Week Seven: Vegetable replacements for carbs!

So today is Friday, which means after the end of the weekend I will be celebrating the beginning of week eight! 

Each week I try to do something new.  I understand that I need to continually keep pushing myself for the next 17 weeks if I really want to start seeing real changes and not fading back into old habits.

I have to say that I have had a couple slip-ups with booze.  It was my good friend's bday last night and I had 3 glasses of wine (ok, and a shot of tequila!) but you know what?  It was worth it, dammit.  Being committed to a strict routine is like being on a tight budget:  sometimes you need to treat yourself a little to make it all bearable.  But I'm pleased to say that I have 3 more birthday celebrations between tonight and Sunday night, and I have committed to being the designated driver for each one.  So even if mild temptation calls, I'll let the fear of a $10,000 DUI ordeal scare me out of imbibing :)

I suppose now is a good time to discuss some recipes I've been making.  I gave up carbs for the most part several years ago when I was experiencing some food allergy issues and had to cut out all carbs for a couple months as part of a selective food diet.  It was brutal, but the good thing was that it really changed my approach to food.  I stopped craving bready/pasta-y things altogether, so I never really went back to eating them.

But with that said, sometimes a meal just doesn't seem complete without a side of grains.  So herein lies a newfound love of mine for vegetables:  they can be grains incognito!

RICE SUBSTITUTE

The best thing I have EVER DISCOVERED!  I'll confess, it does take a couple times of consuming this before being able to accept it as a rice substitute simply due to the flavor.  But if you use spices and sauces, I swear you can't tell the difference.

Cauliflower (yes, cauliflower!) makes an excellent substitute for rice.  I would write out the step-by-step for this, but I learned how to make it based off of THIS VIDEO which is so simple and to-the-point that it speaks for itself!  Just a note that you can use a blender or a cheese grater if you don't have a food processor, but the grater makes the pieces a bit too coarse and the blender, a bit too fine.  Food processor is the way to go.

PASTA SUBSTITUTE

Peeled yellow croockneck squash and zucchini make unbelievable substitutes for linguini and egg noodles!  Make sure not to cook them longer than 5 minutes though, as you want them to maintain their al dente-ness (yes, I did just make up that word).  I learned how to make them off of THIS VIDEO for zucchini Goulash which, by the way, is delicious! Also, I portioned out the recipe and froze it, and then reheated it, and the squash still maintained it's consistency.  Definitely an AMAZING substitute for pasta to include in dishes like these.

SPAGHETTI SUBSTITUTE

Obvi most people are aware of this little gem, but the greatest spaghetti substitute of all time is the Spaghetti Squash, even named after the pasta for it's likeness in texture and even taste.  Dress with a marinara sauce, olive oil and Parmesan, or anything else you may put on spaghetti (I recently made homemade pesto and mixed al dente spaghetti squash with it and it was DELICIOUS).  This is the greatest, easiest, most imformative video on how to cook spaghetti squash.

So that's it for my blog this week, and now I finally feel caught up to start posting more topic-specific things next week... and also start going into depth about the changes I've already started to notice since starting this diet :)

CRAP! As defined by The Sweaty Betties :)

CRAP!  <--Get rid of it! :)

One of my favorite new sites belongs to a hilarious, upbeat duo known as The Sweaty Betties (http://thesweatybetties.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/TheSweatyBetties).  And while I only just discovered them last week, I have found their posts to be perfectly in line with my goals - no gimmicks, no fads; just clean eating, fitness the proper way, and interesting factoids about health in general.

According to a recent appearance they made on a local TV broadcast, The Sweaty Betties encourage that we do a spring cleaning... of our bodies! :)  On the video, they describe the moniker they live by as being to avoid "CRAP":

C - Caffeine

R - Refined Sugars

A - Alcohol

P - Processed Foods

I just found this to be entirely too clever. And it also provided me with motivation that I'm on the right track!  Source video:  http://www.cw30.com/content/news/dailydish/story/Spring-Cleaning-For-Your-Body/1cRGtqjfTECH1xqeL2joUw.cspx

My process of elimminating CRAP

In Week Two I gave up the refined sugars, snack foods, and other nutritional black holes.  It was hard for the first 7-10 days as my body adjusted to the lack of "easy" faux energy it was used to being provided during slumps in the day.  But those cravings fully subsided by the end of Week Four.

