Fat Ass To Fit Ass

Being salty

2012-01-29T19:51:00.000-06:00

I'm known for my salty language.

Lately I've been battling a different kind of salt. The salt that makes me retain water like water buffalo.

So I'm cutting it out. This is my week of low salt to see if I can get rid of all this water weight I've been carrying around. I know it sounds like a dieter's crutch to claim it's just water weight, but I promise my toes and fingers have been as puffy as sausages for the last week.

I'm blaming the water weight for the sudden increase in my bust size too and I'm hoping cutting salt out of my diet will get rid of it all.

Do you guys battle certain kinds of foods? Are you sensitive to salt? This is new to me. How can I beat the bloat?

Getting organized...

2012-01-23T19:49:00.000-06:00

I'm a stereotypical Type A personality.

I'm obsessed with making lists, typing appointments into my calendar, crossing things off, putting things in their places. But my diet can slip through the cracks.

I'll overbook myself and forget to make time to cook healthy or work out, or I'll skip meals in favor of getting stuff done which is hell on my already sucky metabolism.

Now this week's Weight Watchers lesson is about getting organized to stay healthy. So I'm working on organizing my health plans this week.

I'm addicted to calendar reminders so I set three reminders to track my WW points, one after the time I normally eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. I added my running plan to the weekly schedule I write on my dry erase board. And I plotted every meal this week.

That part was easy, I'm on a detox diet because I've been retaining salt like whoa. So I made a batch of low salt soup, a batch of brown rice to eat with veggies and made sure I have a stock pile of fruit.

Then I sat down and made a to do list of everything I need to get done this week so I can spread it out instead of getting overwhelmed one day realizing I need to get crap done and I've been sitting around watching Murder She Wrote.

SO let's see how this goes. Type A engaged.

Trying something new...

2012-01-08T19:23:00.000-06:00

As part of my resolution to be healthier and more frugal I'm doing something weird this week.

Instead of spending money at the grocery store on the easy staples I use and making a big vat of soup or chili, I'm going to save my money and eat the food that's in my fridge and pantry.

I have soup here, edamame ready to be steamed and salted, rice & seitan for stir fry, meatless crumbles for burritos. Basically I just have to stop being lazy and cook and I'll be fine.

Let's see how this experiment goes. Are you a cook every day or once a week chef?

Back to Boot Camp

2012-01-04T20:41:00.000-06:00

So I'm back at it. I was up and at 'em at boot camp on Tuesday morning.

The 6 am wake up call hurt more than I expected, but I was so glad I made it after class was over. This was my first class at boot camp in about 4 months and my first real work out in about 2 weeks. The holidays took a toll on my trips to the gym.

The class I took was cardio and abs. There was lots of jumping and ab work. Running ladders, planks, I pretend jump roped because I kept hitting myself in the back of the head with the jump rope when I tried. The squats killed me, the abs made me shake and when class was over I felt great.

Two hours later? Not so much. Pretty much every muscle in my body hurt. Still hurts actually. though I still got off my ass and ran tonight.

Let's see if I make it to bootcamp in the AM.

The year ahead

2012-01-02T09:26:00.000-06:00

Last year I made 2 resolutions: to lose 20 pounds and something else I'm not posting on here for fear of Mems hearing about it. Promise me when I say I kept both.

So let's make this year's list of resolutions.

1. Lose 40 pounds- I'm going to double down and hit my goal weight this year. Theoretically. I'd also like to do this by April. It's about a pound a week. This goes hand in hand with eating more veggies too. I'm the only vegetarian that doesn't eat that many veggies.

2. Read more- I want to read 50 books next year. I'm counting the new Stephen King book because I'm only 300 pages into it and will read the bulk of it in 2012.

3. Be more fiscally responsible. I need a new car and I want to travel more. I need to stop spending my money on shit. Less dining out, less shoe shopping, more saving and budgeting.

4. Write that book. For years Mems has been telling me to sit down and write my book. She's convinced I have a book in me. I am too, about Mems.

5. Run a half marathon. I feel like this is a perfect distance goal for me.

Top 5 of 2011

2012-01-01T16:49:00.000-06:00

Which Fat Ass posts were your favorite? Here's the most clicked stories of the year:

Seven Days Update- This is when I tried the Jennifer Aniston 7 day a week workout regimen. I really liked it. I'm pretty sure this gets clicked so much because it has Jennifer Aniston in the text.
Bootcamp Begins- This is the work of one of my favorite people... Julie never fails to make me laugh hysterically, and apparently my readers love her too.
Riding for a Cure- This I pimped out hard core because I was raising money for diabetes awareness (I'll be doing the same thing again in 2012) but I'm going to pretend it's because of the cute picture of me and my mom.
Slacking Off- I think everyone likes to hear about other people slacking off. It makes us feel less like losers. At least I like it when I see skinny people get fat because I feel normal.
Milestones- awe this is my post about losing 10% of my body weight. I've plateaued since then, but I'm still proud I did that. Hoping to break out of the rut in the new year!

Surprised? Agree? Which stories do you like to read the most?

Looking back.

2011-12-30T20:06:00.000-06:00

Well dear readers it's now been two years since I started this lovely blog.

And as we are all doing as the year winds down... I'm looking back and contemplating how far I've come and where I want to be this time in 2012.

In the last year I have:

Lost 21 pounds- important because it's 10% of my body weight. And because it means my gut is smaller.
Switched jobs- I went from producing a daily show to managing the website, twitter and facebook for the same station. I'm pretty much in love with my job. Even if constant FB changes make my head hurt.
For real started running- 2011 is the first year I really considered myself a runner. Until my sickness knocked me out of my routine I was running 3 miles a day 3 days a week and I loved it. I need to get back into that habit.
Broke comfort zones- from dining out alone to joining book clubs with people I never met (Hi ladies!) to speaking up for myself more (I'm much mouthier online than in reality) this year I've started being more Mems like than ever before and I want to keep at it.
Went Vegan for most of the year. I still can't believe I did it. Aside from a few cheats, I made it 10 months. Now I'm just vegetarian, but I'm glad I went vegan for a bit.

Now I'm still working on "What's Next?" Look for it the first week of the New Year. I hope you're all making your own plans for 2012!

That time...

2011-12-19T16:40:00.000-06:00

I currently hate everything in my house. I hate all my clothes. I hate all the food here and I hate myself at the moment.

You see, it's that time of the month where everything makes me snap at people, I'm exhausted and starving and bloated and generally pretty miserable to be around.

I'm forcing myself to go running in the morning to try and combat the hormonal insanity. Also to combat the insane amount of sweets I've been eating. Seriously, this has been the worst week all year I think.

How do you deal with dieting and PMS?

Weekend Web Fun...

2011-12-16T17:17:00.000-06:00

I write this while watching The League on Netflix Watch Instant while Molly sleeps by me. I tried to pet her but she keeps trying to bite me.

So instead I'm perusing my favorited tweets and picking a few to share with you dear readers.

I've been doing a lot of elliptical workouts this week. Mainly because I was trying to finish The Book Thief for book club, that ended with me crying while reading the end of the book this morning. Then doing ugly cry when I got to the safety of my car a few minues later. I tell this story to show you these 45 minute full body elliptical workouts.

Also I've been dealing with an increase in my belly fat battle since I missed a series of workouts because of the plague. I'm also blaming hormones and PMS for part of this. So I need to add some ab moves back into the rotation. Like these 10 moves for a flat stomach.

Now we all know I love my sweets and this holiday season has been especially hard on me. So instead of nibbling on the fatty, sugary versions I'm going to make some of these low-sugar desserts instead.

And now Molly is growling at me in her sleep. I should seek safety. Do you have any helpful, intersting, ridiculous articles to share?

Off limits

2011-12-14T20:28:00.000-06:00

When I first started this diet journey I knew the main foods to keep out of the house- cookies, cake, most sweets, chips, snacky stuff, etc.

Now as I continue on I find myself having to add different foods to the list.

Bagels. I bought the Nature's Own bagel thins and couldn't keep myself to eating just one a day. This is also why I can't have almond or peanut butter in my house. And jelly.

Honey Nut Cheerios- I thought cereal would be a good option on days I didn't want to make a smoothie. Then I caught myself eating only cheerios for dinner 3 nights one week. I didn't buy it again.

String Cheese- I gave myself back cheese and picked up string cheese at Sam's to eat during the month. It was gone in 2 weeks. It's no longer on the grocery list.

I know you're supposed to do everything in moderation, but I know me. I can't have the foods in the house or I'll eat them. If I have a box of 100 calorie snacks I'll just keep eating them.

My house has to be a bad food free zone. My treats must be made while eating out, or with a one time purchase.

What about you guys? Do you have trigger foods you can't avoid?

Starting Over

2011-12-12T10:21:00.000-06:00

So Weight Watchers is tweaking the points plus program.

That's the current point program. I've been on it almost a year and lost 10% of my body weight on it. But I've been stuck in a plateau for the last couple months. So I'm taking the advice of some of my fellow WW members and using this to 're-start.'

The main changes of this plan are to give users more flexibility in their points plus goals. I've decided to lower mine from 30 to 27. We're also encouraged to set activity point goals to get moving more. Since I haven't had a good workout in 2 weeks I'm all about this.

So, I'm going with a goal of 30 activity points this week to see how I do. It's 5 points a day, I think it's doable. I get 10 on my normal run, when I mix in the elliptical and bike there are different values, so 30 is a nice round number.

I've cooked my lunches for the week and set my alarm for 6 am to get back into my gym routine. Let's own this week, bitches!

Recipe Roundup

2011-12-09T13:40:00.000-06:00

I think I've told you before how I do this weird cooking thing. Every Sunday I cook big batches of 2 or 3 things and eat that all week long.

Last week I made vegan corn chowder and a batch of baked falafel. This week I'm making my old stand by Zucchini Soup a crock pot spaghetti squash and then I've found a couple of recipes that sound yummy.

Here's what I'm thinking of experimenting with this weekend:

Weight Watcher Eggplant Hummus I love hummus. Mems jokingly said I live on it. And I do love eggplant, so this could be my lunch dish for the week.

Weight Watchers Protein Packed Peanut Butter cookies: I'm a sucker for peanut butter. I've been known to eat it with a spoon. Unapologetically I just ate a scoop of Braum's peanut butter ice cream. It's my favorite thing ever. So I need to make these like woah.

Vegetarian Times Potato Latkes: Fact I'm obsessed with potato latkes. I get so excited during Oktoberfest just because I want potato latkes and applesauce. So this vegetarian version is right up my alley.

What are you cooking this weekend?

Getting back into it..

2011-12-07T19:55:00.000-06:00

It's been 2 weeks since my last work out.

It was the Weds. before Thanksgiving and I had been going to the gym 5 days a week for 6 weeks leading up to the holiday. I planned to take Thursday off and get right back into my routine.

Then I caught the bubonic plague. I'm finally 100% and want to start working out again, but it's been so hard to get my body used to getting up early again. Especially now that it's cold.

Basically what I do now is set my alarm for 6, then when it goes off I re-set it for 7:30 and go back to bed. Every. Morning.

So I will again try to drag my lazy fat ass out ot bed in the morning to hit the gym. Maybe this time it will actually happen.

How do you get motivated?

Gym Addiction

2011-12-05T22:30:00.000-06:00

So I think I'm addicted to my gym.

I've been going to the Y about a month now and I've been going more and more regularly, usually 5 days a week, and I love the people, the facilities, everything.

I'm in that new gym honeymoon phase. I go at 6:30 in the morning and the clerk at the front desk greets me with a smile and a cheerful hello. Every one already working out is quiet and pleasant and someone is always already watching Bravo so I can pick a machine in front of Millionaire Matchmaker and be happy as a lamb. Well as happy as a sweaty lamb can be.

I walk downstairs and say goodbye to the cheerful clerk, say good morning to the people I pass starting their workouts and they say good morning back! It's like a community gym!

