Today Starts Week 9

Today starts week 9, and I have felt a rather strong need to blog about the ups and downs I have experienced over the past week.

The first (and best!) thing was on Friday, during my after-work workout. I intended to run a 5k, and then do the stairs.  But only a half mile into my run, I realized it couldn't be completed - not because of fatigue or cramping, but because my running shorts (which, mind you, I have been wearing for the past EIGHT YEARS), are now officially too big for my body and kept slipping off every 3 or 4 steps of my run.  I can assure you I didn't fret over having to pinch-modify my workout for this; it was a definitely a moment of well-earned revelry for me :)

I instead completed 14 sets on the stairs in an hour and 12 minutes.  Each time I got to the bottom of the stairs (for the first 10 sets) I did 25 curbside tricep dips, and each time I got to the top (for the first 10 sets of stairs) I did 25 twisting crunches on a Bender Ball.  I love Bender Balls because I can do crunches on hard surfaces without hurting my back or tailbone, and they also disable your hip flexors from doing a lot of the work of a crunch and force you to utilize all of your abdominal muscles instead.  Plus it's compact and easy to tote around in my gym bag. Here's a link to the Bender Ball.  I highly recommend it!

But there were many downsides to the past week or so.  They were more or less natural, so I am trying not to get down on myself, but allow me to expound.  First, I've had a friend in town for the week visiting from South Korea.  He arrived a hot mess; super sick with a sinus infection and horrific-sounding chest congestion.  I have always had a weak immune system so immediately wanted to avoid him like the plague - literally.  On the plus side, I made it almost 5 days without a single symptom; something I like to believe is because of the great care I have been taking of my body thru diet and proper rest the past 2 months.

But, alas, come Saturday, I was beginning to feel the familiar lethargy and weakness of my body fighting something off.  So, for the first time ever, in light of my commitment to "doing things right", I bought Airborne and Vitamin C and began a regimine of early care.  It's been a couple days and while I am still a little run down, I am hopeful I may be able to get by relatively unscathed.  We got rained out of volleyball on Saturday but I still forced myself thru a cardio session at the gym despite my tiredness and weakness.  In hindsight, I don't know how smart of a decision that was; I should have listened to my body and rested.  But nonetheless, I got it done.  Sunday I did a one hour volleyball lesson and that was it.  I knew I needed to not workout.

On top of this all, I was (and, 3 days later, still am!) incredibly sore from my workout on Friday.  My calves are actually painful to the touch! 2 months into such a rigorous workout regimine, and I am beginning to notice my body asking for a few days of rest to repair itself.  I know this is normal and necessary, but it is difficult because I hate the feeling of falling behind by not working out.  I want to keep pushing thru because I am eager for results.  But I have to keep reminding myself that I am not doing this for some immediate result that is unsustainable; the changes I am trying to make, I want to last a lifetime.  And they will not come immediately, and they must be made with as much care and respect toward my body as is natually necessary.  So I may take it easy tonight and not workout, or perhaps take Wednesday off in addition to Thursday, and just do Yoga that day instead of a double workout.

Lastly, when I feel myself getting sick, I naturally crave fattening food.  It may be the only time I ever crave McDonald's.  Not because I want IT, but because my body wants fat.  Not sure why, but I suppose it's my body's way of storing up energy just for safe measure.  I also find I get healthier quicker if I give my body what it wants.  I quit my food journal a few weeks ago but I've found myself cutting corners; eating an extra protein bar each day, electing fruits instead of veggies, drinking a little more nonfat milk than I'd like to admit.  I know these things add up.  And then last night, I felt it necessary to indulge in a treat dinner for the sake of my health; my body was exhausted, sore and needed a break.  So I made my FAVORITE meal of all time (much to the delight of my boyfriend, who devoured it and raved about it afterwards) of pesto salmon, a rasberry-spinach salad and mushroom herb risotto.  It was a sincere splurge on my part, but they say every couple of weeks you need to splurge so that you can keep up with the program.  So I did it, and starting today I will re-initiate the food journal for two weeks to ensure I am on track with caloric intake.

So, all of this to say, I feel like I hit a bump in the road and things kind of fell apart relative to my no-tolerance policy to cheating.  But today is the start of a new week, and also the start to my third month, so what better time to clean it up and push forward?

Things I Want To Change In Week Nine

As per my tradition of picking something new to change each week, I have many items I either want to re-commit to, or initiate for the first time.

RECOMMITMENTS

1. First of all, I would like to re-commit to never using artifical sweetener.  I've gone to coffee shops a few times and caved into their lack of stevia.  I know I said I would give up Stevia for good, but I think I will allow myself to have it in my cottage cheese each day to keep things light and tasty.  Otherwise, absolutely NO sweetener in my coffee/tea.
2. On the topic of coffee shops, I want to recommit to only pouring nonfat (and a little 2%) milk in my coffee.  All of that whole milk and Half n' Half really adds up, and it is unnecessary.  If I want to enjoy a cup of decaf, I'm going to need to train myself to take it far lighter than I'm used to.  Otherwise, I might as well just eat a whole ice cream sunday for the amount of fat I am pouring into the drink!
3. I splurged and got a Chai Latte twice this weekend at Coffee Bean.  It was cold, and I love them.  NO MORE.  Too many artifical sweeteners and syrups and processed crap.  So I am re-committing to that.