In Week Five, I gave up caffeine (diet soda and coffee... kept black tea and decaf coffee around), artifical sweeteners, and processed foods as much as I could.  I hate wasting food but I also hate having junk I'm not going to eat lying around, so there are still a few things I need to polish off - that jar of bottled BBQ sauce, for instance, which I used in the slow cooker in Week Six.  But I'm certainly not buying anything new to replace it!

In Week Six, I made the difficult decision to give up alcohol.  I know this can be a toughy for some people - it takes a specific degree of motivation and dedication that is greater than the temptation you feel to give in (did I mention that St. Patrick's Day landed in Week Six?  FAIL.)  I've tried doing drastic detoxes in the past but wasn't ready, and I felt so socially deprived because I knew that if I went out I wouldn't be able to control myself, that I ended up quitting the detox altogether.  So my advice is, make a goal to progressively phase alcohol out, but at a pace you can endure.  This current program I'm on has given me NO problems elimminating alcohol; I have my eyes on the prize :)

For Week Seven coming up, after being inspired by my accomplishments already, by the noticeable changes I am seeing in my body (both inside and out!), and by the advice given by the Sweaty Betties whom I am learning to trust as a valid source of information, my goal is to cut out decaf coffee and black tea, and stick only to herbal.  And on THAT note...

Tea

I personally love a quality cup of tea.  Last year I learned how to drink it without cream or sweetener, for the most part.  But I love strong black teas that are usually too bitter without a little somethin' somethin'.  As for green teas, I find most of them to taste like dirt.  And I don't care for the floral variety (although I HIGHLY recommend the Rose and Jasmin tea varieties at The Bird Pick Tea & Herb (http://www.birdpick.com/)).  The one tea I've always loved that is, for the most part, fully herbal (and comes in a caffeine free variety), is Good Earth's Sweet n' Spicy tea.  So good, and no milk or sugar is required.  And it tastes AMAZING iced!

One funny thing I've noticed this week is how grocery shopping in my life is evolving.  I am so used to buying heavily preserved things that are boxed and frozen or left on a shelf, that I've had to start learning a whole new technique to approach to art of buying produce.  Because.... it goes bad!  I have a fridge full of fresh produce that I may nt intend to cook for another 5 days now.  And it's left no room in the fridge.  I think I may actually have to start shopping twice a week to ensure freshness (and room!) O_o

Week Six: The Week I Started Blogging :)

Below is my diary entry I wrote the day before I realized I needed to start blogging about all of this:

WEEK SIX: 

Today starts week six.  I'm staying strong with a cleaner and cleaner diet.  I can't say I've avoided artificial sweeteners entirely.  I struggle with my morning oatmeal without some Splenda, or a cup of tea without Stevia.  I'm trying to get away from black tea and go only to herbal (but I really haven't acquired a taste for it).  I cut out Balance Bars after reading the ingredients label - so much unpronounceable shit!  Instead I eat thinkThin bars since I at least recognize the ingredients.  I am going to continue to eat unprocessed whole foods that I prepare myself.  My diet is otherwise really great, and next week I'll probably look into new alternatives to what I've been eating (of equal nutritional value) so that I don't get bored.

Otherwise, it's all about my workouts.  I'm going to start mixing up the machines and free weights I do.  I'm going to start utilizing my lunch break to get outside - take a 30 minute walk here or there a couple times a week.  I'm going to start doing yoga a third time each week, on Sunday mornings before volleyball.  And I'm going to continue to push myself to see results - heavier weights, more sets, more reps.  And who knows... maybe I'll start meditating?

OH! One HUGE thing happened on Saturday in this week - I was at the beach and realized my bikini bottoms needed to be tightened - on BOTH sides.  Woo-hoo!!!! The results are starting to show!

