much better!

Now not everything I have been eating has been "bad"! Ginny is a fabulous cook and she spoiled us rotten while we stayed with them! She and Rob are addicted to their juicer and have fresh juice every morning. Their favorite its a blend of beets, apples, oranges, celery, carrots and ginger. OMG!!!! So good and so good for you! When we move back to the States this summer, a juicer will be the first thing I will buy!

And while I'm enjoying all of this delicious food, I am balancing it out with some exercise (I even bought myself a new pair of running shoes at the PX this afternoon)! This morning I got up and did 30 minutes of high-intensity interval training on treadmill here at the hotel fitness room (it's kind of a sad fitness center-only equipped with cardio machines and a yoga mat). I also did 10-15 minutes of ab work and then stretched for about 20 minutes. I am planning on visiting the base gym and brought my Gymbag Trainer with me so I can continue with some of the workouts that Lisa developed for me!

That's all for this Move More Mondays post! Have a healthy week! Auf Wiedersehen!

Posted at 10:21 AM in Move More Eat Well | Permalink | Comments (1)

February 17, 2013

Move More Mondays | February 18: Oh She Glows

Hello friends! How is your journey to a healthy lifestyle going for you so far? Me? I'm steady–working out with my trainer twice a week, going to yoga two or three times a week, and working out on my own once or twice a week. As far as my weight is concerned, it's been up, it's been down, but it's all good. I'm enjoying this ride. My commitment to Meatless Mondays is still going strong as well. However, Meatless Mondays sometimes falls on a different day during the week because of a reception we have to attend or dinner we've been invited to. But that's fine. As long I we are doing one meatless day during the week, I feel that is a success! I do have to say the "Meatless Monday" concept has really made me enjoy the whole process of "clean eating." There is something about prepping meals with ingredients that are super fresh and not full of ingredients found on a can or box that I can't pronounce. It just tastes different. It's healthy. It makes me feel good.

Today I wanted to share with you a website my trainer, Lisa, turned me on to and has helped me tremendously when searching for meatless recipes to make! Oh She Glows is a site full of vegan recipes that are easy to make and oh so good! Don't get me wrong. I am not on a path to becoming a vegan. But I am finding that I am loving everything I have made from this site so far. And better yet, so does Chris!!!

Here are links to just two of my favorite recipes on this site:

Coconut Whipped Creme

Photo Credit: Oh She Glows

I first had this topping at Lisa's and couldn't believe how good it was. And there is absolutely no dairy in it! Chris and I hosted Couples LCR a few Saturdays ago and I made this whipped creme and used it as a topping for brownies. Everybody raved about it. You have to try it!

Easy Tomato Basil Cream Pasta

Photo Credit: Oh She Glows

Chris went back for seconds on this one. And again, although the recipe title suggests there is cream in it, there is none! So good. I spiced things up a bit and added a little bit of red pepper flakes to the sauce!

Check out the site when you have a moment! You won't be sorry!

On a not-so-healthy-note...

I did indulge in some of these yesterday:

What are they? They are basically fried garlic bread. Heavy, (very heavy) on the garlic. I think most people consider them Latvia's official appetizer. You find them on the menu of every restaurant & bar, festival and sporting event. Some places "do them" better than others. We have season tickets to Latvia's professional hockey team–Dinamo Riga–and last night was the final game of the season. Usually I pass on this little cup of garlic delight, because I don't care for the way Arena Riga "do" theirs. But since it was a special occasion, I had a few slices and I do have to say they were good–a little crunchy on the outside, soft & chewy on the inside. I hope this idea never catches on in the States. If so, we'd be in more trouble than we are now!

I'm not going to beat myself up over my little slip up. And if you find yourself in the same situation, you shouldn't either. It's okay once in a while. I firmly believe that moderation is the key. I believe you shouldn't deprive yourself of something you enjoy or totally eliminate something from your diet. In my opinion, you only set yourself up for failure. You will end up craving it, giving into the craving and overeating the very thing you swore you wouldn't eat again. So why do that to yourself. It's ok to have that cookie once in a while. It's not okay to eat the whole package in one sitting after depriving yourself from it.

Have a healthy week!