I find this fascinating. I'm kind of in love with the whole concept.

What's your favorite thing about your gym?

Web Round Up

2011-12-02T08:30:00.002-06:00

I'm writing this from my death bed. I have the bubonic plague. Or something similar. If my Z-pack doesn't work soon I have no doubt I'll be dead by my own hand. Until then here's some web link fun I plan on utilizing when I can breathe without hacking up a lung.

Get Jennifer Aniston's Yoga Ab routine - You know I love Jen. She's got great hair, great abs and a great workout ethic. Remember I'm all about emulating Jennifer.

These exercises will help strengthen a bum knee. I have a bum knee. I screwed it up playing on the tennis team in high school and the more I run the more it starts to hurt. Now that I run 3 miles 3 times a week I really need to toughen up the lame knee.

Here's some ways to burn more calories on the treadmill. I've been sick for almost a week so I haven't been working out or watching what I eat. I'll definitely be taking advantage of these tips when I'm well.

Sickly.

2011-11-30T08:28:00.001-06:00

I rarely get sick. I hate being sick. I'm a horrible patient. I've been sick for almost a week.

I've finally turned a corner and I feel like I'm getting better. So let's talk about how unhealthy I've been while sick.

1) I ate a lot of carbs. Lots of pasta and potatoes. Comfort food for my sick immune system.

2) Ice cream. To soothe my sore, raw throat

3) Hamburger. In my sick, exhausted, drugged out state I became convinced the only thing that would make me feel better was a hamburger. So I ate one. And it made me feel better.

Of course it's also possible that my antibiotics finally kicked in. I don't plan on eating meat regularly again, I'm not sure why I had the urge to eat it then, but I know I was too exhausted to cook and it hit the spot.

4) Spongebob Squarepants. I'm 29 years old and I have 4 variations of Nickelodeon on my cable package. I've seen every episode of Spongebob Squarepants 6 times. I love that kid.

5) Baths. For several days the only time I felt relatively healthy or normal was sitting in a steaming hot bath. The hot water relaxed my achy joints and the steam cleared my pore lungs of congestion. I just wish I had a bigger bathtub to soak in.

What are your sickly bad behaviors?

Our Christmas Tree

2011-11-29T12:43:00.000-06:00

We used to have this tradition at my house. Pops would put the tree together (never real, the firefighter Pops refused) then Mems and I would decorate while he watched.

When I was younger and easily distracted by shiny objects (well more distracted than I am now) I never noticed Mems' OCD with the tree. I'd put some ornaments on an then wander around while Mems finished.

As I got older I realized I'd put an ornament on the tree and then Mems would move it literally minutes after I hung it. Eventually I refused to help decorate the tree. I'd just sit in the living room with Pops while Mems did it.

Then Pops died and Mems didn't even want to put a tree up the next Christmas. So I did. I went and got the tree out of the barn and wrestled with it till it was up and fluffed in the living room. I left the ornaments out and waited for Mems to go Southern Living on the tree. It didn't happen.

So I channeled Martha Stewart and went balls to the wall with the tree. Hanging every single ornament we had on the tree. Mems never helped that year, but she finally got some Christmas spirit going and next year she was all for getting the tree out.

I put it up and started decorating while she was in the living room with me. That's when she started moving the ornaments after I hung them again. So I forbid her from helping me decorate. I alone am in charge of the tree. She's in charge of the rest of the house and picking the theme.

Pink and White

All red with black & white paper.

My favorite: Black & White

Victorian. Complete with little people

I've decided next year I want the tree to be Barbie pink. Mems just laughed at me.

Going back to cheese.

2011-11-21T11:33:00.000-06:00

I give up. Well, kind of.

You see I've been vegan almost a year, minus a few slip ups, and it's been pretty good at keeping my platelets in check, but it's stopped working. In the last 4 months my platelets have dropped in half, still okay but not good.

So the vegan thing isn't working like it used to. Not surprising, this is the 3rd experimental treatment I've done that stopped working, so while I hunt for something new to try I'm going to give myself back cheese.

I'm sticking to the other vegan-ness of my diet. I'm not going back to meat, milk, butter, etc. I'll be mostly vegan, with cheese. My body is craving iron and protein anyway since my blood is crazy-thin again.

I've been taking my vitamins, iron and extra vitamin C religiously. And I'm so sick of spinach I could vomit. But the body needs what it needs.

Fun Friday links

2011-11-18T16:20:00.000-06:00

I'm addicted to favoriting tweets on twitter. So here's another installment of my current fave links.

Sticking to workout as it gets colder. It's really hard to drag my ass out of bed at 6am for my morning workout... and now that it's getting colder it's even harder. So Health.com has this helpful blog: No More Excuses: 4 Ways to Stick to Fall Workouts Personally I've been making my hour trip on the elliptical by taking my weekly book club pick. I can read about 1/3 of the book in one hour on a cardio machine.
Advice on losing weight by making simple changes to meals that can cut hundreds of calories. It sounds to good to be true- but it's not! Fitsugar has some diet changes that are easy and won't compromise flavor: Ways To Cut Calories at Every Meal. I save calories by drinking mainly vodka, I also get more fun stories by drinking vodka.
Let's be honest, beyond the health benefit the main reason any of us want to be in shape is to look good naked. Or maybe that's just me. I'm really superficial. Thankfully Instyle compiled a list of ways to make your self look better in the buff. 10 Ways to Look Better Naked.

And now the best link of all. Kermit the Frog and Jason Segel (my boyfriend) in a very special video they made to convince Amy Adams to star in the new Muppet movie. You guys have no idea how much I love the Muppets. Kermit & Jason beg Amy. It's adorable. I've had plans for the Muppet movie for months now. I'm going with my best child friend and her parents who are some of my favorite grown ups. It's going to be epic.

Slacking Off

2011-11-16T21:46:00.000-06:00

I took all my vitamins today. I also took my special vitamin C boost for my blood and took all three of the Omega 3 pills I'm supposed to take. I bragged about this to Mems the other day and she yelled at me.

"Why the hell don't you do that all the time?" She yelled as I was mid-brag about eating spinach salad for an iron boost to thicken up my watery blood. She was right. I was playing catch up to take care of my blood after my latest trip to the doctor showed that my blood is shit again.

I admit I slacked off. I stopped taking my vitamins all the time, I cheated on my diet. I just got tired of being good.

But look at it- I've had this fucked up blood disease 10 years now and I go back and forth with experimental treatments that work and don't work, doctors that can't predict what my blood will do or why my platelets rise and fall like Kirstie Alley's waistline. So I slack off.

I decide to eat and drink without worry and for a little bit not worry about a random nosebleed or a bruise that turns into a hemorrhage. Just be a normal pretend healthy person.

But that time is over for now. Bring on the experiments and the vitamins.

I cheat.

2011-11-08T20:20:00.000-06:00

I don't know what it was about the last month or so but I've been horrible at staying on my workout schedule, sticking to my diet and doing much except lay around reading, watching TV and listening to Bella fart. (Seriously, she has the worst farts ever.)

From sleeping an extra hour instead of getting up for my daily workout to sneaking candy here and there, a little bit of cheese every so often and not making sure I'm getting protein, taking my vitamins or anything I'm supposed to do to keep my blood (and weight) under control.

It's ridiculous really. I'm a grown ass woman ignoring some pretty important responsibilities. My platelets dropped another 20,000 so I really need to get serious about taking care of myself again.

So, it's time to man up and get back on track.

Financial Fitness..

2011-11-03T17:30:00.000-05:00

In my quest to get in shape I've been cleaning up other aspects of my life. I've cleaned out closets, trimmed my overflowing book collection and I'm cleaning up my finances.

Basically I eventually want my life to be as fit as I'm hoping my body will soon be in... but it's proving to be as difficult as getting rid of my gut.

I have a plastic problem, by that I mean I'm to quick to whip out my discover card. I pay it off every month but I'm paying way too much on crap I don't need and meals out I don't need to have. It's keeping me from being able to pay more down on my bank loan or put more into savings. So I'm putting up the plastic.

I've been limiting myself to one meal out a week, skipping spending on things I don't need (I think I need a lot of stuff I don't) and putting all my extra money on my loan. I for real need to be out of debt (not counting student loans of course) by the spring.

With that in mind, if I get down to my lifetime goal of Weight Watchers I don't have to pay anymore, so I'm making that an added incentive to get on the ball.

Web Wednesday

2011-11-02T14:42:00.000-05:00

As part of my job I spend a lot of time online, in the course of posting news and fun stories on the web and Facebook I've come across some fitness articles that I save or favorite to look at when I have some free time.

I'm a big proponent of the 'favorite' feature on twitter and the bookmarks on my laptop are overflowing with random recipes and workout advice articles, so now I'm sharing my favorites with you!

Don't you feel lucky?

Some helpful running advice as I try to get back into the habit of running 4 days a week
24 ways to become a healthier runner

Getting back on track eating wise after a holiday. I'm utilizing a lot of it b/c of my Halloween indulgence even thought it's geared towards Thanksgiving/Christmas.
Holiday Nutrition Recovery Plan

And it's getting cold so I'm craving chili. I found this vegetarian chili recipe I want to make:
Three Bean Vegetarian Chili

That's it for now... but beware I'm a hard core web browser... so there's many links to come.

World Vegan Month!

2011-11-01T12:12:00.000-05:00

You guys I get a whole month to celebrate my inability to eat meat and dairy!
*(By inability I of course mean, my need to eat vegan to avoid bleeding to death. Yay for auto-immune diseases)

Now you all know eating vegan has been a struggle for me, I miss some of my favorite carnivorous meals, I've cheated with cheese numerous times. I'm a vegan with a problem. So this 30 days is coming at the perfect time for me to find more vegan recipes and celebrate my way of life.

Well, I don't really consider it a way of life. It's a diet choice plain and simple.

I kicked off vegan month with some Spanish rice with corn and black beans. Delish! now I'm trolling for more easy, new vegan recipes to try.

How can non-vegans celebrate? Why don't you check out the 'recipes' tab and try a vegan meal... or check out some of the blogs listed that have many more fun, vegan options.

Go meatless at least once!

Time to get cleansing

2011-10-30T12:27:00.000-05:00

Halloween is over. Well the Halloween parties are over so it's time to clean up my eating again.

Dear readers you know that means it's time for the Quantum Cleanse again! I told Mems I was going to do it again and she rolled her eyes at me, but it really does help get me back on track with the clean eating, which we all know means that I'll have platelets again. I need platelets.

So Monday is the day. No alcohol, animal products, caffeine, gluten, or sugar for another 28 days. I'll probably be pretty bitchy. I apologize to those of you I know in person.

I should buy Mems a present to say sorry in advance.

Kate & the Battle of the Belly

2011-10-27T20:05:00.000-05:00

I'm so sick of my gut. It seems like no matter what I do it's always there. The gum I can't get off my shoe... the fat I can't shake from my form. Much like a fat Jessica Simpson I'm perpetually apple shaped.

Since January I've lost 22 pounds and the results are noticable in my legs, arms, back and even my face. Hardly any change in the gut, it's starting to drive me crazy. Every article suggests ways to beat belly fat... which I do and have been doing for months.

Like these tips from fitsugar.com.

Concentrate on Neglected Zones: Try to organize your exercise routines so that you are getting total body workouts. Try interval training so that you are pushing yourself out of homeostasis and thus burning more fat. If your skin fold measurements reveal that you have gained weight in a certain place, give more attention to that area. Do a few extra repetitions or go to group classes that target that zone to build up muscle in that area to tone it.

Gradual Diet Changes: There are a million fad diets out there trying to convince you of a quick, efficient, delicious, and pain-free method of losing weight. However, the truth is that every individual requires a personalized diet plan, which is largely based on trial and error. Rather than freak out your system by shifting to an extreme diet, gradually introduce healthy items to your diet. For example, start a morning ritual of drinking a green smoothie.
Carbs From Vegetables: My trainer told me to eat most of my carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables rather than grains. Try it yourself by filling your plate predominately with vegetables rather than loading up on bread, rice, or other grains. While research has been done showing that humans are programmed to crave sugar (aka simple carbohydrates), eating more veggies will help you feel less bloated, more regular, and energized.

