Day from Hell

So, it's taken me a day to recover and I feel like I can share now.

A couple of weeks ago my trusted chiropractor suggested I try this "fitness program" that she and many of her patients were doing. I thought, you know, I've never done one of these things and I totally trust my chiro, so why not?

. . . now I know why not.

OK, so yesterday was my first day of the diet--Medifast. The idea is that you eat 5 Medifast meals and make your own dinner.

I began with the peach oatmeal. It took me over 30 minutes to eat it and I gagged twice.

2-3 hours later I ate the oatmeal and raisin bar . . . no gagging.

Later I made the soup which was bearable. I was beginning to think, hey, maybe I can do this.

Since I have a late class I met Andrea for a salad around 5pm and of course it was amazing because it was real food. I then went to class and sat for 2 hours of torture (but that's another story).

Innocently enough I boarded the 1 train at 116th Street. As the train was moving along I noticed that I was beginning to feel a little nauseous. I thought that once I got off the train at 96th Street to change to the 2/3 I would have a moment to regain my sea legs --maybe it was just motion sickness?




As I walked out of the train I realized that I was going to be sick . . . I ran to the trashcan at the 96th St. station and vomited!! And, let me tell you, those subway station trashcans are very high!! Oh, and don't worry, the station platform was PACKED, but at least I made it to the trashcan. Feeling miserable I decided that I could not get on the train right away. I left the station and called my mom. I always get so upset when I vomit --I think that's a psychological issue though!

OK, so my mom convinces me to take a taxi home to Brooklyn. It killed me, but I just couldn't imagine getting back on a train.

Around 84th Street I had to ask the kind cabby to pull over because I was going to be sick. I puked on 84th St. and I believe on Lexington Avenue (I wasn't really concentrating on street names).

I regained my composure and thought I would be fine.

This was the longest trip of my life. Suddenly on the Brooklyn Bridge I begin to sweat and feel really nauseous, but there is NOWHERE to pull over on a bridge. So, being resourceful, I remembered that I had a bowl in my backpack (from the soup) . . . uh, yeah, I puked like 4 more times in the bowl.

I finally got home, puked, and went to sleep.

Needless to say, my cabby was a saint and I will never eat that crap again.

someone stop me

good news: i ran today for about an hour
bad news: i am eating cheesy toast as we speak

Some General Tips and Ideas

No one likes to feel like they're on a diet. And being on a diet doesn't have to mean you just eat salad, either. It's about finding new healthy recipes and choices which will make you feel better on a daily basis, have more energy and in turn, lose weight.

I feel like I'm a pretty experienced dieter. Growing up, my mom was always on a diet, and I feel like I've been trying to do some sort weight loss/maintenance since high school. I'm pretty close to my goal weight now, but I work at maintaining it. I have succumb to the fact that I need to watch what I eat for life to feel good. And that's OK! There's plenty of healthy choices out there to keep things interesting. And you know me...I'm all about treats and food related celebrations. But for all the other days of the month- the regular routine work days- it's good to try to change your habits.

Some basic tips that have helped me in the past to jump start my weight loss:

*lower your processed carb intake. Don't buy bread, and try not to have it all the time when you're eating out. Don't have pasta as often, when you do, make it whole wheat.
"Good Carb" Alternatives to Bread and Pasta that will fill you up:
beans, carrots, quinoa, brown rice,
sweet potatoes (better than the white ones)
butternut squash, polenta

*Start your day with 2 scrambled eggs instead of a bagel or pancakes or toast. Add some (veggie) sausage if that's not enough. Add spinach or a veggie to make a scramble if you have time. If you don't have time for Bfast, hard boil a couple of egg the night before and keep them in the fridge for morning.

*Beer and wine are hi-calorie. I try to have these only a couple nights a week. hard alcohol like vodka, gin and whiskey are carb free. Don't mix these with juice or soda (too much sugar) but try seltzer water and a slice of orange or lime. you'll get used to it...it's not bad!

*Coffee. Stay away from flavored lattes with syrup (hi sugar) and mochas. Try a plain latte (with no sugar packets) or just a cup of coffee with milk only.

Being on a diet doesn't mean you have to just eat vegetables. Here are some lo-carb or lo-fat recipe ideas:


Spinach Egg Frittata


Scramble 5 eggs in a bowl with a 1/3 cup of milk. Also add a half cube of firm tofu you've mushed up with your hands into the egg mixture. Add a large handful of freshly chopped spinach and a half onion, chopped (and any other veggies you like). Toss in some salt and pepper and any herbs you have. Pour this all into an oiled casserole dish. Bake at 350 for about a half hour or until edges are slightly browned and the egg in the middle is cooked solid.