NEW COMMITMENTS

1. Media Fasting / Digital Diet:  I've decided that I am going to stay off of facebook (save one check, maybe at like 3pm each day? Just to make sure I don't miss any important messages as my friends and I mostly communicate just thru the website).  I feel I spend far too much time on Facebook, particularly at work.  Time to do other things, even if it means visiting other websites and learning about random stuff about literature or history or science or something.
2. Cutting back on fruits and upping veggies:  Veggies are hard for me because my stomach desn't digest them well.  I get terribly bloated and get horrible stomach aches, so I have to be careful about how many I eat and when.  But I think I may limit my fruit intake to just 2 servings a day, and then throw in celery and carrot sticks into the mix.  They are completely unsatisfying to me unfortunately (I don't allow myself to have nut butters just because of the fat and caloric content), but whatever; I'll have to learn to make do.  Either that, or frozen peas - they have sugars in them, but are so tasty.... we'll have to see.
3. Reflection:  I want to devote at least one hour each week to quality quiet time and reading.  I really need to focus on devoting rest and relaxation time for myself, for mental clarity and reflection and just recovery in general.  If I keep pushing myself at the pace I'm going without any break, or filling up my "gym off days" with tons of peripherally exhausting activities, I will do nothing but get sick, worn down, and miserable.  So I really want to commit to that one hour - maybe twice a week? - of alone time to reflect.  And perhaps commit to blogging more often???

Here's the recipe I mentioned earlier.  Super simple, takes like 30 minutes from start to serving!

Megan's Baked Pesto White Wine Salmon

Ingredients for Salmon:

(2) 1/2lb Salmon Filets - Boneless and Skinless (if you get it with skin, fear not; you can easily remove it after cooking.  I actually wil eat the skin since it has tons of healthy oils)

(1) Medium-sized Lemon

Parmesan Cheese (to taste - but maybe 1/8 cup total?)

(1) Bottle white cooking wine ( I prefer chardonnay, it has a certain taste that pairs well with the salmon)

(1) container of Pesto (You'll need about 4-6 ounces of it.  I suggest THIS Trader Joe's kind, or you can make it yourself)

Side Salad

Two options.  You can buy Trader Joe's pre-packaged Baby Spinach Salad with Cranberries, Candied Pecans, Bleu Cheese and a Raspberry Viniagrette which I LOVE with this dish, for its light sweetness.  You can add in some avocado and mandarian oranges for more flavor.  Here is a picture of the salad:

OR you can make it yourself using the following:

(1) bag organic baby spinach

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup mandarian oranges

1/8th cup candied pecans (or your favorite nut - you can't go wrong! they don't need to be candied since the fruit provides enough sweetness)

Cheese - if you're going to do this salad yourself, I suggest goat cheese since it is a delight with the oranges.  But feta or Bleu work just fine, as well! Or you can skip the cheese altogether and opt for avocado.

1/4 cup coarsely diced red onion (optional)

Salad Dressing - I'd go for something light so as not to mask the melody of flavors in the salad.  Even just a little olive oil, salt and freshly-squeezed citrus juice (lemon, lime and a little bit of the mandarian orange juice works great!!)

Carbohydrate

Normally I wouldn't serve carbs with this meal, but if you really need to, or if you're serving this at a dinner party and require a carb or some such, I suggest one of the following:

Since I am not yet an experienced cook when it comes to more complex dishes and flavors, I bought the Trader Joes Mushroom & Herb boxed risotto.  I know this can be made from scratch, but I'm not that advanced yet.  It has a smooth creaminess that complements the tartness of the salad and pungent basil in the pesto salmon.

If risotto isn't your thing, however, you can always serve a steamed veggie like cauliflower, or serve some polenta with freshly roasted red peppers.

HOW TO MAKE THE MEAL:

First, pre-heat the oven to 400*F

Start with the Risotto if you bought it.  Follow the instructions on the box and then leave it to simmer and boil down, per the instructions, while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Next, place the salmon filets skin-side down (if they have skin) in a small baking dish.  Fill the dish with white wine until the edges of the salmon are submerged.  Then cake on the pesto to cover the entire exposed part of the salmon, up to a 1/4-inch thick.  Squeeze half a lemon all over the salmon, and then sprinkle on some parmesan cheese.  Place in the oven and cook initially for 12 minutes (depending on the thickness of the salmon).  You will know it's done when you stick a fork into the thickest part of the filet and the salmon flakes away (ie, breaks apart) very easily, and the color is opaque pink - translucent coloring similar to sushi means it is not done yet).  If at 12 minutes it is not ready, put it back in for increments of 2-4 minutes.

While the salmon is cooking, throw together your salad.  Even if you're maknig it from scratch, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

Make sure the risotto has boiled down and is ready to go, and turn the heat off.  Pull the fish from the oven, plate everything, and VOILA! Best meal everrrr :))