Check, Check, Check.

I run intervals 3 times a week and mix up Body Pump, Pilates and Yoga the rest of the week... I live on fruits and veggies and the occasional slices of whole wheat toast... yet here I sit. With my gut.

Maybe I'll just start wearing maternity tops and minidresses to show off my shapely legs.

But for reals... any ideas on the secret of blasting belly fat?

It's over

2011-10-26T11:15:00.000-05:00

My staycation is over and I'm back to work. Trying to get back into the swing of things, get more organized and stay on top of things.

My week of doing nothing was exactly what I needed to decompress, get a lot of my to do list done and get to a place where I could clean up clutter in my life and get more in control.

Closets have been cleaned out, knick knacks set aside for a garage sale, in short I'm trying to simplify my life.

I'm also feeling like mixing things up on the blog front. I like to mix things up. I also like mixes from Braum's, hence my fat ass.

I'm still exploring my new gym. I've mainly been going to the Thornton Y and using the machines. If I drag my ass out of bed Friday morning I'm going to try the Sets and Reps class, it sounds similar to boot camp.

But my staycation made me addicted to sleeping in, that and a snuggly shih tzu make it had to brave the gym so early.

Fingers crossed I get up and run tomorrow morning.

Odds and Ends...

2011-10-18T21:40:00.000-05:00

I'm on staycation.

I'm using it to get back on top of my increasingly hectic life. I'm not complaining, I promise. Every event I'm running around to is something I've chosen to do and enjoy. I just can't let the rest of my life stuff slack to do it.

So what's been going on...I just finished 3 weeks of boot camp which I totally loved but can't afford to keep doing at the moment. Luckily I'm still getting my a couple of bills paid off then I'll be able to re-adjust my finances more than I can at the moment.

I didn't see huge number change from boot camp, one week I gained a pound the next week I lost 2, but I feel better and look toner than I did when I started. And I lost 2 inches of boobs.

It did get me into the habit of getting up early every day and working out, so now I'm hoping to keep that up despite not going to boot camp. I can either hit the park by my house for a run or a class at the gym.

Speaking of gyms, I've been a member of Gold's for the last few years because of a program through Blue Cross of OK that let me pay them a set fee and use the gym without signing a contract. But Gold's is no longer part of that program so I have to pick a new gym.

My options were Hillcrest, Curves and the Y. After checking the schedules and hours it looks like I'm going to join the Y. (it's on my list of things to do on my staycation) I'm also hoping to get some good runs in so I can still do the Tulsa Run on the 29th.

I did three miles on Monday, hoping for 4 on Wednesday. I'm totally digging this weather it's perfect for biking and running outside.

How are you enjoying the Oklahoma fall?

Boot Camp Revisited

2011-10-06T17:08:00.000-05:00

I'm nearing the end of my 3 week journey in boot camp. Well, the free section of my bootcamp journey.

4 days last week and 4 days this week I got up when my alarm went off at 6 a.m. When it was still dark outside and Molly was snoring at the foot of the bed, I would get up and put on my workout gear and drive sleepily to 16th and Yale to put myself through a workout to challenge me and wake me up.

Eventually the early alarm clock got easier and I started looking forward to boot camp. The days I missed were either for injury or illness and I found myself a hell of a lot bitchier without my morning sweat/exertion fest.

The Fit Body Boot Camp girls have me running, squatting, lunging and jumping my way to a tighter body. I haven't gone back and weighed in or had new measurements taken yet but I can tell a difference myself, we'll see if the numbers add up.

I've hd a lot of people wondering what exactly boot camp is, so here goes:

We alternate toning and cardio days and the exercises are always mixed up so we're never in a rut doing the same thing day in and day out. From running in place to jumping jacks (my least favorite thing ever) to ab series, jumping series and lots of lots of 'running ladders.' I leave class drenched in sweat and full of energy (for the most part (man I love parantheses today)).

I've also left class sweaty and exhausted and still had to push through the sore muscles for the rest of the day, but those days make me tougher. At least I pretend they do. I feel my muscles getting stronger, and I'm less sore now after certain workouts than I used to and more sore in other muscles. There are days my knee hurts and I have to modify certain exercises. But I do it and I keep going.

Boot camp hasn't broken me, it's making me push myself more and hopefully free the hot thin girl buried under my fat.

Remember- I still have two gift boot camp gift cards, let me know if you want to try it out... no one guessed the correct measurements to win them.

Stolen Idea

2011-10-05T08:11:00.000-05:00

So the other day one of my blogging buddies Laura wrote a blog about the supplements she takes to stay extra healthy.

Now Laura is A) awesome B) can cook real food and C) is a planking queen. When she got on twitter and asked about any supplements people took I of course told her about my obsession for the children's gummy vitamins with extra calcium. For reals. Delicious.

I have a medicine box full of supplements I should but don't take. So in light of Laura's example I'm going to look at what I'm taking now, what I should be taking and what I'm going to start taking.

First things first this is my pretty medicine box. You can't tell in this picture but the beads are sparkly and fun. I've had this box for years, I got a make up gift set in it once and I've never thrown a box away. Like I'm an obsessive compulsive organizer, I even have my underwear and socks folded in boxes I keep on a shelf in my closet. Separate boxes of course.

Next up are the pills that are supposed to lower my crazy bad cholesterol in theory I take this 3 times a day, really it's whenever I remember. I need to take a page out of Laura's book and carry my pills with me all the time.

Bonus: It has been shown that adding oils containing Omega 3 helps reduce craving for fatty foods. It also reduces amount of insulin, thus reducing hunger. Another important role of Omega 3, 6 and 9 is in assisting proper metabolism of other fats. Deficiency in Omega 3, 6 and 9 can result in the body's need for other kinds of fat, which will result in gaining weight.

And of course my nightly jelly bean vitamins. I'm seriously addicted to them. I eat like twice the serving. I figure it's okay since they're made for kids and I'm a grown up. Kind of.

And the pills I 'should' take. I have a wheel of pills with glucosamine, B12, Vitamin C, and a woman's one a day that just sit in my medicine box and I never ever take them. I should probably change that.

Notice the labels. Again, I'm OCD about organization.

There are also the things I do for my blood that are supplements of sorts:

Flax Seed- I grind my own and use it in my smoothie every morning.
Tulsi Tea- this is also called Holy Basil Tea it helps regulate your insulin levels in your blood (it can really help diabetics) and lower cholestorol.
and of course the no meat/most dairy to avoid the hormones and processed foods.

So I'm making my little baggie of pills to get back in the swing of taking all the required supplements. Maybe if I fill up on these things I'll curb my sweet tooth.

The Wall

2011-10-04T15:52:00.000-05:00

I think I have something against the number 8.

You see I was plugging along training for the Tulsa Run gearing up for the 15k when I got to the 8 mile long run and I just couldn't do it.

I tried it on the treadmill and stopped at 5. I went to the park and stopped after 4. Something in my head won't let me keep going. I haven't even gone running in almost 2 weeks because I've started boot camp.

But I want to do it. I want to mark the Tulsa Run off my things to do before I die list. I've got 25 days to go from my last long distance run of 7 miles to 9. So I'm making my training schedule now. Adding runs in with my continuing boot camp experiment.

Time to tear down this flipping running wall.

Boot Camp... week one

2011-09-30T17:10:00.000-05:00

So my first week of boot camp is over.

I'm sitting here sore in pretty much every muscle group, pooped from my new, earlier wake up time, and smelling of the BenGay I have on my sore left knee. But I'm toughing it out and getting tougher.

Once I got over dragging my lazy fat ass out of bed at 6 a.m. every day it's been pretty easy to get to class, the class isn't easy, but it hasn't been anything that I couldn't handle. It's pushed me, made me use muscle groups I haven't been using in my running/body pump combo. There was one day I pulled a calf muscle in class, but skipping one workout and using a bengay/ice pack combo and I'm fine.

Of course one week in is a bit too early to see physical results, but just going of my energy level, and my endurance boosts I'd say boot camp is a success.

And before I forget... I had to get measured before my 21 day experiment began. Even I was agog at my chest measurements, the girls are getting a bit ridiculous.

But I have 2 $50 gift cards to Fit Body Boot Camp so if you want to try out this new, crazy workout plan I'm on then guess what the girls measured.

Closes guesses win a card.

Como se dice?

2011-09-26T14:59:00.000-05:00

I was out to lunch with one of my besties the other day when we had a kind of awkward moment.

He started by saying I looked really good lately, and amended himself to say 'This sounds horrible but you look like you take up less room.' while making a hand motion to indicate I was narrower. Basically he can tell I've lost weight.

Now I wasn't offended at all, let's be honest nothing really offends me, but it brought up an interesting point: How do you tell someone they look good because they lost weight? It's like saying, "Hey you're less of a pig, good job!"

A friend from work merely exclaimed "Look at how skinny you are now!" at me one day when I walked into her office, she became my bestie for the day.

Mems tells me my gut appears to be getting smaller.

For the record I except any method of speaking that means I'm less of a fat ass.

Bootcamp Begins

2011-09-22T09:20:00.000-05:00

So I did this kind of crazy thing the other day... I agreed to a 21 day body transformation bootcamp.

Starting next week I'll be going to bootcamp at least 3 times a week in addition to my running to try to kickstart my body into losing some inches (hopefully from my gut) and get myself back into the habit of getting up early and working out.

Why am I doing this? Because my friend Julie (the Ouiser to my Clairee in a high school production of Steel Magnolias) has been raving about it. So when her bootcamp instructor offered this free chance to try it out I jumped at it... and asked Julie to write about it.

ABORTING MY CHEESE BABY: A BOOTY CAMP MIRACLE

Three months ago, if God herself had told me I would soon rise at 6 a.m. five times a week to willingly participate in something called “boot camp,” I probably would’ve thrown a nacho at her.

Sidenote: I like nachos. A lot. The result of this addiction is an oversized cheese baby who’s taken up residence in my belly. I’ve named him Fromage because, well, it sounds classier than Mexi Dip – not to mention less illegal. I’ve been trying to abort Fromage since his conception, but he’s one stubborn son of a chip.

Additional Sidenote: I like boots. I like camping. I even like camping boots. But boot camp? I thought that was where straight people went to get yelled at before losing important appendages. Boot camp? Fromage and I thought, “Non merci.”

Tertiary Sidenote: I don’t really know if God exists, let alone if God is a woman. Either way, in my eyes the ethereal being in question is more of a hermaphrodite.

Perspectives changed when my sister called me up about a Groupon for Fit Body Boot Camp. My first response was for her to PBQ (please be quiet)—boot camp would be worse than listening to a Journey compilation while having sex with that guy in Mask.

Then I began thinking about how I had just turned 30. How I’m single, a chunkie and no longer considered to have a poon, but instead must flaunt a shriveled up poon-no-no to the small class of men who still find 30-year-old women suitable and attractive. I thought about how I’m unhealthy, have about 10 too many weird syndromes and ache like a decrepit Q-Tip.

So I agreed to this boot camp business.

I ain’t gonna lie. The first week totes sucked. I could barely walk. I wanted to eat inanimate objects by 9:30 a.m. My ankles had swollen to the size of that old lady’s in “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.” And why for fuck’s sake was everyone so peppy and positive so early in the morning? Weren’t they hungover too?

The next week was better. I at least stopped wanting to throw dumbbells at my trainer (love you Stephanie!)

By the third week, I was Wonder Woman. I felt muscles that had been atrophied since high school. I felt Fromage dying a slow, brilliant death in my belly. I felt powerful. And by week seven, I’d lost 11 pounds and six inches.

