epic fail continues..

OK wellll I definitely gained 2 lbs this past week. That's umm not really what I meant to do, but I wasn't really trying too hard to not gain 2 lbs so I deserve it.

I'm considering possibly maybe going back to the gym. Have i said this on this blog before? I feel like I'm repeating myself but maybe I just say it to myself a lot..

Actually the weather over the next couple of weeks looks supa fine, in the high 40s and low 50s, mostly sunny except this Friday, so I should be able to get outside no problem. There is the issue of the sun going down kinda early, but honestly that's not that big of a deal, I just won't listen to my Shuffle and I'll make sure I have reflective clothing on - and I'll stay in the busier parts of Clarendon rather than the dark neighborhoods.

I also have weights I can play with in the apartment, there's just not a lot of Space..

Recipe 2

Another contribution from Coach Fred - well actually Mark Bittman, via Coach Fred.

Polenta “pizza” with pancetta and spinach

Mark Bittman

Yield: 4 servings/ Time: About 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus oil for the pan

• 1/2 cup milk, preferably whole

• Salt

• 1 cup coarse cornmeal

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) chopped pancetta

• 1 pound spinach, washed, trimmed and dried

• 1 to 1 1/2 cups Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oven to 450˚ F; brush a layer of olive oil on a pizza pan or cookie sheet. Combine the milk with 2 1/2 cups water and a large pinch of salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring just about to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and add the polenta in a steady stream, whisking all the while to prevent lumps from forming. Turn the heat down to low and simmer, whisking frequently, until thick, 10 or 15 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick, whisk in a bit more water; for this crust, you want a consistency approaching thick oatmeal.

2. Stir 1 tablespoon of the oil into the cooked polenta and pour and spoon it onto the prepared pan. Work quickly so the polenta doesn’t stiffen and spread it evenly to a thickness of about 1/2-inch all over; sprinkle with salt and pepper; cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator to set (at this point you can leave the polenta overnight if you prefer).

3. Put the polenta in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until it begins to brown and crisp on the edges. Meanwhile, put two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and the pancetta is nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to take the onion and pancetta out of the pan and set it aside. Add the spinach to the skillet and sauté until it releases its water and the pan becomes dry; sprinkle with salt and lots of freshly ground pepper.

4. Take the polenta out, sprinkle with the Gorgonzola, then spread the onion, pancetta and spinach evenly on top of the cheese; drizzle with another tablespoon of olive oil. Put the pizza back in the oven for two minutes, or until the cheese begins to melt and the pancetta and vegetables are warmed through. Cut into slices and serve hot or at room temperature.

TIPS

Variation: Before you put it in the oven, top the polenta with thin slices of fresh mozzarella, two or three thinly sliced Roma tomatoes or a bit of tomato sauce, and a handful of fresh basil leaves.

no excuses

OK dang I am having some trouble focusing on this biggest loser thang. The wedding blog is taking over my liiiife!! haha. good news? blabbing constantly on the wedding blog keeps me from snacking my butt off all day.

I still haven't done any laundry so I still have no workout clothes. How PATHETIC. But I think I really need to unpack some box I shoved somewhere because where the heck are all my workout clothes?? I now only have 1 sports bra, what the eff, I know I have at least 4, where are they?? I think there must be a bag somewhere full of everything from my workout drawer at the old apartment.... Sigh it's probably in a box full of ramen and headphones...

Tonight I'm eating at the Peking Gourmet with Mary's mom so I can't make any promises about how healthy it's going to be! Hopefully I can at least work in some steamed vegetables and avoid the sweet and sour pork or whatever. Sommme day I will get back out on the road again, would really help if this winter crap would cut it out!!

Thanks Mom for the comment on drinking more water to make up for high sodium! Hadn't really thought about that, but it makes sense. I just hate peeing.

sugar is scary

Coach Fred sent out this article about how to lose a bunch o weight just by cutting down on sugar intake - most of the things were kind of obvious but there are some helpful tips in there.

This weekend was a total bust. I didn't run, I didn't really work out at all except for some walking to and from brunch, grocery stores, etc. I ate meatloaf and cheesecake and drank a lot of wine and beer.. Somehow my scale tells me I lost 2 pounds last week but I think that's a fluke. I weighed myself on Sunday morning and it showed the 2 pound loss, but then I weighed myself again on Monday morning and I had gained back a pound. So net loss 1 pound, that seems more likely. This week I've already missed 2 days where I definitely could have gotten a run in, so now I have to try to make up for it. I'm surprised I don't feel more motivated to get into shape, I have a bridesmaid dress fitting with Kara on the 28th, would Kind of like to not be a blob by then.