Summary of Week Five

WEEK FIVE: 

Diet/Exercise

This week I became aware of an over-abundance of energy.  I realized that I was waking up earlier and earlier (on my own--no alarm clock!) and excited to get the day started! I also no longer needed naps before my workouts or in the afternoon. My strength was improving (I was already increasing weights at the gym), my cardio sessions were incredible (Umm... it might be because I discovered the Skrillex channel on Pandora??), yoga was not a chore but an exciting challenge, and I couldn't wait for my next session at the stairs!  I also decided to take "cutting out processed foods" to the next level.  I cut out caffeinated beverages - sianora diet coke! - and artificial sweeteners.  I allowed myself one cup of decaf coffee but eliminated coffee creamers and stuck to fat free milk only.  No sugar, not even Stevia.

Also, a HUGE highlight to Week Five was that I started to COOK!!  I roasted my own red peppers and yellow squash/zucchini, baked acorn squash, and made my own (delicious, might I say!) hummus!  I also threw a Sish Kebab dinner party with all organic fresh ingredients and homemade sauces and marinades that were a hit!  I felt like such an accomplished. woman :)  I'll post recipes later in my blog, once I get this whole thing up to speed.

I still am not necessarily "seeing" any changes in my body, but it could be because they are very subtle.  After all, at 5'9" and 145lbs (apparently 19.0% body fat?) I don't really have ALL that much to lose.  But I have an overwhelming sense of well-being.  I don't have bad skin but I have noticed that the skin on my arms is particularly shiny, especially around my shoulders.  And my nails and hair feel very strong and shiny too.  When I was doing a lat pull-down exercise, I felt my lats flex for maybe one of the first times ever?  It was an incredibly empowering feeling.  Week Six, here I come!

Summary of Week Four

WEEK FOUR:

Diet

I pretty much have my diet on lockdown by now. I avoided cheating entirely by the beginning of my fourth week which was SO motivating to me. I didn't have many cravings and when I did, I would opt for a bite of a Balance Bar or my favorite Peanut Butter thinkThin bar to satisfy the craving while knowing I was at least getting protein and vitamins while getting a taste of sweet. I began to experiment with different foods like spaghetti squash and artichokes. I kept things interesting so I never got bored. I also got rid of all pre-prepared meals - lean cuisines, low fat frozen things, etc - pulled out the crock pot, and started making my own lunches by letting the slow cooker cook for 9 hours over night. I'll post the recipes to my blog later :)

Exercise

I've been continuing to crank out incredible workouts.  I do 60-90 minutes of cardio (elevating my haeartrate to the 160s for at least 50-60 minutes of that time frame, and the mid 140s-150s for the rest).  I did my first HIIT training on Tuesday this week for 30 minutes, followed by 30 minutes of gentle cardio on the bike. I fell in love with yoga and see a change already in less pain in parts of my body that I wasn't really aware that I had until they started going away. Less tightness in my back and hamstrings have made for better posture and significantly less pain and stiffness in my legs. I was moving faster on the beach and was much more limber. So I've begun doing yoga also at my gym on Wednesday nights (easy flexibility yoga since it's my only rest day).

Oh and can I just say... I'm celebrating one month of eating clean??? Hurray!  I've stuck to it all - the diet, the exercise, the water, the yoga... and I've realized that this is going to be more of a slow burn that will require an extended commitment, so I've decided to see if I can do this whole thing for 3 months :)  The scale says I've lost 6 pounds and it's holding steady at that number, although I don't see much of a change on my body.  My friend says it's because your body burns fat stored around your organs (that you can't see, obvi) before it starts burning the fat you CAN see, which is why it appears to have had no affect on me.  But he said after 2 months, the visible fat starts to just melt away.  So... we'll see.  Onward ho!

Summary of Week Three

WEEK THREE: 

This was the first week I began to start noticing subtle changes.  I began to adjust to my newly-balanced diet with the proper ratio of fat, protein and carbs (I chose 20% fat, 35% protein and 45% carbs for caloric distribution) and I noticed my afternoon slumps have begun to dissipate.  My taste buds seemed to change, too; I no longer noticed a difference in the low-sodium foods I'm eating; suddenly eating a red bell pepper like an apple was a total delight that I looked forward to each afternoon.  I also started to become more sensitive to the preservatives in processed foods that I once thought were healthy - certain brands of yogurt, lean cuisines. even frozen veggie blends I would buy at Trader Joe's.  I suddenly became not only aware of fat, protein, carbs and calories, but also the ingredients themselves that I was putting into my body. 