I have a ways to go before I reach goal (which I’ve amended from fat college Julie to mid-sized college Julie, thanks to a newfound belief in myself), but now I know it’s possible to get into a pair of skinny jeans that aren’t spun from spandex.

Perhaps most importantly, I no longer want to sit on the couch all night watching TV (though I’ll always make an exception for The Good Wife). It’s like I’m taking some kind of booty camp Adderall. I write, I read, I do things around the house I should have done five years ago. I feel energized. I feel… healthy.

I’ve also regained a part of myself that I lost a long time ago – perhaps when I joined the workforce and my day began to consist of swapping computer chairs for barstools and couch cushions. I’m awake. Enlightened. Confident. Maybe even a little satisfied and happy. Could it be?

Don’t get me wrong, I still have issues – I still harp on things I shouldn’t and overanalyze situations to the point of exhaustion. I’m still impatient. I still drink too much and open my fat mouth when I shouldn’t (that’s one thing that will never be skinny). But I’ve swapped fast food for fresh produce, nachos for veggie-filled tacos and laziness for something closer to motivation.

Those are pretty big steps for this 30 year old poon-no-no. Makes me grateful for legalized abortion.

~

Now we'll see if bootcamp has the same positive impact on my lazy ass.

One Perfect Week

2011-09-19T08:21:00.001-05:00

The point of this week's Weight Watchers meeting (besides helping me learn not to eat a vegan pizza the night before a weigh in- hello 1lb gain.) was about trying to stay on the plan perfectly for 1 week.

So here goes. I woke up Sunday morning and ran errands and logged my breakfast and lunch. I went to Sam's and stocked up on fruits and veggies. Planned meals, planned workouts and my to do list.

My goal is to use this 'perfect' week to get on top of things in general. Get the crap done I've been putting off for the last few weeks.

Let's see how perfect I can be.

Freebie Yoga

2011-09-11T21:08:00.001-05:00

I've been getting more and more into yoga lately. It's been a good balance with all the running I've been doing.

But I'm both poor and on a budget so I've been trying to find ways to get in yoga classes without breaking out my wallet. Thanks to RTV I've been able to find a way.

Since the yoga classes at my gym don't really fit in with my schedule I'd been kind of doing a little yoga on my own from books, etc. But I found YogaTV and PilatesTV on Cox Channel 131 and added it to the DVR list.

So I always have a couple episodes saved to watch whenever I need to do some. The added benefit is that I can do it whenever it fits my schedule, and in whatever I feel like wearing. For example on Sunday I was in my comfy, ratty pajamas and did yoga in my bedroom floor before it was time for the Real Housewives.

Also a bonus, Bella thinks she has to help me with yoga so I'll be in the middle of downward dog and she'll run up and lay on the mat between my legs and lick my face.

You don't get that at a yoga studio.

Weight Loss Deadline

2011-09-06T10:41:00.000-05:00

It's here. A finite deadline to hit my goal weight. I've been needing something to force me to make a deadline and I got it last week. I'm going to be a bridesmaid in 2 of my favorite people's wedding in April.

So I better be goal by then. It will have been almost 1 1/2 years since I started Weight Watchers by then, which is plenty of time to redouble my efforts and lose the last 40 pounds I want to lose. More running, less processed food (my platelets will thank me for it) and let's get to it.

You know I want to re-enact part of this movie-

All My Single Ladies...

2011-09-02T07:57:00.000-05:00

As previously mentioned I went in for my yearly check up a couple of weeks ago.

My doctor and I have a strange relationship. She's been Mems' doctor since I was litttle and my doctor since I became too grown up for my awesome pediactrician (Dr. Knippers FTW) so she kind of acts like a surrogate mother to me sometimes. By that I mean meddling and judgemental in an attempt to be helpful.

Last year it was about my weight, this year about my love life. She's bothered that I'm single.

I've never really been bothered that I'm single. I mean one day I want to find someone to be the Pops to my Mems; the Coach to my Mrs. Taylor.. but should I be bothered that I'm single?

I've never been a serial dater... in my younger and thinner days I dated my share of awkward boys, but as I started putting on weight I stopped really dating much. Partially because my self-esteem took a nose dive, partially because I can honestly never tell I'm being hit on unless they just come out and say it.

Much like Josh Lyman... my love life mainly consists of me accidentally dating people. (If you get that reference then you can be my best friend -and I know my real life bestie totally got that reference.))

So maybe there's some truth in my doc's meddling. Maybe weight be damned I should get out there and start dating more... my Coach could be in a Tulsa bookstore reading a political biography waiting for me right now.

Or I could weight for Jason Segel to realize I'm his soul mate and come sweep me off my feet.

Going Global

2011-08-30T11:00:00.000-05:00

I noticed a billboard for a new mongolian BBQ place the other day on my way home from the gym and I realized that I rarely eat American food anymore.

Most of my meals are Lebanese, Asian or Mexican. I'm not surprised really, American cuisine is inherently based on meat or animal products. In fact, I think the only times I eat American is when I'm eating a boca burger.

Instead my meals consist of falafel, hummus, stir fry, sushi, and vegan Mexican food. It's all easy to make and pretty healthy. It's by no means International Cuisine... for that you have to check out the Global Table Adventure.

Some day I'll be daring enough to try some more exciting cuisine (Thai and Indonesian are up on the list)... but until then I'll stick with my old stand bys.

What nationality is your fave food?

Cholesterol, Smolesterol

2011-08-29T11:15:00.000-05:00

So I went to the doctor for my annual check up last week... and got some weird news with my blood tests this week.

Turns out I have horrible cholesterol. Like bad cholesterol that's borderline stroke risk. But I don't eat food with cholesterol so I'm pretty curious as to how it go so flippin' high. It's an enigma.

So what did my doctor tell me to do to lower it? Exercise. You know I run 4 days a weekand do weights and pilates 3 days a week and that's evidently not helping ( though I wonder how bad my cholesterol would be if I didn't do this).

I ended up getting on google to find ways to lower my bad cholesterol and the handy Mayo Clinic website offered my 10 things to do that I already did, so that was helpful.

In reality I'm adding flax seed and oatmeal to my smoothie and spent $40 bucks Omega3 supplements. So now I have indigestion that tastes like tuna salad. Sweet! Not really.
You know I always wanted to be mysterious... turns out my body just like to behave in mysterious ways.

Kate & the Case of the Missing Ke$ha CD

2011-08-25T07:50:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I picked up some, moderately shameful, new running music at my local library.

Turns out that was the beginning of a mystery worthy of Nancy Drew... or me (I do have a penchant for Murder She Wrote).

After I turned the stack of CDs back into the library, by way of the night drop slot, the computer still said I had Ke$ha at home and was slowly racking up overdue fees. In addition I also got banned from checking out new books or CDs. Surely this was some sort of music god's karmic justice for actually checking out the CD to begin with.

This did not help my summer book reading mission or the fact that I needed to check out a book for a book club deadline. I looked in my car to see if Ke$ha got stuck under the seat randomly and when I couldn't find it I decided perhaps my kid sister absconded with it.

Then I remembered my kid sister is emo and would never be caught listening to that crap. Hell, I was ashamed to be caught checking it out, let alone stealing it from the library.

Finally, I gave up. I needed to check out more things and I didn't have the damn Ke$ha CD. I showed up with my checkbook and offered to just pay for the phantom "Animal."

Now the twist in our story, I explained the predicament to the librarian I've had since college and she looked at me and said, "Well let's just check the shelf."
Low and behold Ke$ha was hiding in plain sight. Fees averted. New books checked out.

I'm not longer the girl who stole Ke$ha from the library.

Of Weight Loss & Boobs

2011-08-22T12:13:00.000-05:00

I weighed in this week at Weight Watchers and I lost another 2 pounds, which I was super happy about, but it got me thinking.

Well... that led to a conversation that got me thinking. Mems was hoping I'd fit back into this cute ruffled black slip dress after a few more pounds. I told her the dress fits again, except for in the chest. My boobs are too big for it.

I last wore the dress 4 years ago and I still love it so much. But the boobs won't budge.

Since January I've lost 22 pounds and this may be too much information (who am I kidding most of what I write is TMI) but none of that weight loss as been in my chest. I'm not complaining, I'm just stating a fact.

It's no secret that I'm comfortable with my boobs. In fact I rank my best qualities in this order- Tits, Teeth and Hair. It's been my nickname for myself for quite sometime. It's the reason I don't have a Mia Farrow pixie cut, I obsessively floss and I own a lot of tank tops. I'm not afraid of being buxom.

But there comes a point when, as other parts of me shrink, I really want a little bit to go. Just for fashion alone, I'm still stuck buying huge shirts to fit the girls that tend to tent around other parts of me.

Plus, let's face it if I ever reach my goal weight and the boobs don't go I'll probably have trouble standing up straight.

Big plans...

2011-08-17T22:53:00.000-05:00

I had big plans this week to post a photo blog of things I was excited about and then post about them this week.

Then this guy climbed a tower outside the news station where I work. No Really.

Rescuers get man off tower.

And this little girl got sick.

My Bella waiting on bloodwork at the Animal ER.

We still don't know what was wrong, but I was near-hysterical and she was in lots of pain. Whatever it was seems to have passed. Knock on wood.

So now, you wanna know what I'm really excited about?

This lunch box. I don't have to take my lunch to work anymore because I have a new gig at the same place, but if I did it would be in this:

You know I wanted to be Daphne growing up.

Also I got a new gadget to play with this weekend. I love a good kitchen gadget.

This actually came with a DVD instructional aide.

Also since I'm off soda I've been drinking a lot of tea. Instead of buying jug after jug of unsweet tea I bought a kettle!

It's red and shiny! Wait, what was I talking about?

And while picking up a set of dishes for my younger sis (Not mini me but the one with hair blonder than mine) at Big Lots I spotted a can of tomato soup that I can't wait to try... you see it's not your normal tomato soup.

It's yellow tomato soup! I'll let you know how it goes.

So there you go... some things I'm excited about. Stand by for follow ups.

Cleaning Up...

2011-08-08T10:38:00.000-05:00

The other day I was going to run errands and Mems looked at me and said "I'll be glad when you start dressing like a girl again."

I looked down at myself. Baggy jeans, converse and a baggy t-shirt, hair in a messy bun and no make up. My typical uniform. I'm a no muss, no fuss girl.

But I didn't used to be. I used to leave the house fully put together, never without lip gloss and mascara, always in heels and a cute outfit. Then I got fat. I stopped taking the time to make myself look pretty, I just never realized I did it. It's a habit I've decided to break.

So last week I was waxed, bleached and shellacked in the name of beauty. I spent hours pampering myself instead of hitting the gym or laying around reading. It was refreshing. I carried myself differently, I took more care with my clothes (though still ended up in cute jeans and cute tshirts instead of a baggy mess).

I feel like a girl again. Yes, I'm still a girl who needs to lose weight, but it's nice to find my girlie side again.

I'm still shit at putting on make up... but I'll learn.

New Tunes

2011-08-05T13:37:00.000-05:00

The last few weeks all my runs have been powered by the Clash, Kanye West, and the Foo Fighters. Effective, but I needed a change.

I decided for a drastic change and hit up my local library, Nathan Hale, and hit up their CD collection.

I left with Katy Pery, Ke$ha, Britney Spears, and P!nk (well I already owned that one, P!nk has long been a workout staple.)

I came home and uploaded the pop princesses to my Jeff Galloway podcast and last week started going princess on my runs. I kind of love it.

It made me faster, I sing along a little bit, and have more fun on my runs.

The only drawback? When I hear them on the radio now I feel like jogging in place.

Sushi Master!

2011-08-03T10:26:00.000-05:00

So if you follow me on twitter then this next sentence won't surprise you... I am obsessed with vegan sushi.

I'm sure it's partly the heat and the partly cause it's delicious and one veggie roll is a perfect meal for my Weight Watchers points.