I did make some lentil soup this weekend, I think that's pretty healthy. I heart lentil soup.

well it's a holiday weekend...

Just realized I forgot to post anything yesterday.. well it's alright, nothing happened! I didn't run, I didn't work out.. during the day I think I was pretty good about what I ate.. OH right, I had a frozen meal, shrimp alfredo... sounds much worse than it was actually. It was about 250 calories and it was pretty balanced, bad thing was the 1230mg of sodium.. yikes! other than that, good day food wise. For dinner we made a spaghetti sauce with turkey burger meat, mushrooms, spinach and onions, and then had it over whole wheat shells. Had a glass or two of red wine but not the whole bottle! so that's an improvement. ;)

Today, I've been OK. I took the day off so I should have plenty of time to go out for a run, but I've actually been pretty busy! Should have gone for a run first thing I guess. Anyway around 9:30 I walked down to the store and back, so that's about 2 miles. Had a nice healthy lunch of turkey/swiss/lettuce/tomato/avocado/cucumber on whole wheat bread, strawberries on the side. Oh but then I had umm probably 2 servings of Pirates Booty, so that's another 300 calories I probably didn't neeeeed...

Tonight I'm going to try not to overdo it on the wine/sparkling wine, I think we're just staying in but we might walk out to a movie or something. Tomorrow is going to be the big challenge.. Who thinks I'll get a run in before brunch? HAHAHAH well we'll see.

And then Sunday, I'm weighing in again. I can't imagine I'm going to see a lot of improvement. I don't think I'll have gained any weight, but this was a pretty pathetic week in terms of effort. I'm hoping as the weather gets warmer, and the sun stays up longer, I'll get better about going out for a run in the evenings..

good workout!

OK it probably wasn't long enough.. but given the fact I was about to not work out at all, it went well.

When I got home, I went to get ready to go for a run and I realized I had no clean sports bras. So I improvised and put on a regular bra and then a tank top with a shelf bra in it, figured that would be enough. Anyway by the time I was all dressed, it was rill dark out already.. and I just couldn't get excited about running in the dark, especially alone and without reflective gear. So I dug the barbell out of the closet! At first I just sort of grappled with it, seemed to weigh a ton so I thought I'd pull off some of the weights on the ends and use them as hand weights. But apparently I'm not smart enough for whatever mechanism is holding those things on because I just couldn't figure it out. So I hauled the whole thing out into the middle of the room and clumsily did some lifting with it. Too much for me to do bench presses with, so I did some kind of squat lifts but they seemed awkward and bad for my back so then I did some push-ups.

Finally realized this would be easier with music, and then the real workout began! I had 2 weights of 2.5 lbs each that were loose from the barbell so I used them to at least get a Little resistance, and started dancing around to the music, worked in some of my kickboxing exercises, did some balance exercises I learned from Fred, and overall had a pretty good 25 or 30 minute workout! I was definitely breathing hard and sweating by the end of it, and I think it ended up being good for my arms. They're so weak!

Anyway I'm pleased. Now to try to find something healthier to eat than that Yummy stroganoff...

epic fail

Yesterday was basically epic fail, in terms of diet and exercise. I had sort of planned to drag out my pilates mat and do some push-ups, sit-ups, and maybe some other miscellaneous mat work, buuut zp and I went to Whole Foods after work for some groceries, and then we made beef stroganoff. Probably my first clue should have been the 4oz (a whole stick) of butter called for in the recipe. I did cut it down to 2oz, but still I felt like I was definitely not doing my best to eat healthy fud. Sooo I'm going to try to eat lots of beans and veggies tonight, not so much butter and red meat.

Also I'm going to run this eve. I'm thinking of doing my 4-mile loop - if I really can't do the full 4 miles, I can just walk, no big deal. But I should probably try to push myself, I really need to work up my mileage or I'm never going to be ready for the Cherry Blossoms.

FitnessCoach.com reminded me today that I need to vary my workouts. I sort of laughed and said to myself, How about working out at all?? That would be some variation. But honestly. I can't just work in a few 3 or 4-mile runs a few days a week and expect anything major to happen.

One thing I've been getting better at is drinking more water. And dang I'm having to pee a lot more and I don't like it!