Exercise

My routines have stayed the same, but I've upped the intensity. I made sure I was doing circuit training with weights - instead of sitting around between sets, I would do a different exercise while resting the muscle group I just worked, and I would go back and forth.  I stopped my treadmill workouts because I noticed I wasn't getting my heart rate up enough, and I decreased the intensity of my elliptical workouts because my heart rate was too high.  I also added a 5k run to my Friday morning workouts at the stairs and decreased the number of stairs sets to just 7 instead of 10.

On week three I also did one of the best things I've ever done for myself - I took my first yoga class.  I know my repetitive injuries were due to improper care of my muscles (I am so inflexible!), so I embarked on a commitment to total body wellness by doing a Bryan Kest Power Yoga class on 2nd Street in Santa Monica.  Anaswara (who I've been told is the best) is on maternity leave and so we got a guy named Vytas who was such a badass that I thought I would give up half way thru.  I couldn't take it seriously and it was such a challenge to hold still in poses.  I couldn't focus my mind and I almost died.  He had us hold certain deep stretch poses for 3 minutes and would yell at people if they fidgeted and I have always been a very antsy person and I could NOT hold still - I literally began to shake toward the end.  And he kept saying things like "Don't let your mind wander.  When you feel it wander, bring it back to this moment" and I have no idea what that means.  If I continue to bring my mind to the present, it will drive me mad.  I need a distraction to keep my mind occupied, dammit! :P

In any event, I am committed to the practice for a month to see if I see improvement in my flexibility.  Plus it's just such a classic Santa Monica cultural thing to experience :)

Summary of Week Two

WEEK TWO:

I just completed my second whole week of this new thing I'm doing.  I was talking to my friend Will about how I hate calling it a "diet" because of the stigmatic connotations to that word.  You know, I say "Well I'm on a diet" and people immediately look at me like I have an eating disorder and then spew out the customary, "You don't need to be on a diet, you look great as it is!"  But that's just the thing - I may look ACCEPTABLE, but I am not at the level I WANT to be at.  I hate it when people feel compelled to tell me what I am doing is pointless because I don't need it; I know I only have about 5-10lbs to lose (and twice as much to gain in muscle!) but losing weight isn't the only reason one should want to be on a diet.

And for that matter, I'd like to point out that according to the Merriam-Webster Online Disctionary, the word DIET first and foremost means:

       

        a: food and drink regularly provided or consumed   

        b: habitual nourishment

Or more simply put, it just means the types of foods we choose to regularly consume.  If you ate fast food 3 meals a day, you would technically have a fast food diet. 

In any event, Will suggested I adopt his term - he says he's on a "Program."  I love that! I've also used the term regimen although that sounds rather stiff...

Anyway, in week two, the following was enacted:

Diet

I started a food journal. And by "food journal", I mean I put my left-brained, math-nerd, Excel-junky genius into it. Sure there are sites like SparkPeople and MyFitnessPal, but those aren't for me.  I did one time sign up with My Fitness Pal (it seemed to be the most user-friendly IMHO), but they grossly underestimated how many calories I burn in my workout and, thus, the goals for my caloric intake were about 500 calories less than my actual target.  And of course they calculate your carb, fat and protein targets, but I have my own distribution (I have decided to aim for 20% fat, 35% protein and 45% carbs), so the whole thing was just off.  Nonetheless, it has a great database for food journaling! But I chose to make my own template.  We're talking a multi-tab spreadsheet, folks. (If you want the template, let me know and I will email it to you). I began to modify my eating habits slightly (I cut out the obvious - copious amounts of nuts, sugary treats in the break room, no junk food, etc.) But after just one week of what I considered to be "eating good", I was utterly SHOCKED at my sodium intake, lack of protein, and high caloric balance without an equal level of nutritional value.