But it's costly and I'm but a poor journalist so I needed to get creative to feed my habit, I signed up for a class at Sage Culinary School.

Some of my classmates

.
Then we learned about our instructor, who despite being a baby of just 23, has been making sushi since he was 16 including time spent studying in Japan.

And the sushi lessons began... first learning about making the rice (short grain white rice, steamed and mixed with rice vinegar and sugar to make it sticky.)

I must note here that when the instructor told us to wash the rice before cooking someone in the class asked 'with what?' ... even I know just to wash it with water. Win for me!

Then we started chopping and learning the proper way to slice the veggies for the roll structure, like a mini architecture lesson. And we made ample use of the compost bowl (which I totally love that Sage does- I really want to get a composter)

Composting!

Then the instructor did a couple of instructional rolls to show us the basics. The class was making the California Roll, I just left the crab out of mine.

Here's the show off instructors fancy plate:

Looks delicious right?

Then he set us loose to make our own rolls it is simple enough.

seaweed- rough side up
rice all the way to the end, pushed not mashed
ingredients a couple inches down the roll, then start.

Here's my first veggie sushi roll:

Isn't it pretty?

Then you have to have a really sharp knife to slice it into pieces... and plate it up.

Delicious!

The instructor even commented that mine looked really good! I'm a sushi natural!

But before I got to cocky the instructor was showing us an inside out roll that got a little complicated.

It's a caterpillar!

I'm not quite there yet. Now I need to hit up the Asian market to get supplies so I can start making my own sushi!

Extreme Makeover

2011-07-27T11:22:00.000-05:00

So I'm obsessed with Extreme Makeover Weight Loss edition.

I've never watched the Makover version of Houses so I don't know how it compares.

I find it fascinating to meet these morbidly obese people trying to lose weight and take control over their lives. I know I wasn't near their positions when I started my own (slow) weight loss journey but it's hard not to find a bit of a myself in them.

It's so inspiring to see them conquering their demons and pushing through their pain to come out on top.

Last week the subject was a guy who weighed almost 500 pounds and was working with the adorable and perky (but not too perky) host to do that... but this guy kept eating in secret and lying to his family and the trainer and put almost all the weight he lost back on.

Turns out he's addicted to food and the episode ended with him checking into an outpatient therapy program.

I found it fascinating, I think most of us have grabbed an unhealthy snack or meal and then lied about it to ourselves or someone we felt accountable to... but when does that go from a bad habit to an addiction?

It's interesting to see the changing attitude about food and obesity, as more people start to think of this as a disease.

What are your thoughts on food addiction?

The Traveling Journal...

2011-07-25T12:24:00.000-05:00

I've become horrible at tracking for Weight Watchers. And I've gained 2 pounds to prove it.

So to jumpstart my tracking again, I volunteered to have the traveling journal from my weight watchers meeting. It's just like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants except with a journal instead of jeans.

Every week a different member takes the book home and tracks their journey. So I had it for 2 weeks. Yes, I managed to volunteer on a holiday week.

By the way for day 1... even with my activity swap... I went 15 points over. So tracking is a necessary tool obviously.

After the 2 (well it turned into 3 because I forgot to bring the journal back to the meeting) I lost 1.5 of the 2 I gained not tracking. And I was reminded how important planning is to my diet.

All of the days I went over points were days I didn't have any food on hand and I was snacking or skipping meals and eating unhealthy snacks in the middle of the night.

So I turned in my tracker and prepped my fridge.

We'll see how this week's weigh in goes.

Lazy Runner

2011-07-21T09:09:00.000-05:00

If you're not in Oklahoma then let me enlighten you... it's typically 115 degrees outside these days. Which makes it hard to run outside.

I have some running friends who are much more hard core than I am and will get up early or wait until after dark and run in the hot, muggy heat.

I'm lazy. I stopped running outside almost a month ago and have been sticking to the treadmill either at my house or at the gym.

Sometimes I feel bad or like less of a runner, but I also don't want to drop dead at the park by my house.

On the plus side since I started running inside and using mynew Jeff Galloway training app I've shaved 6 minutes off my 5k time.

It's still a slow 39 minutes... but hey it's a start.

Eye Catching...

2011-07-18T10:05:00.000-05:00

So my Cosmo came in the mail the other day... and my eye immediately went to one article.

Can you guess which one?

That's right Flatten Your Abs in 4 Easy Steps!

Why? What'd you notice first?

So I flipped to pg 156 and find the 4 move (and 6 minute) ab workout courtesy of Tracy Anderson.

Anderson by the way helps my BFF Gwynnie look good in Itty Bitty Bikinis at age 38.

And you know if it's good enough for Gwynnie then it's good enough for me. So I'll be taking on these 4 moves and if my abs don't get flat you know I'll let Gwyneth know.

When Kate went to Sam's

2011-07-14T10:08:00.000-05:00

So I've made no secret of my hate for Wal-Mart. But I'm also but a poor journalist. So I sucked it up and headed to Sam's with my Aunt Stacy the other day. My goal to find some deals on my healthy staples to save money and stock up.

I hadn't been to Sam's since I was a wee lass with my Mems and Pops. Then I fondly ran from sample booth to sample booth to eat whatever was being offered. This time we wandered around the store while my aunt got what she needed and I looked around and picked up a few things.

I ended up with a big tub of hummus, guacamole, cherry tomatoes, spinach, tomato soup, carrots and some snacks for a pool pawty I had the other night.

Look at how packed my fridge is! Yes, that's PBR on the bottom shelf. I'm classy.

All the supplies made it easier to do a lot of prep work for eating this week... but that's another blog.

Web Obsession

2011-07-13T07:32:00.000-05:00

So my pal Nathan sent me this new website the other day and it's become my new obsession for recipes.

The Vegan Stoner.

It promises to be show readers how to cook fast, cheap and vegan. Right up my alley.

I'm making plans to try the edamame dip, peanut butter cup, and the chile con corn.

Of course I still raid Vegging out in T-Town for recipes too. And Martha Stewart. I love Martha Stewart.

Where are your favorite places to find recipes?

Roasted Chickpeas

2011-07-12T10:01:00.000-05:00

I've been trying to up my protein after feeling exhausted and drained of energy most of last week.

So I finally made this recipe I've had to give me an easy way to get some added protein in my diet.

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas from FitSugar.

They're pretty easy to make. Can of peas, olive oil, chili powder and paprika backed at 400 for half an hour. They smelled delicious while baking and look pretty tasty when I pulled them out of the oven.

Aren't those delectable looking?

New Trainer....

2011-07-11T09:53:00.000-05:00

So I'm kind of addicted to Apps. Especially now that I have my iphone back. I did not enjoy my short stint in blackberry hell.

Last weekend I bought a new app to improve my 5k time, it was 2 bucks and it's Jeff Galloway. If you're not familliar with him, look him up. When I started running he's the guy I used- he created the run/walk program that I still use.

Now I'm using the program which awesomely uses my own songs as a playlist and speeds up the beat to match the suggested speed. It makes my runs go a lot smoother and go by a lot faster.

The catch is that I'm not running as long in this new training process, though I am running a full mile per hour faster than before.

So in an effort to keep up my mileage I'm running every day now, but just about 20 minutes a day, still planning on a 4 miler on Saturday or Sunday, even if it's at my slower place I need to get some miles in... hopefully it'll be a faster couple of miles than normal.

Workout Rest

2011-07-10T17:31:00.000-05:00

If you (like a good reader) read previous posts you know that my brain and body are exhausted.

So I'm taking the week off from running. It's killing me but I also think it'd kill me if I was running every day like I did last week.

Instead tonight I'll be doing 20 minutes of yoga, some deep stretching and hopefully sleep through the night.

And I'm totally booking a massage for this week.

Lunch time rituals...

2011-07-07T11:21:00.000-05:00

The heat, my increased business at work and intense laziness means I rarely take a lunch break.

So I've been eating at my desk and getting a little predictable with my daily lunch selections.

Can of soup, piece of fruit and a veggie to snack on.

I'm currently obsessed with tomato basil soup and my special can opener.

It's a whale!

Seriously. Cutest. Can. Opener. Ever.

The Sleep That Never Ends...

2011-07-06T06:43:00.000-05:00

I got home from work the other day and fell asleep at 7:30 pm. Slept right till 10. Got up brushed my teeth and slept till 6:30 the next morning.

I woke up still tired and exhausted. Sleep is kicking my ass the last few months.

Most nights I don't sleep through the night. I'm up 3 to 4 times either just waking up for no reason or because Molly 'Tiny Bladder' needs to go outside at 4am. It all adds up for me to be exhausted most of the time.

Last week I got really lazy and in addition to my exhaustedness I ate like crap. Too much processed food, too much soda, not enough water, vitamins or veggies. In addition to that I ran every day, including a 5k on Saturday. I think I drained all my reserves.

So this week now that I've had my 10 hours of sleep I'm focusing on getting enough veggies, fruits and proteins... which I sometimes slack on in my vegan-ness.

Time to get my shit together and get back on track. (She types while yawning)

Getting A Grip

2011-07-03T19:59:00.000-05:00

The last few weeks... I have felt like my life is crazy out of control. I'm not getting things done, I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off at work, at home.

I need to breathe. I need to sleep a whole night through. My mental health is at issue.

So I'm sitting here on a Sunday night typing this. Mentally compiling (and typing into a checklist on my phone) what I need to do this week. Whether personal, professional, family related or whatever. I need a black and white list of my crap to get one.

With that in mind I'm instituting a new wake up hour, new bedtime and I'm 86ing soda again. My stressed out craziness has been come way to dependent on numerous Diet soda through out the day.

Of course this study came out linking diet soda to weight gain... so that's added incentive to kick my habit (again).

I feel, perhaps wrongly so, that if I can re-gain control of my diet and cooking then the rest of my life will fall into place.

I guess we'll find out.

The Skirt

2011-06-24T09:00:00.002-05:00

Something crazy happened on Thursday dear readers. I wore a skirt to work.

I'm going to guesstimate it's been about 2 years since the last time I wore a skirt or dress to work.

But all my running and healthy eating has paid off and I fit back into my favorite skirt.

This hot number.

I love this skirt. I've had it for years. It makes me feel like a hot mama to wear it. So I was really excited it fit. I may have done a little dance around my bedroom.

So I threw it on, with a black shirt some nude heels (which ended up under my desk halfway through the day and I wore my fluffy work house shoes) and I was off.

By the way my work besties (Emily and Katelin) were so amazed I wore a skirt and heels they made me do a spin when I got to work. That's how rare this is, of course if I keep fitting back into my cute clothes that could change.

If I lose 3.8 pounds then I'm down 25 since the beginning of the year... so I've been running every day and tracking points like crazy... so we'll see come Monday night.

Seriously?!

2011-06-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

The other day I got a Facebook invite from a friend. She's turning 30 in November and wants to run a half marathon to commemorate it. Originally I declined, saying I was going to be running in a marathon relay in the same event she was doing the half, but then I started thinking.

Why not?

I run about 3.5 miles 3 times a week, I bet I can start upping my mileage now and make it to November. Well I did seek the counselor of my much more seasoned runner friends first.

Then I found a free training plan online that doesn't seem too tough to tackle

It's from Runners World Tulsa and I'm modifying the running days, but I started it on Sunday.

I mean I need something else to train for... let's do it.

Boobs.

2011-06-20T09:00:00.002-05:00

Let's talk boobs. (I know shocking, I'm talking about Boobs. Get over it. I'm a boob girl.)

I've been on a hunt for the perfect summer dress this year. I want a strappy sundress that doesn't make me look like a porn star. Everyone I find has that criss/cross top that I guess adds cleavage to flat chested girls but for me it just looks like my breasts are trying to escape the top of my dress.

I'm all for cleavage but these dresses make me look obscene. WTF Stores?