*this is a great thing to make ahead. You can easily cut a cube of it and take it to work.

Celery Root and Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes"

Many of you have probably never heard of celery root. Here's what it looks like you can get it in most grocery stores.


Take 2 celery roots. Cut off all the gnarly outer part (you don't have to totally skin it). Cube it up. Throw it in a big pot of boiling salted water with one head of cauliflower chopped in big chunks. You can even use a lot of the stems.

Boil these til they're soft, drain and run under cold water, then transfer them to your food processor. Process them til soft like mashed potatoes. Add a bit of cream or milk to moisten them (1/3 c?), and -here's the key- a half stick of butter. Whatever, it's low carb. Something's gotta give, right?

Out of the food processor, put them in a bowl, warm them more if need be, add salt and pepper to taste and more butter to melt on the top if you're like me. Here's an alternate recipe that includes some potatoes, if you like.


Stir Fry

This is an easy thing to make after a long day. Just toss big chunks of red bell peppers, green bell peppers, carrots, snow peas, broccoli, and onion with a little oilve oil in a wok or big frying pan. Toss in some cubed firm tofu or chicken. Add teriyaki sauce, or sometimes I make a sauce from combining a half can coconut milk, soy sauce, Tbs peanut butter & curry powder. Try not to put it over rice, but if you must...make it brown rice.

Week 5! Steppin' it UP a notch.

I can't believe we're already entering week 5. I am a little frustrated that I haven't dropped any poundage, but I will keep on keeping on! Apart from getting sick, I've felt better overall and have been getting up earlier (which is hard for me since I work from home!)

Last week I drank wine/beer one too many nights (damn karaoke byob!). By Sunday night I found that I'd only gone to the gym twice, so I went and did and HOUR on the elliptical instead of my normal 30 minutes to try and make up for it. And you know what? It actually wasn't that hard.

My goal for this week: Do 45 minutes on the elliptical/bike 4 times this week (intstead of the 30 I usually do). Plus 2 days of weightlifting. I'm no grandma, I should be able to do this!

Go me! And GO YOU!!

fab-n-fit in santa cruz?

ok, so i know i am late to the game guys, but after an inspiring last few days of living in park slope (which included 2 trips to the amazing ymca - love those little TVs, and a nice little run- aka getting lost meander- in prospect park). now i am back in the bay, and my workouts are getting away from me.

so, here's the plan: gonna try to get a run in at least 3x a week
the other days: either rocking the bike at the gym, or the elliptical
wishful thinking: NYC marathon in Nov. - but we'll see how my body holds up.

ok, now that i have the exercise plan - here's the bigger problem: cheese and bread.
my constant battle.

evil temptations: tortillas, white pasta, chips in the sandwich, and crackers (with cheese of course), and good ol' sharp cheddar on just about anything.

i will let you know how it goes....

ready....go!

Chicky-check yo'sef befo' you wreck yo'sef

This was not a great week. With the end of school I've found that working out is not my priority. I only have 2 more weeks of grad school and then it's all over!!!!

I did, however, decide that I would begin to walk home from work when possible. I managed to do this 3 out of 4 work days so that's a start.

I was not able to avoid coke this week --it got me twice.

Generally I'm eating more veggies so that's a plus.

I plan to begin swimming again this week--I'm hoping to make it at least 2 times this week.

Good luck to all this week!

(Oh, and because I'm the ultimate anal nerd, I have made our Fab and Fit blog one of my tabs on my tool bar. It totally reminds me of my goals and reminds me to read and post on the blog).

Confession

My confession is that I was invited to this blog about 3 weeks ago and am finally getting here. Needless to say I put things off. In particular taking care of myself. Why is it so hard? Formerly a modern dancer and currently a dance teacher, I know the value of health and nutrition. Living it is entirely different.

My goal is to tone and tighten up. I'd like to do this by changing my eating habits. I completely eat for comfort because it's easier to feed myself food than what's needed in life. I take in way more calories than I need. I'm pretty good about packing healthy salads for lunch. It's the afternoon snacks of lattes and chocolate and the late night food that kills me. I also LOVE cheese and wine. Ideally I'd like to work out because it feels good. Not because I'm playing chase from yesterday's calories.

So, now begins the journey to the freedom of fabulousness. Glad to be sharing it with you wonderful ladies!