Exercise

I have written out plans for my workouts so that I know I am covering my bases each week.  Each day at the gym (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday), I do a different type of cardio for the sake of not plateauing. I do one type of elliptical one day, a different type of elliptical the next, and the treadmill the third day. I also make sure to build in time for a proper warm-up on the bike.  As for weights, I  planned out well-balanced routines and made sure to increase the weights I was already using. In addition, I've added new exercises that I traditionally said I "didn't need" because the other things I was doing "should be sufficient" -- which they were obviously not! I added squats, lunges, and planks, among other things. I continued to play 6 hours of volleyball on Saturdays and Sundays, Fridays I do 1 hour of stair climbing at the Santa Monica Stairs (10 sets), and Wednesdays are my rest days.

One social sacrifice I had to make was to stop going to happy hour after volleyball because "I deserved it"; what I REALLY deserved was to look, feel and BE what I've always wanted: a well-oiled machine. Food isn't the only way to treat yourself, so I have decided to change my philosophy and save my money (and calories!) spent on weekend consumption, and put it towards a new dress or top as I get more and more fit.

I have actually, as of yet, not experienced any withdrawals or cravings.  I think part of it is because I ate a pretty low-carb and sensible diet to begin with, but I think pure motivation helps.  I've also kept the following mantra at heart (understanding though that my goal is not to be skinny, it's to be FIT!)

Summary of Week One

I started this change of lifestyle 6 weeks prior to starting this blog.  So I am just going to cut and paste small weekly entries I made in an online diary to summarize the changes I've made and the effects I've realized, and I'll elaborate later :)

WEEK ONE: 

Enough is enough; we've just embarked on the "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" of all diets.

One week ago today, I decided to commit to at least 30 days of clean eating and proper fitness technique to see if I am capable of achieving the results I've convinced myself I'm incapable of.  To start off, I didn't want to do anything too drastic; I have a tendancy to start big and exhaust myself into submission 2 weeks later.  So, I spent this week not cutting back on foods, but just being more aware of what I was putting in my mouth, and when.  This, in preparation for a stricter, cleaner diet, and understanding hunger patterns and energy efficiency. 

As for exercise, I dug out my old heart rate monitor and began to monitor the levels I was challenging my body at in the gym.  I also increased my cardio to 90 minutes (I don't recommend this, it's excessive and you can hurt yourself) but I felt motivated to do it and wanted to get a head start by preparing my body for handling tougher workouts in the near future.  I think it was more a mental preparation than a physical one.

I also committed to drinking 4 20-oz glasses of water each day.  I've never been a water drinker - fat free milk, diet colas, teas/coffees and juices mostly - but this diet is about following age-old nutrition wisdom and common sense in place of the excuses I've made to tolerate bad habits.  Bad habits may seem minor when looking at them individually, but they add up.  Milk and juice OUT, 80 fl. oz. of pure filtered water IN.

As for results, I haven't really seen many.  But it's only been 7 days.  One thing I've noticed though is that I am really motivated and excited to embark on this journey.  Comitting to something as simple as drinking 80 fl. oz. of water a day and sticknig to it - even if I had to force myself - is something new.  Small milestones lead to larger ones, not vice-versa.

The Short and Sweet (…or perhaps the long and sour?)

First Things First:  I Am Not Trying to Re-Invent the Wheel.

First of all, I'd like to start off by saying that all I know is a mixture of what I've read in books and the interwebz, and just my own knowledge of common sense health and fitness throughout my life as an active person.  So what I share in this blog should not be taken as science or fact.  This is a journey for me to set aside my stubbornness and start doing things different so that my body starts to reflect the efforts I've invested into it for a long while.  I will suggest exercise routines and other health/fitness tips and tricks, but obviously you should consult a professional before starting a routine of your own.

So Now That That's Out Of The Way, Just Who the Hell Am I?