I'm fairly certain shopping would be a hell of a lot easier if I had smaller boobs. In fact Kate Hudson summed it up perfectly after gaining weight (and boobies) during her pregnancy. And yes I'm just as suprised that I'm quoting Kate Hudson-

*Big breasts are fun for certain things and really not fun for other things. Plus, I love fashion, and having big breasts is not ideal for certain looks. They’re way more fun when you’re not in your clothes. Then, they’re a blast!*

This is completely true. Boobs are bad for fashion. I have to buy shirts a size bigger to fit my boobs and they hang loose or it fits my bottom half and my boobs squeeze out like overripened melons. It's crap.

I'm not the only girl with boobs. A majority of American women are size 12-14 and you know that means a lot of them carry weight in their boobs too... so why won't stores offer clothing that compliments our figures?

Guess it's tank tops and shorts all summer long for me.

Fashion people need to figure out boobs are great... and clothes should be cut accordingly.

I mean hell, if it wasn't for boobs I'd never get dates. Or out of parking tickets.

Lazy Ass.

2011-06-17T09:00:00.002-05:00

I haven't gone running or worked out in a week.

On one hand I feel bad about this, on another I've been running around at work, running errands for Mems, and I'm pretty exhausted. If I was trying to get workouts in this week I think I'd drop.

So I'm going to enjoy my self-imposed break. I'm getting an extra hour of sleep by skipping my run, well on the nights Molly doesn't decide to get up in the middle of the night. If you follow me on twitter you've probably seen my 3am rambling tweets post Molly-potty break.

Now I'm making my to do list of stuff to get done tomorrow hopefully... so I can get back to working out this weekend.

As much as I love my workout break. My ass will not continue to shrink if I stop forever.

No Pressure

2011-06-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

A weird thing has happened.

Since I stopped running with my training schedule and just started throwing on my pandora and hitting the track it's like I want to run all the time.

Instead of it feeling like a training run I have to get done so many times a week it's like a crazy addiction.

Seriously I can't stop running.

I'm like a fucking energizer bunny.

Shopping.

2011-06-10T11:51:00.000-05:00

Let's talk about shopping. More importantly the hell that is dressing rooms.

You see I've been working my ass off and feeling better about myself so I was going to treat myself with some new clothes... so I went to the Mall of Death.

I picked up some shirts, dresses and pants to try on throughout the trip, and I wasn't delusional-I picked up sizes that should fit.

Then I was in that dressing room, with the drab walls, the overhead lighting and the ridiculous bench no one's ass will fit on.

Will stores one day realize they'd sell more clothes if the dressing rooms were painted peach and the lighting was soft?

Instead I'm going to keep wearing the clothes I already own and continue having to pull up my pants every 5 minutes because they're too damn big.

Tour De Cure

2011-06-08T07:10:00.000-05:00

So I did it. I rode 10 miles last Saturday morning for the Tour de Cure.

I didn't die in the middle of the ride and I raised 200 bucks for the American Diabetes Association.

It was the longest bike ride I've ever done. I'd been training, but never gone more than about 7 miles at a time so I was a little nervous and I was concerned because I'd never ridden the route... but I took off with my pandora station set to Ke$ha and my water bottle loaded with cold water.

The first leg was down hill and great... then was the trek up a slight hill... which you know was so much fun (sarcasm)... and the majority of the trek was a pretty flat trail along riverside and through the neighborhood across from Riverside.

I made it all okay. There were a few spots where I would start to feel like I was going to pass out.. which I blame on the fact that I do not eat before I work out. I should have made an exception for a long ride.

Anyway I pushed through and kept going... eventually the only people behind me were fat kids. But I wasn't riding to beat anyone but myself.

I was pretty proud of making it the entire way without walking at all... until I got to the hill that took us back into the neighbhorhood. My knee could not take that motherfucker... so I walked it up the hill then finished up riding the rest of the way.

Then I had to haul the bike back to where I parked and drive home... but I was still feeling woozy so Mems was good enough to come and get me after I loaded my bike up and took me home to eat and shower so I wouldn't pass out.

It is worth noting that I lathered myself in SPF 50 before the race and still came away with about 700 more freckles than before. My shoulders will soon be one large freckle.

Now I need something else to train for. Ideas?

Cheating.

2011-06-03T12:46:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, I had cheese. It was amazing.

I made an exception to my vegan diet to go out to lunch with my girls.

It's come up before with other vegan and people who wonder about my cheats... I've basically been 80% vegan and 20% vegetarian since January

Meaning... I haven't had meat since New Year's Eve. But I've had dairy once or twice since then. Not on a regular basis, but if I'm out with someone and I have no other food options I'll opt for the vegetarian one, even if it means eating a bit of cheese or dairy. I'm not going to throw a fit or starve myself if the place doesn't have a vegan option.

I will say at most places I've been I have not had a problem finding a vegan option. My limitations have been few and far between, especially at locally owned places.

Other vegans have questioned this practice, and rightfully so I'm sure, but since I came about being vegan from a medical standpoint more than from a 'don't be cruel to animals' way of thinking makes it less of a struggle to stay 100% vegan.

That being said the fact that I'm not disgusted with meat and dairy, but merely avoiding it to make my immune system less crazy means that I really flippin' miss it.

And by it I mean bacon.

Results!

2011-06-02T10:54:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I'm convinced that my weight loss shows up in one big lump.

A last week I hit my 10% goal. But it wasn't until the last few days were people started noticing my weight loss.

In the last 4 days 4 people have told me they can tell I've lost weight. So yay!

I've also been cleaning out my closets to get my summer clothes out and pack away my many (awesome) sweaters.

I've managed to find 2 pairs of jeans and one pair of black pants that didn't fit last year by now fit. So that's another yay.

I've been really been working on toning my mid-section lately. I'm happy with how my legs are looking (well aside from the paleness- I used spray tan and I'm a streaky mess).

Now I need my gut to go. Like yesterday.

Tits, Teeth and Hair

2011-05-31T09:02:00.000-05:00

I've started and stopped and deleted this post about a million times. Well, really 4 times but I like to exaggerate.

It's been hard to put into words the random insecurities going through my head. But I've had conversations with 4 of my nearest and dearest recently... including Mems and the beloved bestie behind "My Kid is a Jerk" so I may as well vent it out here... and see if anyone else is dealing with the same crap in their head.

I got whiny and maudlin about my weight, for as loud and sassy and empowered as I like to pretend to be, I was that girl. Insecure in my body, my clothes, my company... unhappy in myself for a ridiculous reason. I've become convinced that the sum of my parts is basically tits, teeth and hair.

I picked and pulled at my outfit and complained about not being cute and tiny enough. When Mems asked me why I thought anyone cute and tiny would be more appealing than me I looked at her like she grew a second head. I couldn't believe she had to ask, I finally responded common sense. Who wouldn't prefer a cute, tiny blonde girl? I'm the chubby sarcastic sidekick in the lifetime TV movie about me.

I haven't been in a relationship since I was thin. Even then I wasn't happy, I was constanly worried he'd find someone cuter and thinner and leave me in the dust ( the opposite was true). I assumed when I lost the weight this time those insecurities would have magically disappeared. Ha!

Now I'm happier with myself, funnier, brasher and in most ways more sure of myself. So why can't I shake this feeling that I'm not a desireable person? Was it a combination of vodka, birthdays and hormones or do I really need the therapy Mems suggested?

Why the hell am I convinced being thin will make me happier? Why am I asking myself questions like a fat Carrie Bradshaw?

God I'm sick of hormones.

Yoga-Kate

2011-05-30T13:30:00.000-05:00

In my recent quest to trim and tone the gut I've been doing a lot of yoga and pilates.

It helps my back, improves my posture and kind of relaxes the hell out of me.

I was talking classes but like the moron that I am I let the classes expire so now I'm using a handy total body flow I found on fitsugar.com.

Total Body Flow Yoga

I follow that up with a series of Pilates abs workouts.

I'm addicted to the Hundred, Roll Up, Single Leg Stretch and the Double Leg stretch.

Here's a look at some Pilates moves to prep for bikini season (which by the way I will not be wearing)

Pilates For Abs

Re-Running

2011-05-27T07:29:00.000-05:00

So I've been back on the track this week. I've been as sporadic with my workouts as I have been with my posts.

Of course sweeps and breaking weather season are finally over so I actually have time to breathe, sleep and run.

Instead of jumping back into my Couch to 5k training program I've just been turning on my Pandora and running every other song.

Turns out Ke$ha is the best running music. And also if I'm running early enough then I'll sing along while going... aloud... and hope there is no one else at the park. Sometimes if the song is good enough I don't really care.

Sometimes when I'm tired and on my last lap I get lazy with my singing.

I actually caught myself singing along to Miley Flippin' Cyrus. That Party in the USA is damn catchy.

Let's Talk Boobs

2011-05-23T11:37:00.000-05:00

I broke down the other day and bought a new sports bra.

I hate buying bras, but I don't hate it as much as I hate the pain that comes with running in my old sports bra.

So I hit up the sporting good store and shelled out 30 bucks on a fancy new bra.

Let me tell you it is amazing. First of all I put the bra on and I was damn near flat chested it wrangled the girls so well.

Then when I went for my first run and holy hell I was convinced I'd been an idiot for not buying one sooner.

I'd never had a bounce free run before... but I'm kind of obsessed with them now.

Milestones...

2011-05-19T07:04:00.000-05:00

I reached a pretty cool milestone at this week's Weight Watchers meeting. A) I'd lost another 2.6 pounds which is a by YAY cause I'd splurged on 4 vodkas and a 2am trip to Village Inn last weekend. Unknown how many WW points that added up to.

It also means I hit my 10% goal. Woo hoo! I got this lovely key chain to commemorate the event.

Cute right?

Not only that I got a special charm called the "Sass" award to commemorate reaching that goal in just 16 weeks in the program. Which to me seems like a long time but I guess isn't as long as I thought.

See how cute? It's like I always have 2 hands clapping me on everywhere I go now.

Here's my set together-

So I told Mems about my milestone... and that I'd like to lost another 20% of my body weight and she looked at me and said 'That's all you want to lose?" Yes she's serious.

We have very different ideas about my ideal weight. But she agreed my number was probably better.

We'll see.

Creature of Habit.

2011-05-18T11:25:00.000-05:00

If you guys haven't figured it out by now... I'm kind of weird.

I tend to find foods I like and eat them regularly. Like I'll eat the same thing for lunch 5 days a week. It's easy cooking wise and I know I like it so why mess with it.

Beyond that I have about 6 foods that I eat every day no matter what- Apple, banana, orange, a carrot and a green smoothie.

I've found it makes it easier to skip the junk... mainly cause I'm full of fruit and veggies. I have a similar rule about drinking 64 ounces of water before I can have soda (or tea)... let me tell you that keeps your stomach full for a pretty long time.

Do you have any rules that help you get your nutrients in?

Me and Carrie Fisher

2011-05-16T09:45:00.000-05:00

I used to be a morning person. I used to get up at 6 every day and get on the treadmill, get ready for work and run errands before I went in to the station.

Yeah, not so much anymore. Now my alarm goes off at 6... and I change it to 6:30... then to 7:00... then I finally drag my ass out of bed and go straight to the shower. I'd save my workout for afterwork... if I had the time and wasn't exhausted.

In the last few weeks this has led to a lot of missed runs. Then I read this-

Carrie Fisher's Update in People Magazine

Now, it probably doesn't surprise any of you to know that I love Carrie Fisher for her verbose, sarcastic and witty prose. Then she and I started a quest to lose weight at the same time and I considered her a sister in the weight loss journey.

When I saw that Carrie is up on the elliptical first thing every day just to get it over with and I said "Fuck it I can do that."

So the alarm went off at 6 last Wednesday and I dragged my sorry ass out of bed and headed to the park for my first run in 3 weeks.

It was tough, I was tired but I made it through.. partially thanks to the older lady walking the opposite way around the track who would clap for me every time I passed her.

It gave me more energy and it helped me be in a better mood.

Which is good, because I've been told I'm really negative. Even the most negative person some people have ever met.

Still Riding

2011-05-11T20:52:00.000-05:00

So I don't know if you heard... but one of my fave fellow bloggers from Quarterlife Confused joined my Tour De Cure team... as well as the pal that roped me into the race Lou Ann from The Lulu Confessions.

Plus one of my Favorite former newsies Julie. So you know you want to do the same. All the cool, sarcastic ladies are doing it.

The Tour De Cure is coming up on June 4th.. and I'm doing the 10 mile ride. Our goal is to raise $150 per team mate.

Some of you have been lovely enough to already make a donation to my team... but I'm not there yet.

So I'm begging again... and will probably beg again as it gets closer to the ride date.

Also I haven't ridden my bike in the last 2 weeks because I was sick. So you can't be less prepared than me.

One Step Closer To Goal

2011-05-10T07:46:00.000-05:00

I had my first weigh in in 3 weeks Monday night. In those 3 weeks I'd been on vacation and eating out every day, been sick and sleeping and eating all the time and on a cleanse for a bit.

I did not work out at all, in fact until the Pilates I just did while watching Bethenny on Bravo I hadn't worked out in I think 3 weeks exactly. There's been issues with not being able to breathe without coughing up a lung... and I'm finally completely over it... so I need to get back on the horse and do it.

Back to the weigh in... I ended up losing 2.6 pounds. I'd had a bit of a gain before my vacation started, so I'm right at 20 pounds again. And I'm just 2 pounds away from having lost 10% of my original body weight.

Which is pretty awesome. Obviously I still have a long way to go, but I'm pretty excited about this. I'll do an obnoxious dance around my house when it happens.

It's weird, I've been listening to all of the different leaders and members at Weight Watchers talk about how much they've lost and how long it took them to lose it... so I know it's not going to happen overnight. I'm 20 pounds down and 47 to go.

So 5 months in I'm almost a third of the way there... so I'll hopefully be at goal by my 30th birthday.

Let's do this.

Preggo!

2011-05-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

I love spring. I love shopping at the Farmer's Market, grilling veggies, laying outside reading while the dogs play... and planting my garden.

Last year I bought a double planter so I could plant herbs on top and tomatoes hanging upside down. It didn't do well. My tomato plants grew but never produced a tomato. My plants were barren.

So this year I headed over to Ted and Debbie's (my former employer!) to pick up some grape tomatoes to try again.

Aren't they pretty? I love grape tomatoes.

This year I decided to only plant tomatoes in the planter and used miracle grow potting soil to see if that helps.

Tomatoes up top... tomatoes down below.

Not long after I planted Tulsa became like Seattle and it rained and rained. But my plants persevered and lo and behold one of them is pregnant!

I'm going to be a tomato mom!

Planning Ahead

2011-05-08T18:10:00.000-05:00

So I'm going on week 2 of the cleanse. I've had a few cheats, drinks at a concert and dairy at a gala. In both cases I went super clean the day of to prepare. Some things are unavoidable.

But I'm keeping at it and now I'm adding my workouts back into the mix. I've been avoiding running or getting on the bike because I was still dealing with congestion from the sinus infection I had 2 weeks ago.

Now, I've set the alarm to get up and run at 630 every day this week. I figure if I'm adding new habits in I may as well try to start working up in the morning too.

I also spent most of the day cooking today so I'll have lots of options this week. I made a pot of Zucchini Soup, some protein balls, and spanish rice.

Then I rewarded myself with some veggie rolls and Fringe on DVD.

Happy Mother's Day to me.

Self Imposed Break

2011-05-05T19:58:00.000-05:00

I haven't worked out in almost 2 weeks.

First I had a friend in town and was busy playing hostess, then I got sick and this last week I've been trying to get caught up on everything and get back to 100% before I hit the trail again.

So it's weird. I miss working out. Like crazy. I've been trying to get my body onto an earlier sleep schedule so I can fit in more workouts starting next week.

I'm also a few days into the cleanse and I'm don't know if it's the lack of processed foods and sugar or what but I do feel better, I have more energy, feel clearer somehow.

Or maybe I'm in a hunger induced craziness and none of that is real... anyway 3 more weeks.

Cleansing it Up

2011-05-02T12:53:00.000-05:00

So I've been in a slump. I'm still getting over whatever sickness I've been battling for the last week and a half... that on top of being on vacation for a week means I've been eating lazy and being lazy.

I haven't been able to run or ride the bike because I haven't been able to breathe deeply without coughing. I haven't cooked because I'm exhausted and I've been snacking or not eating at all.

Not the way to stay healthy or lose weight.

So I'm jumpstarting myself back onto the horse and going back to the Quantum Cleanse .

No alcohol, animal products, caffeine, gluten, sugar for 21 days. I hit the store and stocked up on my fave fruits and veggies.

Made some Falafel-Millet patties and some Amy's organic veggie soup to eat this week for lunch.

Peeled an orange for tomorrow and sliced carrots to have on hand.

So let's do it. Get all this gunk out of my system and get healthy again.

Slump be damned!

My Route 66 Roadtrip

2011-04-29T19:54:00.000-05:00

So last week one of my BFFs came to visit. Carly used to work here many moons ago but now is back in her hometown of Minneapolis... but I periodically convince her to come back to Tulsa to visit.

This time when she came we drove to Oklahoma City along Route 66... if you follow me on Twitter you've seen these pics... if not... enjoy.

Happy Burger in Sapulpa. Love this sign.

We checked out the abandoned TeePee Drive in also in Sapulpa and I stole this C from the old marquee letters.
Carly also snagged a letter for herself.

We stopped at the Rock Cafe in Stroud for lunch.
I went off the vegan for the road trip so I had a grilled cheese.
Delicious.

An original gas station along Route 66.

Carly in action snapping photos.
You can't take the photog out of the girl.

The Round Barn in Arcadia. So cool.
I also bought a bitchin' squirrel vase while I was there.

Made it to OKC and found the Banjo Museum. I want to go to there with Steve Martin.

Flaming Lips!

Vince Gill!

Pops! Stopped for ice cream and soda. Amazeballs.

Dressing Thin

2011-04-28T09:00:00.004-05:00

So I'm obviously not at all where I want to be weight wise... but I am smaller so it's making my wardrobe complicated. I don't fit into my thin clothes and my "medium" clothes are starting to be too big... so I've got my own special uniform now.

I told you a few months ago about my fave Tulsa thrift stores when I picked up some smaller clothes after my first round of weight loss.

Now we're between seasons and I don't want to spend money on clothes I hopefully won't be wearing for too long... so I bought some new tank tops (black, white, brown) new leggings (black, brown) to wear with my closet full cardigans and sweaters. Add boots, flip flops or flats and my Jackie O glasses and you've got me for the next couple of months.

But if you don't want the ease... or laziness... of wearing basically the same thing every day then check out Weight Watchers Tips to Look Thinner.

Running, Sneezing, Neti Pots and Salt Lamps.

2011-04-27T09:12:00.003-05:00

There is nothing I want to do more right now than go for a run. My legs are achy from lack of a good sprint. The tension is building in my shoulders and neck.

I need to sweat and lose myself on the track.

But I can't. Right now I can barely take a deep breath without hacking up a lung. On Thursday I will have been sick a week. I hate being sick. Between the rain, the pollen and the wind my allergies are going flippin' crazy.

So I'm on the neti pot, the humidifier, the salt lamp, excedrin and xyzal. That makes the day partly bearable... but my god I need to get out there.

Let's all send good vibes to Kate's sinuses so I can get my fat ass back on the track ASAP.

Skipping a week

2011-04-26T07:49:00.000-05:00

I made a decision on Friday not to go to my Weight Watchers meeting on Monday night.

The decision was two-fold. One I had a bestie visiting from Minnesota and we were eating our way along Route 66 (which also lead to me eating dairy 3 times, but I did stay vegetarian) and I can't currently breathe deeply without hacking up a lung. That makes it hard to run or use the bike.

Also there's the fact that Tulsa currently thinks it's Seattle with the amount of rain we've had in the last 4 days. So I've been sitting around and eating and worrying in the back of my head about my weigh in.

So no weigh in. Carly has gone home and I'm back to vegan and drinking lots of water. I still can't breathe through my nose or without hacking up a lung... so no run today.

Hopefully the combo of Xyxal, humidifier, salt lamp and neti pot will amend the whole breathing thing soon.

I mean I sound like flippin' Steve Urkel. Screw that.

Running Observations

2011-04-25T16:14:00.000-05:00

I've been plugging along on my running training. Roughly halfway through the Couch to 5k in 8 weeks. It's much different than when I was running it on the treadmill.

I will say that running outside is kind of my personal hell. Specifically yesterday I was running in the wind and could not breathe while hauling my ass up the hill on the far side of my park. It was not a positive boost for me.

So I'm keeping at it, not letting the wind keep me down.

There were some nice observations this week when I was in my running gear. On 2 different days my aunt and mother respectively told Mems they didn't recognize me when they drove past me on my way to the track because they said I was so much smaller. So that's a win.

This weekend I decided my poor feet needed a treat after all the running I'd been doing. So me and my pals went to my fave salon Mai Tai Salon at 36th & Harvard. They've been doing my nails since I was 17, in fact Mai did my mani/pedi the day of my Senior Prom. I looked amazing. So good Reese Stole My Look.

I was sitting in the massage chair with my feet soaking. When Tai came over to start my pedi he said, oh you have the callouses and made me soak for 15 more minutes before he attempted to smooth my poor feet.

In the end my tootsies got pampered and I got some delightfully pretty purple nails to start the spring season.

Riding for a Cure

2011-04-20T10:35:00.001-05:00

I got a funny email the other day from a friend in the PR world asking if I'd be up for helping with Tour de Cure. That's the annual bike ride to benefit the American Diabetes Association.

I of course said yes, then came the twist. They wanted me to be a "Celebrity Rider" I'm sure they're using the term celebrity loosely. So I'm in. Got the bike out and got the tires fixed at Lee's.

I'm supportive of any way to help cure diabetes. You see about 7 years ago (give or take) my mom was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

Now my mother and I don't have your typical Mother/Daughter relationship... but we're delightfully adorable.

It's pretty rare for an adult, especially one in her 40s to be diagnosed with it... leave it to my mom to be extra special. Now she's on 2 kinds of insulin and still can't control her blood sugars all the time.

So any money that can go towards research to stop this disease is well spent in my book.

Not only Mother, but my great-grandfather who I never met, but he begat my beloved Pops and died in his 50's from complications of diabetes.

He also looked adorable in his sailor suit-

So now I'm making Team Fat Ass- I want you all to ride with me. I'm doing the 10 mile ride.. on June 4th.

Details are on my Fundraising Page Make a donation if you don't want to ride... or join Team Fat Ass use the code- Recruit_2011 (it's case sensitive) and start raising money!

Screw Diabetes!

Kick Ass Workout

2011-04-19T09:17:00.000-05:00

It hasn't been that long since I told you all about how much fun I had taking a self defense class... learning to kick ass and getting in a good workout.

Here's a self-defense refresher if you forgot it.

Well a few months after I took that class I ended up giving a very special Ignite Tulsa talk on self defense. Like Miss Congenialitybut with cursing.

After some technical difficulties the video has been posted online.

Enjoy-

Oh Gwyneth!

2011-04-18T07:48:00.000-05:00

So my best friend Gwyneth Paltrow is coming out with a cookbook. And a country album. And a lifestyle magazine. She's the more pretentious Oprah (if that's even possible)... and I just can't stop loving it.

I even DVRd Regis and Kelly last week because Gwyneth was cooking. She made something I couldn't eat but I did love hearing her talk about cooking and I totally admit I got a little teary when she started crying talking about how her Dad influenced the cookbook. I still start crying almost every time I talk about Pops. Daddy's Girls are like that long after Daddy is gone. Trust me on this.