My name is Megan and I've been half-assing myself for 28 years.  On January 30th, 2012, I made the executive decision to quit cheating myself and finally do what I know needs to get done in my quest to achieve the fitness goals and performance I've expected of myself for nearly 2 decades.  I've always considered myself healthy, active, and [for the most part] an athlete. I played sports growing up and even a couple years of soccer in college. After blowing my knee out in a post-collegiate soccer league, I picked up beach volleyball and ran with it. To add to my list of fitness feats, I've trained for a triathlon, a half marathon (my knee won't let me run long distances), and even a total body year-long boot camp designed to get me prepared for the police academy. (Don't laugh; I at one point aspired to join the FBI and wanted to wet my feet to see if I could handle it before diving in head first!).

In addition to this, I have eaten a relatively healthy diet my whole life. I'll imbibe a little too much here or there, and have been known to be seen in a drive-thru once or twice a month... but hey, I go to the gym 5 days a week and play sports on the weekends, so I should be able to splurge occasionally, no?

So please somebody tell me why I have ALWAYS been disappointed by my performance, recurrence of injuries, lack of energy - and most importantly - why my body doesn't look like the elite athlete I feel like I work so hard to be?????  Yes, I understand genetics play a part in this, but my dad is an athlete and my mom is totally average, so I really have nothing there to suggest I can't get rid of the problem areas that make me look like I haven't seen the inside of a gym in 2 months. No, the problem is in my very flawed approach to health and fitness.  The things I eat, the way I workout, the way I don't pay attention to stretching and mental focus… all of these things have prevented me from being the best I can be, and I've stubbornly made excuses all along because I've been too proud to admit that I simply have been doing it wrong.  For a VERY long time.

The Inspiration for The All-Natural Athlete
After several years of slow-and-go, I decided this year that I want to do my best to get a women's rating in volleyball sometime before I turn 30. This gives me two years. But more than that, I want to say that I gave something my 100% all, put my stubbornness aside and took a long hard look at what I was calling "healthy living". Am I really as healthy as I think I'm being? Am I really working out the proper way? Am I really feeding myself the proper nutrition? Am I really nurturing my mind the way it should be? Because let's not fool ourselves, goals of any type - but especially athletic ones, I feel - are VERY mental in nature. Am I truly aloof, or have I just been underestimating my ability to control my mind and achieve the focus I need to be a successful athlete?

Maybe it's because it's 2012 (the world's supposed to end, right??) or maybe I'm just tired of being subpar and making excuses for myself.  All I know is, now is my time.  I want to be able to look myself in the eye and know without a shadow of a doubt that I did everything I could to be the best I could be - that I gave my body the best nutrition, trained the hardest, cared for my body with as much preventative measure, and treated my mind with as much respect as my body when it came to transforming myself into a well-oiled machine.  I want to give this the most honest and fully-committed effort I can, while I am still young and able. I don't want to have any regrets, or to look back on my life with disappointment that I was fooling myself into thinking I was something that I wasn't. Whatever success or failure I experience in my life, I want to know that I did absolutely everything I possibly could to be the best athlete I could be, while treating my body and mind with all of the respect and appreciation that the human body deserves.
What I have already experienced and learned in just the first 6 weeks of this program has changed my life forever, and has been nothing short of awe-inspiring. I intend to follow this for 6 months (REAL RESULTS DO NOT HAPPEN OVER NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), and possibly, for life.

My Philosophy and Approach

I do not believe in gimmicks.  I don't believe in pills, the Ab Lounge and lemonade + cayenne pepper cleanses.  If those worked for you, great!  But I don't want some quick and flawed "fix"; I want to change the way I live my life, change the way I approach consumption, and change the way I experience existence.  So I am doing things the "all-natural" way:  proper nutrition, proper exercise, proper rest and the good common sense mother nature has provided us with.  This will be a slow-burn with the idea being that by June 30th (6 months in), I very well could be in the best state of being I have ever, in my life, been.  To me, I can't think of a more rewarding and exciting challenge to take on.

Your comments, criticisms, suggestions and tips ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO ME.  My hope is to learn as I work my way thru undoing all the bad habits that modern American culture has instilled in me, in my pursuit of an all-natural lifestyle and fitness done the right way.  Hopefully we can all benefit together in this process :)