Waterworks aside this book is a pretentious mess waiting for me to read it.

So imagine my joy when my friend Katelin found a blog with the best lines from Gwyneth's new cookbook.

This is my favorite line-

"I'm not sure how healthy bacon is in general, but I know it's incredibly delicious." This week has been like water torture to avoid giving into my bacon craving.

I'm tempted to get someone to sit in my kitchen and eat bacon and tell me how good it is so that I can live vicariously through them.

I feel so much better knowing my best friend and former vegan Gwyneth Paltrow also loves bacon. It's like a forbidden love. Like the Thorn Birds in my kitchen.

My other fave phrase- "Hippie Shame Spiral" You KNOW I'm going to steal that one.

I'm what my friends lovingly (at least in my head) call a crazy hippie liberal.

And yes, I baked cupcakes for a friend last week and used eggs... now I know I should be happy I didn't go into a hippie shame spiral.

I also forgot my re-usable bags at the grocery store this weekend... and I had a little bit of a hippie shame spiral.

I want to start a band and call it "Hippie Shame Spiral" I'll wear birkenstocks on stage every concert.

Relationship Randomness.

2011-04-15T09:21:00.000-05:00

I was reading one of my favorite blogs Quarterlife Confused the other day and for the millionth time thinking ... wow this is like what is in my head. Basically we're like the same person.

So let's talk about dating in the head of this Fat Ass.

For starters I never think I'm being hit on, in my defense I've always been oblivious to this, but as I put on weight I honestly just assume I'm not getting hit on, because who wants to hit on the fat girl?

So I'm the funny sidekick for my cute friends. (Oh, I have some cute friends) I use sarcasm as a weapon and don't give anyone the chance to reject me. I live in the "friend zone."

Maybe as the weight drops off (reads after I've worked my ass off enough) so will all my protective bullshit. Or maybe I'll just be a skinny bitch.

Pi-Yo: Not a Frozen Vegan Treat

2011-04-14T08:39:00.000-05:00

The other day I decided to speed across town and go to a class at the gym that started at 6:30. It was cutting it close. But I made it.

So I had my first Pi-Yo class... which is a pilates-yoga combination not a frozen vegan treat as my friend over at And So She Blogs thought (though now I want to create one just for her).

Try as I might the entire time I was thinking about the gloriousness of The O.C. and Peter "Eyebrows" Gallagher. Behold this youtube gem-

The class was really good. Lots of planks (which like the pansy I am I still do on my knees), downward dogs and stretches. My poor sore back loved the class. I think it popped 4 or 5 times during different poses.

It also felt really good on my sore running legs. My IT band has been really sore on one side so it was nice to give it a really good stretch.

After the class I felt stretched and relaxed and strong. The next morning my legs were supersore in different spots than they are when I go running. So when I tried to run with a friend today it did not happen.

Blerg to that.

On a fun note the instructor had us do the splits and holy hell I could almost still do them!

Fat and Bendy FTW!

XOXO

Weight Watcher Month 4

2011-04-12T10:08:00.000-05:00

This week was my the beginning of my 2nd trimester of Weight Watchers. For the record I lost another 1.2 pounds.

That's despite having potatoes 4 times (never in french fry form) eating out twice, and drinking many vodkas and mimosas. Usually that means a bad weigh in. But I counterbalanced that by increasing my daily runs (well I increased my run intervals which meant I covered more distance). So it all balanced out.

This week I have no meals out planned and I stocked up at the grocery store on healthy yummy options to cook. As I posted yesterday when I decided to Cook With Seitan.

I'll be re-creating that meal one night this week... making a tofu scramble... and because of a twitter conversation with Tasha of Tasha Does Tulsa... I'll be making falafel at some point.

And I decided to issue a challenge to myself. I want to double this week's weight loss to make it an even 20.

2.4 pounds in a week. I'm going to be a nazi about it.

Cooking with Seitan!

2011-04-11T09:21:00.000-05:00

I'm branching out in the world of Vegan cooking. I picked up some seitan at the grocery store to try this week.

This reminds me of a delightful quote from Buddy Garrity on Friday Night Lights- "Seitan? What in the hell is that?"

It's a wheat meat substitute that's more meatlike than tofu. I found lots of barbecue and stew recipes with it that I will definitely try.

Some quick googling and I decided to make some seitan stir fry.

I gathered fresh green beans, broccoli, carrots and zucchini and cooked them in olive oil and garlic.

I love green beans in stir fry.

The seitan I bought was pre-cooked so I really just needed to cube it and toss it in to heat up.

Then I tossed in 1/2 cup of brown rice and a couple tablespoons of stir fry sauce.

It smelled delicious, I had both my dogs sitting in the kitchen floor whining at me for a taste. I tossed it into my bowl and settled down to test it and was pleasantly surprised.

Now I haven't had meat since January, I've had a bit of cheese and yogurt in the vegan months, sometimes out of necessity when I'm out, sometimes out of weakness, but this seitan tasted pretty damn close to meat.

It gave my normal stir fry more oomph and kept me full because of the boost of protein.

So I still have half a package of seitan to use.. will have to pick my next recipe.

Fat Ass Linky- Links

2011-04-08T17:39:00.000-05:00

Some of my fave links from the world wide webs this week-

Vegans / Vegetarians have lower heart disease risk- So I'll live longer... unless my mouth gets me shot.

Vegan Black bean dip to try today- I'm kind of obsessed with black beans. and chili powder.

Bad news for eating disorder victims

Cooking with Satan... I mean Seitan- I bought a pkg of this and will be cooking up a storm tonight.

Fat Ass Training

2011-04-07T09:17:00.000-05:00

I'm on week 3 of Couch to 5k Training. This is my second go round, but the 1st time I've done it outside.

As I mentioned in my post with a bit of Tulsa history... I run at the former home of Ma-Hu Mansion.

I was really excited and proud of myself last week when I bundled up after work and went for my run despite the cold temps and the rain. I was feeling pretty cocky as I rounded the track for the 2nd time. My hoodie was soaked, I had a baseball hat and hood on, my pants were wet and dragging on the ground... but I was plugging along. The only runner on this gray and dreary evening.

Then... out of nowhere this motherfucker in short shorts and a t-shirt passed me without a care in the world. He was dressed like it was 80 degrees outside and I was dressed for a snow storm. And he was breezing past me. Asshole.

Other than that training is going well. My IT band is on fire most of the time but I'm working on stretching it out and spreading out my runs. I'm hoping a deep stretch class at Inner Peace Yoga this week will also help me walk less like a gimp.

Fat Ass Loves Sushi... kind of.

2011-04-06T09:05:00.000-05:00

So I've been on a sushi kick lately. Not really because I'm vegan and even when I ate meat I still didn't like seafood.

But I was at Yokozuna in downtown Tulsa a month or so ago and had an avocado roll and fell in love. A-I love avocado and B-I felt all fancy using chopsticks.

So this weekend my friends and I decided to go to the restaurant before catching Avenue Q at the PAC and I went a little crazy with sushi again.

I went for a veggie roll and 2 avocado rolls... my eyes were bigger than my stomach... but I did chow it down. Deliciously.

Then I while I was scanning my fave Fitness websites and I spotted a link about the healthiest sushi options on Fitsugar and it seemed kind of kismet for a post on sushi.

I did some digging and the avocado roll is 4 Weight Watchers points and the veggie roll is 7 Weight Watcher points.

So my gorging on the rolls last night was about half my points for the day, but it was also my only big meal. My lunch salad was only about 4 points. So score for the sushi binge.

Now I know I'm weird in my sushi consumption (if you can even call it that since there's no fish) and a majority of sushi eaters want to eat the seafood... so here's the Fitsugar post that inspired this one.

Low Calorie Sushi Orders

Fat Ass Birthday Challenge

2011-04-05T08:35:00.000-05:00

So in about 2 months I will be celebrating my Golden Birthday. That is I will turn 29 on May 29th.

I'm pretty sure I may stop counting my years after this birthday so I want to make it count. I'm issuing myself a challenge.

As of last Monday I'd lost 15 pounds even in my three months on Weight Watchers, I want to make it 30 by my birthday.

I'm giving myself 55 days from April 3rd to drop 15 pounds. That will also put me about halfway to my year weight loss goal.

Let's see if Operation Golden Birthday will be a success.

Fat Ass Viewing Habits

2011-04-04T06:37:00.001-05:00

I went to the gym today for a pretend 5k. I call it a pretend 5k because it's on a treadmill not outside. Running outside is real running. But I love running on the treadmill, I feel more powerful on it.

So I filled up my jug of water, plugged in my headphones and started flipping the channels on the treadmill TV to find something to watch during my run. I love those little TVs on the treadmills, they help me continue to be a pop culture junkie while trimming my fat ass.

I looked around the gym and put my tv on channel 33. For those of you not in Tulsa that is Nickelodeon. I put the channel on Spongebob Squarepants. I watched cartoons while running 3 miles today. I knew everyone around me could see I was watching the adventures of the cartoon who lives in a pineapple under the sea and I didn't care.

But, as you dear readers know from reading stories of me skating in my house, of my pants almost falling down at inopportune times, discussing bathroom and running habits and let's not forget my complete lack of grace. So are you surprised at all that I don't care if people see me watching Spongebob while I run?

I'll go you one better, I ended up flipping to a Jersey Shore re-run for the last mile of the run. See- Shameless.

But it did make me wonder if the muscular dude next to me watch ESPN is doing it because he wants to or to look manly... if the cute chick 2 treadmills down really wants to watch CNN or if she wants to look smart.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Or maybe I'm the only one who judges people based on their television habits.

You see I don't have shame... but I'm super Judgy about weird things.

Bouncing Back

2011-04-01T08:50:00.001-05:00

So last week I had another WW gain. 1.8 pounds to crush my spirit.

But I persevered and challenged myself to workout seven days a week like Jennifer Aniston and stopped the things I knew were sabotaging me... specifically eating potatos and drinking vodka.

And lo and behold when I weighed in this week that 1.8 was gone. I lost exactly what I'd gained. So I broke even.

Now... to keep going. I'm down to eating potatoes once a week and drinking one night. My liver will appreciate that change... but my social life will feel an impact I'm sure.

I wish drinking made you thin.

Workout Buddies

2011-03-30T11:01:00.000-05:00

Were your ears burning Monday night dear readers?

You see I was talking about you. All of you. Only good things I promise.

The focus of this week's Weight Watcher meeting was all about finding workout buddies and people to hold you accountable on your journey to not be a fat ass.

When she asked for exampes I brought up this blog... which keeps me from going on a binge and eating pounds of cheese and cake. Well that and my pesky autoimmune disease and the selfish want to wear a two piece bathing suit again one day.

So I use you all to stay honest. Hell I even tell you when I cheat. Which I do, it's inevitable. I have loose morals when I'm around chocolate.

So thanks dear readers... for keeping me on the track.

Make sure to check out the Fat Ass Facebook... for extra recipes and snark as I see fit to post.

Deprivation

2011-03-29T09:46:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post the theme of this week's Weight Watchers meeting was not depriving yourself.

Mainly urging people not to completely cut their fave foods out to lose weight, but to learn to manage cravings and treat yourself without going overboard.

That doesn't work for me. I have no willpower. If I buy a box of the 100 calorie packs to eat for dessert I won't eat one a night. I'll eat the entire box.

If I buy low calorie ice cream to have a small snack I'll eat the whole container.

I made peanut butter vegan cupcakes with chocolate frosting and ate all 12 in one weekend. I through away the recipe.

The only way for me to not go overboard is to not have it in the house. I have to deprive myself or end up on a ledge with a box of hohos to my head.

But it works for me. I have my special treats that are on the diet that I can eat and when I go out for brunch once a week I'll splurge with a mimosa or something like that. Something that is not in my house and therefore I can't go too far overboard with it.

How do you stay on track without depriving yourself your fave foods?